George P. Marsh to William H. Seward, November 18, 1866

Mr. Marsh to Mr. Seward.

Sir: On my arrival from Venice on Tuesday morning I found the papers copies and translations of which, marked respectively A, B, C, D, and E, are hereunto annexed. Mr. Macpherson, introduced by the letter marked A, had gone to Leghorn, and I had no other information on the subject of his mission than such as the papers above referred to furnished.

I lost no time in seeing the secretary general of the ministry of foreign affairs—the minister not having yet returned from Venice—stated to him such facts as I was possessed of, and inquired whether he thought his government would surrender Surratt to the United States for trial if he should be found in the Italian territory.

He replied that he thought the accused would be surrendered on proper demand and proof, but probably only under a stipulation on our part that the punishment of death should not be inflicted on him. Having no instructions on the subject, knowing nothing of those which Mr. King might have received, and having, moreover, at that time no reason to suppose that Surratt had escaped into the territory of the King of Italy, I did not pursue the discussion further.

On Thursday Mr. Macpherson returned, but the information he was able to give me related only to the mode of the detection of Surratt.

On Friday morning, the 16th, I received Mr. King’s two letters, copies of which, marked F and G, are annexed, and at 8 p. m. the same day a telegram, of which a copy, marked H, is also attached.

Upon the receipt of the telegram, I immediately addressed and sent to the ministry of foreign affairs a note, of which I annex a copy, marked I, and I called twice at the Foreign Office the next (Saturday) morning, but learned that the ministry of grace and justice, to which my note had been referred, had not come to a decision on the subject. I presented such additional views as had suggested themselves to me in the mean time, and expressed an earnest hope that the request of my note for the detention of Surratt until more formal proceedings could be had would be acceded to.

The secretary general of the ministry of foreign affairs, whom I saw in the absence of the minister, appeared to me less favorably disposed to the application than I had expected from my former conversation with him, and at a later hour I addressed to the ministry a note, of which a copy, marked J, is annexed hereto.

I doubt whether, in case of the surrender of Surratt, a formal stipulation to exempt him from the punishment of death will be insisted on. In the famous La Gala case, Mr. Visconti Venosta, then as now minister of foreign affairs, refused to enter into such a stipulation on the extradition of the offenders, but nevertheless the government yielded to the intercession of the Emperor of France, and the sentence of those atrocious criminals, though convicted of numerous murders, robberies, and even cannibalism, was commuted, and I suppose the government of Italy would strongly recommend Surratt to mercy, if he is surrendered to us. The public sentiment of all classes in Italy is decidedly adverse to the infliction of capital punishment, and I shall not go too far if I add, to any severe or adequate punishment for the gravest offences. The universality of this feeling will have its weight with the government.

In order to secure the transmission of this despatch by the next mail, it must be posted at so early an hour to-morrow morning that I shall not be able to see the minister or secretary general of foreign affairs before it is sent to the post office, and I cannot probably communicate the decision of the ministry until another mail.

I have written to ask Mr. King for a copy of so much of his instructions on this subject as may be useful to me, and I beg for special instructions for my own guidance in the further conduct of this affair.

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,

[Enclosure H.—Telegram.]

Rome.

His Excellency Mr. Marsh, American Minister, Florence :

I have just heard that Surratt has been admitted, wounded, into the hospital at Sora.