The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-03 00:00:00

CAPI URE OF A BRITISH STEAMER.

The New York Tribune contains the following
statement respecting the capture of a British
steamer near Moro Castle, Havannah :
" Private correspondence from Havannah relates
certain facts, the details of which, if confirmed,
may involve us in some difficulty with the Spanish
and perhaps with the English Government. These
are the facts, such as they are communicated to us
by trustworthy authority :—On the Bth of the pre-
sent month the merchant ship Blanche, Captain
Smith, carrying the English flag, formerly engaged
in the trade between New Orleans and Cuba, but
sold, since the war, to an English house, was
coming from Matamoras to Cuba, when she stopped
at a small port called Mulata to take in
coal. She then sailed for Havannah with a Spanish
pilot on board. When near that place and off
Mariano, she saw at a distance an American ship
running toward her with all speed. The ship
proved to be the gunboat Montgomery, Captain
Hunter. Unfortunately, the captain of the Blanche
became alarmed, and, instead of waiting for ber,
attempted to escape. The Montgomery continued
her pursuit, compelled her to wear around, and
ran her ashore six miles north of Moro Castle. The
sea Alcalde, who had watched her movements from
the shore, took a boat, and with two or three other
men went on board the Blanche, on which he
hoisted the Spanish flag as a sign that she was
under the protection of the Spanish Government.
At the same time Captain Hunter, of the Mont-
gomery, ordered two boats with armed men
to go on board the Blanche, and to take
forcible possession of the vessel. Once on
board, the officer in command explained to
Captain Smith and to the Alcalde what his mission
was, and told them that he had received orders to
carry the Blanche away, if possible; if not, to set
fire to her and to burn her cargo. Capt. Smith and
the Spanish official having protested against such
proceedings, a quarrel ensued, in which the officer
of the Montgomery slapped the Alcalde in the face,
and with the aid of his men drove him ashore.
together with the three Spaniards who were with
him. After this they came back, set fire to the
ship, and carried away the Cuban pilot who had
been taken by Capt. Smith at Mariano. When the
Spanish Governor at Havannah received the account
of the affair, orders were given to a Spanish frigate
to sail forthwith, and to capture the perpetrator of
the deed, But the Montgomery had disappeared,
and at the latest date no trace of her had been
discovered. At the same time despatches were
sent to Mr. Tenara, the Spanish Minister at Wash-
ington, giving the details of the matter, which by
this time must have been submitted to Mr. Seward.
Although the Spanish papers seem yet uncertain
about the name of the vessel which burnt the
Blanche, our private information leads us to be-
lieve that it was the Montgomery. There is in town
a letter dated October 7, written by an officer of
that ship, stating that she was on her way to Ha-
vannah, intending to reach there the next day. No
vessel of that name having entered that port on the
10th, the probabilities are that the Montgomery,
and not the Dacotah, which has been named, is the
vessel implicated in this affair. Last evening we
received the positive assurance that the Blanche is
an English vessel engaged in a legitimate trade,
and that when she was met by the Montgomery
she was coming from Matamoras with a cargo, of
cotton for Havannah."