An Italian inscription on the reverse reads: Firmano por il Brig Nile, John Davidson, Mar Nero
The document is addressed to the Ottoman customs officers and harbour masters at Istanbul and Rumeli Kavagi. It records a request by the British ambassador, Long Strangford, that the captain of the brig, the Nile, John Davidson, carrying a cargo of barrels of French wine should be allowed to proceed from the Mediterranean to Istanbul and on to Russian waters with out having to unload his cargo for inspection. As long as it could be ascertained that the cargo was of foreign origin and that no Ottoman subjects were aboard the vessel when it left Ottoman waters, the request should be granted.