The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-24
JAMAICAN REPQP'T
NOT gE'oLOSED
Swettenham ficiaIIy Advises
Colonial Office About Letters
INCIDENT is DISMISSED
President Assures British Embassy
That No Heed viii Be Paid to Re-
fusa of Aid From Ad-
n1iral Davis.

, London, January 23.-The colonial office
is now in possession of official advices
from Sir Alexander Swettenham, the gov
ernor of Jamaica, concerning the ex-
change of letters between himself and
Rear Admiral Davis, but the extent OF
these adylces and whether or not they
contain an explanation, an apology, or
eXtenuating circumstances, has not been
disclosed
1t appears that the imperial authorities
requested the governor of Jamaica to
send them a copy of his letters to Rear
Admiral Davis This has now been fur
nished, and it shows that the letter as
sent out by the Associated Press was,
to all intents and purposes, a correct
copy.
1t is now learned that the secretary OF
the colonies, Lord Elgin, sent a second
telegrom to Governor Swettenham, asking
him to give his version of the affair, and
TO this the foreign office informed the
Associated Press no answer has been
received.
Ii is explained that while this second
cable message was drawn up on jan
uary 81 and the colonial office announced
on that date that ii had been sent to
Kingston, it was not really forwarded
until January p, as 1t required the direct
authority of Lord Elgin, who was absent
in Scotland, and who could not be
reached until the ed
eJohn r. Carter, charge d'affaires of the
American embassy, called at the foreign
office tonight and received the same ex-
PLANTATION of the situation as was fur
nished to the Associated Press
Facts Established.
The fact that Governor Swettenham
wrote the letter to Rear Admiral Davis
having been established, there remains
only to determine the Official for1nallties
and the indications are that the matter
will be handled through the usual dplo-
matte channels, and that the correspon-
dence 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 Swetten-
hams opposition to the presence of a for
eign force on Jamaican soil, and his man
ner of expressing this opposition. What
the British government and people now
condemn, is the tone of the letter to
Rear Admiral Davis, the foreign office
having declared that there was mo ex-
cuse for such language from an official
to the officer of a friendly nation en-.
gagged in a work of humanity" and the
press and public are adopting a substan-
TALLY similar view. But on the question
whether or not Governor Swettenham
was justified in asking Rear Admiral
Davis to withdraw his armed forces from
the island, British opinion inclnes to
hold that Governor Swettenham acted
clearly within his rights, although many
persons contend that the abnormal con-
ditions should have induced the governor
to waive the usual requirements, If as is
supposed here Rear Admiral Davis
landed marines at Kingston without a
specific request from the governor.
The idea prevails here that the adj
miralty as the outcome of the agitation
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 to an effective and we'll
equipped naval base on the Canadian
coast If the forthcoming colonial confer
ence can devise some plan for the dis
tribution of the financial responsibility for
naval defense throughout the empire