File No. 367.114M69/162.
The recent change of Cabinet has necessitated my elaborating again the
subject in this note addressed to the new Minister for Foreign
Affairs.
[Inclosure.]
The American Ambassador
to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs.
American Embassy,
Constantinople,
July 27, 1912.
Mr. Minister: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of the note of the 15th instant which his
excellency Assim Bey, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, had the
kindness to send me in reply to several communications from this
Embassy concerning the case of Spiro Macris, captain of the
steamship Texas, at the time of her sinking
in April last, and in which his excellency expressed his regrets for
the sinking of this ship.
As stated in its memorandum of May 11,1 in order
to arrive at an intelligent conclusion as to the facts of the case,
this Embassy had requested to be furnished with a chart showing the
location of the wreck and other data, and that the local authorities
should not proceed further in the matter before all the facts of the
case were fully known. By its note verbale No. 91 of the 8th of
June2 which referred to the question of jurisdiction,
this Embassy had the honor to state that as the Texas was an American vessel, the property of an American
corporation and flying the American flag, and as her captain was
held for a crime alleged to have been committed by him while aboard
that American vessel, and in his capacity as master of the same, he
was subject to the same jurisdiction as would be an American citizen
serving in like capacity. The Embassy therefore specifically
requested the surrender of the said captain to the custody of “the
American Consul General at Smyrna, to be tried by the American
Consular Court for such charges as might be properly brought
against, him on account of any act committed by him while performing
his duties as master of the said American vessel.
By its note verbale No. 103 of the 27th of June,3 the
Embassy found itself obliged to enter a protest against the
authorities at Smyrna, who had seen fit to remove the said captain
(a man who had not been tried by any court whatsoever, competent or
incompetent) from the hospital prison and to throw him into the
common prison of convicted criminals. By the note No. Ill of the
10th instant,4 I had the honor to inform his
excellency the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that notwithstanding
the request contained in the above-mentioned communications, all of
which had remained unanswered, the trial of Spiro Macris had
commenced in the Ottoman criminal court at Smyrna, and therefore,
reserving all rights, I entered a formal protest against the attempt
on the part of the Ottoman authorities to try the said captain,
pending the determination of the question raised in the
above-mentioned communications.
A careful perusal of the above-mentioned communications will clearly
show that this Embassy had expressed no opinion as to the
culpability or non-culpability of the said Spiro Macris. The Embassy
had requested:
- 1.
- To be furnished with a chart, and that the local
authorities should not be allowed to proceed with the case
before all the facts of the case were fully known.
- 2.
- Whereas the said captain is, for the reasons fully
explained, subject to the same jurisdiction as would be an
American citizen serving in like capacity, that he be
surrendered to the custody of the American Consul General at
Smyrna to be tried by the Consular Court.
- 3.
- The Embassy had found itself obliged to enter a formal
protest against the unwarranted action of the local
authorities, who had taken the liberty to throw the said
captain into the common prison of convicted criminals even,
before the question of jurisdiction had been fully discussed
between the Imperial Ministry and this Embassy.
In the Imperial Ministry’s note of the 15th instant,5 I notice that notwithstanding its importance the
third point is entirely ignored. Part of the first is incidentally
mentioned, and the second is not directly and fully answered. I may
be allowed to state that the note seems to seek to carry the
discussion on another ground. There seems to be an effort to prove
that the Ottoman authorities
[Page 1330]
at Smyrna acted quite properly, while the
captain of the Texas, like other captains of
the American Archipelago Steamship Company (not the Hadji Daoud Company), an habitual violator of port
orders, brought about through his own fault the sinking of the Texas. I beg, however, to state that that is
not the point under discussion. Supposing that the captain of the
Texas was at fault, supposing that the
sinking of the vessel with all the loss of life and of property
which it entailed was solely due to the captain, supposing that
there was criminal negligence on his part and a very just ground for
a prosecution, the question at issue is: Who has jurisdiction to try
the captain of the American vessel? This Embassy replies it is the
American Court at Smyrna which has jurisdiction, because the Texas was an American vessel, the property of
an American corporation and flying the American flag, because the
captain of the vessel is held for a crime alleged to have been
committed by him while aboard this American vessel and in his
capacity as master of the same, he is consequently subject to the
same jurisdiction as would be an American citizen serving in like
capacity. The Sublime Porte, however, without giving a direct answer
to the argument put forward by the Embassy, states that the captain,
who is a Hellenic subject, was arrested outside of his vessel, and
that lie is prosecuted for having caused damage to Ottoman
interests.
I am therefore obliged to take note that the Imperial Ministry has
not fully replied to the important points contained in the several
communications from this Embassy, to again ask that orders be given
to the local authorities to proceed no further in the matter before
all the facts of the case are fully known and the points of
jurisdiction fully discussed. Otherwise I shall be obliged to
maintain my protest against any attempt on the part of the local
authorities to try the captain of an American vessel for charges of
acts alleged to have been committed by him while performing his
duties as master of the said American vessel, and I hereby have the
honor to renew the reservations as to all rights in the
premises.
I avail [etc.],
