73. Amelia Island.
Amelia Island, at the mouth of St Mary's River, in Florida, was, in 1817, seized by a number of adventurers under the command of one McGregor, who, in the name of the insurgent colonies of Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, preyed not only on the commerce of Spain but also on that of the United States. The island was, at that time, part of Spanish territory; and as the Spanish government was not able to put an end to the nuisance created to the United States by the seizure, the latter ordered a man-of-war to expel McGregor and his men from Amelia Island, to destroy their works and vessels, and to take possession of the island for the purpose of preventing the recurrence of the nuisance.
74. Representation to China.
On Jan. 15th, 1909, after the dismissal of Yuan-Shih-Kai, the British and the American diplomatic envoys at Peking called by appointment on Prince Ching, who, as president of the Grand Council and the Wai-wu-pu, is the highest official of the Chinese Empire. The purpose of the appointment was to make a joint representation on the part of the two powers regarding the dismissal, without any given reason, of Yuan-Shih-Kai, whose services to the cause of order, stability, and progress in China had inspired such confidence in their two governments.
75. Exemption from Rates.
The following appeared in the Times, Dec. 9th, 1908:
"The claim of Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg, a German Embassy official, to be exempt from rates in respect of his residence at Walton-on-Thames was before the urban council last night.
"A letter was read from the Rating of Government Property Department of the Treasury stating that houses occupied by representatives of foreign Powers and the accredited members of their suites were liable to assessment in common with other property of the country, but as their persons and personal effects were by international law exempt from seizure if they refused to pay rates these could not be enforced against them by process of law. Reciprocal arrangements had, however, been entered into with certain Powers, Germany being one of them, under which a contribution in lieu of rates was given by the Government to local authorities in respect of such occupations.
"The Walton Council, in common, it is believed, with many other local authorities in the country, had held the view that it was impossible to recover rates under such circumstances, but their attention was drawn to the present case by the Local Government Board auditor, at whose suggestion they wrote to the Treasury, with the above result."
76. Errant Balloons.