Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress with the Annual Message of the President, December 4, 1871
Mr. Moran to Mr. Fish
Sir: I have the honor to send herewith two copies of correspondence, just presented to Parliament, respecting the departure of Lord Lyons from Paris at the time of its investment by the Germans. His lordship’s letter of the 26th ultimo will, no doubt, attract your attention, as it gives his reasons for going to Bordeaux, and his explanation of the motives which induced Mr. Washburne to remain at his post.
I am, &c.,
Correspondence with Lord Lyons respecting his departure from Paris, and provision made for the withdrawal of British subjects.
My Lord: I have the honor to inclose herewith to your lordship, extracted from the “Journal Officiel” of this day, a decree of the governor of Paris concerning the expulsion of persons without the means of subsistence.
I have, &c.,
In virtue of the law of the 9th of August, 1849, on the state of siege.
In virtue of the decree of the 7th instant, by which Paris has been declared in a state of siege.
In virtue of Article 75 of the decree of the 24th of December, 1811, relative to the organization and service of the staff of fortified places, which says:
[Page 437]“In every place in a state of war if the minister or the general gives the order, or if the enemy’s troops come within less than three days’ march of the place, the governor or commandant is immediately, and without awaiting the state of siege, invested with the necessary authority:
“1. To send away the useless mouths, foreigners and persons pointed out by the civil or military police.”
In virtue of the law of the 9th of July, 1852, relative to the dismissal from the department of the Seine of criminals, vagabonds, beggars, and other people addicted to practices dangerous to persons or property,
The governor of Paris decrees as follows:
Article 1. Every individual without the means of subsistence, whose presence at Paris would constitute a danger to public order or to the security of persons and property, or who should do anything likely to weaken or hinder the measures of defense and general safety, shall be expelled from the capital.
Art. 2. Any infraction of the decrees of expulsion will be brought before the military tribunals.
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: In my previous dispatch of to-day I have transmitted an extract from the Journal Officiel, containing an order of the governor of Paris. This document recites a decree of 1811, which authorizes the governor of places threatened by the enemy to send away all “useless mouths,” and refers to other enactments of a similar kind; and it orders the immediate expulsion from Paris of persons without means of subsistence, whose presence may be considered dangerous.
The order is already in course of execution, and has already been applied to several English subjects.
The result of this, and of still more stringent measures which are likely to be adopted, will create great distress among numerous British subjects, and place those who have not the means of paying their passage to England in a very awkward, not to say very dangerous, situation. Under the circumstances, I might perhaps take upon myself to direct the consul to provide for the conveyance of these persons to England, under the circular of the 1st of April last. But as the cases are likely to be extremely numerous, I think it right to direct your lordship’s attention to the subject without delay.
Probably the most practical way of insuring economy and a satisfactory investigation of the cases of British subjects requiring assistance to go to England under present circumstances, would be to confide to the committee of the charitable fund the management of a sum granted for the purpose.
I have, &c.,
Earl Granville to Lord Lyons
My Lord: I have received your excellency’s dispatch of the 26th August, representing that great distress might be caused among numerous British subjects, and that those who had not the means of paying their passage to England might be placed in a very awkward, not to say perilous, situation, by a decree issued by the French government on the 24th of that month, ordering the immediate expulsion from Paris of persons without means of subsistence, whose presence might be considered dangerous, which decree was likely to be followed by still more stringent measures. Your excellency further says that, as the cases are likely to be extremely numerous, you think it right, instead of acting under the present authority contained in the circular of the 1st of April last, and directing the council to provide for the conveyance of such persons to England, to call my attention to the matter without delay, suggesting at the same time that the most practical way of insuring economy and satisfactory investigation would be to intrust the committee of the British charitable fund with the management of a sum granted for the purpose of assisting such indigent persons to return to England.
I lost no time in communicating with the board of treasury. But I am only able to-day to inform your excellency that, although in principle the relief of persons who [Page 438] have gone abroad for their own purposes, and who suffer by war or by other general calamities, appears to that department to be a charge rather on private charity than on public funds, yet their lordships do not desire to exclude from consideration the most extreme cases, in which persons unexpectedly thrown out of employment in a foreign country, and obliged by the government to depart, are left absolutely without means, either of their own or from charitable sources.
The board of treasury say, therefore, that they are prepared to sanction the relief from public funds in cases of this kind, where it clearly appears that no other resource is left; and I have, accordingly, to authorize your excellency to give relief in conformity with the views of that department in urgent cases.
I am, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: Your lordship did me the honor to inform me that you had received assurances from the Prussian government that the members of the diplomatic body at Paris would receive at the hands of the Prussian authorities all the usual courtesy to which they were entitled, although it was difficult to specify beforehand the particular course which would be adopted.
I observe, however, that in answer to a request conveyed by M. Jules Favre from the diplomatic body remaining in Paris, to be warned in case it should be intended to bombard the town, and given the means of quitting the place, Count Bismarck, in a letter dated on the 26th ultimo, at Ferrières, answers that military considerations forbid his making any communications respecting the time and manner of an attack upon the fortress of Paris.
I cannot conceal from your lordship the anxiety which this letter causes me to feel for the safety of the members of Her Majesty’s embassy, whom I have left in Paris, as well as for that of the numerous British subjects who have, I fear, in despite of my warnings, imprudently remained there. As regards these last, your lordship is aware that, both by advice given specially to individuals and by general notices, I did all in my power to induce Her Majesty’s subjects to withdraw in time; and that I published in the newspaper and distributed among them a printed caution that those of them who remained after the warnings given would do so at their own risk and peril; and that if they delayed any longer they might not afterwards be able to get away. Notwithstanding my pressing counsels, some remained voluntarily, while others were, from illness or other causes, unable to move. I cannot, therefore, help submitting to your lordship a request that the Prussian authorities, if they really resolve on bombarding Paris, should be pressed to give these inoffensive neutrals an opportunity of previously quitting the place. The funds which were in the hands of the British charitable fund would, I should hope, suffice to pay the expense of removing those who are unable to pay for their own journey; and, in case of need, Mr. Wodehouse might be authorized to act upon the instruction contained in your lordship’s dispatch of the 8th ultimo.
But it is, naturally, with regard to the members of the embassy that I feel most uneasiness. Count Bismarck states in his letter that he cannot defer to the opinion of those who regard the interior of the Paris ramparts and redoubts during a siege as a proper place for carrying on diplomatic intercourse. This observation may be, to a certain extent, well founded, so far as it regards those chiefs of missions who, having of their own free will chosen to remain in Paris, ask for special facilities for sending or receiving dispatches; but I submit that it cannot at all apply to a case like that of Mr. Wodehouse, who has staid in Paris by order of his official superiors, in order to give, as long as possible, protection to his fellow-subjects, and to preserve, as far as possible, the archives of the embassy and the government property from injury. Nor can Count Bismarck’s objection affect the case of Captain Hore, who was too ill to leave Paris before it was invested. Captain Hore had indeed been for some time previously so seriously unwell as, notwithstanding the zealous efforts he made, to be scarcely able to discharge his duties. During several days before I came away he was confined to his bed in a very critical state, and I was prevented from taking him with me by the declaration of his physicians that he was. not in a state to be moved. There are, moreover, servants of the embassy and servants of my own who have been kept in Paris in discharge of their duties.
I trust, therefore, that your lordship will not deem me presumptuous in earnestly requesting that special representations may be made to the Prussian authorities in order to induce them to give the persons belonging to, or employed by, the embassy the means of acting upon the instructions which I left with them to come away if the [Page 439] place should be threatened with bombardment or there should be any other imminent danger.
I have. &c.,
Earl Granville to Count Bernstorff
M. l’Ambassadeur: On the departure from Paris of Her Majesty’s ambassador, he felt it his duty to leave behind him one of the second secretaries of the embassy, Mr. Wodehouse, in order that he might afford, as long as possible, protection to such subjects of Her Majesty as, from various causes, had not already withdrawn from Paris, and that he might, as far as he was able, preserve the archives of the embassy and other property belonging to Her Majesty’s government from injury. Together with these, he directed to remain certain servants attached to the embassy and to himself, for the discharge of their usual duties.
Colonel Claremont, military attaché to the embassy, and Captain Hore, the naval attaché, the latter being wholly incapacitated by illness from leaving Paris, remained behind under the instructions and with the sanction of Her Majesty’s ambassador after his departure.
My object in now addressing your excellency is to request you, without loss of time, to bring the case of these public officers and servants, and generally of the remaining British residents, before the King of Prussia, and those acting under His Majesty’s orders, whether in a civil or military capacity, and to express the earnest hope of Her Majesty’s government that, before the operations at Paris assume a character by which their lives may be endangered, those persons who are in the service of the British government, and residing hitherto in Paris in execution of their public duties, as well as all other inoffensive British subjects, may be allowed an opportunity to quit the place; and Her Majesty’s government do not doubt that such a request will readily be acceded to by the King of Prussia and His Majesty’s advisers.
I am, &c.,
Earl Granville to Lord Lyons
My Lord: With reference to your excellency’s dispatch of the 9th instant, I inclose, for your information, a copy of a letter which I have addressed to Count Bernstorff,* requesting him to obtain from the King of Prussia permission for the members of Her Majesty’s embassy, together with the servants and other British subjects, to leave Paris.
I am, &c.,
Earl Granville to Lord Lyons
My Lord: I transmitted to your excellency, in my dispatch of the 15th instant, a copy of a letter which I had addressed to Count Bernstorff, requesting him to obtain for the members of the British embassy remaining in Paris, and such inoffensive British subjects as might wish to accompany them, permission to withdraw from the French capital before a bombardment.
Count Bernstorff informed me yesterday, as I have stated to your excellency by telegraph, that the permission would be granted, and that a nominal list of the British subjects desiring to avail themselves of it should be drawn up by Mr. Wodehouse.
Count Bismarck said further that he concluded your excellency would communicate with the government at Tours on the subject, Which I accordingly requested you at [Page 440] once to do, and to inform me of the result, and, if possible, to make it known at the Prussian headquarters, either directly to Count Bismarck or through Colonel Walker.
In requesting Count Bernstorff to thank Count Bismarck for his compliance with the wishes of Her Majesty’s government in this respect, and informing him that I had communicated it to your excellency, I have further said that, as I could only communicate with Mr. Wodehouse through the Prussian headquarters, I should be obliged to Count Bismarck if he would send to Mr. Wodehouse a message from me, apprising him of the consent of the Prussian government, and desiring him at once to prepare and forward to the Prussian headquarters a list of British subjects who might desire to leave Paris; and I told him that your excellency was instructed to communicate with the government at Tours on the subject. I added that, as regards Colonel Claremont, he should follow the course adopted by the military attachés of other countries who may have remained in Paris.
I am, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: I had this morning the honor to receive your lordship’s telegram of yesterday informing me that the Prussian authorities had consented to allow the members of the embassy and other British subjects who should accompany them from Paris to pass the lines of the German army.
I went immediately to the Comte de Chaudordy, and after placing in his hand a memorandum on the subject, begged him to move the government delegation here to do all that depended upon it to facilitate the departure of my countrymen from Paris.
M. de Chaudordy said that he could answer at once for the willingness of the government here to do all in its power; but that, of course, the necessary arrangements must be made at Paris with the government and the military authorities there. If, however, I would compress an instruction to Mr. Wodehouse into a very small compass, he would undertake to send it for me to Paris in a way which he had reason to hope would prove to be both speedy and safe.
I accordingly intrusted to M. de Chaudordy a short letter in cipher, in which I informed Mr. Wodehouse that your lordship had received through the Prussian ambassador in London an assurance that the members of the British embassy and inoffensive British subjects coming out of Paris would be allowed by the German military authorities to pass. I added that it would be necessary that a list of these British subjects should be drawn up by Mr. Wodehouse for communication to the German authorities; and I desired him to settle the arrangements with the French government at Paris, and, if possible, to make the result known to Count Bismarck either directly or through Colonel Walker. I further recommended Mr. Wodehouse to take every means to give notice to all British subjects of this opportunity for them to leave Paris; and I directed him, moreover, to make such arrangements for the safe custody of the archives and of the embassy house and property as should appear to be most advisable under the circumstances. Finally, I desired him to take advantage of any means he might have of communicating with me.
Some hours after I had delivered the letter to Count Chaudordy for transmission to Mr. Wodehouse, I received your lordship’s telegram of this day, informing me that you had requested the Prussian ambassador in London to beg Count Bismarck to forward a communication from you to Mr. Wodehouse on the subject of the removal of the members of the embassy and other British subjects from Paris. I trust that the result will be that Mr. Wodehouse will thus receive, in a more certain and regular way than that to which I have been obliged to have recourse, complete instructions from your lordship respecting this matter.
I have the honor to inclose a copy of the memorandum which I gave to M. de Chaudordy.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure.]
Memorandum.
Le Gouvernement Prussien est prêt à laisser passer librement le personnel de l’ambassade d’Angleterre qui se trouve encore à Paris, ainsi que les sujets britanniques [Page 441] inoffensifs qui voudraient l’accompagner, et dont une liste serait rédigée par M. Wodehouse.
Lord Lyons est chargé par Lord Granville de se concerter sans retard à ce sujet avec le gouvernement français.
The Prussian government is ready to allow a free pass to the personnel of the English embassy now in Paris, as well as to the inoffensive British subjects who may wish to accompany them, and a list of whom may be drawn up by Mr. Wodehouse.
Lord Lyons is charged by Lord Granville at once to concert arrangements on the subject with the French government.
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: I have the honor to transmit a copy of a dispatch in which I have inclosed to Mr. Wodehouse copies of your lordship’s instructions respecting his withdrawal from Paris, and respecting the relief of British subjects. I hope to have an opportunity of forwarding the dispatch to Mr. Wodehouse by Prince Wittgenstein, the military attaché to the Russian embassy, who is expected daily at Tours on his return to Paris.
I venture to suggest to your lordship’s consideration the question whether the mere authority to act upon your dispatch to me of the 8th ultimo conveys beyond a doubt to Mr. Wodehouse sufficient latitude with regard to expenditure in the present emergency.
The permission granted by the Prussian authorities to British subjects to quit Paris appears to be confined to those of whom a list shall be drawn up by Mr. Wodehouse, and who shall withdraw from the place in company with him. Mr. Wodehouse will, therefore, have the arduous and laborious task, first, of taking steps to insure notice of the opportunity coming, if possible, to the knowledge of all the British subjects scattered over Paris; next, of forming a complete list of those who desire to go; then of bringing them all together at a given day and hour; then of making arrangements that they may have means of conveyance through a tract of country in which not only is all communication by railroad impossible, but in which the bridges have been broken down and the ordinary roads obstructed; and lastly, of providing under unusual difficulties for the subsistence of the whole party, until they have passed both the Prussian and French lines, and reached a district in which the ordinary modes of locomotion and subsistence are available.
It is to be observed also that Mr. Wodehouse will probably be unable, at all events at the moment, to count upon any considerable contribution to the expenses, either from the majority of the English leaving Paris or from charitable sources. The great bulk of the English now there are people in a humble class of society, who have been deprived of their livelihood by the consequences of the siege; and even among those in more fortunate circumstances we have reason to suppose that many are in temporary distress from the impossibility of obtaining remittances of money from England.
I would venture, therefore, to suggest that a sum of money adequate to the emergency should be placed at Mr. Wodehouse’s disposal. I have said in the dispatch to him that I presume the bankers of the embassy, Messrs, de Rothschild, would make no difficulty in furnishing him with the money necessary; but I cannot be quite sure that this will be the case under present circumstances, and I therefore trust that your lordship will cause measures to be taken to insure his not being exposed to any embarrassment on this head, and, above all, to guard against his being obliged by want of funds to leave behind any one who may desire to come away from the perils of the siege.
It would be difficult to form an estimate of the sum required without a knowledge of various particulars, which I cannot obtain here. Among these are the number of the English who would choose to leave Paris, the route which the military authorities would require them to take, and the price of conveyances and subsistence.
I cannot doubt that the Prussian authorities, having agreed to permit the departure of British subjects, will be willing to facilitate such communications between Her Majesty’s government and Mr. Wodehouse as are essential to give effect to that permission, and they will, of course, give Mr. Wodehouse the means of settling with them the necessary arrangements for the journey through their lines.
Your lordship will see that in my dispatch to Mr. Wodehouse I have suggested that Mr. Atlee and Mr. Lascelles, or one of them, might be sent to his assistance. I am, moreover, inclined to think that if the party of English should prove to be very numerous, [Page 442] it might he advisable that he should have at his disposal some person possessing practical experience in arranging and managing expeditions of the kind.
I purpose sending a copy of this dispatch by Prince Wittgenstein to Mr. Wodehouse.
I have, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Mr. Wodehouse
Sir: I inclose for your information and guidance the following papers relative to your own withdrawal and that of other British subjects from Paris:
1. Copy of dispatch from me to Earl Granville of the 9th instant.
2. Copy of dispatch from Lord Granville to me of the 15th instant.
3. Copy of note from Lord Granville to Count Bernstorff, dated 14th instant.
4. Copy of dispatch from Lord Granville to me of 18th instant.
I have, moreover, received a telegram from Lord Granville, in which, in consequence of having received from you information that there was great distress among British subjects, and that some of them, even if a free passage were granted, would be unable to avail themselves of it for want of money, his lordship desires me to authorize you to act on his instruction to me of the 8th ultimo. Consequently, I add a copy of that instruction to the other papers inclosed herein.
I have, in obedience to Lord Granville’s orders, addressed myself to the government delegation here, and have been answered that they are quite willing to do all in their power to facilitate the departure from Paris of yourself and all other British subjects who may he desirous of quitting the place; but that, of course, the necessary arrangements must be made with the government and military authorities there. I have, accordingly, to desire you to settle these arrangements with the government at Paris, and, if possible, to make the result known to Count Bismarck, either directly or through Colonel Walker. You should also take advantage of any opportunity you may have of communicating it to me.
You will, naturally, use every means in your power to cause notice of this opportunity of leaving Paris to be brought to the knowledge of all the British subjects left in the place.
You will make such arrangements for the safe custody of the archives, and of the embassy house and property, as may appear to you to be most advisable under the circumstances.
I presume that the bankers of the embassy, Messrs, de Rothschild, will make no difficulty in furnishing you with the money necessary to enable you to carry out Lord Granville’s instructions for the relief of British subjects.
You may, perhaps, desire to have some more assistance than you can procure at Paris under present circumstances, in the very arduous and laborious task of giving notice to British subjects, drawing up the list of them, collecting them, and bringing them through the lines of the French and German armies. In that case, Mr. Atlee and Mr. Lascelles, or one of them, might be directed to go to your assistance, and to convey to you, if necessary, money to defray the expenses of the relief and removal of the indigent British subjects. Her Majesty’s government would, I feel sure, easily obtain from the German authorities safe-conducts for these members of the embassy.
I hope that you will have the means of making your wishes known to Lord Granville or to me. You need not hesitate to send your dispatches on these subjects to his lordship or to me open, if their passage through the Prussian lines would be thereby facilitated. In a matter of humanity, in which the lives of many of our inoffensive countrymen may be at stake, any formal scruples on this head would be entirely out of place. I shall myself send the present dispatch to you unsealed.
I am, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: I have the honor to submit to your lordship a copy of a letter, dated Paris, November 23, and signed “Pollock,” which reached me the day before yesterday. I know nothing of the writer.
The object of the letter is to call attention to the oases of the large number of British subjects who are still in Paris, and who are now desirous of getting away.
Major General Claremont will, no doubt, have been able to give your lordship full information as to the prospect there may be of enabling these British subjects to quit [Page 443] Paris. So far as my knowledge of the matter goes, I have reason to believe that the obstacles are now caused by the French as much as by the German authorities, and that, in fact, the removal of any considerable number of persons from Paris under flag of truce is necessarily attended by circumstances seriously embarrassing the operations of the beseiged garrison.
Your lordship is well aware of the urgency with which I pressed British subjects to leave Paris before I came away myself, and of the distinct notice I gave that those who remained after the warnings they had received would do so at their own risk and peril, and might not be able to get away afterward. Still I venture to recommend the matter to your lordship’s attention, and to suggest in particular that an opportunity of leaving the place should certainly be given to neutrals, if there be any immediate danger of its being bombarded.
I have, &c.,
Mr. Pollock to Lord Lyons
My Lord: I have the honor to recall to your excellency’s attention that there still remain here about one hundred of Her Majesty’s subjects very unwilling prisoners, and to earnestly solicit an early intercession on their behalf.
My personal dread of having to spend Christmas (usually a season of happy family reunion) in this desolate city, decides me to write also to influential friends in the House to lay our unfortunate case before Lord Granville.
Trusting that your lordship’s firm representation will suffice to change the present capricious decision of the authorities,
I have, &c.,
Earl Granville to Mr. Odo Russell
Sir: I telegraphed to you on the 21st instant, stating that Her Majesty’s government were anxious to make arrangements for the safe withdrawal from Paris of such British Subjects as might wish to escape from the dangers to which they were exposed by the bombardment; and I requested you to inquire whether permission would be granted to a British diplomatic or consular officer to enter Paris for the purpose of making such an arrangement. I added that, if the requisite permission were granted, there were several courses open, any one of which might be adopted as might seem most expedient; either it might be advisable to send Mr. Wodehouse or Mr. Atlee from England, or a general authority might be given to Count Bernstorff to grant a pass to Versailles to any person named to him; or some Englishman might be found at Versailles or in Paris to whom the task might be confided.
The telegram which I received from you on the 22d, stating that the military authorities refused to permit any one to enter Paris until after the capitulation, made it clear that none of these courses were practicable, except, to a limited extent, that last mentioned; and I therefore telegraph to you to-day to confine yourself to endeavoring to arrange with Mr. Blount for the protection of his fellow-countrymen in Paris, and for extending to them further relief, if the sum now placed at the disposal of the charitable fund should, contrary to expectation, prove insufficient for the purpose of relieving the immediate pressure, both up to and after the capture of the city. I added that I should wish you to inform me without delay of the steps which you might take in the matter.
I am, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: In my dispatch of the 27th ultimo I spoke of the British subjects still in Paris, and suggested that an opportunity of leaving the place should certainly be given to neutrals, if there should be any immediate danger of its being bombarded.
[Page 444]The bombardment has since been actually begun, and, so far as I know, without any previous notice having been given, and without any means having been afforded for neutrals to escape from the city.
I have just been informed by the Italian minister and the Spanish chargé d’affaires here that their governments have been in communication with the Prussian authorities at Berlin on the subject, and have been given reason to expect that the commanders of the German forces will allow each of them to send a diplomatic or consular officer into Paris to make arrangement for the removal of his countrymen. My two colleagues have accordingly determined to dispatch at once secretaries of their legations to Versailles and Paris for this purpose.
The French government here furnishes the secretaries with safe-conducts to secure their passing unmolested through the French lines.
I have thought it right to forward this information to your lordship as speedily as possible by telegraph.
I am, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: On the receipt of your lordship’s telegram of the day before yesterday I went to the Comte de Chaudordy, and begged him to send at once to the French chargé d’affaires in London instructions to give a letter for the government at Paris and a safe-conduct to any diplomatic or consular officer who might be selected by Her Majesty’s government to proceed to the bombarded city to make arrangements for removing British subjects.
M. de Chaudordy promised to send a telegram at once to M. Tissot to this effect. He said that he presumed that the French military authorities would everywhere recognize and respect the safe-conduct from the embassy in London, especially as the bearer of it would be also provided with a letter from the chargé d’affaires to the Paris government. He suggested, however, that it would still be well that the person sent by your lordship should have a safe-conduct from the delegation here if one could be sent to him in time.
I understand that the secretary sent by the Italian minister is to go, in the first instance, to Berlin, while the secretary of the Spanish legation is to endeavor to pass through the French and Prussian lines, and thus reach Versailles by the direct route from this place.
I am myself of opinion that this endeavor will be attended with considerable risk, and that in all probability the Spanish secretary will not gain anything in point of time by attempting to take the direct route.
I may, perhaps, suggest that, in any case, a letter from your lordship to the government at Paris would have very great weight in inducing them to permit the withdrawal of British subjects and to afford facilities for effecting it.
I have, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: I have the honor to transmit to your lordship herewith a letter which I have written to Mr. Blount, 3, Rue de la Paix, Paris, who has, as your lordship has just done me the honor to inform me, been appointed Her Majesty’s counsel in that city. It contains a list of some pressing applications which have been made to me respecting persons and property in Paris, and which I desire to recommend to Mr. Blount’s attention.
I shall be much obliged if your lordship will direct the letter to be sent to Paris in the most expeditious manner. It is open, and there is no objection to its being forwarded in that state, and submitted, if necessary, to the inspection of any French or German authorities.
I have, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Mr. Blount
Sir: I subjoin a list of applications which have been made to me respecting persons and property in Paris, and I shall be very much obliged if you will give such attention to the case as circumstances may allow when this dispatch reaches you.
I am, &c.,
Lord Lyons to Earl Granville
My Lord: I perceive that observations have been made in both houses of Parliament on the fact of my having left Paris in the month of September last, and on the steps which I took to provide for the protection of British subjects there during my absence.
I do not think it necessary to say much here on the first point. I was advised to remove to Tours by M. Jules Favre, and pressed to accompany them to that place by the representatives of the great powers of Europe. I traveled to Tours with the representatives of Austria, Italy, Russia, and Turkey, and we were followed immediately by the Spanish charge d’affaires, and afterward by the representatives of other powers. In fact, the only chief of a diplomatic mission from any great power who staid at Paris was Mr. Washburne, the United States minister. As representing a nation which punctiliously abstains from taking part in the political affairs of Europe, Mr. Washburne had not the same reasons as representatives of European powers for removing to a place at which he could serve as a means of communication between his Government and the government of France; and as being charged with the protection of North German subjects in France, he was allowed by the German military authorities facilities for correspondence during the siege which were denied to the representatives of other governments. I conceded, at the time, that it was my duty neither to reject the advice of the French minister for foreign affairs, nor to separate myself from my principal colleagues, and I thought it would be, on all accounts, inexpedient for me to allow myself to be shut up in Paris and to be deprived of all speedy and satisfactory means of communicating with your lordship. My subsequent experience has, I confess, confirmed me in these opinions. On the day after I left Paris all communication by road with that place was intercepted, and on the following day the last telegraph wire was cut. The diplomatists who were left in the besieged city were refused by the German authorities positively all facilities for corresponding with their governments otherwise than by letters left open for the inspection of those authorities. My having resided at the seat of the delegation of the government at Tours, and having followed them to Bordeaux, have been accepted by the French as manifest proofs of the desire of Her Majesty’s government to maintain intimate and friendly relations with them, while my doing so has afforded Her Majesty’s government the readiest and most effectual means of maintaining such relations in fact.
On the question of the provision made by me for the protection of British subjects when I myself left Paris, it may, perhaps, be desirable that I should make some explanation in addition to the reports which I addressed to your lordship at the time. The objections made against the course I took appear to resolve themselves into a complaint that I did not leave Mr. Atlee, the consul, at Paris, instead of or in addition to Mr. Wodehouse, one of the secretaries of the embassy.
What happened was this: When it became apparent that an attack upon Paris was imminent I naturally became desirous of reducing the number of members of the embassy, whom I kept with me there, to the lowest point compatible with the performance of the work. Much of the ordinary business, and in particular the not inconsiderable part of it caused by the passage of Queen’s messengers, and the necessity of transmitting without delay dispatches brought by them, was sure to be suspended by the siege; consequently, I thought that the services of two of the members of the chancery might be temporarily dispensed with. It so happened that two of these had wives and families, while the rest were unmarried. I therefore selected, as most proper to send away, the two married men, of whom Mr. Atlee was one.
As your lordship is aware, although Mr. Atlee holds a commission as consul, his principal functions are those of attaché librarian and registrar to the embassy. In ordinary times there are some technical advantages in having a person with the character of consul in immediate connection with the embassy, among which may be reckoned [Page 446] his collecting, on account of Her Majesty’s government, consular fees which considerably exceed in amount the consular salary allowances.
Under the circumstances, however, under which my departure took place, there were certainly no special functions which could be better discharged by a consul than by a secretary of the embassy. I had no power to take out of the hands of the committee of the British charitable fund the management of the charitable contributions for the relief of distressed British subjects. I had most certainly no wish to do so. On the contrary, I had the fullest confidence in the members of that committee, whom the most generous motives induced to stay in Paris; and the noble and unwearied devotion with which they have discharged the benevolent duties they undertook have more than justified the high opinion I had formed of them. In fact, the object which rendered the presence of a member of the embassy in Paris desirable was that he should communicate officially with the French government, and exercise an influence with them on behalf of Her Majesty’s subjects; and it appeared to me that I should better provide for the attainment of this object by presenting a secretary to the minister for foreign affairs as representative of the embassy than by simply leaving a consul in the town. I accordingly presented Mr. Wodehouse to M. Jules Favre in that capacity. In fact, while Mr. Wodehouse could perfectly well perform all the functions that could be discharged by a consul, he was in a much better position than a consul could have been for communicating efficiently with the minister for foreign affairs or other French authorities.
I was naturally anxious not to expose any of Mer Majesty’s servants unnecessarily, and I conceived that, by stationing Mr. Wodehouse and General Claremont, the military attaché at Paris, I made the best provision in my power for the protection of the British subjects who remained there.
I left with Mr. Wodehouse orders to come away from Paris himself if the place should be threatened with immediate bombardment; and in that case to do his utmost to obtain a safe passage out for all British subjects. I considered that in such a contingency the protection of any of our countrymen who might still remain could not be transferred to better hands than to those of General Claremont, who, from his intimacy with General Trochu and his large acquaintance among French military men and well-known influence with them, would have peculiar means of befriending and assisting British subjects if actual danger from military operations should be imminent.
As the minister of marine was established at Tours, and as it was manifest that no naval intelligence could be attainable during the seige, I should have brought Captain Hore, the naval attaché, away with me if he had not been too ill to travel.
The orders I left with him were, as your lordship is aware, to rejoin me as soon as his health should admit of his doing so.
Since I left Paris I have had no other active duty to perform in the matter than to endeavor to forward orders from your lordship to Mr. Wodehouse. But I feel confident that your lordship will consider that my whole correspondence with you, both before and since I left Paris, shows that I have been in constant anxiety respecting the British subjects there, and earnestly desirous that every effort should be made for their practicable relief.
I subjoin a list of some of the principal dispatches I have had the honor to address to your lordship on the subject.
I have, &c.,
Note.—See also “Franco-German War Papers, No. 1, (1871,)” Nos. 51, 60, 84, 88, 112, 113, 130, 146, 147, 153, 239, 265, 311, and 314; and previous dispatches in this series.
- No. 5.↩