No. 563.
Mr. Wallace to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Legation of
the United States,
Constantinople, July 31, 1883.
(Received August 18.)
No. 258.]Sir: I have the honor to transmit for your
information a copy and translation of a note from the Sublime Porte upon the
subject of the petroleum concession. It will be observed that his highness
the minister of foreign affairs declines to acknowledge the responsibility
of his Government for storage-dues paid under the concession.’ Along with
his note I beg to forward mine in reply.
In the state of the affair as here presented you will greatly oblige me with
instructions, the question being, shall I persist in presenting bills so
contracted for payment by the imperial Government My own opinion of the
strict propriety and correctness of such a course is very strongly supported
by a similar assertion of right on the part of the Russians. For your more
perfect satisfaction on the point, and that you may understand the present
attitude of my colleague, the Russian ambassador, upon the questions
incident to the concession, and see that we are moving in perfect accord, I
inclose a copy of the note addressed by him to the Sublime Porte.
There are bills waiting transportation, but I will defer them until you favor
me with your directions. The acceptance of the bills for presentation
should, of course, be with an express reservation of nonliability on the
part of our Government.
I am, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No.
258.—Translation.]
Aarifi Pasha to Mr.
Wallace.
Mr. Envoy: I have received the note your
excellency did me the honor to address me on the 18th of June last, in
order to inform me of your intention to claim from the imperial
Government the restitution of dues collected from American citizens for
storage and porterage, &c., of petroleum.
Permit me to remark, Mr. Envoy, that the protest which is the object of
this not
[Page 875]
has no motive, my
department having already demonstrated to your excellency, as well as to
the other missions having an interest in this matter, the indisputable
right of the imperial Government to concede the establishment of a
petroleum depot.
Consequently I think it my duty to decline from now the responsibility
that your excellency seems to make the imperial Ottoman Government to
assume on that score.
Accept, &c.,
[Inclosure 2 in No. 258.]
Mr. Wallace to
Aarifi Pasha.
United
States Legation,
Constantinople, July 30,
1883.
Highness: I am in receipt of the note of July
22 last, in which you do me the honor to reply to my note informing you
that the imperial Government would be held responsible for moneys
collected for compulsory storage of American petroleum under the
concession of Sami Bey.
Your highness answers by saying that the assertion of responsibility in
such cases is without motive, for the reason that your department has
already demonstrated the indisputable right of the imperial Government
to concede the establishment of a petroleum depot.
I much regret to have to antagonize your highnesses proposition. The
power of the imperial Government to make such concessions is, in my
opinion, limited by its existing treaties. Would you be good enough to
refer to the note which it was my privilege to send you, dated June 7,
1882, full expression of my views upon the subject may be found in
connection with depots in the city of Smyrna. Possibly your highness
will kindly pardon a partial repetition of my former expressions, the
reference now being to the statement that the present claim of imperial
responsibility for dues paid Sami Bey under his concession is without
motive, which I interpret as meaning without reason.
By the commercial treaty between our Governments of 1862 Turkey solemnly
engaged itself not to subject importations from the United States to a
charge or duty exceeding 8 per cent, ad valorem.
That engagement still endures and is in the nature of a guaranty which a
nation cannot violate without liability to reclamations, and to the
principle of liability in such cases I beg permission to refer your
highness as the basis or motive of my note.
Suffer me a further remark applicable particularly to your highnesses
declaration of indisputable imperial right to concede the establishment
of Sami Bey’s petroleum depot. It is well enough as against even a
treaty to assume in behalf of a signatory power a reserved right to take
measures in protection of the persons and property of its subjects
against dangers incident to certain importations. The right, however, is
to be exercised with due regard to the guaranties of the treaty. Thus
there is no disposition, as far as has come under my observation, upon
the part of any of the powers interested in the importation of petroleum
into Turkey to object to the establishment of depots for the storage of
the article at places outside the city, provided such depots (1) are
conveniently situated, and (2) do not occasion charges extra the customs
duty allowable under the treaty, and (3) are not of right compulsory
upon the importer. Of these three conditions your highness will pardon
me, I hope, for saying the first is, in my opinion, the only one which
has been in fact regarded in the concession to Sami Bey.
In strictness the Sublime Porte, regardful of the treaty, would have
exhausted its power had it published a regulation defining limits around
the city, and forbidden the storage of petroleum in excess of a stated
quantity inside those limits, leaving importers and dealers free to
establish depots of their own or make arrangements at their pleasure
consonant with the regulation. This principle, I beg to add, might have
been interposed to the concession of Sami Bey in the first instance, and
it remains to be seen if the action of the imperial authorities will not
yet drive my Government to its assertion. The proposal of return to the
status quo ante was purely in the way of
compromise of a troublesome question, which I very sincerely hope is
still of possible acceptance by the Sublime Porte.
I avail, &c.,
[Page 876]
[Inclosure 3 in No.
258.—Translation.]
Russian ambassador to
minister of foreign
affairs.
The imperial embassy had the honor to receive the note circular of the
Sublime Porte, dated the 27th of May, 1883, relative to the petroleum
depots at Tchiboukli. It regrets not being of the same way of seeing, as
exposed in the note already mentioned, relative to the advantages that
the concession of Sami Bey & Co. would give the commerce of
petroleum. Certainly the necessity to assure public security against the
dangers that arise from large agglomerations of inflammable materials
does not justify the creation of a monopoly so onerous for commerce.
This necessity would not authorize the perception of an arbitrary and
disproportionate tax.
According to news which has reached the imperial embassy, the Society
Sami Bey & Co. claim for each can of petroleum (of a mean value of
about 30 piastres) a storage due of 90 paras for the first month, and of 15 paras for every following month. In taking three
months as the mean time which every can remains in the depot, it follows
that every can pays a mean due of 3 piastres,
equivalent to 10 per cent. If one adds to this sum the custom-house dues
and assurances for its transportation to town, for losses in the depot,
it is found that every can of petroleum must be raised 10 piastres at least, which makes it one-third
dearer than on the market of Constantinople.
A storage due so considerable, three times as high as the dues collected
up to this day in the old depots, is evidently in disproportion as well
with the price employed in the construction of the depot and in its keep
as with the advantages assured by this establishment to the local
commerce. The surplus obtained by the perception of this tax can,
therefore, only be regarded as a surtax or additional impost, which would, moreover, not
profit the Ottoman treasury, but individuals.
Nothing would justify the gathering of such taxes. They will of necessity
stop the development of an object of great necessity; while, on the
contrary, the interests of the Ottoman fisi, as
well as the interests of the consumers, would exact the development of
this branch of commerce by every means which would tend to lessen the
price of so indispensable an article.
In consideration of the arguments already mentioned and developed in
several former notes addressed to the Sublime Porte, the Russian embassy
thinks itself permitted to ask that the concessionary company of the
depots at Tchiboukli be invited to reduce to reasonable prices the
storage dues of petroleum. In case the said society held to the same
prices, the imperial embassy finds itself in the necessity:
- 1.
- To insist upon the rights of Russian merchants, which cannot
be contested, who are occupied with the importation of petroleum
into Turkey, to construct depots for petroleum for their own
use, on condition, be it well understood, to conform strictly to
public security as prescribed by the rules of the port of
Constantinople.
- 2.
- To claim of the Ottoman Government for damages and interests
for losses experienced by Russian merchants, it being the
perception of an arbitrary and exorbitant tax by the actual
concessionaries of the depots of Tchiboukli.
