In 1880 certain British subjects were injured by a mob in Texas. It was held by the Secretary of State, after consulting the AttorneyGeneral, that as the offense "was against the peace and dignity of that State," it was "cognizable only by the authorities of that State. So far as their legal remedy against the assailants is concerned, the Dows [the parties injured] stand as to their natural and civil rights in precisely the same condition as to recourse to the State tribunals as the citizens of that State; and, in their capacity of British subjects, they can resort also to the courts of the United States at their option for civil redress and indemnity." Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, to Sir E. Thornton, May 24, 1880, MS. Notes to As to the murder of Mr. Connelly, an American citizen, at Angaugueo, The Government of the United States is not responsible to that of Japan for the lynching and murder of a Japanese subject in Utah by a mob which could not have been quelled by due diligence and energy by the Government. In this case the Japanese had previously shot and killed a woman "without excuse or justification." Mr. Frelinghuysen, Sec. of State, to Mr. Kuki Rinichi, Oct, 20, 1884, MS. 3. PANAMA RIOT, 1856; FORTUNE BAY CASE, 1878. $ 1024. In the case of the riot at Panama on April 15, 1856, the Government of New Granada, by the convention of Sept. 10, 1857, acknowledged its liability," arising out of its privilege and obligation to preserve peace and good order along the transit route," an acknowledgment which was understood to refer to the engagements of Art. XXXV. of the treaty of 1846. See supra, § 344; Moore, Int. Arbitrations, II. 1361. With reference to the claims of the American fishermen whose nets were torn up and who were driven from Fortune Bay, in Newfoundland, by a mob of natives, Mr. Evarts said: "If I am correct in the views hitherto expressed, it follows that the United States Government must consider the United States fishermen as engaged in a lawful industry from which they were driven by lawless violence at great loss and damage to them; and that as this was in violation of rights guaranteed by the treaty of Washington, between Great Britain and the United States, they have reasonable ground to expect at the hands of Her Britannic Majesty's Government proper compensation for the loss they have sustained." Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, to Mr. Welsh, min. to England, Aug. 1, 1879, The claims growing out of this affair were settled for £15,000. (For. 4. ATTACKS ON CHINESE AT ROCK SPRINGS AND ELSEWHERE. § 1025. "I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 10th of November last, in relation to the recent unfortunate occurrences at Denver, Colo., by which certain Chinese residents of that city suffered very serious injuries in their persons and property, were subjected to wanton and undeserved outrage, and one of their number killed. "These sad consequences resulted from the conduct and action of a lawless mob, who, for a brief period, during the 31st of October, and the night following that day obtained the mastery over the law and the local authorities. The attack of the mob appears to have been, at first, indiscriminately directed against the peaceable and law-abiding of the whole community. "I embrace this opportunity to state for your own information and that of the Chinese Government, which you worthily represent, that the President upon the receipt of the information that in this outbreak of mob violence the Chinese residents of Denver had been made a special object of the hatred and violence of that lawless mob, felt as much indignation and regret as could possibly be felt by yourself or your Government, and I need scarcely assure you that, in common with my colleagues in the executive government, I shared fully in this sentiment of the President. "You express in your note, the desire that this Government shall extend protection to the Chinese in Denver, and see that the guilty persons are arrested and punished; and you add that 'it would seem to be just that the owners of the property wantonly destroyed shall, in some way, be compensated for their losses.' "It affords me pleasure to assure you that not only in Denver, but in every other part of the United States, the protection of this Government will always be, as it always has been, freely and fully given to the natives of China resident in the country, in the same manner and to the same extent as it is afforded to our own citizens. As to the arrest and punishment of the guilty persons who composed the mob at Denver, I need only remind you that the powers of direct intervention on the part of this Government are limited by the Constitution of the United States. Under the limitations of that instrument, the Government of the Federal Union cannot interfere in regard to the administration or execution of the municipal laws of a State of the Union, except under circumstances expressly provided for in the Constitution. Such instances are confined to the case of a State whose power is found inadequate to the enforcement of its municipal laws and the maintenance of its sovereign authority; and even then the Federal authority can only be brought into operation in the particular State, in response to a formal request from the proper political authority of the State. It will thus be perceived that so far as the arrest and punishment of the guilty parties may be concerned, it is a matter which, in the present aspect of the case, belongs exclusively to the government and authorities of the State of Colorado. In this connection, it is satisfactory to be able to note, with approval, the conduct of the public authorities of Colorado, and of the people of Denver, on the unfortunate occurrence in question. It was seen then as it always is in such outbreaks that the fury of the brutal and lawless, who compose such mobs, is ultimately turned against the weak and defenseless, and it is creditable alike to the appreciative sense of public duty of the authorities of Colorado and the humane instincts of the citizens of Denver, that their first care in this emergency (involving as it did for the moment, the lives and property of all alike), was the protection and safety of the Chinese residents, whose presence seemed to serve as a special incitement to the passions of the mob. And this brings me to the suggestion of your note, That the owners of the property wantonly destroyed shall, in some way, be compensated for their losses.' "It seems superfluous to recall to your attention the fact, but too well attested by history, that on occasions, happily infrequent, often without motive in their inception, and always without reason in their working, lawless persons will band together and make up a force in the character of a mob of sufficient power and numerical strength to defy, for the moment, the denunciations of the law and the power of the local authorities. Such incidents are peculiar to no country. Neither the United States nor China are exempt from such disasters. In the case now under consideration it is seen that the local authorities brought into requisition all the means at their command for the suppression of the mob, and that these means proved so effective that within twenty-four hours regular and lawful authority was reestablished, the mob completely subdued, and many of the ringleaders arrested. "Under circumstances of this nature when the Government has put forth every legitimate effort to suppress a mob that threatens or attacks alike the safety and security of its own citizens and the foreign residents within its borders, I know of no principle of national obligation, and there certainly is none arising from treaty stipulation which renders it incumbent on the Government of the United States to make indemnity to the Chinese residents of Denver, who in com mon with citizens of the United States, at the time residents in that city, suffered losses from the operations of the mob. Whatever remedies may be afforded to the citizens of Colorado or to the citizens of the United States from other States of the Union resident in Colorado for losses resulting from that occurrence, are equally open to the Chinese residents of Denver who may have suffered from the lawlessness of the mob. This is all that the principles of international law and the usages of national comity demand. "This view of the subject supersedes any discussion of the extent or true meaning of the treaty obligations on the part of this Government toward Chinese residents, for it proceeds upon the proposition that these residents are to receive the same measure of protection and vindication under judicial and political administration of their rights as our own citizens. "In communicating to you the views of this Government in the premises, I have pleasure in adding the assurance that it will upon every occasion, so far as it properly can, give its continued attention to every just and proper solicitude of the Chinese Government in behalf of its subjects established here under the hospitality of our treaties." Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, to Chen Lan Pin, Chinese min., Dec. 30, 1880, The Department of State will take all steps necessary to comply with the third article of the Chinese immigration treaty in so far as it constrains this Government to "exert all its power to devise measures for the protection of any Chinese who suffer ill-treatment, and secure to them the full enjoyment of their rights." Mr. Frelinghuysen, Sec. of State, to Governor of Georgia, Mar. 12, 1883, See, also, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Sec. of State, to Governor of California, "That when the courts of justice are open to a foreigner in a State, the Federal Executive will not take cognizance of his complaint, was maintained by Mr. Evarts and Mr. Blaine, on December 30, 1880, and March 25, 1881, when declining to accept for the Executive jurisdiction over a claim for damages to certain Chinese inflicted by a mob in Colorado in November, 1880. (United States, Foreign Relations, 1881, pp. 319, 335.)" Mr. Bayard, Sec. of State, to Mr. West, Brit. min., June 1, 1885, For. Rel. See a discussion of the case of Gen. Haynau, id. 456–457. On November 30, 1885, Mr. Cheng Tsao Ju, Chinese minister at Washington, brought to the notice of Mr. Bayard, who was then Sec retary of State, "a subject of the gravest importance." He represented that several hundred Chinese subjects who had entered the United States in conformity with treaty stipulations and had established themselves at Rock Springs, in the Territory of Wyoming, where they had erected houses and had for several years been engaged in the lawful pursuit of peaceful industry, were, on September 2, 1885, while quietly engaged in their usual occupations, suddenly and without provocation attacked by a lawless band of armed men who were said to have numbered about a hundred and fifty persons. The Chinese were ordered by the mob to leave their homes, but, before an opportunity was afforded them to do so, a deadly fire of musketry was opened upon them, and they were compelled to abandon their homes and property and flee to the mountains for their lives. Many of them were, however, shot while in their houses or while they were endeavoring to run away from them. Fire was then set by the rioters to the houses, and the entire village and all Chinese habitations thereabout were burned to the ground. Twenty-eight Chinese were killed and fifteen were more or less severely wounded, while a large amount of property, valued at $147,748.74, was destroyed or appropriated by the rioters. In presenting this complaint, the Chinese minister stated that he desired again to acknowledge the inestimable service which had been rendered by the authorities of the United States to the Chinese consuls at San Francisco and New York, who were directed by the legation to make a personal investigation of the occurrence, and also to express the thanks of his Government to the President of the United States for the timely dispatch of troops to Rock Springs after the massacre, a measure which had, he was sure, prevented still further loss of life and property among his countrymen. In summarizing the circumstances, the Chinese minister emphasized the facts (1) that the attack upon the Chinese was "unprovoked on their part," (2) that, although it occurred in broad daylight, the civil authorities made no attempt to prevent or suppress the riot and afterwards held an inquest which had been described as a "burlesque," and (3) that, according to the reports of the consuls, none of the offenders was likely ever to be brought to punishment by the Territorial or local authorities. The Chinese minister therefore asked, in the name of his Government, that the persons who had been guilty of the murder, robbery, and arson in question be brought to punishment; that the Chinese subjects be fully indemnified for all losses and injuries they had sustained; and that suitable measures be adopted to protect the Chinese residing in Wyoming and elsewhere in the United States from similar attacks. With this statement the Chinese minister said that he might consider his duty discharged, but for the fact that when his legation had previously called attention to a similar, though much less bloody and |