Extracts from a letter from William Craig Martin¹ to Desmond FitzGerald (Dublin)

Dear Desmond:

Hang your Excellency! and the devil take the whole damn Department of External Affairs! ! !

Have you still got writer's cramp, or has Annie McSweeney bitten off your right arm? How in thunder can one represent anyone whom one never hears from? You can tell Mabel² that I am very nearly converted to her point of view. After sitting like a cat on hot bricks for months and being blown up by every holder of one of our passports all over the Continent of Asia I received a rag of a letter, signed by somebody called Sean Ó Murchadha,³ magnanimously conferring upon me the most astounding powers in truly deliciously off-hand manner. Now, our dear friend, Sean, may be a most estimable young man, a right hand of our beloved Government. The only awkward thing is that no one here has ever heard of him and his chatty little letter was therefore a bit of a surprise. There is a rumour that the gentleman's name is Langford, but even I felt a trifle doubtful whether M-u-r-c-h-a-d-h-a is the correct Irish spelling for Langford!

Certainly he is a 't. c. Rúnaí'. None of my zoological dictionaries catalogue this animal, so I don't know whether it be dangerous or not. For Heaven's sake don't show him this letter or the next time he communicates with me he will be still more crushing. After reading his remark 'where the holder of a Free State Passport desires to have the protection of the British Consular Officers', I felt about an inch high and I do not think the British Legation in Peking, to whom I had to show the letter as my only authority was exactly pleased with the tone. Incidentally I might tell you that I am not a millionaire and that this whole arrangement has cost a pretty penny. It could not be put through here and I had to go to Peking, with the railways all upset this was a three day's journey by sea and it took ten days in Peking to settle. Altogether it cost me over £50, so tell friend Sean next time he writes to kindly enclose cheque, or the Imperial Authorities will be returning one honorary but destitute representative to his native heath.

By the way, I have asked you officially to give an authorization for my assistant, Mr. Thomas Murphy, to sign in case of my absence or sickness. Mr. T. Murphy, my assistant in business here, is a native of Macroom. You will understand that a passport may have to be attended to immediately and I might be out of town.

[Matter omitted]

I see in the Weekly Irish Times of June 6th. on page 9 that our Authorities in the United States have no power to issue passports. That all we can do is to vise passports and that even then the holder of such a passport must first disembark in England. This seems a most extraordinary state of affairs. Do find time, there's a dear fellow, and tell me what it means. I have been asked for an explanation from several Irishmen here.

I have sent you the papers with regard to the troubles here. They are worth reading. This situation is going to be a much bigger one than appears at first sight. Considering that we had two wars and a long riot since we returned in December things are going quite nicely.

[Matter omitted]