The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1875-12-24

utGBT or ASYLUM ASSERTED ny THE AMER
loan MINISTER THE ACT UPHELD by
THE STATE DErAnTMENT-AN AM1oABLE
SETTLEMENT MADE.
WASHINGTON, Dec. ~. Interesting in
formation regarding tho circumstances
under which Minister Bassett gave pro-
lection to Unytian refugees Is given in
correspondence just published by the
State Department. The manner in
which the refugees sought, last May,
the fright Of asylum" Is thus described
by Minister Bassott:
about . o'clock Monday morning n
knock came to my bedroom door, and
| / heard unknown voices outside. On
| opening the door three men rushed past
| mo, all covered with traces of expos
| IRE and fatigue. asked who they were
and what they wanted. A broad shout
dered mulatto, with handsome face,
IN which were pictured courage and
generosity, said, / am Boisrond Canal.
| These two young men are my relatives
world are you doing here ut this time Of
night?' We have been ruthlessly,
without shadow Of law. attacked by q
whole army said he, drawing up to full
hight his manly form. Five of us,
continued he, held them at hay for
thirty-six hours, drove them back, cvad-
ed them. and fought our way here, in
tending to keep on to town. Two of our
number fell in our contests. We are not
In arms against the Government. we
are not enemies Of society. We are
fleeing for our lives before merciless
pursuors, acting outside OF the law. We
/ a. a..
told them l did not see how could pro-
tcct them but, to be frank. I could not
turn them out when / knew that within
two minutes, If / should do SO, and
close my door behind them, they would
be slaughtered without Judgment or
mercy. II may be that the instinct for
| humanity got the better of me. The
men before me were not my personal
friends. They had never visited my
house before. nor / theirs. had no
merely personal interest in them. But
1 have faithfully described the manner
in which they came upon my hands.
When dizzy dawned / give them u room,
charged them to remain perfectly quiet,
and went off TO the city thinking 10 be
able during the day to sense out The sit
uation In their regard. | had scarcely
arrived there when u dispatch came TO
mo from the Minister, stating that the
Government had knowledge that Ger
tain rebels had taken refuge i'm the
house occupied by you fme) in the coun-
try" and th,lt Ii desired to know the
names of these persons.
The Haytian Government were great
| ~ annoyed ut Minister Bassett protect
ing the refugees, and showed their hos
tility ~ ,ycxatious manner, This
brought on them last August the fol
4 lntpitttr .rntnifttr from Mr. (tnI,pf. N IL
Acting Secretary Of State, which he at
dressed to Mr.. Preston, the Haytian
Minister Mt Washington
You are aware that Mr.. Bassctt. the
Minister resident Of the United States
at POrt-au-Prince, has thought proper
to receive into his official residence Ger.
tain political refugees. This act on his
part has not been approved by this DE.
partment, as II Is not sanctioned by pub
lie law, though il Is in conformity with
presidents IN that quarter. The fact
however, that Mr.. Bassett should have
thought proper to take the responsible
ity Of harboring the persons referred to
contrary 10 the wishes not only of bis
own government, but to those also o
That 10 which he is accredited, Is moi
conceived to forfeit his right, not onl,
10 protection from violence. but also e.
u continuance of those observnnccs
which arc due to the diplomatic repre-
sentative Of u friendly nation. ! regre
to state, however, that, according t.
Mr.. Bassetts reports to this Depart
ment, those observations have, In no
spcct to him and to his legation, beef
signally disregarded. He states tina
his abode Is encompassed by an arinet
force, and that during tho night, ospe
cially, persons in his neighborhoot
keep shouting, apparently on purpose
to u degree which makes II impossible
for him or his family to obtain nccess,l
nv rest. It cannot be believed that tlcs,
annoyanccs are instigatcd by the Hay
tan Government, and perhaps If ma,
not be aware that they are practiced
However this may be, it is expected tina
they will at once be discontinued. L
this expectation should be disappoint
ed, il will be regarded as an unfriendly
proceeding on the part OF the HaytiaI
Government Indeed. the demonstra
lions adverted to, and all the circum
stances, make 1t advisable, in the opin
ion of the President, that United
States man-of-war should visit Port-a,l
Prince. The Secretary OF the Navy viii
consequently be requested to order one
thither.
Much writing followed, until finally
the State Department informed the
Haytian Government that Minister Bas
sett would be authorized to surrender
the refugees provided they were allow
ed to leave the country safely. This Of
fer was accepted, and a formal agree
ment was signed by Mr. Fish and Mr.