To James Madison from George W. Erving, 2 September 1806
From George W. Erving
St. Ildefonso September 2nd. 1806.
Sir,
As I have been continually receiving from all the ports of Spain urgent representations respecting the extreme & indiscriminate rigor with which the Quarantine regulations are applied to all vessels of the United States, & statements of various abuses & irregularities on the part of the Officers exercising them; & having in several special cases applied for redress without effect; It seemed to have become necessary that the whole subject should be laid before this Government in such a way, as that the full extent of the evils complain’d of in its several ramifications should press upon their consideration at once, & that they might be thus brought to a sense of the expediency of making suitable modifications of their system.
With this view I addressed to Mr. Cevallos the note of July 8th. of which I have the honor herewith to transmit a copy:1 In several conferences which I have had with him since that time, he has given me the most express assurances that he felt the importance of the subject & the necessity of placing it upon a footing which should be more convenient for the American Commerce; that he was convinced of the reasonableness of a great part of what I had urged, much satisfied with the manner in which I had treated the matter, &ca.; and finally that he had determined after taking the necessary information as well in respect to the nature of the yellow fever from medical men, as with respect to the actual regulations & the mode of executing them from the Officers in the Ports, to do every thing possible so that such precautions as it might be found necessary to continue should operate upon our trade with as little hardship as possible. And when from time to time I pressed him for an answer, he assured me that he only delayed it ’till he had obtained the most complete information, so that the alterations which his Majesty should be pleased to direct in the Quarantine regulations, should not only be the most satisfactory possible, but that the permanency of them might be depended on. After these fair promises I was surprised to receive his note of 22nd. ulto., (a copy of which is enclosed)2 by which it appears that they are not to be realised in any particular, for the professed intention of sending to the Spanish Consuls in America for information as to the actual state of the health in our ports, can be only considered as a decent pretext for getting rid of the whole subject; as such information can produce only a temporary favorable effect, if any; it cannot be presumed that it would produce any, since there have been many instances where our bills of health, certified by those very Consuls, have been totally disregarded.
I waited upon Mr. Cevallos immediately after receiving his note, hoping that he might still be induced to alter his determination by an apprehension that it would tend to annihilate the remains of our Commerce with this Country. He did not seem insensible on this point, but finally informed me that the business not being properly within his department, but in that of the Minister of War, & considering the delicate nature of the subject on account of what Spain had lately suffered from the ravages of the fever & the consequent great apprehensions of his Majesty; he had for these reasons concluded not to take upon himself the responsibility of making any alterations in the actual system; & that he found the Minister of War equally disinclined to touch it, and for the same reasons. I then urged the propriety of remedying the abuses complained of, which they might do consistent with these apprehensions; & particularly insisted on the absurdity of allowing their Officers to put in quarantine American Vessels coming from other ports of Europe, but was surprised to learn that this was part of the original system, & tho’ he confessed its inutility, yet he said that it must remain with every thing else for the present in the same state, for the reasons beforementioned.
Thus it appears that all further representation upon the subject will be useless, & that it is only by the great inconveniences which they will necessarily experience in the total loss of our Commerce if the war continues, that they can be brought to a due consideration of it. I have the honor to be, Sir, With perfect respect & Consideration, Your very obt. Servant.
George W Erving
September 12th—Before an opportunity has presented of transmitting this, I have received a farther note from Mr. Cevallos (dated 5th. Inst.) respecting the Quarantine, in reply to my answer of 29th. of August to his note of the 22nd. of the same, abovemention’d. Copies of these are herewith also inclosed.3
GWE
RC and enclosures (DNA: RG 59, DD, Spain, vol. 10). RC in a clerk’s hand, signed by Erving. For enclosures, see nn.
1. The enclosure (8 pp.) listed instances of problems encountered by U.S. merchant ships at Spanish ports owing to quarantine enforcement, including cargo spoilage and price fluctuation, the latter of which forced American ships to seek markets elsewhere. Observing that both of these outcomes deprived Spain of badly needed commodities, Erving suggested giving local port officials the discretion to adapt their quarantine policies to accurate estimations of the danger of infection according to the particular circumstances of each ship, and noted that such information could be obtained from U.S. consuls in Spanish ports. Based on a message from Thomas Jefferson discussing the characteristics of yellow fever, which Erving had previously sent to Cevallos, Erving concluded that the disease was not communicable by individuals; he also asserted that health regulations in U.S. ports were effective and well-enforced, and that health certificates from them could be relied upon. Finally, Erving requested that Cevallos inform him of his decision on the matter as soon as possible.
2. Cevallos’s reply (1 p.; in Spanish) observed that summer was not a good time to reduce quarantine requirements. He declared that the subject would not be taken into consideration until confirmation was received from Spanish consuls in U.S. ports that no communicable diseases had been observed there during the summer, and that good health in general prevailed.
3. Erving’s 29 Aug. 1806 reply (3 pp.; marked “Duplicate”) commented that Cevallos’s refusal to reform quarantine regulations was at variance with his previous professions on the subject; stated that Erving would submit the correspondence to the U.S. government; and repeated his opinion “that a continuation of the present system of Quarantine will go near to annihilate the Commercial intercourse of the United states with this Country.” Cevallos rejoined on 5 Sept. (2 pp.; in Spanish; marked “Duplicata”) that he could add nothing to what he had said in his letter of 22 Aug. He nevertheless asserted that Americans had not experienced and did not understand the extent of the devastation caused by yellow fever in Spain, and that for this reason health regulations were enforced more strictly there than in the United States. Without fail, he wrote, he would address the matter after receiving the required verifications of good health in U.S. port cities.