William H. Seward to To the honorable Secretary of Treasury , Washington, D. C, July 17, 1878

No. 58. Mr. Seward to Councilor Borges.

Sir: I have been requested by the Secretary of the Treasury to invite your attention to a question affecting the clearance of vessels via the port of Richmond, Va., which has been raised by the vice-consul of Brazil at that place. I have, therefore, the honor to inclose herewith copies of two letters, dated June 18 and July 12 respectively, from the Secretary of the Treasury upon the subject, together with a copy of a letter of this Department addressed to that officer upon the 3d instant.

A British vessel having lately cleared from New York for Bahia, Brazil, via Richmond, the manifest which she received at New York was taken by the collector at Richmond and placed on file in the customhouse there, and a general outward manifest from Richmond, reciting its contents, given in its stead, thus making the manifest sworn to there on clearance for Bahia contain all the cargo on board the vessel. The Brazilian vice-consul at Richmond objects to this practice, and the case has consequently been submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury for his decision. The second letter of the Secretary gives, at the instance of this Department, a full description of the general practice prevailing in this country in reference to the clearance of a foreign vessel that touches at another domestic port, and points out a remedy for a case such as that which occurred at Richmond.

It is desired that some general rule, which may be satisfactory to both, shall be agreed upon between the two governments to prevent a recurrence of the difficulty, and I will thank you for any suggestions that you may be pleased to make upon the subject.

The manifest of the Annie Mark, which is herewith inclosed, has been transmitted to this Department by the Secretary of the Treasury, with a request that it may be returned.

Accept, &c.,