No. 420.
Mr. Foster to Mr. Fish.

No. 253.]

Sir: Under date of the 14th instant, the consul at Acapulco reports to me that no action has been taken to arrest and punish the murderers of the American citizen, Henry Morris, killed in the assault upon the Protestant Church at that place on the 26th ultimo. He states that the judicial authorities are powerless to make arrests until a sufficient force of federal troops are placed at their disposal, the State militia sympathizing openly with the priest (the alleged instigator of the assault,) and his party; that a large petition has been presented to the governor demanding the removal of Protestants from the municipal council and their banishment from the country; that the district judge and governor, having confessed their inability to protect the native Protestants in the town of Acapulco, have been advised to leave as speedily as possible; and, in a communication of the 17th instant, the consul reports that, with a few exceptions, the Protestants have all left, a number of them having taken refuge in San Francisco, Cal., and that the town is now Quiet.

[Page 882]

On the 23d instant, I received a note from Mr. Lafragua, in reply to my note to him of the 8th instant, (a copy of which I inclosed to you with my dispatch No. 241,) in which, in connection with some reference to the religious aspects of the affair at Acapulco, he states that, from the time the events were brought to the attention of the Mexican government, it has been issuing the most decisive orders for the arrest and punishment of the criminals, and refers to the measures which it has dictated as of the most extraordinary character. He also alludes to the omission of the Protestant congregation to give the legal notice of its establishment; and also to the fact that the name of Henry Morris, the murdered American, does not appear in the register of matriculation of the Mexican foreign office.

In my answer to Mr. Lafragua, under date of the 25th instant, I took occasion to state explicitly that the object of my intervention in the affair in question was on account of the murder of the American citizen, which would relieve me from noticing the religious aspects of his note. In view of the report of the consul of the situation at Acapulco up to the latest dates from that place, I could not refrain from expressing regret that Mr. Lafragua had not furnished me with some information in detail as to the specific character of the extraordinary measures dictated by his government, or at least to have been informed that some favorable results had followed these measures; in which connection I gave him some of the facts reported to me by the consul in the communication herewith inclosed. In concluding my note, I took occasion to say that the fact that Henry Morris did not appear registered in the foreign office could not affect the case, as he was certified to me by the consul at Acapulco as a native of Boston Mass., and as an American citizen

I am. &c.,

JOHN W. FOSTER.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 253.]

Mr. Sutter to Mr. Foster.

No. 29.]

Sir: Confirming to you my report, No. 28, of the 7th instant, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 7th instant. The judicial authorities can do nothing, having no power whatsoever to make arrests; the entire matter must remain as it is until a sufficient force of federal troops are placed at his disposal, the State militia sympathizing overtly with the priest and his party, which in fact comprises the entire population. A petition signed by 400 or 500 persons, demanding the removal of Protestants from the (ayuntamiento) municipal council, and their banishment from the country, and accusing the Protestants of having caused the late disturbances by their alleged insults offered to the Catholics, has been presented to the governor. A gentleman who has read it assures me that this document is ably worded. One of the consequences of these troubles is that the common people believe that the terms “protestant” and “foreigner of Anglo-Saxon or German race” are synonymous, and very likely are confirmed in their belief by the priest. The Protestants, fearing for their lives, applied to the district judge and governor for protection. They were told that it was impossible to afford them any protection in the town, but that the fort, the only place of safety, was open to them. They were also advised to leave the town as quick as possible, which I think is the best they can do, and they have already commenced to scatter and hide from persecution.

Very, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN A. SUTTER, Jr.,
United States Consul.

Hon. John W. Foster,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, Mexico.

[Page 883]
[Inclosure 2 in No. 253.—Translation.]

Mr. Lafragua to Mr. Foster.

Sir: I have rendered an account to the President of the Republic of the note of your excellency, dated the 8th instant, in which you are pleased to communicate to me the substance of the report which the consul of the United States in Acapulco has made to your excellency relative to the events occurring in that city on the occasion of the assault which was made upon a Protestant Church.

In reply, I have the honor to state to your excellency that, since those unfortunate events came to, the knowledge of the government, there have been issued, and there continue to be issued, the most decisive orders for the arrest and punishment of those who may appear to be guilty; and, as an evidence of the activity with which this is being done, the fact appears that the governor of the State of Guerrero has proceeded personally to the place of these occurrences, in order himself to dictate the energetic and opportune measures which may be necessary to prevent the crime from remaining unpunished, and to re-establish security and order in Acapulco.

Whatever may be the views and judgment of the consul of the United States in that port, they can be can be considered as nothing more than personal opinions, inspired, perhaps, by the fears of the moment, since the escape and concealment of the criminals does not signify inability nor lack of will in the authorities to arrest and punish them. It is possible that there be delays, excusable and even necessary, when, under circumstances so unexpected as the present, there does not exist a sufficient force at immediate disposal to repress an outbreak; but this does not signify that there is a disposition to leave it unpunished.

Moreover, it appears just, in order to comprehend the difficulties and delays that are liable to be encountered, to take into consideration the peculiar circumstances of the countries in which certain events take place.

The consul in Acapulco cannot be ignorant of the fact that Protestant worship was a new propaganda among a people who, unfortunately, have not been able to attain to that degree of civilization to enable them to accept without aversion religious tenets which they disown; and it is well known that the religious sentiment is one of the most sensitive, and that when attacked it is all the more irritable. Therefore it will not be strange that the great majority of that people conceal and protect the aggressors. The difficulty which the authority encounters from this source will not be insurmountable, but is indeed very grave.

The general government, on its part jealous of its authority, firmly resolved that the laws shall be complied with, and interested as much as any other that liberty and individual protection may be secured to native citizens and foreigners, has dictated extraordinary measures in the present case, in the hope that the ends of justice may be fulfilled, and that, in conformity with it, the criminals may suffer a sufficiently exemplary punishment to prevent similar deeds from being repealed, and to satisfy the ends of public retribution.

It is not amiss to make note of the fact at this time that, according to the report received, the Protestant Church, where the events occurred, was not registered in the office of the prefect, which, for that reason, perhaps, was not able to know the condition of the location, nor the hours of assembling, so that it might exercise its vigilance and place the church under the protection of the police.

Neither is Henry Morris registered with American citizenship in the register of matriculation in this Department.

It pleases me to renew to your excellency the assurances of my high and distinguished consideration.

J. M. LAFRAGUA.

His Excellency John W. Foster,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America.

[Inclosure 3 in No. 253.]

Mr. Foster to Mr. Lafragua.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s note of the 23d instant, in which, having referred to my note of the 8th instant to the President of the Republic, you make reply thereto. The tenor of this reply leads me to fear that your excellency has misconceived the object of my said note. It was not my purpose to enter upon a defense of the Protestant worship in Mexico. I have not in [Page 884] my note of the 8th instant, nor in any other which this painful occurrence at Acapulco has made it necessary for me to address to your excellency, allowed myself to criticise the conduct of the government or make any demand in regard to this worship in so far as it relates to the Mexican people. While it is very natural that I, as the representative of a Government which has officially congratulated that of Mexico on the constitutional triumph and recognition of the principles of religious liberty, should watch with deep interest the practical enforcement of these principles, I have made the outbreaks of fanatical mobs the subject of diplomatic intervention only when American citizens have been assassinated.

The object of informing your excellency of the substance of the consul’s report was to bring to the attention of the Mexican government the name of the American citizen assassinated, and the circumstances attending and following his murder, in the hope that the facts stated might furnish your government with additional motives for enforcing strict and decisive measures against his murderers; as also to notify said government of the responsibility, under treaty-stipulations, to the dependent family of the deceased, on account of the failure of the local authorities to furnish him the protection guaranteed to American citizens.

I may, therefore, be excused at this time from further referring to the general religious aspects of the occurrence as noticed by your excellency. I however deem it proper to state that the reports of the consul at Acapulco have been made in compliance with specific instructions from this legation; that, being for many years a resident of that port, he is doubtless an intelligent observer of the events; and that his statements are made upon his official responsibility as an officer of the United States. They are, moreover, substantially confirmed by the reports made by the local authorities of the government, as your excellency was pleased to assure me in one of our recent interviews.

I am glad to be assured in your excellency’s note that the government has dictated extraordinary measures in the case in question, that the ends of justice may be fulfilled, and that the criminals may suffer a sufficiently exemplary punishment to prevent the repetition of similar deeds, and to satisfy the ends of public retribution. It would, however, have doubtless been gratifying to my Government to have been informed somewhat in detail as to the specific character of the extraordinary measures dictated, had your excellency felt justified in stating them; or, at least, to have been informed that some favorable results had followed these measures; especially so in view of the fact that up to the 16th instant not a single arrest had been made beyond the two wounded assailants found at the church, who have since died. It is true your excellency refers to the visit of the governor as one of the measures taken; but, so far as I have been informed, the only result of his visit was the public demonstrations of the criminals or their friends, and the presentation to him of the petition of a large number of the people demanding the removal of Protestant municipal officials and their banishment from the country. The consul reports to me that the judicial authorities acknowledged their inability to arrest or punish the criminals, or to afford protection to the Protestant residents in the continued “absence of a sufficient force of the federal army, as the State militia sympathise openly with the priest (the alleged instigator of the assault) and his party. As illustrating the condition of the community, the consul, under date of the 16th instant, states that the Protestants of Acapulco, fearing for their lives, applied to the district judge and authorities for protection; that they were told that it was impossible to protect them in the town, but that the fort, the only place of safety, was open to them; that they were advised to leave the town as quickly as possible; that they have accordingly scattered and hid from persecution, a number of them having taken refuge in San Francisco, United States; and that the town is now quiet and the excitement dying out, the hated objects of the fury of the people having been removed.

Notwithstanding this gloomy picture, in view of the assurance contained in your excellency’s note as to the measures adopted and the earnest determination of the government, I will rely upon the realization of its confidently expressed expectation to ferret out the criminals, and visit ample and severe judgment upon the murderers of the American citizen.

The fact, as stated by your excellency, that Henry Morris, the deceased, does not appear in the register of matriculation of the Mexican foreign office does not affect the case. He is certified to me by the consul at Acapulco as having been born in the city of Boston, State of Massachusetts, United States of America, and as being an American citizen. I will be reluctant to believe that his possible omission to attend to a formality of the foreign office will diminish the zeal of your excellency’s government to secure the punishment of his assassins; and it assuredly will not influence my Government in its determination to require a vindication of his citizenship.

I have the honor to ascribe myself, with high consideration, your excellency’s obedient servant,

JOHN W. FOSTER.

His Excellency J. M. Lafragua,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mexico.