§ MR. ANDERSONasked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, If it be the fact that Greytown was ceded to the Government of Nicaragua under the absolute condition that it should be a free port; if it be the fact that, under arbitration, the Emperor of Austria confirmed that as the meaning of the Treaty; if he is aware that the Government of Nicaragua have levied heavy import duties, and, even since the arbitration, continue to insist on doing so; and, if he will state what steps Her Majesty's Government propose to take to insure fulfilment of the Treaty in the future, and repayment of the duties illegally exacted in the past?
§ SIR CHARLES W. DILKEArticle VII. of the Treaty of Managua provided that Greytown should be a free port under the sovereign authority of the Republic of Nicaragua, and that no duties should be levied on ships and goods other than those specified in that Article. The award of the Emperor of Austria declared that under the Treaty import and export duties could not be levied except on goods conveyed from Greytown to the territory of the Republic, and vice versâ. The illegal levy of import and export duties was one of the complaints which led to the arbitration; and Her Majesty's Government have been informed that since the promulgation of the award import duties have been illegally levied. Representations on the subject have been made by Her Majesty's Minister in Guatemala to the Government of Nicaragua, who have been urged to send instructions at once to Greytown, directing the local authorities to discontinue the levy of these duties, and to refund the same. The question of the refunding of duties improperly levied before the date of the arbitration is engaging the attention of Her Majesty's Government.