No. 290.

Mr. Kasson to Mr. Frelinghuysen.

No. 179.]

Sir: I inclose herewith copies of the correspondence between this legation and the German foreign office in respect to the action of certain German local authorities in furnishing money to one Andreas Rausch to enable him to emigrate to the United States, and after the expiration of his sentence of imprisonment for five years for the crime of arson.

[Page 403]

It will be observed that the law of 1875 (chapter 140, sec. 5) only covers criminal “persons who are undergoing a sentence for conviction,” &c., “or whose sentence has been remitted on condition of their emigration.” Because Rausch had served out his sentence the German Government claimed, it seems to me rightly, that under this law his immigration could not be opposed.

In acknowledging the reception of this note I called the attention of the foreign office to a later law, in which the word “convict”is used in describing persons who shall not be permitted to land. Owing to the failure to supply this legation with the volume containing the statute, or the date of its passage, I could only give the section as it had been transmitted to this legation, with instruction No. 280, of August 18, 1884.

I assumed that the word “convict” covers those who have been convicted of felonious crimes, even after the expiration of their sentence.

On this point I request an instruction from the Department.

I have, &c.,

JOHN A. KASSON.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 179.]

Mr. Everett to Dr. Busch.

The undersigned, chargé d’affaires ad interim of the United States of America, has the honor to inform Dr. Busch, under secretary of state, in charge of the imperial foreign office, that information has reached him, under date of the 23d August, from the American commercial agent at Mainz, that there would be shipped from Bremen to the United States within a few days, by the North German Lloyd Steamship Company, a person named Andreas Eausch, believed to be a pauper or criminal thirty-one years old, from Fitzendorf, Bavaria, and whose passage money is supposed to be paid by the local officials at Königshofen.

It is further reported that certain shipping agents were applied to in the matter, who declined to have anything to do with shipping a pauper or criminal, and returned the money forwarded £hem for that purpose, and that thereupon his passage was secured for him through one of the Lloyd agents at Königshofen, either Wilhelm Berlens, R. B. Glückstein, or Peter Rathgeber. His departure was intended to be about the 27th of the current month.

The undersigned, while furnishing these facts without in any way vouching for their correctness, as the reputation of shipping agents is in question, would respectfully request that the matter may be investigated, and, should it prove to be as stated, the proper steps may be taken for returning the said Andreas Rausch to his own country, as a person whom the United States would not be expected, under the general comity of nations, to receive on their shores.

The undersigned avails, &c.

H. SIDNEY EVERETT.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 179.—Translation.]

Dr. Busch to Mr. Kasson.

The undersigned has had the honor to receive the note of Mr. Sidney Everett of August 27 last, relating to the emigration to America of Andreas Rausch, of Fitzendorf.

In view of the communications contained in the same, occasion has been taken to cause the facts to be investigated. This investigation has resulted in showing that Andreas Rausch, whose conveyance to America, for the rest, failed to take place in consequence of the intervention of the American consul at Bremen, was in the year 1873 condemned for arson to imprisonment at hard labor for five years; he had, however, years ago completely served his term of punishment and had lately voluntarily determined to emigrate. He should not therefore be considered a “criminal” in the sense of section 5 of the American law of March 3, 1875, “An act supplementary to [Page 404] the acts in relation to immigration,” since the prohibition of immigration contained in the same, according to the interpretation adopted also by American lawyers, is not so much directed against those persons who have already expiated the crimes they have committed by serving their penal sentence, but rather against those only who evade punishment by emigration, or to whom punishment is remitted on condition of emigration.

As to the further question whether Andreas Rausch should be considered a “pauper,” investigation has shown that he had been provided with such an amount of means, partly by his home community, partly from charitable funds, that a sum of money would have remained to him for his further maintenance after payment of his passage over.

It has been further established that the said Rausch is in the best years of manhood, and healthy and able-bodied. Under these circumstances it would seem that he should also not be considered a pauper, and not be excluded from immigration into the United States as such.

While the undersigned has the honor to communicate the above to Mr. John A. Kasson, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America, he, at the same time, avails, &c.

BUSCH.
[Inclosure 3 in No. 179.]

Mr. Kasson to Dr. Busch.

The undersigned, envoy, &c., of the United States of America, while acknowledging the reception of the esteemed note of Dr. Busch, under secretary of state, in charge of the imperial office of foreign affairs, &c., dated the 16th instant, and relating to the case of Andreas Rausch, begs at the same time to call his attention to the provisions of the second section of a law of Congress regulating immigration into the United States, which is of a more recent date than the law to which the said note of Dr. Busch referred, and which was also in force at the time of the incident which is the occasion of this correspondence.

A copy of the section of the law last above mentioned is inclosed herewith for the information of the foreign office. It will be observed that its terms have a wider scope than the former act, and would appear to include the case of Rausch.

The undersigned, &c.

JOHN A. KASSON.