No. 8.
Mr. Herbert to the Marquis of Salisbury.—(Received November 20.)

My Lord: I have the honor to transmit a statement by Lord Sackville in connection with the publication of his private letter to Murchison.

I have, etc.,

Michael H. Herbert.
[Inclosure in No. 8.]
Statement of Lord Sackville in connection with the publication of his private letter to Murchison.

I was induced to believe the Murchison letter genuine, as it came from California, where I knew there were many English domiciled as well as naturalized.

Under these circumstances, and as secrecy and privacy were promised in the letter, I conceived that no harm could result from describing the situation created by the [Page 1728] retaliatory message of the President, which was generally regarded at the time as an act of hostility to Her Majesty’s Government likely to produce international complications.

Certain it is that my answer to the Murchison letter fell into the hands of persons who used it for the purpose of making it appear that President Cleveland was under English influence, and in consequence to influence the Irish vote against him. In my interview with Mr. Bayard after the publication of my letter, he characterized the incident as a “campaign trick,” and after having accepted my complete disclaimer of any intention to impugn the action of the Executive, he proceeded to inveigh in strong language against those who employed such means to influence the Irish vote.

This interview took place on the 26th instant, and I had then no reason to suppose that the matter had gone further than the communication to Mr. Phelps of what had occurred, and I left Mr. Bayard under the impression that it would drop. As I was leaving, he said that he had seen in the newspapers a report of what I had said to a newspaper reporter, and thought it would be well if I could deny the accuracy of it. I said that I would do so, as I never intended that any such meaning should be attached to my words. On returning home I immediately wrote him the private letter, copy of which was inclosed in my dispatch of the 31st ultimo, and I heard no further from him until my passports were sent to me on the 30th.

But, although in possession of my letter, Mr. Bayard says in his statement of the reasons for sending me my passports that although ample time and opportunity had been given me for the disavowal, modification, or correction of statements to which he had called my attention, I had not done so through the channels in which they had found publicity, meaning, of course, newspaper reporters. But I considered that, after having written to him disclaiming the meaning attached to my words, any communication through the newspapers would have been undignified and would have met with the disapproval of Her Majesty’s Government; and for this reason I refrained from making any communications through such channels. Mr. Bayard’s statement, therefore, appeared to me to be an unjust attack upon the integrity of my conduct after what had passed between us, and after I had done all I could in the sense which I understood he desired, to mitigate the effect which the unjustifiable publication of my letter was intended to create. I was all along ignorant of the precise grounds upon which my removal was sought and of the nature of the communications made by Mr. Phelps to Her Majesty’s Government, but I presumed that time would have been allowed me to explain the situation and for Her Majesty’s Government to pronounce upon it. But party exigencies overruled international comity. Telegrams were being received at the White House to the effect that the Irish vote in New York was slipping away from the Democratic ticket, and that immediate action was necessary on the question of my dismissal in order to conciliate it. This action, involving as it did a want of courtesy which I venture to think is unprecedented in the history of diplomatic intercourse, was taken on the 30th without any intimation to me from Mr. Bayard that the situation had in any way changed since I had seen him on the 26th, when he had accepted my explanations and had said that he bore me no ill-will. The question at issue, moreover, had never assumed an international character as far as I was aware until the moment it was decided to send me my passports, when all adjustment was rendered impossible, and an incident which concerned me personally was thus at once made the cause of serious complications with Her Majesty’s Government.

Sackville.