The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-01-25
KEEP IT
A DARK SECRET
sWETTENHAm,s EXPLANATION
TO LORD ELoin-WfLL AP.
PEAR IN BLUE BOOK.

LONDON. Jan. 26.-he colonial q.
fee Is now In possession OF omcfa1 al.
vices from Sir Alexander Swettehs
ham, the governor Of Jamaica concern
ing the exchange Of letters between
himself and Rear Admiral Davis. but
the extent Of these adyices and wheth.
er or not they contain an explanation.
an apology or extenuatlng circum.
stances has not been disclosed.
It appears that the imperial authors
ties requested the Governor of ia.
maica to send them a copy of his let.
ter tosRear Admiral Davis. This now
has been furnished, and it shows that.
the letter as emit GU by the Associat.
ed Press was, to all intents ana pur.
pores, a correct copy. 1t is now learn.
ed that the Secretary for the Colonies.
Lord Elgin, sent a second cablesrami
to Governor swettenham asking him
t give his version of the AFFAIR. and
o this no answer yet has been r~eceiy.1
ed. 1t Is explained that while this
second cable message was drawn up
on January 81, and the colonial office
announced on that day that It had
been sent to Kingston, II was moi real.
ly forwarded until January 90. at Is
required the direct authority of Lord
Elgin, who was absent in Scotland and
who could not be reached until the
22d.
May Wait for Blue Book.
The fact that Governor Swettenham
wrote the letter to Rear Admiral Da.
Wis having been established, there re.
mains only to determine the Official
formalities. and the indications are
that the matter will be handled
through the usual diplomatic chan.
nels, and that the correspondence will
be made public in a blue Book.
Discussion of the incident discloses
the fact that the British view makes a
clear differentiation between Governor
swettenham's opposition to the pres.
ence Of a foreign force on Jamaica
soil. and his manner of expressing
this opposition. What the British gov.
eminent and people now condemn is
the tone Of the letter to Rear Rdmiral
Davis, the foreign Office having de.
clared that there was mo e~xcuserfor
such language from an official to the
officer of a friendly nation engaged In
a work of humanity" and the press
and public r adopting a substantial.
ly similar view. But on the question
whether or not Governor Swettenham
was justified in asking Read Admiral
Davis to withdraw his armed forces
from the island, British opinion In.
clines to hold that Governor Swetten.
ham acted clearly within his rights, III.
though many persons contend that
the abnormal conditions the usual re.
quirements, If. as is supposed here,
Rear Admiral Davis landed marines a.
Kingston without a specific request
from the Governor.
The idea prevails here that the ad.
miralty, as an outcome of the agita,
ton aroused by the recent events In
Jamaica, may modify the plans under
which the West Indies were almost
abandoned as a naval station, and it
Is suggested that Jamaica might be
made a strong naval station attached
&c an effective and well equipped ma.
val base on the Canadian coast, If the
forthcoming colonial conference can
devise some plan for the distribution
of the financial responsibility for naval
defense throughout the empire.