No. 1066.
Mr. Straus to Mr. Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Constantinople, February 24, 1888.
(Received March 12.)
No. 63.]Sir: The American missionaries and managers of
schools in this Empire have for many years enjoyed certain customs
immunities which are specified in Van Dyck’s “Report on the Capitulations of
the Ottoman Empire,” page 113 et seq.
These are based upon the French capitulations of 1740.
From time to time for some years past the administration of customs has
restricted these immunities more and more, so that at the present time all
foreign schools and benevolent institutions, our own included, have been
compelled to pay duty on many classes of articles which were formerly
exempt, and have in general been subject to frequent annoyance and delays.
The matter at my suggestion, and under the direction of the diplomatic
agents of the several powers therein interested, was referred to a meeting
of the dragomans of the several embassies and legations, our own included,
and they formulated a note verbale in French to the
Porte setting forth their grievances; and I, after consultation with the
representatives of the American missionaries, forwarded to the Porte a note verbale, of which the inclosed is a copy, which
is substantially the same as has been forwarded by several of the embassies,
except such slight modifications as I deemed it prudent to make.
Trusting that the action taken will meet your approval,
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure in No. 63.]
The legation of the United
States to the ministr of foreign
affairs.
United
States Legation,
Constantinople, February 21,
1888.
The legation of the United States has the honor to call the attention of
the imperial ministry of foreign affairs to the arbitrary proceedings of
the general direction of customs towards convents and benevolent
institutions to which it refuses the benefit of certain provisions of
the regulation concerning the customs immunities to religious
orders.
For some time past this administration has claimed customs dues on all
goods which, though notoriously intended for the maintenance of religieux and religieuses,
but which are not explicitly specified in the regulation in
question.
[Page 1563]
Paragraph 2 of Article II, while it provides that “the goods necessary to
the maintenance of the religieux and religieuses are the following: Clothing, food,
ink and paper,” yet these words are immediately followed by a phrase the
object of which is to extend them so as to remove from this provision of
the regulation what may be too restrictive. This phrase is as follows:
“And generally all that which pertains to the exercise of monastic
life.”
It is the same with paragraphs 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 of Article III, where all
the specific enumeration of the goods intended for the maintenance of
seminaries, hospitals, the poor, the dispensaries, the orphans, etc.,
are likewise extended by an analogous general provision. The
custom-house refuses, however, to conform to these express provisions of
the regulation; it refuses to give effect to the articles coming under
that head and obliges the American religious societies to pay the
customs dues thereon, although they ought not to be paid.
The customs franchise being the principal and the most important of the
privileges granted ab antiquo to the several
communities of the Empire, the intention of the Imperial Government at
the time when the aforesaid regulations were made was to limit the
amount of the franchise to be given annually to each religious
representative, and not to restrict that franchise to certain specified
goods in such an exclusive sense.
In fact it is in that spirit that the regulation has been enforced since
its promulgation.
The legation of the United States hopes that the Imperial ministry will
in its high sense of equity recognize that the foregoing considerations
are well founded and will specifically invite the general administration
of the customs to apply hereafter in all its provisions the regulation
in question in the same manner as it has done during almost a quarter of
a century.
