No. 255.
Mr. Moran
to Mr. Fish.
Legation of
the United States,
Lisbon
,
December 23, 1876.
(Received January 13, 1877.)
No. 111.]
Sir: For the information of the Department, I
inclose herewith copies of a brief correspondence which has recently passed
between myself and Mr. Corvo, in respect to the coral-reef discovered on the
17th November last by Lieutenant-Commander Gorringe, of the United States
ship Gettysburg, between Fayal and Cape St. Vincent. Commander Gorringe
wrote me from Gibraltar on the subject on the 27th of November and intimated
a wish to have the discovery made known here. Believing that the facts might
prove useful to commerce and science, I sent them to the Portuguese
Government. I have observed that an account of the discovery is going the
rounds of the English newspapers.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 111.]
Mr. Moran to Mr.
Corvo.
Legation of the United States,
Lisbon
,
December 5,
1876.
Sir: For the information of His Most Faithful
Majesty’s government, I beg to acquaint you that I have received a
communication from Lieutenant-Commander H. H. Gorringe, commanding the
United States steamship Gettysburg, dated at Gibraltar the 27th ultimo,
in which he states that on his passage from Fayal to Gibraltar he
discovered a submarine mountain 17,000 feet in height above the adjacent
sea-bottom, the summit of which is capped with a coral bank, on which he
anchored his ship in thirty-two fathoms during the night of November 17
and day of November 18, of 1876. The anchorage lies 130£ miles south,
75° west (true) from Cape St. Vincent, in latitude 36° 30′ north,
longitude 11° 38′ west of Greenwich. Lieutenant-Commander Gorringe will
soon return to search for dangerous depths, which he believes exist
there. [Page 455] He adds to this
interesting information that the coral is of delicate pink shades and
doubtless of value.
Should your excellency deem it of sufficient interest to the public and
to science and commerce to make this valuable discovery known, I shall
be much gratified.
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your excellency the
assurances of my highest consideration.
His Excellency João de Andrade
Corvo,
&c., &c.,
&c.
[Inclosure 3 in No.
111.—Translation.]
Mr. Corvo to Mr.
Moran.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Direction of Consulates and Commercial
Affairs.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s note of
the 5th instant, in which you inform me of the discovery of a
coral-capped reef which the commander of the United States ship
Gettysburg discovered on the 17th of November last on his passage from
Fayal to Gibraltar.
The competent department and persons interested in this will give
publicity to the contents of the note in which your excellency
communicates this important discovery.
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your excellency the
assurances of my highest consideration.
Foreign Office, 9th December,
1876.
JOÃO DE ANDRADE CORVO.
Mr. Benjamin Moran,
&c., &c., &c.
