Report of the Secretary of State.

The President:

Having received by reference from yourself a resolution of the House of Representatives, of which the following is a copy:

December 28, 1895.

Whereas Thomas F. Bayard, the ambassador of the United States to Great Britain, is reported by the London Times newspaper to have said in a public speech delivered in Boston, England, on the 2d day of August, 1895—

“The President stood in the midst of a strong, self-confident, and oftentimes violent people; men who sought to have their own way. It took a real man to govern the people of the United States;” and

Whereas said Thomas F. Bayard, ambassador of the United States to Great Britain, is further reported by the press of this country to have said in a public speech delivered in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 7th day of November, 1895:

“In my own country I have witnessed the insatiable growth of a form of socialism styled protection, which has done more to corrupt public life, to banish men of independent mind from public councils, and to lower the tone of national representation than any other single cause. Protection, now controlling the sovereign power of taxation, has been perverted from its proper functions of creating revenue to support the Government into an engine for selfish profit, allied with combinations called trusts. It thus has sapped the popular conscience by giving corrupting largesse to special classes, and it throws legislation into the political market, where jobbers and chafferers take the place of statesmen”:

Resolved, That the President be, and he is hereby, requested to communicate to the House, if not incompatible with the public interests, any information or correspondence showing whether Thomas F. Bayard, the ambassador of the United States to Great Britain, made such speeches; and if so, what action, if any, has been taken thereon by the President—

I annex hereto copy of letter of Mr. Bayard to the Secretary of State, dated December 12, 1895, accompanied by printed copy of address at Edinburgh;1 telegram of the Secretary of State to Mr. Bayard, dated January 3, 1896; telegram of Mr. Bayard to the Secretary of State, dated January 4, 1896; letter of Mr. Bayard to the Secretary of State, dated January 4, 1895[6]; and letter of Mr. Bayard to the Secretary of State, dated January 6, 1895[6], together with exhibits1 therein referred to, including cuttings1 from English newspapers, one of which is a report of a speech made at Boston, Lincolnshire.

The letters and telegrams, copies of which are annexed, show all the information and correspondence of the Department of State relating to the subject-matter of the resolution of the House of Representatives. Except as therein shown, no action has been taken by the Department.

Richard Olney.

  1. Not reprinted.
  2. Not reprinted.
  3. Not reprinted.