No. 246.
Mr. Fish to Mr. Marsh.
Washington, June 10, 1872.
Sir: Your dispatch. No. 403, of the 18th ultimo, relative to the case of the Shamrock, has been received. Upon consideration in connection with your No. 299, and with the dispatches of Mr. Spencer, the consul at Genoa, it is scarcely deemed advisable to ask for a copy of the testimony taken by order of the Italian government, or to set on foot judicial proceedings in the name of this Government. The captain, however, may bring suit against the officer by whom he may have been aggrieved, should he think proper to do so. Probably his cause of complaint, supposing him to have had any, was chiefly imputable to his ignorance of the language of the country. The authorities, it is true, may have been somewhat to blame for not enabling him by means of an interpreter to make himself understood. If, therefore, you should deem it advisable, you may make a representation at least upon this point to the minister for foreign affairs.
I am, &c.,