The Federal mirror — Concord, N.H., 1796-02-09 00:00:00, page 1

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[VOLUME IV.] °
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More about the M'CLARY
a STATEMENT
Os the CAUSE of the M'CLA
RY OWNERS,
And Doanh and Doane's Administrators,
From its Commencement in 177,,
to its Close in the Supreme Court of the
United S^tt^ b 1 795-
Misira —u^jun ett vegum avt inc^%num.
0 THE caefe of<he M'Clary o+nta"^
, Soane has excited much enquiry arid obfer
yation. The opinion of the Ju^s of the
Supreme Court of the United States in Feb.;
179, upon it, with them reasons, has been 1
pubhfhtd. It was thought a ftrtement of |
the cause through its different ftafoj might 1
have its use. This has been attempted inl
the following fleets. It is hoped.it will be!
found to be stated with impirridiy; (heJ
writer, it is true, has an opinion resp Ring.
it. That opinion he has endeavors/ (horrid
not ' prejudice his mind so asto mift&e has.
If any evidence was before the Court of Ap.
peals more than was in the Supreme C>nrt
and the Maritime Court of Newhampihire,
it will not be found in his statement.
TN the year 1776, when America
l was contendig for liberty and in
dependence with Grratbriuin, one of 1
the most powerful nations of the earth
—and when all her resources and en
ergy were but Efficient to (uftaio the
cooteft—a number of merchants in
Portfmouch, John Penhailow, Jolhua
Wentworth, Atami Ruhamah Cutter,
Nathaniel Folsom, Samuel Sherburne,
Thomas Martin, Mofei Woodward,
Neil M'lntire, George Turner, Rich
ard Chsmpney,Robert Fu:mfi, faco
Treadwell, Thomas Daiting, Daniel
Shelburne, and Keith Spence, zealous
in the cause of their country, fitted
out a privateer called the M'Clary,
for the purpose of increafiog our own
Applies, and diftuffiag the common
enemy. In one of her cruizes in the
latter part of the summer of 1777,
th- fell in with and capurred a bugao
tine called the Warn As this cap
ture was made near a port io the pol
feffion of the Bririlh, and there was
every preemption from circumftaoc
es, to fuppoh the was fa&gon the
account, j@ belonged to our enemies,
ffiewas brought into thefft^f Pif
cataqua or Po^fmouth in the State of
Newhampfhire, for trial.
Amira ,egulady filed in the
" Court Maritime” for Gid State, by
* John Penhallow and Jicob Tread
well, agents for the owners of the
M'Clary. Jothua Sragpole command
, er. b, U.ft,, ,ff T^
h eoemm.wf*he United State#, and
George Wentworth, .gent for the
captors against the said brigantine,
called the Lufanoa& Matthew Wood
rnmrninrlfr hpino thP nnrtnen
commanoer, oeing w
seventy tons, or thereabout : for that
the laid armed brigantine M Clary
did on OT abo%&H 30th day Oct.
lift on the hisih fess within the iurif
rtc f U Chater Ait:
harhnr. which
said l^gaotioote libellant aver was
I CONCORD, tUBSDit, February 9 , 1796.
_____t„^fo—.^^^^^ ^O
- By means of all which, ^d by
virtue of rhe refolucioos of Congrete,
and the a&i and refo.ves of the date
of Newhamplhire, said vtfel and c^
go and appurtenances are forfeited.
Wherefore they pray procds agatof?
the said premdes, and that the tefe
mght be condemned and distributed
as the bid laws, rtlolves and rtlo.u
fiora.direaec "
Uooc this libel, Eifha Doane, of
We&et,'w the ihte ot Mathur
fens, Eqnre, put in a claim for the
:brigA rine tibelief,,od fundry articles
of her cargo )amounting to about
I £2ooo tteriirg.,
Jojiah Doane of B>fton, merchant,;
! claimed a part of the cargo, tmou%
kg to abou £123 sterling.
A claim was afo lodged in behalf
ofCapt. Jernes Shephard of B/fton,
for a part of the cargo, of the value of
aboui £(ls Ueiting.
And a part of rhe cargo was un
claimed, value uncertain.
On the 16th day of December,
1777, the caute was tried ard argu
ed by gentlemen, eminent for legal
labilities, when it appeared in evi
dence:
That Elitha Doane the claimant of
the Lufanoa, and the principal part of
her cargo, bad been owner of the said
vessel at the commencement of the
war with Greatbritain : and after
wards on the 16 h ot August, 1775,
during the war, bu prior to the de
claration of independence, ard the
time (Sept, loth, 1775) from which
Congrefa had resolved in (heir foil
meeting, " that all exportation to
Greatbritain, Ireland, and the Weft
inQies ought to cease," loaded her
with one hundred tons of fpermaceti
oil and other articles, cleaned out at
the port of Plymouth, in Massachu
setts bay, for London ; and consign
ed her and cargo in part to Shearj fh
ub bourne, Esq. hit fob in law ; who
Q going on the voyage in the brig
to London, or in his absence to Mess.
L^e, Son, arid Fraser, the remainder
to Mrill Lane, Son, and Frafe;;
that che Lutanna, with rhefe clearan
ces and thi, cargo, failed from Py
mou h or feme fmafl port nigh there,
ard toon iffefWaW w " obliged by
ftreh of weather to put i^to H,liGx
in Novafcotiv, a port in the poftffioa
of the British ; where The was taken
pofcffion ot by a Burith fro of war %
but afterward, liberated. The con
ditions of her befog liberated do noc
appear ; Mr. Bourne was obliged to
go to Boston; then the heed quartets
of the British army, lor the purpose.
mod it teems, various corfeaures re
fpedirg the terms of releasing hg,
prevailed ; one of which was, as ap
pears by : Doane's letter to Bourne,
that ” she was to bring a freight back
to Halifax or fame pm of America"
Thus at liberty me proceeded on her
Ivoyage, and arrived at London in
[islet,; with her cargo. 4
iou' waro i{vifo(w^wa% iu uc sei##, kuhi,
BY RUSSELL AND D^FIS, CONCORD, N^FHAMPSHIRE.
====-=^^ ^O=-^ —=====
Weftherf!, goods to be put on board,
to be fold there, and no notice to be|
tuken of the faftper memorandum.,]
On the 12th Febr. 17,6, Doane^
wri H to Lane, Son, and Fraser, and ;
<0 $ foe in law, Bourne, refpeaing
his property, and feuds to Bourne!
full power of attorney to tranfi& all ;
hit bufi^eU in England. In the letter ;
he^d9ifa him, "that as there would;
be no such thing as coming to Amer-|
ica with fafety, without the vessel is|
bottomed in England, he would havel
him (Bourne) secure the vessel to;
M/ffs.-Lane, Son, and Fraser, and to
take out a new register." And in,
another part he tells him % co bottomJ
the vessel in England, proceed to the ;
Weftindies with my things on board,|
and there load with silt or other pro-|
dyce as you (hall think best, and come;
directly to Chatham, or if you think'
best, come right from England io bal
last to Nantucket; or if you think
best, you have liberty to fell the brig-^
anfee, or employ her there," and to;
take Mr. Line's advice in all m#j
tem
After the arrival of the Lufanna in!
London; the oil was fold at the tale
o' £43 fierling per ton, the whole
cargo there 'would fell for about
£SOOO flerlicg. • •°
On the 3d August, 1776, a new|
register was taken out for the Lufsn-|
ni, in the name of " ShtyjUhu&
Bourse of London, merchant, at pre
fect e,rer thereof," to whith - Ms.!
Bourne made oath. Upon chit regis
ter the Lufanna wis employed by
Bourne in the freighting buffiefe from
England, on government account ; as
appears by a letter stem M ff^ La^e,
Son, and F'rfer, of 'he d^te of O3o
berift, ! 77^ <o Bourne. In which
they fay; " We have your favors of
the fl and 27th p ft. in refpeft to
you: brigantine Lufanna ; (he isbut,
jug clear of the channel,- when fhe|
was upon the point of clearing out at
the custom house, it wn dilcovered
that the person who (applied the of
fice of ordnance with the x timber had
made a mistake in the entry ; in coa
fcquence of which all the fir was taken
out and reloaded. The commiffiou
era of the customs infiftiog it Ihouid
not go in the vessel, many spp!ica,
cions wete made to fill up with other:
timber, but refufed^ At length we
had a meeting with the Shipper, 'who
after much altercation agreed to pay
full freight for the goods taken out,
aid iUo' £66 for demurrage. The
board of ordnance i.fifted the vessel
Should go forward, with what was left
on board, and finding we could rot
make the, board or the Drippers of the
wood anffeersb'e for any toh or dif
appomtment, in regard to her home
ward bound freight $ we thought it
for your interest that we should accept
the offei made us." ,nd they fur^
cher fay, - we thkk it lucky for the
concerned, ch.t [he did ft 0 fo,er
taken bv a
hx veneia nave ■
provincial privateer ; and „ we find
our men of war are QUifiag, appie-1
much n!que
\
weeks uoa" # I
^ 3 [number 172.]
the brigamiee LtrTnna was employed
I to cap, pitch, rar, ritober and bricky'
I which be uoceiftood were orcnandl
(lores ffom tenden to Gibraltar, and
; he foppofet on account of the govern
;meat of Ge^britain ; at the flag they
wore had ick the figure of three blue
4 balls and (free gun carriages ; that
I they failed on the voyage last men*
^tinned or the firftrfay erf Oapber,^,
! 1776. The colours above described,
I were received of a gentteman, who
; he (uppofed co be a government con
; trador, who used to *fk 6hy the
'brigantine did not wear ordnance to
; lours, as she had ordnance floret on
[board ; and on beiog ahfwered they
: had no ordnance colours on board,
Ithe said centrador luppiied them, -.
and afterward mide Capt. Wood pa,
I for them."[
Upon Mr. Bourne's failing for
England in the . Lofanna, a corfign
ment was made to him by Mr. Doanes
ot a quantity of oil hipped for Lon
don in the brig Inouftry ; which fail
led about the f-me time from Amen-
I ca with the Lufanna : Soon alter fail
!ing, she was captured by a Bn^fli
I armed vtftl, and carried into Boston,
I and condemned with all her ca^go, for
non-compliance wi,h the term, of the
retraining aft so called. The vessel
and great part of her cargo was ejaim
led on behalf of the owners. The
I pare belonging to Mr. Doane wasnoc
^claimed, Whilst Mr,.Bourse was in
ft England, in a memorial to tire lords .^
;commiffioners of the treafur, on the
I goth Jan. 1777, he fays, " your me-
Imorialift begs leave to represent to
I your lotdfh ps, ch^t at the time of
the seizure and condemnation of the
/ said one hundred sod two efk? of oil^
(meaning the oil Chipped on board
the bduftry as a'orefaid); he was ^€
IHalifax, in the province of Nohire
1 ria, on his p^ff^ge to England, and
I never received any information of the
I said seizure, trial or cordemr^tioo,
luntil after your memorU^'s oil was
fold at public audioo.
That your memoiia'ift hath ever
been and fttll is one of his Mjrft,a
loyal fubjefy; and by every a& in
his power he hath maintained a firm
attachment to government, ard hit
loyalty to his most sacred M j fty'a
person, government and laws ; and '
whiffi in America publickly and prk
vately difevowed all batons, which
might h^ve a tendency to fuhvert hit
M#jefty's government and the confti
turion , and by a Ready perseverance
had rendered his person and property
so update ; that he was obliged to
convey himfelf, with a very small
(bare of his property, away from hi,
native land to this kingdom, and bro't
iwith Ifo very con fiderable quanta
ty of oil, which he apprehended wa,
much wanted io (his kingdom ; dr
Bfolves of a bo,
:upon them
your memo
tor
reflet nF
0 him the
/ skat
& Grinned