No. 318.
Mr. Phelps to Mr.
Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
London, September 16, 1885.
(Received October 3.)
No. 95.]
Sir: Referring to Mr. Frelinghuysen’s instruction
to my predecessor, No. 1006, of the 20th of October, 1884, in relation to
the action of Mormon emissaries in India, I have the honor to acquaint you
that immediately after its reception, on the 4th of November, 1884, Mr.
Lowell addressed a note to Lord Granville, requesting, if practicable, that
some measures might be taken to check the proceedings of these emissaries at
Calcutta in promoting the emigration of their converts to America.
I have now received a reply to this note from Mr. Currie on behalf of Lord
Salisbury, who states that the Government of India considers that the harm
done by the Mormons during their stay in the country has been inappreciable,
and that in the opinion of the Government no special
[Page 449]
measures are at present necessary, but that in the
case of unlawful recruiting of men or women, the provisions of the penal
code would be applied.
I inclose herewith a copy of the correspondence with the foreign office on
this subject, and also the original printed documents which accompanied Mr.
Currie’s note, of which it does not seem necessary to keep copies on our
files.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure in No. 95.]
Mr. Lowell to Lord
Granville.
Legation of the United States,
London, November 4,
1884.
My Lord: I have the honor to acquaint you that
I have been informed by Mr. Frelinghuysen that he has received a
dispatch, dated on the 30th of August last, from Mr. J. A. Leonard, the
American consul-general at Calcutta, reporting the arrival there of
three Mormon emissaries, and asking whether any means exist of
preventing the emigration of converts, and whether any action on the
consul’s part for such an object is required.
Inasmuch as the Mormons practicing polygamy constantly increase in
numbers by reason of accessions from abroad, recruited by emissaries
from Utah operating beyond the reach of the laws of the United States,
my Government is obliged to avail itself of the good offices of the
authorities of foreign countries to oppose and check, as far as
practicable, the emigration of these people. The Secretary of State
therefore desires to bring this communication of the consul at Calcutta
to the attention of Her Majesty’s Government, with the request that
appropriate instructions may be issued to the proper authorities with a
view to checking the proposed shipment of Mormon recruits to the United
States from India.
I am well aware that a correspondence upon the subject of restricting
Mormon emigration from this Kingdom to America has already taken place
between this legation and the foreign office, and that your lordship’s
predecessor, the Marquis of Salisbury, in a note to Mr. Hoppin, then
chargé d’affaires of the United States, dated on the 19th of January,
1883, stated that Her Majesty’s Government could do no more than to give
public notice of the illegal character of Mormon marriage according to
the laws of the United States, and Sir E. Y. Henderson, the commissioner
of police, acting under the immediate authority of Her Majesty’s
principal secretary of state for the home department, caused such
notices to be issued in London and Liverpool.
It would be gratifying to my Government if, under the laws and customs of
British India, some measures could be taken to check the proceedings of
the Mormon emissaries at Calcutta more active and effectual than the
issuing of the notices above mentioned; but if this method is the only
one practicable, I have to request your lordship to bring it to the
attention of the authorities in India with a view to its adoption
there.
I have, &c.,
