Mr. Choate to Mr.
Hay.
American Embassy,
London, April 18,
1902.
No. 841.]Sir: With reference to your instruction No.
856, of the 12th ultimo, respecting the case of C. H. Toe Water, I have
the honor to inclose herewith a copy of my note to Lord Lansdowne, dated
the 24th ultimo, together with a copy of his lordship’s reply of the
17th instant, covering a copy of a memorandum on the subject by
Lieutenant-Colonel Da vies, who was chairman of the committee before
which Toe Water was examined, from which it would appear that according
to Mr. Toe Water’s sworn statement he was a burgher of the late South
African Republic and carried arms as such during the war.
Awaiting your further instructions in regard to the matter, I have,
etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Mr. Choate to
Lord Lansdowne.
American Embassy, London, March 24,
1902.
My Lord: I have the honor to draw your
lordship’s attention to the case of Charles H. Toe Water, an
American citizen, who is now a prisoner of war at Ragama Camp in the
island of Ceylon.
From information received by my Government it appears that on the
28th of May, 1900, Mr. Toe Water, manager of the rolling stock or,
as some call it, traffic manager of the African Railroad, left
Johannesburg, as this town intended to surrender to Her Majesty’s
forces, and went to Pretoria, and remained in that town until its
surrender on the 5th of June. Mr. Toe Water was asked by the British
authorities to go to Johannesburg as the traffic manager in order to
answer some questions concerning the business of the road. He
accordingly went, but some of the questions asked concerning other
roads he could not answer, and upon his failure to do so he was
thrown into prison at the fort of Johannesburg, not even being
permitted to return to his house with a guard. He was not permitted
to see anyone or to send a letter to his wife or mother. He had
never fought against the British and it was only in order to oblige
the British authorities by enlightening them with regard to the
traffic of the road that he returned to Johannesburg. He was
subsequently sent to Ceylon where he is at present, at Ragama Camp,
near Colombo, in the island of Ceylon.
I have, therefore, the honor to ask that your lordship will be so
good as to cause the matter to be investigated in order that I may
report the result to my Government.
I have, etc.,
[Page 490]
[Inclosure 2.]
Lord Lansdowne
to Mr. Choate.
Foreign Office, April 17, 1902.
Your Excellency: With reference to my note
of the 27th ultimo respecting the case of Mr. C. H. Toe Water, I
have the honor to transmit to you a copy of a memorandum on the
subject by Lieutenant-Colonel Davies, who was chairman of the
committee before which Toe Water was examined.
Your excellency will observe that according to Mr. Toe Water’s sworn
statement he was a burgher of the late South African Republic and
carried arms as such during the war.
I have, etc.,
[Subinclosure.]
Memorandum of Lieutenant-Colonel
Davies.
c. h. toe water.
I was chairman of the committee before which Toe Water was examined,
and was in the chair when he gave his evidence.
A full text of his sworn deposition will be found on page 49 of Part
III of the Report of the Transvaal Concessions Commission, 1901.
The following extracts from Toe Water’s sworn statement show the true
facts of the case:
“Charles Hermann Toe Water, being sworn, says: I am locomotive
superintendent on the southeastern line, southern line, and
southwestern line. * * * I am a burgher of the South African
Republic. Became a burgher after the Jameson raid. * * * I carried
arms during the war. I received my arms from the Government. * * * I
was present part of the time when two engines in Johannesburg were
rendered useless. I am responsible for the removal of the parts. I
gave instructions that these parts are [sic] to be taken away. I am
a burgher of the Republic and I decline to say where the parts were
taken to. * * * I absolutely refuse to give any information which
will lead to the recovery of these parts. * * * I know that bridges
were blown up in Natal, and heard of the bridges at Bethulie and
Norvals Point being blown up. I decline to say by whom these bridges
were blown up.”
Although the committee had power to commit any witness who refused to
answer a question, it was held that as a burgher of the South
African Republic Toe Water had a right to refuse to give any
information which would be of assistance to the British troops. He
was informed of this decision by me as chairman, and no further
action was taken by the committee.
Toe Water was subsequently made a prisoner of war by order of the
military governor of Johannesburg, who considered that he had taken
a leading part in the war.
