the laws which he violated before he had any claim to protection from our government. I do not see that under such circumstances anything can be done by the legation here for his relief. I am satisfied that any application to the Prussian government for his discharge would be unavailing. The government is especially strict towards those who have taken advantage of a limited absence, granted them as a favor, to become citizens or subjects of another country. I inclose the certificate of naturalization you sent me. ABEL FRENCH, Esq., Consul of the United States at Aix-la-Chapelle. P. D. VROOM. No. 127.] Mr. Vroom to Mr. Marcy. [Extract.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Berlin, May 13, 1856. SIR: I have at length received from the minister of foreign affairs an answer to my note of January 4, in which was stated the case of the brothers Herzfeld, who had been ordered to leave the Prussian territory in a fortnight. This note, and the correspondence accompanying it, will be found in my dispatch No. 110. The answer of the minister is very much as I anticipated it would be. The government is induced to think, as it would seem, that these brothers obtained their permit of emigration not with a view of emigrating in good faith, but to avoid military service; and for this and other reasons which are given, it is unwilling that they shall remain longer in Prussia. The answer shows that the decree of expulsion was not executed against them, and that they were suffered to remain three months, the period requested in my note. Further time will not be granted, and Î have notified them accordingly. The minister, in his answer, states that Gustave Herzfeld, one of the brothers, was furnished with a regular passport from the government of the United States, while the other one had only a declaration of intention to become a citizen. I think the regency of Dusseldorff, who furnished information to the government here, must be under some mistake as to this, at least I hope so, because it was not represented to me that Gustave Herzfeld had such passport, and if such an one was in his possession, it must have been improperly obtained. A copy of the note of the minister of foreign affairs, and of my letter to the Herzfelds, informing them of its purport, are sent herewith. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, P. D. VROOM Baron Manteuffel to Mr. Vroom. [Translation.] BERLIN, May 2, 1856. SIR: Since the reception of your official communication of the 4th of January last, I have brought to the knowledge of the minister of the interior the reclamation of the brothers Gustavus and Maximilian Herzfeld, who form the subject of it. Mr. de Westphalen having asked the regency of Dusseldorf for a report in regard to this matter, the result is as follows: The two individuals in question emigrated to America in 1854, with the consent of their government, so that they are no longer Prussian subjects. After an absence of from three to six months, they returned to Neuss, their place of birth. One of the brothers, Gustavus, was provided with a passport from the government of the United States in proper form; the other, Maximilian, with a certificate attesting that he had provisionally been admitted as a citizen of the United States. Having asked permission to stop at Neuss, for the purpose of visiting their relatives there, permits of sojourn were issued to them by the police. The provincial councilor of the circuit, however, deemed it his duty to have investigation made into the military relations of the brothers Herzfeld; and he then learned that these two individuals had not answered the call in their native city, but that they had had themselves inscribed on the registers of the city of Cologne, from which afterwards they entirely disappeared; that Maximilian having been summoned, before his departure to America, to present himself before the commission for the recruitment of the army, he had refused to appear, claiming for himself the character of a foreigner, he having meanwhile obtained a permit of emigration; that, in order to obtain this document in the shortest possible time, the two brothers had pretended, in the course of the month of July, 1854, that the vessel in which they wished to embark for America was on the point of sailing; but that, after obtaining the permit of emigration, they had still remained in the country until the end of the year 1854. All these maneuvers have convinced the provincial authorities that the declaration made at the time, by the two brothers Herzfeld, of wishing to emigrate to the United States, was only a trick to escape from their military obligations in Prussia. As to the motive of his return to Neuss, Maximilian at first declared that he wished to make various purchases in the States of the Zollverein; but he afterwards alleged that his intention was to settle his business at Neuss. Thus different motives, which have induced the regency of Dusseldorf to order Gustavus and Maximilian to be sent back. It must be stated, moreover, that, in 1848 and 1849, the house of the brothers Hersfeld at Neuss was the gathering-place of the Democratic party, so much so that Joseph Herzfeld, brother of the demandants, was prosecuted at the time for his revolutionary intrigues, and fled to America. In this state of things, the minister of the interior thinks that the expulsion of the brothers Gustavus and Maximilian Hersfeld is fully justified, more especially as the delay of three months, which they asked for in their petition of the 18th of January last, has since expired. The regency of Dusseldorf have, therefore, just been directed to no longer extend the time which was granted to the brothers Herzfeld for their sojourn in Prussia. In giving you these explanations, I have the honor to renew to you, sir, the assurance of my high consideration. MANTEUFFEL. Mr. Vroom to Messrs. Herzfeld. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, I received, a few days since, from the minister of foreign affairs, a note in answer to my communication of the 4th January. The government here declines giving you permission to remain in Prussia, believing, as they say, that you have not acted in good faith, either in obtaining your permit of emigration or in returning so soon to your native place. It appears, however, that the decree of expulsion against you has been stayed for the period of three months, as was requested. Further time, the minister says, cannot be given. Very respectfully, &c., &c., Messrs. GUSTAVE and MAX. HERZFELD. P. D. VROOM. Mr. Vroom to Mr. Marcy. [Extract.] No. 144.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have the honor to inclose to you a copy of two letters from Mr. John Statz, a naturalized citizen of the United States, who is now in the Prussian army, together with a copy of my answers. It is more than a year since Mr. Statz first made complaint that he had been apprehended at Cologne and was compelled to do military duty. Copies of the letters which have passed between him and the legation will be found accompanying my dispatches, Nos. 99, 110, 112. The case of Mr. Statz was one of those unfortunate ones, in which I felt myself precluded from demanding his release, and I deemed it impolitic and unwise to make an application which would certainly be refused. It could be of no service to Mr. Statz, and an acquiescence in the refusal of this government would only strengthen it in the maintenance of a law, the operation of which is occasionally onerous to our naturalized citizens, and which, I hope, may be at some future day repealed or modified. I supposed my answer to Mr. Statz's first letter, although not as decided as it might have been, would have satisfied him that nothing could be done for his relief, but, entertaining very decided views of his personal rights, he appears to have come to a different conclusion. He is evidently dissatisfied with my course; and, as he declares his intention to appeal to the government, and thence to the public, through the press, I have thought proper, in my answer to his last communication, to review, very briefly, the correspondence which has taken place, and present it in as simple a manner as possible. If it does not convince Mr. Statz, I hope it may assure my government and those to whom he may appeal, that I have not failed in my duty to him or to the country. I have told Mr. Statz that it is his privilege to bring his case before the government; and if he shall do so, I respectfully ask for it, in pursuance of the promise I have made him, the most favorable consideration that can be given it. If I have been in any wise mistaken in my views of what was right or expedient under the circumstances, it will be gratifying to me to conform to any directions that may be given for his benefit. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. W. L. MARCY, P. D. VROOM. Secretary of State. Mr. Statz to Mr. Vroom. COLOGNE, July 18, 1856. SIR: Your letter of January 21 informed me that you then could not give me a satisfactory answer as to the time after which no special instruction was to be expected from Washington in regard to my case. I have therefore waited half a year, and now hope that you will be able to give me a decisive and satisfactory answer whether I am still to expect any such instructions or not. Should this last and decisive answer, which I expect from you, prove to be unfavorable to my hopes, should I be cut off from your official assistance, then, relying on the sincerity of your sympathy for my unfortunate case, I presume to beg you will also inform me whether your personal influence with the Prussian authorities would be of service for my relief. I cannot give up my last hope, and, in every case, I shall do my utmost, and try all means, to relieve myself from involuntary retention. I hope you will regard this letter as coming from a man almost despairing, and I hope you will send me an answer, which, if not favorable, will at least be a decisive one for your obedient servant, JOHN STATZ. Mr. Vroom to Mr. Statz. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have received your letter, and have delayed answering it until I could, by inquiry and other means, satisfy myself as to the best mode of rendering you assistance. I am still persuaded that it would be of no avail whatever for me officially to request your release, on the ground of your having become an American citizen. But I have come to the conclusion that the most probable way for you to obtain relief is to make an application to the King's favor, and request a remission of the residue of your term of service. This must be done by petition, in writing, to the King; and in this petition you will state your case fully, and all the hardships connected with it, and endeavor to enlist the feelings, as far as possible. If you will prepare such a document and send it to me, I will put it in the proper channel, and give to it all the assistance in my power. I cannot promise that this will be successful, for I know how strictly the military laws here are executed. But I know of no better course to advise. If application should be made to any of the military tribunals, I am sure it would be unavailing. If you should think some other mode would be better, or can suggest anything that may be of advantage, you will please write to me at once and without reserve. My object is to serve you in the best Very respectfully, P. D. VROOM. way. Mr. Statz to Mr. Vroom. COLOGNE, November 10, 1856. SIR: I have received your last letter, but it arrived just at time when we had set out for a field maneuver of some weeks, so I had not the time to read, less still to answer it. Now, having perused its contents, and thought about the only hope and advice you give me, viz: to petition to the King of Prussia's favor for my deliverance, which petition you promised to put into the proper channel, I feel myself very obliged to you for your well-meant intentions and advice; but I regret to say that I cannot act according to it, because I will not acknowledge the lawfulness of the treatment I have undergone, by seeking my deliverance from the favor of the King. Declining to take the only step you advise, you ought not therefore to suppose me to have given up my hope of deliverance; for, notwithstanding your negative answers, I am not yet convinced of the impropriety of an official intercession in my favor. My opinion about the propriety of such a step has been confirmed by a precedent which has just come to my knowledge, and which I will designate to you. It is the case of Mr. Haro Haring, an adopted citizen of the United States, who, after having left his country without leave, and after having been |