Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 1, 1884

No. 356.
Mr. Reed to Mr. Frelinghuysen.

Legation of the United States,
Madrid, April 16, 1884. (Received, May 3.)

No. 249.]

Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith, for your information, a copy of the “bases” agreed upon for the proposed reform of the Spanish customs regulations, as published in El Correo and copied by El Estandarte of the 29th of March last. I also inclose a translation of such of them as are deemed of interest to us.

Since the publication of these “bases,” I have made inquiry in regard thereto, and have ascertained that a commission is now engaged in the ministry of hacienda, (finance) on the revision of the regulations on the bases referred to. I am also informed that the new regulations agreed upon will not require the approval of the Cortes, but will be carried into effect by royal decree.

It is expected that these new regulations will be a decided improvement upon those now in force. The most important reform, however, is that mentioned in base twelfth, which proposes the doing away -with what is known as the moiety system.

I have, &c.,

DWIGHT E. REED.

[Inclosure in No. 249.—Translation.]

[From the Estandarte 29th March, 1884.]

[Untitled]

The Correo has published the approved bases on which the reform of the customs regulations is to be made. They are these:

1. Commerce of importation; obligations of captains; (a) from abroad by sea.—Will continue to exact from them the manifest of the cargo visaed by the consul of the port of origin, in which must be included, with the convenient separation, merchandise destined to parts of the Peninsula and those of transit.

exceptions.

(1) Will not require manifest visaed by the consul, complete cargoes of all merchandise which pay less than 100 pesetas tariff duty per metrical tonnage.

(2) Captains of steam vessels of a fixed scale, may present in substitution of visaed manifests, bills of lading of the cargo, numbered and sealed by the consuls with a concise extract of said bills of lading visaed by the said official.

The administrators of customs may admit manifests written in a foreign language, exacting an official translation of the same, only in case it may be deemed necessary.

Captains need only present at each port of arrival a general manifest of the cargo and only a partial manifest of what they carry for a specified port.

* * * * * * * *

3. Consignees.—Passengers and crews of vessels may be consignees of any class and amount of merchandise which they bring in their baggage, with the restriction that there must be included in the manifests of the captains or in the route certificate merchandise the duty on which amounts to more than 500 pesetas.

The consignees may ask the previous examination of the packages which come to their order, and the administrators of customs must concede it within a time not exceeding forty-eight hours.

In order to facilitate the operations of the customs, leaving assured the duties, the agents and commission merchants of the cities (or towns) where there is a customhouse of the first class will constitute a corporation body without numerical limitation, and its individuals will deposit a guarantee (fianza), personal or collective, to respond for the duties on the merchandise dispatched and for the trouble that may be incurred.

* * * * * * *

5. Transit.—Transit in vessels of whatever tonnage will be permitted, with restrictions only for tobacco, textures, and goods (generos) called colonial.

Greater facilities will be given than at present exist for transit by land. Vessels with a fixed itinerary may take merchandise in all ports, whatever may be the habilitation of its customs, giving previous notice to the direction-general of the branch.

6. Transshipment of merchandise will be consented to for vessels of whatever tonnage, with the restrictions named for transit.

* * * * * * *

12. Fines and additional duties.—The participation which the employés of the customs at present have in fines and additional duties will cease, the total amount of which will be turned into the treasury.

In order to recompense the officials of customs for the losses which this change may cause them, they will receive 2 percent, of the annual increase of the receipts (on account of fines).

This gratification will be divided into two parts, one which will be distributed among the employés of those custom-houses which have rendered extraordinary or very laborious services, by previous declaration of the Minister of Finance, “hacienda,” and the balance in proportion to the salaries of all the officials of the corps, according to distribution which will be made by the direction-general of customs.