This was only a few days after the Governor had informed the Consul of the United States that it had been "decided not to allow the formation, in any British colony, of a coal depot for the use of" the vessels of war of the insurgents or the United States. After leaving Bermuda, and before attempting to enter any port of the insurgents, she destroyed one vessel. From this it will be seen that the Nashville received her entire supplies, during her career as a vessel of war, from the ports of Great Britain. THE RETRIBUTION. This was a sailing vessel of about one hundred tons measurement,2 with one small gun on deck,3 which, early in the year 1863, The Retribution. cruised for a short time about the Bahama Banks. Her first officer was Vernon Locke, who either had been, or afterwards became, a clerk for Adderley & Co., at Nassau.1 It does not appear, from the evidence furnished by either of the Governments, when or where she was armed or commissioned. She was originally a steam-tug, and employed at Buffalo, in the State of New York, upon Lake Erie. Just before the outbreak of the rebellion, she was taken into the service of the United States and brought to the Atlantic coast. Being driven by stress of weather into Cape Fear River, she was, just previous to the attack on Fort Sumter, seized by the insurgents. The United States have no knowledge of the use made of her after that time, until she appeared upon her cruise. About the 28th of January, 1863, she captured the schooner Hanover, which was taken by Locke, the first officer of the Retribution (as is supposed) to Long Cay, a small island of the Bahamas. She was accom 6 panied to that island by the schooner Brothers, owned by the Messrs. Farrington, doing business at that place. Locke, on his arrival, assumed the name of the master of the Hanover, consigned, as it appeared upon her papers, to Mr. Richard Farrington." His object was to sell the cargo, and he made a statement of the reasons which induced him to come into port, which Farrington said he "doubted," but "did not see any impropriety in his acting as the captain's agent," "inasmuch as the captain came to him properly documented." A part of the cargo was sold at Long Cay, and a part was shipped on the schooner Brothers to Nassau, and there placed in charge of James T. Farrington, esq., sen., one of the magistrates of Fortune Island, (Long Cay.) The Hanover was at the same time loaded with salt and sailed for one of the ports of the insurgents.9 Complaint as to these transactions was made to the Governor of the Bahamas on the 11th of March, and he requested the advice of the Attorney-General as to "what steps ought to be taken." The AttorneyGeneral replied, on the 16th, "that the collector of the revenue, if he had any cause to suspect the character of the vessel and cargo, should at once have arrested both." 11 On the 20th of April, a Mr. Burnside, a magistrate of Inagua, made a statement of facts, as he had ascertained them upon an inquiry instituted for that purpose.12 This statement was 7 Ibid., p. 168. Am. App., vol. vi, p. 213. 2 Brit. App., Counter Case, vol. v, p. 193. 3 Ibid., p. 190. Ibid., p. 196. 5 Am. App., vol. vi, p. 736. 6 Brit. App., Counter Case, vol. v, p. 168. 8 Ibid., 165, 189. 9 Brit. App., Counter Case, vol. v, p. 165. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid., p. 166. 12 Ibid., p. 167. laid before Mr. Seward by Lord Lyons, and, on the 24th of June, Mr. Seward took occasion to say to his lordship, that "the information thus communicated is acceptable, so far as it goes, but is not deemed altogether conclusive. There still remains a painful doubt on the mind of this Government whether the authorities and others at Long Cay were, as Mr. Burnside thinks, ignorant that the Hanover was a prize to the Retribution. I shall be happy if the inquiry shall be prosecuted so far as may be necessary to show that the undoubted just intentions of Her Majesty's Government have been obeyed." Lord Lyons, on the 30th of June, informed Mr. Seward that he should "lose no time in communicating this request to Her Majesty's Government and to the governor of the Bahamas." 2 The inquiry does not, however, seem to have been prosecuted, or, if it was, the United States have not been advised of the result. 1 4 In May the Attorney-General caused Locke to be arrested for the offense committed by his personation of the master of the Hanover, and, upon a preliminary examination of the charge before a police magistrate, about the 26th of July, it appeared that the business at the customs at Long Cay was transacted principally by Mr. Richard Farrington, who was the agent or consignee, and who, when examined and confronted by the defendant, "could not swear to his being the person who represented himself as * the master of the schooner * * * but believed him to be the person." The police justice, in reporting upon the case, at the request of the colonial secretary, on the 10th of March, 1864, says Farrington "would" not swear to the identity. After this the accused was let to bail, in the sum of £100, for his appearance at court for trial. He was tried in the following May at Nassau, but acquitted, as the evidence was not sufficient to satisfy a jury, selected from that locality, of his identity. An examination of the testimony, however, as it is found reported in the British Appendix, Counter Case, vol. v, pp. 188 et seq., will, we think, hardly satisfy the minds of the Arbitrators that "the authorities and others at Long Cay were ignorant that the Hanover was a prize to the Retribution." It may, however, show why it was that the inquiry suggested by Mr. Seward had not ben prosecuted. On the 19th of February the American brig Emily Fisher, on a voyage from Guantonomo, Cuba, to New York, while near Castle Island, one of the Bahamas, and in British waters, was boarded by the British wrecking-schooner Emily Adderley. What then occurred is told in the affidavit of the master of the brig, as follows: That having questioned the captain of the said vessel [Emily Adderley] closely, he was told that there were no privateers, or steamers, in the passage; that soon afterward the schooner hauled down the British flag and then hoisted it again; that at the same time he saw a schooner coming out from under the land, but was told that she was a wrecking-schooner; that soon after this said schooner came under the lee of the brig and sent a shot across her bows, at the same time running up the rebel flag; that she then sent a boat with eight men well armed on board, and ordered him on board the schooner with all his papers; that on arriving on board, the captain, after examining his papers, told him that he was a prize to the confederate schooner Retribution, and ordered him and his crew to be put into irons, which was done; that at noon the irons were removed from himself and the first officer, and they were allowed the privilege of the cabin; that all this time the brig was working up under the land, where five British wrecking-schooners were anchored; that the privateer anchored about one and one-half miles from the shore, when, at about 3 p. m., a wrecker's boat came alongside; that after some conversation with the crew in a loud voice, the captain of the privateer told them in an undertone to have two vessels alongside the brig that night; that at about 5 p. m. they ran the brig on shore, and ten or twelve wreckers' boats went alongside of her; that at 6 p. m. Mr. Grey, the officer in charge of the brig, came on board the privateer, and the deponent was then told he could have his boat to go on board the brig and take what personal property Mr. Price might see fit to give him; that he found two wrecking-schooners alongside and about one hundred men on board the brig; that having taken the personal effects into the boat he landed on Acklin's Island, made a tent, and passed the night; that the next day the wreckers were still alongside; that he went on board the brig, she being then afloat, and made a claim on the wreckers for the brig and cargo. He was told he could not have her, and that if the anchor was lifted the privateer would sink her; that he then protested against removing any more of the cargo, as the brig was afloat and was in British waters, but the protest was disregarded; that the next day the wreckers had an interview with the captain of the privateer, and at 1 p. m. sent him word that they were going to a port of entry and that the deponent and his crew could go with them; that at 2 p. m. the privateer, the brig, and all the wreckers started for Long Cay, and arrived there about 8 p. m. the same day; that the wrecker, on board which were deponent and his crews, was anchored under the guns of the privateer, which kept a guard all night, while Mr. Grey and Mr. Price, two officers, went over to town; that on Monday, 23d, the deponent went also to town, and after making inquiry, found that the captain of the privateer would not allow him to go on board the brig; and that the deponent was told by the authorities that though the law would not allow the privateer to touch the brig, if he wished to do so they had no means of preventing him; that the deponent was not able to obtain possession of the brig until after he had bargained with the wreckers to pay them 50 per cent. on the cargo, and 333 per cent. on the vessel, when, after making affidavit of his being the master, he was placed in possession by the collector and went on board; that he found the hull, spars, and rigging in good order, but everything movable, on and under deck, stolen; that on the next day, 24th, he commenced receiving sugar from the wreckers, and on the 25th found on board eighty-three hogsheads, five tierces, and four barrels, the balance of cargo having been taken ashore by the wreckers; that the wreckers stove hogsheads and barrels, and passed the sugar into their boats, and landed it on the beach; that the captain of the privateer told him, the deponent, that he had given the cargo to the wreckers, as he wanted the brig; that he was going to put his guns on board of her, and destroy his schooner; that he further told the deponent that the wreckers were to pay him something handsome, and that the deponent believes they did so; that deponent was obliged to accept the wreckers' terms at the port of entry, because the brig lay under the guns of the privateer, and the authorities declared their inability to protect him. And the deponent further says, that the capture of his vessel and the destruction of her cargo were brought about by and with the connivance and assistance of the captains and crews of the British wrecking-schooners, and within the jurisdiction of the British government, where he was entitled to protection, but could not obtain it until he had submitted to the terms of the wreckers, all of whom were British subjects, through whose connivance the vessel had been stranded and the cargo destroyed.1 After this, (the 19th of February,) and before the 8th of March, the Retribution entered the port of Nassau as an insurgent vessel of war.2 The "special leave" called for by the regulations of the British Government, under date of January 31st, 1862,3 seems never to have been asked for or granted. Her commander was not even called upon for his commission. All that occurred upon her arrival is thus stated by the pilot : She had a small gun on deck. The captain told me he was from Long Cay. I asked the captain where he was from. He answered, "Long Cay." I saw from the look of the vessel and the appearance of the crew, their clothing, that she was likely to be an armed vessel. I then asked him if she was a vessel of war. I begged him to excuse my being so particular, as I was instructed to do so, to put such questions. He told me she was an armed vessel." 4 On the 3d of March, which was eight days before the complaint was made to the Governor on account of the capture of the Hanover, and two weeks after the transactions with the Emily Fisher, in which the "wrecking-schooner Emily Adderley" took so prominent a part, Henry Adderley & Co. sold, or pretended to sell, the Retribution, in the port of Nassau, at public sale, to C. R. Perpali & Co., for £250. On the 26th 1 Brit. App., Counter Case, vol. v, p. 190. 2 Brit. App., Counter Case, vol. v, p. 196. 3 Ante, p. 296. 4 Am. App.,vol. vi, p. 738. of the same month, Perpall & Co. sold her for the same amount to Thomas Stead, and he, on the 10th of April, obtained for her a register as a British ship.1 Previous to her sale she was condemned by a board of survey, Perpall, the ostensible purchaser, being one of the board.3 THE TALLAHASSEE. The Tallahassee. It will be remembered by the Arbitrators that, when presenting for their consideration the facts connected with the claim of the United States for acts committed by the Shenandoah, we had occasion to call their attention to a letter written by the insurgent Secretary of the Navy to a Mr. Charles Green, bearing date as early as the 1st of July, 1861, in which, referring to the purchase of vessels to be used as transports, and the shipment of arms, &c., from England for the use of the insurgents, it was said: "It is probable that, being a British subject, you might secure the shipment under British colors."4 Less than fifty days after the date of that letter, Mr. Adams, in addressing Earl Russell upon the subject of the "transport Bermuda, and the information he had obtained as the ground for an application for a prompt and effective investigation of the truth of the allegations whilst there is time," called his lordship's attention to the fact that "she is stated to carry English colors."5 From that time until the end of the rebellion, the fact that the blockade-running, and the transportation of articles contraband of war, for the use of the insurgents, was carried on, almost exclusively, under the protection of the English flag, became very frequently the subject of direct complaint by Mr. Adams to Earl Russell. The correspondence upon this subject will be found collected in volume I of the American Appendix, pages 719 to 785, and it shows conclusively that the insurgent Government was in the constant practice of procuring a British registry, and of using the British flag, for all or nearly all transports. We also claim that it shows that this practice was tolerated by Great Britain. As late as the 20th of January, 1865, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bermuda, in communicating with the home government, took occasion to say: "I would further state that the Chameleon's register is Confederate States. Hence there is another legal question to which I should be glad to have an answer, viz, is a merchant-ship, sailing under the flag of, and registered by, an unrecognized nation, to be received in our ports on the same terms as a trader under a recognized flag? I find that this is not the first instance of a ship trading hither with a confederate register, though most of the blockade-runners are British." On the 31st of March, 1864, the Consul of the United States at London informed Mr. Seward that "on the Thames their activity in forwarding all enterprises in aid of the Confederacy is kept up with nearly as much vigor as on the Clyde. Another double screw, called the Atlanta, similar in most respects to those which have preceded her, has her sails bent, coals and supplies in, appears quite ready to leave." Again, on the 1st of April, he says: "The double screw is called the Atlanta. Her sails are bent, and she appears quite ready for sea. I consider the Edith and her the finest ships of the whole batch of double screws." 1 On the 8th of April, it was reported to the Consul that "this double screw [the Atlanta] left the docks on Sunday last, adjusted compasses same day, and sailed on the 4th of April from Greenhithe, and arrived at Falmouth on the next day. She cleared for Bermuda in ballast, (coal.)"2 On the 20th she arrived in Bermuda, making the passage in eleven days. The Consul at Bermuda says, in his report to Mr. Seward: "This vessel is undoubtedly faster than any heretofore here. She is to be under the command of Captain Horner, formerly of the Flora, and recently in the Index. He is an Englishman by birth."3 Again, on the 30th of May, he says: "The following steamers [six in all] have left here to run the blockade, probably for Wilmington. * May 24, Atlanta, Horner, master." * On the 6th of August the Atlanta, with her name changed to the Tallahassee, left Wilmington, North Carolina, armed as a vessel of war, and ran the blockade of that port. On the 18th of the same month she arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, for coal, having, in the mean time, destroyed a large number of vessels. She remained in port about forty hours, and, having supplied herself with coal for her return, sailed on the 19th, and again reached Wilmington through the blockade on the 26th.5 The United States, having had reason to believe she had been armed at Bermuda, complained to the Government of Great Britain. The matter was referred to the authorities at Bermuda, and on the 14th of November, 1864, the Lieutenant-Governor reported: The Atlanta was reported here from Wilmington, with cargo, on the 6th of last July, and she was cleared on the 11th of July for Nassau, with a cargo of seven hundred cases of preserved meats, and fifty casks of bacon; she left under British certificate of registry, and carrying British merchandise. All the requisites to a regular clearance were fulfilled. If she went to Wilmington, as is probably the case, notwithstanding her having cleared for Nassau, she would have reached that port about the 15th or 16th of July, between which dates and the 1st of August she probably took in her armament. Everything, except direct testimony, is against the belief that the Tallahassee was armed at Bermuda.6 The Tallahassee remained in commission until the 15th of December, 1864, and cruised for a short time off the coast, in the early part of November, under the name of the Olustee. On this cruise she made a few captures, and returned to Wilmington. After her armament was removed she was loaded with cotton, and, on the 27th of December, under the name of the Chameleon, left Wilmington, for Bermuda. At that port she was loaded with a return cargo for Wilmington, but, being unable to run the blockade, proceeded to Nassau. From there she attempted to get into Charleston, but, being prevented in this, returned to Bermuda; and from there went to Liverpool, consigned to Frazer, Trenholm & Co.9 |