Use of name as reference.

Use of the telegraph.

Accounts of tele grams.

Issue of circulars.

are, therefore, cautioned not to take upon themselves the obligations incurred by transactions of the nature adverted to, and they will, at all times, be justified in refusing to do so.

427. Consular Officers are also not unfrequently asked to allow the use of their names as references for business or other enterprises. They will refuse in all cases to permit such use of their names.

USE OF THE TELEGRAPH.

428. The use of the telegraph at the expense of the Government is restricted to cases of urgency, and to those in which some injury to the public interests would result from delay. It is not permitted in the ordinary business of a Consulate, or in communicating with the Department, except when justified by the importance and urgency of the case, or when it is done under instructions from the Department. Applications for leaves of absence must be made by post, and when replies to such applications are requested to be made by telegraph, a sufficient reason must be given for the request.

429. In verifying official telegrams in the accounts for the same transmitted to the Department for approval, at the expiration of each quarter, it is required that each telegraphic voucher should either be indorsed with a reference to the number and date of the dispatch to the Department reporting the telegram, or be accompanied with a slip, pinned to it, giving the exact text of the message as sent.

CIRCULARS.

430. Consular officers sometimes have occasion to issue circulars intended to give information or directions to merchants, shippers, and others within their several districts, or for other purposes, and such circulars are occasionally required in carrying out the instructions they receive. When circulars are issued in consequence of special instructions from the Department of State, Consular Officers should be careful to follow the language of the instructions whenever it may be practicable. They should be prepared by the

Consul-General, if there be one in the country, and copies should be sent to the Department. In other cases, drafts of all proposed circulars will be sent to the Consul-General, if there be one, for his approval, by whom they will be submitted to the Department; and if there be no ConsulGeneral, they will be sent directly to the Department. In no case will such circulars be issued or circulated without the approval of the Department previously obtained.

ALTERATIONS OF FORMS.

431. The official Forms given in Appendix IX of these regulations are prescribed by the President under the authority of law, to be used in cases to which they apply. It is, therefore, not competent, and it is a grave irregularity for a Consular Officer to modify or change them in any respect to suit what he may conceive to be the requirements of the business of his district, or for other reasons. Consular Officers are at liberty, and are instructed, at all times to suggest to the Department of State any changes which they may deem necessary or proper, but they are not authorized to make alterations in the Forms not previously approved by the Department. This prohibition does not apply to exact translations, if it shall be necessary to use them, or to such as are provided for the general information of Consular Officers, as referred to in paragraphs 304 and 351.

DUTIES TOWARDS AMERICAN CITIZENS.

432. The powers and duties of Consular Officers in regard to their fellow-citizens depend in a great measure upon the municipal law of the United States. No civil jurisdiction can be exercised by them over their countrymen without express authority of law, or by treaty stipulation with the State in which they reside, and no criminal jurisdiction is permitted to them in Christian states. They are particularly cautioned not to enter into any contentions that can be avoided, either with their countrymen or with the subjects or authorities of the country. They should use every endeavor to settle in an amicable manner all disputes in which their countrymen may be concerned, but they should

Alterations of

Forms.

R. S., sec. 1752.

Duties toward American citizens.

Time of transit.

18 Stats., 70.

take no part in litigation between citizens. They should
countenance and protect them before the authorities of the
country in all cases in which they may be injured or op-
pressed, but their efforts should not be extended to those
who have been willfully guilty of an infraction of the local
laws. It is their duty to endeavor, on all occasions, to main-
tain and promote all their rightful interests, and to protect
them in all privileges that are provided for by treaty or are
conceded by usage. If representations are made to the local
authorities and fail to secure the proper redress, the case
should be reported to the Consul-General, if there be one,
or to the Diplomatic Representative, if there be no Consul-
General, and to the Department of State.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE.

433. Under the authority conferred upon the Secretary
of State by law, the following are established, and deter-
mined, and made public, as the maximum amount of time
actually necessary to make the transit between each con-
sular post in the several countries as follows, and the city
of Washington, and vice versa, viz:

Argentine Republic, forty-five days.
Austria-Hungary, thirty days.
Belgium, twenty days.

Bolivia, fifty days.

Brazil, forty days.

Barbary States, thirty-five days.

Chile, forty-five days.

China (except Peking and Tien-Tsin), fifty days.

Peking and Tien-Tsin, ninety days.

United States of Colombia:

Bogota, thirty-five days.

Aspinwall, Panama, and Sabanilla, sixteen days.

Costa Rica, twenty-five days.

Denmark (excepting Saint Thomas), twenty-five days.

Saint Thomas, fifteen days.

Ecuador, thirty-five days.

Egypt, thirty-five days.

France, twenty days.

1

French possessions, viz:

Algiers, thirty-five days.

Gaboon, fifty days.

Martinique, twenty-five days.

Friendly and Navigators' Islands, seventy days.

Germany, twenty-five days.

Great Britain and Ireland, twenty days.

British possessions, viz:

Aden, forty days.

Barbadoes, twenty days.

Belize, twenty-five days.

Bermuda, ten days.

Guiana, thirty-five days.

Kingston, Jamaica, twenty days.

Nassau, fifteen days.

Turk's Islands, twenty days.

Gibraltar, twenty-five days.

Malta, thirty days.

Australia, fifty days.

Cape Town, fifty-five days.

Falkland Islands, seventy days.

Mauritius, seventy days.

New Zealand, fifty days.

Seychelles, seventy days.

Saint Helena, forty-five days.

Calcutta, sixty days.

Fiji Islands, seventy days.

Ceylon, fifty days.

Singapore, sixty days.

Canada (excepting Winnipeg, Victoria, Gaspé Basin,
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward
Island), three days.

Victoria, twenty-five days.

Winnipeg, fifteen days.

Gaspé Basin, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince

Edward Island, six days.

Greece, thirty-five days.

Guatemala, thirty days.

Hawaiian Islands, thirty-five days.

Hayti, fifteen days.

Honduras, twenty-five days.

Italy, thirty days.

Japan, forty days.

Liberia, forty days.

Madagascar, seventy days.
Mexico:

City of Mexico, eighteen days.
Acapulco, twenty-five days.
Guaymas, twenty-five days.
Matamoras, twenty days.
Tampico, twenty days.
Vera Cruz, fifteen days.
Muscat, sixty days.
Netherlands, twenty days.

Batavia, Java, sixty days.
Nicaragua, twenty-five days.
Peru, forty days.

Portugal, thirty days.

Fayal, thirty days.

Funchal, thirty days.

Santiago, Cape Verde Islands, forty days.
Saint Paul de Loando, fifty days.

Russia:

St. Petersburg, thirty days.
Odessa, thirty days.

San Salvador, twenty-five days.

San Domingo, fifteen days.
Seoul, sixty-five days.

Siam, sixty days.

Society Islands, seventy days.

Spain, twenty-five days.

Spanish possessions, viz:

Havana, seven days.

Santiago de Cuba, twelve days.

Porto Rico, twenty days.

Trinidad de Cuba, twelve days.

Matanzas, seven days.

Manila, sixty days.

Sweden and Norway, twenty-five days.

Switzerland, twenty-five days.

4