The Pastor Mr. S. Descombaz, President of the Evangelical Alliznce of Lyons to Granville Leveson-Gower, January 23, 1871

Lord Lyons to Earl Granville

My Lord: On the receipt of your lordship’s telegram of the day before yesterday I went to the Comte de Chaudordy, and begged him to send at once to the French chargé d’affaires in London instructions to give a letter for the government at Paris and a safe-conduct to any diplomatic or consular officer who might be selected by Her Majesty’s government to proceed to the bombarded city to make arrangements for removing British subjects.

M. de Chaudordy promised to send a telegram at once to M. Tissot to this effect. He said that he presumed that the French military authorities would everywhere recognize and respect the safe-conduct from the embassy in London, especially as the bearer of it would be also provided with a letter from the chargé d’affaires to the Paris government. He suggested, however, that it would still be well that the person sent by your lordship should have a safe-conduct from the delegation here if one could be sent to him in time.

I understand that the secretary sent by the Italian minister is to go, in the first instance, to Berlin, while the secretary of the Spanish legation is to endeavor to pass through the French and Prussian lines, and thus reach Versailles by the direct route from this place.

I am myself of opinion that this endeavor will be attended with considerable risk, and that in all probability the Spanish secretary will not gain anything in point of time by attempting to take the direct route.

I may, perhaps, suggest that, in any case, a letter from your lordship to the government at Paris would have very great weight in inducing them to permit the withdrawal of British subjects and to afford facilities for effecting it.

I have, &c.,