No. 15. Mr. Outrey to Mr. Evarts. [Translation.] LEGATION OF FRANCE, Washington, February 20, 1880. (Received February 23.) Mr. SECRETARY OF STATE: By a letter bearing date of the 23d of January last you called my attention to a discrepancy which exists between the text of the resolu tion adopted by the board of management of the French Cable, and that of the memorandum containing the conditions on which the Government of the United States consented to permit the landing of the cable on the coast of this country. Although, in my opinion, the document signed by the duly authorized agent of the company, which is in your hands, is the only one that can be binding upon the parties, I have, nevertheless, hastened to transmit your observations to the proper parties, asking that a rectification be made as you desire. I have the honor herewith to send you a letter from Mr. Chauvin, which seems to me calculated to remove every possibility of misunderstanding on this head. Accept, &c., [Inclosure.] MAX OUTREY. Mr. Chauvin to Mr. Evarts. No. 135 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, February 18, 1880. SIR: A copy of the communication which you have addressed, under date of the 23d of January, 1880, to the French minister in Washington, has been transmitted by the French minister to me, and both your communication and the accompanying letter of the French minister were at once telegraphed by me to my company in Paris. I am now instructed by my company to say that the divergence complained of in your communication of the 23d of January had arisen through a mistake, and was not in any way intentional. My company has further instructed me to apologize for this error, and to inform you at the same time that a correct copy of the memorandum of conditions imposed by your Government has since been executed by the president of my company, and that this copy is now on its way to this country. I am further instructed to say that inasmuch as my company's cable from Brest to England has not yet been laid, and the system of my company cannot be considered as fully open for public traffic, the tariff of 3 shillings a word was considered as a provisional one, and that it was not the intention of my company to maintain it. The question of the rate of charges to the general public is now forming the subject of serious consideration on the part of my board of directors, and I am instructed to assure you that my company will not attempt to exact for the transmission of messages a tariff superior to that which, having regard to the number of messages sent, to the necessary expenses of maintaining and working a submarine cable, and to the cash capital actually invested in my company's system, it will be necessary for my company to demand from the telegraphing public in order to be able to pay, with a careful and economic management, a fair and proper interest on the capital invested. So soon as my board of directors will have arrived at a decision on this point I shall again have the honor of addressing you on this subject. I have, &c., G. VON CHAUVIN, La Compagnie Française du Té légraphe de Paris à New-Yor No. 16. Mr. Evarts to Mr. Outrey. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 20th ultimo, replying to mine of the 23d of January last, in relation to a discrepancy in the text of the resolution adopted by the board of management of the French Cable. I beg to express to you my satisfaction at learning that the discrepancy in question, which formed the subject of my former note, was an inadvertence on the part of the company, and to say that I shall await the reception of the corrected and authenticated paper, referred to by Mr. von Chauvin, with the hope that it will be found to be in such form as to fully remove the difficulty under consideration. Accept, &c., WM. M. EVARTS. COMMERCIAL CABLE. No. 17. Messrs. Mackay, Bennett and associates to Mr. Frelinghuysen. WASHINGTON, December 4, 1883. (Received December 4.) SIR: Messrs. J. W. Mackay, James Gordon Bennett and their associates propose to lay a telegraph cable between the coast of Europe and the United States, and respectfully apply to you for the permission to land the American end of their cable upon such part of the coast of the United States as they may determine on, subject to such conditions as you usually impose. Very respectfully, J. W. MACKAY, J. G. BENNETT AND ASSOCIATES, No. 18. Mr. Frelinghuysen to Messrs. Mackay, Bennett and associates. [Extract.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, December 5, 1883. GENTLEMEN: I have received your letter of the 4th instant, stating that you propose to lay a telegraph cable between the coast of Europe and the United States, and requesting permission from this Government to land the American end of such cable upon such part of the coast of the United States as the promoters of the enterprise may determine, and subject to the conditions usually incident to concessions of this character. This Government regards with favorable consideration all efforts to extend the facilities for telegraphic communication between the United States and other nations, and in pursuance of this sentiment the Presi dent is desirous of extending every facility in his power to promote the laying of the cables. While there is no special statute authorizing the Executive to grant permission to land a cable on the coast of the United States, neither is there any statute prohibiting such action; and I find on examination of the records of this Department that in 1875 conditional authority was given to land a French cable at Rye Beach, New Hampshire, and that in 1879 permission was given to land a cable at Cape Cod. These precedents seem to justify a similar concession to the promoters of the present enterprise, which there is the less hesitation in according as they are citizens of the United States. The authority of the executive branch of the Government to grant permission is exercised only in the absence of legislation by Congress regulating the subject, and concessions of the privileges heretofore have been subject to such further action by Congress in the matter as it may at any time take. You will therefore understand that if the association you represent accomplish the laying of the cable under the Executive permission to be accorded to them, their enjoyment of the privilege would be subject to such future action as Congress may take on the general subject. The privileges of landing cables which have heretofore been granted have been given under certain conditions. These conditions are substantially the same as those outlined in the President's annual message to Congress, December, 1875; and it is quite clear, that, in considering the recent act of the 8th of August, 1882, Congress had in view the suggestions made by President Grant in the message referred to as the conditions in question, with the additional one that the United States Government shall have the right to the exclusive use of a wire at such time or times as they may require, not exceeding four hours out of every twenty-four, and at such rates as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State, but not to exceed 20 cents per word, nor less than 10 cents per word, as found embodied in that act. Subject, therefore, to the conditions prescribed by Congress as set forth in the act of Congress of the 8th of August, 1882, entitled "An act to encourage and promote telegraphic communication between America and Europe," and to such further regulations as Congress may hereafter establish in relation to the general subject, the President directs that "the company" which you represent shall be granted permission to land a cable on the coast of the United States at such point as the promoters may determine, and such permission is accordingly hereby granted to that company, this concession to become operative when the said company shall have filed in the Department of State a formal acceptance of the grant in writing, under the corporate seal and the signature of its proper executive officer. In the meanwhile the promoters of your enterprise can act upon and make use of this preliminary and conditional authorization, if need be, to facilitate their arrangements for the completion of the work with any foreign Government upon whose shores they may desire to land their cable. I am, &c., FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN. UNITED STATES AND BRITISH COLUMBIA CABLE. No. 19. Mr. West to Mr. Frelinghuysen. BRITISH LEGATION, Washington, June 29, 1883. (Received June 30.) SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith copy of a report of a committee of the privy council of Canada on the subject of a projected cable connecting the Canadian Government telegraph system near Victoria, Vancouver Island, and Point Angelos, Washington Territory, and to submit to you the request, therein contained, for permission to land the proposed cable in Washington Territory. I have, &c., L. S. SACKVILLE-WEST. [Inclosure.] Report of a committee of the privy council for Canada, approved by the Governor-General June 13, 1883. On a report dated June 8, 1883, from the minister of public works, submitting that it is proposed to lay a cable for the purpose of connecting the Canadian Government telegraph system, near Victoria, Vancouver Island, and Point Angelos, Washington Territory, there to connect with the Puget Sound Telegraph Company's line to Seattle, and the United States Government line to Cape Flattery. The minister represents that an additional cable route would thus be provided between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, and also with the United States and Eastern Canada. The minister recommends that your excellency be moved to communicate with the Hon. Mr. Sackville-West, the British minister at Washington, and request him to seek the permission of the United States Government to land the proposed cable in Washington Territory. The committee concur in the recommendation of the minister of public works and submit the same for your excellency's approval. JOHN J. MCGEE, Clerk Privy Council, Canada. No. 20. Mr. Frelinghuysen to Mr. West. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 28, 1883. SIR Referring to your note of the 29th of June last, transmitting a copy of a report of the privy council of Canada, which report statesThat it is proposed to lay a cable for the purpose of connecting the Canadian Government telegraph system, Victoria, Vancouver Island, and Point Angelos, Washington Territory, there to connect with the Puget Sound Telegraph Company's line to Seattle, and with the United States Government line to Cape Flatteryand requesting the permission of this Government to land the proposed cable in Washington Territory, I have now the honor to state that the subject having received the consideration of the President, he perceives no objection to granting the privilege asked by the minister of pub lic works of Canada and recommended by the privy council, on similar terms and conditions to those which have been required from all other foreign telegraph cable companies to whom concessions of a like nature have been granted by this Government since 1875. In December of that year the President, in his annual message to Congress, after the subject had received mature executive consideration, submitted these conditions as the terms upon which he would consent to grant to foreign companies the privilege of landing cables on the shores of the United States until Congress should enact general laws in regard to such privilege, or the President should be otherwise directed by that body. For your own information and that of the Canadian Government, I inclose a memorandum of the conditions referred to.* I inclose also a copy of a letter of the 10th of June last, addressed to the President, by Mr. Thomas T. Minor, president of the Puget Sound Telegraph Company, in which that gentleman states that his company has "repeatedly requested permission from the authorities, both of British Columbia and the Dominion of Canada, to lay a cable to Vancouver Island, and open a telegraph office in Victoria, British Columbia," but that in every such case, the requests have remained entirely unheeded or the permission has been refused. Before granting the request of the privy council to land the cable now in question, the President feels it his duty to require assurances from the Canadian Government that the privilege asked by the Puget Sound Company to land a cable on Vancouver Island and open a telegraph office in Victoria, British Columbia, will, on proper application, and subject, if deemed essential by the Dominion Government, to similar conditions to those imposed by this Government, be given to the company which Mr. Minor represents. Upon receiving such assurances, together with the formal acceptance by the minister of public works of Canada of the conditions presented in the inclosed memorandum, the request embodied in your note will be promptly complied with by this Government. I have, &c., FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN. [Inclosure.] Mr. Minor to the President. SEATTLE, WASH., June 10, 1883. (Received July 5.) SIR: The legislature of the Dominion of Canada, having made an appropriation for the purchase and laying of a telegraph cable from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, across the Straits of San Juan de Fuca to Point Angelos, in Washington Territory, I have the honor respectfully to urge that permission be not accorded to the Dominion Government to land said cable in the United States until similar rights and privileges be accorded by that Government to American citizens to lay telegraph cables and open telegraph offices in British Columbia. The Puget Sound Telegraph Company, which I have the honor to represent, has repeatedly requested permission from the authorities, both of British Columbia and the Dominion of Canada, to lay a cable to Vancouver Island, and open a telegraph office in Victoria, British Columbia. These reasonable requests have in every case been entirely unheeded, or the permission sought has been refused. The rights they claim from us should also be accorded by them to our citizens. I am, &c.. THOMAS T. MINOR, President Puget Sound Telegraph Company. |