Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President, Transmitted to Congress December 2, 1895, Part II
Mr. Olney to Mr. Terrell.
Washington, December 4, 1895.
Sir: I inclose for the completion of your files copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, transmitting one from the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Marblehead, reporting further particulars concerning the attack on Dr. Christie and the conviction of the offenders.
I am, etc.,
Mr. Herbert to the Secretary of State.
Washington, November 30, 1895.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith for your information a copy of a letter from Rear-Admiral T. O. Selfridge, commanding United States naval force on the European station, transmitting a copy of one received from the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Marblehead, reporting further particulars concerning the affair at Adana, and the trial of the offenders.
I have, etc.,
Admiral Selfridge to Secretary Herbert.
Marseilles, France, November 15, 1895.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose a copy of an interesting letter from Commander O’Neil, which seems to finish the affair in Adana.
I have directed the Marblehead to proceed to Jaffa, and then to meet this ship at Alexandretta, December 5, 1895, visiting the several intermediate points where there are missionaries or American interests.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. N.
Commander O’Neil to Admiral Selfridge.
October 27, 1895.
Sir: In my last letter I inclosed a copy of a letter addressed by me to the moutessarif of Mersine, and inclose herewith a copy of the translation of his reply.
Having heard Dr. Christie’s version of the affair, in which he asserts that his premises were violated, his servants and some of his students maltreated, and he himself insulted and his life threatened, I went again to see the moutessarif, accompanied by the United States consul from Beirut, and we told him that his account of the circumstances differed very much from that given by Dr. Christie, and, while we had no desire to magnify the case, we objected to its being belittled; that no one was vindictive in the matter, but that we wished to establish the fact alleged by Dr. Christie and then have the Turkish officials award a suitable punishment.
The students and servants being Ottoman subjects, we confined ourselves particularly to the individual case of Dr. Christie and his domicile.
Dr. Christie and his witnesses having been summoned to appear early next week at the trial, which was characterized as a misdemeanor only, we objected, as it looked as if there was a disposition to make light of the matter, and insisted that the charges made by Dr. Christie should be the ones considered, he being prepared to substantiate them by competent witnesses; and after a long discussion they finally conceded the point and gave us every assurance that the case should be tried the day after to-morrow.
There is no doubt but that our presence and efforts, coupled with the visit of the consul from Beirut at the same time, has hastened the final settlement of the Namroun matter, though it would in all probability have been disposed of by the authorities after their own fashion and in their own time.
It is due to the moutessarif of Mersine, Seyd Mahomed Nazim, to say that he has not only shown a most friendly and accommodating spirit and a desire to promote harmony and remove all causes of discord, but it is owing to him that the matter referred to is now brought up for final settlement, and there is every reason to believe that ample justice will be done and satisfaction given to the aggrieved parties.
[Page 1292]The Americans and other foreign residents of Mersine have nothing to fear, “and are, in fact, perfectly tranquil; they have an excellent moutessarif, who is popular with all classes, and we have a good representative in Mr. Coidon, the United States consular agent, who speaks several languages and who is much esteemed by the officials and in the community.
Tarsus is but an hour’s distance by rail, and Adana but three hours, so that American interests are well looked out for in this vicinity, and there is nothing amiss here now.
The visit of a man-of-war to this port is of such rare occurrence that it attracts considerable attention, and the general opinion is that the comparatively recent visit of the flagship and this vessel, and our present visit, will be productive of much good to our interests in this quarter.
Consul Gibson was in Alexandretta a week ago and says that everything that concerns us is serene there, but, in accordance with my instructions, I intend going there when matters are all settled here.
Beyond the general influence of our presence in the vicinity and the feeling of security it affords, there is really nothing to require our presence at or near Mersine.
October 29, 1895.
Since writing the foregoing, the trial of the 12 men implicated in the Namroun affair has taken place at Tarsus.
When the men were arraigned they all pleaded not guilty, and some asserted that they were not present, and others that they were merely spectators. Dr. Christie appeared with his witnesses and the trial proceeded, and at its close the mufti declared that the men were guilty as charged by Dr. Christie, whereupon they all stood up and acknowledged that they were guilty and admitted that they had done exactly as Dr. Christie had stated, and that they had lied about it, and, as they expressed it, “they were beaten” in the trial.
Sentence was postponed until the following day, when Dr. Christie, being present, interceded for the prisoners and requested that the sentences should be made as light as possible. The mufti read from a book the punishments prescribed for the offenses proved, and then gave the lightest in each case. Six men were sentenced to imprisonment for eighty days, 3 for sixty days, and 3 to shorter periods, and to pay the costs of the trial, and the moutessarif of Mersine promised that the police official at Namroun who had failed to make the proper arrests should be dismissed.
Dr. Christie expressed himself as quite satisfied with the result, and the incident being closed I wrote a note of thanks to the moutessarif (copy inclosed); for it is owing to the steps taken by him that the men were promptly brought to trial at the request of the United States consul and myself.
I purposely kept away from the court lest it should have the appearance of trying to coerce matters, but the consul attended.
The missionaries consider the conviction of the men as a remarkable triumph of justice, as it has hardly been regarded as an offense heretofore to beat a Christian, and the general sentiment among the foreign residents is that it will be a long time before any Americans are troubled about here.
As there is nothing special to keep us at Mersine, I intend going in a few days to Alexandretta, and being so near Syria and Palestine, at some of the ports of which there are American missionaries and mission schools, it would be convenient to visit them before the bad weather sets in, as most of the ports are but open anchorages off the coast, and a visit from us would no doubt be productive of some benefit to them. I mention this in explanation of a telegram I have thought of sending you shortly, asking permission to go as far as Jaffa, as all the coast ports are connected by telegraph and are but a short distance from each other and from here.
Very respectfully,