842.0144/10
The Secretary of State to the Canadian Minister (Massey)
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note No. 78, dated April 27, 1928, concerning stray bullets alleged to have been fired by preventive officers of the Government of the United States, which have lodged in Canadian territory. You request that an inquiry be made with a view to furnishing an explanation of the events set forth in your note and preventing the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.
I have requested the appropriate authorities of this Government to cause an investigation to be made with respect to these matters and upon receipt of replies a further communication will be addressed to you. It would be helpful if you could find it possible to furnish [Page 99] a complete statement of the facts and circumstances under which these incidents occurred, including the names of the persons injured, the approximate place at which each incident occurred, the approximate place on the boundary of the United States from which the shots are alleged to have been fired, and the grounds for believing that preventive officers of this Government fired the shots. Such information would greatly facilitate the investigation of these incidents, which I assure you this Government is anxious to make in order to ascertain whether the charges are warranted and if so to punish the guilty persons.
Accept [etc.]