No. 369.
Mr. Hoppin to Mr. Evarts.
London, February 10, 1880. (Received February 24.)
Sir: Referring to my No. 143, of the 7th instant, I have the honor to state that up to this time I have not received any further communication from the foreign office as to when we may expect an answer to our Fortune Bay claims, although, as I informed you both by that dispatch and by cable, Sir Julian Pauncefote gave me to understand he should send me more definite information on that point yesterday.
I presume that his silence arises from Lord Salisbury’s continued illness. It is possible a note may arrive after the closing of the bag. Whenever it comes I shall send you the substance of it by cable.
It is proper for me to state, in addition to what I wrote you on Saturday, that Sir Julian Pauncefote intimated that they would probably be able to receive the opinions of the law officers of the Crown very shortly, so that, with the additional delay of reconsidering the matter in the foreign office, we might rely upon having a reply certainly within a month from the present time; but he preferred I should make no positive statement on this point until I should hear from him again.
I have, &c.,