Office of the Historian

Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons.

Department of State, Washington, August 15, 1864.

My Lord: Recurring to your communication of the 30th ultimo, relative to the refusal, on the part of the collector of the port of New York, to grant a clearance of certain merchandise shipped by Messrs. Darrell & Nash to Nassau, in the Bahama islands, I have the honor to enclose for your information a copy of a letter of the 11th instant, and of its accompaniment, upon the subject, from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury.

I have the honor to be, with high consideration, my lord, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c., &c., &c.

[Page 685]

Mr. Harrington to Mr. Seward,.

Treasury Department, August 11, 1864.

Sir: In reply to your letter of the 3d instant, transmitting “copy of a communication of the 30th ultimo from Lord Lyons, relative to the refusal, on the part of the collector of the port of New York, to give Messrs. Darrell & Nash, British merchants, clearance on certain merchandise shipped by them to Nassau, in the Bahama islands,” I have now the honor of transmitting copy of a report of the collector at New York upon the case, dated 3d instant.

In view of the facts as stated by the collector I could not but approve his action. The same rule would have been enforced against citizens of the United States in a like case.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,

G. HARRINGTON, Acting Secretary of the Treasury,

Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State,

Mr. Clinch to Mr. Fessenden.

Custom-House, New York, Collector’s Office, August 3, 1864.

Sir: I have the honor to submit to the department the facts in a case in which, in compliance with the act of .Congress passed May 20, 1862, and article 36 of the Treasury Regulations of September 11, 1863, I refused to clear certain goods proposed to be shipped by the firm of Darrell & Nash, of this city, to Nassau, New Providence, per the British schooner Electric.

These gentlemen have for some time been engaged, as I have reason to believe, in shipping goods to blockade runners at Nassau, to be sent to the States in rebellion.

As evidence of such transactions on their part, I am informed that when bonds were first exacted at this port on shipments to Nassau, and before they were exacted on shipments to the islands of Bermuda, this firm, to avoid the regulations at this port in respect to shipments made to Nassau, “cleared” a vessel for Bermuda, but really sent her and her cargo directly to Nassau. And the goods were there delivered to blockade runners.

Recently I was notified by the United States consul at Turk’s island that a large portion of the cargo of the Crusader, which cleared from this port for Kingston, Jamaica, on the 19th of May last, had been landed at Grand Turk, and there delivered to the agent of Wach, of Nassau, a notorious blockade runner, and that said agent was then making arrangement to ship the same to Nassau. He further informed me that Messrs. Darrell & Nash were the parties in New York who acted as the agents of said Wach.

Messrs. Darrell & Nash subsequently admitted to the officers of the customs that they shipped the goods by the. Crusader to Grand Turk, as referred to by the United States consul, and that they were shipped on account of Wach, of Nassau, and were destined for that port. On this shipment no bond was given.

A few days ago they proposed to make another shipment to Nassau, which I refused to permit them to do, having satisfactory reasons to believe that such goods, although sent to Nassau, were really intended for ports or places in possession or under control of insurgents against the United States.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

C. P. CLINCH, Deputy Collector,

Hon. William Pitt Fessenden, Secretary of the Treasury.