No. 192.
Mr. Frelinghuysen to Mr. Schuyler.
Department
of State,
Washington, May 28,
1884.
No. 61.]
Sir: Referring to your Nos. 69 and 70, in relation
to the restrictions imposed upon the sale of the Holy Scriptures in Greece,
I have to inclose herewith, for your information, a copy of a communication
from Edward W. Gilman, secretary of the American Bible Society in New York,
concerning the same subject-matter.
If the law allows the sale of the Holy Scriptures in Greece, the rights of
American vendors must be protected.
You should leave nothing undone to protect the lawful rights of American
citizens engaged in such occupations, and have extended to them whatever
privileges the citizens of other nations have.
I am, &c.,
[Page 263]
[Inclosure 1 in No. 61.]
Mr. Gilman to Mr.
Frelinghuysen.
Bible
House, Astor Place,
New
York, May 21,
1884.
Sir: I have the honor of acknowledging your
attention in submitting to us a memorandum relating to Mr. Schuyler’s
dispatch No. 69.
We were aware that an appeal had been made to the American minister at
Athens to exert his influence for the protection of our employés from
maltreatment while engaged in lawful trade, and, knowing something of
his success in removing the injunction of the Greek Government against
the importation of American hams, we hoped he would be no less firm in
the position that American citizens ought to be protected in carrying
out their unselfish aims to give every inhabitant of Greece the
opportunity to buy, if he will, the Holy Scriptures which are recognized
as canonical throughout Christendom.
The attitude assumed on previous occasions by our ambassadors and those
of Great Britain is believed to be in accordance with the profound
convictions of the nation, that the lives and property of men who are
engaged in the disinterested work of teaching a pure Christian morality
have no less claim upon national protection than the lives and property
of those who are engaged in commercial speculations, scientific
research, or academic studies. And to meet any misunderstanding or
suspicion among the Greeks as to missionary enterprises, Mr. Schuyler
might well inform them that while the British and Foreign Bible Society
is under the patronage of Her Majesty the Queen of England, the Prince
of Wales, and the Emperor of Germany, the American Bible Society also
numbers among its officers some of the most eminent of American jurists
and civilians, among whom it is not invidious to mention the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the ex-Presidents of the United
States.
So far as those societies are concerned, it is not any part of their
object to make proselytes from the Greek Church, nor do they employ men
to circulate other books than the Holy Scriptures. If that were the gravamen of the offense, we should have expected
it to be made prominent, but, so far as I can learn, the objection has
come from the holy synod that the Holy Scriptures ought not to be
allowed to be circulated. The injustice of which we complain is that our
employés have been deprived of property and forbidden to prosecute a
business which the law allows.
I do not know what the opinion of the American minister may be in respect
to the advantages which may accrue from the prosecution of this work,
but whether it is favorable or not, we judge that our correspondents are
entitled to his hearty sympathy and aid, while doing this work, as
representatives of the Christian people of America, so long as they do
not violate the letter or the spirit of the law; and we confidently hope
that Mr. Schuyler will have instructions from the Department of State to
give no less support to this work of pure philanthropy than he would to
commercial enterprises conducted solely with a view to pecuniary
profit.
With renewed thanks for the invitation given us to express an opinion on
these points,
I remain, &c.,
EDWARD W. GILMAN,
Corresponding
Secretary American Bible Society.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 61.]
Mr. Gilman to Mr.
Frelinghuysen.
Bible
House, Astor Place,
New
York, May 22,
1884.
Sir: In connection with the suggestions
contained in my letter of yesterday, I beg leave to call your attention
to an extract from a recent letter from Dr. Bliss, under date of May 5,
having special reference to the embarrassments which Turkish officials
throw in the way of circulating books which are expressly sanctioned by
the Government censor. The cases are parallel to those occurring in
Greece, and their importance is such as to justify our reference to the
State Department, with the request that Mr. Wallace may be suitably
instructed to secure protection for our interests so far as it may be in
his power.
I have, &c.,
EDWARD W. GILMAN,
Corresponding
Secretary.
[Page 264]
[Inclosure.—Extract.]
Mr. Bliss to Mr.
Gilman.
Bible
House, Constantinople, May 5, 1884.
Sir: Word has just come that our excellent
colporteur in the Smyrna district was arrested at Denizlu, half way
between Aidiu and Isbarta, and sent to Smyrna under guard. Mr. Bowen at
once went to Consul Stevens, and the young man was released about 9
o’clock at night. His crime was selling books which had received the
sanction of the Government and had passed the censor.
A letter from Erzeroom informs me, under date of April 18, that a
telegram had just been received from Khanoos stating that our colporteur
there had been imprisoned for book-selling. Rev. Mr. Chambers went
immediately to the governor, and he promised to telegraph for him to be
released. Mr. Chambers had no assurance that it would be done. The head
of the censorship in Erzeroom was present at the interview with the
governor, and interposed his word to the effect that we had already been
forbidden to sell books in the villages. The question which has been
slumbering in that region since the fall of 1882 will very likely be
reopened. Now, what are we to do if an order shall be issued forbidding
in toto our colporteurs to hawk books in the
villages? All our Bibles have the permit of the censor and of the
central Government in one form or another. All the books of the mission
have been approved, also, by the same departments. We have paid duty,
&c.
* * * * * * *
