No. 525.
Mr. White to Mr. Bayard.

No. 764.]

Sir: Referring to your instruction numbered 862, of the 30th ultimo, I have the honorto inclose herewith copies of the note which I addressed to the Marquis of Salisbury with respect to the correspondence between Mr. Evarts and Sir Edward Thornton relative to the possessory right to Christmas Island, and of his lordship’s reply to the same.

I have, etc.,

Henry White.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 764.]

Mr. White to Lord Salisbury.

My Lord: I have the honor to acquaint you that the Secretary of State has been informed by the United States minister at Honolulu that Sir William Wiseman, commanding [Page 728] Her Majesty’s ship Caroline, had, daring a recent cruise of that vessel, taken possession, in “behalf of Great Britain, of the three islands known as Fanning, Christmas, and Penrhyn, lying from 1,000 to 1,800 miles from Oahu; and I beg to add that, in view of this intelligence, my Government deems it proper to recall to your lordship’s recollection the note addressed on the 29th of January, 1879, by Sir Edward Thornton, Her Majesty’s minister at Washington, with regard to the possessory rights to Christmas Island, to Mr. Evarts, at that time Secretary of State of the United States, and the latter’s reply to the same dated April 1, 1879.

The Christmas Island referred to in this correspondence is “situated in 1° 40’ 30” north latitude, and 157° 14’ 77” (sic) west longitude,” and is presumed to be the island bearing that name of which the British occupation is now reported.

I have, etc.,

Henry White.
[Inelosure 2 in No. 764.]

Lord Salisbury to Mr. White.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 14th instant! in regard to the recent annexation by Great Britain of Christmas and other islands in the Pacific, and in reply thereto I beg to furnish you with the following statement of facts in connection therewith.

I would observe that it appears from the correspondence to which you refer as having passed in the year 1879 between Sir E. Thornton and Mr. Evarts, upon the subject of Christmas Island, in connection with the right of extracting guano therefrom, that the United States Government were then asked, in a friendly manner, whether they had finally abandoned and withdrawn their claim to the island in question. The reply made was that, as the American company to whom the grant had originally been made in 1858 to take possession of this island, “in conformity with the act of Congress of the 18th of August, 1856” (that is to say, for the sole purpose of extracting guano), “had not notified their abandonment of the island, they were still considered to be entitled to the protection guarantied by the laws of the United States in their possessory rights, so far as such occupation might be necessary to secure to the company, or their assigns, the deposits of guano found thereon.”

But although the American company would appear to have omitted to notify officially to the United States Government the fact that they had abandoned Christmas Island, it is evident that it had been abandoned before the 17th of April, 1882, now six years ago, for when the master of the ship Regno, belonging to Messrs. Henderson & Macfarlane, of Auckland, landed on the island on that day they found it unoccupied, and accordingly proceeded to hoist the British flag and to take possession of it in the name of the firm.

Again, when, in October, 1884, the captain of Her Majesty’s ship Constance visited Christmas Island, he reported that it was then owned by Messrs. Henderson & Macfarlane, of Auckland, and he described it as “English.” So again in November, 1885, when the captain of Her Majesty’s ship Satellite then visited it, he reported that he had, on his arrival, communicated with the only white man there, Mr. Freeman, agent of Messrs, Henderson & Macfarlane; and in conclusion I am to say that Capt. Sir W. Wiseman reported, on the 3d of April last, that he had not taken formal possession of the island on the 17th of the preceding month until he had communicated with the agent of Messrs. Henderson & Macfarlane and had satisfied himself that there was no evidence on the spot of the island being still claimed by the United States or that it was occupied by United States citizens.

I have, etc.,

Salisbury.