125.655/36: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Harvey)

348. Your 517, November 6th, 11 a.m.44

The Department having given careful consideration to your suggested reply to the Foreign Office feels that a more precise and detailed statement of the position of this Government is desirable. Therefore the draft has been amplified in the following text of a note which I shall be glad to have you deliver to Lord Curzon at the earliest practicable moment:

“My Lord. I have the honor of transmitting to Your Lordship the response of my government to Your Lordship’s communication of October 19, 1922.44

My Government has noted that the British Government expresses its willingness to drop the charges against the American consular officers formerly at Newcastle-on-Tyne, on the understanding that the United States will reopen the Consulate with the least possible delay. The Government of the United States has consistently maintained the position that the exequatur of Mr. Slater and the recognition of Mr. Brooks were withdrawn as the result of specific charges of wrong-doing and that, as the action of the British Government and the nature of the charges were made public, thus injuring the officers and imputing to the American foreign service practices never authorized, it was incumbent upon my Government to satisfy itself with regard to the facts. It therefore instituted an inquiry for the purpose of determining whether the charges had adequate basis. It has been desirous of completely establishing the guilt or innocence of the two officers and of disposing of the incident upon its merits.

As Your Lordship is aware two separate inquiries into the facts were instituted by the United States Government. During these inquiries the evidence which the British Government submitted—three affidavits—was examined and an opportunity was given to the British Government to furnish any additional data which it might possess. These inquiries, however, have failed to bring to light evidence to sustain a charge of any wrongful acts on the part of the American consular officers involved and the conclusion that the charges have not been substantiated would seem to be supported by the expressed willingness of the British Government to drop them without prejudice.

My Government cannot but feel confident that the British Government must now realize that a mistake has inadvertently been made; that innocent officers have been publicly and unwarrantably accused of serious misconduct and the good faith of the foreign service of a friendly Nation has been openly brought into question upon inadequate and incorrect information. My Government has no doubts, now that the two Governments have given mature consideration [Page 401] to the matter that your Lordship will desire to adopt the direct, and only feasible, way, in view of the public attention which has been drawn to the incident, of repairing the damage which has been done. It is the earnest hope of my Government that the British Government would be willing frankly and unconditionally to withdraw the serious charges inadvertently made and publicly to announce the reasons for the action, as was done when the exequatur of Mr. Slater was cancelled and the recognition of Mr. Brooks was withdrawn.

The mere dropping of the charges, conditioned upon the reopening of the Consulate at Newcastle, does not appear to be a solution acceptable to my Government. If, however, it would make an early disposition of the matter more convenient to the British Government, my Government is entirely ready to accept the proposal for the dropping of the charges and the reopening of the Consulate at Newcastle if the British Government will agree to grant an exequatur to Mr. Slater and the recognition to Mr. Brooks as Consul and Vice Consul, respectively, at Newcastle, and to the simultaneous issue at the two Capitals of an announcement in a form satisfactory to both Governments of the action taken and the reasons therefor.

My Government regrets that it is unable to accept the proposal to issue identic instructions to consuls defining their duties in respect to national shipping, as it could not regard the question of such instructions as having a bearing upon the appropriate settlement of the Newcastle incident. My Government would be pleased, however, after final disposition has been made of that incident, to entertain proposals from the British Government looking to the conclusion of a consular convention inasmuch as no such convention at present exists between the two countries.”

Please inform the Department by telegraph immediately upon the delivery of this note to Foreign Office.

Hughes
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