Mr. Olsen, assistant district attorney of Chicago, he was following on the tracks of one Paul Stensland, an absconding defaulter from Chicago, and that he had reason to believe that he was living at Tangier, where he had been since the latter part of July. I informed him that I was returning to Tangier on the next day and would gladly lend what assistance was possible in detecting the fugitive. On the morning of September 2 Messrs. Keeley and Olsen called on me at an early hour and reported that they had found that Stensland had been living here for some weeks at an obscure hotel, but that nearly two weeks ago had left for a tour in Spain; that he had large sums of money about him, and had made a deposit at the Comptoir d'Escompte, a branch of the great French Bank, and they were anxious to find out the amount of said deposit. This I found means of doing and found that he had deposited 60,000 francs. As Messrs. Keeley and Olsen wished to return to Gibraltar, thinking to find their man there, I secured a passage for them on a private boat, and they returned there.

In the meantime I directed Mr. Cazes, clerk at the legation, to keep a watch out, in case Stensland returned here. About 10 o'clock that night (September 2) Cazes reported to me that Stensland had arrived on board of a German coast boat from Gibraltar and had landed, and that he had so wired to Mr. Keeley. I directed him to watch and report to me in case he attempted to leave Tangier again. The next morning Cazes, at 8 a. m., reported to me that he had mistaken the identity of the man who had landed and that it was not Stensland, who was on the boat still; but very shortly after one of my soldiers reported to me that Stensland had landed and gone to the British post-office, where he was followed by Messrs. Keeley and Olsen, who had returned in the night from Gibraltar, and that they had requested the said soldier to take Stensland to the legation. This he had refused to do without orders from me. I had from the beginning told Messrs. Keeley and Olsen that I would only act in this matter on directions from the department, but, it being represented to me that he was about to board his boat and proceed to Mogador, down the coast, where I knew it would be impossible to find him again, I determined that it was a case for immediate action, so I dispatched Martin, messenger and confidential man, to the scene, with the request that they all proceed to my office and await my coming. This, after some hesitation, Stensland decided to do, influenced somewhat by a large crowd which had gathered and of which he seemed to have some fear. On my arrival at my office I found him there, in the interpreter's room, and Mr. Keeley told me that he had admitted his crimes, etc., and seemed much broken up. I at once sent the following cablegram to the department, which I beg to confirm :

SEPTEMBER 3, 1906.

Stensland, embezzler from Chicago, discovered in Tangier as he was about leaving for coast, where it would be almost impossible to find him again. I have authorized his detention, pending your instructions.

In the meantime, while awaiting the department's response, at the request of Mr. Olsen, I decided that Stensland, whom I had detained

all day in the office and who seemed ill, should be taken to a hotel, in the custody of Mr. Cazes and some guards whom Mr. Philip, as consul-general, had requested from the basha to assist in guarding him, and there he still remains closely guarded, awaiting the department's instructions.

On the night of September 4 the following telegram arrived, which I have the honor to acknowledge:

SEPTEMBER 4, 1906. Sound Moorish Government as to whether are disposed to deliver Stensland to United States authorities as an act of grace on distinct understanding that we are unable to return favor in the absence of treaty.

(Signed)

ADEE, Acting.

In accordance with the said instructions I had an interview in the morning of the 5th instant with Sid Mohamed Ben Arby Torres, the Sultan's representative, and informed His Excellency that I was detaining a noted fugitive from justice, whom it was desired to return to America for trial, and that as there was no extradition treaty between our two countries, and we were not able to return the courtesy, I was anxious to know whether there would be any objection raised on the part of his Government against the removal from Morocco of the said fugitive by the United States authorities. His Excellency at once replied that he appreciated the courtesy in making such a request, especially as they regarded my authority over all Americans as supreme and unquestionable, and that not only would no objection be raised on the part of the Moorish Government, but that every assistance would be accorded in carrying out the wishes of my Government to remove the fugitive from Morocco to the United States, even to the extent of the whole of the guards of Tangier.

Therefore I at once dispatched the following telegram to the department, which I beg to confirm :

SEPTEMBER 5, 1906. Moorish Government willing to facilitate in every respect removal from Morocco of Stensland, who remains in custody of legation of the United States. I await instruction.

GUMMERÉ.

As Stensland seems ill and suffers with heart trouble and the common prison is in an awful condition, I have consented to his remaining at the hotel for the present, where he is closely guarded. I have taken every possible precaution against any attempt at selfdestruction, but, with the exception of Messrs. Olsen and Keeley, have permitted no one to have access to him, such as reporters, and so forth. The department will pardon so many details, but I have thought best to set forth the whole matter. I have some precedent in the case of one Hunter, a fugitive from justice, who escaped in 1900, and whom I caused to be apprehended and to be sent to the United States, and am following that as closely as possible. The department will, however, understand that as the whole matter is a delicate one, I am anxious to have full instructions for further guidance.

I am, etc.

S. R. GUMMERÉ.

Consul-General Philip to the Assistant Secretary of State.

No. 47.]

AMERICAN CONSULATE-GENERAL,
Tangier, September 12, 1906.

SIR: I beg to confirm my cable message to the department of today, the 12th instant, as follows, viz:

Stensland now on board Prinz Adalbert, under charge Olson and Keeley. All arrangements satisfactorily carried out here. Steamer sails 6 p. m. to-day for New York.

I have the honor to state that subsequent to the department's cabled instructions to the American minister to Morocco, received on the 9th instant, the Tangier agent of the Hamburg-American Line received a message on the 10th instant to the effect that the steamship Prinz Adalbert would call at this port on Wednesday morning on her way from Naples to New York.

Messrs. Olson and Keeley were privately informed to hold themselves in readiness to convey P. O. Stensland, under their charge, on board the said steamship immediately upon its arrival at Tangier. The Prinz Adalbert entered the harbor at 1 p. m. to-day, and the party proceeded at once on board, accompanied by an official of this consulate-general, where excellent accommodation was found to have been reserved. Owing to some small mishap to a boiler tube the vessel was unable to leave at the hour intended (6 p. m.), but was delayed several hours longer and has just left this port at the hour of writing.

Messrs. Olson and Keeley, since receiving authorization to assume full charge of the man Stensland, have carried out their task in a most efficient and thorough manner, being aided in every way possible by the Moorish authorities and particularly the governor of Tangier. Every precaution has been taken in guarding the accused man in the small Moorish house near this office in which he was confined.

Stensland has, however, been entirely resigned to his circumstances and has apparently desired most earnestly to be conveyed into the United States for trial and punishment at the earliest possible

moment.

I am, etc.,

HOFFMAN PHILIP, American Consul-General.

No. 116.]

NETHERLANDS.

CONSULAR CONVENTION OF 1855.

Chargé Boutell to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION, The Hague, September 15, 1906. SIR: Referring to the departments instruction, No. 23, of March 31 last, transmitting the certificate of appointment of Mr. Johann Schild, as consular agent of the United States at Padang, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies, and instructing the legation to "apply to the foreign office for his formal recognition and advise him of the result through the consul at Batavia, Java," and to Minister Hill's dispatch, No. 77, of April 17 last, acknowledging the receipt of instruction referred to with its inclosure and stating that on that day application had been made to the foreign office for Mr. Schild's recognition.

I now have the honor to state that on September 7 the legation received a note, dated September 6, from the minister of foreign affairs, a copy and a translation of which are inclosed herewith, informing the legation of the recognition of Mr. Schild and stating that the certificate had been transmitted directly to the party interested. This information was in the nature of a surprise to the legation, as in the past, whenever the foreign office had been asked to grant an exequatur to a consular officer of the United States in any of the Netherlands colonies, the certificate or commission, as the case might be, had been returned to the legation by the foreign office with the exequatur attached, and had then been transmitted by the legation to the proper official.

As the certificate in this case had been transmitted directly by the Netherlands authorities to an American consular agent without the intermediation either of the legation or the agent's superior officer, the consul at Java, thus preventing the legation from carrying out the department's instructions, it seemed proper to me to make inquiries at the foreign office here regarding the reasons for employing the new method of transmission.

I accordingly brought up the matter in an interview with the minister for foreign affairs, and was by him referred to the chief of the consular and commercial bureau, Mr. Panhuys. The minister in doing this informed me simply that he was not familiar with the matter and could himself give me no information. To Mr. Panhuys I then explained that I only desired to ascertain whether the Netherlands Government intended to adopt this new method of transmis

a Not printed.

sion in all similar cases; and, if so, to learn why the change had been made. To this Mr. Panhuys replied without hesitation that his office had recently discovered that in granting exequaturs to United States consular officers in the Netherlands Indies in the past the Netherlands Government, by authorizing the minister of the colonies at The Hague to perform this act, had been unconsciously acting in contravention of Article VII of the consular convention between the United States and the Netherlands, which he said provided that these exequaturs should be granted by the governor-general of the Indies. He then mentioned the practical difficulties and loss of time which would be involved were the certificates sent to India for the granting of the exequaturs, then back to the foreign office for transmission to this legation, and finally back to India by the legation. In reply to a question from Mr. Panhuys as to whether the United States would object to the new method, I said I did not know what view my Government would take, and that I myself had no opinion to express or comment to make; that I was merely seeking information. Mr. Panhuys then stated, speaking, as it seemed to me, with evident authority, that should the method adopted in the case of Mr. Schild's exequatur appear ill advised to the Government of the United States the Netherlands Government would be perfectly satisfied if the commission or certificate for consular officers in the Netherlands Indies were sent by the legation directly to the consul at Batavia with instructions to him to ask the governor-general directly to grant the exequatur. I repeated that I had no authority to express an opinion for my Government in the matter, but would communicate the suggestion.

The fact that a chief of a bureau should thus in a measure express the views of his government, as outlined above, made it seem probable, at least, that this matter had been previously discussed with the minister for foreign affairs, and that he had authorized Mr. Panhuys to speak thus, possibly anticipating that inquiry might be made by the American legation. I later ascertained that the consular convention to which he referred as at present applying between the two countries was that of 1855.

On page 767 of the publication entitled "Treaties and Conventions Concluded between the United States of America and other Powers," Government Printing Office, 1889, which bears the seal of the Department of State on the title page, Article XVI of the convention of 1855 is given. The third paragraph of this article reads as follows:

These vice-consuls, whose nomination shall be submitted to the approval of the governor of the colony, shall be provided with a certificate given to them by the consul under whose orders they exercise their functions.

The convention as printed in the above-mentioned book is prefixed by the date 1855, followed by an asterisk (see page 765). This refers to a note at the back of the book entitled "Abrogated, suspended, or obsolete treaties," and in this note, on page 1236, parapraph 6, it is stated "Netherlands, 1855, terminated August 20, 1879, and the treaty of May 23, 1878, takes it place." Yet on page 774 of the same book the first paragraph of Article XVI of the convention of May 23, 1878, reads as follows:

The present convention shall not be applicable to colonies of either of the high contracting parties, etc.