The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador ( Spring Rice )
My Dear Mr. Ambassador: I have received your formal note of the 31st ultimo, in which you request that as the Appam had violated the neutrality of the United States by her staying in port up to the beginning of the suit now pending against her, such violation of American neutrality be called to the court’s attention by the proper representatives of the Department of Justice on behalf of the Government of the United States, and that application be made to the court to direct the return of the vessel to the owners upon due proof of their ownership and of the facts constituting a violation of neutrality.
In reply, allow me to say that as the vessel was in American jurisdiction up until the time of the filing of the suit against her, pending [Page 735] consideration of the question as to whether she was entitled to the privileges claimed for her by the German Government by virtue of Article 19 of the treaty of 1799, and as this Government reached a decision on that question only after the libel had been filed, I am unable to accept your suggestion that the presence of the Appamin American waters, in the circumstances, constituted a violation of the neutrality of the United States. Holding this view, I regret that I am unable to comply with your request to have official representations made to the court in the sense of your note under acknowledgment.
I am [etc.]