Mr. Leishman to Mr.
Hay.
Legation of the United States,
Constantinople, March 4,
1903.
No. 367.]
Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of your cable
of yesterday instructing me to present another formal demand for
audience, which has been done both by personal call upon the minister
for foreign affairs and in writing as per memorandum hereto
attached.
The minister for foreign affairs thoroughly appreciates the situation and
the correctness and justice of the demand, and is apparently doing
everything in his power to facilitate a settlement and secure desired
audience, but unfortunately he is absolutely without independent power
to act.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Mr. Leishman to
Tewfik Pasha.
Legation of the United States,
Constantinople, March 4, 1903.
Your Excellency: Referring to my note of
February 16, requesting an audience with his Imperial Majesty in
order to present a personal message from the President of the United
States, and to my subsequent appeals that this matter be given the
consideration due to the dignity of the President of the United
States of America, in accordance with the rights and comity existing
between friendly nations.
In the absence of any reply to above-mentioned demand I now feel
myself obliged to advise your excellency that unless an audience be
granted within the next three days in order to enable me to present
to his Imperial Majesty the personal message from the President, I
shall be constrained to report to my Government and act upon its
definite instructions.
With the hope that I may be favored with an early reply, I take this
occasion, etc.,
[Inclosure
2.—Memorandum.]
The American Government recognize the established right of the
diplomatic representative of a foreign government to demand an
audience of the President in order to present a personal message
from his sovereign, and claims the same right for its envoys abroad
bearing such a message. The agent has the ambassadorial right to
present it, and this right can not be denied without giving grave
cause of offense to the sender.