No. 5.
Viscount Lyons to the Earl of Rosebery.-(Received February 13.)
(No. 26. My Lord,
Commercial.)
Paris, February 11, 1886.
I HAVE the honour to inclose to your Lordship the account, given in an unofficial newspaper, of an interview which took place yesterday between a deputation of Protectionist Members of the Chamber of Deputies ("groupe industriel et commercial") and M. de Freycinet, President of the Council and Minister for Foreign Affairs
The subject in hand was the system of customs duties to be established in the French possessions in Indo-China.
The deputation appears to have insisted that French products should be admitted duty free, while the Customs Tariff of the mother country should be applied to all other products.
M. de Freycinet would seem to have answered that he saw no objection to this system in principle, and that the only difficulty he foresaw was of a purely financial character, the Customs' receipts being intended to lighten the expenses which would be entailed by the French Protectorates.
The deputation is stated to have urged that an equivalent might easily be obtained from internal taxes.
M. de Freycinet is reported to have promised to give the Resident-General instructions in conformity with the ideas thus exchanged between the deputation and himself.
I have, &c. (Signed) LYONS.
Inclosure in No. 5.
Extract from "Le Temps" of February 11, 1886.
CE matin, M. de Freycinet, Président du Conseil, a reçu une délégation du groupe industriel et commercial, composée de MM. Dautresme, Président; Méline, Mézières, Vice-Présidents; Prevet et Pernolet, Secrétaires; Félix Faure, Ricard, Siegfried, Duvivier, Dupouy, et Pesson.
Ces messieurs ont fait connaître à M. le Président du Conseil les vues du groupe sur le régime Douanier à établir dans nos possessions d'Indo-Chine.
Ils ont vivement insisté sur la nécessité d'accorder la franchise à l'importation des produits Français, en appliquant aux produits étrangers les Tarifs de la métropole.
M. le Président du Conseil a déclaré qu'en principe il ne faisait aucune objection à la proposition qui lui était faite; que son plus ferme désir était aussi de considérer nos Colonies comme prolongement du territoire Français; que la seule difficulté qu'il entrevoyait était d'ordre purement financier, les recettes de Douanes étant destinées à alléger les dépenses du Protectorat.
Á cette objection, les délégués ont répondu qu'en supposant que ce supplément de recettes fût nécessaire il leur paraissait facile de trouver des taxes intérieures suffisant pour le compenser.
M. le Président du Conseil a paru frappé de cette observation; il a promis de donner à notre Résident-Général des instructions "conformes aux idées qui venaient d'être échangées et de hâter la solution d'une question qui intéresse au plus haut degré le commerce et l'industrie de la France.
M. de Freycinet a même ajouté que dans sa pensée cette solution pourrait être obtenue d'ici au mois de Juin prochain.
No. 6.
Viscount Lyons to the Earl of Rosebery.--(Received February 13.)
(No. 30. Commercial.) My Lord,
Paris, February 12, 1886.
FROM the account which I had the honour to send to your Lordship with my commercial despatch of yesterday, of an interview between M. de Freycinet and a deputation of Protectionist Deputies, it appeared that the system of customs duties for Tonquin, Annam, and French possessions and Protectorates in the Far East which was regarded with favour, was one under which French products would be admitted altogether free of duty, while the Customs Tariff of the mother country would be applied to all other products.
I have herewith the honour to transmit to your Lordship a copy of a letter on the subject, which has been published in the newspapers by M. Félix Faure, who was one of the deputation and who was formerly Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Marine and Colonies.