File No. 838.516/26.
Minister Blanchard to the Secretary of State.
Port au Prince, December 22, 1914, midnight.
Referring to my cable of December 18, 10 p.m. [a.m.], and previous relevant cables, the following note verbale was received this morning from the Foreign Office:
[Translation.]
The Department of Foreign Relations has learned with inexpressible surprise that, at the very hour that courteous negotiations were being carried on between the Legation of the United States and it with a view to resuming normal diplomatic relations between the two Governments, American officers and marines had lent their assistance to the National Bank of the Republic to take from its safes and embark on board a United States warship funds which are the property of the Republic of Haiti and which were on deposit at the bank in trust “affected” [sic] for a monetary reform.
[Page 373]The material fact that the funds embarked are, In part, taken from this deposit is formally admitted by the bank itself in an official statement annexed to the present note.
The Department of Foreign Relations remains convinced that the good faith of the Government of the United States has been imposed upon (surprise) on this occasion, and hopes to be confirmed in its conviction by explanations to reassure (qui rassurent) the Haitian people, justly alarmed.
Annexed to this note verbale are two official reports: one from the central committee of control of the retrait delegated by Minister of Finance dated December 17, stating that the director of the bank had refused to permit them to verify the gold on deposit at the bank for the retrait, adding that he had shipped that afternoon a large sum of gold on an American warship in pursuance of telegraphic instructions from the principal office, and that he had also refused to show them the above telegraphic instructions or to state the amount of gold shipped, admitting that part of it was of the retrait fund lent, declining to state the amount; and the second from the above-mentioned committee and other Government officials with a justice of peace as required by law, dated December 18, stating that in the absence of the director the employee of the bank in charge had declared that he had been specially instructed to state that the bank refused categorically to permit verification of the gold intended for the retrait, and as to the particular points referred them to the director’s statement of the 17th.
Instructions for reply to the note verbale respectfully requested.