No. 463.
Mr. Gorham
to Mr. Fish.
The Hague, November 9, 1874. (Received December 4.)
Sir: The late liberal ministry of The Netherlands has been severely censured by its political opponents, and but half excused by a portion [Page 986] of its friends, for the passage of a law in November, 1872, reducing, from and after January 1, 1874, the duty on sundry articles, including tea and coffee, exported from the Dutch East Indian colonies, from a standard affording considerable revenue to a nominal tax of little account.
The theory of the ministry was, it is fair to presume, that in the event of trouble, already foreshadowed, threatening to their colonial interest in the East, the position of the government would be better for having legislated acceptably to foreign powers in the removal of commercial restrictions at their colonial ports. And although the United States, after resolving to admit free tea and coffee, irrespective of country where grown or whence brought, had subsequently imposed a tax of 10 per cent. on the indirect importation of those articles if produced in countries east of the Gape of Good-Hope, the opinion was cherished that this discrimination would be early relinquished in acknowledgment of the advantages derived from the measure in question.
Members of the late cabinet, especially the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of colonies, frequently referred to what they termed the ungenerous feature of our tariff legislation in respect to their interest, assuring me that it was occasioning much uneasiness in commercial circles, and thereby greatly annoying the ministry. They hoped I would represent the matter to my Government in a manner calculated to secure the desired relief.
In compliance with numerous solicitations, I took the liberty of calling your attention to the subject in the month of February, 1873, though I usually referred to their minister at Washington as the medium through which they could the most suitably present their complaint. To moderate their expectations, I sometimes reminded them, on such occasions, of our crippled carrying trade, and overtaxed Treasury, each demanding aid from every legitimate source at the disposition of the Government.
I am led to refer to the subject, at this time, from seeing in the leading conservative journal of the city this morning a lengthy article avowedly reflecting the views of the new minister of colonies on the colonial question generally, wherein allusion is made to the policy of abolishing duties for the accommodation of other governments, with no assurance of an equivalent; and, also, because I learn from another source, that a committee of the chambers, having under consideration the same subject, a day or two since, a proposition to recommend the restoration of the former rate of export-duty on coffee was favorably received, mainly on the ground that the expectation of the government had not been met on the part of the United States.
Whether it would be better for us to maintain the discrimination complained of, and pay their former differential duty of 9 per cent.—if I remember—than to repeal our law and pay the present nominal tax of 3 florins per 100 kilograms on their coffee, I am not prepared to say. Neither do I know that the old rate will be restored; but being, aware that discontent has long prevailed in respect to the results of their law and the inconvenience of ours, I think it more than probable that a change will be made in the course of the winter, unless some hope of an easy modification of ours should reach their ministry in time to prevent it.
I am, &c.,