The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-04-24
ITALY ANSWERED.
eecresary Blaine's Reply to Ita1y's Demand
The Government Not Committed to Pay
Indemnity Until the Violation of the
Treaty Is Proven.

WASHINGTON, April 1o.-Following In
the reply of Secretary Blaine to the
Italian government:
Tho Marquis Imp periali, Charge d. 'Affaires etc q
DEPARTMENT OF STATE Washington. ID. O.,
l April n-Sr: 1 have the honor To ackuowl-
edge the receipt of your note dated Thurs
day, April 2, 1891. Itcontains a second tele-
| gram from the Marquis Rudini, a part of
| which here quote: "The government OF
| the king Of Italy has asked nothing beyond
the prompt institution OF judicial proceed
| tDgS through the regular channels. 1t would
| have been absurd to claim the punishment
70 the guilty parties without the warrant of
| a regular Judgment. The Italian government
| now repeats the same demand. Not until
| the federal government shall have explicitly
declared that the aforesaid proceedings shall
be promptly begun can the diplomatic Incl
dent be considered as closed"
This government certainly had no desire
whatever to change the meaning of the Mar
Quis RudnPs telegram of March "A. Il was
delivered at the state department. by Baron
! Fava in person, written In his own hand and
| expressed in the English language. The fol-
lowing is the full text of the telegram:
Italian Minister, Washington:
ROME. March a. lS9l.-Our requests to the
federal government are very SIMPLE. Soue
Italian subjects acquitted by the American
| magistrates have been murdered In prison
while under the immediate protection of the
authorities. Our right, therefore, to demand
ana OOtdtH HNe DuNfSnHleHt OF tHe 0uTOeTcT8 ANA
an Indemnity for the rictiBas is unquesfionable.
| wish to add that the public opinion in Italy
! is Justly impatient, and IL concrete provis.
| ions were not at once taken should find
myself in the painful necessity of show .ng
openly our dissatisfaction by recalling the
| minister of his majesty from a country whore
he is unable to obtain justice. RUDISL
| The words underscored are precisely those
| which quoted in my former note and am
! directed by the pres dent to express the sat-
/ n nnv INIT W aru
material qualification of the demand made
| by the Marquis Rudini on behalf o. the Ital-
| ian government.
| You quote in your note another part of the
Marquis dl Rudinis telegram of April in
| these words: Meanwhile his majesty's gov
ernment takes note of the declaration where
| by the federal government recognizes that
| an indemnity is due to the families of the
| victims in virtue of the treaty in force be-
| tween the two countries" II the Marquis
| Rudin will carefully examine my note of
| April he will discover that did not "rec-
ognze that an indemnity is due TO the fani-
| lies of the victims in virtue of the treaty in
| in force between the two countries" What
I did was IN answer to Baron Favas asser-
| tion that tho United States government re-
| fused to take tn s demand for indemnity into
| consideration. 1 quote my reply; "The
| United States so far from refusing has dis.
| tinctly recognized the principle of indemnity
to those Italian subjects scho may haze been
4
them under the treaty NTH the United States
| concluded February 20, 1871"
| The Marquis Rudini may be assured that
| the United States would recompense every
| Italian subject who might be wronged by a
violation of a treaty to which the faith ofthe
/ United States is pledged. But this assurance
| leaves unsettled the important question
| whether the treaty has been violated
Mr.. Blaine then refers to the Spanish
riot case under President Fillmore,
which was handled by Mr. Webster, as
secretary of state, and concludes:
AS soon as poss be after the lamentable
| occurrence at New Orleans the president di-
| rected the attorney general to cause through
his department full inquiry to lie made in
| to all the facts connected Herewith, and
| solicited his opinion whether any criminal
| proceedings would lie under the federal laws
| in the federal courts against persons charged
/ with the killing of Italian subjects. Ho has
| not yet received the official report. II 1t be
| found that prosecution can be maintained
| under tho statutes of the United States
| the will be presented to the next
| grand jury. according to the usual methods
| of criminal administration. But il IL should
| be found, as seems probable, that criminal
proceedings can on Y be taken in the courts
| of Louisiana, the president can in this direc-
| tion do no more than to urge upon the state
| officers the duty of pro nptly bringing the
| offenders to trial. This was done in his tele
gram to the governor of Louisiana as early
| a March Is. If it shall result that the
can be prosecuted only I'm tho state courts Of
Louisiana, and the usual judicial investiga
| tion and procedure under tho criminal law
| is not resortcd 10, it will tn n be tho duty of
| the United Statos to consi1er whether some
| other form of redress may be asked IL Is
| understood that the state grand jury is now
| investigating the aft Iir and, while it is pos
sibe that the jury may fail to present in
dictments. the United States cannot assume
| that such will be the case
The United States did not by the treaty
| with Italy become the insurer of the lives or
| property of Italian subjects resident within
our territory. No government is able. how
ever high its civilization, however vigilant
its police supervision, however severe its
criminal code and however prompt and in
inflexibIe its criminal administration, to Sc
cure its own citizens against violence pro-
motcd by individual malice or by sudden
popular tumult The foreign resident must
be content in such case to share the same
redress that is offered by the law to the citf-
zen, and has no just cause of complaint or
right to ask the interposition of his country
| il the courts equally open to him for the
redress of his injuries.
The treaty in the first second, third and
notably in the twenty third articles clearly
limits the rights guaranteed to the citizens
of the contracting powers in the territory of
each to equal treatment and to free access TO
the courts of justice. Foreign residents are
not a favored class. 1t is not believed that
italy WOulu ueSlre a moro gent
ton of her duty under the treaty. Where
the injury inflicted upon foreign resident
is not the act of the government or of its
officers, but of an Individual or of mob, 1t is
not believed that claim for indemnity can
Justly be made unless it shall be made to ap-
pear that the public authorities charged with
the peace of the community have connived
at the unlawful act, or having timely notice
of the threatened danger have been guiltyfof
such gross negligence in the taking OF the
necessary precautions as to amount TO con-
nivance. If, therefore, It should appear that
among those killed by the mob at New Or
were resident or domiciled in that city,
agreeably to our treaty with Italy and not In
violation of our immigration laws. and who
were abiding in the peace of the United
States and obeying the laws thereof and OF
the state of Louisiana, and that the pub
lie officers charged with the duty OF pro-
tecting life and property in that city con-
nived at the work of the mob, or upon proper
notice or information of the threatened dan
ger, failed to take any steps for the prcser-
vation of the public peace and atterward to
bring the guilty to TT al the president would,
under such circumstances, feel that CASE
was stablished that should be submitted to
the conside ration of congress with a view to
the relief of the families OF the italian subjects
who had lost their lives by lawless violence
high consideration. JAMES q. BLAINE
Len Il. Smith Dead.
LEAvENwoRTH, Kan, April 16.-Hon.
Leonard I. Smith, of this city, died in