No. 38.
Mr. Kasson
to Mr. Evarts
.
Legation of
the United States,
Vienna
,
July 24, 1878.
(Received August 10.)
No. 101.]
Sir: Inclosed here with I transmit a copy of my
response to that clause of the communication from the minister for foreign
affairs of which a copy was sent to you in my dispatch No. 97, which read as
follows:
In regard to the actual meeting of the conference, and not less in
regard to the programme of the conference, the government of His
Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty believes that it is entitled to
expect a detailed specification from the American envoy.
It seemed to be my duty to take notice of this request, and in the absence of
advices from the department I could only indicate what I believed to be the
natural sequence of the late day at which invitations were accepted and
appointments of delegates made. It is to be hoped, however, that the
delegates of the United States, as the government taking the initiative, may
be prepared in Paris with a programme to be submitted for the organization
and for the course of discussions of the conference. The designation of a
president, secretary, &c., masters of the French and, if practicable, of
the English language; the topics to be referred to commissions of the body
for report; the place of meeting; the hour for the first meeting,
&c.—all these are subjects on which foreign delegates will naturally
look to the inviting government to take the initiative. Without doubt your
delegates have instructions on these points, and will, in special
consultation with the French delegates, who by custom would furnish the
president, be prepared with preliminary propositions. But being myself
without advices, I could only leave the subject where my note to the foreign
office has left it.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure to dispatch No.
101.]
Mr. Kasson to Count
Andrássy.
Legation of the United States,
Vienna
,
July 23,
1878.
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the
United States of America, referring to the communication from the
ministry for foreign affairs, accepting the invitation to the
international conference proposed by the Government of the United
States, to be held at Paris on the 10th of August next, has taken note
of the expectation expressed therein, that the Government of His
Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty will be furnished by the
undersigned with a detailed specification of the programme of the
conference.
In the absence of advices from his government respecting this programme,
the undersigned only feels at liberty to assume that the delegates of
the United States, who are the Hon. Reuben E. Fenton, the Hon. William
S. Groesbeck, and Prof. Francis A. Walker, will bring with them to Paris
the further propositions of their government, and that the detailed
programme can only be arranged by the delegates of the several
governments in consultation after their arrival in Paris. The law, of
which the undersigned had the honor to transmit a copy to the ministry
for foreign affairs at the time of communicating the invitation—at the
same time calling the attention of his excellency Count Andrássy to the
particular paragraph of that law proposing this international
conference—this section of the law indicates in general terms the
objects of the conference and the central points for discussion. Beyond
this the undersigned is without instructions, and believes that, owing
to the distance from Washington and the brief time intervening before
the date of assemblage, the further instructions will be in the hands
only of the delegates of the United States at Paris.
The conference being held in Europe, instead of at Washington, has
doubtless disposed [Page 50] the
government of the undersigned to leave the question of a detailed
programme more freely to the deliberation, or perhaps to the initiative,
of the conference assembled.
The undersigned will be glad to be advised of the names of the Austrian
and Hungarian delegates, that he may transmit them to his government as
well as to the delegates of the United States who are expected at Paris
about this time. And he avails himself of this occasion to renew to his
excellency the assurance of his distinguished consideration.