Mr. Seward to Mr. Plumb.
Sir: I have received your dispatch of the 4th of August, No. 167, which treats of a complaint in the case of Dr. Hutchinson. It appears by that statement that the regulations of the revenue service in Mexico require that persons who are transporting in the interior a larger amount of money than is reasonably necessary for traveling purposes shall secure a custom-house permit. It further appears that this regulation has been adopted as a security against a clandestine exportation of coin, and that coin transported without such a permit is liable to forfeiture. Dr. Hutchinson, having neglected to procure such a permit, sixteen hundred dollars in coin, which he had while traveling, was seized by the revenue officers, and judicial proceedings were instituted for its confiscation. The regulation is one which it is competent for the Mexican government [Page 575] to make, and the proceedings seem thus far to be regular. If there shall be ground for diplomatic remonstrance on the occasion, that ground does not yet appear, nor can it become available until after the judicial proceedings shall be closed and the whole matter shall become a subject for review.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Edward L. Plumb, Esq., &c., &c., &c.