Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 7, 1874

No. 738.
Mr. Hall to Mr. Fish.

United States Consulate-General,
Havana, December 13, 1873. (Received December 21.)

No. 19.]

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of the Depart merit’s instructions Nos. 4 and 5, of 3d instant.

From information received from Santiago de Cuba, it appears that on the 3d instant our vessels of war, the Juniata, Wyoming, and Kansas, had a boat-exercise in that harbor, which somewhat alarmed the commanding general of the place, leading him to believe that an attack upon the prison and the release of the Virginius prisoners was contemplated by the commanders of those vessels.

Acting upon this unfounded apprehension, the commanding general, without any authority from Havana, had the prisoners transferred early in the morning of the 4th instant to the Spanish vessel of war Bazan, and sent in the direction of Havana.

The first intimation the captain-general received respecting this movement was communicated to him by telegraph upon the arrival of the Bazan at Cienfuegos on the 7th instant. He immediately replied, giving instructions to the commander of the Bazan to return to Santiago de Cuba, and retain the prisoners on board until he should receive orders to surrender them to a vessel of war of the United States.

The Bazan, on her return to Santiago de Cuba, got aground near the port of Zaza, where she remained some twenty-four hours; during this interval the captain-general gave instructions to have the prisoners transferred to the coasting-steamer Cienfuegos, in further execution of his previous orders for their return to Santiago de Cuba. This occurred on the 9th, since when no further information has been received in regard to the prisoners.

The captain-general also informed, me that he had communicated these facts to the Spanish minister in Washington, for the purpose of having them made known to yourself; and, further, that he had, on the 9th instant, transmitted his orders to Santiago de Cuba to have the prisoners delivered to any vessel of war of the United States now at Santiago de Cuba, whose commander might be authorized to receive them. It appears from the information obtained by Commander Braine, at Santiago de Cuba, that the total number of persons on board the Virginius, at the time of her capture, was one hundred and fifty-five, (155,) and not one hundred and sixty live, (165,) as at first reported. That of these, fifty-three (53) have been executed, one (1) has been released, and one hundred and one (101) were still held as prisoners.

At 2 a.m. of yesterday morning the Virginius was convoyed out of this port by the Spanish vessel of war Isabel la Catolica, and sent to Bahia Honda, where I suppose it has been arranged to deliver her to a vessel of war of the United States, although I have no information that any of our vessels have left Key West for that purpose.

During the day, as it became known that the Virginius had left the port, a general feeling of relief was experienced in business circles, and gold declined full 10 per cent, from the day previous. In the evening, however, a crowd of some four to five hundred persons of the lower classes of the peninsular population collected in front of the palace of the captain-general, without any other apparent purpose than to make some demonstration of disapproval of what to them appeared to be the surreptitious manner in which the Virginius had been sent out of the port; but the government was well prepared for any hostile demonstrations of the crowd, and it soon dispersed, without any serious event having transpired.

The demonstration of last night may be attributed, in part at least, to an extra of the “Diario de la Marina”of yesterday, containing a protest against the message of the President and a letter from its New York correspondent, neither of which are intended to allay the irascibility of this excited population. I transmit copies herewith, and regret that I have not time to furnish translations also.

I further transmit a copy of a letter from the consul at Santiago de Cuba, accompanying a list of the names, ages, places of nativity, &c, of those of the crew of the Virginius who were executed on the 7th ultimo, and the names, ages, &c, of the survivors.

I also inclose the address of Captain-General Jovellar, calling upon the inhabitants to obey the laws and to oppose no resistance to the orders of the government of Spain respecting the surrender of the Virginius and the surviving prisoners.

I have, &c.

HENRY C. HALL.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 19.]

United States Consulate,
Santiago de Cuba, December 7, 1873.

Sir: I now give you all news of importance since Mr. Schmitt’s last, per steamer of the 3d instant.

On the morning of the 4th instant, at about 2½ a.m., the Virginius prisoners, ninety-two in number, were put on board the Spanish gunboat Bazan, and sent with all possible dispatch to Cienfuegos, thence to Havana by rail.

* * * * * * *

Commander Braine had the governor’s word that he should be informed of any change of the prisonors; but the governor did not inform either the commander or myself, until I called to ask him about their removal to the Moro. He then informed me that the prisoners had been sent to the Moro on account of the crowded state of the jail, and that they might have better quarters, and that he had ordered them to be sent to the Moro; but that he had received orders from the captain-general the same evening of their removal to send them at once to Havana, (which Commander Braine and myself did not believe.)

The governor pretended to tell us that when he had ordered the prisoners to be sent to the Moro he had not the remotest idea that they would be ordered to Havana; and Commander Braine, in his protest against their removal, gently hinted to his excellency that he hardly believed all the governor told him.

The commander of the French war-vessel called on the governor the day that these men were sent to the Moro to protest against the removal of a Frenchman, (one of the passengers.) The governor informed him that he would have his man sent back to-the city and placed in hospital, in order that the commander might see him.

The next morning, when the French commander learned that the person in question had been sent with the others to Havana, he became greatly displeased.

The French vessel sailed this morning for Havana. The English ram Niobe same destination, 4th instant. The Juniata is cruising off this port since the 5th instant. She communicated with the Kansas (still in port) yesterday, the Kansas sending out a boat.

The Wyoming left on the 4th, at 9 a.m., for Key West. The excitement is gradually subsiding. Captain Reid, of the Kansas, Mr. Schmitt, and myself, called on the governor, requesting to call his attention to the scurrilous articles that have appeared in the “Bandera Espanola,” directed against Mr. Schmitt since the Virginius was brought in here. He informed us that he had not seen any of the articles in question until it was brought to his notice by one of the interpreters yesterday just before our arrival. He seemed very indignant, and said he would have it stopped at once. Nothing appears in the issue of to-day.

I am, sir, &c,

A. N. YOUNG,
United States Consul.

Henry C. Hall, Esq.,
United States Consul-General, Havana.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 19.]

[See list of crew captured in dispatch No. 107, dated December 4, 1873, Santiago de Cuba.]

The remainder of those on board were sent to jail on the 4th, and thence by the Bazan, on the same night, to Cienfuegos, and thence by rail to Havana—ninety-two of all nations; ten left at the hospital sick, who will also go to Havana as soon as recovered, making, all told, one hundred and two men.

[Inclosure 3 in No. 19.]

List of one hundred and two passengers captured on board the steamer Virginius by the Spanish war-steamer Tornado

shot on 4th november, 1873.

Name.		Where from	Married or single.	Age.	Occupation.
1.	Bernabé Varona	Puerto Principe.	Single	27	Proprietor.
2.	Pedro Cespedes	Bayamo	Married	47	None.
3.	Jesus del Sol	Cienfuegos	Single	38	Farmer.
4.	W. A. C. Ryan	Canada	do	28	Lawyer.

shot on 8th november.

Name.		Where from	Married or single.	Age.	Occupation.
5.	Arthur Mola	Puerto Principe.	Single	19	Agriculturist.
6.	Francisco de Porras	Havana	do	19	Cabinet-maker.
7.	Louis Sanchez, (recognized to be Herminio Quesada.)	Porto Principe	do	18	Student.
8.	Joseph Boitel	Cardenas.	do	26	Agriculturist.
9.	Augustin Varona	Puerto Principe.	do	28	None.
10.	Salvador Pinedo	Nuevitas	do	23	Merchant.
11.	Henry Castellano	Güines	do	29	App. machinist.
12.	José Otero	Havana	do	27	Sugar-maker.
13.	Francisco Rivera, (recognized as Augustin Santa Rosa.)	do	do	42	Cigar-maker.
14.	Oscar Varona	Puerto Principe.	do	19	Student.
15.	Justo Consuegra	Santa Clara	do	21	Cigar-maker.
16.	William Valls.	Puerto Principe.	do	25	Commerce.

survivors.

17.	Joseph Diaz	S. P. de los Banos.	Married	29	Farmer.
18.	Juan Herrefo.	Havana.	Single	19	Cigar-maker.
19.	Alfred Lopez	S. de las Yegas	do	34	Do.
20.	José Ignacio Lamas	Matanzas	do	23	Engineer.
21.	Andres Acosta	Güines-	do	24	Mechanic.
22.	Francisco Costello	Regla	do	21	Student.
23.	Benjamin Olazala	Puerto Principe.	do	17	Engineer.
24.	José Madeo	Havana	do	24	Cigar-maker.
25.	Ramon Pardos	Jamaica.	do	32	Cook.
26.	Francisco Gonzalez.	Havana	do	33	Student.
27.	Joseph Pelaez.	Malaga.	do	15	Do.
23.	Leonard Alvarez	Santiago de Cuba	do	16	Silversmith.
29.	Julio Arango	Puerto Principe	do	16	None.
30.	José Hernandez	Havana	do	20	Merchant.
31.	Nicolas Ramirez	Puerto Principe	do	23	Farmer.
32.	Ignacio Quintin Beltran	Andalgo	do	35	Clerk.
33.	Perfecto Bello.	Havana	Married	24	Actor.
34.	Benoit Globes.	France	Single	34	Cook.
35.	Nicolas Ruiz	Matanzas.	do	26	Cigar-maker.
36.	Juan Alvarado.	Havana	do	34	Do.
37.	Andres Villa	do	do	24	Do.
38.	Ricardo Tuijillo	Cienfuegos	do	20	Student.
39.	Ramon Calvo	Havana.	do	40	None.
40.	Selverio Sales.	Colon	do	26	Mason.
41.	Rafael Pacheco	Havana.	do	39	Cigar-maker.
42.	Alexander Calvodo	do	do	39	Commerce.
43.	Canuto Guerra	Melena.	do	22	Cigar-maker.
44.	Canuto Sans.	Havana	do	25	Mason.
45.	Leon Bernal	Puerto Principe.	Single	25	Agriculturist.
46.	Emilio Garcia.	Cardenas.	do	20	Carpenter.
47.	Gil Montes	Güines.	do	23	Cigar-maker.
48.	Rafael Cabrera	Havana.	do	20	None.
49.	Amador Rosiilo.	Bayamo	do	18	Farmer.
50.	Ignacio or Francisco Tapia	Havana	do	24	Commerce.
51.	Manuel Silverio	Bayamo.	do	18	Do.
52.	Santiago Rivera.	St. Thomas.	do	17	Trimmings.
53.	Anto. Gomez.	Havana	do	39	Cigar-maker.
54.	Andrew Eschevarria	Holguin	Married	24	Agriculturist.
55.	José Marin	Havana	Single	24	Carpenter.
56.	Luis Martinez	Cuba	do	13	Baker.
57.	Domingo Salazar.	Havana	Widower	27	Cigar-maker.
58.	Pedro Pajarin.	Cardenas	Single	26	Do.
59.	Manuel Padron.	Havana.	do	17	Do.
60.	Alexd. Cruz Estrada	Canaries.	do	20	Blacksmith.
61.	Juan Soto	Havana	Married	28	Merchant.
62.	Felix Fernandez	do	Single	29	Commerce.
63.	Manuel Perez	do	do	29	Cigar-maker.
64.	José Antonio Ramos.	do	do	18	Do.
65.	Ramon Barrero	do	do	19	Do.
66.	Ignacio Valdez.	do	do	23	Commerce.
67.	Luis Morejon.	Matanzas	do	16	Silversmith.
68.	Jose Santiesleban	Cobre.	do	30	Carpenter.
69.	Francisco Pacheco	Hayti	do	15	Tinsmith.
70.	Evaristo Lunsunegui	Havana	do	17	Commerce.
71.	Ramon Gonzales	Matanzas	do	18	Cigar-maker.
72.	Antonio Chacon	Havana	do	30	Do.
73.	Sereno Otere	Colon	do	17	Student.
74.	Carlos Pacheco	Havana	Married	34	Cigar-maker.
75.	Antonio Padillo.	Puerto Principe	Single.	27	Machinist.
76.	Henry Canals	Penar del Rio	do	22	Commerce.
77.	Indelsio Turzillio.	Güines	do	21	Tanner.
78.	Domingo Diaz	Trinidad	do	23	Student.
79.	Pedro Sariol	Havana.	do	21	Cigar-maker.
80.	Pedro Saez.	do	Widower	23	Student.
81.	Miguel Sayers.	Santiago de Cuba.	Single.	18	Farmer.
82.	Severo Mendive	Regia	do	20	Student.
83.	Patricio Martinez	Havana.	do	18	None.
84.	Henry Alaya	do	do	29	Commerce.
85.	Manuel Saumell	Manzanillo	do	13	None.
86.	Domingo Rodriguez.	Havana.	do	30	Cigar-maker.
87.	Luis Revollo	Trinidad	do	19	Commerce.
88.	Antonio Rivera	Porto Rico.	do	20	Machinist.
89.	Carlos Marin.	Havana.	do	24	Student.
90.	Ramon R. de Armas	Puerto Principe	do	25	Commerce.
91.	Manuel Meneses	Philadelphia.	do	28	Dentist.
92.	Philip Mertzler	Charleston.	do	21	Cigar-maker.
93.	William Curtis	Jamaica	do	22	Tinsmith.
94.	Samuel Hale.	do	do	15	None.
95.	Samuel Gray	Harrisburgh	do	31	Carpenter.
96.	Sidney Robertson	Jamaica	do	20	Saddler.
97.	George Winters.	do	do	17	Shoemaker.
98.	William Marshall	do	do	13	Apprentice.
99.	Ehen Pinto	do	do	15	Cigar-maker.
100.	George Brooke	do	do	13	App. painter.
101.	Carlos Gonzalez.	Matanzas	do	22	Cigar-maker.
102.	Leopold Rizo.	Havana	do	25	Lawyer.
103.	One man, name unknown, said to have	escaped by jumping	overboard in	port.

recapitulation.

Total number of persons on board the Virginius at the time of her capture.	155
Total of crew	52
Total of passangers	103
Number of passengers executed on November 4, 1873	4
Number of passengers executed on November 8	12
Number of passengers executed on November 13	37
Total Number executed	53
Total of survivors of the crew	15
Total survivors of passengers	87
	155

[Inclosure 4 in. No. 19.—Translation.]

Inhabitants of the Island of Cuba:

I have again to direct you my voice and in troublous times. Hear it, for it is the expression of the purest patriotism guarded by reflection.

You already know that an agreement has been celebrated between the government I of Spain and that of the United States, in regard to a question of international law. Whilst it was in process of negotiation, it is needless to tell you that I did everything possible for me to do to favor the result most satisfactory for the honor and general interests of the island. You would assuredly suppose so, for I could not be wanting to the requirements of my charge nor to the favor of your confidence. But from the moment that the solution of the difference between the two governments was settled, the duty of authority, my unavoidable duty, which like all others I desire to; fulfill, however painful it may be to me, is to execute faithfully what has been decreed. For this I have received decided orders. Want of compliance therewith would bring on war, war with a great power and war without the aid of Spain, to-day more than ever torn by fratricidal and intestine strife, therefore indicate to you the fatal consequences of such an event? To again illustrate, in an unequal contest, the history of the Spanish people, would not save from imminent peril the integrity of the country, nor the immediate bombardment of the towns of our coast.

The situation we are now in is not new for us, nor would it be for any of the greatest empires, for all nations have had their day of adverse as well as prosperous fortune. True patriotism consists not in increasing public misfortunes, although impelled thereto by generous motives.

During the course of these lamentable events you have offered a high example of prudence. Not for a single instant has the tranquillity of the island been disturbed at any point. Continue thus to the end, however painful it may be for you to repress the ardor of your sentiments.

Let us trust that ulterior negotiations, followed in view of the original documents, which up to this it has not been able to present, and of communications more explicit than telegraphic, the only ones from which comes the agreement, will offer an occasion to balance justice and proceed to the rectification that the case demands.

Meantime, in obeying the law of necessity and the orders of the government of the Spanish republic, let us return, with her surviving crew, the steamer Virginius, which had already conducted, and was about again to conduct, munitions of war and officers and men to the camps of our enemies.

Let the people understand the extent of their duty; let not agitation diminish their dignity nor lessen the greatness of the sacrifice. Let us leave the entire facts to the impartial judgment of history.

Knowing you, I have beforehand guaranteed for the profound respect professed to the principal of the authority in this Spanish province. I depend upon the nobility of your actions to comply with my word

Your governor and captain-general,

JOAQUIN JOVELLAR.

Havana, December 11, 1873.