The judge of the district court at New York, by a decree made on the 31st
July last, restored the vessel and cargo to the claimants, but without
damages or costs, and he gave the libellants leave to move that further
proofs should be introduced by them as to the illicit dealing alleged
against the brig. On the 18th of August (the libellants not having in
the mean time moved for leave to introduce further proofs) the decree
was made final and absolute.
Her Majesty’s government having been furnished by the claimants with
copies of the depositions, and with notes of the opinion of the judge,
and having taken the whole case into consideration, have directed me to
address to the government of the United States a demand for compensation
for the parties interested.
Her Majesty’s government apprehend that an appeal is open to the
claimants, and that this is a legal mode of obtaining redress yet
unexhausted; but they conceive that the miscarriage of the judge in not
awarding costs and damages is so dear, that the parties injured should
at once have justice done to them, without incurring the delay and
expense which would be incident to further legal proceedings, and which
might serve only to augment the ultimate demand of her Majesty’s
government for compensation.
Her Majesty’s government presume that the notes of the judge’s opinion
with which they have been furnished are correct. If so, the premises
respecting the entire innocence of the vessel, and the absence of any
legal ground for detention, are so plainly at variance with the
conclusion of relieving the captors from the legal and proper
consequence of a wholly unjustifiable seizure, that her Majesty’s
government cannot but hope that the government of the United States will
perceive at once the justice of giving the costs and damages in the
case.
Her Majesty’s government observe that the Isabella Thompson was engaged
in a lawful trade between two neutral ports, neither of them even in the
neighborhood of any blockaded port. Her cargo was taken on board in the
ordinary course of trade in neutral waters, and there is not any trace
in the evidence of anything having occurred, when she was visited and
captured, which could afford the slightest pretext for the capture. It
appears to her Majesty’s government that, in support of the single plea
of justification put forward, (viz: the suspicion of a complicity
between this vessel and the blockade runner from which she is stated to
have received a great part of her cargo in British waters,) no evidence
was produced except that of one witness, the cook, which the judge
himself did not rely upon, and which, by itself, even if fully credited,
had no
[Page 456]
tendency to identify
the voyage and adventure of the one ship with that of the other; and her
Majesty’s government conceive that it is apparent, from the omission of
the captors to avail themselves of the opportunity of going into further
proof which was offered them by the decree, that there was no ground in
fact for any such charge. Moreover, her Majesty’s government deem it to
be impossible to refrain from noticing, as worthy of reprehension, the
course adopted in obtaining, previously to the regular examination, and
while the witness was on board, in the power of the captors, a
deposition (however voluntary it may purport to be) from this cook,
evidently intended to offer some sort of pretext for a seizure which it
had been discovered could not be defended upon the facts and the law.
Her Majesty’s government consider that such a deposition is very
objectionable in principle, and they believe it to be contrary to the
practice of the American prize courts as well as to that of the prize
courts of Great Britain.
The case of the Isabella Thompson appears to her Majesty’s government to
be simply that of a neutral vessel sailing from one neutral port to
another, with a cargo free from all suspicion and with perfectly regular
papers, which it seized upon the high seas and compelled to incur very
heavy expenses and damages, without a colorable, pretext on the part of
the captor, as to whom the most favorable suggestion is that he was
entirely ignorant of the law.
Her Majesty’s government conceive that it would be difficult to say in
what case the award of costs and damages, the only protection of the
neutral, ought to be made in a prize court, if not in this. Her
Majesty’s government apprehend that, even if the captor’s conduct in
such a case could be excusable in the eyes of the judges of his own
country, this could be no reason why all indemnity should be refused to
the injured party, who did not by any improper or objectionable conduct
whatever contribute to the captor’s error.
For the above reasons her Majesty’s government deem it to be their duty
to invite the government of the United States to make immediate
reparation in the case.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most
obedient, humble servant,
Payers handed in by Lord
Lyons.—Chesapeake.
[List of Papers.]
1. Memorial of Susan Henry.
2. Affidavit of John E. Holt.
3. Memorial of John E. Holt.
4. Affidavit of John E. Holt.
5. Provincial secretary to mayor of Halifax, December 19, 1863.
6. Mayor of Halifax to provincial secretary, December 19, 1863.
7. Same to same, December 22, 1863.
8. City marshal to mayor of Halifax, December 21, 1863.
9. Police Constable Hutt to city marshal, December 21, 1863.
Memorial of Susan Henry.
To his excellency Major General
Hastings Doyle, administrator of the government and
commander-in-chief of Nova Scotia.
The humble memorial of Susan Henry, wife of William Henry, of
Halifax, engineer, showeth: That her husband, the said William
Henry, together with his
[Page 457]
brother, Alexander Henry, were employed the day before
yesterday to ship as engineers on board a steamer, and went
shortly after to join her at the mouth of the harbor.
That your memorialist has since understood and believes that they
have been unlawfully seized by the officers and crew of a steam
vessel said to be a United States man-of-war, called the Ella
and Annie, and are now in confinement as prisoners on board one
of the American men-of-war in this harbor.
That both William and Alexander Henry had returned to this port
about a fortnight since from a previous voyage, their occuption
being steamboat engineers, and they have not been absent from
home since their return till they left the day before yesterday
to join the said boat.
That they are both British subjects, and reside in Halifax.
Your memorialist prays that your excellency will take steps to
procure the immediate release of the said William and Alexander
Henry.
Affidavit of John E.
Holt.
Halifax, ss:
I, John E. Holt, at present of the city of Halifax, master
mariner, make oath and say: That when I left the steamer
Chesapeake in Sambro harbor, where she was at anchor on the 17th
day of December instant, and before she was boarded by the
United States ship-of-war Ella and Annie, William Henry and
Alexander Henry, both of the city of Halifax, engineers, were on
board of the steamer Chesapeake, and I feel quite certain
neither of them left her before she was captured, nor within two
hours afterwards, as no boat could have left either the
Chesapeake or the Ella and Annie within that time and reached
the shore without my knowing of it, and seeing the persons in
it.
JOHN E. HOLT.
Sworn to before me, at Halifax, this 18th day of December, 1863.
ARCH’D SCOTT, Justice of the
Peace.
Memorial of John E.
Holt.
To his excellency Major General Hastings Doyle,
administrator of the govern ment of the province of Nova
Scotia, and commander-in-chief of the forces of her Majesty
the Queen therein.
The memorial of John E. Holt, shipmaster, humbly showeth: That he
is a British-born subject, and is owner and master of the
British schooner Investigator, belonging to the port of Halifax,
where your memoralist resides.
That on the 16th day of December instant, while he was in command
of his said vessel in British waters, to wit, in the harbor of
Sambro, within the body of the county of Halifax, his said
vessel was forcibly entered by the officers of a United States
vessel-of-war, the particulars of which are detailed in the
annexed affidavits, to which your memorialist begs leave to
refer your excellency.
Your memorialist, having sustained the injury and insult therein
described at the hands of a foreign man-of-war in British
waters, looks to your excellency,
[Page 458]
as the representative of her Majesty and
the commander of her Majesty’s forces in this province, for
protection, and he prays that the outrage thus committed on him
will meet with redress at the hands of your excellency.
And your memorialist, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
JOHN E. HOLT.
Halifax,
December 18,
1863.
Affidavit of John E.
Holt.
Halifax,
ss:
I, John E. Holt, at present of the city of Halifax, master
mariner, make oath and say: That I am master and owner of the
British schooner Investigator, registered at the port of
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
That on the morning of the 17th day of December instant the said
schooner was in the small harbor of Sambro, near Halifax, Nova
Scotia, and a large steamer called the Chesapeake was at anchor
in the said harbor about two hundred yards from the shore, with
six or seven men on board of her. That at about 7 o’clock a. m.
I saw a federal man-of-war coming into the harbor, and when she
came near I got under way, and, proceeding further up the
harbor, came to anchor about four hundred yards from the
Chesapeake, and about two hundred yards from the shore. That the
Chesapeake had no flag flying until the federal man-of-war was
about one hundred yards off, when a federal flag was hoisted at
the peak upside down, but in two or three minutes, and before
she was boarded, it was reversed and again hoisted. That the
man-of-war (the name of which I have ascertained to be the Ella
and Annie) having the federal flag flying ran alongside of the
Chesapeake and made fast to her. About an hour after a boat with
an armed crew started from the Ella and Annie and came alongside
of my schooner. I was below when they reached the vessel, but
came on deck on hearing the noise they made coming on board.
When I reached the deck I found six or seven armed men there at
work opening the hatches of my vessel. I then asked one of them,
who appeared to be an officer, to show me his authority. He
struck the pistol which was in his belt, and said that was his
authority. I said I did not think he could overhaul my vessel in
a British port; and then three of his men, cocking their
pistols, pointed them at me and told me to hold my tongue. The
officer then said he had a great mind to take me prisoner and
take me to the States, as I would make a d—d good evidence. He
then asked me if any of the Chesapeake’s men were below. I said
“No,” as I thought they had all gone on shore. They then opened
the hatches and searched the vessel from one end to the other,
and took away as prisoner one of the men of the Chesapeake who
was asleep in the cabin in one of the berths, and a large
quantity of trunks and baggage and other articles which had been
put on board of my vessel by some of the men of the Chesapeake,
and left the vessel. That the search was conducted throughout in
a very rough and tyrannical manner, and a guard kept on deck all
the time with cocked pistols. That at about half-past 11 o’clock
a. m. I sailed from Sambro harbor in the said schooner, leaving
the two steamers there. That 1 did not at the time know the name
of the man that was taken from my vessel, but 1 have since been
informed that his name is John Wade; and I further say that I am
a British subject, born in Nova Scotia, and have never taken the
oath of allegiance to any foreign state.
JOHN E. HOLT.
Sworn to before me, at Halifax, this 18th day of December, A. D.
1863.
P. C. HILL, Mayor and Justice of the
Peace.
[Page 459]
Mr. Tupper to the Mayor of Halifax.
Halifax, Nova
Scotia,
December 19,
1863.
Sir: I have it in command from his
honor the administrator of the government to inform you that N.
Gunnison, esq., vice-consul of the United States, has this
moment advised his honor that the police officers of this city
have been prevented by the citizens from executing a warrant
against George Wade, charged with piracy and murder, and I am
further commanded to desire you to use your best exertions for
the service of said warrant, and to state that, if the police
force under your command is not sufficient therefor, his honor
will place any force at your disposal which you may require in
order that the law may not be obstructed in its execution.
A copy of Mr. Gunnison’s application for assistance in the
apprehension of George Wade is herewith enclosed.
I have, &c.,
C. TUPPER, Provincial
Secretary.
His worship the Mayor of
Halifax.
The Mayor of Halifax to the Provincial
Secretary.
Mayor’s Office,
Halifax,
December 19,
1863.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of this day’s date. In reply, I beg
to state that I deeply regret that any such occurrence should
have taken place, but I am assured that the city marshal used
every effort in his power to execute the process intrusted to
him at the time referred to; and although unsuccessful on that
occasion, I beg to assure you that every effort will continue to
be made to apprehend the parties named in the process,
notwithstanding that I have received a communication from the
vice-consul of the United States informing me that he does not
wish the services of the police in the matter any further.
I have, &c.,
The honorable Provincial
Secretary.
The Mayor of Halifax to
Mr. Tupper.
Mayor’s Office,
Halifax,
December 22,
1863.
Sir: I have the honor to enclose you
copies of report from the city marshal and policeman Hutt, on
the subject of the attempted arrest of George Wade, the prisoner
from the steamer Chesapeake. I have, &c.,
The honorable Provincial
Secretary.
The City Marshal to the Mayor of Halifax.
City Marshal’s Office,
Halifax,
December 21,
1863.
Sir: In obedience to the request of
your worship, contained in your communication of the 19th
instant, I have the honor to furnish a report of the
circumstances connected with the attempted execution of the
warrant against George Wade on Saturday last.
[Page 460]
Having understood from the attorney of the American consul that
George Wade was to be landed on the day in question at the
Queen’s wharf, I detached what I judged to be a sufficient
police force to arrest and secure him when he was landed.
Between one and two o’clock a boat bearing the American flag,
with the prisoner on board, who had irons on, landed at a
confined and inclined slip, which is at the wharf where the
sheriff of the county of Halifax and the consul of the United
States of America were waiting to secure the prisoner.
The prisoners were then unshackled, and, as I have since
understood the sheriff said to them they were at liberty. When
the prisoners were landed and unshackled, policemen Hutt, Hood,
and Burke were on the slip, and close to where Wade was
standing.
As I had something to communicate to the American consul, I left
the slip, and went to the consul and his attorney, who were on
the wharf, a short distance from the slip. On turning round I
perceived one of the prisoners in a fishing boat, and I inquired
of the consul who the person in the boat was; he informed me it
was Wade. I at once rushed down to the slip, but my progress was
impeded by the number of boatmen who were standing on the slip
and near the bottom of it, and so blocked it up that before I
could get near, the boat had gone out of reach, and made it
impossible for me to arrest Wade. At this time I saw policeman
Hutt, with a pistol in his hand, who commanded the return of the
boat, but he was disregarded. Finding that it was impossible for
me to reach the boat by the slip, I ran on the wharf, thinking I
could board the boat containing the prisoner from a commissariat
boat, which was moored at the wharf without any one in her. I
called upon the men in the boat which had Wade on board to
return, but a number of voices from the wharf urged them to go
on, which they did. Before the boat had got out of the dock I
requested the officer in charge of the United States boat which
brought the prisoner on shore to come to my assistance, but this
was neglected. On the fishing boat getting beyond my reach, the
crowd on the wharf cheered them. I have understood that the boat
which conveyed Wade was in charge of Gallagher and Holland.
I beg to assure your worship that every possible effort was made
in my power, and, as I believe, by the policemen present, to
arrest Wade; but that, from the circumscribed space where he was
landed, and the crowded state of the space, it was beyond the
power of either myself or my men to do more than was done.
I have required the policemen to furnish a detailed report of the
circumstances within their knowledge, which I have the honor to
submit herewith.
I have, &c.,
GARRET COTTER, City
Marshal.
Mr. Hutt to the City Marshal.
Halifax,
December 21,
1863.
Sir: By your direction, and with a
warrant under the hand and seal of the mayor, I proceeded to the
Queen’s wharf on the 19th day of the month at one o’clock for
the purpose of arresting George Wade, charged with murder and
piracy. I was made aware that the said George Wade was then a
prisoner on board of one of the United States gunboats now in
the harbor, and would be brought on shore at that hour, and
handed over to the sheriff.
I met the sheriff on the wharf, and told him that I had a warrant
for Wade; he told me to give the prisoner two or three minutes
after he released him before
[Page 461]
I arrested him. Met Dr. Almon on the
wharf. Asked me my business; I told him, and showed him the
warrant with the mayor’s signature to it; he said it was a
shame. I was standing at the head of the slip; then the United
States man-of-war boat came to the shore with prisoners. I was
then joined by policemen Hood and Burke and yourself. The slip
is an inclined plane running down to the water, about fourteen
or sixteen feet from the capsil of the wharf. The prisoner Wade
was landed at the water’s edge on the slip, and I went towards
him; he was in irons, and on his landing on the slip his irons
were taken off. I did not hear the sheriff say he was free, but
heard some person say, “He is in the boat.” I ran down the slip
to the water’s edge, and called upon the persons in the boat to
bring the boat back, and presented a revolver, when they backed
the boat. As the boat was backing to the slip I was seized round
the arms by Dr. Almon, who told the men in the boat to go on; I
was also handled by Alexander Keith, jr., who tried to get the
pistol out of my hand, and also by Dr. Smith. Had it not been
for the interference of Dr. Almon, Alexander Keith, jr., Dr.
Smith, and others, I have no doubt but I could have secured the
man Wade. With regard to the slip where the prisoner was landed,
I would state that it runs down from the wharf some forty or
fifty feet, and is more than twelve feet wide, and a crowd of
persons were on it at the time. I wish further to inform you,
that when I presented my pistol at the boat which was carrying
away Wade, I had the warrant for his arrest in my left hand, the
pistol in my right, at the time I was seized by Dr. Almon.
I am, &c.,
Garret Cotter,
City Marshal.
