Mr. Foster to Mr.
Herbert.
Department of State,
Washington, July 11,
1892.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of Sir Julian Pauncefote’s note of April 19 last, and of your
note of the 5th instant, and to inclose for your information a copy of
an instruction to the vice consul of the United States at Apia of the
11th instant, concerning the joint action of the three treaty powers in
Samoa in the use of their war vessels to aid in the enforcement and
execution of the warrant issuing from the superior court of Samoa.
I have, etc.,
[Page 541]
Memorandum.
Any ship of war of the three treaty powers which for the time being
may be present in Samoa may aid when necessary in executing warrants
issuing from the supreme court of Samoa; such assistance is to be
furnished only upon the request of the consular officer of the
country to which the ship belongs, and such ship will act only when
the consular officers of the three treaty powers are unanimously of
the opinion that such assistance is necessary and shall authorize
the request for assistance.
Assistance in the execution of warrants, in the cases of persons
other than natives should, if possible, be requested of a ship of
war of the nationality of the person against whom the warrant is
issued. Otherwise such assistance should be furnished by the ships
of war in turn as far as practicable.
The action of ships of war hereby authorized is executory simply
against individuals and is in no sense warlike, and no request
should be made for their assistance when the object to be attained
can be accomplished only by an expedition into the interior of the
country.
The commander of the ship of war, upon whom the request for
assistance is made, must in each case, in his discretion, decide
whether or not compliance with the request is practicable in a
military point of view.