Moustapha Bey to Mr. Olney.
Washington, February 14, 1897.
Mr. Secretary of State: Mr. J. A. Iasigi, consul-general of Turkey at Boston, telegraphs me from New York that he has just been arrested in a civil suit in the latter city, in pursuance of a warrant received by telegraph from Boston.
[Page 583]This arrest, which has been made in a purely civil case, is in violation of Article II of the treaty of 1830, according to which Ottoman consuls in America are to enjoy suitable distinction.
As a matter of course, this provision of Article II of the treaty in question guarantees, in principle, to our consuls and officers the usage which is secured to the consuls and officers of the most favored nation, without excluding the principle of reciprocity according to which Ottoman consuls and officers in the United States are entitled to the same regard and consideration with which United States consuls and officers are treated by the Imperial Ottoman Government in Turkey.
For all these reasons, and deeply regretting the inconsiderate action of the authorities of the city of New York in this matter, I beg your excellency to be pleased to transmit a suitable communication to the proper authorities, to the end that the consul-general of Turkey at Boston, who has been arrested at New York in violation of an existing treaty, may be immediately released.
Be pleased to accept, etc.,