The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-10
Spanish Government Notified of Min
lister De Lome's A6rOnt.


lister. to his friend Canalejas, criticizng
the President with the utmost freedom,
caused a sensation in official Washington.
and soon will be followed by Minister De
Lome's departure from the United States.
At the outset there was a disposition TO
c.destion the authenticity of the letter but
when the circumstantial evidence accumu-
lated and it was finally announced officially
that the minister declined TO deny the
authorship of the letter, all doubt was dis
sipated and the only question that remained
was as to the line or action to be pursued
by our government toward the offending
minister. The writing of this letter is un-
qaestionably an offense against the ameni-
! ties of diplomatic relations and such Of
fenses almost invariably have been regard
ed in the United States as in other capitals,
as sufficient ground for the termination of
the official status Of the letter writer
AS soon as the letter appeared in the
press the State Department officials began
effort to settle its authenticity and when
it had learned all that could be developed
this point and had been told that the
minister himself refused to deny writing it,
the consideration Of the next step began
Assistant Secretary Day was in consulta-
ZION with the President on the subject at
least four times during the official day, and
then spent much time in framing his mes
sage to Minister Woodford at Madrid. The
official statement of the sending of this
message was accompanied by a declination
to indicate its contents at this time, the
department merely giving to the press the
following statement: Minister De LONE
does not deny writing the letter. This de-
partment has communicated with General
| Woodford on the subject Until that COM
munication reaches the Spanish govern
ment it would be improper to in any man.
ner state the contents of the message to
General Woodford"
While the department refused to add any
| thing to this meager announcement, it can
/ be stated withouc question that Mr.. Wood
ford was directed to lay the facts developed
before the Spanish government, together
with the statement that in view of the min
ister's refusal to deny the authorship of the
letter the Spanish government is looked to
with confidence to deal with the case prop
| erly This amounts to an invitation to re-
call the minister, presuming that he him.
self has not already taken steps to vacate
! his position. No doubt is entertained of
compliance with the implied suggestion,
| but in case there should be undue delay
in acting the State Department would feel
called upon to move directly in the matter
and give the minister his passports, as was
| done when Sir Julian Pauncefote's prede-
| cessor, Lord sSackville, wrote the celebrated
Murchison letter.
| THE SACKVILLE CASE.
Inasmuch as the line of action in the
SackTille case may form the basis for action
i'm this, always presuming that the Spanish
minister does not himself cut the knot and
relieve the government from performing a
disagreeable duty, it may be stated that
with Lord Sackville the Department of
| State itself initiated the action. Lord Sack
Vile had wrttel il letter to one Murchson
| in Pomona, Cal, in September 1883, in reply
! to his request for guidance, as a naturalized
| American of British birth, in casting his
| vote for the President. The reply was sent
| from Beverley, Mass, where the minister
was stopping, and would not now nor prob
! ably at any time, except in the heat of one
| of the great four-yearly elections, be re-
garded as particularly offensive His lord
ship simply said that any political party
openly favoring the mother country at that
time would lose popularity and. the party
then in power was well aware of this fact
| He believed, however, that President Cleve-
| land would manifest spirit of conciliation
in dealing with the questions involved in
| his message. Upon seeing this letter
| printed Secretary Bayard sent for Saclvile
| and the latter frankly confessed the author
ship. Thereupon Mr.. Bayard cabled to Mr.
! Phelps, our minister at London. under date
of Oct. 25 that Lord Sackvlle had declared
that his reply to Murchison had been strict
| ly private and not intended for publication.
| Mr.. Bayard thereupon expressed his sur
prise and amazement and condemnation of
the minister's act The government of the
United States, he said, could not be in
| different to any interference in the domestic
| issues by foreign representatives and Mr.
| Phelps was directed ito invite Lord Sails
| bury's attention to the occurrence and ex-
press the confident reliance of this govern
ment on the action of her Majesty's gov
ernment in the premises
But Lord Salisbury did rot take kindly to
the suggestion. He replied that he could
not act until he had received the minister's
explanation. He did not regard the letter
alone as sufficient to warrant the minister's S
recall, thus ending his diplomatic career,
which would not necessarily be the case if
he were dismissed by the government of the
United States when. of course, there are
precedents." Mr.. Phelps having advised
that the intimation of Lord Salisbury be
acted on, inasmueh as there was no prob
| ability of his recalling the minister imme-
| diately, Mr.. Bayard proceeded to dismiss
| Lord Sackville in the following terms: "The
| President of the United States has in
| structed me to inform you that for good
and sufficient causes which are known to
yourself and have been duly brought to the
! knowledge of your government he has, with
! great regret, become convinced that it
would be incompatible with the best inter-
ests and detrimental to the good relations
of both governments that you should any
| longer hold your present official position in
! the United States, and that, accordingly, the
| government of her British Majesty will
without delay be informed of this determi-
nation in order that another channel may
| be found for the transmission of such COM
munications as may be found desirable be-
! tween the two governments in the transac-
| ton of their business. Whenever it is your
| pleasure to depart from the United States
l am instructed to furnish you with the
usual facilities. and with that view 1 now
! beg to inclose q passport in the customary
/ form" Lord Sackville left Immediately
! and from oct 30, 1888. until late in the
| spring of 1889 the British government was
represented here only by charge, a sign
of the dispIeasure with which it viewed the
treatment of It's minister.
THE LETTER STOLEN
! The circumstances under which a letter
. a1Ino t,.l l,