No. 657.
Mr. Emmet to Mr.
Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Constantinople, July 23, 1885.
(Received August 10.)
No. 515.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that, on receipt of
your dispatch No. 296, I addressed a communication to Mr. Frank Calvert,
United States consular agent at the Dardanelles, a copy of which I have the
honor to
[Page 853]
inclose, and likewise the
answer thereto, in reference to the case of Mr. E. Chryssofondis.
The statements contained in Mr. Calvert’s answer are almost a repetition of
the facts stated under cover of dispatch 296, with the additional
information that the proofs of Mr. Chryssofondis’s naturalization,
consisting of a passport and a declaration of renunciation to foreign
allegiance, were submitted to Consul-General Heap some time before they were
shown to the Turkish authorities, and were pronounced as incomplete by Mr.
Heap.
The ground for refusing recognition by the Turkish authorities was the law of
1869, which I cite in my dispatch No. 213, and that law will likewise prove
a barrier to Mr. C.’s inheriting from his parents unless he takes the steps
elsewhere indicated to obtain the Imperial iradé. Under the present state of
circumstances his father cannot convey property to him, although the same
was purchased with money earned in America and sent to Turkey for
investment.
His only relief on that point is the disposal of the property by his father,
during his life, and the return of the purchase money, or his share of it,
to the American claimant, unless he obtains the iradé.
I am, &c.,
WM. C. EMMET,
Chargé d’Affaires ad
interim.
[Inclosure I in No. 515.]
Mr. Emmet to Mr.
Calvert.
United
States Legation,
Constantinople, July 16,
1885.
Sir: By dispatch received this day from the
State Department I am directed to communicate with you and ask for all
the information at your command in reference to the case of Mr. E.
Chryssofondis, of Baltimore, Md.
The following statement has been submitted to the State Department, and I
furnish it to you for confirmation or alteration as your knowledge of
the same may dictate.
It seems that Mr. E. Chryssofondis, claiming Greek parentage, though born
in Turkey, returned to his native town, Reukioi (about three and
one-half hours’ ride from Dardanelles), March 1, last, upon a visit to
his parents, from his adopted country, America, after an absence from
Turkey of twenty-five years.
About April 17, desiring to return to America, he applied for a pass from
the American consul at the Dardanelles, who in turn sent for same to the
Turkish officials. An answer was returned by the latter that the
applicant would have to appear in person. This being complied with, Mr.
C. was asked where he was born, and when he replied “in Turkey” the
Turkish officials absolutely refused to grant a pass, notwithstanding he
showed his naturalization papers.
It is further stated to the State Department that during the interview
between Mr. C. and the officials they justified their action by virtue
of a treaty claimed to have been entered into in 1867, whereby all
Turkish subjects who became naturalized in foreign lands and returned to
Turkey forfeited all their rights acquired elsewhere. The date is what I
have particular reference to, and whether they did not mean the law of
1869, enacted in reference to naturalization. In making answer to my
inquiries, you will please state whether Mr. C. had and exhibited a
passport, in addition to his naturalization papers, and all other points
which you deem as bearing weight.
If you have any means of ascertaining the truth of Mr. C.’s claim to
Greek parentage, it would add an interesting phase to the question under
investigation.
I am, &c.,
WM. C. EMMET,
United States Chargé
d’Affaires ad interim.
[Page 854]
[Inclosure 2 in No. 515.]
Mr. Calvert to Mr.
Emmet.
United
States Consular Agency,
Dardanelles, July 20,
1885.
Sir: I have received your dispatch No. 205, of
July 16, with reference to the case of Mr. E. Chyrssofondis, of
Baltimore, Md.
In reply, I have the honor to furnish the facts that have conie to my
knowledge. Respecting the parentage of Mr. Chryssofondis, I can state I
know his father personally. He is a native of the town of Reukioi, in
this neighborhood; a Greek by religion, not by nationality; by birth a
“rayah,” or non-Mussulman Turkish subject. According to the statement of
Mr. Chryssofondis, he left his native town of Reukioi about twenty-eight
years since. After a residence of thirteen years in Greece, where, I
believe, he became a Greek naturalized subject, he proceeded to the
United States in 1870. In March, 1885, he returned to this country on a
visit to his relatives. The documents he produced to prove his American
nationality were a passport and a declaration of renunciation to foreign
allegiance.
At the time of Mr. Chryssofondis’s arrival, and at his request, I wrote
to Mr. Consul-General Heap, at Constantinople, to inquire if he would be
protected as an American citizen from the Turkish authorities. Before
receiving a reply I saw Mr. Heap personally. He verbally informed me he
was of opinion Mr. Chryssofondis’s naturalization papers were
incomplete, and advised that Mr. C. should, before his projected second
visit to Turkey, provide himself with all necessary documents, when Mr.
Heap would demand from the Pone a recognition of Mr. Chryssofondis’s
American nationality.
Mr. C., on his departure from this place, applied for a pass, which was
refused by the Turkish authorities. As he would not have been allowed to
embark elsewhere, I permitted him to go on board a steamer from the
consulate in a boat I was sending off.
The Turkish authorities justify their attitude in virtue of the treaty of
1869, in reference to naturalization. I may add that Mr. Chryssofondis
did not produce any document to prove a residence in Greece.
I have, &c.,
FRANK CALVERT,
Consular
Agent.
