Circular No. 11.
Gentlemen: His Excellency, the President of the Swiss Confederation, has expressed to this Department, through the minister of the United States accredited to that government, a wish that you would severally extend your protection to Swiss citizens who may desire it and who may be sojourning at places where there are no diplomatic or consular representatives of that republic.
This Government has, on more than one occasion, upon the request of friendly powers, given to its diplomatic and consular representatives permission to take upon themselves, with the consent of the government within whose jurisdiction they reside, the function of representing those powers at places where the latter had no such officers. It has understood this to amount simply to the granting of the services of our agents, with their own consent, to meet what has ordinarily been a fortuitous and temporary exigency of the friendly government. When this function is accepted, the diplomatic or consular officer becomes the agent of the foreign government as to the duties he may perform for its citizens or subjects; he becomes responsible to it for his discharge of those [Page 29] duties; and that government is alone responsible for his acts in relation thereto.
With this understanding of the obligations, you are authorized, with the consent of the authorities of the country or place where you officially reside, to extend such protection to Swiss citizens whenever it may be required or needed. It is expected, however, that, in complying with this authority, you will exercise due discretion, and will be careful not to give just cause of offense in any quarter.
I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,
The Diplomatic and Consular Officers of the United States.