Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 5, 1898
Mr. Powell to Mr. Day.
Port an Prince, Haiti, May 18, 1898.
Sir: I respectfully transmit to the Department a copy of a letter of instructions forwarded by this Government to the several ports of this Republic as a guide to their officers regarding neutrality.
I have, etc.,
To the Secretary of War and the Navy.
My Dear Colleague: The Government of the Republic, desiring to observe the strictest neutrality during the war which has just broken out between the United States of America and Spain, I communicate to you, as it has been decided, the following notes to serve as the basis for the instructions that the Government is to forward to the military commandants, including the delegates of the Government, to the chiefs of the ports, and to officials of the Government.
Our citizens, as well as the foreign residents of whatsoever nationality, should abstain from all acts that may invite reprisals. Popular manifestations in public places or in the streets; the raising of any emblems that may be considered offensive to one of the parties; the establishment of recruiting offices,-secret or public, for natives or for foreigners; the embarkation on board of vessels of war in the service of the belligerents in passage in our ports, harbors, etc. (with the exception of pilots, whose services may be required at the entrance of the ports by one or the other party)—should be interdicted on all points of the territory.
Rigor must not, however, be pushed so far as to prevent the departure of the foreign residents on board of merchant vessels of neutral powers, for this might justly produce another, but none the less regrettable, source of conflict.
It shall be especially forbidden to foreign vessels to arm themselves as privateers, and to citizens to take part in supplying such equipment.
With confidence that reciprocity will be used in regard to the Haitian flag, the merchant vessels of the belligerents that enter our ports shall be authorized to take cargo and be cleared for foreign ports, on condition of not embarking either contraband of war or illicit merchandise of any kind.
It shall be equally prohibited to national vessels to carry articles called contraband of war, as well as regular troops or simple volunteers, for the account of one or the other of the belligerents.
It shall be permitted to vessels of war to take water, provisions, and coal in quantity necessary to reach the nearest port of their country.
If vessels of war in the service of the belligerents enter our ports, with or without prizes, these vessels may sail at any time, provided there be in the port no vessel of war of the other belligerent; and if, by chance, there should be one, a delay of twenty-four hours should intervene between the departure of the two vessels. The rule to be followed in the execution of this provision is: When two hostile vessels of war find themselves in the same port and desire to leave, international usage requires [Page 873] that preference be given to the vessel that arrived first. However, as this usage subjects the vessel last arrived to the ill will of its adversary, an expedient, both simple and just, has been adopted.
It consists in authorizing the last arrived to put to sea at its convenience, notifying the competent authorities twenty-four hours in advance, so that its adversary may, in case of need, take advantage of the preference that it has acquired, the delay then beginning only from the moment when the vessel is in condition to leave port.
On the other hand, international law and the treaty of 1864 require that vessels of war, during their sojourn in a port, should commit no act of violence toward hostile vessels. They can not augment the number and caliber of their guns, or purchase or embark arms and ammunition. They are forbidden to reinforce their crew or to accept voluntary recruits, even among their citizens. They should abstain from all inquiry concerning the forces, the positions, or the resources of the enemy. They can not employ either force or stratagem to regain prizes taken from their fellow citizens, or to deliver prisoners of their country. They are prohibited to sell in our ports prizes they have brought in, or to leave them there, unless it is impossible for the captured to go to sea, in which case the question shall be immediately referred to the Government.
With the object of acting in concert with the military commandants and the chiefs of the ports in the execution of your instructions, the officials of the Government, and their substitutes (and I have just written in this sense to my colleague of the Department of Justice) shall hold themselves always at the disposition of these officers. If the official of the Government is required by the military officers of ports that are not open, in case vessels in distress should present themselves, the official of the Government, or one of his substitutes, should immediately go to the residence of the officer, but should never cause the officers of the foreign vessel to be brought, under an escort or otherwise, unless it be on their written request. In this case, they should be treated with all the respect due to their rank, and receive the necessary facilities for their voyage to an open port. The official shall immediately inform the Government, which shall take note thereof.
Wounded men, in case they are landed, should be treated with the respect due to their rank, and with all humanity.
After their recovery, they can not again embark on board of a vessel of war of their nation, but they shall have the privilege of leaving the country on board of a merchant vessel belonging to a neutral nation.
In regard to prisoners that vessels of war in distress desire to land, the authorities shall permit the same, but on condition that, once on shore, they regain their liberty, and have the option of leaving, when they desire, on board of merchant vessels of a neutral nation.
Permit me to insist on the following point, to wit, that the Government official, and the substitute that he may delegate to replace him in his relations to the military officers, or the chiefs of the ports, shall act as advisers to the said officers, and shall always be present at the conferences, interviews, and audiences, and take part in the discussions, when their presence is necessary; they are, in a word, expected to see and foresee everything, so as to avoid conflicts.
In any and every case, the usage and customs of maritime etiquette shall be observed by our vessels of war toward those of the two belligerents, on the footing of the most perfect equality.
Our vessels shall also abstain from all acts of violence toward a belligerent vessel that shall violate the principles of international law, until it shall have received instructions from the Government.
The secretary of state for foreign relations.