The herald., 1896-02-12
France Makes an Offer Which
Is Accepted
WALLER WILL BE RELEASED
On Condition That Claims for Damage!
Are Waived
The President in a Hessage Sets Forth the
Facts, Which Leave no Other
Course Open
Associated Press special Wire.

Associated Press special Wire.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1l.-Ambassador
Eustis has been instructed to accept the
offer of the French government to release
ex-United States Cousul Waller from
further imprisonment and pardon his Of
fense on condition the affair be thereby
terminated as between France and the
United States and the latter make no claim
in behalf of the latter based upon his ar
rest, conviction or Imprisonment.
Waller may sue in the French courts for
damages for i'll treatment.
In his message transmitting the Waller
correspondence President Cleveland says:
SIT will be seen on examination. as
would, of course, be expected, that there is
slight conflict of evidence upon some of
the features of Mr. Waller's case. Never
theless, upon fair and just consideration
of all the facts AMI circumstances as pre-
sented, especially in view of Mr.. Waller
| own letter. the conclusions set forth in the
! report OF the secretary of state do not ap-
pear to admit of any reasonable doubt,
nor to leave open to the executive any
other course of action than that adopted
and acted upon as therein stated. 1t is
expected that Mr.. Walier's release from
Imprisonment will be Immediately forth
coming"
which is voumnous, is a report by Secre-
tary Olney summarizing it's features and
explaining the reasons which animated the
executive in terminating the incident as
above described. In the begi ming the
secretary gives the history of the Crockett
case, showing that Waller, when United
States consul at Tamatave, acting as ad-
ministrator of the estate of Crockett, a
deceased United States citizen, was guilty
of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.; that when MIR.
Wetter took charge of the consulate in
January, 1924, Waller had dsappeare ed
and the consular records were in great
confusion.
Wetter caused a civil suit to be brought
against Waller on account of the Crockett
estate, and before court composed of
Consul Wetter, Mr.. Geldarcht (Waller's
intimate friend) and Messrs. Rider and
Howe, Waller was convicted of gross mis-
management of the estate, of abuse and
neglect of trust, and removed from the
position of administrators, being ordered
to make good the sum of $196l and inter-
est 10 the Crockett heirs. Wetter asked
leave of the state department to prosecute
Waller criminally, and the department re-
piled that it could give no specific instruc-
lions. Touching the Waller concession,
the secretary says, referring to the letter
from Wetter, dated April last:
This same letter contains an allusion
to the Waller rubber concession land grant
near Fort Dauphin, after indicating varl-
GUS ways In which the Crockett money
may have been spent in bribes to secure
the concession, but no evidence Is pro-
cured, nor is there any proof OF the nature,
extent, validity or value of the concession.
The value may have been supposed to
be dependent upon the issue OF the contest
then going on between the French and the
natives, while it ia certain that the French
authorities have always held the conces-
sion n he without uuN VALIDITY"
Secretary Olney next tells how Waller,
returning to TamatGve in 1894, on his way
to America, was prevented from proceed
ing by the insistence of Consul Wetter up
on his paying the Crockett judgment, which
he was unable 10 do, and how, after the
capture of Tama'a ave by the French, in
December, 1894, Waller was arrested by
them and tried by court known as ina
rine first permanent council OF war;
The charges were dspatching letter to
his wife from Tamatave without the same
having been seen by the French authori-
ties: second, corresponding with the enc
mics of France and furnishing them infor-
nation prejudicial to the military and
political situation in France. The trial
took place in open court, and Waller was
sentenced to twenty months imprisonment,
an appeal being refused.
Secretary Gresham in 1895 called upon
the French government for the record and
evidence. and these we're furnished.
AS to the evidence Secretary Olney says: !:
"Without any admission of the duty of
the French government to permit an in
spection of the evidence-a duty which that
government claimed from the outset did
not exist-the evidence was submitted to
Mr. Eustis for such examination as he chose
to make. Walters guilt upon the first
charge, of sending letter from Tamatave
without permit from the French authorities
to inspect it-an offense said TO be punish
able by q nominal tine-stands confessed.
AS respects the second charge, charge.
of course of much greater gravity, Mr..
Eustis reports as follows: In order
TO understand the significance of
the evidence communicated (by Waller) it
must must be borne in mind that the
French had garrison at Tamatave and
the Hovas had one at Faratafe. These
two points were distant from each other
few miles. III a letter TO Iessier he de-
scribes the condition at Tamatave, that
smallpox is raging; that many are dying;
that there are more than 100 French
soldiers in the hospitals; that they have
dysentery and fever and unless there
should be change in the order very soon
the fatality of both soldiers and citizens