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The Gertrude.

when taken, the prize was heading or running directly into Old Topsail inlet, which then bore west about four miles; that New Topsail inlet, at the time of boarding and seizing the schooner, bore northwest by north, from three to three and a half miles; that the prize was, when discovered, heading, with a fair wind, directly into New Topsail inlet; that, as soon as she saw the Mount Vernon, she went about, and headed out from the shore; and that, after the capture, he had several conversations with the supercargo of the vessel, captured in her, who told him that he was aware of the blockade, and had run the blockade of Charleston and Wilmington several times, and that the schooner intended to run the blockade into Wilmington. The further proofs so furnished in the case show conclusively the illicit character of the voyage upon which the schooner was engaged at the time of her capture. A decree of condemnation and forfeiture must, accordingly, be entered against the vessel and her cargo.

THE STEAMER GERTRUDE AND CARGO.

Vessel and cargo condemned for an attempt to violate the blockade, and because of false papers as to their destination, and because the cargo was partly contraband of war, on transportation to a port of the enemy.

(Before BETTS, J., July, 1863.)

BETTS, J.: The above vessel and cargo were captured, as prize, at sea, by the United States ship-of-war Vanderbilt, on the 16th of April, 1863; and, due proceedings being thereupon taken before the court, on the return by the marshal of the monition and attachment served in the suit, a decree of default, for want of an appearance or answer of any party intervening for the vessel or cargo, has been regularly entered.

Upon papers captured on board of the vessel, and the proofs in preparatorio, the facts in the case appear to be, that she had a certificate of British registry, executed at London, January 10, 1863, to Thomas Sterling Begbie, of that place, she being of British build the same month. On the 8th of April, 1863, a shipping agreement was made between James Raison and a crew for a voyage in said vessel from the port of Nassau to any port or ports in North or South America, or the West Indies, or Bermuda, and back to the port of Nassau, not to exceed three months. On the same day she cleared from said port of Nassau, for St. Johns, N. B., with a miscellaneous cargo, including contraband of war, shipped the same day by Henry Adderley &

The Glen.

Co., at Nassau, for St. Johns, N. B., deliverable to order, with a letter of advice from the shipper, dated April 7, 1863, addressed to W. J. R. Wright, at St. Johns. No log-book was found on board.

The master, the third mate, and the engineer of the vessel were examined as witnesses. The prize was captured about 8 o'clock a. m., on the 16th of April, off the island of Eleuthera, after three hours' chase. Four guns were fired at her by the chasing ship to bring her to. The master says that he understood the object, but kept on his course, endeavoring to get out of the way; that he was bound, by his papers, to St. Johns, but was going to Charleston, if he could get there; that his cargo, loaded at Nassau, consisted of powder, tin plate, boots, blankets, and hops; that he and the owner knew all about the war and the blockade of Charleston; that he attempted to enter that port knowing that it was blockaded by the United States government; that there was a passenger on board-a Charleston pilot-under an assumed name; that the witness was generally steering his vessel for Charleston; and that he had attempted, during the voyage, to enter Charleston or Wilmington, or wherever he could get in, and was chased off. The other two witnesses give no testimony contradicting the master, or favoring the innocency of the vessel. . It accordingly is proved satisfactorily to the court, that the voyage was got up, and prosecuted down to the seizure of the vessel, with the intent and endeavor to break the blockade; that her papers as to her destination were simulated and false; and that she was carrying cargo contraband of war, with the design to convey it to the aid and use of the enemy, with full knowledge of the criminality of the enterprise.

A decree of condemnation and forfeiture of the vessel and cargo must be entered.

THE SCHOONER GLEN AND CARGO.

Vessel and cargo discharged from seizure and restored to the claimant, with costs and damages, because of a wrongful arrest.

(Before BETTS, J., July, 1863.)

BETTS, J.: This vessel, and cargo were captured at sea, June 20, 1863, by the United States gunboat Columbia, and were sent into this port for adjudication. The defence to the action is, that the vessel was a

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The Glen.

British bottom, lawfully on a voyage from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, to Matamoras, Mexico, on the voyage upon which she was seized.

The papers returned with the prize are, a certificate of British registry executed to Nehemiah K. Clements, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, as owner of the vessel, showing that she was built at Nova Scotia August 4, 1859; a shipping agreement, entered into with the crew in November and December, 1862, for a voyage from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, to a port or ports in the British West Indies, thence to a port or ports to which the vessel may lawfully go, for a term not to exceed six months, to her final discharge in Nova Scotia; a certificate of the entry and clearance of the vessel by the British vice-consul at Matamoras, April 22, 1863; a journal or log-account of the voyage of the vessel from Matamoras, commencing in June, 1863; and a manifest of 84 bales of cotton from Matamoras to Nassau, N. P., dated May 23, 1863.

From the proofs in preparatorio it seems that the vessel was on her voyage from Matamoras to Nassau, but was a bad sailer, and, owing to the state of the weather, was unable to make her course across the Gulf Stream; that it was attempted by her master, with the consent of her supercargo, to carry her to the port of New York; that her master was attempting so to navigate her when she was seized; that she was not making for any other port; and that when seized she was, as was supposed, from 80 to 100 miles off Cape Hatteras. Her ship's company were all British subjects, and none of them had any interest in the vessel or cargo. The vessel was loaded with cotton alone. No. reasonable suspicion against the integrity of the voyage is made to appear upon the testimony, either from her position or her lading, or the conduct of the crew previously, or when she was captured, or her consorting with or being connected with any other vessel or voyage. Nor is it indicated to the court, by any argument, brief, or suggestion on the part of the United States, that the captured vessel committed any culpable act on her voyage.

It is, therefore, ordered and decreed, that the vessel and cargo be discharged from seizure and be restored to the claimant, with costs and damages, because of the wrongful arrest.

Decree accordingly.

The Isabella Thompson.

THE BRIG ISABELLA THOMPSON AND CARGO.

In this case the neutral consignee, at a neutral port, of a cargo delivered there by a vessel which had brought it from a blockaded port of the enemy, in violation of the blockade, acquired a perfect title to it, as against persons who captured it as prize on its subsequent transportation on a neutral vessel, from such neutral port to another neutral port.

Acting on the persuasion that the cargo had been unlawfully brought from a blockaded port, and had been directly laden from the first vessel into the second vessel, the captors acted properly in bringing in the latter vessel and her cargo for adjudication.

Had any solidarity of interests between the two vessels, in the entire voyage from the enemy port to the last neutral port, been established by the proofs, or any complicity between them in the enterprise, the captors might well invoke the judgment of the court in condemnation of the enterpris.

Vessel and cargo released from seizure and restored to the claimants, without damages or costs, with permission to the libellants to move for leave to give further proofs on the above points. (Before BETTS, J., July, 1863.)

BETTS, J.: This vessel and cargo were captured, as prize of war, June 19, 1863, on the Atlantic ocean, by the United States steamer United States, and were sent to this port for adjudication. James McDaniel, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, intervened and claimed as owner of the brig, and Nehemiah K. Clements, for himself and others, appeared and claimed the cargo.

As in the preceding case, the vessel had a certificate of British registry, given at Halifax, August 5, 1862, as being a British vessel, built in New Brunswick, in 1861, to James McDaniel, of Nova Scotia. She had a certificate of her entry and clearance at Halifax, April 27, 1863, for Nassau, N. P., with a cargo of sundries, and a clearance at Nassau, June 5, 1863, for Halifax, with a cargo' of spirits of turpentine and upland cotton, with a letter of instructions, a bill of lading, and an invoice conformable thereto. The cargo was taken on board in the harbor of Nassau. The ship's papers, upon their face, are regular, and in due order.

The master and the ship's company are shown, on the preparatory examination, to be British subjects, and to have no interest in the vessel or cargo. The voyage commenced at Halifax, and was to have ended there. The vessel made no port between Halifax and Nassau on the outward voyage, nor between the same ports on her return voyage, and was not near any port when captured, and had not attempted to enter any port on her return voyage. She was captured off St. George's Banks. All the papers on the vessel are regular and apparently fair.

No evidence is given, on the examination in preparatorio, that the cargo of the vessel was procured from a blockaded port by any person

The Isabella Thompson.

on board of or interested in the prize vessel, or that it was the property of such a person; and no reasonable color for doubt, or suspicion as to the lawfulness or fairness of the voyage in question is furnished by the evidence in the case, except what arises from the testimony of the cook, Gabriel English. He testifies that the cargo seized was laden into the prize vessel in the harbor of Nassau from the schooner Argyle, which had just run the blockade of Wilmington, bringing that cargo into Nassau; that he understood that the master of the Argyle was part owner of her, and he supposes that he owned part of her cargo also; and that the master was a southern man from Wilmington. This conjecture of the witness cannot affect the ownership of the consignees and shippers of the cargo at Nassau. The neutral consignee at that port acquired a perfect title to the cargo as against the captors, although it was carried to Nassau by runners of a blockade, and the libellants have no legal authority to arrest it on board of a neutral ship while transporting it from a neutral port.

But, acting on the persuasion that the cargo had been unlawfully brought from a blockaded port, and had been directly laden from the blockade-running vessel into the Isabella Thompson, the cruiser might, very naturally, believe that she possessed a rightful authority to intercept such transaction as one falling within the just cognizance of a prize court, and bring in the vessel and cargo for adjudication before that tribunal on such suspicion. Had any solidarity of interests between the Argyle and the Isabella Thompson, in the entire voyage from Wilmington to Halifax, been established by the proofs, or any complicity between the two vessels in the enterprise, the captors might well invoke the judgment of the court in condemnation of the enterprise. Although the evidence fails to make a clear case of illicit dealing on the part of the brig so as to subject her to forfeiture, I think a reasonable cause of suspicion arises out of the testimony, of sufficient force to justify the granting of permission to the libellants to give further proofs to that point, if moved for by them. As the proofs now stand, I shall order the brig and cargo to be released from this seizure, and to be restored to the claimants without damages or costs; but with permission to the libellants, on four days' previous notice to the claimants, to move the court for leave to give further proofs in this suit upon the aforesaid points.

Order accordingly.*

*An appeal was taken from this decree to the Supreme Court by the claimants, so far as it res fused to allow them damages and costs. That court, at the December term, 1865, affirmed the decree of the district court. (See 3 Wallace.)

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