Mr. Foster to Baron
Ketteler.
Department of State,
Washington, July 11,
1892.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of Mr. Holleben’s note of the 6th ultimo, and to inclose for
your information a copy of an instruction to the vice-consul of the
United States at Apia on 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.
Accept, etc.,
[Page 641]
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.