intercourse, their dependence upon proper communication, the improbability that this will be established by unaided private enterprise, the duty of Governments to promote public welfare, the small public expenditures required to secure adequate mail, passenger, and freight facilities, and the necessity for their control by the countries whose interests they should subserve, the International American Conference recommends to all the nations bordering upon these waters the granting of Government aid in the establishment of first-class steam-ship service between their several ports upon such terms as they may mutually agree with reference (a) to the service required, (b) the aid it is necessary to extend, (c) the facilities it will severally afford them, (d) the basis upon which they are to contribute, (e) the amount that each is to pay, (f) the forms of agreement between the several Governments, and the nature of contracts with steam-ship companies necessary to the successful execution of a general plan for such service.

NOMENCLATURE OF MERCHANDISE.

SESSION OF JANUARY 2, 1890.

The PRESIDENT. The order of the day is exhausted. What order of other business will the Conference take?

Mr. ROMERO. I ask that the resolution I have offered be read.

The PRESIDENT. The delegate from Mexico offers a resolution. He desires that the same shall be read in full in Spanish.

(The Secretary read the resolution and comments in Spanish.)

The PRESIDENT. The resolution will be read in En

glish.

The Secretary read the same as follows:

I think that one of the most efficacious measures to secure the unification of the customs rules and laws is the adoption, by all the nations represented in this Conference, of the uniform nomenclature of foreign merchandise, which will serve as a basis for the collection of impost duties and for all other customs operations, such as the preparation of manifests, consular invoices, etc. This naturally will not affect the rates which each country may see fit to collect on each class of merchandise, and will only refer to the definition of such merchandise.

I do not conceal from myself the difficulties which such a unification will present, principally on account of the

different bases for the collection of import duties which exist between the United States of America on one part, and the greater part of the Spanish-American Republics on the other, because as a general rule here the duties are collected according to the invoice value, which system is considered more equitable and would certainly be so if there were not great abuses in the valuation of merchandise; while as a general rule in the Spanish-American Republics the duties are collected according to a fixed rate on the quality, weight or measure, and only in cases of an absolute difficulty in establishing a fixed rate, the rate is collected ad valorem.

It does not appear to me easy for the United States to depart from its system of collecting duties on importations, adopting the specific duties which are prevalent in the Spanish-American countries, nor that these on their side. should depart from the system which they follow at present, in order to adopt in all cases the invoiced value. But without any of them being obliged to make this change, if not radical, at least of transcendental importance in their respective legislations, I think that it would be possible to arrive at a unification of the tariff. The different systems of weights and measures, which are used in this Republic and the other Republics of America, constitute another difficulty in this case.

This unification would not restrict, of course, in any sense the right of each State to modify its duties on importations whenever it might deem it necessary, either on merchandise comprised in the tariff or on other new articles, and in case that an agreemert on this subject was reached it would be necessary to agree from time to time, that is, say, every two or more years, that the tariff should be revised in order that the modifications or additions which had been made to the former edition should be included.

In order that this subject may be studied by the respective committees I offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the proper committee of this Conference. be requested to examine and report upon the convenience and practicability of adopting a common schedule of for

eign goods to be used by the several nations represented in this Conference, for the purpose of collecting import duties, making invoices, bills of lading, etc., each country having the exclusive right to fix the amount of duties to be levied on each article, but the schedule of the articles to be common to all.

WASHINGTON, January 2, 1890.

M. ROMERO.

Mr. ROMERO. I ask that the resolution go over until the next session.

The PRESIDENT. At the suggestion of the delegate from Mexico, the resolution will go over until the next meeting.

SESSION OF FEBRUARY 19, 1890.

FIRST REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS REG

ULATIONS.

NOMENCLATURE.

MOTION.

Resolved, That the proper committee of this Conference be requested to examine and report as to the convenience and practicability of adopting a common schedule of foreign goods, to be used by the several nations represented in this Conference, for the purpose of collecting import duties, making invoices, bills of lading, etc., each country having the exclusive right to fix the amount of duties to be levied on each article, but the schedule of the articles to be common to all.

WASHINGTON, January 2, 1890.

M. ROMERO, Delegate from Mexico.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.

[As submitted to the Conference, February 10, 1890.]

The Committee on Customs Regulations has considered the resolution presented by Mr. Romero, Delegate from Mexico, with a view to the adoption by the nations represented at this Conference of a common nomenclature which shall designate in equivalent terms, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, the commodities on which import duties are levied, and also be used in shipping manifests, consular invoices, entries, clearances, and other customs documents, without restricting thereby the right of each nation to maintain the duties levied at present or to change them in any way which may be most convenient to their respective interests.

The committee favors this resolution in the belief that one of the objects for which this Conference has been convened is the assimilation of the customs laws and regulations of the American nations, in order that simplification may facilitate the mercantile operations between them and promote the development of their reciprocal trade. The committee will formulate the nomenclature contemplated in said resolution, if the occupations of the members. thereof allow it, and if they are able to obtain the necessary data and expert help therefor, and if unable to do this will report to the Conference the manner in which, in its opinion, this labor can best be performed.

This is not the only subject with which the committee has had to deal. The committee is carefully considering all the other important and complex matters which the Conference has intrusted to it, and as soon as its labors are finished it will submit them to the enlightened decision of the Conference.

While such results will be presented later, the committee now submits to the Conference the following resolution:

Resolved, That the International American Conference recommends to the Governments represented therein the adoption of a common