No. 98. Lord A. Loftus to Earl Granville.- (Received March 6.) My Lord, Berlin, February 27, 1871. WITH reference to my despatch of the 17th instant, in which I inclosed the copy of a note which I had received from M. de Thile, informing me that Mr. Worth had been acquitted by the Military Court at Cologne, I have now the honour to inclose a translation of a further note from his Excellency, stating that the verdict of the Court has been ratified by the supreme authorities. I have, &c. (Signed) AUGUSTUS LOFTUS, Inclosure in No. 98. Baron Thile to Lord A. Loftus. Berlin, February 26, 1871. (Translation.) THE Undersigned has the honour to inform his Excellency Lord A. Loftus, in addition to his note of the 16th ultimo, that the acquittal of the British subject, Worth, by the Court-martial in Cologne, has been approved by the supreme authorities. This liberation, for which an order was immediately given, will have taken place by this time. The Undersigned, &c. (Signed) THILE. No. 99. My Lord, Mr. Worth to Earl Granville.-(Received March 15.) Paris, 3, Chaussée d'Antin, March 13, 1871. ON my release from prison by the Prussian Government on the 21st February last, I should have immediately requested an interview with your Lordship had it not been that I was compelled to start at once for Paris on very urgent business. On Thursday next I shall be in London, and, if your Lordship will then favour me with an interview, I shall be greatly obliged. Might I request that the reply to this be forwarded to 110, Cannon Street? No. 100. I am, &c. Lord Enfield to Mr. Worth. Foreign Office, March 16, 1871. VISCOUNT ENFIELD presents his compliments to Mr. Worth, and, in reply to his letter of the 13th instant, received last night, stating that he requests the favour of an interview with Earl Granville this day, is directed to inform him that Lord Granville will be prepared to see him this day at 4 P.M. My Lord, No. 101. Mr. Worth to Earl Granville.-(Received March 20.) 110, Cannon Street, London, March 18, 1871. IN accordance with your Lordship's request I now beg to state in writing the facts which I verbally communicated on the 18th instant, and these facts will prove to your Lordship's satisfaction that my case merits particular consideration on the part of Her Majesty's Government. I will commence by stating that I carry on a business both in Paris and London, but by far the greater part of my fortune and interests are in the former city, and at the commencement of September last my presence there became actually necessary, as my partner was almost entirely occupied with his enforced military duties. Up to the moment of the investment of Paris by the Prussian armies I had been unable to leave, but I had not anticipated, nor had I seen any notice emanating from the British Embassy, that it would be impossible for English subjects to get out of the besieged city. At the end of September, however, I began to get anxious, especially as I was given to understand that no foreign residents would be allowed to leave, and that from the disposition of the Parisians the siege appeared as if it would last longer than had been generally thought. I knew I should shortly be required in London to attend to business there, to meet payments, and to arrange painful family matters. I therefore decided to leave, although I was at a loss to know by what means. After trying to get out in various manners, but without success, I heard that a private balloon was about to leave, and, after some difficulty, I obtained the promise of a place. I then went to the British Embassy, and told our Ambassador's Representative, Mr. Wodehouse, that I was about to start in a balloon, and said that if he or his friends had any letters for England I should be happy to take them. I was totally unaware, for my part, that I was leaving Paris in an unauthorized manner. Mr. Wodehouse availed himself of my offer, and several closed letters were sent me. I inclose copy of a note from this gentleman, dated 12th October, 1870. No mention was made to me of the possibility of being able to leave with the British residents. An accident happened to this balloon, and I was unable to leave in it, and I of course despaired of getting out in any other manner. Consequently, I considered myself at that moment very fortunate indeed to be able to get a place, about the middle of October, for 1007. in another private balloon, which was to have started immediately. The departure was, however, daily postponed; and had there been any other means available I should certainly have taken advantage of them. I tried to get out with two or three foreign Ministers, without success. On the 26th October the balloon had not yet left, and by accident I heard the same evening that the English were going out the following morning. At this I was very much astonished, as Mr. Wodehouse's letter was dated the 14th October, and he had made no mention to me either before or after that date of the proposed departure on the 27th October, nor had I seen any notice whatever respecting it; otherwise I should most certainly have availed myself of the opportunity in preference to the manner in which I left. The same evening I used every effort possible to find either Mr. Wodehouse or Colonel Claremont, and it was not until 11 o'clock that I gave up all hopes of leaving with my countrymen, on being informed at the Colonel's private residence that he had left Paris for Charenton. I called several times at the Embassy, hoping to find some one, and was at last informed there by the porter that even if I got my name put down on the list it would be useless, as there was no time for its approval by Count Bismarck. The day following I left in the balloon, as this was the only course now left open to me: the evening of the same day, the 27th October, I was captured by the Prussians. I at once informed them that I was a British subject; my passport, together with all my papers and letters, were taken from me, including those sent through Mr. Wodehouse. I stated that I had no political mission, and that I left Paris on purely personal matters. At Verdun, where the balloon fell, I was, with the two Frenchmen who were my fellowtravellers, in hourly expectation of being shot, as it was evident that we were treated as spies, and it subsequently appeared that we had a very narrow escape. Whilst here I managed to have a letter sent to my mother, informing her of my position. From Verdun we were, however, sent to Versailles, where we arrived on the 5th November, and there separately confined in criminal cells, without any possibility of communicating with the outside world. After having been there three or four days I received a visit from Colonel Walker, to whom I had managed surreptitiously to have a note conveyed, informing him of my position: when he came to see me he said that he had received a telegram from Her Majesty's Government respecting me, and consequently I was persuaded that I should immediately be set at liberty. I informed Colonel Walker of the exact circumstances of the case, and complained strongly of being treated as a criminal and a spy. He ameliorated my pitiable condition in the cell by requesting the Prussian authorities that better food might be sent, with which request they complied. He also supplied me with a little money (100 francs) and some necessary clothing; in his private capacity he acted as kindly as he was permitted to do. To my terrible disappointment I was neither liberated nor even questioned in any [175] G way at Versailles, and during the ten days of confinement there, the only Prussian authority I saw was a Police official, who minutely searched me, expecting, I presume, to find something of a compromising nature. On the 13th November I was told I was to be sent the following morning into Germany, and on hearing this I was naturally very much upset. I sent word through a Frenchman, an attendant in the prison, to Colonel Walker, begging him to come and see me this he did, and re-assured me somewhat by saying that he had no doubt but that I should be liberated immediately on arrival in Germany. I may mention that Colonel Walker informed me that the English had not then arrived from Paris, so whether they left at the stated date, the 27th October, I am unable to say. On the 14th November we were sent off from Versailles on foot, in company with French soldiers, and en route another large batch of peasant prisoners was added to our number. I was ill in the prison with fever and diphtheria, and was not in a condition to walk; but I need not give a catalogue of my sufferings, which were of an extremely painful nature: suffice it to say that on the first day's march I was compelled to walk some thirty miles, of which twenty miles with naked feet, as I was unable to wear my boots owing to the inflammation which had come on in prison, and also that I was shut up with between thirty and forty prisoners during three days and three nights in a cattle-truck, with hardly any ventilation. Nearly one month after capture we arrived at Cologne and were then incarcerated in cells. The food was bad, and, worse than all, the moral suffering in this solitary confinement was unbearable. We petitioned the Governor to allow us a room in the prison, which he accorded at the expiration of a week. We received permission to write and receive open letters, subject to the discretion of the authorities. I wrote to Lord A. Loftus at Berlin, but was informed that my letter would not be forwarded. As the days and weeks passed slowly away, I began to fear that no steps were being taken on my behalf, and I did not know what my imprisonment might result in, i.e., whether I should be liberated or disposed of in a summary manner. In December I received a letter from Mr. Harriss-Gastrell, one of the Secretaries at the British Embassy at Berlin, stating that he was not allowed to see me, but that he felt sure that my trial would be justly conducted, and that I should have three weeks to prepare my defence. This letter was not at all reassuring, as I had expected to be liberated, or, at any rate tried if it were necessary, immediately after capture, and nearly two months had already passed by. It was not until the 18th January, nearly three months after capture, that myself and fellow-prisoners were tried, at the same time, by a summary and secret Court-martial; the Prussian authorities procured us an advocate who had four days to prepare our defence, but it was not until a month later, on the 20th February, that we were informed of the result of this trial. This result was that we had all been found innocent and acquitted by the Court-martial held on the 18th Jannary. On the 20th February, after having undergone a secret imprisonment of four months, and having been declared innocent by the Prussians one month prior to this date, we were set at liberty. During the whole term of our long detention we did not know what our fate might be. I have given to your Lordship a simple narrative of the facts as they took place, from which you will conclude that my sufferings, both morally and physically, were very great; my business, moreover, which required my presence in London was, as Mr. Littlewood said in his letter to your Lordship of the 19th January, completely ruined on account of my absence. It will be admitted that, as a matter of justice, I am fairly entitled to an indemnity. I shall be happy to give your Lordship any further information that you may consider necessary. I have, &c. (Signed) F. G. WORTH, Dear Sir, Inclosure in No. 101. Mr. Wodehouse to Mr. Worth. British Embassy, October 14, 1870. I AM requested to ask you to be good enough to take charge of the inclosed for Mr. Ayrton, Her Majesty's Commissioner of Public Works. Yours faithfully, (Signed) HENRY WODEHOUSE. No. 102. My Lord, Mr. Littlewood to Earl Granville.-(Received March 30.) 110, Cannon Street, London, March 29, 1871. MR. WORTH asked me, prior to his leaving town, to forward your Lordship's reply to his letter of the 18th instant, and, as this has not arrived, may I ask your kind consideration of the same. I have, &c. (Signed) HENRY BUCKNALL LITTLEWOOD. No. 103. Lord Enfield to Mr. Worth. Foreign Office, April 3, 1871. Sir, I AM directed by Earl Granville to inform you that he has had under his consideration your letter of the 18th ultimo, representing your claims to indemnity on account of the imprisonment to which you have been subjected by the German authorities on your capture in an attempt to escape from Paris in a balloon. His Lordship regrets that, after consultation with the proper Law Adviser of the Crown, he does not feel justified in placing such a claim on your behalf before the German Government.. I am, &c. (Signed) ENFIELD. No. 104. My Lord, Mr. Littlewood to Earl Granville.-(Received April 11.) 110, Cannon Street, London, April 8, 1871. MR. F. G. WORTH, who is at this moment very unwell, asked me to acknowledge your Lordship's letter of the 3rd instant in reply to his of the 18th ultimo. Mr. Worth had believed that, after reading his letter, your Lordship would immediately have afforded him redress for all he has undergone. I have, &c. (Signed) HENRY BUCKNALL LITTLEWOOD. |