No. 965.
Mr. Thompson to Mr. Bayard.
Port an Prince, Hayti, March 30, 1888. (Received April 25.)
Sir: Confirming my No. 20 of the 27th ultimo, I have the honor to inform you that I arrived in the U. S. S. Atlanta at Santo Domingo City on the afternoon of the 29th of February; the United States consul coming aboard, I immediately sent through him a note to the minister, of foreign affairs, requesting audience 5 in reply he fixed the hour at 10 o’clock the following morning.
Accompanied by Consul Astwood, I paid my official visit to the Hon. Manuel Maria Gautier and presented to him my letter of credence, making remarks to the effect that my Government regretted that the difficulty of direct communication between the city of Santo Domingo and of Port au Prince had prevented my presenting myself before; consequently, in order to keep from any further delay, the United States Government decided upon sending a vessel of war as an additional mark of their friendly feelings toward Santo Domingo, and finished by saying: “Mr. Minister, in presenting to you this letter from the Secretary of State of the United States, I beg to assure your excellency that there will never be any lack of endeavor on my part to try and subserve to the best of my ability the friendly relations that have heretofore always existed between our two Governments, and which are so essential to our national intercourse.”
Mr. Gautier replied in appropriate terms and offered to accompany us to the office of President Hereaux, whom I found to be a very excellent man of sound reasoning and logical opinions.
During our conversation he said words to the effect that he regretted that the United States Government did not have their chargé d’affaires permanently residing at Santo Domingo, or at least that he could not visit them more frequently, for, said he, “we are liberal toward foreigners, and we have here very many United States citizens; in Hayti foreigners can not own property, here they have every right the same as a Dominican, hence we would be highly pleased could we see more of the diplomatic representative of the United States.”
I understand there is a project coming up before the Dominican Congress during the present session for the support of a diplomatic representative to Washington.
My official visits were extremely pleasant.
[Page 1420]On returning to the department of foreign relations Mr. Gauties informed me that he had sent me dispatches but a few days previourly, and he would furnish me with their copies. I expressed thanks and we retired. That afternoon I received the copies of the dispatches wherein the minister requested such data as I might have to assist him in judging the claim of Mr. Frary and Mr. Arteaga. I drew up the cases as fully as possible and transmitted them to him. On the 7th of March, as Captain Bunce, of the U. S. S. Atlanta, had to coal at St. Thomas, I sent a dispatch, copy herein inclosed. In reply Mr. Gautier appointed 10 a.m., Thursday the 8th instant. We passed nearly all of that day in discussing the case of Mr. Frary, and I found from authentic documents that conscientiously our citizen’s cause could be substantiated on account of the principle for which I was arguing, viz, that the governor of Puerto Plata had exceeded his authority in having kept Mr. Frary, a United States citizen, under surveillance and refusing him a passport in order to retain him at that city. I argued that in such a case, an arrangement of some kind should have been made, yet I could not lose sight of the fact that it was probably our citizen’s indiscreet actions and defiant, if not insulting, attitude that probably actuated those in power to be unsympathetic toward him and push their law to the finest point. Mr. Gautier’s argument was that, according to Dominican laws founded on the “Code Napoléon,” nothing illegal had been committed from first to last, and had the litigants been Dominicans the same proceedings would have taken place. He told of the belligerent attitude Mr. Frary had taken against their laws and his open avowals not to respect them, and that the Goodrich and Singer Lumber Company had already intended suspending business in Santo Domingo before the affair, for all of which he exhibited more or less proof. But while he could explain to me why Mr. Frary was not permitted to leave Puerto Plata, he was unable to give legal reasons for eventually granting the passport. Finally, Mr. Gautier attacked the amount claimed for, and showed me by papers authenticated by Consul Simpson that at first Mr. Frary asked for the value of the mahogany logs—$1,000 for the company’s loss at Monte-Christi, $500 for the company’s loss on the Yagua River, $1,000 for his detention, and $5,000 for about two months’ legal advice; aggregating in all nearly $11,000. Later the sum was fixed at $15,000, and now I was claiming for $25,000. I told him distinctly that in my mind the act of a wrong having been committed was established, since he could not explain the reason for the Government repudiating the action of three governors who had refused the passport, and if he would acknowledge such principle we would certainly have no question about the amount of indemnity. He was willing to do this, and offered in settlement $5,000 in the foreign debt, but I succeeded in raising the sum to the amount of $10,000 in the foreign debt, payable in installments every sixty days subject to your approval.
In regard to Arteaga’s case we could not agree on account of the absence of certain facts that Mr. Gautier alleged with time he could prove.
Sunday morning, the 11th of March, we left Santo Domingo City direct for St. Thomas. Arriving there, I immediately sent you a cablegram, as follows:
Department of
State,
Washington:
Frary settled, subject your ratification, ten thousand, ample, payable in foreign debt every sixty days. Answer requested. Considering Arteaga.
Thompson.
A day or two later came the reports of the blizzard and the inability of using the cable, but I awaited, expecting a response as soon as the wires could be used, when Friday the French steamer Ville de Bordeaux, from Hayti, arrived in St. Thomas, and the news spread like wild-fire through that city that President Salomon was very ill, not expected to live; that presidential aspirants had presented themselves, and that the people were on the point of taking up arms, and that foreigners were in great danger. I was attending a musical soiree at a Danish gentleman’s house when the news was announced to me. Arriving on board the Atlanta, I was informed by some of the officers, who had passed the evening elsewhere, that they had met the French secretary of legation in Hayti, who was on leave en route for Europe by the steamer Ville de Bordeaux, and that he confirmed the current reports. Naturally this gave a very serious aspect to affairs. The following morning I called on board the Ville de Bordeaux to see the French secretary, Mr. Despesailles, and he acquiesced in the gravity of affairs in Hayti. Later I met the French consul, who informed me confidentially that Captain Boutet, of the frigate Du Couëdic, then at St. Thomas, had sent a cablegram on the strength of the reports to the navy department in Paris, requesting instructions to leave immediately for Port au Prince, although the minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Brutus St. Victor, had sent the Hay-’ tian consul a confidential circular denying the reports. I felt if there was any menacing of peace my place was at Port au Prince, so requested Captain Bunce to convey me immediately to Santo Domingo, where I could take a hurried departure from that Government and return here. This he did, thus leaving the case of Mr. Arteaga undecided, as the documents from Puerto Plata had not been received, and my stay was only sufficiently long to make the proper adieus. I reached this city on the 21st instant, finding everything perfectly peaceful and quiet. True, enemies of the present administration had enlarged upon President Salomon’s indisposition, but he was then so far recovered as to continue his daily duties. True, there had been some anxiety felt, but it was of short duration, yet sufficiently long to cause the minister of foreign affairs to deny it to his agents, in order to prevent a false, and, perhaps, commercially, a disastrous report abroad.
I received your dispatches Nos. 19 and 20 oh the 27th and shall communicate with the foreign office at Santo Domingo by the first opportunity.
I regret that my stay at Santo Domingo City was shortened, for I believe by a few days’ longer sojourn I should have performed further duties to the Department’s satisfaction, but under the circumstances was forced to consider my presence here absolutely indispensable, if one of those revolts or destructive insurrections, for which, unfortunately, Hayti is historic, was imminent.
By the French steamer arriving yesterday I received your cable dispatch from St. Thomas, which read as follows:
Thompson,
Minister U. S. ship Atlanta, St. Thomas:
You are authorized to accept $10,000 payable in foreign debt every sixty days in settlement of Frary claim.
Bayard.
I have, etc.,