No. 114.
Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Fish.
Legation of the United States,
London, April 13, 1876.
(Received April 25.)
No. 62.]
Sir: I have the honor to inclose to you a copy
of a note which I received this morning from Lord Derby.
His lordship refers to a telegram from New York which appeared in the
Daily News of the 29th ultimo, and which he has ascertained from Her
Majesty’s legation at Washington to be substantially true, to the effect
that the United States district court for the southern district of New
York had decided that the forger Lawrence can be tried for other crimes
than those mentioned in the warrant, and inquires whether the district
court at New York has the power to carry out this decision.
In case that it has such power, Lord Derby thinks that it would be
nugatory to enter into such an arrangement as he proposed in his note of
the 8th ultimo, and sees no solution of the present difficulty except
through an act of Congress.
[Page 220]
Lord Derby further requests me to express to you the hope of Her
Majesty’s government that the negotiation of a new treaty of
extradition, which may be beneficial to the interests of both nations,
may be renewed as soon as possible, and in conclusion calls my attention
to the twelfth section of the act of 1870, to the effect that a fugitive
cannot be detained in custody beyond two months from the date of his
committal, unless the Secretary of State can show sufficient cause for
further detention, and adds that therefore, however much Her Majesty’s
government may regret not being able to comply with the wishes of the
Government of the United States, they will be unable to detain him in
custody beyond that specified time.
The two months expire on the 2d proximo.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 62.]
Lord Derby to
Colonel Hoffman.
Foreign Office, April 11, 1876.
Sir: With reference to previous
correspondence respecting the extradition of Ezra D. Winslow, and
especially to the letter I had the honor of addressing to you on the
8th ultimo, in which I stated to you, for the information of the
United States Government, that Her Majesty’s government would not
feel themselves justified in authorizing the surrender of that
prisoner until they should have received the assurance of your
Government that he should not, until he has been restored or had an
opportunity of returning to Her Majesty’s dominions, be detained or
tried in the United States for any offense committed prior to his
surrender, other than the extradition crimes proved by the facts on
which the surrender would be grounded, I have now the honor to call
your attention to the inclosed copy of a telegram which appeared in
the Daily News, of the 29th ultimo, and which I have ascertained
from Her Majesty’s legation at Washington to be substantially
correct; and to request that you will be good enough to ascertain
from your Government, for the information of Her Majesty’s
government, whether the district court at New York has the power to
carry out the decision it is reported to have arrived at, viz, that
the forger Lawrence, who was surrendered to the United States
Government under the 10th article of the treaty of 1842, can be
tried for other offenses besides those mentioned in the warrant.
In this country the attorney-general would enter a nolle prosequi, and so put a stop to further proceedings
in any prosecution; but Her Majesty’s government are not aware
whether the Attorney-General of the United States has similar
powers. The reported language of the district court leads them to
think that he has not.
If so, it would, in the opinion of Her Majesty’s government, be
nugatory to enter into an arrangement such as I had the honor of
proposing in my letter to you of the 8th of March, above alluded to;
and Her Majesty’s government see no solution of the present
difficulty but the passing of an act of Congress which, while
recognizing the acknowledged principle of international law, that a
fugitive can only be tried for the crime or crimes for which he was
surrendered, will enable the Government of the United States to
guarantee that the condition, which Her Majesty’s government are
compelled to require under section 3, subsection 2, of the act of
1870, will be complied with.
With regard to future difficulties which may possibly arise on the
general subject of extradition, Her Majesty’s government can see but
one satisfactory solution, namely, the conclusion of a more
comprehensive treaty between the two countries, and one more suited
to the requirements of the day than the existing arrangement.
I have, therefore, to request that you will express to your
Government the hope of Her Majesty’s government that the negotiation
of a treaty which will be so beneficial to the interests of the two
nations may be renewed as soon as possible.
In conclusion, I have the honor to remind you that, under the
provisions of the twelfth section of the extradition act of 1870, a
fugitive cannot be detained in custody longer than two months from
the date of his committal, unless the Secretary of State can show
sufficient cause for further detention; and that, therefore, however
much they may regret being unable to comply with the wishes of your
Government respecting the surrender of Winslow, they will be unable
to detain him in custody beyond that specified time.
I have, &c.,
[Page 221]
[Inclosure in inclosure in No.
62.]
[Daily News, March 29.]
The United States district court of New York has decided that the
forger Lawrence, who was brought from England under the extradition
treaty, can be tried for other offenses besides those mentioned in
the warrant. The court cannot regard the order of the President to
the contrary, or take notice of any agreement between the English
and American governments to that effect.
