No. 348.
Mr. Preston to Mr. Fish.
Washington, September 27, 1875. (Received September 27.)
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Hayti, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note addressed to him by the Honorable William Hunter, Acting Secretary of State, under date of the 17th instant, in reply to that which was addressed to him by the undersigned on the 12th ultimo, in relation to the question raised by the asylum granted to certain Haytians by the American legation at Port au Prince. The undersigned regretted, on [Page 747] reading the reply of the Honorable William Hunter, that he had not been sufficiently explicit in his note of August 26 to prevent the confusion which seems to have’ arisen in the mind of the honorable Acting Secretary of State, as regards the decree of outlawry issued under date of May 2d, 1875, against Boisrond Canal and others, and the sentence subsequently pronounced by a court-martial against the refugees, who were duly amenable, as, being officers of the army, to military justice. The undersigned, with a view to showing his desire for conciliation, wished to establish a distinction between the decree of May 2d, which was issued previously to the admission of Boisrond Canal into the house of Mr. Bassett, and a decision rendered subsequently. The government of Hayti might have consented to commute the decree of May 2d, and, as to the sentence in contumaciam, since, according to the laws of the country, a new trial, after the hearing of the parties (procés contradictoire) might have been held, the idea of the undersigned was to lay aside this proceeding and to terminate the matter by a simple executive measure. Such is still the proposition which he renews a second time to the honorable Secretary of State, in the name of his government, which authorizes him to do so. The undersigned thinks it proper for him to specify, as perspicuously as possible, the exact terms of the compromise which he proposes, with a view to the immediate and final settlement of the pending question. In case Mr. Bassett shall receive, by the next mail, the order to deliver up Boisrond Canal and others to the competent authorities, the government of Hayti will at once grant an amnesty to these refugees on condition that they agree to leave the country without delay, their embarkation to take place under the protection of Haytian authorities. It shall be further understood that in case Boisrond Canal and others shall hereafter attempt to return to the country without authority from the government of Hayti, they shall in no wise be protected by the present arrangement. The undersigned hopes that his proposition, thus expressed, which is in all respects in accord with the spirit and the terms of the Honorable Mr. Hunter’s note, will be considered perfectly satisfactory by the honorable Secretary of State, and that he will see an evidence therein of the friendly sentiments which are entertained by the government of Hayti toward that of the United States. In thus bringing this matter to an end, the undersigned will be happy to think that he has been instrumental in causing the adoption of an arrangement calculated to furnish to the Government of the United States a further proof of the high esteem in which it is held by the government which he has the honor to represent.
The undersigned will remark, however, in conclusion, to the honorable Secretary of State, that one condition must be observed in the conclusion of this arrangement. The Honorable Hamilton Fish has done the undersigned the honor to tell him that although it had been subjected to delays which he did not understand, but which in reality were due only to the irregularity of the postal service of the Antilles, a United States war-vessel was to proceed to Port au Prince; since, however, the government of Hayti is in accord with that of the United States as regards the manner of settling the pending question, the undersigned trusts that the honorable Secretary of State will understand, as he himself does, that the presence of a vessel of war in Haytian waters at the very time when the whole difficulty has been settled by a diplomatic arrangement, might give rise to false interpretations and create political embarrassments which the government of the United States would certainly not wish to cause. When the question now pending shall have been settled, and when the refugees shall have [Page 748] embarked, the government and people of Hayti will be happy to welcome any United States vessel that may enter the waters of the republic. The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to the honorable Secretary of State the assurances of his highest consideration.