File No. 24607/30.
Ambassador Reid to
the Secretary of State.
American Embassy,
London, May 17,
1910.
No. 1276.]
Sir: With reference to the department’s cable
of the 7th instant, instructing me to express to the British Government
the sympathy of the President, Government, and people of the United
States at the
[Page 529]
lamented death
of King Edward VII, I have the honor to transmit herewith copies of my
notes to the foreign office of the 7th and 8th instant in this sense,
together with Sir Edward Grey’s replies of the 11th and 13th
instant.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Ambassador Reid
to the Minister for Foreign
Affairs.
American Embassy,
London, May 7,
1910.
Sir: My Government instructs me to express
to you, and through you to the British Government and people, the
sincere and profound sympathy of the President, Government, and
people of the United States in the loss by their British kinsmen of
a ruler so beloved and so justly distinguished among all the nations
of the earth for his wisdom and kindliness and for the influence of
these high qualities in behalf of all that is best.
I have, etc.
[Inclosure 2.]
Ambassador Reid
to the Minister for Foreign
Affairs.
American Embassy,
London, May 8,
1910.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
note of May 7, in which you communicate the lamentable information
as to the death during the previous night of His Majesty Edward VII,
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of
India.
I had previously kept the President and the Secretary of State of the
United States informed concerning the critical illness of His
Majesty, and later had announced to them its sad ending. The
President immediately offered direct by cable to Queen Alexandra,
for Her Majesty and for her son, the late King’s illustrious
successor, the most profound sympathy of the people and Government
of the United States, whose hearts go out to their British kinsmen
in this national bereavement. He had added his own personal sympathy
for Her Majesty and for the new King, together with his appreciation
of those high qualities which made the life of the late King so
potent an influence toward peace and justice among the nations.
I have had the honor earlier to-day of expressing to you, under
instructions from the Secretary of State, the sincere and profound
sympathy of the President, Government, and people of the United
States in the loss by their British kinsmen of a ruler so beloved
and so justly distinguished among all the nations of the earth for
his wisdom and kindliness and for his influence in behalf of all
that is best.
You only do me justice, sir, in the conviction you are kind enough to
express that I participate, as indeed I do with all my heart, in the
deep and widespread sorrow which this melancholy event has
occasioned.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 3.]
The Minister for Foreign
Affairs to Ambassador Reid.
Foreign Office,
London, May 11,
1910.
Your Excellency: I duly laid before the
King, my Sovereign, your note of the 7th instant, in which your
excellency expresses the Condolences of the President, Government,
and people of the United States of America on the occasion of the
deeply lamented death of His Late Majesty King Edward VII, and I
have received the King’s commands to request your excellency to
convey to the President and Government of
[Page 530]
the United States his most sincere thanks for
their much appreciated messages of sympathy in the great loss which
has been sustained by His Majesty, his royal house, and his subjects
throughout the world.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 4.]
The Minister for Foreign
Affairs to Ambassador Reid.
Foreign Office,
London, May 13,
1910.
Your Excellency: I duly laid before the
King, my Sovereign, your note of the 8th instant, in which your
excellency informs me of the feelings of profound sympathy of the
President, Government, and people of the United States of America on
the occasion of the deeply lamented death of His Late Majesty King
Edward VII, and I have received the King’s commands to convey to
your excellency His Majesty’s best thanks for this communication and
for the kind sentiments to which you give expression, which are much
appreciated by His Majesty and the royal family.
I have, etc.,