File No. 703.4112/6.
The British Ambassador to the Secretary of State.
Washington, April 30, 1914.
Dear Mr. Secretary: In answer to your telephone message yesterday afternoon, I beg to state that on the evening of April 23d I sent a telegram to the Foreign Office for transmission to Sir L. Garden stating that the United States Chargé d’Affaires had handed over charge of the United States Embassy to the British Minister but that you had told me that your Government did not think it advisable to have an English speaking representative in the charge of United States interests and had entrusted this duty to the Minister of Brazil at Mexico and to the French Consuls where there were no Brazilian Consuls. I added that you hoped Sir Lionel Garden would give his Brazilian colleague his advice and assistance when requested. On hearing from Sir L. Garden that he had not received any formal intimation that the Brazilian Minister was in charge I repeated the above telegram to him on the 28th of April. On the same day I received a telegram from Sir L. Carden pressing for an answer and I have not yet received his acknowledgment to my telegram. I conclude that there must be some delay in the transmission of telegrams to Mexico and it is possible that my telegram of the 23rd may never have reached him. I have telegraphed again to him and to the Foreign Office simultaneously on the 29th in the sense of your letter of that date.81 I have not yet received an acknowledgment either from Sir E. Grey or Sir L. Garden. I have explained to Sir E. Grey, by letter, why it is desirable, in the opinion of the United States Government, that their interests at the present moment should be confided rather to a South American than a European representative. I hope that by now all the American refugees from the capital have reached the sea in safety and I am very glad that the accident of Sir L. Garden’s taking over charge combined with the presence of British Naval Officers at Vera Cruz has enabled British officers to be of some service in the way of arranging for the care of these unfortunate persons under the present deplorable circumstances. I will not fail to transmit to Sir E. Grey the courteous language in which you have conveyed your thanks for the services rendered by the British Legation to American citizens.
I am [etc.]
- Not printed.↩