No. 38.
Earl Granville to Mr. West.†
Sir: I told Mr. Lowell in conversation to-day that the communications which he had addressed to me, and of which copies were forwarded to you with my dispatch of the 29th instant, with regard to the suspects imprisoned in Ireland, who are alleged to be citizens of the United States, involve principles of such importance that Her Majesty’s Government would prefer to convey their views on the subject to the Government of the United States through Her Majesty’s minister at Washington. I hope to be able to send you the necessary instructions for this purpose in the course of a few days.
In the meanwhile, I stated to Mr. Lowell, as you will have learned from my telegram of this day, that the imprisonment of suspects under the protection of person and property (Ireland) act, 1881, is not a measure for the punishment of crime but for its prevention. In many instances prisoners have been released by the Irish Government upon reasonable belief that this could be done without risk to the public safety. Her Majesty’s Government, I added, are not desirous of unnecessarily detaining in prison any person from whom no danger to the public peace need be apprehended, and they will be prepared, therefore, to take into consideration the circumstances of any citizens of the United States now so detained who may be willing to engage forthwith to leave the United Kingdom.
I am, &c,
- Substance telegraphed.↩