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shipped from Vancouver by the steamers of Messrs Al-
fred Holt and Company, which firm maintain a line of
steamers from Vancouver to the East, calling at Hong
Kong, where the route intersects with another line of
steamers belonging to the same firm which maintains a
service from the East to Europe, calling at Havre as
the first European port. We arranged for our goods
to be transhipped at Hong Kong, the transhipment taking
place in the roadstead, and the certificate of the
Canadian origin of the goods being vised by the French
Consul at Hong Kong in the usual way.
Much to our surprise difficulties were thrown in
the way of admission of these goods into Havre at the
minimum rate of duty and, as you will perceive from
the enclosed copy of letter received from our agent at
Havre, the goods were passed at the low rate purely
as an exception and it has been stated that the full
duty will be applied on future arrivals.
We may point out that the Tehuantepec route to
which reference is made in our agents letter, is, in
our opinion, much less direct than the Hong Kong.
When shipped via Tehuantepec the goods are conveyed
thence
from Vancouver to Sulinas in a Canadian steamer,
across Mexico by rail to Puerto Mexico (Atlantic sea-
board) whence they are conveyed to Havre by the steam-
ers of the Hamburg-America Line that being the only
line in direct communication with Havre.
The only point to our mind is as to whether the
condition underlined in the last paragraph of our
agents letter namely that transhipment must take place
in a country to which the minimum tariff also applies,
is observed in the case of transhipment at Hong Kong.
We shall be obliged if you will inform us if that
colony is to be regarded as "a country to which the
minimun tariff with France applies."
There are about 5,000 cases of canned salmon now
afloat and on the way to Havre by the Hong Kong route.
2000 cases are expected to arrive about the 17th in-
stant. It is important therefore that we should have
the matter settled before that date.
We are making an application through our agent
in Paris to the Chief of the French Customs Administra-
tion
from