Gen. Luis Maria Cabrera, on behalf of the Government and its representatives, agrees to deliver to the said Fermin Perez and Catrain the sum of $1,000 goldthat is, $500 gold to each of them-in order that they can take passage at the first opportunity. This money will be deposited in the hands of the commander of the American war ship Paducah, or in those of the ship that may be in port, if he does not object to being the depository. In case he does not accept the deposit, it shall be placed in the hands of the persons whom the parties select, and shall be delivered to Perez and Catrain at the time of their embarking. 3. Likewise Gen. Luis Maria Cabrera, in his name and that of the Government, gives guarantees of life and liberty to Catrain, as well as to all the crew and employees of the ship Independencia, and the officers and soldiers who shall surrender with their arms within the time, and that they shall suffer no penalties for causes other than those treated of herein.' Gen. Luis Maria Cabrera agrees to put at liberty Juan Perez, who is now prisoner at Samana for political reasons, in order that he may leave the country with his brother Fermin. Done in good faith and signed by the contracting parties, in six copies for a single effect, in our presence, and we sign as witnesses in the city and on the date as above. Santo Domingo, February 21, 1906. SIR: I have the honor to transmit you herewith a copy and translation of a letter from the government physician in charge of the Red Cross at Sanchez, in which he expresses his gratitude for the assistance given him by United States naval officers in attending the Dominican wounded in the recent civil disorders. I also inclose copy of my reply to him. T. C. DAWSON. [Inclosure 1.-Translation.] Dr. Alberto Gautreau to Minister Dawson. SANCHEZ, February 15, 1906. MR. MINISTER: After the sad events which occurred in this locality I believe it is my duty to manifest to the American Government, through you, my gratitude for the effective and humanitarian assistance rendered so efficiently by those of your compatriots who were in the port of Sanchez during the revolution that began on January 5. Having been authorized by my Government to install a Red Cross hospital in this city for the purpose of being able to give proper care to the unfortunate victims of the war, I received since the first fights from the commander of the U. S. S. Dubuque an offer of all medicines which might be lacking as well as of all kinds of help which might be necessary. Dr. Charles H. DeLancy, passed assistant surgeon, accompanied by Hospital Steward D. M. Hervey and Doctor Perrot of this city, attended to all cases that occurred in the disasters of the war, making a series of surgical operations with untiring perseverance and an ability truly notable. For this, in the name of the Dominican people and especially in my own, I give the most expressive thanks to these gentlemen, but desiring to convey to them an official testimonial of my gratitude I have thought that its value would be doubly significant if made to the Government of which you are a worthy member. I ask you, Mr. Minister, to accept the demonstration of my respect and high regard. DR. ALBERTO GAUTREAU, Physician of the "Red Cross." [Inclosure 2.] Minister Dawson to Doctor Gautreau. FEBRUARY 21, 1906. SIR: I am in receipt of your polite communication of the 15th instant, conveying your thanks for the assistance given you in your noble humanitarian efforts by Commander Winterhalter and Doctor De Lancy of the U. S. S. Pauducah. I am sending your letter to my Government so that it may be transmitted through the proper official channels to the Navy Department and the officers mentioned. I am deeply gratified that our officials were of service to you and to those Dominicans who were in need of succor, and am sure that this gratification will be shared by the Government. I also congratulate you on your success in relieving the wounded sufferers at Sanchez, of which I have heard through the American consular agency at that place. Please accept, etc., (Signed) T. C. DAWSON. AMERICAN CONCESSIONS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. No. 105.] The Acting Secretary of State to Minister Dawson. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, March 31, 1906. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 222," of the 24th ultimo, inclosing copies of three protests made before you as consulgeneral by the Clyde Steamship Line protesting (1) against the permission granted by the Dominican Government to the Norwegian steamer Flora to engage in coastwise passenger traffic; (2) against the action of that Government in exempting the Danish steamer Christianstedt from port charges because she is chartered by the Hamburg-American line; (3) against the permission granted the German steamer Präsident to engage in the coasting trade without paying the regular port charges. The department approves your course in filing the protests with the Dominican Government, and then awaiting instructions from this department before taking any further action. I am, etc., a Not printed. ROBERT BACON, No. 248.] Minister Dawson to the Secretary of State. [Extracts.] AMERICAN LEGATION, Santo Domingo, May 10, 1906. SIR: Referring to the same general subject as that of your No. 105, of March 31, action of the Dominican Government represented to be in contravention of the rights acquired under the Clyde Steamship Company concession, I have the honor to report that early in March the local Clyde agents called my attention to a recommendation made by the minister of finance in his recent report to Congress. In substance he recommended that a law be passed reducing port charges by one-half, which action the minister contended would not be violative of the Clyde concession since the charges were originally paid in Mexican currency and are now payable in gold. Therefore to make them $1 per ton and gold would be virtually the same as $2 in Mexican, and would not reduce the differential agreed upon in favor of the Clyde Company. The agents represented to me that the minister's reasoning was erroneous, and based upon an ignorance of the real facts, which were that the gold standard was adopted before the amended concession was granted and that the consideration for the abandonment by Clyde of his former right to receive 3 per cent was the doubling of the differential in his favor. The Clyde agents also represented to me that action in conformity with the minister's recommendation would be a violation of the agreement entered into between the Dominican minister of foreign affairs and the American chargé d'affaires on March 6, 1903. A copy of said agreement will be found as an inclosure with Mr. Powell's No. 510, Dominican series, of March 6, 1903. I replied to the Clyde agents that for the present, at least, I could address no communication to this Government on the subject; that what the minister had done was merely to make a recommendation to Congress; that it seemed to me improbable that Congress would act; and that in any event the recommendation in itself did not constitute a breach of the Sanchez-Powell agreement, nor did I consider that there existed such an imminent danger thereof as would justify me in addressing a note to the Government, even if the peculiar circumstances now existing did not render it unadvisable. I advised the agents themselves to call the attention of the minister to the misapprehensions they believed he had fallen into, and to see if by direct efforts with this Government they could not prevent the action they feared. Shortly subsequently I examined the correspondence of Mr. Powell and came to the conclusion that the proposal of the minister would, if carried into effect, violate the agreement of March 6, 1903. About the same time I received word that a suit had been brought against the American company engaged in the petroleum business at Azua; the suit against the Ros company still menaced that enterprise, and the operations of the hemp company near Barahona were by its managers believed to be in danger of interference from the judicial and administrative authorities. I therefore took occasion the next time I saw President Caceres to suggest to him the unadvisability of letting the impression become general that his Government was adverse to all American enterprises, and of letting action be pushed to a point where official corespondence might be necessary. In the meantime Captain Reed, the general agent of the Clyde Company, had made his argument before the minister of finance and a few days subsequently told me that he had been attentively heard and that he was now confident that the matter would not be pushed in Congress. I have, etc., No. 112.] T. C. DAWSON. The Secretary of State to Minister Dawson. [Extract.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 248, of the 10th instant, reporting your interview with the agent of the Clyde Steamship Company, in which he raised objections to the reduction of the port dues as proposed to the Dominican Congress by the minister of foreign relations, and alleged that it was in violation of the SanchezPowell agreement of March 6, 1903. You add that on examining the matter you concluded that the agent's view was correct, and that you intimated to the President that it was not advisable to take aggressively adverse action against established American enterprises, as seems to have been the case in several recent instances. The department would be glad to see, as a part of the readjustment of Dominican obligations, a comprehensive treatment of the various concessions that have been granted, including the agreements relating to port dues. It is probable that in some directions compensation will be required to the persons injured by relieving commerce from the vexatious restrictions and burdens which now seem to exist. Pending such adjustment, however, and until the whole subject can be dealt with justly the department would regret very much to see arbitrary violations of the agreements made with American enterprises. The department concurs in your hope for a more friendly attitude of the Dominican authorities in future and approves your course. I am, etc., SIR: I have the honor to report that eleven months ago, during my absence on leave, the Dominican Congress passed a law appropriating 30 per cent of all export duties to a fund intended to be devoted to the construction of railways. Mr. Langhorne, who was in charge of this legation during my absence, did not, so far as the records show, send on a copy and translation of this law. It will be found inclosed herewith. On its face this law appears to be in conflict with the decree of March 31, 1905, usually referred to as the "modus vivendi," since the latter provides that all the revenues collected through the customshouses, including export as well as import duties, shall be divided into two portions, the larger of which is to be remitted to New York. This has been done by Colonel Colton, and the fund now in the National City Bank includes substantially 50 per cent of all the export duties collected since April 1, 1905. The Dominican Government regards it as a part of its moral obligations to the creditors and as good policy not to change the revenue laws during the pendency of the convention of February 7, 1905, except as contemplated by that instrument. The department will remember that the convention provides in general that import duties may not be decreased, but that export duties may be reduced or abolished. The theory under which this Congress proceeded in adopting the inclosed law seems to have been that the right to abolish the export duties includes the right to divert them to the building of railroads. The privilege of abolishing export duties was retained in the convention because it was thought that such an abolition would not only benefit producers, but would also ultimately benefit creditors by stimulating productive industry. It is believed that the building of railroads would tend to achieve the same object. For a long time after the passage of the law in question nothing was done looking to an enforcement of its provisions. About March 1 the Government made a contract with ex-President Horacio Vasquez in accordance with this law for the construction of a railroad from Santiago to Moca. Such a road would supply an outlet to the largest interior town which remains without railway facilities, and cheapen the transportation to the seaboard of the principal cacao region of the Republic. Further, ex-President Vasquez is a man of integrity, and his purpose in accepting the responsibility for the work was to furnish a guaranty that the money would not be squandered, as well as to use his wide personal acquaintance in selecting the laborers among the class whose lack of employment constitutes a continual menace to internal tranquillity. About the time this contract was made the minister of finance directed a communication to Colonel Colton asking that one-halfthe proportion assigned to Señor Vasquez by his contract-of 30 per cent of the already collected export duties now on deposit in New York be turned over. Thereupon Colonel Colton asked me for my unofficial opinion as to the legality and propriety of his complying. Previously I had declined to discuss the law with anyone, although watching the matter carefully. Colonel Colton has as yet taken no definite action. He believes, as I do, that the intelligent and honest expenditure of the small amount involved would have a most happy effect on the political and industrial situation in the Cibao. Nor can we see that the substantial interests of the creditors would be harmed. On the contrary, it would probably be a step in the direction of increased revenue, and therefore a greater guaranty. |