Mr. Seward to Mr. Clay
Sir: Your despatch of the 14th of July, No. 116, has been received.
It informs me that the Russian ministry has given due notice of some order or decree to the effect that Stanislas Pongoski, a native of Russian Poland, and a naturalized citizen of the United States, has been proved to have become such citizen without leave of the Emperor of Russia, and that, in conformity with article 367 of the penal code, he has been deprived of all the rights of Russian citizenship and banished forever from the Russian empire; and that this sentence has been put into execution.
[Page 417]You remark concerning that proceeding that you do not see that we can make it a cause of complaint, insomuch as it settles the debatable question of denaturalization in our favor, and avoids unpleasant issues.
I am glad to see that the Russian government has accepted that important principle definitively. Certainly there is no cause of complaint to the proceeding, on our part, provided Mr. Pongoski does not feel himself aggrieved.
The case may, perhaps, demand careful examination if it shall turn out that the decree of perpetual exclusion thus pronounced against an admitted American citizen was based upon no other ground than his having voluntarily accepted that character under the Constitution and laws of the United States. In the meantime we may presume that political or other offences entered into the merits of the decree.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Cassius M. Clay, Esq., &c., &c., &c.