Mr. Straus to Mr.
Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Constantinople, December 3, 1888.
(Received December 24.)
No. 147.]
Sir: Referring to your several instructions
respecting the petition of the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania,
praying that application be made to the Sublime Porte for permission to make
excavation in the vilayet of Baghdad, I have the honor to report:
That such permission has finally been obtained by me, a translation of which
is herein inclosed.
The restricted laws in respect to excavations (reported in my dispatch No. 78
of May 9, 1888) added to the fact that applications made during recent years
on behalf of European museums and societies had been and were being refused,
made it extremely difficult to obtain permission for the petitioners.
Through the kindness of the grand vizier the matter of this application was
laid before the council of ministers, and there it was finally decided to
grant the permission to the petitioners to make such excavations upon the
conditions stated. As this permission contained terms not provided for by
the law, namely, the right to buy certain of the articles excavated with the
implied right to export them, the matter had to be referred to His Majesty
the Sultan for an iradé.
The matter rested in this position for some weeks.
Rev. John P. Peters, professor in the University of Pennsylvania, and the
head of the expedition, was here during all this time, and expressed himself
willing to accept the conditions as made by the council of ministers, rather
than incur the delay which further efforts would entail.
On the occasion of my audience with the Sultan on the 23d ultimo, I called
His Majesty’s attention to the subject, and he replied that the iradé would
be granted immediately. So it was; and on the 1st instant the papers were
all completed and placed in Mr. Peter’s hands, and he with his associates
have left for the site of their proposed work. The grand vizier and the
minister of public instruction gave Mr. Peters letters to the vali of Aleppo
to facilitate the members of the expedition in their transit.
In this connection I beg to call attention to an error in translation of
article 18 of the law on excavations, as forwarded by me and printed in
special issue No. 48 of United States Consular Reports. Instead of piastres,
it should read Turkish pounds in each place.
I have, etc.,
[Page 706]
[Inclosure in No.
147.—Translation.]
Permit to Pennsylvania University to make
excavations in the Vilayet of Baghdad.
permit.
Upon the request of the legation of the United States of America, which
made application on behalf of the trustees of Pennsylvania University in
America for permission to excavate antiquities at Nemrod, district of
Hilé, and at Telufer, district of Divanié, both in the province of
Bagdad, the present permit has been granted for two years in the name of
the said trustees, and in accordance with the law respecting
antiquities. The necessary investigations having been made and the
formalities having been complied with, according to the terms of said
law, which provides that all the antiquities excavated shall belong to
the government museum; that all the antiquities which may be discovered
shall be retained, under the supervision of the official who will be
appointed, in a secure place, so that the excavators shall not be able
to take possession of them. The excavators will he authorized to
commence working after they have delivered to the authorities of Bagdad
the topographical plans of the localities whereon they wish to dig. They
shall not trespass beyond the limits indicated in those plans, and
before having completed the excavations in one locality they shall not
commence upon the other.
Conformably with the regulations, should the work by reason of any
objections he temporarily stopped, the excavators will have no right to
claim any damages or indemnity on that account, and at the termination
of the term of permit, if the excavations in said localities should not
have been begun, or if begun they shall not have been completed, the
excavators are bound to get a new permit for said localities. At the
termination of this permit or before, if they give notice that the
excavations are completed, and if it is shown that they have conformed
to the rules and regulations, the money they have deposited as security
shall be returned to them.
Should the excavators not commence work within three months from the day
the permit is handed to them by the governor-general of the province, or
having commenced they shall stop work for the period of two months
without any reason, the permit will be canceled.
The permit can not he transferred or sold to any other persons.
They shall pay the salary of the official who will be assigned to them by
the department, and in all matters conform strictly with the said
law.
Of the antiquities discovered, if there are any, which, in the opinion of
the authorities of the imperial museum, are not needed, upon their value
being assessed by mutual agreement between the two parties and with the
consent of the Sublime Porte, such articles may be sold to said
excavators.
Rebbi-al-ewel 26 1306.
Tesh-nui Saui 19 1304.
- Kiamil, Grand
Vizier.
- Muniz,
Minister of Public Instruction.
