RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO PORT DUES AS ADOPTED BY THE

CONFERENCE.

The International American Conference hereby resolve to recommend to the Governments therein representedFirst. That all port dues be merged in a single one, to be known as tonnage dues.

Second. That this one charge shall be assessed upon the gross tonnage, or, in other words, upon the total carrying capacity of the vessel.

Third. That each Government fix for itself the amount to be charged as tonnage dues, but with due regard to the general policy of the Conference upon the subject, which is to facilitate and favor navigation.

Fourth. That there be excepted from the provisions of article 1 the dues charged or to be charged under unexpired contracts with private companies.

Fifth. That the following shall be exempt from tonnage dues :

1. Transports and vessels of war.

2. Vessels of less than twenty-five tons.

3. Vessels which from any unforeseen and irresistible cause shall be compelled to put into port, deviating from their course.

4. Yachts and other pleasure boats.

CONSULAR FEES.

SESSION OF MARCH 25, 1890.

The PRESIDENT. The order of the day is the report of the Committee on Port Dues, on Consular Fees. The Secretary will read the conclusions.

The Secretaries read the conclusions of the following report:

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PORT DUES CONCERNING CONSULAR FEES.

[As submitted to the Conference March 20, 1890, and adopted March 25, 1890.]

The honorable Conference has instructed this committee to consider and propose the most practicable method of establishing a uniform system of consular fees.

The study of the various regulations which the committee has been able to examine, has led it to the conclusion that within the limits assigned to it, the desired result could only be secured in a partial and incomplete manner.

Inasmuch as the fees or compensation allowed to consuls depend upon the nature of the services they render, it is necessary that the acts of the consular agents of the different nations represented in the Conference be of the same nature, in order that the fees charged by them may be equal and uniform.

It is this prerequisite which is lacking in the present consular regulations.

With the exception of acts specially referring to navigation and commerce, respecting which it would be very easy to establish a uniformity of fees, there are many acts which either only exist in the rules of one of the nations.

here represented, or else differ in detail or manner of classification so as to prevent the fixing of the amount of the fee.

Your committee does not consider it impossible to establish identical regulations for the consular agents of American nations; but since on the one hand we have not believed ourselves authorized to undertake it, in view of the scope of our instructions, and on the other, it is probable that the time remaining which the honorable Delegates can devote to the various subjects submitted to their consideration would not suffice for the careful study required by a matter of that nature, we have thought it preferable, with a view to obtaining a precise result, to offer the following resolution:

RECOMMENDATION AS ADOPTED.

Resolved. That the Governments represented in the Conference be recommended to prepare a uniform classification of the acts requiring the intervention of consular agents, fixing the maximum fees which should properly attach to each one of such acts, especially those relating to commerce and navigation.

NICANOR BOLET PERAZA.
EMILIO C. VARAS.
CLEMENT STUDEBAKER.

The PRESIDENT. Is the Conference ready for the question on this resolution? Is there objection to its adoption? The Chair hears none. It is agreed to.

SANITARY REGULATIONS.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON SANITARY REGULATIONS.

[As submitted to the Conference February 28, 1890.] To the honorable the International American Conference: The committee appointed to "consider and report upon the best methods of establishing and maintaining sanitary regulations in commerce between the several countries represented in this Conference" has finished its task, and as the result thereof, has the honor to submit to your distinguished consideration a resolution for your adoption, to which is attached, as accompanying appendices, the fuli text of the proceedings of the International Sanitary Convention of Rio de Janeiro, of 1887, and the draft of convention agreed upon by the Sanitary Congress of Lima, of 1889.

One of the most important subjects submitted to the honorable International Conference is, without doubt, to decide upon methods tending to prevent the conflict which may arise at the time of epidemic invasions between the diverse sanitary regulations which the American nations have seen fit to adopt in order to shield themselves from such invasions.

If the regulations of sanitary police have in view the harmonizing of the exigencies of public health with the principle of free communication between countries, it is evident that international sanitary conventions are called to put that harmony into practice by means of uniform. and impartial regulations, which shall consult the general interests of the countries in their commercial relations.

The committee has carefully examined the work of special conferences and congresses which have met at different times in several parts of the world, and has reached the conclusion that it has duly discharged its duty by

making a selection from among those works which are the result of exhaustive studies made by men eminent in the science of medicine in Europe as well as in America.

Complete isolation, which theoretically appears to be the most effective prophylactic against the invasions of epidemic diseases, does not afford, in practice, satisfactory results as a sanitary measure, but tends, on the other hand, to notably injure the commercial interests of the countries. The distinguished Professor, Dr. Francisco Rosas, president of the Sanitary Congress of Lima, thus expresses himself on this point:

It is scientifically demonstrated by innumerable facts that the closing of ports and frontiers does not prevent the invasion of epidemics; that these enter and develop with greater violence in the countries which pretend to isolate themselves, because, under the mistaken belief that they are free of all danger, they disregard the proper means to restrain the development of the epidemic and, above all, to lessen its severity. But if absolute isolation as a prophylactic is nothing more than an illusion, the same may not be said of the sanitary means that modern science has placed within our reach for the disinfection of infected localities, as well as to prevent the introduction and development of contagion in those which have remained in a state of health.

The committee did not enter deeply into this branch of the subject, because the Rio de Janeiro Convention, as well as the draft of the Lima Congress, the adoption of which is recommended, start with the fundamental principle that the absolute closing of ports and frontiers should be renounced, for the reason that if this were put in practice international sanitary conventions would be unnecessary.

The Rio de Janeiro Convention and the draught of the Congress of Lima are works which have exhausted, so to speak, the subject which engages our attention, and because of the accuracy, clearness, and care with which they have. been edited, they may serve as a model, with respect to form and general idea, for sanitary conventions. Therefore, the committee thinks it should recommend them to the consideration of the honorable International American Conference.