File No. 322.112G64/1.
[Untitled]
Guayaquil, November 5, 1914.
Sir: Referring to my telegram of November 4 relating to the application of Goo Kwai, an American citizen of Chinese birth, for permission to enter Ecuador, I have the honor to present herewith for the information of the Department, the full history of the case, so far as this Legation has knowledge of it.
[Page 287]On October 20 I received a letter from the American Vice Consul General at Guayaquil informing me that
Mr. Goo Kwai, a Hawaiian Chinese-American who is now in Panama and who wishes to come to Guayaquil to visit relatives * * * has had some difficulty in obtaining the proper certificates, etc., from the Ecuadorian Consul there, necessary for Mr. Goo’s embarkation for this port. I thought that I would be able to arrange the matter with the Governor without bothering you, but the Governor in charge is a new man, and I have not been able to get the matter through with him as I had expected; so I am sending you herewith all the correspondence on the matter, and will ask that you kindly dispose of the case as you see fit.
Copies of the enclosures transmitted to this Legation in the above letter, are herewith enclosed.8 * * *
At the time of the receipt of the foregoing letter, and enclosures, the Minister for Foreign Affairs was absent from Quito, and Minister Sanchez (in charge) was ill, so I was unable to bring the matter to the attention of the Foreign Office until October 27. On that date I personally presented the case informally to the Minister in charge, and left with him for his convenience, a memorandum.
On October 30, 1914, I received a telegram from Vice Consul General Baker which reads as follows:
Mr. Goo arrived from Panama to-day and was not allowed to land except through the good offices of the Consulate. I am responsible till we have the decision of the Foreign Office on the matter. The boy carries an American passport and speaks good English.
Baker.
On the same day I delivered the substance of the information contained in the foregoing telegram to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in person, and presented to him the entire case. From his expressions at that time, I had but little doubt that the case would be decided promptly and in accordance with my views. But to my great surprise and disappointment a memorandum was delivered yesterday from the Minister, dated November 4, 1914, of which the enclosed are copies with translation.
Upon receipt of the foregoing memorandum, I deemed it proper to advise the Department by cable, of the salient features of the case, and accordingly sent the telegram referred to in the first paragraph of this despatch.* * *
I have [etc.]
- Not printed.↩