 |
[Footnote 8: Cabanas, 35 miles west of Havana.]
[Footnote 9: A German living in Georgia, see doc. no. 194, paragraph 5.]
[Footnote 10: Also a resident of Georgia (ibid.); constable of Frederica some years before, Col. Rec. Ga., VI. 210.]
[Footnote 11: See doc. no. 185.]
3ly. That all the Papers was the Licence and some Letters for some Merch'ts at Kingston in Jamaica. That said Licence was for said Schooner to go from Port Trinity to Port Mansanillo[12] which Licence and said Papers was taken from said Don Phelipe Ybanes by said Richd. Haddon by Force. That he this Deponent as soon as he came on board the Privateer shewed Richd. Haddon his Licence.
[Footnote 12: Manzanillo is on the south coast of Cuba, two hundred miles east of Trinidad, and thus on the way to Jamaica! It should be mentioned that export of provisions from Cuba to Jamaica was forbidden by Spanish regulations.]
4ly. That at the time of the Seizure of said Schooner, the Cargoe consisted of the following particulars—Six Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy five Spanish Heavy Dollars,[13] Six Hundred and Sixteen Dollars in Dobloons, two Hundred and Eighty Dollars in Gold Trinkets, a Bag[14] of Indigo [of] 125 lbs., the greatest part of the Schooners Provisions, the Spanish Colours, about 50 lbs. Gun Powder, Six Swivel Guns, about twenty Balls, a Box Sweetmeats Value Forty Dollars, and fourteen Hangers—all which belonged to this Deponent and other Spanish Subjects now in New York.
[Footnote 13: Pesos fuertes, Mexican hard dollars.]
[Footnote 14: Elsewhere kagg, keg.]
5ly. That said Richd. Haddon when he met with the said Spanish Schooner fired a Ball at her notwithstanding she had her Spanish Colours Flying and had brought to to speak with said Haddon and the Reason that induced said Deponent not to make the most of his way from said Privateer was that he knew the two Crowns of England and Spain to be in Friendship. That the Privateer Boat came on board said Spanish Schooner with a Lieut. Christop'r Miller[15] by Name and seven more Seamen. That he this Deponent shewed said Lieut. his Licence telling him at the same time that they were Spaniards and the Vessel and Cargoe Span'h property, From whence they came and whither Bound. That said Lieut. and People seemed very Civil and Regular till they discovered the Money which as soon as they had done, they Insisted on the Spaniards having run away with it and gave that as a pretence for Seising it which they did and carryed the same away by Force with other particulars already mentioned by this Deponent. That said Richd. Haddon did order this Deponent and all the People (except two or three) on board the Privateer and there treated them as Prisoners, said Haddon being on board. That he this Deponent told said Haddon from whence he came and where he was bound to and that he was a Subject of Spain and declared that Himself was Commander of said Schooner when she Sailed from the Havana and that he shewed said Haddon his Licence and other Papers. That said Haddon did not declare that he would carry the said Schooner to the Havana, on the contrary this Deponent and the People belonging to the Spanish Schooner were very desirous of it and requested of him to carry them there. That said Rd. Haddon's Lieut. and People did by Force and Violence Seize said Money and Effects and carry them away against the Consent and Solisitation of this Deponent and people belonging to said Spanish Schooner. That said Span'h Schooner was at that time in good Order and well Conditioned both as to her Hull, Sails and Rigging and fitt to come to New York. That this Depont. desired of sd. Rd. Haddon that the Money might be Counted but sd. Haddon Refused it. That when this Deponent and People were brought on board the Privateer they were all of them Searched and Money and Effects taken from the Several following Persons. From Miguel Fuentes 1 pair Silver Buckles and 1 pair Gold Buttons, From Don Geronimo de la Cal 1 pair of silver Buckles and a Ring, From Pablo Antonio Corea 1 pr Silver Buckles, From Cayetano Peres 1 pair Silver Buckles and four Dollars. All these were taken from the People beside the Money and Effects brought from on board the Spanish Schooner. That said Rd. Haddon never told them that he would proceed to New York in order to Lybel the Money and Effects aforesaid but on the Contrary Endeavoured to Conceal his Name and from whence he came as much as possible from this Deponent and his people. That there never was any Agreement between this Deponent and his People with Rd Haddon or anything like it relating to the Money and Effects aforesaid. That said Richd. Haddon's Lieut. Chrsr. Miller by Name, with some of the Mariners belonging to said Privateer, did treat this Deponent and Comp'y belonging to said Spanish Schooner with threatning and abusive Language on Returning them on board said Spanish Vessel. That said Rd. Haddon did not offer to bring this Depont. and People to New York, for as was declared before He did not mention New York nor did this Deponent and People know he came from thence. That said Rd. Haddon did take from on board said Spanish Schooner and carry away with him in the said private Vessel of War, two Passengers by Names Henry Myerhoffer and Willm. Abbot both subjects of Great Britn. That this Deponent did Request said Richd. Haddon to carry him to some Eng'h Port but was refused. That he this Deponent did Request from said Richd. Haddon a Receipt or Certificate Acknowledging that he the sd Rd. Haddon had taken from on board the said Span'h Schooner the Money and Effects aforesaid, which said Deponent Requested in order to shew as a proof of what had happened to him. That the said Richd. Haddon did thereupon give this Deponent a Receipt or Certificate, but afterwards said Receipt was Demanded from him by the said Christopher Miller which this Deponent Refusing to Return, said Chrisr. Miller did by Threats, Force and Violence take said Receipt or Certificate from this said Deponent as they were in a Boat in their Return on board said Spanish Schooner.
[Footnote 15: A nephew of Jasper Farmer; C.F. Billopp, History of Thomas and Ann Billopp Farmer, pp. 45, 46.]
6ly. To this Interrogatory can say Nothing.
7ly. That said Spanish Schooner after the Transaction aforesaid did Return to the Havana, where he this Deponent was informed by some Frenchmen that had been taken by said Rd. Haddon since this Deponent, that sd Haddon had proceeded in said Private Vessel of War to Sta. Lucea[16] on the Island of Jamaica, whereupon this Deponent determined to go there in Quest of him in order to procure Satisfaction for the Injury he had Received from him. That shortly after the Arrival of this Deponent at the Havana, an English Man of War came into that Port. That He this Deponent made Application to the Capn. for his Advice and Assistance, who thereupon gave him a Certificate to the Governour and the Admiral Stationed at Jamaica. That this Deponent thereupon proceeded to Santa Lucea but said Rd. Haddon was sailed from thence before this Deponent arrived there. That said Haddon was at Santa Lucea fifteen Days as this Deponent was Informed. That he there met with the two aforesaid Englishmen, that this Depont. had taken Passengers in his Schooner, but were carryed away by said Richd. Haddon. That this Deponent proceeded afterward with said Spanish Schooner to Kingston on Jamaica and there made his Complaints to the Governor and Admiral against Rd. Haddon.[17] That the said two Englishmen who had been Passengers in said Spanish Schooner, did make Oath before the Governor of Jamaica of the Transactions of said Rd. Haddon his Officers and People. That the Exhibits now Shewn him marked A No 1 and No 2 are the Affidavits lay'd before the Governor of Jamaica in support of the Truth of the Complaints made by him this Deponent against said Rd. Haddon, his Officers and People which this Deponent brought with him from Jamaica to New York. That the Name Subscribed to the Affidavit in the Exhibit marked A No 1 is his own Hand Writing and attested as Expressed in said Instrument of Writing. That said Henry Myerhoffer did Subscribe his Name to the Affidavit and that he knows that to be his Hand Writing in the Exhibit marked A No 2, and that he attested the same in manner therein Expressed. That Admiral Townsend in pursuance of the said Complaint and proofs Dispatched a small Man of War under his Command in pursute of said Richd. Haddon in order to bring said Schooner Peggy into Port Royal[18] on the Island of Jamaica aforesaid.
[Footnote 16: Now Lucea, at the northwest corner of the island.]
[Footnote 17: Henry Moore, lieutenant governor, was acting as governor. The preceding governor, Vice-Adm. Charles Knowles, had lately removed the seat of government from Spanish Town to Kingston.]
[Footnote 18: Port Royal, on the south side of Kingston harbor, was the first capital of the island; but probably Ybanez means the harbor.]
8ly. That this Deponent did afterward Return to The Havana and Arrived there on or about the 16 May 1757. That said Admiral Townsend did afterward arrive at the Havana and Advised this Deponent to proceed to New York not doubting but he would receive Satisfaction for the Injury done him by said Rd. Haddon his Officers and Crew belonging to said Schooner Peggy and that in Case he should not Receive the Satisfaction he Expected, then to proceed with the Affidavits to London to demand it there. That said Admiral being then in the Havana gave him a Letter to the Gover'r of New York Recommending to him to procure Justice to be done to this Deponent.
9ly. Does not belong to this Deponent to Ansr.
Lastly, He says that he knows of nothing further Necessary to or Concerning these Interrogatories.
PHELIPE YBANES.
Examined the 2d of September Anno Dom 1758. (Assisted by Garrat Noel Sworn Spanish Interpreter) RICH'D NICHOLLS, Regr.[19]
[Footnote 19: The document is endorsed as filed Sept. 2.]
188. Libel of Felipe Ybanez. September 27, 1758.
Province of New York } To the Honourable Lewis Court of Vice Admiralty } Morris Esqr. Commissary and judge of the Court of Vice Admiralty for the Province of New York.
The Lybel and Claim of Philip y Banes otherwise called Philip Vanes, otherwise called Philip de Francis,
Humbly Sheweth,
That he the said Philip is a Native of St. Lucar in the Dominions of Spain and a subject of his Catholick Majesty, and an Inhabitant of the Havannah in the Dominions of his said Catholick Majesty, and that he the said Philipe was at the Time of the Capture herein after mentioned Master and sole Owner of a certain Spanish Schooner called La Virgin del Rosario y el Sancto Christo de buen Voyage: That being on a Voyage from Trinidada, and having a Passport for Mansennello he went to the Havannah leaving his said Schooner at a Landing Place about eight Leagues distant from thence called Vanes[1] and there in Pursuance of a Proposal which had been for that Purpose made to him before he had left Trinidada aforesaid on the 10th of November one Thousand seven hundred and fifty six entered into a written Agreement with Caleb Davis[2] of the English Nation and Transiently in that City, the Purport of which Agreement was that he should carry in his said Schooner one Henry Myerhoeffer and one Wm. Abbot an Englishman to Port Royal on the Island of Jamaica carrying with them certain Papers and Letters relating to an Affair with which he the said Davis was charged in Virtue of an Order from his Sovereign the King of Great Britain, who were to remit to him the said Caleb certain Merchandize which he had given them Orders to send on his Account and Risque for the Supply of his urgent Necessities which when complyed with he obliged himself to pay to the said Philip the sum of one thousand Dollars without Delay, as by the said Agreement ready to be produced may appear; That after his having made the said Agreement, his said schooner being at the said Landing Place called Vane's he took on Board the said Schooner the said Henry Myerhoffer and Wm. Abbot and their Letters and Papers and Eight other Persons, all subjects of his Catholick Majesty, who engaged to go as Passengers in the said Schooner to the said Island of Jamaica. And the said Philip further saith that he had also on Board his said Schooner one Mate or Pilot and six Marriners to navigate the said Schooner who were all likewise Subjects of his said Catholick Majesty and among other Goods had on board the said Schooner several Bags of Money which contained In silver to the Amount of six Thousand nine hundred and seventy five mill'd Dollars, and in Gold the Value of six hundred and sixteen mill'd Pieces of Eight and divers Gold Rings and other Trinkets to the Value of two hundred and eighty mill'd Pieces of Eight, six Pateraroes[3] of the Value of sixteen Pounds, a Parcel of Gun Powder containing in quantity about fifty Pounds of the Value of Eight Pounds, one Bag of Indigo containing in quantity about one hundred and fifty Pounds of the Value of sixty Pounds, and a Chest of Sweetmeats which cost in the Havannah forty Dollars of the value of sixteen pounds, fourteen Spanish Machets[4] of the Value of twenty two Pounds eight Shillings, one Pistol of the value of one pound five shillings, thirty swivel shot of the Value of fifteen shillings, all New York money, together with sundry other Goods mentioned in a Lybel filed in this Court by the said Richard Haddon hereinafter mentioned, all which were the Property of him the said Philip Y'Banes and others the Subjects of the King of Spain in Amity and Friendship with the King of Great Britain; That he the said Philipe afterwards being in the Course of his Voyage to the Island of Jamaica aforesaid on the high Seas and within the jurisdiction of this Court about ten Leagues to the Southward of the Island of Pines, on or about the sixth day of December which was in the year of our Lord one Thousand seven hundred and fifty six, he the said Philip was attacked and set upon in his said Schooner by one Richard Haddon, Commander of a Schooner called the Peggy being a private Vessel of War from this Port of New York; That he the said Richard Haddon having fired a Gun against the said Spanish Schooner and brought her to, sent the Boat of the said Privateer on Board the said Spanish Schooner, manned and armed, together with one officer of him the said Richard Haddon which the said Philip took to be his first Lieutenant, and others of the Crew of the said Privateer Peggy, who searched into and Examined the sd Spanish Vessel where they found all the money and Goods aforesaid, all which by the said Officer and Crew were taken out of the said Spanish Schooner and carried on Board the said Privateer the Peggy, commanded by the said Richard Haddon; That he the said Philip Y Banes was then and there in a forcible manner taken out of the said Spanish Schooner by the said Lieutenant and Crew of the said Privateer the Peggy or some of them and carried on Board the said Privateer, where the said Philip Y: Banes was searched from Head to Foot by the said Richard Haddon, the said Lieutenant or officer and others of the Crew belonging to the said Privateer by the Orders of the said Richard Haddon, and he the said Philip was then and there unlawfully stripped by the said Richard Haddon and others of his Crew of the Value of Two Hundred and twelve Dollars in Gold which he the sd. Philip had concealed in his Breeches; That he the said Philip did then and there shew to him the said Richard Haddon his Passport and other papers and Documents evincing Spanish Property in his said Schooner and Cargo, and the Intent of his present voyage, and did insist and declare to him the said Richard Haddon that his sd. Vessel and all the Money, Goods and Effects that he had on Board wch. had been so seized and taken as aforesaid were the Property of himself and others the subjects of his said Catholick Majesty and did belong to no other Person or Persons whosoever, and did request and intreat him the said Richard Haddon to restore to him the said Philip the said Money, Goods and Effects, or to bring him into this port of New York that he might have an Oppertunity of making his Claim and proving his property to and in the monies Goods and Effects so taken from him the said Philip by him the said Richard, his Officers and Crew as aforesaid, But the said Richard Haddon did altogether refuse to restore the same to the said Philip or to permit or Suffer him the said Philipe or any of his Officers or People to come with him in the said Schooner Peggy to this Port of New York; That the said Philip did then desire the said Richard to give him a Receipt or Certificate of the money, Goods and Effects which had been so seized and taken from him as aforesaid, that he might satisfy all parties concerned in the same Money, Goods and Effects of the manner How he had been deprived of the same; That the said Richard did then Deliver to the said Philip a Writing which he said did Contain such Receipt or Certificate, But afterwards the first Lieutenant of him the said Richard did require and Insist that he the said Philipe should redeliver the same to him; That the said Philip refused to redeliver the said writing and thereupon the said first Lieutenant lifting up his Fist threatned to knock him down if he resisted, and with his Other Hand took the said Certificate thus forcibly and Violently out of said Philips Pocket where he had endeavored to secure the same, And the said Philip further sheweth that the said Richard did also take from on board the said Schooner the said Henry Myerhoffer and William Abbot, his said two Passengers, And also his passport and other papers shewn to him the said Richard to the purpose aforesaid, and after giving the said Philip very threating and abusive Language did then and there send the said Philip, despoiled and deprived of his money, Goods and Effects, passport and other papers aforesaid, on Board his said Spanish Schooner; That the said Richard Haddon did afterwards proceed with the said privateer Peggy to Lucea on the Island of Jamaica and there careened and fitted her for the sea and during the time he say[5] there kept the said Henry Myerhoffer and William Abbot closely confin'd in order to prevent their discovering or Complaining of this Treatment he the said Philip had received from the said Richard Haddon, his Officers and Crew as aforesaid. And when and not before the said privateer had Hoisted sail to Leave Lucea aforesaid the said Henry Myerhoffer and William Abbot were set at Liberty, and the said Privateer proceeded to sea. And the said Philip further Sheweth that He the said Richard Haddon in the said Privateer Did afterwards Arrive at this port of New York And that the said Richard Haddon did afterwards on or about the ninth Day of March in the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven hundred and fifty six[6] by his Lybel filed in this Court claim Part of the Money, Goods, and Effects which had been taken from him the said Philip in Manner aforesaid, viz. Ten Doubloons, five Thousand seven hundred and sixty four Dollars, one Hundred and five Pistreens and some small Silver, as also one Bracelet, twenty gold Rings, some Silver Buckles, six swivel Guns, some Shot, one Cask of Powder, some Cutlasses and one Bag of Indigo, as being the Property of the Subjects of the French King and prayed that the same might by the Sentence of this Court be adjudged and condemned as Lawfull Prize to him the said Richard Haddon and the Owners and Company of the said Privateer Peggy, as by the said Lybel filed in this Court, Reference being hereunto had, may more fully appear; That the said Philip not having any Pilot or Person on Board his said Vessel who was acquainted with the Navigation on this Coast was all together deprived of the Means and Opportunity of making his Claim and Defence to the said Lybel; That immediately after the said Seizure he returned with said Spanish Schooner to the Havannah, and complained there, of the said abuse that he had received from the sd. Richard Haddon and his Officers and Company. That the Governour of the Havannah[7] hearing thereof highly resented the same (and as the said Philip has been informed and hopes to prove) wrote to his Excellency Sr. Charles Hardy, then Governour of this Province,[8] upon the Matter of his said Complaint, demanding Redress, And that at that Time there being a British Man of War lying in that Port the Said Philip also made the like Complaint to the Commander of the said Ship who advised the said Philip immediately to repair with his Schooner to Jamaica and make his Case known to the Government there and Particularly to Admiral Townshend who was upon that Station, That upon proper Representations being made, Justice might be obtained and Reparation procured to the said Philip by Means and assistance of the British Government; That accordingly the said Philip proceeded to Jamaica and arrived there on or about the Beginning of March one Thousand seven hundred and fifty seven and applied to Admiral Townsend and made his Affidavit of the Treatment and Usage that he had received from the said Richard Haddon and the said Officers and Crew of the said Privateer Peggy before a proper Officer there, and also finding the said Henry Myerhoffer in that Island he procured his Affidavit to be taken of the like matter, both which affidavits properly certified under the Seal of the said Island are filed with the Register of this Court and to which the said Philip for greater Certainty doth refer; That his Majesty the King of Great Britain, being informed of the Premises by Affidavits concerning the same, transmitted by Admiral Townsend, did by a Letter from the Right Honourable the Earl of Holdernesse his Secretary of State to the Governour of this Province, Dated at Whitehall the twentieth Day of May one Thousand seven hundred and fifty seven,[9] express the deepest resentment of the said Injury done to the said Philip by the said Richard Haddon and the officers and Crew belonging to the said private Vessel of War, as being contrary to all Humanity and Good Faith and the General Instructions Given to Privateers, And did require and demand that Justice might be done within this his Government to the Subjects of his Catholick Majesty relating to the Premises, as by the said Letter filed in the Minutes of his Majesty's Council for this Province of New York[10] and an attested Copy thereof filed with the Register of this Court, to which the said Philip doth refer, may more fully and at large appear. And the said Philip further sheweth That during these Transactions in the West Indies and in Great Britain he the said Richard Haddon prosecuted his said Lybel in this Court and to give the better Colour to his Pretensions that the Money, Goods and Effects before mentioned were French Property did on the thirty first of March one Thousand seven hundred and fifty seven procure Some Person calling himself Francisco Raphe to be examined before the Register of this Court[11] on the Part of him the said Richard Haddon against the Money, Goods and Effects mentioned in his said Lybel, wherein the said Francisco Raphe deposes among other Things that he is a Native of Sierra in Greece and Subject of the Grand Turk, by Occupation a Marriner, That two Days after the Vessel, he was on Board of, sailed out of Cuba they were taken by Captain Haddon which was about December then last, That he did not know the Vessel's Name of which he was on Board for She had no regular Commander nor Dispatches or Papers of any Kind from any Port or Place whatsoever, and he believes that had such Vessel been taken by any vessel of any Nation She would have been a lawfull Prize And had She been taken by a Spanish Guarda Costa, the whole Ship's Crew would have been hanged as Pirates, That there were on Board, of all Nations allmost, as Genoesse, French and others, in Number twenty two, and that one of the Chiefs in particular was a French man, Subject of the French King, That he absolutely, from all the Knowledge he can form, thinks her to be a just and lawfull Prize; And he the said Philip further sheweth that he is advised that the said Deposition is of a very extraordinary Nature, and made by one who supposed himself to have been a Pyrate; That by Reason of its great Incertainty it can have no legal Application either to him the said Philip or his Schooner; that the Vessel on which the said Francisco Raphe was on Board was a Ship of the Crew Whereof he was one; That the said Schooner of the said Philip had a regular Commander and proper Dispatches and Papers from Trindada a Spanish Port; That not one French Man or Genoe was on Board the said Schooner nor any one Marriner or passenger Except the said Henry Myerhoffer and William Abbot that was not a Subject of Spain; And the said Philip further sheweth That he is an entire Stranger to the said Francisco Raphe, That he knows no Person of that Name, and is very certain that no such person was either a Seamen or Passenger on Board the said Schooner in the Voyage before mentioned, and the said Philip is informed that no Witness whatsoever was produced in this Court to Prove the Money, Goods and Effects mentioned in the said Lybel of the said Richd. Haddon to be French Property but the said Francisco Raphe, and that by the Minutes of this Court it will appear that on the very Day the said Examination was taken Publication was ordered to pass and the Cause to be immediately heard, and thereupon the Proctor for the said Richard Haddon opened the Lybel and Proceedings, and the Deposition of the said Francisco Raphe being read this Court having considered of the same did adjudge, Sentence and decree the said Money, Goods and Effects in the said Lybel mentioned as lawfull Prize for the use of the Captors, pursuant to the Statute in that Case made and provided that no just and rightful Claim be made for the same by any Other Person or Persons within a year and a Day, and ordered that the Lybellant stipulate with Security to the Register of this Court in the Amount of the said Gold, Silver and other Things to bring the said Amount into this Court when this Court should order the same within a year and a Day aforesaid, To which Minute of this Court the said Philip doth refer, And the sd. Philip further sheweth That at a Court of Vice Admiralty held at the City of New York on the twenty-sixth Day of July then next following, pursuant to the order of this Court of the thirty first Day of March then last past, the Accounts of Sales of the said Gold, Silver and other Things lybelled as aforesaid were brought into this Court and filed,[12] And that thereupon Jasper Farmer and Thomas Miller of the City of New York, Merchants, appeared in this Court and freely and voluntarily submitted to the jurisdiction thereof And severally stipulated to the Register of this Court in the Sum of Two Thousand four Hundred and nine Pounds, four Shillings and eleven Pence three Farthings, said to be the Amount of the said Gold, Silver etc. on Condition to bring the said Money into this Court when this Court should order the same at any Time within a year and a Day from the said thirty first Day of March then last past, as by the said Orders and Proceedings of this Court to which the said Philip doth refer, Relation being thereunto had, may appear. And the said Philip further sheweth that by the said Letter of the Right Honourable the Earl of Holdernesse before mentioned and above referred to, his Majesty The King of Great Britain did Command Prosecutions to be immediately commenced for the Recovery of what should appear to be so plundered from the said Philip and others the Subjects of the King of Spain or the full Value thereof, with all Costs and Damages occasioned by the premises; That his said Majesty's Advocate General for this Province of New York, in obedience to his Majesty's Pleasure so signified and the express Order and Direction of his Honour the Lieutenant Governour of this Province and Commander in Chief then being (having received Information of the said Orders and Proceedings of this Court) to prevent any Prejudice to the Subjects of the said King of Spain, in consequence of the same did on the seventeenth Day of February last past, in the Name and Behalf of his said Majesty the King of Great Britain, for the Use and Benefit of the said Philip and other Subjects of the King of Spain, enter and file his Claim to the Money and Goods first above mentioned, which had been with Force and Violence taken from him the sd. Philip, declaring it to be intended therein to include all the Particulars that had been before libelled by the said Richard Haddon and other Goods that had not been so lybelled, but had been taken and seized by the said Richard Haddon in Manner as aforesaid, together with the Interest, Damages and Costs which had accrued by Reason of the Premises; That afterwards the said Advocate General on the tenth of March last in Obedience to the Orders aforesaid did file his Claim more at large In this Court and among other Things therein contained prayed that this Court would order and decree that the said Monies, Goods and Chattels in the said Lybel of the said Richard Haddon mentioned might by the Order of this Court be brought into this Court according to the Stipulation aforesaid, as by the said Claim filed with the Register of this Court, to which the said Philip doth refer, may more fully and at large appear. Whereupon, on the said tenth Day of March, it was ordered by this Court that the Securities of the said Richard Haddon do bring into this Court the said Sum of two Thousand four Hundred and nine Pounds, four Shillings and Eleven Pence three Farthings, being the Amount of their Stipulations aforesaid, on or before that day Week or Shew Cause to the contrary; That on the seventeenth Day of March last the said Jasper Farmer and Thomas Miller appeared in this Court by their Proctor But did not bring into this Court the said Sum last mentioned and had Time till the fifth Day of April following to shew Cause why they had not done it, on which Day they filed their Demurrer to the said Claim of the said Advocate General, alledging for Cause of Demurrer that it appeared by the said Claim that the Scope and End thereof was to relieve the said Philip y: Banes, a Spaniard, claiming the Money and Effects formerly Lybelled in this Court by Richard Haddon in Behalf of himself and the Owners and Company of the Schooner Peggy, as French Property, against the Sentence and Decree of this Court, to all which several Matters and other Things in the said Claim contained the said Defendants did demur.
[Footnote 1: Cabanas.]
[Footnote 2: Caleb Davis had lived at St. Augustine as a trader for several years prior to 1738, had made himself wealthy when, in 1739, he proposed to settle in Savannah, and was a shrewd, cunning fellow, so says Secretary William Stephens in his journal; Col. Rec. Ga., IV. 64, 247, 309. Oglethorpe commissioned him as a privateer, in 1739, but later arrested him for sending two Spanish prisoners in to St. Augustine; ibid., IV. 422, 467, 483, 511, 623, and Harris, Oglethorpe, p. 215. Egmont mentions him as "Captain Davies, of suspected character"; Col. Rec. Ga., V. 139. In the next war he was a very successful privateer; ibid., XXV. 42, 251. In 1751 and 1752 he commanded Oglethorpe's principal vessel of war; Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial, IV. 128, 130, 170, 287, VI. 322.]
[Footnote 3: Pedereros, small pieces of ordnance used for throwing stones, etc.]
[Footnote 4: Machetes.]
[Footnote 5: Error for stayed.]
[Footnote 6: Error for 1757.]
[Footnote 7: Don Francisco Cagigal de la Vega, captain-general of Cuba; see doc. no. 189.]
[Footnote 8: Governor of New York from Sept., 1755, to June, 1757.]
[Footnote 9: Printed in N.C. Col. Rec., V. 756.]
[Footnote 10: Calendar of Council Minutes, p. 434.]
[Footnote 11: See doc. no. 185.]
[Footnote 12: Doc. no. 186.]
For That, by the Claim it appears that his said Majesty the King of Great Britain ought not to recover the Money, Goods and Effects in the Claim mentioned, they being expressly therein declared to be the Property of a Spanish Subject, and not the Property of his said Majesty the King of Great Britain, And for that his said Majesty ought not by Law to sue for himself and a Subject in that Suit, And for [that] a Decree in that Suit would be no Barr to a new Suit brought in the Name of his Majesty on the Stipulation for the good Behaviour of the said Richard Haddon, And for that by Law no Subject is to answer to the King, for an Injury done to another Subject, but by a Criminal Prosecution, And for that a Decree upon that Claim would be no Barr to, nor could it prevent the said Philip Y: Banes from filing his Claim in his own Name, And for that divers Persons are made Parties to that Claim that ought not to be joined together, as by the said Demurrer filed with the Register of this Court to which the said Philip doth refer may more at large appear. And the said Philip further sheweth that he hath not hitherto obtained any recompense or satisfaction for the Injury aforesaid.
Wherefore he the said Philip for the Reasons aforesaid and for the several Matters and Causes offered and insisted on in this his Libel doth Humbly Claim the said Two Thousand four Hundred and nine Pounds, four Shillings and Eleven Pence three Farthings, secured to be paid into this Court by the Stipulation aforesaid, together also with all and every the other Monies, Goods and Effects so seized and taken from him by the said Richard Haddon as aforesaid and not mentioned in the Lybel of him the said Richard, and all Damages, Losses and Expenses by him the said Philip in any wise sustained by Reason of the Premises And Humbly prays the Advisement of this Court in the Premises and the due Process of the Law against the said Two Thousand four Hundred and nine Pounds, four Shillings and eleven Pence three Farthings, secured to be paid into this Court by the Stipulation aforesaid, and all and every other such due Process as by the Law ought to issue and be granted against all and every Person and Persons who is, are or may be liable and Chargeable for the same and for all and every other the Monies, Goods and Effects so seized and taken from Him the said Philip as aforesaid and for his Losses and Damages and Expenses aforesaid, and such full and ample Relief and Satisfaction touching the Premises as, by the Law of Nations, the particular Laws and Statutes of Great Britain, and the Custom and Usage of this Court, is due in cases of this Nature to the Subjects of his Catholick Majesty the King of Spain being in Amity with his Majesty the King of Great Britain.
WM. SMITH Junior,[13] Adv'te for the Libellant.
JAS. DUANE,[14] Advocate for the Libellant
[Footnote 13: William Smith, jr. (1728-1793), the historian of New York, afterward chief-justice of New York and, in his last years, of Canada.]
[Footnote 14: James Duane (1733-1797), a prominent member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1784.]
189. Certificate of Captain-General Cagigal. November 4, 1758.
Don Francisco Cavigal[1] de la Vega, Knight of the Order of St. James, Field Marshall, Governour and Captain General of the Havana and Island of Cuba etc. Whereas I am Informed that Don Philipe Y Banes, Captain and Administrator of the Schooner Called our Lady of the Rosary and Holy Christ, And Marseleno Marrero,[2] Are now in the City of New York, Dominions of his Majesty the King of Great Brittain, in Order to Recover 7871 Dollars which in silver, Doubloons, and Gold Trinckets were by force taken from them on the 6th December 1756, by Capt. Haddon of the Privateer Schooner Peggy, from New York, a small distance from Pine Island on the south side of this Navigation, and having been Informed by Letters from the aforesaid that they are hindered in prosecuting for their Right by the Owners of said privateer Schooner pretending that they were Pirates at the time of the Robbery, and in Attention that the Contrary has been Clearly proved by their Sailing with a Spanish Crew and under Spanish Colours and with Leave from my Lieutenant Governour Don Francisco Guitierres in the City of Trinity to proceed to the anchoring place of Mansanillo in the Jurisdiction of Valamo,[3] And After the Robbery they arrived on this Coast at Porte Bane[4] where they took in Necessarys and with my Licence they Sailed to Jamaica in search of said privateer and presenting themselves before his Excellency the Governour Declared the Robbery upon Oath, as did Likewise Henry Myeroffer and William Abbot, two Englishmen who were on Board Said Don Philipe's Schooner at the time the Robbery was Committed, and were afterwards taken and put by said English Captain on Board his privateer, who Carried them to St. Lucia on the Island of Jamaica, as appears from the Instruments that said Don Philipe Shewed me on his Return, And Whereas Considering the Great Prejudice that has Resulted from their being out of their Native Country and knowing that they are Inhabitants of this City and Subjects to the King of Spain and have not Incurred the Penalty of Pirates, In their behalf and for myself I pray and Recommend to his Excellency the Captain General and Governour and the Judge of the Admiralty of New York that they will be pleased to Order to be Delivered the said Money to the said Spaniards, inasmuch as I am ready to Observe Equal Justice in the Like Case, And in Case they Should meet with any Difficulty in the Recovery of their Right, I do by Virtue of this Grant them a passport and Leave to follow their Recourse to the Court of London and Appeal to his Brittanic Majesty till the Ultimate Resolution of his Royal Clemency; to this End I have perused the foregoing and do Sign and Order the Royal Signet to be Affixed to the same and Authorized by the present Notary to the Government. Given in the Havannah the fourth of November 1758.
[Footnote 1: For Cagigal. Don Francisco Cagigal de la Vega (1693-1777), who had been governor of Santiago de Cuba from 1738 to 1747, and had defended it successfully against the English in 1741, was captain-general of Cuba from 1747 to 1760, when he became viceroy of New Spain.]
[Footnote 2: In the same set of papers there is a deposition of Marcelino Marero, born in the Canary Islands, forty-three years old, almost identical in contents with that of Ybanez, doc. no. 187, and of the same date.]
[Footnote 3: Bayamo.]
[Footnote 4: Cabanas.]
Before me DIEGO DE GUITIERRES Notary to the Governour
FRANCISCO CAVIGAL DE LA VEGA
We his Majestys Notary Publicks of the Number Admitted in this City Certify that Don Diego Guitierres, by whom this Dispatch is Authorized, is Notary to the Government and that Entire faith and Credit may be given to all his Dispatches, Judicial and Extrajudicial, Dated ut Supra.
ANTO'O PONCE MANUEL RAMERES CHRIST'O LEAL Not'y Publick Notary Publick Not'y Publick
I Certify that the foregoing is a true Translated Copy of the Original Spanish Exam'd by
GARRAT NOEL Sworn Span'h Intep'r
190. Deposition of William Haddon. November 16, 1759.
Province of New York. Court of Vice Admiralty.
The Deposition of William Haddon who having been before Sworn and now examined on the Interrogatories to be administered to witnesses to be produced, Sworn and Examd. on the part and behalf of Thomas Miller and Sampson Simpson, defendants, at the suit of the attorney General In the name of our Lord the King Libbellant.
1st. To the First of the said Interrogatories this deponent saith that his name is William Haddon, aged thirty eight years, his usually place of residence is at New York, By occupation a schoolmaster[1] and a subject to the King of England.
[Footnote 1: "At a commodious House ... in Bound Brook, Province of East New Jersey, young Gentlemen are educated and boarded on reasonable terms, by William Haddon, Professor of ab, eb, etc." Advertisement in New York Mercury, Mar. 30, 1761. He taught there seven years, then at Newark from 1768 on. New Jersey Archives, first ser., XX. 548.]
2d. To the second Interrogatory this deponent saith that he knows Richard Haddon, late commander of the private Sloop of war called the peggy, that the said Richard Haddon is this deponents brother and he has Known him as long as he has had knowledge.
3d. To the third Interrogatory this deponent Saith that he knew a person called Don Philip, which this deponent supposes to be the same person Philip Vanes, otherwise called Philip De Francois, otherwise called Philip Y Banes, mentioned in the third Interrogatory, that he first saw him the 7th of December 1756, In the Latitude of 21 and 33 m. N.[2] and Longitude 81 deg. and 30 m.
[Footnote 2: The latitude given in the next paragraph, 21 deg. 23' N., must be the correct one. Lat. 21 deg. 33' would be on the island of Cayo Largo. Doc. no. 184 gives lat. 21 deg. 18', long. 81 deg. 57'.]
4th. To the fourth Interrogatory this deponent Saith that he saw a certain Schooner pretended to be a spanish Schooner, But did not know her name, and first became acquainted with her the 7th of December 1756, In the Latitude of 21 and 23 N: and Longitude 81 and 30, this deponent was on board the privateer peggy when the said Schooner was taken, that he was Capn. Clerk,[3] this deponent is not very positive but believes there was about fourteen men on board the said schooner at the time she was taken, that the said schooner had four carriage [and] six swivel Guns at the time she was brought too, as this deponent afterwards heard, and that she had no regular papers or Clearances from any publick authority, as this deponent saw or heard at that time or since. This depont. also knows and remembers that particular pains was taken by Capn. Haddon and all the officers belonging to the said privateer to discover whether there were any regular ships papers or Clearances on board the said schooner at the time of her being taken, and in particular the Capn. when he sent Christopher Miller on board, his first Lieutt., desired him to send all the papers of the schooner on board the privt.; that after the sd. first Liet. got on board he made a search and told the said Capn. Haddon from the said schooner that he could find no regular papers on board her, whereupon the Capn. told him bring all the papers he could find and the Capn. of the sd. Schooner, upon which the Liet. made answer he could not tell which was the Capn.; upon that the Capn. told him to bring two or three of the Likeliest of the men, that he did so and these men belonging to the said schooner came on board, one of which, which the deponent took to be Don Philip, being asked for the papers delivered a pocket book to the Capn. which the Capn opened upon the Quarter deck and took out the papers; that this deponent was there and saw nothing but a few Letters, sealed up and directed to Different persons in Kingston; then sd. Capn. Haddon told the said Philip that he certainly must have more papers; upon that sd Philip shrugged up his shoulders and was Silent, and after that Capn Haddon called to the first Liet., wo [who] was still on board the said Schooner, to make a further Search, and this deponent never heard of any papers at all being found that were satisfactory. the said Philip appd.[4] to be the Capn. or principal officer of the said schooner. this deponent further Says that he heard Capn. Haddon say, upon the peoples asking what he Intended to do with them, that he would carry them to the Havannah, upon which as this deponent understood by the Interpretation of one Francis De Spania, a Spaniard belonging to the privateer peggy, and from the Declarations of Capn Haddon, they begged and Intreated he would not, for that if he did they would either be hanged or made slaves, and that they said they did not value the money, and their lives would be of Little Service to Capn. Haddon, and the said Capn. told this deponent the reason he did not send her into any port for condemnation was partly out of humanity to the people and partly in regard to the Interest of his owners. This deponent does not know certainly but has been Informed that the said Schooner was not properly equipped or fitt to come upon this Coast in the months of December or January.
[Footnote 3: Captain's clerk.]
[Footnote 4: Appeared.]
5th. To the fifth Interrogatory this deponent saith that to the best of his Knowledge the said Schooner had on board of her at the time she was brought to by the said privateer peggy about fourteen men, composed of a Mixture of Nations, that the following Quantitys of Money was taken out of the said and brought on board of the peggy and Sorted on the deck and there counted, viz. 5764 Dollar, 10 Doubbloons, 105 pistereen, 1 Two Shilling, 1 shilling, five bitts, two pair of Silver Knee buckles and one Box containing Sundry Trinkets of Gold, to witt, one Bracelet, twenty Gold rings and one pair of Gold Sleeve buttons; it was brought on board in a publick manner and it was sorted and counted in this deponents presence and this deponent understood that the said money and other things were owned among the different persons on board.
6th. To the Sixth Interrogatory this deponent Saith that he heard that the persons on board the said Schooner delivered up or gave the said box or Trinkets to Capn Haddon on condition that he would not Carry the said Schooner with the Crew thereof to the Havannah and further saith not to this Interrogatory.
7th. To the Seventh Interrogatory this deponent saith that he knows that Capn. Haddon acquainted the persons on board the said Schooner with the name of his vessel, his own name, the port she belonged to, and that he should carry the things he had from on board the said schooner to the port of New York for condemnation.
8th. To the eighth Interrogatory this deponent Saith that he remembers That another Schooner was brought to by the peggy some short time before the schooner was brought to out of which Capn. Haddon had the money belonging to the Spanish Nation, and richly Laden and they were Treated extreamly Civil by Capn. Haddon; this depont. Could not observe from any of his conduct that he was desirous to rob or pilfer them, but on their producing regular paper and clearances discharged them, and this deponent knows of his supplying a Spanish Sloop with provisions on the Twelfth of Jan'y 1757.
9th. To the Ninth Interrogatory this depont. saith that he knows of nothing further that will tend to the advantage of the defendt. in this Cause except That Capn. Haddon found a french Letter on board of a prize which he took coming from the Mississippi, from a french officer in Luisiania to a person of distinction in old france, by which he understood that the french were Incroaching upon the Spanish Territories and had still designs so to do, upon which Capn. Haddon Inclosed the said french Letter in a Letter Directed to the Governour of the Havannah, which said Letter this depont. wrote by direction of the Capn.,[5] and that the said Capn. always Treated prisoners and others with humanity and Civilly and always acted with much care.
[Footnote 5: See also doc. no. 184, note 3.]
10th. To the Tenth Interrogatory this deponent Saith that he shall not gain or loose by the event of the suit any other wise than by reason of the near relationship he stands in to Capn. Haddon and by his belonging to the said Vessel in the said Cruize.
WILLM. HADDON.
Examined this 16th of Novr. 1759 Per me SILVESTER, D: Register
191. Declaration of Don Geronimo de Medrano. November 19, 1759.[1]
[Footnote 1: This and the three succeeding testimonies were taken in Cuba under the commission mentioned in note 1 to doc. no. 184.]
19th of November 1759 Before the Lieut. Auditor General Commissioned in this Cause appeared Ensign Don Geronimo de Medrano a Native and Inhabitant of this City, who being sworn by making the Sign of the Cross according to Custom and promising to declare the Truth, being asked according to the Tenor of the Articles Contained in the Interrogatory and Inserted in the foregoing Copy, he said as follows—
1. To the first he said that he knows Don Phelipe Ybanes and has known him by that Name about twenty four years and knows him to be a Native of St. Lucar de Barameda in Andalusia and an Inhabitant in this City, where he Married in the Year 35 with a first Cousin of this Deponent; That from the year 37 to that of 51 he followed the Business of Working at Husbandry in the Fields near a Dwelling House he had at the Mills and in the Herd yard of Doctor Don Ambrosio de Medrano. Afterward he went to places up the Country where he became Clarke to a privateer Schooner fitted out by the Lieut. at War of the Town of St. John of the Remedys[2] Don Juan Antonio de Royo. Afterwards said Ybanes Informed him that he had been met with by some Englishmen Said to be Privateers near the Coast of this Island (he did not Exactly remember the place) and that they had carried away the Money he took for his Voyage, and is what he heard Commonly Reported in this City, which is all he knows about this Enquiry.
[Footnote 2: San Juan de los Remedios, commonly called Remedios, lies in the middle of the north coast of Cuba, 32 miles east of Santa Clara.]
2. To the second he said that he does not know the said Schooner and is Ignorant of the other particulars in the Enquiery.
3. To the third he said that he is Ignorant of the Contents in this Enquiery.
4. To the fourth he said that he did not know Caleb David nor for what he came to this City.
5. To the fifth he said that he knows nothing about the Enquiery in this Article.
6. To the Sixth he said that he knows one Antonio de Correa, a Spaniard living in this City since the year 1733, that his Employment was bringing Wood from the Coast with Regordete Fregeno[3] but does not know that he made a Voyage in 56, Nor the Embarcation in which he went nor any thing of the rest Enquired.
[Footnote 3: Regordete means short and stout.]
7. To the seventh he said that he knows nothing more to Answer than what he has said to the foregoing.
8. To the Eighth he said that he Expects no Interest from the Result of this Cause and that what he has said and Declared is the Truth, to which he has made Oath and being Dated and Read to him he said it was well Wrote. That he is thirty Six years of Age. to which he set his Hand and his Honour, his Rubric of which I give Testimony.
HERON'O JOS'H MEDRANO.
Before me
JUANFERN'O DEL VALLE. N'y Pub.
192. Declaration of Don Joseph de la Vega. November 19, 1759.
Immediatly after appeared before the Lieut. Auditor Gen'l Don Jos'h de la Vega, an Inhabitant of this City, and being sworn by making the sign of the Cross according to form of Right and promising to say the truth, Being Enquired according to the Tenor of the Article[s] Comprehended in the Interrogatory and Inserted in the foregoing Copy, said as follows—
1. To the first he said that he has known Don Phelipe Ybanes about twenty years, a Native of Spain and an Inhabitant of this City, having remained here after the loss of the Flora[1] and Married Dona Eugenia Suarez, Neice of Doc'r Don Ambrosio de Medrano, that he has seen him taking care of a Herd Yard belonging to the said Doc'r, and at a small Dwelling House Contiguous to it said Ybanes had Kills for making Charcoal and Lime, in which Employ he continued some years. He afterward saw him in this City Employed in buying and selling tile about two years and a half or three years agoe but does not know where he was when absent.
[Footnote 1: The reference is probably to the frigate Floridana, which foundered off the Cuban coast in the hurricane of July 15, 1733, which destroyed sixteen ships of the Havana fleet of Don Rodrigo de Torres. Fernandez Duro, Armada Espanola, VI. 242-243.]
2. To the second he said that he does not Remember to have heard (but on one occasion about two years and a half agoe) said Ybanes say that he had a Schooner of his Own and that making a Voyage in her he was Robbed by some Englishmen, but did not say where he was bound to nor any other thing particular relating to what is Contained in the Enquiry, for which Reason and not having any knowledge of the said Schooner he cannot give any Acco't of them.
3. To the third he said that he knew Caleb David in this City about the months of March or April in the year 57, having seen him at the House of Elizabeth Berrow the Irish Woman, where he was Informed that he was come with his Wife and some other English People in a Long Boat, having been cast away on the Coast of Campeche,[2] nor does he know that he had ever been in this City before nor what he came about.
[Footnote 2: Yucatan.]
[Transcriber's Note: No 4th item in original.]
5. To the fifth he said that as before mentioned he saw Caleb David with two or three English, but did not know their Names and Consequently is Ignorant if they are the same that are mentioned in the Enquiry and the other particulars thereof.
6. To the sixth he said that he only knew Antonio Correa by sight, by being in Don Phelipe Ybanes's Company, that he has Understood he was a Mariner but can give no particular Account what trade he was Employed in nor the Vessel in which he went at the time Referred to in the Enquiry.
7 and 8. To the seventh and Eighth he said that he has no Interest nor Expects any from the Determination of the Cause; that what he has said and Declared is the truth; that he knows nothing more of these Articles than what he has already Related, of all which he has made Oath and Signed his Name to it, being forty-two years of Age.
JOSEPH DE VEGA.
Before me
JOHNFERN'O DEL VALLE Ny. Pub.
193. Declaration of Domingo de Armas. November 20, 1759.
In the City of the Havana on the 20th of November 1759, Before his Honour Don Martin de Ulloa, of the Order of St. James, one of His Majestys Council and Auditor Gen'l of said City, Appeared Domingo de Armas, a Native and Inhabitant of this City, and having been sworn according to the usual form by making the Sign of the Cross and therebye promising to declare the Truthe, being Enquired According to the Tenor of the Articles Contained in the Interrogatory inserted in the foregoing Copy, he Answered as follows
1. To the first Article he said that he knows Don Phelipe Ybanes, a Native of the Kingdom of Castele, and settled in this City ever since the loss of the Flora, Commanded by Don Rodrigo de Torres, on the Rocks of Florida, and Married here to a Neice of Doc'r Don Ambrosio de Medrano; That he has seen the said Ybanes working in a Dwelling House near the Great Bridges; that he and his Negroes were Employed at the Kills making Charcoal and Lime; That he afterward came to this City where he saw him several times but does not know what Employment he had Excepting that he once heard him say that he had a Schooner in the Coast Trade and that he would discharge the Master for not making so good a Hand of Her as might be Expected, but it is now three Years since he saw him in this City; That he then said he had been Robbed by some English Privateers and that he was thinking to go to Recover the Effects they had taken from him.
2. To the second he said that he has no knowledge of the said Schooner nor of any other particular contained in this Enquiry.
3. To the third he said that there appears nothing from this Enquiry that he can Answer to.
4. To the fourth he said that he knows Caleb David, that He and his Wife lived in the House of Elizabeth the Irish Woman, that he came to this City about three years agoe, as he was Informed, in a Long Boat or Barge, having been cast away on the Coast of Campechy, which is all he can say to this Enquiry.
5. To the fifth he said that he is Ignorant of the Contents of this Enquiry.
6. To the Sixth he said that he only knows Antonio Correa to be a Seafaring Man of middle Stature and brown Complexion, but knows nothing of his making a Voyage at the time mentioned nor of any thing else Contained in this Enquiry.
7. To the seventh can say nothing farther.
8. To the Eighth he said that he has not nor does he Expect any Interest from the Determination of this Cause, That what he has declared is the truth, to which he has made Oath, and is Sixty Years of Age. Signed by him and Rubricated by his Lordship, of which I give Testimony.
DOMINGO DE ARMAS.
Before me
JUAN FERN'O DEL VALLE. N'y Pub.
194. Declaration of Elizabeth Berrow. November 22, 1759.
In the Havana on the 22 Novemb'r 1759, Before His Honour Don Martin de Ulloa, of the Order of St. James, one of his Maj'ys Council, Lieut. Gov'r and Auditor of this City and Jurisdiction, Commissioned by his Majesty in this Cause, Appeared Elizabeth Berrow, a Widow and Inhabit't of this said City, and Swaring by the Sign of the Cross according to Right and Form, promised to declare the Truth, and being Enquired relating to the Tenor of the Articles Inserted in the Interrogatory and Comprehended in the foregoing Copy Declared as follows—
1. To the first she said that she knew Don Phelipe Ybanes in the year 56 by reason of his having been several times at her House, where Caleb David an English Man Lodged, who he went to see; That she knew said Ybanes to be a Spaniard by having heard it so Reported and that he Married in this City; that he went to Sea in a Shooner of which he was entire Owner, as said Caleb David and Ybanes himself Reported.
2. To the second she said that she understood from said Ybanes that the Schooner which he called his own was Named Our Lady of the Rosary though she never saw said Schooner in this Port. That the said Ybanes before he went out in her came to see Caleb David and told him in the presence of this Deponent that he had been thinking to make a Voyage to Jamaica and that if he had any Commands there he would Execute them, telling him that he carried to the Amount of Eight Thousand Dollars in Money and Gold and Silver Trinkets. Upon which said Caleb David gave him Several Letters of Recommendation for Jamaica and desired him to carry two Englishmen that came with him in the Long Boat from Campeche to this Port where the Embarkation in which they arrived had been Confiscated.
3. To the third she said that she Refers to what she Answered in the foregoing and that it does not appear to her that said Schooner carried any other Cargoe beside the Money and Trinkets as aforesaid, nor does she know if she went to Sea with Correspondent papers and Passports or not, But when Don Phelipe Ybanes Returned to this City and Related to Caleb David how the English Privateers had taken away what he Carried and that he was minded to go to Jamaica and Reclaim his Effects, said Caleb David offered him New Letters of Recommendation and a Certificate that said Ybanes was not risen up as the English had been pleased to Suppose but was only a Merchant.
4. To the fourth she said that she knew Caleb David very well, that he Lodged three Months and odd Days at her House, by means of which she came to know that his coming to this City was to Reclaim some prises taken from the English Nation after the Cessation of Hostilities, to which End he brought Powers from the Concerned and Dispatches from the Court of Gt. Britain which he shewed to this Deponent.
5. To the fifth she said that she knew the two individuals mentioned, the one of which was a German and the other an Englishman, but both Subjects of the King of G'Brit'n and living in Georgia, who came to this City with Caleb David in the aforesaid Long Boat and are the same Persons that he desired Don Phelipe Ybanes to take with him to Jamaica, and she was informed by said Caleb's Wife that in Effect they did go with him, but does not know if they went away by Day or by Night, as they did not Lodge in the Deponents House but on board the Long Boat and only came there once a Day to carry provision, which was Considered to be for Ybanes's Schooner, which he declared was so when he Returned to this City and said that the English Privateer Carried them on board as being Subjects of G't Britain.
6. To the Sixth she said that she only knows Antonio Correa, whose Employ is that of a Mariner, but is Ignorant what Voyage he made in the year and at the time mentioned or in what Vessel.
7. To this she said that she knows nothing of what is Contained in this Enquiry.
8. To the Eighth she said that she neither Expects nor has any Interest from the Decission of this Cause and that what she has Declared is the Truth of which she has given Oath, being Dated. That she is thirty six years of Age. to which she Signs her Name and His Honour has placed his Rubric.
ISABEL DE VERROA.
Before me
JUANFERN'O DEL VALLE. Not'y Pub.
195. Reversal of Sentence by Appellate Court. December 19, 1760.[1]
[Footnote 1: This document appears, substantially the same, in Sir William Burrell's report in Marsden, op. cit. (see doc. no. 184, note 1), p. 185. Ybanez having appealed from Judge Morris's decree, the case came at last before the Lords Commissioners for Appeals in Prize Causes. Their names are given in the heading. Granville, earlier known as Carteret, was lord president of the council from 1750 to 1763, Kinnoull chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster 1760-1762, Mansfield chief justice 1756-1788. Cholmondeley and Falmouth were lieutenant-generals. Nugent and Ellis were vice-treasurers for Ireland and members of Parliament. All these commissioners were privy councillors, all were politicians, none but Mansfield was a lawyer, though the wide range of Granville's learning embraced a considerable knowledge of the law.]
Extracted from the Registry of his Majestys high Court of Appeals for Prizes.
Friday the Nineteenth day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty, before the Right Honourable John Earl Granville, Lord President of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, George Earl Cholmondeley, Thomas Earl of Kinnoul, Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster, Hugh Viscount Falmouth, John Lord Berkely of Stratton, Samuel Lord Sandys, William Lord Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice of his Majesty's Court of Kings Bench, Robert Neugent Esquire and Wellbore Ellis Esquire, Commissioners (among others) of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council for the Receiving, Hearing and Determining of all Causes of appeals as to Prizes, in the Privy Council Chamber at White hall in the Presence of Nathanuel Bishop, Notary Publick, Deputy Register of the said Court.
La Virgin del Rosario y el Santo Christo de Buen Viage Philip Y Banes Mr.
A Business of Appeal and Complaint of } Nullity promoted by Philip Y Banes Master } For Sentence of the Spanish Ship La Virgin del Rosario } on the Second Y el Santo Christo de Buen Viage } Assignation against Richard Haddon Commander of } and Informations. the Schooner Peggy }
Their Lordships having heard the Proofs and Council on Both Sides declared that it Appears to their Lordships that upon the Case laid before the Judge below by the Respondent himself the Capture of the Effects in Question ought to have been deemed Piratical, that the Respondent ought to have been prosecuted for the same and the Effects Secured and that the Proceedings were Irregular and Illegal and the Sentence of Condemnation of the Thirty first March 1757 Appeald from Unjust and Warranted by no Collour of Proof. Therefore their Lordships By their Final Decree or Sentence Reversed the same and Decreed the Ten Doubleoons, five thousand seven hundred and sixty four Dollars, one hundred and five Pistreens, one Bracelet, Twenty Gold Rings, the Silver Buckles and Small Silver, Six Swivel Guns and Shott, one Cask of Powder and Cutlasses and one Bag of Indigo to be Restored or the Value thereof to be paid to the Claimant, and Condemned the Captor in Costs and Damages and their Lordships are of opinion that the Governor of New York ought to cause the Bond given by the Captain of the Privateer to be put in Suite and apply the Penalty for the Benefit of the Claimant.
GODF'Y LEE FARRAND, Register of his Majesty's high Court of Appeals for Prizes.
196. Appeal of Miller and Simpson. July 7, 1761.[1]
[Footnote 1: For Miller, see doc. no. 186, note 3; for Simpson, doc. no. 187, note 3. The Lords Commissioners for Appeals, in pronouncing the decree just preceding, evidently considered that the whole matter was before them; but Judge Morris, July 4, 26, 1761, declared that the sentence reversed by them was solely that of Mar. 31, 1757, condemning as prize the goods brought by Haddon, and that their decree was no reversal of the sentence of Feb. 10, 1759.]
Thomas Miller and { Sampson Simpson { New York Court of Vice ad's { Admiralty. The King {
Whereas you the Honorable Lewis Morris, Esqr., Commissary and Judge of the Court of Vice Admiralty for the Province of New York, did lately pronounce your Decree against us in the above Cause, whereupon we by our advocate or Counsel did pray Leave to appeal therefrom and to have Time to perfect the same, We do accordingly hereby protest against the said Decree or Sentence against us and appeal therefrom to the Commissioners appointed or to be appointed under the Great Seal of Great Britain for receiving, hearing and Determining of appeals in Causes of Prizes; and we offer to do every Thing the Law requires that we may have the full Benefit of the said appeal and do for that purpose pray that the Apostells[2] may be delivered to us in due Time this 7 July 1761.
[Footnote 2: The apostles were a set of documents in the case, made up as a record for the use of the higher court.]
THOMAS MILLER. SAMPSON SIMPSON.
WM. SMITH Junr, Advocate for the Defendant.
THE DAGEROED.
197. Bill of Health. November 9, 1757.[1]
[Footnote 1: From the files of the New York vice-admiralty court, in custody of the United States district court, in the federal building.]
Omnibus hasce literas inspecturis significamus nos, Consules et Rectores Civitatis Roterodamensis Comitatus Hollandiae, declaramusque veritatis certi Petrum Lagerboom, Civem Amstellodamensem magistrum hujusce navis nominatae Dageroed, certi oneris, vulgo lasten, circiter Centum et quinquaginta capacis, merces suas, quibus onerata navis est, ei in hoc oppido imposuisse, uti easdem vento secundo In Indos occidentales deveheret, quemadmodum idem magister, nec non praedictae navis exercitores nobis indicarunt, petentes a nobis libellum dimissionis et literas assertorias, quibus exteri certi reddantur, hanc Civitatem nec Peste, nec ullo alio morbo contagioso, infestari. Enimvero cum officii nostri sit civium nostrorum commodis non deesse, et veritati testimonium perhibere, praescertim iis id expetentibus, omnes, ad quorum curam haec res pertinebit, certos facimus, nec Peste, nec ullo alio morbo venenoso, Dei Opt: Max: beneficio, hanc Civitatem infectum esse: proindeque rogatos volumus, uti magistro huic una cum navi, sociis navalibus, et mercibus liberum concedant commeatum et facultatem largiantur, mercaturam libere terra marique exercendi, prohibeantque ne ulla ei in eo remora objiciatur; quin potius uti adjumento sint, commodo ejus id flagitante; quo nos ad reddenda eadem officia devincent arcte obstringentque: In quorum fidem hasce literas sigillo nostro, quo publice ad causas utimur, muniri, et manu ejus, qui nobis est a Secretis, signari voluimus nono die mensis Novembris anni partae Salutis millesimi septingentesimi quinquagesimi Septimi stylo novo.
J. BJELLE.
Translation.
To all who shall examine these letters, we, the burgomasters and schepens of the city of Rotterdam in the county of Holland, signify and declare, of certain truth, that Peter Lagerboom, citizen of Amsterdam, master of this ship called the Dageroed, of about 150 lasts burden,[2] has loaded his wares, with which the ship is freighted, upon her in this town, in order to transport them, with a favorable wind, to the West Indies, as the said master and the officers of the said ship have declared to us, asking from us a let-pass and clearance, by which foreigners may be assured that this city is not infested by a plague or any other contagious disease. Since certainly it is a part of our official duty to meet the needs of our citizens and to offer testimony to the truth, especially for those who ask it of us, we assure all those to whose care this matter belongs, that through the goodness of God Almighty this city is not infected with the plague or any other deadly disease; and accordingly we desire that those who are requested should accord to this master, together with his ship, his shipmates and goods, free transit and the opportunity to carry on traffic freely by land and sea, and should prohibit that any hindrance should be offered to him in this matter, nay rather that they should aid him, when his needs require it; whereby they will lay us under strict obligations to render to them the same good offices. In testimony whereof we have caused these letters to be provided with our seal which we use publicly for business,[3] and signed by the hand of our secretary, on the ninth day of November in the Year of Salvation 1757, new style.
J. BJELLE.
[Footnote 2: The last was about two tons.]
[Footnote 3: In Continental practice, a municipal corporation usually had, besides its great seal used for the more solemn public documents, a lesser seal, called the sigillum ad causas, used for minor public documents or for private papers authenticated by public authority. This paper bears a seal having the legend "Sigillum ad causas oppidi Rotterodami", encircling an impression of a castle with portcullis, standing on a shore, with a swan swimming in front of the gate.]
* * * * *
198. News of Privateers. May 19, 1757.[1]
[Footnote 1: From the Boston News-Letter of May 19, 1757.]
By a Master of a Vessel lately arrived from Hispaniola, we are inform'd, that on the 13th of April there lay at Port of Prince[2] a Brig of about 120 Tons, mounting 14 Carriage Guns, and 200 Men, also a Sloop about 70 Tons, 8 Carriage Guns and 100 Men, both intended in Consort (as it was there said) for the Coast of New-York and thereabouts. The Brig is Rhode-Island built, black sides, with a white Bottom, the Sloop is painted very gay, as with red, yellow, black and green. He heard likewise that at another Port in the said Island, there was fitting out a Snow (which had been lately a Packet taken from the English) to mount 16 Carriage Guns, and to be commanded by one Palanqui (a very noted Commander) to come on the same Coast.
[Footnote 2: Port au Prince, on the west coast, the present capital of Haiti.]
We hear from Bristol, in Rhode-Island Government, that Capt. Mark-Anthony De Wolfe[3] in a Privateer Sloop of 50 Tuns, with 40 Hands and 6 Guns, belonging to Warren, sail'd from thence the 24th of April, and put into Newport, from whence she sail'd three Days after; and on the 4th of this Instant May, to the Northward of Bermudas, took a French Snow of 150 Tons, with 18 Men, who made but little Resistance, having but 2 Guns, and no one killed or wounded on either side: The Privateer return'd with her Prize to Bristol the 15th, having finished this Cruize in 3 Weeks to an Hour. The Cargo of the Snow consists of 200 Hogsheads of Sugar, a Quantity of Coffee, Indigo, Elephants-Teeth, Logwood, etc. and was bound from St. Domingo for Old-France.
[Footnote 3: He was brother-in-law of Captain Simeon Potter, and sailed with him, as clerk, on the Prince Charles of Lorraine (see docs. nos. 176, 177) in 1745. His son, James De Wolf, United States senator 1821-1825, was one of the most successful of owners of privateers; one of his vessels, the Yankee, captured or destroyed five million dollars' worth of British property during the war of 1812. Munro, Tales of an Old Sea Port, pp. 214-223.]
Yesterday the Privateer Ship Hertford, commanded by Capt. Thomas Lewis, lately fitted out from this Place, brought into our Harbour a valuable French Prize, a Ship of about 240 Tuns, which he took about three Weeks ago, to the Southward of Bermudas in Lat. 29: She was bound from Porto Prince in Hispaniola to old France; her Cargo is said to consist of 400 Hogsheads of Sugar, and a considerable Quantity of Indigo, Cotton-Wool, Hides, etc. valued at about 9000L Sterling. She sail'd out with 4 other Vessels bound also to France, and had parted from her a Day or Two before she was taken: One of which is the Prize carried into Bristol as beforementioned; and another of them is said to be the trading Sloop that was seized at Rhode-Island last Week. Two other Vessels, they say, sail'd the Day before them for Cape-Breton.
Several French Letters found on board this Prize confirm the Arrival of the Squadron mentioned in our last, commanded by Monsieur Beaufremont;[4] and that he had sent out two Frigates to clear the Coast of our Privateers; but that the English Squadron approaching, they ran into Porto Paix,[5] and informed the French Admiral thereof; who thereupon put to Sea, and a great Number of Cannon were heard for several Hours; so that we may expect to hear of some smart Engagement.
[Footnote 4: The Chevalier de Bauffremont, prince de Listenois, chef d'escadre in the French navy and later vice-admiral, had sailed from Brest at the end of January, with a squadron of six vessels, for St. Domingo, capturing the Greenwich, 50, on his way. From the West Indies he sailed for Louisbourg, where he arrived May 23. Lacour-Gayet, La Marine Militaire de la France sous Louis XV., pp. 383, 495.]
[Footnote 5: Port au Paix, on the north coast of Haiti.]
199. Letter of William Smith, jr. April 8, 1757.[1]
[Footnote 1: London, Public Record Office, Admiralty, 1:3882.]
NEW YORK 8 April 1757.
Sir,
On the 6th Instant, a French Snow[2] laden with Sugar[3] and Indigo, to a very considerable Value, was brought into this Port, by two English Merchant men, who captivated her on the High Seas in March last, tho they had neither Letters of Marque nor other Commission.
[Footnote 2: Le Bon Rencontre. The case was a curious one (notes of Judge Hough, from the papers relating to it in the files of the New York vice-admiralty court). On March 22, 1757, this French snow of 160 tons, while on a trading voyage from Port Louis in Guadeloupe to Bordeaux, was captured off Bermuda by the English ship Maxwell, Etherington master, and the New York sloop St. Stephen, Thomas, who sent her with an English crew to New York; but neither of them had any letters of marque, or commission authorizing them to take prizes. The snow was brought to anchor inside Sandy Hook. Early in the morning of April 6, John Crew, captain of the New York privateer Fox, came aboard from a small boat with a few men, and took possession. Later, the snow was taken over by the Sutherland man-of-war. Thus, the Bon Rencontre was without doubt a captured enemy vessel, but the captors had not been authorized privateers, and the authorized privateer and the king's ship had not made the capture. Under these circumstances the admiralty judge, Lewis Morris, ordered the marshal to take custody of the snow, and appointed Benjamin Nicoll and William Smith, jr., the writer of this letter (see doc. no. 188, note 13), to be advocates for the Lords of the Admiralty, whose interests seemed to him to be involved. Thus there were four parties claiming—the original captors, Crew, the King, and the Admiralty. April 7 the snow was libelled on behalf of the Admiralty. Later, Etherington withdrew and Crew's claim was ruled out, but as between the King and the Admiralty Judge Lewis Morris gave no decision before his death in 1762. His successor, Judge Richard Morris, gave judgment Aug. 10, 1764, but it has not been preserved.]
[Footnote 3: 200 hogsheads, says the New York Gazette of Apr. 11; the Gazette of June 27, by the way, enumerates 23 privateers then in New York harbor.]
After her Arrival in Port, she was seized first by a Privateer, and then by the Southerland Man of War, who both claim her as their Property respectively.
Colonel Morris, the Judge of the Vice-Admiralty, apprehending that the Lords of the Admiralty might be interested, issued a Warrant, by which the Snow was taken into the Custody of the Marshal of that Court; and as their Lordships have as yet appointed neither Proctor nor Advocate in this, and the Colonies of Connecticut and New Jersey, his Honour the Commissary was pleased on this Occasion to assign Council (as you will perceive by the inclosed) to examine into the Affair, and prosecute on their Lordships Behalf.
We have accordingly interposed a Libel for that Purpose, and let me beg the Favour of you, to wait upon their Lordships, for an authentic Copy of their Patent, and such Information, as may be thought proper to be transmitted.
Whether their Lordships, in Case of a Sentence in their Favour, will be pleased to consider the Captors, or chuse rather to reserve the Prize to themselves, I conceive it will be necessary, that a proper Power be sent over; of which you will be so good as to put their Lordships in Mind; and whatever Directions and Papers are given into your Hands, please to forward them with the utmost Dispatch to,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant
WM. SMITH Junior.
Captain Morris,
[Endorsed:] By the Leicester Packet: To Staats L. Morris, Esquire, London.[4]
[Footnote 4: Staats Long Morris, son of the judge and brother of the "signer" Lewis Morris, was at this time a captain in the British army, later married the Dowager Duchess of Gordon, and died a British general.]
200. Letter of Stephen Hopkins. January 15, 1757.[1]
[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, Admiralty, 1:3819. The writer, Stephen Hopkins (1707-1785), celebrated as a governor of Rhode Island (1755-1757, 1758-1762, 1763-1765, 1767-1768) and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was at this time governor. The letter is a duplicate bearing an original signature. It was addressed to Richard Partridge, agent in London for the colony from 1715 to 1759. He dying March 5, 1759, receipt of this letter is acknowledged by his executor, Joseph Sherwood, May 11; letter in Miss Kimball's Correspondence of the Colonial Governors of Rhode Island, II. 289. Sherwood, appointed agent as Partridge's successor, pursued the general assembly's request, but apparently without success, the Lords of the Admiralty thinking it unnecessary to appoint a register and marshal in Rhode Island, when there were already such officers in Massachusetts; ibid., II. 289, 293, 298, 304, 306.]
RHODE ISLAND January 15, 1759.
Sir,
You may remember that near a Year ago I wrote you by Order of the General Assembly to endeavor to procure a Judge of the Court of Vice Admiralty to be appointed within and for this Colony.[2] And as you very soon finished that Affair successfully, a Judge being appointed and commissioned, so he hath been accordingly sworn into his Office. Notwithstanding this being so far done, yet there appears to be a Deficiency of the Officers of that Court, as no Register or Marshal have been appointed. It is true there hath commonly been a Deputy Register in this Colony appointed by a Principal living in Boston at a great Distance from the Colony, and within another Jurisdiction, which seems incompatible, and it is solely at his Option, whether he will appoint a Deputy to attend in this Colony or not, the Inconvenience of which is obvious at the first View: And it doth not appear that any Commission hath been given for a Marshal of the Court of Vice Admiralty in this Colony since one Mr. Gibbs was appointed to that Office who hath been dead many years.[3]
[Footnote 2: By vote of the assembly, R.I. Col. Rec., VI. 107, passed at the October session of 1757, Stephen Hopkins was instructed to write to London requesting the appointment of a vice-admiralty judge especially for Rhode Island, and recommending Col. John Andrews to be the person. He wrote to Partridge, who on May 13, 1758, acknowledges receipt of the letter, Kimball, Corr. Govs. R.I., II. 273, and on May 24 announces his success, ibid., II. 275, where also is printed the warrant of the Lords of the Admiralty to Sir Thomas Salusbury, judge of the High Court of Admiralty, to issue a commission to Andrews. Thus Rhode Island was taken out of the jurisdiction of Chambers Russell, vice-admiralty judge at Boston, who is commonly said to have been judge for all southern New England from 1750 to 1767. Andrews remained judge till the Revolution.]
[Footnote 3: George Gibbs, appointed marshal about 1743, ibid., I. 244.]
The General Assembly, sensible of the great Inconveniences and Mischiefs likely to attend the Want of those Officers, as you will see by their Vote accompanying this Letter, have directed me in their Behalf to desire you immediately to make proper Application to the Lords of the Admiralty, and use your utmost Endeavours to obtain a Register and Marshal of the Court of Vice Admiralty to be appointed and commissioned for this Colony.[4] You will also perceive by the aforesaid Vote of the General Assembly that they desire the Office of Register may be obtained for Mr. Thomas Vernon,[5] and that of Marshal for Mr. William Mumford,[6] who have been the acting Persons in those two Offices in this Colony for near Twenty Years past, and have each in their several Duties of Office conducted themselves unblameably, and in all other Respects maintained unblemished Characters.
[Footnote 4: Vote in R.I. Col. Rec., VI. 174.]
[Footnote 5: Postmaster of Newport. His diary during his banishment thence as a Tory in 1776 has been printed in R.I. Hist. Tracts, XIII. (Providence, 1881).]
[Footnote 6: Captain of Fort George, Newport.]
I am certain it must be needless for me to say any Thing further of this Matter, since you will have the General Assembly's Order concerning it, which must have infinitely Greater Weight in urging you to prosecute this Affair, with Zeal and Dispatch, than any Thing I could say.
In Behalf of the Colony and for myself, with great Regards I subscribe
Your faithful Friend, and the Colony's Obedient Servant
STEP: HOPKINS.
201. Notes on Commissions for Trying Pirates. March 10, 1762, August 26, 1772.[1]
[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, Admiralty, 1:3679. The note of March 10, 1762, and the list of commissions, were enclosures in the note of Aug. 26, 1772. The writer, Samuel Seddon, was solicitor to the Admiralty. John Clevland, to whom the earlier letter was addressed, was secretary to that body from 1751 to 1763; Philip Stephens, from 1763 to 1795. For these commissions to try pirates, see doc. no. 51, note 2, and doc. no. 106, note 1. The death of George II. and the accession of George III., 1760, made necessary the issue of new commissions. The persons included in the commission were, in each case, the governor, the vice-admiral, flag-officers, and commander-in-chief of any squadron within the admiralty jurisdiction of the colony, its lieutenant-governor and council, the chief civil judge, the judge of the vice-admiralty, the captains and commanders of royal ships within the jurisdiction, the secretary of the colony, the surveyor general of customs, and the collector of plantation duties. Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial, IV. 485-487; John Adams, Works, IX. 628.]
Sir,
I take the Liberty to acquaint you, that in Obedience to the Directions of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, signified by your Letter of the 30th December last, I have solicited the passing of several Commissions through the proper Offices, for Trying Pirates at the following Places, Vizt.
{ At Jamaica, By the Danae { Barbadoes, { The Leeward Islands.
{ The Bahama Islands, { South Carolina and Georgia, By the Gosport { North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, { New York, New Jersey, { Pensilvania and Connecticut.
} Massachusets Bay, By the Launceston } Nova Scotia, } Newfoundland, and By the Gosport Bermuda Islands.
And I herewith send you the Said Commissions, being Eleven in Number, which have been passed under the Seal of the High Court of Admiralty, and are all dated the 14th day of January last.
I am
Sir
Your most humble and most obedient Servant,
SAM'L SEDDON.
PICCADILLY 10th March 1762. Honourable John Cleveland Esquire
Sir,
In Obedience to the Directions of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty signified to me in your Letters of the 24th instant, That I should let you know what Commissions for the Trials of Pirates in America, I have passed through the several Offices, in Consequence of Mr Cleveland's Letter of the 1st February 1762, and the Time when, and by what Conveyances I sent them to the respective Colonies: And also, whether any Commission has been passed in His present Majesty's Reign for Trying Pirates at Rhode Island; I take the Liberty to acquaint you for their Lordships Information, that in Obedience to an Admiralty Order signified to me in a Letter from the late Mr. Secretary Cleveland dated the 30th day of December 1761, I solicited the Passing of Eleven Commissions for trying of Pirates at Rhode Island, and other Places in America, all which were dated the 14th of January 1762 as appears by the enclosed Extract, taken from the Entries thereof made in the Register's Office at Doctors Commons; And I further take the Liberty to acquaint you, that on the 10th day of March 1762, I sent the said Eleven Commissions to Mr. Cleveland; as appears by the enclosed Copy of my Report to their Lordships of that Date
I am
Sir
Your most humble and most obedient Servant,
SAM'L SEDDON.
PICCADILLY 26th August 1772.
Philip Stephens Esquire.
Extract of Commissions for Trying Pirates in America. 14th January 1762.[2]
[Footnote 2: The figures refer to pages in the appropriate volume of the registers of the High Court of Admiralty.]
} Commission for trying such } North Carolina } Pirates as shall be taken and } Maryland, and } carryed into His Majesty's } 169 Virginia } Provinces of North Carolina, } } Maryland and Virginia. }
} Commission for Trying such } Bahama } Pirates as shall be taken and } 176 Islands } carried into His Majesty's Bahama } } Islands. Dated the same Day. }
} Commission for Trying such } } Pirates as shall be taken and carried } Bermuda } into His Majesty's Bermuda } 180 Islands } Islands. Of the same Date. }
} Commission for Trying such } Island of } Pirates as shall be taken and carried } Newfoundland } into His Majesty's Island } 184 } of Newfoundland. Of the same } } Date. }
} Commission of the same Date, } Province of } for Trying such Pirates as shall } Nova Scotia } be taken and carried into His } 187 } Majesty's Province of Nova } } Scotia. }
} Commission of the same Date, } Island of } for Trying such Pirates as shall } 191 Barbadoes } be taken and carried into His } } Majesty's Island of Barbadoes. }
} Commission of the same Date, } New York } for Trying such Pirates as shall } New Jersey } be taken and carried into His } 195 Pensylvania } Majesty's Provinces of New } and Connecticut } York, New Jersey, Pensylvania, } } and Colony of Connecticut. }
} Commission of the same Date, } Leeward } for Trying such Pirates, as shall } 200 Islands } be taken and carried into His } } Majesty's Leeward Islands. }
} Commission of the same Date, } Island of } for Trying such Pirates, as shall } 205 Jamaica } be taken and carried into His } } Majesty's Island of Jamaica. }
} Commission of the same Date, } Provinces of } for Trying such Pirates, as shall } South Carolina } be taken, and carried into His } 209 and Georgia } Majesty's Provinces of South } } Carolina and Georgia. }
} Commission of the same Date, } Massachusetts } for Trying such Pirates, as shall } Bay, New } be taken, and carried into His } Hampshire } Majesty's Provinces of the } 214 and Rhode } Massachusetts Bay and New } Island } Hampshire, and Colony of Rhode } } Island. }
Sir,
The Danae sailed 6th May 1762 for Jamaica and Leeward Islands.
Gosport 7 April 1762 for Virginia and Maryland.
Launceston 7 April 1762 New England.
but cannot find out how the Pacquets to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were conveyed.
202. Articles of Agreement; the Mars. June 23, 1762.[1]
[Footnote 1: Printed broadside, 20 by 16 inches, preserved among the papers of the New York vice-admiralty court, no. 85 in the "large book". It bears near the heading a picture of two vessels, with the legend, "Success to the Brigantine Mars." With these elaborate articles of agreement may be compared the articles of agreement, substantially similar, of the Rhode Island privateer Defiance, 1756, in the Newport Historical Magazine, II. 198-204, or those of the General Washington and the Belisarius, 1781, presented in facsimile in the N.Y. Geneal. and Biog. Record, LIII. 349-351.]
New-York, June 25, 1762. Articles of Agreement Made and Agreed upon, Between Capt. Dennis M'Gillycuddy,[2] Commander of the Privateer Brigantine, call'd, the Mars, and Company. (Printed by H. Gaine, in Hanover-Square.)[3]
[Footnote 2: The Mars came in on Apr. 21 from a previous cruise, under the same captain. New York Mercury, Apr. 26, 1762. May 22, the vice-admiralty court pronounced a decree in a suit brought by her commander, as libellant, against the prize snow Johnson. July 2, we find him, as owner of the Mars, 16 guns, petitioning for a fresh commission as commander of her. Cal. Hist. MSS. N.Y., II. 732, 734. "On Monday last [July 5] sailed from the Hook, on a Cruize against his Majesty's Enemies, the Privateer Brig Mars, Capt. McGillycuddy"; Mercury, July 12. The issues of Oct. 18 and Nov. 29 show that she made many prizes, but lost her captain.] |
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