No. 4.
Mr. Phelps to Mr. Bayard.

[Telegram.]

Mr. Phelps telegraphs that he has communicated his instructions to Lord Salisbury, who declines to act until in receipt of the precise language of Lord Sackville and his explanation. Lord Salisbury does not regard the minister’s letter alone as sufficient to warrant his recall, thus ending his diplomatic career, which would not necessarily be the case, if he were dismissed by the Government of the United States, for which course there are precedents.

Mr. Phelps states he is convinced that there will be long delays, with no decisive result, if dependence is placed on the movement of the British Government and advises that if the case is thought by you to require effective action, it be taken upon the intimation of Lord Salisbury.

He says that this view is sustained by the tenor of the London press. All requirements of comity have been satisfied by Mr. Phelps’s application to the British Government, and formal explanations of the action of the United States may follow.