[Inclosure 1 in No. 196.] Máicas & Co. to Mr. Gresham. NEW YORK, August 20, 1894. (Received August 21.) SIR: The undersigned, Máicas & Co., commission merchants, estab lished in this city at Nos. 104 and 106 John street, respectfully depose and say that they shipped on the 2d instant per steamer Cienfuegos, bound to Cienfuegos, Cuba, 60 bags flour, weighing 5,400 kilos. By an oversight the weight was put on the bill of lading as being 540 kilos. Two days after the sailing of the said steamer Cienfuegos the error was detected, and immediate notice thereof given to the Spanish consul at this city, with the request to report the case to the intendente at Havana, for proper rectification of the custom-house manifest upon the arrival of the said steamer Cienfuegos at the port of destination. Deponents are now informed that the intendente refuses to act in the matter, as requested; and as this refusal entails the imposition of an unjust fine amounting to more than the value of the flour, deponents respectfully claim the intervention of the Department of State, on the ground of their United States citizenship, and the fact that no fore thought or attempt at defrauding the Spanish treasury can be alleged by the Spanish authorities, since the error was frankly acknowledged six days before the arrival of the above-named steamer Cienfuegos, all of which can be ascertained by official investigation. With our sincere thanks in advance for this signal favor, and the assurance of our respect and consideration, We are, etc., MAICAS & Co. No. 2331.] [Inclosure 2 in No. 196] Mr. Williams to Mr. Uhl. CONSULATE-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Havana, September 13, 1894. (Received September 20.) SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Department's instruction No. 989, of the 24th ultimo, in relation to the fine of $500 imposed by the custom-house of the port of Cienfuegos for a clerical error in the shipping documents of 60 bags of flour sent by Messrs. Máicas & Co., of New York, on the 2d ultimo, by the steamer Cienfuegos to that port. In explanation of the facts of the case I now inclose a copy of the report of our consul, Mr. Dinsmore, at Cienfuegos. From this it appears that the consignee or importer of the flour, Mr. Jose Maria Alonso, a resident merchant of Cienfuegos, gave information of the error in ques tion to the intendant before the arrival of the flour. And in compliance with your instruction I have called on the intendant in solicitation of the condonation of the fine, in support of which I explained to him the means afforded to Spanish exporters by the customs regulations of the United States for the removal or remission of fines for clerical errors; but with his usual affability he assured me that under paragraph 3 of article 8 of the customs regulations of this island it is reserved solely to the colonial minister to condone fines for reasons of equity, with whom recourse might be had through our legation at Madrid. I am, etc., RAMON O. WILLIAMS, Consul-General [Annex to inclosure 2 in No. 196.] Mr. Dinsmore to Mr. Williams. CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 31st ultimo, in regard to a fine levied by the customs authorities here upon a shipment of flour from New York on the 2d of August, by the steamship Cienfuegos, of this city, by Messrs. Máicas & Co., and also the copy of their letter to the honorable Secretary of State, inclosed. Your communication reached me at 7 p. m. yesterday, and I invesgated the matter this forenoon as directed, and I beg leave to report as follows: First. The consignee of the flour in question is Don José Maria Alonso, No. Santa Ysabel street, this city. Second. A fine of $500 was imposed by the customs authorities. Third. The consignee does not know upon what article or paragraph of the customs regulations the fine was imposed. Fourth. Answered under No. 2. Fifth. The fine has not been paid, but is treated as paid by the collector; this is given me in confidence. Sixth. The consignee wrote to the intendente at Havana through the custom-house there, explaining the matter, and showing that it was occasioned by a clerical mistake, i. e., writing 540 kilos instead of 5,400 kilos, and showing further that the collector of customs here was notified by cable of the mistake before the arrival of the Cienfuegos at this port. Notwithstanding this statement, the intendente, as consignee is informed, instructed the collector of this port to collect the fine. So far the consignee has done nothing more by way of defense, but he says he will protest formally against the payment. The consignee says further that if the order for the collection of the fine is not promptly revoked he will have to pay it; that he will ascertain to-morrow or next day, the 4th or 5th instant, under what article and paragraph the fine is assessed, and will report to me, which information I will transmit to you as soon as obtained. I am, etc., No. 245.] JAMES H. DINSMORE, U. S. Consul. Mr. Taylor to Mr. Gresham. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Madrid, October 9, 1894. (Received October 22.) SIR: I have the honor to report, in reply to your Nos. 196 and 1971 of the 22d and 24th ultimo, that I have specially presented the case of Messrs. Máicas & Co., with the request that an early indication be given as to the course which will be pursued in that and similar cases. As I have already informed you, I have presented over and over again, by note and by personal interview, all the arguments which can be made against the imposing of these unjust and excessive fines, all of which have so far been fruitless. I inclose you herewith a copy of my note in the case of Messrs. Máicas & Co., and unless you instruct me to the contrary I will make no more general arguments upon the subject until a definite reply has been received to the same. Under your instructions I will consider that as a test case and press for action accordingly. I am, etc., HANNIS TAYLOR. [Inclosure in No. 245.-Telegram.] Mr. Taylor to Mr. Gresham. MADRID, December 20, 1894. I have induced minister for the colonies to order by telegraph transfer for review of seven hard cases selected by me, including Máicas and Hidalgo. He promises immediate and equitable action as to all unjust fines. TAYLOR. 1 Not printed. INDEMNITY TO, AND RETURN OF, THE CAROLINE ISLANDS MISSION ARIES.1 Mr. Uhl to Mr. Taylor. No. 73.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 26, 1893. SIR: I inclose herewith copies of the correspondence recently had with the secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, in relation to the offer of the Spanish Government to indemify the American missionaries at Ponape in the sum of $17,500 for losses sustained during the troubles of 1887 and 1890. You will accordingly notify the minister of state of your readiness to receive the tendered amount, and in so doing you will make it clearly understood that this Government does not thereby waive, and is not to be regarded as impliedly waiving, its coincident demand for the return of these despoiled American citizens to the spot where they have estab lished, vested, and recognized rights through half a century of residence and tenure. That question is inseparable from the matter of reparation for certain ascertained losses. I am, etc., [Inclosure 1 in No. 73.] EDWIN F. UHL, Mr. Smith to Mr. Gresham. AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS, Boston, Mass., November 24. (Received November 25.) SIR: Understanding that the Spanish Government is prepared to make indemnity for the losses and injury sustained by the American missionaries resident on Ponape at the hands of the Spanish forces in that island, and that the sum in which such indemnity should be made has been fixed at $17,000, it has seemed best to the prudential committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions that the terms of such settlement should be accepted by our Government and the proposed indemnity received; and I am authorized to communicate this judgment of the prudential committee to our Government, and to request that this matter be brought to an immediate conclusion. The sum named will fairly cover the losses which our missionaries experienced, and there seems no good reason why there should be longer delay in bringing this part of the general question in deliberation between our Government and the Government at Madrid to a final conclusion. It is our hope that instructions will be communicated to the U. S. minister at Madrid, authorizing him to express to the Spanish Government this decision, and to receive at the hands of that Government and duly transmit the indemnity aforesaid. I shall learn with great satisfaction the happy accomplishment of this object, and shall turn over this indemnity to our committee with the greatest pleasure. It is our distinct understanding, in connection with a settlement of this part of the question, that the remaining demand which has from See Foreign Relations 1892, pp. 394-409, 410, 413-419, 433, 435-485, 489, 492, 504, 513, and 1893, pp. 558-571, 576-588. the first been steadfastly insisted upon by us, namely, that the Spanish Government shall remove every obstruction to the return of our missionaries to their residence and work on Ponape, remains in full force, and we desire and expect that this permission will be promptly granted. Contrary to distinct stipulations at the time when the Government of Spain in the Caroline Islands was acknowledged by our Government, the Spanish authorities on Ponape in 1890 placed such restrictions upon the residence and liberty of action on the part of our missionaries there as to suppress all their missionary activity, and to make them practically prisoners of war; and it was under circumstances like this that our missionaries withdrew temporarily from the island, until this question to their right and liberty to the free pursuit of their proper missionary work could be adjusted between the two governments. All this is matter of record, and is as well known at Madrid as it is at Washington. It is confidently believed that if our Government makes a distinct and peremptory requirement upon Spain for the fulfillment of this demand, it will be yielded and the whole question will, after this long delay, be happily settled and removed from further consideration. It will be a happy day for our missionaries, and for the good name of the nation in Micronesia, when tidings reach these exiled men and women that the door of return to their beloved work in Ponape is open, and especially if the tidings shall be brought to them by a war ship of the nation bearing them back. With unshaken confidence in the power and purpose of our Government to maintain the rights of its humblest citizens, and to see that justice is done in their behalf in the remote parts of the earth, and with very high respect, I am, etc., SIR: I have received and considered your letter of the 24th ultimo, in which you state the view of the prudential committee of your board that the indemnity of $17,000 agreed upon to cover the actual losses of the American missionaries resident on Ponape, Caroline Islands, should be received from the Spanish Government, thus "bringing this part of the general question in deliberation between our Government and the Government at Madrid to a final conclusion," and leaving the remaining demand "that the Spanish Government shall remove every obstruction to the return of our missionaries to Ponape," in full force with the desire and expectation that it will be fully granted. Before instructing the United States minister at Madrid in the sense of your present request, it seems proper to place you in possession of the full translated text of the note of the Spanish minister of state to the U. S. envoy, making the offer of payment under certain expressed reservations touching the eventual return of the missionaries. The "distinct and peremptory requirement" that these people be permitted to return and resume their beneficent labors which you recommend has been repeatedly made, but so far as this Department is able to judge, compliance therewith is relegated to some indefinite future time. You will note Señor Moret's statement that the safety of the persons and prop erty of the missionaries, in the event of their return, can not be guaranteed "until the opinion, now rooted in the minds of those inhabitants, that the missionaries will never again establish themselves there, disappears." The Department has throughout the discussion endeavored to keep the questions of return and reparation for actual losses intact and inseparable. It is clear that the response of the Spanish Government virtually separates the two demands, treating the incident as closed by the offer to pay the agreed indemnity, and by its promise to announce the date when in its judgment the state of affairs in Ponape will permit the missionaries to return in safety. If, upon further consideration, your board is still of the opinion that the offered indemnity should be accepted, the United States minister will be instructed to receive and transmit the sum offered, announcing at the same time the reservation by this Government of its full right to insist upon the return of the missionaries should that event be unduly postponed, or to demand indemnity for the vested property rights of these American citizens in those islands in the case of their continued deprivation of its enjoyment. I am, etc., EDWIN F. UHL, Acting Secretary. [Inclosure 3 in No. 73.1 Mr. Smith to Mr. Gresham. AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS, Boston, Mass., December 19, 1893. (Received December 22.) SIR: Referring to the communication from the Department of State under date of December 7, with inclosed translation of the note of the Spanish minister of state to the U. S. envoy, I beg leave to state that the entire correspondence has been submitted to the prudential committee, and that I am instructed what reply to make. The committee heartily appreciates the care with which the negotiations upon this subject have been carried on by our Government and the carefulness with which the present situation has been stated in this recent communication. I am instructed, in the name of the prudential committee, to authorize our Government to receive from the Spanish Government the proposed indemnity of $17,000 for losses incurred by the American missionaries on Ponape during the troubles of 1887 and 1890; and I shall be most happy to receive from the State Department the information that the payment has been made and that this sum is ready to be turned over to our committee. The committee, however, wishes that in receiving this money indemnity for losses from the Spanish Government our Government shall at the same time insist upon the fulfillment of the further demand, which has uniformly been made in these negotiations, for the early return of the American missionaries formerly at work upon Ponape to their residence and work upon that island, under the same conditions which existed and were recognized by Spain when her jurisdiction upon the Caroline Islands was acknowledged by the United States. This condition we can not for a moment withdraw or modify. It is a matter of |