case of J. L. Molloy, an American citizen, now a prisoner of war in Bermuda, having been captured by the British military authorities at Schaalhaus on the 2d of June last, I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of a note from the foreign office, stating that Mr. Brodrick is unable to sanction the release of Mr. Molloy unless it is shown that the latter's life is endangered by the confinement. I have, etc., HENRY WHITE. [Inclosure.] Mr. Bertie to Mr. White. FOREIGN OFFICE, November 21, 1901. SIR: I have been in communication with His Majesty's secretary of state for war in regard to your note of the 6th instant respecting the case of the American citizen, J. L. Molloy, and I have the honor to state that Mr. Molloy is a prisoner of war at Bermuda. He belonged to the State Artillery, and was captured at Schaalhaus on the 2d June, 1901. Mr. Brodrick informs me that Mr. Molloy's release can not be sanctioned unless it is shown that his life is endangered by continued confinement. I have, etc., Mr. White to Mr. Hay. FRANCIS BERTIE. No. 732.] AMERICAN EMBASSY, London, December 28, 1901. SIR: With reference to your instruction No. 736, of the 1st of October last, I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of a note which I have received from Lord Lansdowne, embodying a report upon the case of Mr. Patrick Lennon, who is detained as a prisoner of war in Ceylon, and who would appear to have described himself, when he took burgher rights on the 1st of December, 1899, as a British subject, born at Armagh, Ireland. I have, etc., HENRY WHITE. [Inclosure.] Lord Lansdowne to Mr. White. FOREIGN OFFICE, December 23, 1901. SIR: With reference to my note of the 17th of October last, respecting the case of Mr. P. Lennon, stated to be a United States citizen, at present detained as a prisoner of war in Ceylon, I have the honor to inform you that a report on the subject which I have received from His Majesty's secretary of state for war shows that Mr. Lennon was undergoing a sentence of six months' imprisonment at Johannesburg for assaulting his wife and that he was released by the Boer authorities in order that he might join their First Irish Brigade. On the occasion, however, of that brigade passing through Johannesburg in May, 1900, Lennon remained behind on the French Rand Mine, where he had obtained employment. He was arrested by the British authorities early in September and made a prisoner of war. It appears that Lennon took burgher rights in the late South African Republic on the 1st of December, 1899, on which occasion he described himself as a British subject, born at Armagh, Ireland. I have, etc., LANSDOWNE. FR 1902, PT 1- -31 No 748.] Mr. White to Mr. Hay. AMERICAN EMBASSY, London, January 18, 1902. SIR: Referring to your instruction No. 736, of October 1 last, I have the honor to inform you that I lost no time upon its receipt in requesting the foreign office to furnish me with such facts as they might be able to obtain relative to the case of Mr. Patrick Lennon, in order that I might communicate them to you. I have just received a note from Lord Lansdowne in reply, inclosing a copy, which I transmit herewith, of the oath taken by Mr. Lennon on December 1, 1899, as a burgher of the South African Republic, which has been forwarded by the general officer commanding in chief in South Africa. HENRY WHITE. I have, etc., [Inclosure.] Copy of oath taken by Mr. Lennon. I, Patrick Lennon, a native of county Armagh, Ireland, desiring to become a citizen of the South African Republic, with full right of suffrage, by virtue of the resolution of the noble and worthy first popular council (Volksraad), article 1442, bearing date of September 29, 1899, do hereby swear (or solemnly declare that the taking of an oath is not allowable according to my religious belief, and do solemnly promise) in all sincerity that I will be true to this State, will respect and uphold its independence, will obey the constitution and other laws and the lawful authorities of the country, and that I will conduct myself in all respects as becomes a loyal citizen of the State. So help me God Almighty; or (this I solemnly believe). PATRICK Lennon. Sworn before me, at Johannesburg, this 1st day of December, 1899. Mr. Hay to Mr. Choate. T. M. MENTON, V. R. No. 839.1 DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, February 14, 1902. SIR: I inclose a copy of a letter from Senator Gallinger stating that Harry McGaw Wood went to South Africa in 1900 for Collier's Weekly, later on became irregularly attached to the Boer forces, was taken prisoner while sick with enteric fever, and has been held a prisoner on Ceylon for over a year. It is stated that detention on that island is seriously affecting his health, and that his widowed mother, who is 70 years of age, is greatly distressed about him, and asks for his release or his transfer to the Bermudas, which lie in a more healthful climate. The Department's instruction of September 30 last and Mr. White's Nos. 687 and 692, of October 19 and 28 following, will show that Mr. Wood's release has been heretofore requested by this Government, and that that request has been denied. You will, however, do what you properly can toward Mr. Wood's transfer to Bermuda. I am, etc., JOHN HAY. [Inclosure.] Mr. Gallinger to Mr. Hay. UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, February 8, 1902. SIR: My attention has been called to the fact that during the year 1900 Mr. Harry McGaw Wood went to South Africa with Mr. George Parson, staff artist of Collier's Weekly, to assist Mr. Parson in preparing sketches while with the Boer army for that publication. Some time afterwards both boys became irregularly attached to the Boer army, and it is represented to me that the affair was more in the nature of an escapade than anything else. Later on Mr. Wood was taken prisoner while ill with enteric fever in the hospital at Barberton, and was sent to Ceylon, where he is now confined as a prisoner of war. Mr. Parson returned to this country. Mr. Wood has a widowed mother over 70 years of age, who has made several efforts in London to secure her son's release, but without success. The young man has been confined in Ceylon continuously for over a year, and it is represented that the confinement is seriously affecting his health. As can well be imagined, his aged mother is full of anxiety for the welfare of her son, and I have been appealed to to do what I can to secure his release, failing in which it is desired that he be sent to the Bermudas, which is a more healthful place than Ceylon. I beg to express the hope that through the good offices of the State Department this young man's release may be secured, and that he may be returned to his home and family. I have, etc., Mr. Choate to Mr. Hay. J. H. GALLINGER. No. 806.] AMERICAN EMBASSY, London, March 11, 1902. SIR: Referring to Mr. White's dispatch No. 687, of October 19 last, to your instruction No. 839 of February 14, and to previous correspondence, I have the honor to inclose herewith the copy of a note which I addressed to the Marquis of Lansdowne on the 3d instant relative to the case of H. McGaw Wood. I also inclose the copy of a private_note which Mr. White has received to-day from the Right Hon. St. John Brodrick, His Majesty's secretary of state for war, in reply to the appeal made by the former in Wood's behalf, and from which you will see that His Majesty's Government is not disposed to make any concessions with respect to this prisoner of war. Upon receipt of Lord Lansdowne's reply to my note of the 3d I shall lose no time in communicating a copy of the same to you. I have, etc., [Inclosure 1.] JOSEPH H. CHOATE. Mr. Choate to Lord Lansdowne. AMERICAN EMBASSY, London, March 3, 1902. MY LORD: With reference to the memorandum of October 26 last, which you were good enough to communicate to Mr. White, and particularly to the final paragraph thereof, setting forth the circumstances under which His Majesty's secretary of state for war is prepared to consider applications for the release of prisoners of war, i. e., dangerous or serious illness, I have the honor to bring again to the attention of your lordship the case of Harry McGaw Wood, an American citizen, who is a prisoner of war in Ceylon, and in respect to whom I had the honor of writing to you on the 14th of last May. It now appears from information received lately from Wood that his health has suffered seriously at Ragama, and during his detention at Wellikade convict establishment, where he would seem to have lost 6 pounds during a period of three weeks, and to be 25 pounds below his normal weight. He asserts that for two months preceding and one month following his capture he was suffering from enteric fever and his condition was such that the medical officer at Barberton promised to recommend his release; that he was removed to hospital, Barberton, to hospital, Pretoria (general hospital No. 2), thence to barracks and thence to Cape Town, whence he embarked for Ceylon; that he was, from leaving general hospital No. 2 to his embarkation, continually being treated for stomach and mild dysentery; that he landed, after a week's illness on the Catalonia, in general hospital, Colombo, whence he was sent to Diyatalawa and thence to Ragama; that two weeks' parole in June built him up very much; but he put in a week of August in Ragama hospital, and on recovering was sent to where he now is. My Government's attention has been called to this case by one of the Senators from Wood's State, who appeals to me on behalf of Wood's widowed mother, who is over 70 years of age, and who is suffering great anxiety for him, and I am instructed by the Secretary of State to inquire of your lordship whether the condition of his health is not sufficiently serious to bring him within the category mentioned in your memorandum aforesaid of prisoners whose release the secretary of state for war is prepared to consider; and, if not, whether it may not at least be possible to cause him to be transferred from Ceylon to a more salubrious place of detention, such as Bermuda. I have, etc., JOSEPH H. CHOATE. [Inclosure 2.] Mr. Brodrick to Mr. White. WAR OFFICE, March 8, 1902. MY DEAR WHITE: My appeal to Lord Kitchener on behalf of H. M. Wood, now a prisoner of war, has failed, as I feared it would. He objects, as was to be expected, to making concessions to men in such a position as Wood's in contradistinction to those who are our bona-fide enemies. Yours, truly, ST. JOHN BRODRICK. Mr. Hay to Mr. Choate. No. 856.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I inclose a copy of a letter from Senator Mark A. Hanna, setting forth the circumstances under which Charles H. Toe Water was taken prisoner of war by the British forces. You are instructed to ask that the matter be investigated, and to report the result. It will be observed that Mr. Water's release from detention is asked for on parole. Should the circumstances turn out to be as stated in Senator Hanna's letter, however, you will at once, without awaiting further instructions, request that he be released unconditionally. I am, etc., JOHN HAY. [Inclosure.] Mr. Hanna to Mr. Hay. UNITED STATES SENATE, MY DEAR SIR: I have been asked to secure the good offices of the Government in a case which is stated to me as follows: "On the 28th of May, Mr. Charles H. Toe Water, manager of the rolling stock, or as some call it, traffic manager, of the South African Railroad, left Johannesburg, as this town intended to surrender to the English, and went to Pretoria, and on the 5th day of June Pretoria surrendered. Mr. Toe Water was asked to go to Johannesburg as the traffic manager (for the English), who wished to ask him some questions concerning the business of the road. He was willing to do this, and went, but the questions asked were such that he could not answer. Some of them were questions concerning other roads, and when he told them that he could not answer these, they immediately threw him into the prison at the fort of Johannesburg, not even permitting him to return to his house with a guard. They would not allow him to see anyone, or permit him to send a letter to his wife or mother. He had never fought against the English, but was arrested, or rather asked to return to Johannesburg in order to oblige the English by enlightening them about the traffic of the road. From Johannesburg he was sent as a prisoner of war to Ceylon, where he is at the present time, at Ragama Camp, near Colombo, island of Ceylon. We are very anxious to get him out by parole or by ransom." Can you advise me what course to pursue in the matter? Truly, yours, M. A. HANNA. Mr. Hay to Mr. Choate. No. 883.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: Referring to Mr. White's No. 710, of November 22 last, and to prior correspondence, I now inclose copies of correspondence relating further to James L. Molloy, detained as a prisoner of war in Bermuda. You will ask that the consul of the United States at Hamilton, Bermuda, be afforded opportunity to obtain Molloy's affidavit as to the circumstances of his alleged compulsory enlistment with the Boer forces. I am, etc., JOHN HAY. [Inclosure 1.] Mr. Naphen to Mr. Hay. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MY DEAR SIR: The inclosed letter this day received from the brother of James L. Molloy, who is now detained at Bermuda as a prisoner of war. From this you will see that Molloy was forced to enter the Boer army. I feel that under the circumstances, especially in view of the fact that he is sick, he is entitled to be paroled. Very respectfully, [Subinclosure.] Mr. Molloy to Mr. Naphen. H. F. NAPHEN. A BRIGHTON, MASS., January 14, 1902. SIR: In regard to my brother, who is an English prisoner of war on Morgans Island, Bermuda, have just been in conversation with Mr. Tearney, a young man who was with my brother in South Africa. He received a letter from him yesterday, informing him that he was sick in the prison hospital. He also informs me that my brother was very anxious to come home with the rest of the corps the time they came, but that he was forced to join the Boer artillery or be shot. The letter that Mr. Tearney received from him has come through the British, and I have no reason to doubt but it is true. Hoping that you will use your valuable influence, and thanking you sincerely for what you have already done toward his release, I am, etc., HUGH B. MOLLOY. |