No. 657.

Mr. Emmet to Mr. Bayard .

No. 515.]

Sir: I have the honor to report that, on receipt of your dispatch No. 296, I addressed a communication to Mr. Frank Calvert, United States consular agent at the Dardanelles, a copy of which I have the honor to [Page 853] inclose, and likewise the answer thereto, in reference to the case of Mr. E. Chryssofondis.

The statements contained in Mr. Calvert’s answer are almost a repetition of the facts stated under cover of dispatch 296, with the additional information that the proofs of Mr. Chryssofondis’s naturalization, consisting of a passport and a declaration of renunciation to foreign allegiance, were submitted to Consul-General Heap some time before they were shown to the Turkish authorities, and were pronounced as incomplete by Mr. Heap.

The ground for refusing recognition by the Turkish authorities was the law of 1869, which I cite in my dispatch No. 213, and that law will likewise prove a barrier to Mr. C.’s inheriting from his parents unless he takes the steps elsewhere indicated to obtain the Imperial iradé. Under the present state of circumstances his father cannot convey property to him, although the same was purchased with money earned in America and sent to Turkey for investment.

His only relief on that point is the disposal of the property by his father, during his life, and the return of the purchase money, or his share of it, to the American claimant, unless he obtains the iradé.

I am, &c.,

WM. C. EMMET,
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
[Inclosure I in No. 515.]

Mr. Emmet to Mr. Calvert .

Sir: By dispatch received this day from the State Department I am directed to communicate with you and ask for all the information at your command in reference to the case of Mr. E. Chryssofondis, of Baltimore, Md.

The following statement has been submitted to the State Department, and I furnish it to you for confirmation or alteration as your knowledge of the same may dictate.

It seems that Mr. E. Chryssofondis, claiming Greek parentage, though born in Turkey, returned to his native town, Reukioi (about three and one-half hours’ ride from Dardanelles), March 1, last, upon a visit to his parents, from his adopted country, America, after an absence from Turkey of twenty-five years.

About April 17, desiring to return to America, he applied for a pass from the American consul at the Dardanelles, who in turn sent for same to the Turkish officials. An answer was returned by the latter that the applicant would have to appear in person. This being complied with, Mr. C. was asked where he was born, and when he replied “in Turkey” the Turkish officials absolutely refused to grant a pass, notwithstanding he showed his naturalization papers.

It is further stated to the State Department that during the interview between Mr. C. and the officials they justified their action by virtue of a treaty claimed to have been entered into in 1867, whereby all Turkish subjects who became naturalized in foreign lands and returned to Turkey forfeited all their rights acquired elsewhere. The date is what I have particular reference to, and whether they did not mean the law of 1869, enacted in reference to naturalization. In making answer to my inquiries, you will please state whether Mr. C. had and exhibited a passport, in addition to his naturalization papers, and all other points which you deem as bearing weight.

If you have any means of ascertaining the truth of Mr. C.’s claim to Greek parentage, it would add an interesting phase to the question under investigation.

I am, &c.,

WM. C. EMMET,
United States Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
[Page 854]
[Inclosure 2 in No. 515.]

Mr. Calvert to Mr. Emmet .

Sir: I have received your dispatch No. 205, of July 16, with reference to the case of Mr. E. Chyrssofondis, of Baltimore, Md.

In reply, I have the honor to furnish the facts that have conie to my knowledge. Respecting the parentage of Mr. Chryssofondis, I can state I know his father personally. He is a native of the town of Reukioi, in this neighborhood; a Greek by religion, not by nationality; by birth a “rayah,” or non-Mussulman Turkish subject. According to the statement of Mr. Chryssofondis, he left his native town of Reukioi about twenty-eight years since. After a residence of thirteen years in Greece, where, I believe, he became a Greek naturalized subject, he proceeded to the United States in 1870. In March, 1885, he returned to this country on a visit to his relatives. The documents he produced to prove his American nationality were a passport and a declaration of renunciation to foreign allegiance.

At the time of Mr. Chryssofondis’s arrival, and at his request, I wrote to Mr. Consul-General Heap, at Constantinople, to inquire if he would be protected as an American citizen from the Turkish authorities. Before receiving a reply I saw Mr. Heap personally. He verbally informed me he was of opinion Mr. Chryssofondis’s naturalization papers were incomplete, and advised that Mr. C. should, before his projected second visit to Turkey, provide himself with all necessary documents, when Mr. Heap would demand from the Pone a recognition of Mr. Chryssofondis’s American nationality.

Mr. C., on his departure from this place, applied for a pass, which was refused by the Turkish authorities. As he would not have been allowed to embark elsewhere, I permitted him to go on board a steamer from the consulate in a boat I was sending off.

The Turkish authorities justify their attitude in virtue of the treaty of 1869, in reference to naturalization. I may add that Mr. Chryssofondis did not produce any document to prove a residence in Greece.

I have, &c.,

FRANK CALVERT,
Consular Agent.