The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-25
DOWN ON
GOV. SWETTENHAM
Looks Like St. AIexander's
Career is at an End
DEAD ARE STILL UNBURIED
Slight Earth Shocks Continue at King
ston-Chairman Relief Committee
Cables President Deep Appre-
citation of Aid offered. y
London. january 24.-The ooloni'

NlAdl dGNOl tuetl llit duAhOlitiNo al PAe
pared to give it to the public.
The foreign office says it has had no
further communication from Washington,
and that with the receipt of President
Roosevelts telegram through Assistant
Secretary of State Bacon, the interna-
tional side of the question is regarded as
settled. At the same time it is possible,
however, that when Governor Swetten-
hams explanation is received in full, there
will be further communication with the
government of the United States.
The Associated Press gained the gem
eral impression at the government Of
fees today that Governor Swettenham's
career is at an end.
This evening the colonial office gave out
two reports received from the governor
on conditions in Jamaica. Sir Alexander
says that up to date 800 bodies have been
buried in addition to number of remains
that could not be distinguished or identi-
fled. The governor estimates that
bodies are still buried in the ruins. and
that it will probably take twelve months
to remove all the debris The main thor
oughfares Of Kingston have been cleared,
the street car lines are in operation and
the people today are living in outhouses
and the less damaged buildings. There are
5000 homeless persons in temporary shell
ters erected in the gardens on the pub
lie squares and at the race course. The
number of homeless ones is being de-
creased as work is plentiful and many
persons have been given free passage out
of the city There are still 400 patients in
the hospitals, and many of the injured
are being treated in their homes by rela-
tives and friends
Shocks Continue.
Slight earthquake shocks continue, but
the weather remains fine
Foreign Secretary Grey today sent the
following reply to Mr.. Bacon through
Esme Howard, the charde d affaires of
the British embassy at Washington:
please express to the assistant secre-
tary of state my thanks for his message
The friendly attitude of the President and
the American government are warmly ap-
preciated by his majestys government"
Washington, January 24.-President
Roosevelt tonight received a cablegram
from the Most Rev. Dr. Enos Nuttall.
lord archbishop of the West Indies and
chairman of the Kingston relief commit
tee, tending his thanks for the prompt
visit of the American warships under
Rear Admiral Davis. The message is as
follows:
I'VE all appreciate deeply American
sympathy in our distress and the prompt
visit of your men-of-war for our succor
Happily the supply of food available for
relief is sufficient After meeting the cost
of this, our next want will be the means
for making small houses habitable Our
people are behaving splendidly."
Davis-Swettenham Letters.
The receipt in this city today of the Of
nclal full text of the correspondence
between Rear Admiral Davis and Cover.
nod Swettenham of Jamaica, which did
not differ from the kilograms trans
mitted by the Associated Press last Satur-
day night, caused the naval officials to
again study the situation to see IL Ad-
miral Davis had in any was transgressed
the pounds of propriety of his visit to
kingston. They not only found a prece-
dent for his landing men from his ships
to preserve order, strangely enough in
the case of another British island. in the
west Indies. but also saw nothing in
the whole affair to warrant the letter ad-
dressed to him by Governor Swettenham.
Secretary Metcalf late this evening gave
out the following statement bearing on
the subject:
The department has secured the full
text of the correspondence between Rear
Admiral Davis, commanding the squadron
of naval vessels which visited Kingston
Jamaica, after the earthquake and Sir
Alexander Swettenham, governor of ia
maica.
From this correspondence 1t appears
that Admiral Davis landed party of six
men for the purpose of guarding and Sc
curing the archives of the American con-
sulate, and another party of ten men
for the purpose of clearing away the
wreckage Later upon the earnest en-
treaty of the colonial secretary and the
inspector of police, who spoke for the
governor (the governor being absent from
the city and at Kings House. some three
miles distanD, fifty men were landed un-
der arms from the Indiana to overawe an
alleged mutiny at the penitentlary con-
tanning five or six hundred prisoners.
Accompanied by Governor
Admiral Davis then proceeded by car
riage to visit the governor at Kings
House, and found him living with his
family in tents, and was accompanied to
the city by the governor. That same
afternoon, upon request of the governor.
the men were withdrawn from shore, and
returned to their ships
"The action of Admiral Davis in land
ing under the circumstances is not with
out precedent, there being numerous cases
TO justify 1t, and as an incident copy of
a report by Rear Admiral r. w Meade,
United States navy, in landing men at
Fort of Spain, Trinidad, in March, 1895,
to suppress a fire. and letter by the
governor of the island of Trinidad. ex-
pressing his gratitude for the action, is
shown herewith.
The presence of the vessels of the
American fleet at the naval station. Guam
only 100 miles away from Kings
ton, at the time of the earthquake. placed
us in a position for giving quickly first
aid to the sufferers. and our own ex-
periences in the San Francisco earth
quake and fire of last April showed clear
ly the need of sufficient police protection.
and the great benefits which resulted
in the using of the naval force In such
an emergency. The commander in chief
acted promptly under these circumstances
and sent Immediately there vessels hav-
ing the largest number of men and sup
plies, to the aid OF the sufferers and
offered such help in the way of med
cal attention and food as lay in his
power which action was further helped
by the department dispatching two more
ships laden with large quantities of food
supplies intended for the fleet and which
were diverted from this duty and dis
patched to Kingston.
After the men were withdrawn from