Mr. de Margerie to Mr. Hay.
Washington, August 3, 1902.
Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor, referring to the preceding communications from the embassy on the same subject, to bring the two following facts to your notice, which have just been reported to me by the consul-general of France at San Francisco.
The police of San Francisco, with a warrant of arrest issued by Judge E. P. Morgan of the police court, went, on the 24th ultimo, on board the French three-master Jane Guillon, and undertook, on complaint of Auguste Le Pierre, a seaman who was then ashore without permission, to arrest Pierre Hammaux, the mate, for the purpose of bringing him to trial the next day.
For the sake of avoiding a conflict the captain of the vessel thought it best not to oppose the arrest of the mate, who was released on furnishing bail in the sum of $10.
Le Pierre, the seaman, had complained to the judge of the police court of having been struck, on board, by the mate. Without inquiring whether this statement is true, I shall confine myself to remarking that neither the police nor the local judicial authorities had any right to interfere in a case of this kind. They consequently acted in violation of the stipulations of Article VIII of the consular convention of 1853 between France and the United States, which provides:
The respective consuls-general, consuls, vice-consuls, or consular agents shall have exclusive charge of the internal order of the merchant vessels of their nation, and shall alone take cognizance of differences which may arise, either at sea or in port, between the captain, officers, and crew, without exception, particularly in reference to the adjustment of wages and the execution of contracts. The local authorities shall not, on any pretext, interfere in these differences.
II. Basing his action on the provisions of the aforesaid Article VIII, the consul-general of France addressed, on the 16th ultimo, a letter to the chief of police of San Francisco, asking for the arrest and imprisonment for forty-eight hours of a seaman belonging to the crew of the three-master Marguerite Mirabaud, who had been guilty of a serious breach of discipline; on the 25th, that seaman not yet having been arrested, Mr. D’Allemagne addressed another letter to the chief of police. On the 26th ultimo, in the morning, on which day the consul-general of France reported this case to me, the seaman was still at liberty on board.
[Page 405]I take the liberty to bring these two additional facts to your notice, since they show the dfficulties which the enforcement of our consular convention still meets with on the Pacific coast.
Be pleased to accept, etc.,