[Inclosure 2.] Mr. Powell to Mr. Lafontant. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have your favor dated April 8. I am glad to know from you that it was not the intention of your honorable colleague, the minister of state for the interior, Hon. Tancrede Auguste, to violate any right of international courtesy that pertains to foreign representatives accredited to your Government, and that you have, on the part of your Government, promptly disavowed any such intention. I heartily agree with you on the very pleasant way this incident has been closed, showing the strong and kindly feeling of your Government for that of mine, which I trust will continue to grow more binding as each advance in years. I have the pleasure also to inform you in this dispatch that the two Dominicans referred to are not and have never been in the employ of our vice-consul-general, Dr. J. B. Terres. Accept, etc., Mr. Hay to Mr. Powell. W. F. POWELL. No. 341.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 1191 of the 5th instant, San Domingo series, and your No. 545 of the same date, Haitian series. In your first-mentioned dispatch you state that the Dominican charge at Port au Prince requested you to surrender two alleged Dominican refugees "said to be in the employ of the Vice-Consul-General Terres.” It appears from your No. 545 that the parties were merely employed "in the tobacco plantation" belonging to Dr. Terres, and that the Haitian military authorities did not enter the legation or consular premises, but merely went to Dr. Terres's residence. Even this is explained to have been the result of a blunder on the part of subordinate officials. In view of these facts, the Department is of opinion that you had no authority whatever in the premises, either to grant or to refuse the surrender of the parties, or to approve their arrest. I am, etc., JOHN HAY. "ASYLUM" IN LEGATION AT PORT AU PRINCE. Mr. Pourell to Mr. Hay. [Telegram.] PORT AU PRINCE, August 2, 1899. Haitian sought asylum in legation; was removed by force. Have demanded his return, and apology from Government for invading Is to be returned. Please advise me as to surrendering him to authorities. Matters here very critical. same. POWELL. 1 Not printed. No. 613.] Mr. Powell to Mr. Hay. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Port an Prince, Haiti, August 2, 1899. SIR: I respectfully inform the Department of what came very near resulting in a serious affair to-day. Hearing a considerable noise in the consulate, which is on the first floor of the building in which the legation is located, I was about to descend the stairs, when I was hastily informed that a posse of soldiers, under the command of the general of the La Place, had entered the consulate and taken from there a Haitian named Ulrick Duvivier. When I reached the lower floor I found the consulate filled with people, and our deputy, Mr. Batiste, talking rapidly to one of the generals in command of the military forces. On being informed, I immediately demanded the return of this man to the consulate, stating they had no right to enter it in the manner they did; that it was not Haitian territory; that if this man sought an asylum here there was a proper way to secure him, but they could not forcibly take him in this manner. The officer refused to give him up, and requested the use of the legation's telephone to communicate with one of the ministers of the cabinet, the secretary of the interior. I replied he was at liberty to do so, but that this man must be returned. In the meanwhile the foreign secretary, Mr. St. Victor, reached the legation, some one having notified him. I demanded the immediate return of this man, and a suitable apology made by his Government for this forcible intrusion by a posse of armed soldiers into our legation. He replied the man was under arrest for conspiracy, and could not be surrendered to me. I reiterated my demand for the return of this person. He requested that I would wait until he communicated with the President. I informed him he could state to the President, with my compliments, that I would not allow our legation to be entered in this manner. In a few moments thereafter the man was returned and is now here. I immediately cabled to the Departinent my action. I also communicated in writing with the Government, demanding an apology for this forcible entry. Since this arrest one of the former ministers, Mr. Solon Menos, craved the protection of the legation, which I have given him. Arrests have been made by the wholesale to-day, each legation has several that have fled to it for protection, many of the leading citizens are in prison, and no one feels safe. This afternoon the foreign secretary called, stating the President regretted the hasty action of his general, and would inform me in writing. I requested of the President, through the foreign secretary, to exercise clemency toward those in prison; to think of the foul stain that would be cast upon his administration, especially as it had been markedly different from that of his predecessors; that the welfare of his country was intrusted to him for its good, as a wise and humane ruler; finally, that the world would mark his action at this moment of his country's history. He returned me word that he would not execute anyone, except those he found in arms against the Government; at the same time he sent a safe conduct to the ex-minister, Mr. Menos, that he might return to his home in perfect safety. Inclosed please find correspondence. I have, etc., W. F. POWELL. No. 287.] [Inclosure 1.] Mr. Powell to Mr. St. Victor. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: Allow me to bring to your immediate notice that at 10.30 this morning the premises of our legation were violated by one of the general officers of the Government, in taking therefrom by force one who had entered our legation. I consider this a gross violation of international courtesy that is due by you to a Government that has ever been friendly and mindful of your national interests. I am therefore compelled to ask that a suitable acknowledgment be made for this invasion. Accept, etc., [Inclosure 2.] Mr. St. Victor to Mr. Powell. [Translation.] W. F. POWELL. DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS, REPUBLIC OF HAITI, Port au Prince, Haiti, August 3, 1899. MR. MINISTER: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the dispatch No. 287, of the 2d of this month, by which you draw my attention to the act committed by an officer, Haitian general, penetrating in the building occupied by the legation of the United States of America in this city, in pursuit of an individual who had taken refuge there. Kindly, I beg you, permit me to remind you, Mr. Minister, that finding myself in the neighborhood of your legation at the moment that the unfortunate incident of which you entertain me took place, I did not lose a minute and hastened to transport myself there for the purpose of ordering the officer general to desist. I reserved to myself and was preparing myself to do so when your letter reached me-to renew to you through an official dispatch the regrets that I have already had the honor to express to you by word of mouth in the name of the Government on the occasion of the error committed by one of its generals. I would add that His Excellency the President of the Republic, notwithstanding that the officer in question has declared under oath that he was ignorant of the fact that the lower floor of the building formed a part of the legation of the United States of America, inflicted on him a severe reprimand. The Haitian Government-I do not hesitate to invoke on the subject your high testimony-attaches too high a price to the friendship of the great Federal Republic, and seeks ever the occasion to prove its lively admiration and its ardent desire to always tighten more and more the bonds of cordial sympathy that unite so closely the two nations, not to reprove with energy an act so little in harmony with its most precious sentiments. SIR: I have the honor to state that I have received your favor to-day, containing the regrets of His Excellency the President, that one of his general officers should enter this legation and take therefrom by force one who had sought our protection. I shall transmit the same with an account of the incident to my Government. Accept, etc., W. F. POWELL. Mr. Adee to Mr. Powell. [Telegram.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, If newspaper telegrams correctly state Duvivier case your remonstrance against violation and demand for refugee's return were rightly made. He should be sheltered against all but strictly regular legal process. Should he or any other refugee be demanded on regular warrant, you should decline judicial service upon legation, saying you can only recognize a request made through minister of foreign affairs. If such request be made, refer it to this Department for instructions. ADEE, Acting. Mr. Adee to Mr. Powell. No. 358.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: There was received from you yesterday a cipher telegram, which was interpreted to read as follows: Hatian sought asylum in legation; was removed by force; have demanded his return and apology from Government for invading same. Is to be returned. Please advise me as to surrendering him to authorities. Matters here very critical. Shortly after the receipt of your telegram I was shown press dispatches purporting to give the particulars of the incident, as to which your report was silent. It appeared therefrom that, while a number of presumably political arrests were being made, one Duvivier, described as "a newspaper man," was seized, that he dragged his captor within the precincts of the legation, that the captor succeeded in getting out again with Duvivier, that you had protested against the violation of your premises, and that the Haitian Government had apologized and returned Duvivier to you. This statement is not at variance with yours, and is supposed to present the salient facts with fair accuracy. While the facts so appearing do not indicate that the man was a refugee in the ordinary acceptance of the term, by having sought asylum and been admitted to its enjoyment by you, but rather suggest that Duvivier and his captor were both intruders, forced upon you in the heat of a struggle and without your consent, the circumstance that the captor appears to have continued to assert forcible authority within. your precincts by removing his captive thence would seem to have been such a violation of your diplomatic domicile as to justify your remonstrance and your demand for a restoration of the status quo which existed from the moment when the captor's exercise of force within your dwelling became an infringement of your privilege. Such an invasion of your domicile is, however, to be carefully distinguished from the collateral question of your right or power to afford to a native of the country immunity from the pursuit of the territorial authorities by claiming for him so-called "asylum." The Department has uniformly discountenanced the assertion by its diplomatic agents of the claims of right of asylum. In holding, as it has repeatedly done, that its agents are not competent, under inter national law, to harbor an accused criminal from the pursuit of law it has also held that the pursuit must be shown to be orderly and regular. It could, under no circumstances, admit that mere arbitrary force can be exerted by local agents to effect the capture of any person within the minister's dwelling. Further than this, it is soundly held that, even when the refugee criminal is pursued in regular course of law, with exhibition of a warrant of arrest by a qualified officer of the courts, he may neither be formally arrested within the legation precincts nor formally surrendered by the minister to the agent of the law. The former would amount to an exercise of local jurisdiction within the envoy's domicile which is inconsistent with his diplomatic immunities and his representative dignity. The latter would virtually be an assumption by the envoy of a nonexistent function of surrender by way of quasi extradition, for which no warrant of international or statutory law can be adduced. The envoy can neither admit service upon him of a local judicial warrant nor become in any way a party to the execution of the writ. Under the varying conditions presented by this class of questions it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule of action for an envoy's guidance. The facts of each case are indispensable to a determination of the principles involved and the course to be pursued. It may be generally said, however, that sentiments of humanity and abstract justice counsel the affordance of shelter to an unfortunate person from lawless violence; that such shelter is a different thing from a claim of asylum from the regular justice of the territorial sovereign; that upon sufficient allegation of the criminality of the refugee, and upon adequate showing of the regularity of the judicial proceedings had against him, the right of the envoy to harbor him disappears, and that the evidence of criminality and of the regularity of the legal process against the accused should be made known to the envoy through the diplomatic channel and not by invasion of his domicile by attempted arrest therein. Should a demand be diplomatically made upon you for the person of Duvivier, or any other person similarly situated, you will report it to the Department, with the evidence of criminality and of the regularity of the proceedings, in order that the matter may be determined with full knowledge of all pertinent facts. The foregoing considerations will serve to elucidate the telegram sent to you to-day, of which a transcript is appended. I am, etc., ALVEY A. ADEE, Mr. Powell to Mr. Hay. Cable has been received. [Telegram.] PORT AU PRINCE, August 5, 1899. Will follow instructions. Situation very bad; arrests still being made. The legation full of refugees. need naval vessel to protect our interests. If so, will cable. May POWELL. |