Messrs. Sinclair, Hamilton & Co. to Earl Russell.—(Received January 30.)
My Lord: We have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Mr. Hammond’s letter of 21st instant, and have deferred replying to the same until the arrival of the Cape mail placed us in possession of fuller information as to the circumstances [Page 294] attending the capture of the British bark Saxon at Angra Pequena.
Accordingly we have the honor to enclose copies of the depositions by the master and crew of the Saxon, taken before a magistrate at Cape Town. From these it will be seen that Mr. Hammond was in error in supposing the wool with which the Saxon was laden had been taken from the Sea Bride, as Captain Baldwin, of the United States steamer Vanderbilt, appears to have made the seizure on the ground that the wool had been landed from the Tuscaloosa.
The Tuscaloosa is stated in the newspapers to have been a prize taken by the Alabama when her name was Conrad. She had been captured a considerable time previously on her voyage from Buenos Ayres to New York, and was taken into Simon’s bay, where she was received by the colonial authorities with all the privileges of a confederate man-of-war, notwithstanding that objection was taken by the United States consul that she had not been duly condemned by a prize court. Be this as it may, we have ascertained that the Saxon arrived at Angra Pequena from Ascension, and loaded the wool from the shore; and assuming the fact that it had formed part of the Tuscaloosa’s cargo, we are advised that this does not justify the capture of the Saxon, even though a claim to the wool should be substantiated in the New York prize court.
We would further respectfully call your lordship’s attention to the circumstances attending the murder of the chief mate, which are of such a nature as we doubt not will demand the serious attention of her Majesty’s government.
In reply to Mr. Hammond’s inquiry as to the coals seized by the Vanderbilt, (which question, as your lordship will see, is quite apart from the seizure of the Saxon and murder of the mate,) we have to inform your lordship that the coals were not conveyed in the Saxon, and on reference to our previous letter it will be observed that when seized they were stored on British territory at Penguin island.
We enclose copy of the claim for the coals, made on the United States government by Messrs. Anderson, Saxon & Co., and beg that your lordship will take such measures in support of the claim as may be deemed requisite.
We have, &c.,