No. 197.
Mr. Francis to Mr. Fish.
Athens, May 25, 1872. (Received June 17.) Sir: * * * * * * *
I have received your dispatches, numbered 21, 22, and 23, number [Page 245] 21 inclosing printed copies of the correspondence which has recently taken place between the Government of the United States and Great Britain on the subject of the indirect claims, as presented in the case of the United States, which was recently submitted to the board of arbitration at Geneva.
In her dealings with Greece, Great Britain has not manifested that repugnance to the doctrine of indirect claims, or “consequential dam-ages,” that she now evinces. I will cite an interesting case in illustration:
A man named Don Pacifico, a Portuguese Jew, who claimed to be a British subject because he was born in Gibraltar, resided in Athens several years prior and up to 1850. On several occasions Pacifico had complained of annoyances suffered by him, at the hands of the lower classes here, on the occasion of the Greek celebration of Good Friday, an abuse very common in the East; in this instance the burning of a straw effigy of Judas Iscariot before his door. He finally made the matter of complaint known to the British minister, and through the intervention of the latter the annoyance was put a stop to. Irritated by the prohibition, it appears that on the next return of the day, (this was in 1848,) a mob of drunken fellows assaulted the residence of Don Pacifico with stones, broke some of the windows, damaged or destroyed a portion of his furniture, and greatly alarmed the old man and his wife. But they sustained no bodily harm. It was no doubt a very disgraceful affair, and justly excited the indignation of the public.
Pacifico appealed to the British minister, Sir Edmund Lyons, (afterward Admiral Lord Lyons,) who took the matter in hand with his characteristic zeal and impetuosity. Pacifico demanded compensation, presenting a bill of particulars, in 8,000 francs damages, nothing more nor less.
There existed no unwillingness on the part of the Greek government to grant equitable compensation, but the complaint was respectfully referred to the proper judicial tribunals for redress. According to the treaty between Great Britain and Greece, (4th of October, 1837,) and also according to the laws of Greece, if not the laws of nations, the pecuniary claim in question should have been submitted to the Greek tribunals. But the British government would not allow this to be done, Lord Palmerston declaring in most offensive terms that no confidence could be placed in Greek tribunals. Time wore on in the discussion of these points, and great irritation was excited needlessly. In November, 1849, the claim was increased from about £280 to £5,000 sterling! Of this latter sum £4,720 was in fact demanded as “consequential damages.” It was intended as a salve for the wounded honor of the modest Jew.
The Greek government refused to submit to such an exorbitant demand. Matters remained apparently quiet for a few weeks. But suddenly there appeared off the Piraeus harbor, on the 15th of January, 1850, a large English fleet under the command of Sir William Parker, consisting of six or eight ships of the line and several frigates and other vessels of war. Admiral Parker came up to town, and, with his suite, took up his residence with the British minister, Sir Thomas Wyse, who had a few months previously succeeded Lord Lyons.
On the 16th of January an ultimatum was sent to the Greek government demanding the payment of the £5,000, on account of the Pacifico claim, within twenty-four hours. There were other claims of a minor character included, but this one involved the main question in dispute. [Page 246] The British minister received the reply of the Greek minister of foreign affairs, which was as follows:
I have received the note which you did me the honor to write to me yesterday. It would he impossible for me to express to you the feelings with which it has been read by His Majesty the King of Greece and his government. The whole nation will partake of them. Greece, sir, is weak, and she did not expect that such blows would be aimed at her by a government which she reckoned with equal pride and confidence among her benefactors.
In the presence of a force like that which obeys your instructions, the government of His Hellenic Majesty can only oppose its rights and a solemn protest to acts of hostility committed in profound peace, and which, without speaking of other interests of a higher order, are a violation in the highest degree of its dignity and independence.
In this sad conjuncture, certain of the support of the Greek people, and of the sympathies of the whole world, the King of Greece and his government await with sorrow the end of the trials which, by order of Her Britannic Majesty’s government, you may still destine for her.
The next day (January 18) the British minister, with his family and the officials of the legation, retired from Athens and took up their abode on board Her Majesty’s ship The Queen, with Admiral Parker. A rigid blockade commenced of all the harbors in Greece. The Greek flag disappeared from its waters. Commerce was entirely stopped. The British minister remained ninety-nine days on board the “Queen,” French interposition finally put an end to this disastrous state of things. Pacifico received on board Her Majesty’s ship Ganges (whither he had fled from the beginning) his £5,000 in gold, and he departed, never, to be seen here again.
And so ended the blockade of the Piraeus and the enforced payment of “consequential damages” to a British subject-by a British feet sent by a British cabinet,
I am, &c,