Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1900

Mr. Choate to Mr. Hay.

American Embassy,
London, July 25, 1900.

No. 361 A.]

Sir: I have the honor to report that I received on the evening of the 18th³ your cipher dispatch, of which I inclose a copy. On the 20th, at 10.30 p.m., I received your open cable conveying the Conger dispatch. The same evening I waited upon the permanent under secretary for foreign affairs, in the absence of Lord Salisbury at Hatfield, and communicated to him the Conger dispatch at your request for suggestion as stated in the cable. He asked leave to make a copy of the cable for immediate transmission to Lord Salisbury, which I was glad to have him do, and it was at once dispatched. * * *

On Sunday, the 22d, I received your open cable,² which reached the embassy late on Saturday night, relating to the Emperor’s telegram to the President, and as it seemed urgent, I sent a special messenger to Hatfield with a note for Lord Salisbury. * * *

On Tuesday, the 24th, I saw Lord Salisbury, who talked fully over the Conger message and that of the Emperor, but seemed not to be at all impressed by either, although he expressed the most cordial and earnest desire to cooperate in any way to get further intelligence and into communication with the legations, but he said very frankly he had nothing to suggest. His Government had done and would continue to do everything possible in that direction, but he could see no sufficient evidence for believing that Conger’s dispatch was of so late a date as the 18th. * * *

I have the honor to be, etc.,

Joseph H. Choate.

[Inclosure.]

Mr. Sanderson to Mr. Choate.

Foreign Office, July 21, 1900.

My Dear Ambassador: We have a telegram from our acting consul-general at Shanghai dated 11.50 this morning. He reports a message from the governor of Shantung yesterday that trustworthy news has been received from Pekin of the safety of all the ministers, and that the Government is arranging for their rescue. * * *

I am told by our experts that with relays of hordes laid down a courier from Pekin might possibly just manage to cover the distance from thence to Teinanfu, the capital of Shantung, in two days; but it seems to me that we have no security that Mr. Conger’s message was written the day the messenger left.

Believe me, etc.,

T. H. Sanderson.

3. Printed ante.
2. Also sent to Berlin, Paris, and St. Petersburg.