Mr. Porter to Mr. Blaine.
Rome, April 1, 1891.
Sir: On the 30th ultimo I had the honor to receive your cipher dispatch, which read as follows.*
To-day I forward you the following cable (in cipher) in reply,†
The day on which your dispatch was received being a public holiday, and the minister of foreign affairs absent from the city, I could do nothing immediately. On the following day, the minister being still absent, I called to learn when he was expected to return, and was received by Count d’Arco, the undersecretary, whom I found thoroughly acquainted with the division between the Federal and State jurisdictions in criminal proceedings under our Constitution and with the structure of our Government. He gave me to understand, however, that the ministry was not satisfied that the Federal Government was making as strenuous exertions with the governor of Louisiana to bring the murderers of the Italians to justice as it was thought the circumstances required, and intimated that this feeling was so strong that a recall of the Italian minister at Washington might become necessary.
Parliament is to reassemble on the 14th instant, and I discovered, as I thought, that the fear of not being able to satisfy it that proper vigor had been exercised by the ministry occasioned profound anxiety and was tempting to a course more extreme than would otherwise, perhaps, be adopted. Being a coalition ministry, it dreads the risk of attempting to withstand an adverse popular feeling, however temporary. It feels, under these circumstances, that the President should give more definite assurances.
In reply to the count’s observations, I stated that the Government had promptly proclaimed its horror at the deed committed by the New Orleans mob and had expressed its strong desire to the governor of Louisiana that he would use his most efficient exertions to bring the perpetrators to justice; that necessarily, as the Federal Government could not exercise direct authority over the State courts, its proceedings could not be as prompt as might be thought desirable; but that I was entirely confident that every exertion was being made that lay within the constitutional authority of the President, strictly to fulfill the treaty obligations of the United States with respect to the protection of Italian citizens.
I added, also, that in other cases in which the President, in the exercise [Page 679] of his powers, bad appealed to the governors of States to cause the perpetrators of crimes to be brought to justice, and where a seeming slowness in accomplishing what was desired had occasioned temporary impatience, the end had fully vindicated the good faith of the Government and had removed dissatisfaction. These observations seemed to give pleasure to the count, but, nevertheless, it was evident that he felt that the ministry ought to be assisted by some stronger assurances.
I have, etc.,