Mr. Merry to Mr.
Hay.
Legation of the United States of America,
San José Costa Rica, June
25, 1900.
No. 439.]
Sir: I beg reference herewith to a
communication from Hon. H. F. Bingham, Her Britannic Majesty’s consul at
San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua, which is self-explanatory. When last at
Managua I was assured by Señor Sanchez, minister of foreign affairs,
that instructions had been sent Judge Roman to arrange for the repayment
of the Bingham trust fund to the American merchants at Bluefields. This
assurance, added to what I had received from the Department in relation
to the matter, caused me to consider it satisfactorily settled, and the
consul’s letter comes to me in the nature of a surprise. I have written
to him in reply that any decision of a local judge can not affect him as
the
[Page 815]
custodian of the fund,
which can not be demanded of him except by joint request of the two
Governments.
I beg to respectfully suggest that if the Nicaraguan Government,
regardless of the agreement between its foreign minister, Mr. Sanson,
and myself, should now demand payment of that trust fund without
reference to the United States Government, a decisive note, regarding
which there can be no misunderstanding, will become necessary.
With assurances, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
British Consulate,
Greytown, May 30,
1900.
No. 439.]
My Dear Captain Merry: You wrote me in
January last that you had been informed by the State Department at
Washington that repayment of the trust fund placed in my keeping by
the American merchants at Bluefields was in process of adjustment,
and that you presumed I should soon receive a joint request from the
two Governments interested that would satisfactorily close the
incident.
I have not up to the present received this request, but I hear that
the local judge of Bluefields has taken legal action against the
different merchants to recover the amount of the duties paid to
Reyes, and has notified them that he has decided that the amount of
the duties must be refunded to the Nicaraguan Government, and
condemning them to the payment of costs.
This decision of the local judge does not, I presume, affect me, as
the money was placed in my keeping by the representatives of the
United States and Nicaragua, and can therefore, I consider, be only
paid out by me at the joint request of the representatives of the
same nations.
Would you kindly give me your opinion in this matter and believe me
to be,
Yours, very sincerely,
