Mr. Adee to Mr.
Taylor.
Department
of State.
Washington, July 27,
1893.
No. 26.]
Sir: I inclose for your information a copy of a
letter from the secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions at Boston of the 24th instant, and of my reply of the 27th, in
regard to the reported settlement of the missionary troubles at Ponapé.
I am, etc.,
Alvey A. Adee,
Acting Secretary.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 26.]
Mr. Smith to Mr.
Gresham.
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions,
Somerset Street,
Boston, Mass., July 24, 1893.
(Received July 25.)
Sir: I notice the following statement in a
paper published on the Pacific coast under date of July 13, 1893:
“It is also stated in dispatches that Spanish papers express their
satisfaction that U. S. Minister Snowden, before his departure, had
successfully adjusted the negotiations for the readmission and
compensation of the missionaries on the Caroline Islands.”
This news is very important if true. Permit me to request of you the
favor that you will kindly inform me whether this dispatch is according
to the facts. Has Mr. Snowden returned to this country from Madrid, and
in what state did he leave the Caroline Islands question? If the matter
has indeed been brought to a definite and happy conclusion, according to
the tenor of the above dispatch, it is occasion for most sincere
satisfaction.
I should be glad also to learn, in case the settlement as reported has
actually been made, whether the Spanish Government has sent full and
explicit information of the same to the governor on the Caroline
Islands, and what arrangement has been made, if any, for the due return
of the missionaries and their reestablishment in their homes and work on
Ponapé.
Awaiting with deepest interest your reply,
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 2 in No. 26.]
Mr. Adee to Mr.
Smith.
Department of State,
Washington, July 27,
1893.
Sir: I have received your letter of the 24th
instant in regard to the reported settlement of the missionary troubles
at Ponapé by Mr. A. Loudon Snowden, lately U. S. minister at Madrid.
In reply I have to state that the last exchange of notes before Mr.
Snowden’s departure from Madrid disclosed a want of exact agreement as
to the terms of the settlement which has been virtually reached, and
that the conclusion of the matter devolves upon Mr. Hannis Taylor, the
new minister, whose instructions on file are ample for his guidance in
obtaining proper guarantees for the returning missionaries.
I am, etc.,
Alvey a. Adee,
Acting Secretary.
