Mr. Leishman to Mr. Hay.

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.,

John G. A. Leishman,
[Inclosure 1.]

Mr. Leishman to Tewfik Pasha.

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.,

John G. A. Leishman.
[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.