Mr. Olney to Baron von Thielmann.
Washington, December 21, 1896.
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 18th instant, wherein you state that Mr. von Schmidt, president of the municipal council at Apia, who accepted the office for a period of three years, which will expire on the 31st instant, has expressed his intention to leave Samoa by January 23 proximo, on a vessel which sails on that date, and that the Imperial German Government perceives no objection to his departure, which can not be prevented. It is accordingly asked whether this Government shares the same view as that of Germany, and whether it is prepared to instruct the United States consul-general at Apia in that sense, to the end that the consular representatives of the treaty powers at Apia may perform the duties of the municipal president, as was previously done in 1893, until the arrival of Dr. Raffel, which will not occur, according to your note, “until several months have elapsed”—presumably several months after January 23, 1896.
In view of the unsatisfactory condition of affairs that arose in 1893, when the consular body, under instructions from the Governments concerned, relieved Baron Senfft von Pilsach (see Senate Ex. Doc. No. 97, [Page 450] Fifty-third Congress, third session), it is greatly regretted that so long a period must necessarily elapse between the retirement of Mr. von Schmidt and the arrival of his successor. It is hoped, however, that in case the three Governments are agreed—although I am unable to concur in the statement that Mr. von Schmidt’s “departure can not be prevented”—Dr. Raffel will recognize the urgency of his presence at Apia and the assumption of his official duties at the earliest practicable moment.
Regarding the departure of Mr. Schmidt, I may say that in October last he addressed the Department directly requesting to be relieved at the end of December, adding that his successor was expected at the beginning of next year. His motive for sending his request in that manner was, he said, owing to the fact that Mr. Churchill might not in the press of business incident to the departure of the mails find opportunity to communicate the request.
October 29 last Mr. von Schmidt’s letter was acknowledged, and on the same day a telegram was addressed to Mr. Churchill directing him to favor the early departure of Mr. von Schmidt.
Almost simultaneously with the Department’s action a dispatch was received from Mr. Churchill with an adverse recommendation touching Mr. von Schmidt’s request. I have since received a note from the British ambassador, of the 14th instant, asking the views of this Government in regard to Mr. von Schmidt’s departure. One of its accompaniments is a letter from the British consul, dated Samoa, October 7, 1896, addressed to Lord Salisbury. It speaks of Mr. von Schmidt’s desire to leave before the arrival of his successor, and then adds:
It would give the consuls a great deal of unnecessary trouble to have them to take over Mr. Schmidt’s office for a month and then hand it over again to Dr. Raffel, more especially as I happen to know that Herr von Schmidt has no urgent reason for leaving at the end of December.
I have advised the British ambassador of the Department’s action on October 29, 1896, and have indicated that, in view of the adverse recommendation of Consul-General Churchill, coupled with statements by Consul Cusack Smith, I would be willing to withdraw my permission for Mr. von Schmidt’s departure before the arrival of Dr. Raffel. Now that it appears that it will be several months from January 23 next before Dr. Raffel is expected to reach Apia, I am more strongly convinced that the consuls should not discharge the functions of the municipal president, and if Mr. von Schmidt can not be prevailed upon to await the coming of his successor, that Dr. Raffel’s arrival should at least be expedited, in order not to leave so great an interregnum between the departure of Mr. von Schmidt and the arrival of Dr. Raffel.
As the question appears to have become one of divergence between the Imperial Government and that of Her British Majesty, as to which the judgment of the American representative at Samoa coincides with the opinion of his British colleague, I am not prepared to definitely instruct the United States Consul-General in the sense proposed until the adoption of common ground by Germany and Great Britain shall make the deferential concurrence of this Government feasible. Meanwhile Mr. Churchill will be given a copy of this correspondence. I shall likewise inclose a copy to the British ambassador.
Accept, Mr. Ambassador, etc.,