that Captain John Chase, who commanded the privateer Potosi, (alias the Spartan of Baltimore,) and more than thirty persons belonging to her crew, had arrived at Baltimore, of whom four had given very detailed declarations respecting the capture of the Spanish vessel, the Ciencia, of her halting-place, and of the existence in Baltimore, in the possession of Mr. Henry Didier, of plunder to the amount of more than $20,000; and requested that the Government would interpose its authority to give effect to the prosecution which the consul of His Majesty had set on foot against the person of Chase; and to the legal proceeding under which he has succeeded in attaching, in the hands of Mr. Didier, the said interests; and under date of the 22d of same month I inclosed a list of these effects, which were in the hands of Mr. Didier.

I have not as yet had the honor to receive an answer to any of the above-mentioned notes; and I have just understood that the authorities at Baltimore, contemning the evidence of the four witnesses who had presented themselves, and the entry in the custom-house, in the name of Didier, of the effects robbed from the Spaniards, have permitted the. said Captain Chase to go very tranquilly to Norfolk, to enjoy the fruits of his depredation; that, with universal scandal, and notwithstanding the character of Captain Barnes as a pirate was established by the decision of the court of the United States in Boston, which had declared as illegitimate his prize, the Spanish schooner Pastora, and ordered that she should be restored to her owners, he had sailed from Baltimore, with his privateer, Mongore, as soon as the ice permitted, and gone down the bay to go to sea, to repeat his cruelties; without its having been possible for the consul of the King to get the declaration of Barnes and his people taken as to what had been the lot of the crews of the Spanish vessels which they had captured; declarations which, not only by the laws of nations, but by the more sacred law of humanity, should have been taken, considering the vehement and well-founded suspicions there were that they had assassinated all the individuals who had had the misfortune to fall into their hands.

[105]

*In consideration, then, of the excesses committed against the subjects of the King, my master, and of those which, from the impunity and toleration on the part of the authorities of this country, are in a state to be repeated, with vessels purchased, armed, manned, and equipped in the ports of these States, contrary to all the laws of nations, to the express stipulations of the treaty which exists between the two countries, and to the laws of humanity itself, I cannot do less, in discharge of my obligation, than to represent and reclaim, in the name of my sovereign, the damages and injuries which have resulted and may hereafter result to his subjects, and to protest against the authors of all of them. At the same time I cannot omit to beg you, with earnestness, to be pleased to inform me of the measures which this Government may have taken, for the purpose of having restored to the Spanish owners the effects of which they have been robbed, and also to ascertain the fate of the unfortunate crews of the Spanish vessels which have been captured and destroyed by the two pirates above mentioned, as likewise by the other two, called the Orb and the Romp, that were, in like manner, armed in Baltimore.

I hope you will have the goodness to give me the information I ask, that I may bring it to the knowledge of the King, my master.

I renew, &c.,
(Signed)

LUIS DE ONIS.

No. 11.

Don Luis de Onis to Mr. Rush.

[Translation.]

WASHINGTON, March 15, 1817.

SIR: I had the honor to receive your note of the 13th instant, in which, by order of the President, you inclose a copy of the act passed by Congress on the 3d, entitled "An act more effectually to preserve the neutral relations of the United States," by which the President trusts that my government will perceive a new proof, on the part of the United States, of a desire to cultivate just and friendly dispositions toward Spain.

I cannot but be highly gratified by all those occasions on which the Government of these States manifests a disposition corresponding with that entertained by the King, my master, to maintain and strengthen the amicable relations subsisting between the two nations; and I therefore hope that the President will cause the most effectual measures to be taken to enforce an observance of this law by the officers of this Government, with greater exactness than has hitherto been paid to the existing laws, and to the express stipulations of the present treaty between

the two nations.

I shall embrace the first opportunity to transmit a copy of this act to my court, for the information of my sovereign; and with renewed assurances, &c.,

SIR: I have just been informed that there have entered at Norfolk two pirates, under the flag of Buenos Ayres, the principal of which is called the Independencia del Sud, armed with sixteen guns, and 150 men; her captain is the well-known pirate called Commodore Chaytor. The second is the schooner Romp, which, to enter into that port, has changed her name to that of Atrevida; she has a crew of seventy men, and appeared to be commanded by a person called Grinnolds. Both vessels were built and fitted out at Baltimore, belong to citizens of that place, and others in this republic, and their crews and captains are of the same. Their entrance into Norfolk has been public, to revictual, and return to their cruise against the subjects of the King, my master; but their principal object is to place in safety the fruits of their piracies, which must be of great importance, if we attend to the information from Havana, which states that they have robbed a single Spanish vessel coming from Vera Cruz, of $90,000; and to the fact that on the 21st of the present month they had deposited $60,000 in the Bank of Norfolk, had landed a number of packages of cochineal, and had declared that they had taken to the amount of $290,000. I am informed that the person called Commodore Chaytor was about to set out for Baltimore, H. Ex. 282, vol. iii—12

probably to settle accounts, and divide his robberies with the persons interested in the outfit. It is a circumstance worthy of remark, that these two pirates saluted the fort at Norfolk, and that it returned the salute upon the same terms as would have been done with a vessel of war of my sovereign, or of any other nation acknowledged by all independent powers.

It would be superfluous to take up much time in representing to you how sensible my sovereign and likewise all maritime nations must be to see that their flags are treated on an equality with pirates in the territory of this Union. So obvious a reflection cannot be withheld from your knowledge and that of the President. I therefore do not doubt that if, as I persuade myself there has been, a mistake in the honors paid to these pirates, you will be pleased to disapprove of the conduct of the commander of the fort, and give suitable orders to prevent its happening in future.

At the same time that I expect this measure from the justice of the President, I claim, in the name of the King, my master, that all steps be taken for the arrest of these pirates, whether they be at Norfolk, or that they repair, as is probable, to Baltimore, where their principal associates are; that they be proceeded against according to the act of

Congress of the 3d instant, and to the stipulations *of the treaty [106] between His Majesty and this Republic; that legal means be

taken to ascertain all the captures made by them during their cruise, the fate of the Spanish crews that have fallen into their hands, and the places of deposit of the property taken from on board them, in order that by attaching the same by the competent tribunals, it may be held for the disposal of the owners who may prove their property.

This request being, moreover, founded in justice, is supported by the friendly sentiments of this Government toward His Catholic Majesty, by the assurances which the President has given to me of his sincere desire to put an end to a piracy which, although in opposition to the sentiments of the administration, highly compromits the dignity and character of a people distinguished for its rectitude, morality, and its refined virtue. I therefore cannot but confidently hope that you will enable me to inform my government of the measures which may be taken in this matter.

SIR: The pirate Orb, fitted out at Baltimore, under the name of the Congress, and flag of Buenos Ayres, commanded by Joseph Almeida, a Portuguese, and a citizen of this republic, has had the audacity to return and enter the said port, there to deposit a part of his robberies. The piratical character of this vessel is as fully acknowledged, as it is proved that she was armed and manned with people of this country, and of others in the above-mentioned port, and that she had made different prizes in the neighborhood of Cadiz and other points; since there now

is in the port of New York the Spanish polacre, the Leona, captured by her, whose cargo, consisting of $200,000, is concealed where it is not known; and in the same port of Baltimore there are deposited the proceeds of the Spanish brig Sereno and her cargo, captured by the same vessel. No evidence can, in my judgment, be offered which gives greater certainty to facts so notorious. If by chance anything could be added thereto, it would be the acknowledgment of their atrocities. Nevertheless, I have the mortification to say, that neither this notoriety nor the reclamations of His Majesty's consul at that port have as yet been sufficient to produce those steps which are required by humanity to secure the person of this notorious pirate, to take the declarations of the crew, and to prevent their enjoying their plunder to the prejudice of the lawful owners.

I think it my duty to bring this incident to your knowledge, and I doubt not that the President, when informed thereof by you, will take it into the serious consideration which it merits, and give the most positive orders that a suit be instituted against this pirate, that an attachment be laid on all his property and funds wheresoever they may be placed throughout this republic; and that they be held at the disposal of those owners who may prove their property.

As I propose to dispatch a messenger in a few days to my government, and it will be very agreeable to me to give to His Majesty an assur ance that the United States are seriously disposed to put an end to the injuries resulting to Spain from the non-observance of the treaty between the two nations, I will thank you to inform me, as speedily as possible, of the measures which may be taken in this case, and in that on which I address you in a separate dispatch.

I renew, &c.,
(Signed)

LUIS DE ONIS.

No. 14.

Mr. Rush to Don Luis de Onis.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, March 28, 1817.

SIR: I have had the honor to receive your two notes, dated the 26th of this month, stating that you have been informed that two armed vessels, which have been committing unauthorized depredations upon the commerce of Spain, have recently arrived at Norfolk, and that a third, liable to the same charge, has arrived at Baltimore, thus bringing themselves within the reach of those laws against which, in the above and in other ways, it is alleged they have offended.

Conformably to the constant desire of this Government to vindicate the authority of its laws and the faith of its treaties, I have lost no time in writing to the proper officers, both at Norfolk and Baltimore, in order that full inquiry may be made into the allegations contained in your notes, and adequate redress and punishment enforced, should it appear that the laws have been infringed by any of the acts complained of.

I use the present occasion to acknowledge, also, the receipt of your note of the 14th of this month, which you did me the honor to address to me, communicating information that had reached you of other and like infractions of our laws within the port of Baltimore; in relation to which I have to state that letters were also written to the proper offi

cers in that city, with a view to promote every fit measure of investigation and redress. Should it prove necessary I will have the honor to address you more fully at another time upon the subjects embraced in these several notes. In the mean time I venture to assure myself, that in the readiness with which they have thus far been attended [107] to, you* will perceive a spirit of just conciliation on the part of this Government, as well as a prompt sensibility to the rights of your

SIR: By your note of yesterday I am apprised that the President, on being informed by the notes to which you have replied, of the audacity with which the pirates armed in this country introduce into it the fruits of their robberies, has been pleased to give suitable orders to the authorities at Norfolk and Baltimore that, having ascertained the facts which I have brought to his knowledge, they should duly proceed according to law against the violators of the laws of this republic. The district attorney for the United States at Baltimore has replied to the King's consul there that he has no evidence upon which he can proceed against Captain Almeida; but if a witness should offer who will depose to the facts referred to, he will proceed to order an embargo to be laid on his vessel. I am perfectly aware that good order, the personal security of individuals, and the prevention of any violence being committed upon them, require that suits should be instituted according to the rules of court; but when a crime is notorious to all and is doubted by none, when the tranquillity and security of the State, the honor of the nation, and the respect that independent powers owe to each other are interested in putting a stop to crimes so enormous as those I have had the honor to denounce to you, it appears to me that the magistrates are authorized to collect a summary body of information, to inquire whether the public opinion is doubtful, and if there be ground to institute a suit. The collector of the customs cannot be ignorant that the three vessels which I have named to you were built and fitted out at Baltimore; that they were cleared at that custom-house as Americans; that their crews were, at their departure, composed of citizens of this Únion, as were their captains; and that the effects which they have landed can only come from Spanish countries. What stronger testimony, if more is wanted, than their own declaration can be desired to proceed against these pirates?

The ship's papers, the declarations of the crews, the log-book, are all testimony which can throw light upon the truth or falsehood of the crime alleged, and make it unnecessary to trouble them until it be ascertained that there is ground for proceeding judicially against them.

It must have been known to you, sir, that, when the rebel Mina had armed and equipped at Baltimore for the purpose of attacking the dominions of the King, His Majesty's consul presented two declarations