The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-10-20
TIE EGIS AMI INTELLIGENCE
GIFTS TO UNCLE SAM.
A FEW "TRlFLES" WHICH THE SUI
TAN SENT IN 1899.

Dilemma. and Congress- Finally
Had to Take HSnd In the AnHit.
Some Handsome Presents.
On the seventh day OF the month of
Schawwal. in the year 1854 of the hegira
which is the Arabian way of writing
Dec. p, 1S39-the sultan of Oman,
whose name was Scyyid Saood, Bin Sui
Ian Bin Ahmed, addressed Il gracious let
ter to His ENccllency Martin Van Ru-
rem. President OF the United States of
North America" in which he informed
the president that he had sent him by the
royal ship Sultanee n few tribes as
token of friendship and good feeling.
These trifics consisted of two Arabian
horses and their groom, one bottle Of
altar of rose. two pieces Of gold, five
denijohns of roscwater. one Persian
carpet, one gold ornament with Il silk
tassel, four camel's hair shawls, one gold
mounted sword, two large pearls, one
string of $50 pearls. one gold plate. one
bottle of diamonds, one gold snuff box
studded with precious stones and one
box of mixed pearls and diamonds.
ne Win pitNiouo Nsti ~ 81
rived in New York ON the I'd of May.
and the president was at once notified.
Under the constitution the president has
not the right to accept q personal gift
from any foreign state or power, and
consequently Mr.. Van Buren, was il
dilemma. He referred the matter to the
secretary OF state. and the secretary of
state wrote to the agents of the vessel in
New York, and they, in turn, informed
the commander OF the ship that the pres-
dent was without authority to accept the
gifts. But the commander was not will
ing to carry the presents back to his
royal master. for the sultan had Il way of
cutting off the heads of his messengers
if they failed to deliver his presents. So
he politely but firmly insisted that they
should be accepted.
Fearing that this might give rise to I'M
pleasant complications, the president
finally decided to refer the question TO
congress as last resort. Accordingly, on
May 81 he addressed communication to
the senate setting forth the difficulty he
was in and asking that some action
might he taken. The matter was duly
considered by congress, and at the end OF
two months deliberation it passed reso-
luton authorizing the president to accept
the gifts in the name of the United
States government and to dispose OF
such as could not conveniently be stored
in the state department. After three
months of correspondence, red tape, d.
plolnacy and legislation the sultan's
Christmas presents were finally accepted,
and then the president was put to the
trouble of selling the horses, the shawls
and the rosewater. while Uncle Sam
was given the further trouble of finding
suitable place to store the remaining
gifts and was afterward put to great
expense in capturing tha thief who ear
ried of the entire collection in bag
and was only caught after a long chase.
This is not the only time that Uncle
Sam has got himself into trouble by his
popularity. For many years our consuls
and ministers in Asia and Africa had
hard time trying to convince emperors,
sultans and kings that it was against the
laws of our country for them to accept
the presents which these sovercigns in
sisted upon offering them TO show how
much they thought Of Uncle Sam. Many
of these offerings consisted of animals
horses, elephants. tigers and the like
and our representatives had no end Of
trouble in finding accommodations for
| such unwiellly and ferocious gifts, which
are Outlines forced upon them in spite of
their protests.
or course. Uncle Sam has received
many presents which he has been very
glad to accept as tokens of friendship
| and good will on TIE par: Of foreign gov
rrnments. These gifts embrace a wide
variety of objects, from plain whales
| tooth-prcscntcd by tire king Of the Fiji
Slands-to costly ornaments, handsome
| pieces of furniture and rare paintings.
| The first gift received by the American
government was two paintings. oil por-
| traits of Louis XVI and Marie An
| toincttr, presented Icy the king and queen
themselves soon after the close of our
Revolutionary war.
Uncle Sam has been particularly for
tunatr in the matter of vases. The
French governments regard for Uncle
sam is embodied in some beautiful
| Spvrcs vases of the highest artistic beau
ty and very valuable. Among the most
| noteworthy are the two French Limoges
vases in the National m;.se;;:a. They
are each over eight feet in height. one
decorated with cniblrEls of war and the
| other with symbols of peace. Their total
cash valuc-if we may be allowed to
place money valuation Oh Il gifts
$1I.500.
Another vase that should not be over
looked is the one awarded by the emper-
n Of Germany to this country rs first
prize at the Berlin Fishery exposition in
1850. 1t is made of silver, gold and
glass. studded with jewels and is Of ex-
Iuisitr design and workmanship.
1 On the outside of the National mi
scun,. as th;.Irh deserving. of no better
accommodation. is n huge stone Sar-
copaagus. nr coffin. which vas presented
by the admiring people Of Syria to Pres
idpnt jackson. old Hickory" did rot
appreciate the gift and swore that ne
| would not be- barred III it. It is. there
fore. not looked upon with much favor
| except by tourists. who have up to this
time Clipped off more than ten pounds of
il as mpmputoS.
Next to vases Uncle Fam is specially
rich in Sworls-S.ords OF all kinds, most
of them Handsome and costly-that have
been presented by various foreign gov
| rrnmrnts or their representatives. Med
nls. too. are a common form of gift. The
sultan OF Turkey showed his good will by
l sending us n medal in conlmpmoration of
the four hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of America. 1t is an exquisite
cameo in q case OF gold studded with
diamonds.
OF course every one is familiar with
the tive great statues presented by the
people Of France to the people of Amer
fca-the statue Of Liberty. which stands
at the entrance to the harbor of New
York, and the Lafayette statue, which
adorns the beautiful park in Washington
opposite the White House and has the
distinction of being the only official mon
ument to a foreigner in the national cap
ital.
Mention might be made of many other
gifts received by Uncle Sam from his
foreign brethren, but those already cited
will serve to show by their number and
by their variety how great and how
widespread is the esteem in which our
country 10 held.-Ladies' Home Journal.
The Mysteries of Spelling.