No. 347. Mr. Hay to Sir Edward Thornton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, June 19, 1880. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 17th instant, inviting the attention of this government to the discriminating light dues now levied at Port-au-Prince by the Government of Hayti, on foreign merchant vessels. In reply, I beg to inform you that the light dues to which your note relates formed the subject of a recent dispatch from the minister resident of the United States at Port-au-Prince, and that his representations in regard to the matter correspond substantially with those which you state Her Majesty's Government has received. This government regards the light dues now levied by the Haytian Government at Portau-Prince as unjust and injurious to the commercial interests of the foreign powers concerned, and the President is, therefore, quite willing to co-operate with Her Majesty's Government in making all proper efforts, which may be found practicable, to induce the Haytian Government to place vessels of all flags upon an equal footing in respect to the light dues in question. An instruction in this sense will accordingly be given to the minister resident of the United States at Port-au-Prince, with as little delay as possible. I have, &c., No. 348. JOHN HAY, Acting Secretary. Sir Edward Thornton to Mr. Evarts. WASHINGTON, June 19, 1880. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 16th instant, relating to the frequent losses by fire of cotton-laden ships at the ports of Charleston and New Orleans. I am much gratified to learn the vigorous measures which have been taken by the governor of the State of Louisiana and the authorities of New Orleans for the repression of the crime of incendiarism on board of those vessels. It will give me great pleasure to bring to the knowledge of Her Majesty's Government the contents of the proclamation issued by his excellency on the 14th ultimo, with a view to the punishment of the crime and to prevent its repetition. I have, &c., EDW'D THORNTON. No. 349. Sir Edward Thornton to Mr. Evarts. WASHINGTON, June 28, 1880. SIR: With reference to your note of the 8th instant I have the honor to transmit herewith copy of a report of the privy council of Canada, which has been forwarded to me by the governor-general of Canada, relating to the desire of several Canadians to purchase cattle in Kentucky for breeding purposes, if they can be allowed to be taken into Canada. I shall also forward copy of the inclosed report of Her Majesty's Government. I have, &c., EDW'D THORNTON. [Inclosure.] Copy of a report of a committee of the honorable the privy council for Canada, approved by his excellency the governor-general, on the 21st day of June, 1880. The committee of council have had under consideration a note dated 8th June, 1850, transmitted by Sir E. Thornton from Mr. Evarts, respecting the wish of several Canadians to purchase cattle in Kentucky, for breeding purposes, provided arrangements can be made to allow them to be taken into Canada. The honorable the minister of agriculture, to whom said note has been referred, reports that the action of the Canadian Government is to a very large extent influenced by the imperial act respecting diseases of animals, and the action under it which has been taken by the veterinary department of Great Britain. That the consideration of Canadian interests, in view of the imperial law and orders in council, is to prevent Canada from being scheduled and Canadian cattle from being slaughtered at the port of entry in England. That the difficulty in the way of carrying out the request of Mr. Evarts is the fact that the orders issued under the imperial contagious diseases (animals) act treat the United States as one country, without making any provision for lines of demarkation between the Eastern and Western States. That the whole of the United States is therefore treated in England as a diseased country, and importations into Canada from any part are inconsistent with the privilege now enjoyed, of allowing the ports of Great Britain to remain open for the entry of Canadian cattle alive. The great importance to Canada of the unimpeded continuance of the trade in cattle makes the prohibition complained of, if not a necessity, at least a paramount interest. That the cattle shipped from Canada among which pleuro-pneumonia was found to exist, were taken on board the railway train at Buffalo, N. Y. That if a line, however, were drawn between the infected States of the East and those of the West, which are believed to be free from disease, and regulations framed of such a nature as to prevent cattle from the East going to the West, he, the minister, is of opinion that provisions might be adopted to admit of the importation into Cauada of cattle from the Western States. That any action in this direction, however, would be dependent upon a relaxation of imperial orders under the act referred to, of such a nature as not to make the scheduling of Canada a consequence. The committee submit the views above stated for your excellency's approval, and recommend that a copy of this minute when approved be transmitted to Sir E. Thornton for the information of the United States. Certified. J. O. COTÉ, Clerk Privy Council, Canada. No. 350. Mr. Hay to Sir Edward Thornton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: Referring to previous correspondence in relation to the revised international regulations for the prevention of collisions at sea, and particularly to your note of the 8th of October last, proposing the 1st of September next as a suitable date for the taking effect of the revised regulations in question, I now have to inform you that the executive branch of this government does not consider it expedient to take any further action in regard to this matter at present, owing to the fact that the whole subject is now before Congress. * Congress having adjourned without completing its consideration of this important matter, any action of the executive branch of this gov ernment in regard to it must of necessity be deferred until after the reassembling of the national legislature in December next. Meanwhile this country must be considered as outside of the proposed international regulations until such time as Congress may see fit to take action upon the subject. I have, &c., No. 351. JOHN HAY, Mr. Evarts to Mr. Drummond. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Sir Edward Thornton's note of the 12th ultimo, in relation to the proposed commission of liquidation for the settlement of the Egyptian debts, which has resulted from the negotiations carried on for some time between the Governments of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, and Italy, and have given the most considerate attention to the statements therein presented respecting the Khedival decree of March 31, last, and the declaration of the same date signed by the representatives of the five powers above mentioned, of which documents you kindly furnish me with copies. It appears from those documents, taken conjointly with your statements, that the five powers, whose subjects own nearly the whole of the Egyptian debt, have organized among themselves a commission of liquidation for the benefit of the creditors, whether large or small, whose interests are confided to its prudence; that the same powers have united in a declaration to the end of giving force of law to the decisions which the commission shall have arrived at; that the five cabinets are desirous that the decisions of the commission should hold applicable with like force to creditors belonging to powers which, while not represented in the preliminary negotiations for the commission, or in the commission itself, have concurred in establishing the legal administration of Egypt by participating in the establishment of the mixed tribunals; that to this end the adherence of such powers to the work of the commission is requested, in order that those tribunals may have unimpeded jurisdiction over cases of rescinded contracts and other questions which may arise under the operations of the commission; and, that you are instructed by your government to ask the formal adhesion of that of the United States to the joint declaration referred to. Hence you ask that I will acquaint you, so soon as it may be in my power, with the views of this government upon the subject. The important question to which the attention of this government is thus called had already had careful consideration, based upon the application directly made to it by that of his highness the Khedive through the United States agent at Cairo, and also upon the approaches made to it by that of France in the sense of obtaining the adhesion of the United States to the scheme. The first results of that consideration were not, on the whole, favorable to the concurrence of the United States in the proposal of the foreign powers, and the expressed opinion of the Department was that the United States Government did not feel called upon to accept, in advance, as binding upon its citizens, the action of a commission in the organization of which neither it nor they had had any part. Although, so far as was known, the interests of American citizens, concerned in contracts and like engagements with the Egyptian Government, were not so numerous or important as to make participation in the organization of the commission an indispensable requisite, yet it was regarded as proper to leave undecided, for the time being at least, the question of the acceptability of such action as that commission might hereafter take so far as concerned its operation upon the rights of citizens of the United States, and this view was strengthened by the natural desire of the United States to take no action which, on the one hand, might be tantamount to enforcing its own procedure and remedies, in conjunction with other powers, upon the Khedival Government in matters of its own internal economy, and, on the other, might forego the reservation of the rights of United States citizens, in their direct relations to the Egyptian Government, in case the disparagement of such rights should call for diplomatic representations in their defense. In leaning to the adoption of such a course on the part of the United States, it was, however, entirely foreign to the purposes of this govern ment to interfere with, or embarrass in any way, the financial relations of the Khedive toward the other powers, or the adjustment, by whatever means it and they might determine, of such obligations as might have arisen and become matters of dispute or compromise between them. It was not perceived that the attitude of discreet reserve, which thus so properly commended itself to this government in respect of a matter wherein it, as a government, had no direct concern, and wherein the interests of its citizens were amply guarded by the direct relations it maintains so happily with the Government of the Khedive, could be regarded as interfering with the entire freedom of that government to make any administrative adjustment of its financial relations with governments having representation in such administration. While holding these views, therefore, and expressing them frankly through the medium of its diplomatic representation at Cairo, the Government of the United States held itself ready to receive and consider in the most friendly spirit any indications which the Khedive's Government might present of embarrassment caused to it on this account. Matters being in this state, advices from the representative of the United States at Cairo were received, exhibiting the apparent interest of the Egyptian Government itself in the solutions reached by the commission of liquidation, and soliciting in the most unequivocal and earnest manner the concurrence of the United States in order to remove the embarrassments which it was represented would flow from the attempt on the part of the Khedive Government to apply, through the tribunals, the decisions of the commission without the adhesion of the powers represented in the organization of those tribunals; and these considerations induced this government to waive its reserve and accord its adhesion to the administrative plan upon which the Government of his highness the Khedive seemed to put so much value. The diplomatic agent of the United States at Cairo was accordingly instructed, on the 17th instant, by telegraph, to give the adhesion of this government if that of Egypt regarded it as material to the scheme, and I am since in receipt of advices that he has done so. Expressing my pleasure in being thus enabled to return a full and, as I trust, a satisfactory response to your note, I have, &c., WM. M. EVARTS. [NOTE.-An identical communication was addressed, the same day, to the representatives of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, and Italy.] No. 352. Mr. Drummond to Mr. Hay. WINDSOR, VT., August 20, 1880. SIR: I am instructed by Earl Granville to acquaint you that Her Majesty's Government have had under their consideration a circular from the Egyptian minister for foreign affairs, dated the 30th of May, and addressed to the representatives of the powers interested in the proposed revision of the constitution of the tribunals of the reform in Egypt, and of their procedure and of the codes of law which they administer. In this circular his excellency states that the period of five years, for which the tribunals were instituted, expires on the 31st of January next, and that the Egyptian Government desire to continue them for a further period of five years, but that, experience having shown the necessity of certain modifications in the existing system, they invite the representatives of the powers to obtain authority from their respective governments to represent them on a commission which should meet at Cairo under the presidency of the minister of justice. His excellency suggests that each of the representatives should also be authorized to name a delegate or assistant commissioner, and that the commission should have power to nominate a sub-committee on whom would devolve the duty of preparing the proposals to be submitted to their consideration. Her Majesty's Government have duly considered these suggestions, and, although they are not prepared to adopt them exactly in their present form, they readily accept in principle the proposal of the Egyptian Government that an international commission should be appointed without delay to consider and report to the powers on the changes which may be called for in the constitution of the tribunals of the reform, and in their procedure, and in the law administered by them. Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that the commission should be composed of delegates (two in number) from each of the powers represented on the second international commission, which sat at Constantinople in 1873, namely, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the United States, France, Italy, Holland, Russia, and Sweden, and that these delegates should have authority to add to their number delegates of any other power interested, if it should hereafter appear to the governments represented on the commission expedient so to do. The commission should be under the presidency of the chief delegate of his highness the Khedive. As regards the appointment of a committee, Her Majesty's Govern |