Charles R. Lowell to Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, May 26, 1883

No. 228. Mr. Lowell to Mr. Frelinghuysen.

Sir: Referring to your instruction No. 577, of the 20th April last, I have the honor to acquaint you that immediately after its arrival I addressed a note to Lord Granville conveying the thanks of the President for the kind assistance rendered by the officers of Her Majesty’s Government in Bulgaria in protection of the rights of American citizens there.

On the 14th instant Lord Granville expressed to me in a note of that date the satisfaction with which he received that communication.

On the 16th instant his lordship sent me a further communication, a copy of which I herewith inclose, transmitting copies of the dispatches from Mr. Lascelles in relation to the same subject. Lord Granville asks me to inform him what further steps, if any, my Government would wish Mr. Lascelles to take in the matter in their name.

Will you be kind enough to instruct me what reply I shall give to Lord Granville’s inquiry?

I have, &c.,

D. C. Challis and others to Mr. Lascelles.

statement.

Honored Sir: We, the undersigned, American missionaries within the principality of Bulgaria, respectfully submit for your consideration and action the following statement:

As is well known, we have labored among the Bulgarian people for upwards of 25 years as evangelical missionaries. In connection with our work of preaching and distributing the Scriptures and other instructive books, we have found it necessary to establish schools at our various stations or centers of work, for the reason that the existing schools were and still are acknowledged to be inefficient and inferior to those which we can establish, and also that the national schools are all carried On in the interest of the Eastern Orthodox Church, whose rites and ceremonies are enforced on all pupils in attendance. Hence any people or community, or even isolated families, holding doctrines at variance with those of the Established Church, must have schools of their own, if their rights of conscience are to be respected. Such schools have been a feature of our work from the beginning, and the liberal patronage which they have received show that they are appreciated by the people. These schools are in no sense new, except that some of them have been transferred from one city to another, owing to the difficulty of purchasing property for Protestant school purposes.

When application was made for permission to build an edifice for the girls’ school at Loftcha, a permit was refused on the ground that the school was not desired, for a petition had been circulated among the common people against such permission, and it was numerously signed under pressure by the authorities. Application was then made to the minister of the interior, and repeated assurances were given by him that there was no law against the existence of such schools. An order was telegraphed to the city council of Loftcha to place no further obstacles in the .way of the erection of the proposed building. In answer to a second application the authorities again refused permission. A telegram to the ministry received the reply that on account of representations made by the prefect the former order was rescinded; afterwards the prefect informed the resident missionary verbally that the minister of the interior desired him to say that on the ground of existing laws and treaties there was no reason why permission to erect the building should not be granted, but that, in order to avoid local disturbances, it would be better to defer its erection for a short time. A few days later a formal order was sent from the ministerial council which directed “that the Protestant missionaries be not permitted to establish a school in Loftcha, since this is one of their methods of proselytism which cannot be permitted in Bulgaria, where the people have their own religion.”

Application was then made to the city council for permission to erect a dwelling for the resident missionary, which, after a considerable delay, was granted. This building is now occupied by the family of the resident missionary and the girls’ schools.

The American school at Sistova was commenced November 6, 1882, and continued without question for three months, when the inspector of schools, Mr. Somoloff, informed one of the teachers that unless a written notification of the opening of the school were sent him within three days he would close it. Such notice was given him the next day; he said it was sufficient, and that nothing further was needed. About six weeks after this the prefect called Mr. Tomoff, one of the teachers, and asked him about the school, saying that he, the prefect, had been appointed inspector instead of Mr. Somoloff. Mr. Tomoff answered his questions and gave him a programme of the school. On January 16 the prefect came to the school with an order, said to be from the minister of education, commanding him to close the American school, as its existence was contrary to law. Upon being asked what law had been violated, he replied that it was not his business to tell. He was then requested to present the order in writing, which he did, demanding the closing, not only of the day but also of the free evening school under the charge of the pastor. Upon consultation the teachers decided to make out a paper to the prefect, stating that they would comply with his order and close the American school, although they knew no law therefor. Another paper was directed to the inspector, stating that on the following morning they would open a Protestant school. In the evening Mr. Tomoff offered the paper to the prefect. He refused to receive either of them: the one directed to the prefect because it was out of office hours, and the other, directed to the inspector, because he claimed to be no longer inspector. He also said that the office of inspector was vacant, and might remain so for some time.

Having learned that there was no way of giving notice of the opening of the Protestant school, the next morning it was decided to notify the prefect that the school would be continued until the ministry should point out what law had been violated. Before noon, Mr. Ladd, one of the missionaries, saw two men enter his home without knocking. When he reached them, they were passing through an inner door which opens into a room consecrated to school and church purposes. He ordered them to stop, and then asked them to allow him to shut the door, which latter they refused to do. As one of them was standing against the door, Mr. Ladd pushed him aside as gently as possible, and shut the door. He then ordered them as intruders to leave the house, telling them that he had the right to defend his house against intrusion. They refused to go. Up to this time Mr. Ladd did not know who they were, or what they wanted. At this moment the prefect came, accompanied by eight or ten gensdarmes, and at once ordered the arrest of Messrs. Tomoff and Ecounomoff, who were interpreting for Mr. Ladd. They were violently seized by the gens d’armes, thrown down, kicked, and otherwise ill-treated, and dragged ignominiously to jail. Mr. Ecounomoff, who was at the time in poor health, was thrown violently into the dungeon. Mr. Ladd informed the prefect as well as he could in Bulgarian that he did not understand that the latter had any right to enter his house without permission or an order from the English consul-general, who, as he believed, acted in behalf of American citizens in Bulgaria. But notwithstanding this he entered, followed by the gensdarmes, together with the rabble which had gathered outside. The missionaries protested against their entering, but in vain. The prefect then offered them this alternative, that either the house should be sealed or that the teachers should bind themselves in writing not to teach. The latter they refused to do, and the house was accordingly sealed.

After the school-room was sealed, the students in the theological department, eleven in number, who lived in the house of Mr. Jones, one of the missionaries, continued to study, and the teachers gave them private instruction.

On the 23d January the sub-prefect came to Mr. Jones’s house and inquired if there were students living there. Being answered in the affirmative, he inquired as to the number, &c., of these students, and was told that there were eleven in the house who were taking private lessons. The next day an order came to Mr. Jones to close the school in his house within two hours. Mr. Jones replied that he had no school, for it had been forcibly closed, and that he simply gave private lessons at their own request to the students living in his house. The prefect then ordered the students to leave the house. Mr. Jones would have resisted, but knowing that the prefect had undertaken to accomplish his ends at all hazards, and that he would drive the students out by force into the midst of a severe storm, he thought it better to transfer them peaceably to another house, doing so, however, under the strongest protest.

We give these statements at length, that there may be a full understanding of the nature and extent of the violation of our rights on the part of the authorities. We ask for no intervention that shall interfere with the prerogatives of the Bulgarian Government, but we do ask that due respect may be paid by it to the rights guaranteed to us. We base our appeal on the following considerations:

• Article V of the treaty of Berlin secures the liberty of conscience to all living in the principality.
• The constitution adopted by the representatives of the Bulgarian people grants full religious liberty upon the sole condition that the rites and ceremonies of any religious society shall not violate existing laws.
• We are assured by the highest legal authority in the principality that no law exists which forbids the opening and carrying on of our schools.
• Some of our schools were in operation previous to the organization of the Bulgarian Government. Others were allowed to be opened without being questioned by the authorities, and none have been interfered with until the past year.
• We have invested considerable sums in real estate in connection with our educational work, and claim the right of being protected in our property interests. We therefore claim such recognition of our rights on the part of the Bulgarian Government as shall secure us from further unlawful interference by officials, and afford us the protection which the law affords to all. With many thanks for your kindly interest and efficient help in the past,

We are, &c.,

Treaty of Berlin.

Article V.

The following provisions will form the basis of the law in Bulgaria:

Differences of religious belief and confessions shall not be an obstacle to any one, as a motive of exclusion or incapacity in the enjoyment of civil and political rights, the admission of employments in public functions and honors, or the exercise of different professions and industries in whatever locality it may be.

The freedom and practice of all forms of religious worship are assured to all belonging to Bulgaria, including foreigners, and no obstacle shall be made to the hierarchical organization of different communions, or in their relations to their spiritual chiefs.