Mr. Jackson to Mr. Hay.
Athens, April 13, 1903.
Sin: Referring to my dispatch No. 8, Roumanian series, of to-day’s date, I have the honor to confirm herewith the text of the telegram sent you from Bucharest, on the 9th instant, as follows:
Belgrade visit deferred. Am returning Athens.
In view of the approach of the orthodox holy week, as well as of the recent political occurrences in Servia, I thought it advisable to inquire in advance as to my chances of being received by the King at an early date, and on April 8 I received a telegram from an official of the Servian foreign office advising me to defer my visit. I shall now probably not go to Belgrade before June or July. I have written informally to ask that proper explanation be made to the minister of foreign affairs and to the King himself, if thought desirable, so that there may be no misunderstanding connected with the delay in the presentation of my credentials. Just at present there is no minister of foreign affairs at Belgrade to whom I can write officially. As he had done on previous occasions, the King has recently executed a coup d’état, having declared the constitution of April 6–19, 1901, ineffective and dismissing, suspending, or pensioning many of the persons holding office thereunder, putting the same constitution into force again, and starting afresh with a lot of new appointments. Among the changes which have taken place is the retirement of the minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Lozanitch, and I have not yet been officially informed as to who is to succeed him.
I have, etc.,