Mr. Dupuy de Lôme to Mr. Olney.

[Translation.]

Mr. Secretary: I communicated without delay to the minister of state of His Majesty the King of Spain the contents of the note which [Page 699] your excellency was pleased to address me on the 11th of April last, relative to the visit made by a Spanish gunboat to the American schooner William Todd in Cuban waters.

The Duke of Tetuan informs me, by a communication which I have just received, that he brought my dispatch at once to the notice of the minister of the colonies and the minister of marine, and that he sent them a copy of the inclosures which your excellency was pleased to address to me, and also the reports which had been communicated to me by the consul of Spain at Kingston.

The minister of state informs me that it appears from the documents sent by the minister of marine that the occurrence took place on the 6th day of April between the American merchant schooner William Todd and the Spanish gunboat Antonio Lopez. It appears, however, that not only is there a want of conformity in several details of minor importance, but that there is likewise a lack of conformity in the more important matter relating to the situation of the schooner. According to the captain of the schooner, that vessel was in 21° 12ʹ north latitude and 76° 30ʹ west longitude—that is to say, 8 miles from land according to the Spanish chart, corrected in 1876, and 16 miles according to the British chart of 1858, corrected in 1879.

The commander of the gunboat Antonio Lopez makes the place where the search took place to have been in 21° 23ʹ north latitude and 73° 56ʹ west longitude—that is to say, within 3 miles from the coast, and consequently within Cuban waters. The error made by the master of the schooner appears evident, if we consider that at the distance at which it is supposed to have been from the coast it is impossible to see anything therefrom; still less on a foggy day, as it appears the day was on which the occurrence in question took place, and the commander of the Antonio Lopez took as the basis of its situation a conspicuous point, namely, Cape Pepe.

I must likewise remind your excellency, in corroboration of the statements of the officer of the Spanish navy, which are not to be doubted, that the said gunboat is a vessel of very small size, and that these vessels are so built that they are unable to cruise at 16 or even 8 miles from shore, and that they are, moreover, under instructions to keep within the territorial waters.

According to the first communication addressed on the 9th of April last by the commander of the aforesaid gunboat to his superior officer, the admiral in command of the squadron of the Antilles, he sighted the schooner when the gunboat was opposite Puerto Frances, at 10 o’clock in the morning, and, in view of the circumstances relative to the wind, this agrees with the situation of the place where the search was made and the time at which it was made, viz, 1 o’clock p.m. If the situation mentioned by the captain of the William Todd were correct, the gunboat Antonio Lopez would not have been able to see the schooner, nor would she have been able, at that hour, to see the tower at Cape Pepe.

It is, moreover, improbable that the gunboat would have left the territorial waters of Cuba during the chase, because there was almost a calm, and the American vessel did not go more than a mile.

It is, therefore, not to be doubted that the schooner William Todd was in Spanish waters when she was visited by the gunboat Antonio Lopez. It is also not to be doubted, in view of the statements made by the aforesaid captain before the American consul at Kingston, that there was a delay in hoisting the flag after the captain of the schooner had been summoned in the usual way to hoist it—that is to say, by means of a blank shot. Under these circumstances the fact is well [Page 700] explained, and clearly shown, since, when the William Todd was in Spanish waters the Spanish gunboat had a perfect right to summon her captain to hoist his flag, it being the custom for a captain of a merchant vessel to raise his flag when a war vessel is sighted. The same custom prevails, as a matter of courtesy, among merchant vessels when they pass each other at sea.

As there was ground for suspicion that the flag raised was not the true one, the gunboat sent a boatswain and several seamen on board to ascertain whether it really was genuine. The commander of the gunboat did nothing more than exercise the right of investigation, which is universally recognized and accepted in international law, and to which reference is made in Article XVIII of the treaty of 1795, and in exercising that right, according to the statement made by the master of the schooner to the consul of Spain at Kingston, the Spanish officers who visited the schooner in their boat for the purpose of examining the flag which was carried acted with perfect politeness; so that there was no ground for complaint on that account.

In is also proved by official documents that it is not true that three ball shots were fired at the schooner William Todd. The commander of the Spanish gunboat declares that he fired but one blank shot, and as there was delay in hoisting the flag he ordered the cannon to be loaded, likewise with powder only, and that the shot went off owing to a defect in the apparatus.

It is further untrue that two gunboats came alongside of the schooner. The only one that did so was the Antonio Lopez. The Aguila was, however, in sight, although she took no part in the search.

The minister of state informs me that from a careful examination of this case it clearly appears that it is not similar to that of the Alliança, as stated by your excellency in your note. His Majesty’s Government admitted in that case that the American vessel was outside of Spanish waters, and in view of that fact, and as was required by law, it disavowed the course pursued by the Conde de Venadito. The contrary is now the case. The American schooner William Todd was within those waters, and consequently the course pursued by the gunboat Antonio Lopez was strictly in harmony with the principles of international law.

The upright course taken by His Majesty’s Government in the case of the Alliança is a sure guaranty that it states the facts relative to the schooner William Todd as they are, and the instructions which it has issued to the commanders of Spanish vessels are so clear and explicit that if the commander of the Antonio Lopez had violated them he would have been called to account.

I have before me the copy addressed by the minister of marine to the minister of state, and likewise a copy of the dispatches sent by the admiral in command of the squadron in the waters of the Island of Cuba and a copy of all the correspondence exchanged between the aforesaid admiral and the commander of the gunboat Antonio Lopez.

All these documents corroborate the statement which I have had the honor to communicate to your excellency, and I have no doubt that they will be regarded by you as convincing, your excellency being well aware of the friendly and loyal sentiments of the Government of His Majesty the King of Spain and of its desire scrupulously to fulfill its international duties.

I avail, etc.,

Enrique Dupuy de Lôme.