The evening times., 1900-03-27
ENGLAND MAKES AMENDS
Said TO Have Apologized for Open.
ing Macrum's Mail.
A Claim That Lord Pauncefote Ex-
Mr.. Hay-The Secretary OF state
Declines TO Make Any state
nient in Reference 10 the Report.

1
NEW YORK. March 27.-The Morning
Journal" under a Washington date line,
prints the following:
"Lord Salisbury has apologized to the
| United States for the opening by the Brit
| ish censor at Durham of mail addressed TO
former Consul. Charles f. Macrum, at Pre-
toria. The apology will be sent to the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs by
Secretary of State Hay.
Although Secretary Hay admits that he
| will be the judge of how much. if any, of
the apology will go to the committee there
| is no doubt that the committee will insist
on its presentation in full. now that 1t has
been declared by Secretary Hay that there
is such an apology. The committee will
| also insist on knowing whether Secretary
Hay was content with a verbal represen-
taticn from Lord Pauncefote. or whether
Mr. Hay made written demand and re-
ceiyed a written reply.
while the precise terms Of the apology
of Great Britain are not known, it is GER
tain that it expresses the regret of Great
Britain that Mr. Macrums mail was open
ed. Notwithstanding the alleged instruc-
! tions of Great Britain that such mail mat
\ ter should be considered inyiolate. InuS
has the State Department been forced to
! take official cogniZance of the irrefutabie
proof furnished by the statements made
| by Mr.. MacEum and Of the actual proof OF
| the violation of consular mail by the Brit-
ish censor at Durham 1t has been pre-
| dicted that the State Department would
| arm itself with a secret note from Great
Britain shifting the blame from that nation
| TO one Of its subordinates and asking the
! United States TO accept that explanation
as payment in full for the insult TO the
| United States Government.
The private negotiations between Secre-
tary Hay and Lord Salisbury in the Ma
cr,lm matter evidently were for the eX-
press purpose OF defeating the effort for a
full investigation Of the case by Congress
| 1t is the play of the State Department,
| now that It has been forced to the wall,
to make clean breast of the whole matter,
and to intimate to the Foreign Affairs
Committee that the apology OF Great Brit
ain should make the MacTum case closed
incident including the eNoneration or the
State Department. As the Foreign Al
fairs Committee has decided 10 have the
hearings in public. there will be an oppor-
tunitv of determining whether or not the
whether it bears the internal evidence OF
a preconcerted plan between the Admins
tratiou and the British Foreign Office.
The apology came from Lord Salisbury
and was presented 10 Secretary Hay by
Lord Pauncefote.
The obvious effect of the announcement
that an apology has been received viii be
to confirm all that Mr.. Macrum has said.
Il proves all OF the charges made and
! shows cOuclusively that MIR. Macrum was
fully justified in asking to come home with
what information he desired to give TO his
superiors instead of sending il through the
mails
The statement that England had apollo
gized was made by Secretary Hay TO Rep
resentative Berry, of Kentucky. one OF the
Democratic members of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee. Representative Berry
called al the State Department today to
talk over the charges made by Mr.. Macrum
: and it was during this Interview that
, Secretary Hay made the confession.
- saw Secretary Hay today said Rep
resentative Berry. in talking OF the pro-
: posed hearing. and he said that the whole
groundwork of Mr. Macrum's charges rest
: ed upon the fact that three letters had
: been opened by English officials in South
. Africa Secretary Hay said that England )
attention had been called to this violation
, of international law, and that Lord Sails
bury had made an investigation and theT
had sent an apology to this country. he
apology was delivered at the State Depart
. ment by Lord Pauncefote.'
"Mr. Macrum called upon Chairman Hit
and consulted with him as to when ht
would be ready to appear before the com
mittee. As a result of the conference the
committee will be called to meet within {
day or two. The whole committee VII
hear the testimony and the proceeding
will be public instead of the charges beint
heard privately by Mr.. Hit, Mr.. Adams
and Mr. Berry. as was originally intended.
Secretary Hay today refused to eithe
deny or affirm the above story. He sal'
that all the correspondence had been sub
mitted to the House Committee on Forelgl
| Affairs and that ii would not be proper 10
him to make any statement regarding 1t.