EXHIBIT T.
St. Petersburg , January 21 (February 8), 1899 .
Your Excellency: The seizure of certain American vessels, namely, the Cape Horn Pigeon, the James Hamilton Lewis, the C. H. White, and the Kate and Anna, has long been the frequent subject of voluminous correspondence between the Imperial Government and this embassy in the attempt to reach a settlement of the, damages incurred by the vessels and their employees.
Actuated by an earnest desire to definitely settle these cases at an early date, my Government has authorized me to offer, on behalf of the various claimants, terms of settlement which would be accepted by it in their behalf by way of compromise, and which I now have the honor to submit in the hope that, recognizing the friendly spirit of the proposition, the Imperial Government will respond by an acceptance of the terms submitted and agree to thus dispose of these vexatious questions.
It is, however, my duty to say that this offer of compromise is submitted solely for the purpose of obtaining a prompt settlement of these claims, and that, should the terms offered not be acceptable to the Imperial Government, or in case a compromise is not effected, nothing herein is to be considered as in any way prejudicing the rights of the claimants, nor especially their rights to recover the full amounts of their claims by arbitration or negotiation.
The terms of the compromise proposed are as follows:
- 1.
- For the Cape Horn Pigeon, the original claim in which case was $49,500, the sum of $42,000 is proposed. In this case it will be remembered that the Imperial Government has recognized the illegality of the seizure, made more than six years ago, and the question as to the amount of damages has been the sole question.
- 2.
- For the James Hamilton Lewis, the total original claim in which case was $123,000, the sum of $82,000 is proposed.
- 3.
- For the C. H. White, the total original claim in which case was $150,000, the sum of $112,500 is proposed.
- 4.
- For the Kate and Anna, the total original claim in which case was $10,000, the sum of $7,500 is proposed.
In presenting the: above I have the honor to specially solicit of your excellency the favor of an early response, the very essence of the proposal being to bring about an early and prompt settlement of these long-disputed claims.
I avail, etc.,
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
To his Excellency Count Mouravieff,
Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs,
etc.