Rock Island Argus., 1900-02-15
ASKS FOR LEAVE Or ABSENCE.
Is SurprISed When He Learns That Tie Is
No Longer Consul

h
No Longer Consul.
Macrum then tells of the holding up
Of an entirely harmless cable by the
British censor and proceeds aS follows:
The Misrepresentation which had
been going on before the war and aft
er it opened We're of such serious ma
ture. aud would require such detailed
explanation. that OH the 9th of Novem-
bcr filed Il cable To the department in
code stating that / wished leave of alb
Sence III order TO visit the states. l set
forth III this cable that my vke consul
had enlisted in the BOer army: that Il
Mr.. Atterbury. an American whom l
had known very favoraDly for more
than Il year. could take charge of the
office until my return. In reply~t to this
dispatch. which was forwarded with
out any delay. / received from the de
partment reply advising me that my
presence at Pretoria was important TO
public interests.
Hethen details his repeated cables to
the department III Washington asking
permission to leave Pretoria. some OF
which were not answered and some
delayed by the censor. until finally on
Dec. he received cable permitting
him to come home. and signed by Hay.
Macrum cabled that he would come by
the department of his Whereabouts.
He then proceeds: Il arrived m Wash
ingtOn Monday. the 9TH of February.
and reported 10 Assistant Secretary
Hill. of the state department. who Of
ficially Informed me that Secretary
Hays son had been appointed in my
place and ulat he was on his way to
Pretoria.
Il appreciated the seriousness of the
N fri.
tent that on my way 10 Washington-l
believing that | was still the consul
III Pretoria-I refused to make any
statement that would in any way in
Volve the department or cmbarTaSS il |
My one object WAS to lay the informa-
ticn before the department as to the
true state of affairs in South Africa !
Ii the department thought these facts
wePe of value sufficient To warrant
the expense of tho trip | had taken |
eNpec;rd TO I've remunerated and return |
to Pretoria. leaving the department to |
act as il may see lit upon the facts |
which | laid before 1t.
Instead of this. | find that Sec
rctary Hay. whether acting upon the |
reports in the newspapers or apOn ad |
vice from the British government. or |
some other motive | do not know. saw |
lit no: to wait until could present my |
reasons in person, and has been a |
silent or conniving partner TO discredit |
ing reports of my official acts. / come |
home to find an attempt has been |
made to tear down my personal repu- |
tation. | wish tO state right here that |
when l accepted my post as consul ! |
knew nothing of any secret alliance |
between America and Great Britain. |
and that | had seen nothing in the |
regulations which made the conSul cf |
the American republic subject Ia the |
whimS and caprice of an English mill
tary censor at Durham.
'"I'hCre iS not one soul who can point /
TO single official act of mine which I
departed from the StricteSt neutrality. |
My confidential dispatches to the de-
partment contained information which |
will show my sympathy for the re-
public. but which time will prove 10
he unbiased as To actual facts. My |
acts as Il public official are all recorded |
at the department. My acts now as a !
private man eau in no way involve the
public service. and | simply Iuake this
statement in my own defense as
against those which have come from
the department. secretly and officially.
CHARLES MACRUM."
Comes Over to -eesS runas.
New York. Feb. 1j.-Mrs CoFnelia'
Adair. who comes here as the bead of
the hospital ship Maine. seeking Amer
lean subscriptions in aid of the
wounded and sick in South Africa was
passenger on the White Star line