No. 748.
Mr. Connery to Mr. Bayard.
Mexico, October 26, 1887. (Received November 3.)
Sir: Shortly after mailing you my recent dispatch concerning the murder of Mr. Leon Baldwin, Mr. Daniel Turner, his brother in law, brought me a copy of the affidavit of Mr. W. W. Carroll, of Durango, sworn to before the consul of Germany, in the absence of our consular representative, Mr. C. B. Jones.
I gave Mr. Turner a copy of your rules for “Claims against foreign governments,” and advised him to direct Mr. Carroll to comply therewith as fully as possible.
If the intention was to prove negligence on the part of the authorities, then I said they should lay the foundation by gathering all possible evidence showing that the authorities had received timely warning and had sent no armed protection until too late to save Mr. Baldwin’s life.
As I noticed a conflict of statements between Mr. Mariscal’s explanation to me and Mr. Carroll’s sworn declaration forwarded to you, about the number and the death of the assassins, I suggested to Mr. Turner that proof should be obtained that there were really six bandits and not five engaged in the murder, and that one of these had escaped and still lived. Proof on this point, I told him, should not rest solely on the testimony of Mr. Carroll, if corroborative evidence could be procured.
So, on the point made by Mr. Mariscal that, in fact, the people of a neighboring town or village had avenged Mr. Baldwin’s death without waiting for the Government’s permission, Mr. Carroll’s affidavit conflicts, for he swears that this killing of the bandits was caused by popular indignation aroused by the robbery of a Mexican merchant, the kid-uapping of his son, and the abduction of one of their judges.
I do not inclose a copy of Mr. Carroll’s affidavit, because it has already been forwarded to you from Durango by that gentleman.
I am, etc.,