No. 311.
Mr. Lowell
to Mr. Blaine.
[Extract.]
Legation of
the United States,
London, March 12, 1881.
(Received March 25.)
No. 140.]Sir: I have the honor to acquaint you that, on the
10th of February last, I received a letter from B. H. Barrows, esq., the
consul of the United States at Dublin, inclosing an old passport issued to
Michael P. Boyton (one of the traversers in the late state trials in Dublin)
on the 20th November, 1866, by Mr. Seward, then Secretary of State. He
stated that Mr. Boyton had applied to him to visa
this passport, which he had refused, and that he had reported his action to
the Department of State, which had approved of the same, and that at Mr.
Boyton’s request he now forwarded the old passport to me, asking whether,
under the circumstances, I could issue to him a new one.
I replied to Mr. Barrows, on the 10th of February, that under ordinary
circumstances Mr. Boyton, upon producing his old passport, proving that he
is the person named therein, and taking the oath prescribed by statute,
would be entitled to a new passport; that if the Department of State
approved of Mr. Barrows’s refusal to visa his old
papers upon the ground that he was one of the traversers in the late state
trials, this would be a reason why I should not give him a new passport; but
if Mr. Barrows’s action was approved because it would have been irregular to
visa a passport more than two years after its
date,
[Page 512]
there would be no objection
perhaps to issuing another one, it being understood that it would be
necessary in such case for Mr. Boyton to present himself in person at this
legation, and take the affidavit required by law. I requested Mr. Barrows to
send me a copy of his correspondence with the Department on this
subject.
I received a reply to this letter from Mr. Barrows on the 15th of February, a
copy of which, I herewith inclose. He also sent me copies of his letters to
Mr. Hay, Assistant Secretary of State, dated on the 12th of November last,
and of Mr. Hay’s answer to the same, dated on the 2d of December last.
You will observe that Mr. Boyton stated to Mr. Barrows that he was not a
native-born citizen, having been born in Ireland but taken to America when
he was a child. He appears to have declared in his application to the State
Department that he was born in the State of New York.
I answered Mr. Barrows’s letter on the 16th of February to the effect that if
Mr. Boyton was taken to America when a child and claimed citizenship on that
ground, it would be necessary for him to prove that his father was
naturalized there. I herewith inclose a copy of my letter.
No further correspondence upon this subject took place until the 8th of March
instant when I received late in the evening a telegram from Mr. Boyton,
dated at Kildare, Ireland, in the following words:
I am an American citizen, and protest against an outrage to which I
have been this day subjected by being arrested on a warrant which
charges no offense. I claim the protection of my government.
I thereupon, the next day, addressed a letter to Mr. Barrows at Dublin,
requesting him to ascertain, in the first place, whether Mr. Boyton is an
American citizen, and, if this should be shown to his (Mr. Barrows’s)
satisfaction, then that he should examine into the grounds of Boyton’s
arrest, and if the facts should justify the belief that his complicity with
treasonable or seditious objects had not been made out, that Mr. Barrows
should then apply to the authorities for his discharge or to be informed why
he is detained. I herewith inclose a copy of my letter, to which I have not
yet received any answer. * * *
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 140.]
Consul Barrows to
Mr. Lowell.
Consulate of the United States,
Dublin, February 14,
1881.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of
yours 10th inst, relative to the application of Michael P. Boyton for a
new passport. I explained to Mr. Boyton that his personal attendance
before you was necessary, but he first desired an expression of opinion,
and thereupon I sent in his application. Copies of the dispatches
relating to this matter are herewith submitted.
Mr. Boyton told me that he was not a native-born citizen, having been
born in Ireland, but taken to America when he was a child. You will
observe that the Assistant Secretary says the State Department records
state he was born in the State of New-York. I have to-day written Mr.
Boyton informing him that in order to make application for the reissue
of his passport he must appear before you in London.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
B. H. BARROWS,
United States
Consul.
Hon. James Russell Lowell,
United States Minister, London.
[Page 513]
[Inclosure 2 in No. 140.]
Mr. Lowell to
Consul Barrows.
Legation of the United States,
London, February 16,
1881.
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 14th instant, in relation to the case of Michael P.
Boyton.
The fact that he has already received a passport from the Department of
State will not, in my opinion, entitle him to a new one, inasmuch as
this original passport was granted upon the supposition that he was born
in the United States. If, as he now declares, he was born in Ireland and
taken to America when he was a child, it will be necessary for him to
prove that his father was naturalized there; and this can only be done
satisfactorily by producing his father’s letters of naturalization. It
is well that Mr. Boyton should understand this before taking the trouble
to come to London.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
B. H. Barrows, Esq.,
United States Consul, Dublin, Ireland.
[Inclosure 3 in No. 140.]
Mr. Lowell to
Consul Barrows.
Legation of the United States,
London, March 9,
1881.
Sir: I received last night a telegram from Mr.
Michael P. Boyton, stating that he is an American citizen and protesting
against an alleged outrage to which he has been subjected by being
arrested on a warrant which he says charges no offense. He thereupon
claims the protection of the United States Government. This telegram is
dated at Kildare, but I see by to-day’s Times that he has been taken to
Kilmainham jail, in the neighborhood of Dublin. I prefer not to
correspond directly with Mr. Boyton, and I must request you to see him
and make such inquiries into his case as will enable me to take the
proper action in regard to it.
It is necessary to acertain, in the first place, whether he is an
Americon citizen or not. By a reference to the correspondence I have
already had with you upon his application for a new passport, you will
observe that while it appears by the records of the State Department at
Washington that be claimed to have been born in New York, he has lately
stated to you that he was born in Ireland, but taken to America when he
was a child. I must consider, under the circumstances, this latter
statement to be the true one. He must, therefore, prove that he has been
naturalized in the United States, or that his parents have been
naturalized, in order to be entitled to the privileges of citizenship.
If the fact of his American citizenship should thus he ascertained to
your satisfaction, I desire then that you should carefully examine into
the grounds of his arrest, and if the precise facts justify the belief
that no substantial charge of his complicity with treasonable or
seditious objects can be made out, you will communicate this to the
authorities in Ireland and request his discharge or to be informed why
he is detained. You will please intimate, in respectful terms and
without any warmth or suggestion of threats, that you are making these
inquires under my instructions, and are acting precisely as British
consuls in the United States acted soon after the civil war, under the
directions of the British minister at Washington, in cases of summary
arrests of British subjects. It is my duty to protect, so far as I can,
all citizens of the United States, whether native or naturalized, who
are shown to be innocent of designs to subvert civil order, and I should
not perhaps require in such cases evidence of innocence so full and
conclusive as that which might be required in a court of law. At the
same time I shall by no means try to screen any persons who are
evidently guilty of offending against the criminal laws of Great
Britain.
I have to request that in Mr. Boyton’s case, as well as all similar ones,
you will be cautious and temperate and at the same time vigilant and
firm, and that you will promptly report your action to me.
I am, sir, your obedient servant.
Benjamin H. Barrows, Esq.,
Consul of the United States, Dublin.
Ireland.
