Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-29
MIR. BAYARD WILL NOT RETIRE.
No Idea of Leaving the Cabinet-More
About the Samoan Question.

Wash. Cor. Baltimore Sun.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.-Secretary Bayard ha
no intention Of retiring from the cabinet a
present. and no attention is paid to the state
ment to that effect, which has made it's appear
| ance periodically since the advent of the pres
emit administration. When representative o.
the Sun called at the State department thi
morning Secretary Bayard was engaged in con
sidering several packages of documents. Speak
ing Of the Samoan question he said: "The pro.
tocol or minutes of the conference which tool
place during the summer of 1887 were con
sidered as confidential at the request of the
British representative, Lord Sackville. In
reply to a suggestion from Mr.. Bayard that the
protocols be made public, Lord Sackville said
her majesty's government are of the opinion
that, pending the reassembling of the confer
ence. its proceedings should be considered con.
The German representative, when asked the
same question, said: "Those protocols, in view
OF the interruption and heretofore fruitless
course OF the conferences, which have yielded
no definite result, are not suited for publca-
ton" The protocol will show that the first
conference was held on the 25th of June, 1887,
at the State department. and that six or seven
subsequent conferences were held
Mr.. Bayard, on behalf of the United States
government, proposed that the administration
OF the laws in Samoa be committed to an ex-
ecutive council, to be composed of the Samoan
king and vice king and three foreigners, OF
whom one was to be designated by each of the
treaty powers, but who were to hold commits
sions and receive their compensation from the
native government. so as to be Independent OF
the control and influence Of the powers desig-
mating them.
The German minister opposed this PROPOSE
ton and submitted a counter-proposition Ito
commit the actual control of the islands to a
person to be appointed for term of five years
by the power having the preponderating COM
merclal interests there" the appointment to be
renewed on the same terms, and the other
powers merely to have the concurrent privilege
OF approving or refusing to approve the
nominee.
Mr. Bayard, Of course, was unable to concur
In the German proposition, while the British
minister voted steadily with his German col
league. Naturally a deadlock ensued, and
while some points of agreement were reached
the conference adjourned on the 26th of July
following by unanimous consent until the
autumn, in order that the members might con-
suit their respective governments with view
to an agreement on some other scheme of CO.
operative action. No intimation was given that
the status quo would be changed, or that any
acts of hostility against the Samoan govern
ment or King Malietoa personally were in con-
temptation. Therefore Mr.. Bayard was taken
wholly by surprise when the German minister
Cdueu dt tHe Otdte department. one morn
ing IN August and left memorandum
stating that his government proposed to in
dependently protect its own interests and
rights in Samoa and obtain the satisfaction
and reparation deemed to be due to its national
honor; and in case Malietoa was either not
willing or not powerful enough to give the
necessary satisfaction for the past and sufficient
guarantees for the future, to declare war
against him and refuse to recognize his gov
eminent Coupled with this declaration was
an assurance that the German government was
far from intending to bring about any change
in the political relations which the three pow
ers represented there entertained to Samoa;
that, on the contrary, it maintained unaltered
the existing treaties and stipulations between
Germany, Great Britain and the United States
with regard to Samoa, as well as the equality
OF the three treaty powers, and proposed to
continue its endeavors to arrive at an under
standing as to the reforms necessary to estab-
lish lasting peace in these islands.