tary administration, although I had explained to him that the consulgeneral could not force Proios to undergo such; and that Proios had positively refused any and all such examinations and conversations. I sent a copy of this to the consul-general, mostly as a matter of record. I have recently received a second note from the Porte, repeating its request. To these notes I replied in writing. It was not for me to pronounce upon the guilt or innocence of Proios. I have done nothing to shield him from justice; but at the same time I have tried to protect the American citizen in accordance with our treaty rights, not only as a matter of justice toward him, but for the bearings of the case on Article IV of the treaty of 1830. The matter is now in a manner ended, as I regard it. PENDLETON KING, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. [Inclosure 1 in No. 112.] Mr. Pringle to Mr. King. No. 132.] CONSULATE-GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SIR: I beg leave to inform you that Hercules Proios, claiming to be an American citizen, has been turned over to me by the Russian consul-general. The Russian consul-general informs me that charges will be made against him by the Turkish Government. The said Proios was arrested the 18th day of last December in Russia and claims to have been subjected to very cruel treatment at the hands of the Russian authorities; I would therefore ask that the charges be made as soon as possible. I am, etc., [Inclosure 2 in No. 112.] Mr. King to Said Pasha. D. LYNCH PRINGLE, No. 34.] UNITED STATES LEGATION, EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to inform you that Hercules Proios, referred to in the note verbale of the Sublime Porte of 23d ultimo, has been delivered to the consul-general of the United States, who desires that the charges against Proios be at once made. I therefore respectfully request you to have the necessary steps taken for the presentation of the evidence against said Proios. Accept, excellency, etc., PENDLETON KING, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. [Inclosure 3 in No. 112.] Mr. Pringle to Mr. King. No. 136.1 CONSULATE-GENERAL OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Constantinople, August 4, 1888, SIR: I beg leave to call your attention to the fact that Mr. Proios still remains in prison, and that no charges have been made against him other than those made in the note verbale, copy of which you inclosed me. As regards Mr. Proios' citizenship 1 have had two interviews with the chief of the bureau of nationality, and I fail to find the slightest ground upon which the Imperial Government can claim Proios as an Ottoman subject. This, however, does not affect Mr. Proios' liberty, as he certainly can not be kept confined pending any discussion as to his nationality. I beg leave, therefore, to notify you that unless specific charges are made against Mr. Proios in a very short time I shall feel constrained to set him at liberty. I request you give this matter your immediate attention. EXCELLENCY: On the 17th ultimo, in my note No. 34, I had the honor to address you and ask for the production of the evidence against H. A. Proios. Mr. Pringle, the consul-general, informs me that it is now eight months since Proios was arrested and imprisoned, and that according to our laws he can not continue to retain him, and that in one week from to day he will consider himself bound to release him unless evidence be brought against him. I therefore respectfully ask for your immediate attention to the matter. Accept, excellency, etc., PENDLETON KING, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. [Inclosure 5 in No. 112. | Mr. Pringle to Mr. King. No. 138. ] CONSULATE-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Constantinople, August 13, 1888. SIR: I beg leave to notify you that Mr. Proios has been in jail for four weeks to-day. You will therefore understand that I am constrained to release him unless specific charges be forwarded to me to-day. You mentioned to me verbally that it was your intention to see the minister of foreign affairs to-day. I will expect you to send me the charges by this afternoon if they be made, otherwise the man will be set at liberty to-morrow morning. I received an unofficial note from the British consul-general informing me that they thought he was going insane; this, however, I find to be not the case, but the man's health is certainly suffering from his confinement. Hoping it will suit you to give the matter your immediate attention, I am, sir, etc., D. LYNCH PRINGLE, No 80.1 [Inclosure 6 in No. 112. J Mr. King to Mr. Pringle. UNITED STATES LEGATION, SIR: In my No. 78 of 9th instant I informed you of having made two applications to the Sublime Porte for the evidence against Proios, and on receipt yesterday of your No. 133 of 13th instant I went in person, as a matter of courtesy to the Ottoman Government, to see the minister of foreign affairs about it. I explained to him why Proios can not longer be detained without evidence against him, but the minister desires him to be delivered to the Turkish tribunals for trial. Lexplained to him that according to the treaty of 1830 he must be tried by you, and that at your hands he would receive punishment according to the evidence. But I understood from him that he is not going to bring before you evidence against Proios, thus admitting the interpretation which my Government puts upon article 4 of the treaty of 1830. I have the honor, etc., PENDLETON KING, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. No. 140.] [Inclosure 7 in No. 112.] Mr. Pringle to Mr. King. CONSULATE-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Constantinople, August 16, 1888. SIR: I beg leave to acknowledge your No. 80, of August 14, in which you inform me that you have seen the minister of foreign affairs, and that he informed you they would not produce evidence against Proios, and that he further desired that Proios be turned over to the Turkish Government for trial. As I do not admit the right of the Turkish Government to try Mr. Proios, or any other American citizen, and as Mr. Proios had been in jail over four weeks, I felt it my duty to discharge him immedi ately on receipt of your dispatch. Mr. Proios is bound over on his own recognizance, however, to answer any charges that may be brought against him hereafter. I am, sir, etc., D. LYNCH PRINGLE, [Inclosure 8 in No. 112.-Translation. 1 Said Pasha to Mr. King. SUBLIME PORTE, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, August 16, 1889. Mr. CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES: In answer to the two notes you kindly wrote to me on the 17th of July and the 6th of August, Nos. 34 and 35, I must inform you that before presenting the evidence against Proios the sanitary administration thinks proper to ask him some questions in an administrative way. I venture, consequently, to renew the request that the said administration has already made to the consul-general for the appearance of Proios before the special commission appointed to that effect. Accept, etc., [Inclosure 9 in No. 112.] Mr. King to Mr. Pringle. SAID. No. 87.] UNITED STATES LEGATION, SIR: In connection with my No. 80 of 14th instant, I inclose a copy of a note from the Sublime Porte in regard to the evidence against Proios. The Porte was informed by me that Proios refused to give information to the santary administration or to any one except on trial, and that you had no power to en force him to do so. The real state of the matter as regarded by the Porte having been given in my Na 80, of 14th instant, this note is sent to you mostly as a matter of record. I have, etc., PENDLETON KING, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim [Inclosure 10 in No. 112.-Translation.] Said Pasha to Mr. King. SUBLIME PORTE, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, September 15, 188. Mr. CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES: I have the honor to remind you of my note of the lit of August last, and to request you to be kind enough, in conformity to the den ant contained therein, to have Proios appear as soon as possible before the commissio charged by the international council of health to examine his affair. Accept, etc., SAID No. 43.] [Inclosure 11 in No. 112.] Mr. King to Said Pasha. UNITED STATES LEGATION, Constantinople, September 17, 1888. EXCELLENCY: In reply to the two notes of August 15 and 16 instant, which your excellency has sent me in regard to Proios, I have the honor to say that before I had the interview with you on August 13 in reference to the presentation of the evidence against said Proios, a request from certain members of the sanitary office had already been made to the consul-general of the United States to allow Proios to be examined by them. The consul-general gave his consent on condition that he (the consul-general) should be present; to this they assented. But in presenting the matter to Proios himself he refused, and yet refuses to submit to any examination whatever by the sanitary commission, but expressed a perfect readiness to be brought to trial before the consul-general; but the consul-general has no power to force Proios to any examination whatever by said commission, but stands ready to punish Proios according to the evidence presented against him. In my interview with your excellency on August 13, you asked that he should be brought before the Turkish tribunals, and gave me to understand that there was no probability of your presenting the evidence before the consul-general. I would again call the attention of your excellency to Article IV of the treaty of 1830, under which my Government firmly claims the right to have him and all such eases tried by its own consuls. For the reasons stated in my note to your excellency, No. 35, of the 6th ultimo, and more fully in our interview of 13th ultimo (namely, that under our laws a prisoner can not be detained without evidence, and that said Proios had already been nearly eight months in prison), no evidence having been presented against him, the consul-general bound him over in his own recognizance and released him. Accept, excellency, etc., No. 1094. PENDLETON KING, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. No. 134.] Mr. Bayard to Mr. King. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 21, 1888. SIR: I transmit for your information and files a copy of a protest from H. A. Proios, dated the 24th ultimo, in his case. I am, etc., [Inclosure 1 in No. 134.] T. F. BAYARD. Mr. Proios to Mr. Bayard. CONSTANTINOPLE, August 24, 1888. SIR: I inclose herewith a letter of protest to Mr. Pendleton King, United States chargé d'affaires ad interim, and also a statement regarding my case prepared for publication, as I was informed by the United States authorities here that I might expect my citizenship to be denied to me by the State Department. I desire to have positive information from you as to such pretenses, and I therefore send the inclosures for your consideration, hoping for an immediate reply. I have, etc., H. A. PROIOS. [Inclosure 2 in No. 134.] Mr. Proios to Mr. King. SIR: Having been a victim of proceedings on the part of the United States officials in Turkey and Russia, who state that they have acted in conformity with instruc tions from the State Department, and the said authorities seem determined to pursue a course most dishonorable and discreditable to the United States as well as unconstitutional and to me most damaging and ruinous, I deem it my duty to place the facts through you before the people of the United States, who are the best guardia: of the nation's honor and dignity, as well as their own sovereign rights guarantied by the Constitution. Such a course is forced upon me, as I find my case does not vary practically as to citizenship from that of numerous others, who, although less unfortunate than myself, have been refused passports and recognition as citizens by the United States authorities at Constantinople, although their rights to citizenship and protection are unquestionable and have always been recognized previously to the past two years in every manner, with their names upon the consulate register, from which they have been struck without cause or justice. The summary of my case is as follows: I am a naturalized citizen of the United States, born of Greek parents, and at the age of nineteen years went to England and from thence to the United States, where I remained for eight years, during which time I became a citizen of the United States in conformity with the laws of our country, and married an American lady. My naturalization papers entitling me to such citizenship bear the date of the 14th of August, 1871, and the signature of the clerk of the circuit court of Chicago, Cook County, where I resided eight years, doing a good business. In the year of 1873 I was advised by my doctor to take a trip to Europe on account of my bad health, and in consequence I started on a visit to my parents at Constantinople, where I arrived on the same year. I recorded myself at the American consulate at Constantinople, as is usual upon arrival of American citizens. In a short time thereafter I was offered a good position in the Turkish service as receiver of the sanitary office of Constantinople, and in consequence I took the place, which I held for a period of sixteen years. In this position considerable sums of money were left uncollected from my hands sometimes for two weeks, and I had to insure the safe custody and delivery thereof when called upon. Such facts were of course known, and in consequence under peculiar circumstances a deficit of 500 pounds resulted, but without any benefit to me. This deficit was known to leading Turkish officials who benefited therefrom, with the further result that the directors of the sanitary commission were notified thereof with the censure resting upon me, and the final result that I was discharged from my position about the middle of May of 1887. After my discharge, I remained in Constantinople until the 31st of July, 1887, and during which time I was advised by some friends of the practicability of doing good business on the sea of Azov as a shipping agent, and in consequence I took my pass port from the American legation, signed by the Hon. O. S. Straus, and had such properly indorsed by the Russian consul at Constantinople, with all my papers in order and with good letters of recommendation from Messrs. Foscolo, Mango, Svorono, and other leading merchants of Constantinople, which place I left on the 31st of July and proceeded direct to Marianople, on the sea of Azov. On arriving at the last-named place, I established myself as a shipping agent and carried on such business until the 3d of January, 1888. In the mean time I had cause to write to the United States minister at St. Petersburg regarding some intrignes and persecution against my business, to which I was subjected from the part of custom-house officials at that place. By such communication the minister became duly advised of my citizenship, as I sent my passport in evidence thereof. Without any notice whatever, on the 3d of January, 1888, the Russian police entered my rooms, seized my correspondence, documents, and all effects, and took me to prison. On the following day I was taken before the head of the police, who examined my papers and declared all such in good order, but that he had positive instructions from the governor-general to send me to Odessa. I asked what offense I had committed. "None whatever against the laws of Russia, but I must hold you upon the accusation signed by the Turkish vice-consul of Berdianska, who accuses you of being a runa way Turkish subject under a false name, carrying a stolen American passport, and having robbed 5,000 pounds from the Turkish Government." I protested against these accusations as absolutely false, and demanded "by what right and upon what grounds can you act in this manner, acknowledging as you do that I am an American citizen with my papers in order." His answer was that “superior orders force me to send you to Odessa." I therefore telegraphed to and paid for a response from the American minister at St. Petersburg regarding my arrest, and requested him to obtain my release. The only answer or action on his part was a dispatch saying, "show your papers,' |