Daniel E. Sickles to Cristino Martos, January 27, 1873

General Sickles to Mr. Martos.

[No. 4.—Note dated January 27, 1873.]

Sir: 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note addressed to me by your excellency under date of the 2d instant, by which I am informed—

• That fines on captains or supercargoes of vessels for errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in their manifests and sobordos shall not take effect in Cuba without the approval of the intendente of the treasury;
• That the intendente shall point out without delay such of the present requirements respecting the contents of the sobordo as may be omitted without prejudice to the public service; and,
• That lines revoked by the authority imposing them, or remitted by the supreme government, shall be refunded within one year, counting from the date of the reception of the order of restitution.

My Government will learn with satisfaction that subordinate customs officers will not hereafter be allowed in their discretion to impose and collect fines from captains and supercargoes of foreign vessels in the Cuban ports. It is, however, much to be regretted that the restitution of fines wrongfully inflicted may be withheld from the injured parties twelve months after the authorities shall have received orders directing such re-imbursement.

My Government will likewise be gratified to know that steps are taken to simplify the regulations now in force, under which it is so difficult for captains of vessels, with the utmost rectitude of conduct and purpose, to escape the numerous penalties denounced for mere informalities in their papers.

Referring to the communication I had the honor to address to your excellency on this subject on the 27th of November last, and likewise to my note of July 16, 1870, I desire to renew the representations therein made respecting several of the regulations contained in the royal order of July 1, 1859, and which re-appear in the decree of December 28, 1872, published in the Gazette of Madrid on the 29th of the same month.

Some of the particulars required to be set forth in the sobordo, or statement in duplicate, are, it is respectfully urged, unnecessary as safeguards against frauds on the revenue, at variance with commercial usage, and tend, in their operation, to cause much inconvenience and loss to captains and owners of vessels. It is required, among many other specifications, that the sobordo shall show, 1. The “exact measurement of the vessel in Spanish tonnage.” 2. A description of the specific kind of merchandise contained in every package, bale, case, bundle, or parcel in the cargo, and the quantity, decimal weight, or measure, and marks and numbers of each article. In addition to this detail called for in the duplicate sobordo, a manifest of the cargo is necessary. 3. A similar statement of all articles on board in transit to other ports. 4. A statement, in the copy of the sobordo, retained by the captain, of whatever goods the crew may have in their possession and the quantity of ship’s stores remaining on board, including coal, if the vessel be a steamer.

And it is provided that on presenting such sobordo to the inspector, if it be not duly certified by a Spanish consul, a fine of $200 is incurred, and, although the consul may have certified the document, yet, if it shall be found deficient in any respect, a fine of $25 is imposed for each and every defect that may appear; that is to say, after requiring very much more than is usual in ship’s papers, and making it the duty of the Spanish consuls to certify to their sufficiency in form, if that officer fail in his duty to point out irregularities, a fine must be paid by the captain for each instance of the consul’s neglect. I am sure your excellency will agree that if these stringent requirements as to the contents of the sobordo are to be retained, the consul’s certificate should, in all cases, be accepted as covering any defect of form in a document he has approved by his signature and seal of office.

Article 7 provides that if a captain fail to produce the sobordo and manifest when required to do so by the coast-guard, “at the moment of boarding the vessel,” he shall incur a fine of $500, unless it appear satisfactorily that he has been forced by some casualty of the sea to put into port suddenly. And it is provided in article 10 that the coast-guard may board a ship and demand her papers anywhere within a distance of twenty-three kilometers (14.291 English miles) from the port of destination. With reference to the latter article I have to observe, that I presume it cannot be the intention of His Majesty’s government to enforce any such regulation beyond Spanish jurisdiction. As the article now stands, it amounts to the exercise of a right of search on the high seas, accompanied by an extreme penalty for a non-compliance with an unauthorized demand. And in any aspect of article 7, even if its execution be confined within Spanish jurisdiction, cases may often happen where, without fault or wrongful intent on the part of the captain or supercargo, the technical enforcement of the rule would be unjust and oppressive.

It is further provided, in article 11, that captains shall furnish the consul memoranda of the approximate value of their cargoes, to the end that these may serve as data for commercial statistics.

Article 13 requires that in the event of any disaster at sea making it necessary to throw overboard a portion of the cargo, the parcels, quantities, and classes of goods so lost shall be noted on the manifest.

I might proceed with the enumeration of many other features of these new regulations which seem to need modification in order that they may not needlessly burden and harass legitimate commerce, but, in view of the revision of the same ordered by the minister of ultramar, I trust that the amendments and reforms that may he adopted will be such as to render further representations unnecessary.

I avail myself of this opportunity to repeat to your excellency the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.