[2] 4 



J\Ir. Marsh to the Secretary of State. 



[Extract. — No. 3.] 



Legation of the United States, 



Constantinople, March 14, 1850. 



e: # * * * * * * 



By the Marseilles mail steamer, which arrived on the same clay as the 

 Mississippi, [23d February last,] I received the President's instructions 

 of the 12 th of January; and as, in the opinion of the most intelligent 

 friends of the Hungarian refugees at Broussa, it was not improbable that 

 Kossuth and his companions might be allowed to take passage for America, 

 in compliance with the request of the President, or at least suffered to 

 escape, I deemed it my duty to request Captain Long to detain the Missis- 

 sippi at Constantinople, until I could address a note to the Porte (which 

 could only be done after my audience of reception) and obtain a reply, 

 and I accordingly communicated to that officer the substance of my in- 

 structions, and desired him to remain a reasonable time for that purpose. 

 I trust his compliance with my request Avill not be thought an unwarrant- 

 able infraction of the orders of Commodore Morgan, by v^^hich he was di- 

 rected to return to Naples as early as the 15th of March. 



In the mean time Mr. Brown had, by my directions, informally appiizeil 

 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the nature of my instructions, in order 

 that the Porte might be prepared to give an early answer when the Pre- 

 sident's wishes should be formally communicated, and immediately after 

 my reception, 1 addressed the following note, under date of March 11th, 

 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: 



" The President of the United Slates of America, participating in the 

 })hi]anthropic sentiments by which his Imperial Majesty the Sultan has 

 been actuated in his noble and generous treatment of the Hungarian refu- 

 gees, has instructed the undersigned, Minister resident of the United 

 States, to intercede with his Majesty in their behalf, and to offer them, 

 throuo'h his Majesty, a secure asylum in the United States, together with 

 a free passage to America by any American public ship which may be 

 about to return home. 



" The undersigned is happy to make this office of humanity the subject 

 of his first official communication to the Sublime Porte, and seizes the 

 earliest moment after his audience of reception to fulfil his instructions, by 

 formally requesting, in the name of the American government and people, 

 that Kossuth, late chief executive officer of Hungary, and his companions, 

 at present detained by the Turkish authorities at Jh'oussa, may be permit- 

 ted to take jnissage for the United States on board an American vessel of 

 war now in the Mediterranean, and about to sail for home. The under- 

 signed has also the honor to tender the services of the United States 

 steamer Mississippi, now at Constantinople, for the purpose of conveying 

 the refugees to the vessel in question. 



" The President conceives that, now that the contest between Hungary 

 and Austria is over, there can, upon the general principles of interna- 

 tional law, exist no valid objection from any quarter to the emigration ot 

 these persons to a country so distant from the scene of the late contest as 

 the United States; and while the undersigned does not assume to deter- 

 mine the extent of the obligations of Turkey to European powers, in 

 virtue of treaty stipulations or other solemn engagements, he begs leave 



