No. 95.
Mr. Fish to Mr. Washburne.
Washington, October 19, 1872.
Sir: Your dispatch under date of the 25th of September last, No. 689, inclosing memorial and other papers of Charles Holzer, relative to his imprisonment at Lyons, in August, 1870, on suspicion of his being a Prussian spy, has been received.
It is the settled policy and practice of this Government to extend the most ample protection to citizens of the United States who may be resident or sojourning in the territories of foreign governments.
[Page 240]Citizens of the United States, in common with other foreigners who were unfortunate enough to be residents of France during the period to which Mr. Holzer’s memorial refers, were rendered liable to certain inconveniences which seem to have been unavoidable under the circumstances, and are inseparable from a condition of war such as France was then in. Such a state of society as then existed in France demanded from foreigners who were at the time resident there the utmost prudence and caution; whether Mr. Holzer exercised such prudence does not clearly appear from the papers which he has placed on file. His case does not seem to present any feature not common to the cases of many citizens of the United States who were arrested in France during that period on similar grounds, and under circumstances at least as favorable as those which surrounded Mr. Holzer.
You will bring the views presented by this instruction to the attention of Mr. Holzer, and while you are authorized to assure him of the earnest disposition of this Department to afford him the most ample protection, you will at the same time show him that the fact by itself of his arrest and detention under the circumstances detailed in his memorial, is not sufficient to warrant the interference of the Government of the United States in his behalf. Mr. Holzer may be able to present a case upon which he might properly invoke the action of the Department. More explicit information upon the following points is desired:
Did Mr. Holzer, at the commencement of hostilities between France and Prussia, formally and publicly apprise the authorities at Lyons, and especially the committee of public safety, of his American citizenship?
Did he abstain from all manifestations of sympathy, either by word or deed, in favor of Prussia during his residence in Lyons after the breaking out of hostilities?
Was he engaged in permanent and regular business in Lyons at the commencement of the war and thence up to the time of his arrest?
Has Mr. Holzer made any application to the local authorities at Lyons for redress or compensation, and has he or does he intend to resume his residence in Lyons?
If Mr. Holzer were able to give satisfactory answers to the foregoing questions, it might materially change the aspect of his case as now presented.
I am, &c.,