tions to which he requests me to call the attention of the Government of the United States, and which refute the accusations made by the government of the North German Confederation against the French army, which has been represented by said government, in several official documents, as voluntarily setting aside, in the present war, the rules of international law. Having reason to think that the documents to which I allude have been formally brought to the notice of the Department of State, I take the liberty of laying before you the reply of my government to the allegations which they contain. Accept, Mr. Secretary of State, the assurances of my very high consideration. Hon. HAMILTON FISH, &c., &c., &c. BERTHEMY. The minister of foreign affairs to the minister of France at Washington. PARIS, August 31, 1870. SIR: The Prussian government has pretended, in documents of which we have had knowledge, that our soldiers have disregarded the rules of international law, by voluntarily firing on ambulances and bearers of flags of truce. Before even calling the attention of the minister of war to these allegations, I protested in the name of the traditions of our army, and as soon as my colleague was informed of them, he warmly approved of the language which I had used. Mistakes may occur in the heat of battle; we, more just than our adversary, admit that neither of the two armies is sure of not committing such errors. But Prussia will persuade no one that our soldiers have deliberately set at naught the sacred privilege of ambulances and the freedom of flags of truce, and we have no need to defend ourselves against such accusations. It seems, moreover, that the Prussian government has shown so much eagerness to avail itself of facts, regrettable indeed, though hitherto not proved, and at all events isolated, in order to have some pretext to justify itself for much graver acts with which we have to charge it, and for which the corps commanders are much more directly responsible. Every one knows the incident of the ambulance called "de la Presse," which was seized with the persons and supplies which it contained, and which was obliged to pass through a part of Germany, and through Luxemburg and Belgium, in order to reënter France. The same thing is stated to have occurred again in the neighborhood of Metz. Near Strasburg the Baron de Bussière was taken prisoner in the midst of the ambulances which he had organized, and to which he was giving his attention. It is equally notorious that a French surgeon was killed on the field of battle by a Prussian soldier, while in the act of attending to the injuries of a wounded man. It further appears from the testimony given by one of our physicians, in the presence of witnesses whose declaration has been received at the vice-consulate of France, at Basle, that explosive bullets have been used against our troops, and have been found in the bodies of some of our wounded. These are so many violations, not only of the usages of all armies in modern times, but also of the formal stipulations of diplomatic conventions to which Prussia was a contracting party. Finally, the public journals have announced that the peasants near Strasburg have been required to dig the trenches opened by the Prussians before the place. We at first refused to give credit to these rumors. We could not regard as possible an act of violence no less repugnant to the laws of war than to those of humanity. The certain proofs which have since reached us leave no longer any doubt concerning the entire accuracy of these statements. The Prussian authorities have not hesitated to adopt a measure which obliges the defenders of Strasburg to fire on Frenchmen. If Prussia should continue these odious proceedings she would stamp her military operations with a character for atrocity which would place her under the ban of civilized nations. We protest in the name of universal conscience against such abuses of power, and in requesting you to call to them the particular attention of the Government to which you are accredited, I feel confident that public opinion will visit them with just condemnation. Receive, &c. THE PRINCE DE LA TOUR D'AUVERGNE, The minister of foreign affairs to the minister of France at Washington. PARIS, August 31, 1870. SIR: In a telegram addressed to Count Bernstorff, to be communicated to us through the agency of the minister of the United States at Paris, Count Bismarck makes known the treatment which Prussia intends to reserve for our independent marksmen. He declares that only men who can be recognized within gunshot, as soldiers, shall be considered and treated as such. He adds that the blue blouse is the national costume; that the red cross on the arm can only be discerned at a short distance, and may be removed or replaced at any moment, so that it becomes impossible for the Prussian troops to distinguish the persons from whom they have to expect acts of hostility and on whom they ought to fire. He announces, in consequence, that all those who, not being on all occasions and at a proper distance recognizable as soldiers, may kill or wound any Prussians, shall be tried by court-martial. I have transmitted this communication to the minister of war. reply: The following is his The national garde mobile and the independent marksmen, who are assimilated thereto by their organization, or who have been formed by regular authority, represent a force constituted by French law. Their costume has been defined, and the blue blouse with red ornaments of the men of the national garde mobile, who also wear the military cap, cannot be confounded, in good faith, with the garb of the peasants of France. The minister of war does not, therefore, hesitate to declare that if Prussia treats such troops as not belonging to the army, the French corps commanders will retaliate upon the men of the landwehr and of the landsturm, who represent the same forces in Germany. I beg you, sir, to bring this declaration to the notice of the government to which you are accredited, and I do not doubt that it will share the impression made upon us by the proceeding in question, as likewise by the painful necessity under which it places us. Receive, &c. PRINCE DE LA TOUR D'AUVERGNE. The minister of foreign affairs to the minister of France at Washington. MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SIR: The Prussian official journal, and all the German papers which obey the same inspirations, have sought to excite public opinion against us on account of the measures which the subjects of Prussia and its allies have been the object in France since the commencement of the war. It has been openly asserted, and every effort is made to induce the belief, that the government of the Emperor, after having first tolerated the presence of citizens of the enemy's country, took measures for their general expulsion. This assertion is absolutely at variance with the truth, and of this the cabinet of Berlin cannot be ignorant. When the ministry of the 10th of August was called to power, it was obliged, by reason of the circumstances, to examine the situation of the Germans in France. It did so, regarding the interest of the country and the personal security of these foreigners at the same time, for it was obliged to consider the annoying consequences of the great excitement which is caused in France by excesses of all kinds committed in the rural districts against an unoffending population, and a system of espionage without precedent in the annals of war. The government did not, however, adopt a general measure of expulsion, however legitimate it would have been after the unworthy treatment of which our citizens, and even some French consular agents, have been the victims in Germany. It confined itself to favoring the removal of all those who desired to return to their own country. To this effect the minister of the interior exempted them from the formality of safe conducts for leaving the country, and from that of the French visa previously required for their passports. The mass of the German residents, so numerous throughout the territory of the empire, was in no wise affected. Friendly explanations were given on this subject by the minister of the interior and myself to the ministers of America and Switzerland, as well as to the chargé d'affaires of Russia, to which functionaries the German governments had confided the protection of their citizens in France. In fact, the majority of these foreigners did not leave the territory of the empire. Every one knows with what moderation the orders of the French government were enforced, and no one can truthfully maintain, as is done by the Berlin journals, that the Emperor's government has shown itself pitiless and cruel toward the German residents. Quite recently, in view of the march of the Prussian army on Paris, General Trochu, by virtue of the powers intrusted to him, promulgated an order obliging every subject of the enemy to leave Paris and the department of the Seine in the space of three days, and to leave France or to retire to one of the departments situated beyond the Loire. This measure was dictated by considerations of public necessity, upon which I have no need to insist, and in my previous interviews with the ministers of the United States and Switzerland, as well as with the chargé d'affaires of Russia, I had taken care to reserve with regard to this the full and entire liberty of appreciation of the government. The presence of several thousands of Germans in Paris during the operations of a siege would have been a source of peril to themselves as well as of danger to the defense, and every one understood that this order, however painful it was to those affected by it, still bore the impress of that generous sentiment by which the French people are habitually actuated in their conduct, even toward an enemy, in the midst of the heat of a struggle; for their patriotism will never cause them to forget the laws of humanity. The government, moreover, in the order of August 28 stopped short of what it might legitimately have done, since it confined itself to removing the Germans from the capital, still allowing them to remain in the departments situated beyond the Loire, and this restriction, placed by ourselves upon the exercise of our right, is a new and irrecusable evidence of the falsity of the allegation of the Prussian official journal, according to which, since the 10th of August, all Germans settled in France have been included in a measure of expulsion. I beg you to point out the falseness of these assertions to the Cabinet at Washington, and in order to reduce them to their just value it will be sufficient for you to oppose to them our acts. Receive, sir, &c., M. BERTHEMY, Minister of France, Washington. PRINCE DE LA TOUR D'AUVERGNE. No. 105. Mr. Fish to Mr. Berthemy. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 19, 1870. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 16th instant, transmitting a copy of communications which have been addressed to you by the minister of foreign affairs in refutation of accusations made against the French military forces by the government of North Germany, to the effect that they had voluntarily disregarded in the present war the rules of international law. I shall not fail to communicate a translation of these papers to the minister of North Germany accredited to this Government. Accept, sir, a renewed assurance of my highest consideration. HAMILTON FISH. M. BERTHEMY, &c., &c., &c. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND THE UNITED STATES CONSULATE GENERAL AT PARIS. No. 106. Mr. Read to Mr. Fish. [By cable telegram.] PARIS, August 15, 1870. (Received 5.15 p. m., August 15.) Paper depreciating daily, also difference between silver and gold; average daily receipts thirteen hundred francs. Very little gold in circu lation. What am I to do? READ. No. 107. Mr. Davis to Mr. Read. READ, Consul General, Paris: [Telegram.] WASHINGTON, August 16, 1870. Secretary Treasury says: Take gold till further ordered. DAVIS. No. 108. Mr. Read to Mr. Davis. [By cable.] PARIS, August 17, 1870. (Received at 3.35 p. m., August 17.) DAVIS, Acting Secretary of State, Washington: No gold to be had; only silver. No. 109. READ, Paris. Mr. Read to Mr. Davis. [Telegram.] AUGUST 18, 1870. (Received August 20.) Cannot get gold; silver only can be had. Business clogged and people indignant. Í strongly advise taking silver. Can I bank with Hottinguer, Barings' correspondent here; unwilling to have responsibility of funds at this time. READ, Paris. No. 56.] No. 110. Mr. Read to Mr. Davis. UNITED STATES CONSULATE GENERAL FOR FRANCE, Paris, August 18, 1870. (Received August 31.) SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch, No. 55, and I am happy that the Department so warmly approves of my administration of this responsible and laborious office. At this time the labor and responsibility have greatly increased. Since the war broke out the daily number of invoices is very large, averaging above one hundred, and in some instances reaching two hundred and forty a day; while passports have averaged sixty per day. When the Bank of France suspended specie payment there was in the safe 6,000 francs in paper, which had been taken within the preceding three or four days for Government fees. To-day it is almost impossible to obtain gold, and it commands a premium of 5 per cent., while silver is at 11. Under the circumstances, I telegraphed to you on the 16th instant as follows: Paper depreciating daily. Also difference between silver and gold. Average daily receipts thirteen hundred francs. Very little gold in circulation. What am I to do! I received the next day this reply: Secretary of the Treasury says, take gold till further orders. Anticipating this, I had ordered that morning that gold only be received, except for fractional sums, when silver would be taken. This regulation produced immediate difficulty, for it had become almost impossible to procure gold, and I accordingly telegraphed you again yesterday: No gold to be had; only silver. Receiving no answer, and finding that the excitement was increasing and the probability of obtaining gold becoming less every hour, I telegraphed this morning as follows: Cannot get gold. Silver only can be had. Business clogged and people indignant. I stronly advise taking silver. Can I bank with Hottinguer, Barings' correspondent here; unwilling to have reponsibility of funds at this time. I am awaiting the reply with anxiety for several reasons. You are aware that I have been charged with the consular affairs of the North German Confederation throughout France. This has been and continues to be a very vexatious and troublesome charge, especially since the French government (who have been forced into it by the feelings of the masses of the people) have decreed the immediate departure of all North Germans from France. I have been obliged from day to day and hour to hour to send by telegraph and mails explicit instructions to all our consular officers to guide them in their new duties in this matter. Americans are just, now extremely unpopular here, owing to the sympathy shown by the people of the United States for Germany. When, in addition, one identifies himself so far with the Prussians as to become their representative, he incurs an amount of dislike and even hatred which may prove not only disagreeable, but actually dangerous to himself and his surroundings in the present highly-excited state of the public mind. It becomes, therefore, extremely desirable not to give rise, if possible, to further ill-feeling. The regulation of the Department to receive only gold has produced, however, another and additional cause of ill-will, and you will readily comprehend that I hope that my suggestion may be promptly adopted. We are receiving alternate accounts of defeats and successes during the retreat upon Chalons, and to-day General Trochu, just appointed governor of Paris, has issued his proclamation calling upon all good citi-· zens to preserve their fortitude and prepare for the worst in the presence of a foreign foe. At the same time the journals are filled with accounts of the instructions issued for provisioning the city to stand a siege. In the light of the foregoing information, you will perceive that I must necessarily be unwilling to continue to be responsible for such public funds in my safe, and you will immediately recognize the propriety of giving me authority to bank with some responsible house. The safe furnished by the Government is in peaceful times very insecure, and in times like these it affords no adequate protection whatever. Many French citizens have applied to me for protection, and also have asked me to guard their valuables; but I have respectfully declined to receive anything into my keeping belonging to French subjects, feeling that unless I adopted this rule I could not do justice to my own countrymen and women. I have made one exception in favor of the grand-daughters of the Marquis de Lafayette, telling them, at the same time, that it must be at their own risk. JOHN MEREDITH READ. |