its alternate character is more effective for good than in the object of its original constitution. There are various places where persons can claim protection or asylum, but those most sacred and inviolable are the shrines of the early leaders of the Moslem faith. Those most accessible to the people of this city and vicinity are the shrine of the venerated Masuma at Koom, about 100 miles from Teheran, and that of Shahzadeh Abdul Azim, about 6 miles south of the city, and to which the tentative and only railway in Persia is constructed. The others are the Imaum zadehs, or inferior shrines, the houses of the expounders and administrators of the Islamic law, called Mudjtaheds; the principal mosques, although the Shah's mosque in Teheran is excluded; the Shah's stable; a cannon; the Shah's harem, and sometimes the houses of the principal ministers of the Crown. These latter, however, are not considered as offering more than a temporary and rather a precarious protection, inasmuch as the asylum depends upon the will of the person responsi ble for the safety of the refugee; but to forcibly remove a person from the two shrines first mentioned until his guilt or innocence had been clearly proved would be considered an indignity and an assumption of unlawful power against the dead saint. When the guilt of the refugee is established on clear evidence it is not usual to screen him from the penalties of the law, for that would be tantamount to encouraging defilement and using the shrine for unlawful purposes. A strict surveillance, however, is not always kept over the refugees, and they not infrequently, when it is convenient to do so, make good their escape. It is in this respect that the asylum system fails, for while it affords an offender a ready and easily accessible place of safety, it often enables him, by gaining his liberty, to altogether avoid making satisfaction to the sufferer or the laws of the State. The asylum is frequently taken advantage of by persons who have tried other means and have failed to obtain a hearing or a redress of their grievances by the ordinary methods. As the localities or places well known and recognized as asylums either belong to or are under the direction or control of influential persons, the complaint of the individual making this formal protest very soon reaches either the ears of the Shah or one of the responsible ministers. In the course of a long connection with the Persian law courts I have known great numbers of cases of this kind. On one occasion, being obliged to press for the settlement of a claim which had been standing over for a long time, the defendant brought his bedding and claimed asylum in the court, where he stayed for some time. About three and a half years ago I was intrusted by one of the foreign legations here with the conduct of a very complicated case; and as it did not move quite so rapidly as some of the parties expected, a large family with all their relations, numbering upward of thirty persons, threatened that unless the case was settled within a certain time they would all take asylum in my house. As my accommodation was of the most moderate dimensions, an invasion of such proportions was a serious matter, and I had to inform them that they would find very indifferent lodgings and treatment, and that they had better seek an asylum in the legation which employed me. I mention these cases as not more typical than many others that have come under my notice, to show for what various purposes the asylum can be taken advantage of. It is generally conceded to the subjects of all foreign states that their servants and permanent employés shall not be arrested and forcibly removed from their premises without first obtaining their consent. And so far as my experience has gone there has not been much complaint on that account, and I have known many instances where foreigners' servants have been arrested in the public thoroughfares they have been liberated as soon as it became known to whom they belonged. In order, however, that there may be no misapprehension on the subject of asylum in the minds of the United States citizens in Persia, I propose to send a copy of the inclosure to each mission station in the country. JOHN TYLER. I have, etc., [Inclosure 1 in No. 130.] Mr. Tyler to Mission Stations. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In connection with recent events in Hamadan the honorable the Secretary of State, in a recent dispatch, has directed my attention to a clause in the seventh article of the treaty between the United States and Persia, which stipulates that: The diplomatic agent or consuls of the United States shall not protect, secretly or publicly, the subjects of the Persian Government, and they shall never suffer a departure from the principles here laid down and agreed to by mutual consent. And in concluding adds: The domiciliary rights of citizens of the United States in Persia may not be expanded to embrace the protection by them of Persian subjects when such protection is explicitly disclaimed by the Government of the United States, and when its assertion by their diplomatic and consular representatives is positively inhibited. In order, therefore, that there may be no misunderstanding as regards this question, I have to request that in your dealings with Persian subjects you will be good enough to conform to the provisions of the treaty and the interpretation given thereof by the Secretary of State. I remain, etc., JOHN TYLER. P. S.-Please show this to the members of your station. Mr. Uhl to Mr. McDonald. J. T. No. 88.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have received and read with great interest Mr. Tyler's No. 130, diplomatic series, of the 3d ultimo, in relation to the forcible removal of a Persian Jew from the Rev. James Hawkes's house in Hamadan by the Persian authorities, and generally in relation to the custom of asylum and the domiciliary rights of American citizens. As the Persian Government had made no complaint of any misuse of protection by Mr. Hawkes, the Department's instruction was intended rather by way of comment and caution than as a rebuke. Nevertheless, Mr. Tyler's circular letter calls timely attention to the general subject, and will doubtless conduce to the avoidance of any cause of complaint on this score. I am, etc., EDWIN F. UHL, Acting Secretary. No. 62.] MURDER OF AGA JAN KHAN.1 Mr. McDonald to Mr. Gresham. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Teheran, January 22, 1894. (Received March 5.) SIR: I have the honor to forward, herewith inclosed, a copy of a letter I have received from Dr. J. P. Cochran, of Oroomiah. * * It is satisfactory to observe from Dr. Cochran's letter that during the time of great anxiety following the murder of Aga Jan, and on the occasion of the outrage on Mr. St. Pierre, the missionaries have acted with most commendable self-control and circumspection, and in their communications with the Government authorities relative to these crimes they have been very careful and discreet. I also inclose my reply to Dr. Cochran's letter. I have, etc., ALEX. MCDONALD. [Inclosure 1 in No. 62.] Dr. Cochran to Mr. McDonald. OROOMIAH, December 29, 1893. DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of Mr. Tyler's letter of December 18. A few days ago the governor sent asking me if I could help in bringing about a quiet settlement of the Aga Jan murder affair by some means which would heal rather than aggravate the present strained relations of the more fanatical Moslems and the roughs toward the Christians, reporting that strong orders had come from Tabriz for the arrest of three men supposed to be implicated. One is One has taken refuge in the house of the chief, Muztahed, who refuses to give him up, and the other is not to be found. The one at the ecclesiastic's is known positively to have been the man who made the first stab on Aga Jan. The Mullahs, Sayyeds, and roughs are reported to be bound together by an oath to take revenge should anything be done to the leaders of the mob. After getting the opinion of the Christians as far as I am able in two days-Armenians, old Nestorians, Catholics, and Protestants-I replied that the Christians simply begged for protection. If that would be more secure in the future by having one or two of these men killed, that was what they wished. If, on the other hand, this punishment was going to bring on more hatred and blood, they wished the matter dropped. Mr. Governor, in response, asked that I write to our missionaries in Tabriz asking that they urge Aga Jan's wife to accept such redress as the Government might communicate to her. It is the plan of the governor to give out of his own pocket about 150 tomans to Laya Khanum, and get the Government to give her two sons a pension, if the authorities in Tabriz are willing to settle it in this way. I am writing to Mr. Whipple, on whose premises this Laya Khanum is, telling him of what has been suggested here. The governor and other Oroomiah Khans insist that it will create a great disturbance should these men be all taken and sent off or pun 1See Foreign Relations, 1893, pp. 502, 504, 505, 507. ished here; if not a mob, murders in underhand ways would be perpetrated on the Christians. I thought it best to report this to your excellency and to say that for the present, at least, it seems wise to let the Government pursue this course if they choose. Respectfully, yours, [Inclosure 2 in No. 62.] J. P. COCHRAN. Mr. McDonald to Mr. Cochran. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, MY DEAR SIR: I have received your favor of the 29th ultimo. I had previously been informed, through a telegram to the prime minister, of the capture and killing of the four outlaws, two of whom I was left to infer were the ruffians who assaulted Mr. St. Pierre. It is encouraging that the Government has acted so promptly and so thoroughly in this matter, and the effect, it is reasonable to believe, will be salutary on similar characters. In regard to the Aga Jan case, you are on the ground and can act more intelligently than I can advise. It seems to me, however, that your reply to the governor was discreet. What the Christians want is peace, quiet, and good will, so far as they are attainable. While the criminals ought to be punished, that is a matter between the Persian Government and its guilty subjects. All the parties to the affair were Persians and not Americans, and I think the authorities should not seek to shove the responsibility of extreme measures on the missionaries, to their detriment no doubt; nor should they allow it. The Government should take care of its own criminals. I repeat, therefore, that in my opinion your response to the governor was judicious in that it is in the line of conciliation and better feeling between yourselves and the natives. It is also in accord with the religion which you teach, which is not one of blood. In a contest of violence and hatred you have all to lose. In conciliating the good will and friendship of the people you have all to gain. Without these your work must be futile and fruitless and bring only grief to yourselves. At the same time do not misunderstand me as saying that the wretches who committed the atrocity should not be punished, but that you should not be led into the attitude of judge and executioner. The good of yourselves and your cause rather than a vengeance that will stir up fanatical strife and conflict is, it seems to me, what you want. I am sorry to say that I still continue quite unwell. Very truly yours, ALEX. MCDONALD. PERSIAN REPRESENTATION IN THE MIXED TRIBUNALS OF EGYPT. No. 62.] Mr. Sperry to Mr. Gresham. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Teheran, Persia, July 5, 1893. (Received August 11.) SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy and translation of a note which I have just received from the minister for foreign affairs in regard to the representation of Persia in the "mixed tribunals" of Egypt. The note fully explains itself. Assuming the facts to be as stated by the Kavam-ed-Dowlah, I beg to add that his note appears to me to be an appropriate and just statement of the matter, while the matter itself is evidently of serious importance to the Persian Government. I am assured that the request for assistance from the Government of the United States is made with confidence, and I sincerely hope that due consideration by the Department of the request will show that the way is clear to render this assistance. I have, etc., WATSON R. SPERRY. [Inclosure 1 in No. 62.-Translation.] Minister for Foreign Affairs to Mr. Sperry. YOUR EXCELLENCY: It will be in your recollection that the present agreement between the great powers of Europe and the Government of the Khedive of Egypt relating to the judicial business in the mixed tribunals will expire in February next. In connection with this subject I beg to inform your excellency that the Persian embassy in Constantinople has frequently protested through the Persian diplomatic agent, resident in Egypt, against the refusal of the Government of the Khedive to allow of the appointment of a Persian member to sit in this court. Your excellency is already aware that there is a large colony of Persians in Egypt who, on account of the wide extent of their business and the variety of their occupations, have very important matters requiring consideration. The Government of the Khedive has admitted to this tribunal the representatives of countries whose subjects, residing in Egypt, are few in number, and consequently their business is of no serious account. Up to the present moment the Government of the Khedive has neither given any reason nor produced any convincing arguments in support of its policy and behavior toward Persia regarding this subject. A formal treaty now subsisting between Persia and Turkey provides for the attendance of a Persian member on all the mixed tribunals throughout Turkey. It is requested, with the greatest respect, that when the treaty relating to the reappointment of the mixed tribunals shall be under discussion you will endeavor to direct the particular attention of your excellency's Government to the refusal of the Government of the Khedive to recognize the undoubted right of Persia to participate in this arrangement. I feel sure that your excellency's Government will appreciate, with the greatest facility, and also admit, the evident right of Persia in this matter. I take advantage of this opportunity, etc. Dated the month Zilhejjeh, A. H. 1310. [Seal of the Kavam-ed-Dowlah.] No. 13.] Mr. Gresham to Mr. McDonald. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have received a dispatch from Mr. Sperry, No. 62, of the 5th ultimo, accompanied by a note in which the Persian Government requests the aid of that of the United States to secure the representation of Persia in the mixed tribunals of Egypt. |