The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-29 00:00:00

FATE OF THE PRESIDENT.

The New York papers received last night contain the
particulars of a long. investigation into the fate of this
unfortunate vessel, instituted by Mr. Buchanan, the Bri-
tish. Consul for the port of New York. He convened a
meeting at the office of his consulate, for the purpose of
inquiring- into the condition of this steam ship when she
put to sea last from New York, what cargo she had, 'how
her-coal was stowed, whether there was any deficiency
of spars, yards, &c., whether or not she was hogged or
strained by previous storms, and every particular con-
nected with her up to the last time that she was sent to
sea, so •far us known by any one in the United States.
The meeting was attended by Jacob Walton, Esq.,
Rear-Admiral of the White, George Barclay, Esq., the
agent for Lloyd's in the port of New York, Thomas W.
Moore, Esq., her Majesty's packet agent, Mr. Henry
Smith, of the firm of Wadsworth and Smith, the agents
for the steam ships President and British Queen, Capt.
Benjamin Waite, of the packet-ship England, Captain
Cole, of the packet-ship Orpheus, Captain Bell, and seve-
ral other gentlemen eminent for experience in nautical
matters. The pilot who took the President to sea, Mr.
Lockman, one of the New York pilots, was not present ; .
but a gentleman was there to represent and speak for
him. The meeting was organized by calling Rear-Ad-
miral Walton to the chair, and appointing George Bar-
clay, Esq., secretary. •
The gentleman who appeared for Mr. Locknian, the
pilaf., said, that when the pilot left the President, Captain
Roberts observed that he felt satisfied of making a quick
passage ; that his vessel was in good order, he had
abundance of fuel, &c. ; and that with regard to her
trim, she was only about one and a half inces by the
head. Captain Cole, of the ship Orpheus, stated, that
he left New York in company with the steam-ship Pre-
sident on the morning of 'the 11th 'of March last,- and
that he was in sight of her until about sundown on the •
evening of the 12th. The Captain further stated, that when
he last saw the President rising on the top of a tremendous
sea, she appeared to be pitching heavily and labouring tre-
mendously. She was then situate in that dangerous
part of the Atlantic Ocean, about midway between
the Nantucket Shoal and the Saint George's Bank,
just where the Gulf stream strikes soundings, and
where the. waves rise almost straight up and down and
as high as a four or five story house ; that the President
then must have been shipping seas heavily and fast •,
that, probably, these large bodies of water worked
through into the engine-room or fire-room, and extin-
guished the fires, in which case the steamer would have
been comparatively helpless ; that the storm was terrific
all that night ; that next morning the wind shifted zud-
denly from N.E. to S.E., knocking up a still more tre-
mendous sea, and that the gale continued with unabated
fury till midnight of the 13th, and that it is his belief,
that the President did not survive that gale, but foun-
dered 'with all 'on board, and that all perished before sun-
down on the 13th, or in less than 24 hours after he last
saw lier And, most probably, in the terrific night of the
12th of March.
In this opinion Captain, Waite and the other nautical
gentlemen seemed to. coincide.
After this the meeting broke up, and the folkowing
statement was drawn up for publication by the gentle-
men whose names are hereunto attached.
STEAM PACKET-SHIP PRESIDENT.
British Consulate, New York, June 5, 1841.
Present Rear-Admiral Walton, George Barclay, Esq.,
agent for Lloyd's, and Thomas W. Moore, Esq., her
Majesty's packet agent, who met by appointment to in-
vestigate such reports and matters as relate to the said
vessel, previous to her departure from this port on the
11th day of March last.
The letters from Consul Buchanan, of the 31st May,
addressed to Messrs. Wadsworth and Smith, the agents
for the proptietors, and their answer being read, the fol-
lowing facts were satisfactorily elicited.
That there was no coal on deck, and that the ship was
in proper trim, drawing 17 feet 9 inches abaft, and 17
feet 6 inches forward.
That she was not fully loaded, having spare room for
about 400 barrels.
That the statement of deficiency of sails and spars has
been satisfactorily rejected by the letter of Junius Smith,
Esq., of London, which has appeared.
That when last seen by Captain Cole, of the Orpheus,
during the storm at four P.M., on the 12th March, be-
tween Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank, at which
time the ship Orpheus was labouring heavily, and ship-
ping large quantities of water on her deck.
ACOB WALTON,
Rear Admiral of the White.
GEORGE BARCLAY.
THOMAS WM. MOORE.

MR. M,LEOD AND THE UNITED
STATES GOVERNMENT.
COPY OF INSTRUCTIONS • TO MR. CRITTEN-
DEN, INCLOSED IN THE CORRESPONDENCE
BETWEEN MESSRS. WEBSTER AND FOX.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
Washington, March 16, 1841.
Sir,—Alexander M`Leod, a Canadian subject of her
Britannic Majesty, is now imprisoned at Lockport, in
the State of New York, under an indictment for murder,
alleged to have been committed by him in the attack on
and destruction of the steam-boat Caroline, at Schlosser,
in that State, on the night of the 29th of December,
1837 ; and his trial is expected to take place at Lockport
on the 22d instant.
You are apprised of the correspondence which took

place between Mr. Forsyth, late Secretary of State, and
Mr. Fox, her Britannic Majesty's Minister here, on this
subject, in December last.
In his note to Mr. Fox of the 26th of that month, Mr.
Forsyth says :—" If the destruction of the Caroline was
a public act. of persons in her Majesty's service, obeying'
the order of their superior authorities, that fact has not
been before communicated to the Government of the United
States by e. person authorised to make the admission, and
it will.be for the Court which has taken coonizano of
the offence with which Mr. M'Leod is charged to decide
upon its validity when legally established before it.
" The President deems this to be' a proper occasion to
remind the Government of her Britannic Majesty that
the case of the Caroline has been long since brought to
Mt, attention of her Majesty's principal Secretary .of
State for ;,,-:eign Affairs, who, up to this day, has not
.communicated its decision thereupon. It is 'hoped that
the.GOvernment of her .Mai'stY will perceive the
.im-
portance of no longer leaving the Government of -the
-:
United States uninformed of its I,lb. 's and intentions
upon a subject which has naturally produes:d much ex-
asperation, and which has led to such grave conse-
qu e n 6cs?.' •
I have now to inform you that Mr. Fox has addressed
a note to this department;under date of the 12th inst.., in
which, under the immediate instruction and direction of
his Government, he demands, formally and officially,
Mg:eod's immediate release, on the ground that the trans-
action,
On account of which he has been 'arrested, and is to
be put upon his trial, 'eras of a public character, planned
and executed by the persons duly empoweredby her Ma- '
jesty's colonial authorities to take any steps, and do any
acts which might" be necessary for the • defence of
her Majesty's territories, and for' the protection of her
Majesty's subjects ; and that consequently those sub-
jects of her Majesty who engaged in that transaction
were performing an act of public duty, for which they
cannot be made personally and individually answerable
to the laws and tribunals of any foreign country ;' and
that her Majesty's Government has further directed Mr.
For: to make- knoirn'tn-the-lamtrirtnent thefUnited
States that her Majesty's Government entirely approve
of the course pursued by Mr. Fox, and the language
adopted by him in the correspondence above mentioned..
There is, therefore, now, an authentic declaration on
the part, of the British Government that the attack
on the Caroline was an act of public force, done by
Military
.men, under the orders of their superiors,
and is recognised as such under the Queen's Govern-
ment. The importance of this deelcration is not •to
, doubted, and the President is of opinion that it
calls upon him for the performance of a high duty.
That an individual forming part of a public' force, and
acting under the authority of his Government, is not
to be held answerable, as a private trespasser or
malefactor,
Pis a principle of public law, sanctioned
by the usages of all civilised nations, and which the
Government of the United States has no inclination
to dispute. This has no connection whatever with
the question whether, in this case, the attack on the
Caroline was, .as the British Government think it, a
justifiable employment of force for the purpose of de-
fending the British territory from unprovoked attack, •
or whether it was a most unjustifiable invasion in
time of peace of the territory of the United States,
as this Government has regarded it. The two ques-
tions are essentially different ; and, while acknowledging
that an individual may claim immunity from the conse-
quences of acts done by him, by showing that he acted
under national authority, this Government is not to be
understood as changing the opinions which it has here-
tofore expressed in regard to the real nature of the trans-
action which resulted in the deStruction of the Caroline.
That subject it is not necessary for any purpose con-
nected with this communication, to discuss. The views
of this Government in relation to it are known to that
of England ; and we are expecting the answer of that
Government to The communication which has been made
to it.

All that is intended to be said, at present is, that,
since the attack on the Caroline is avowed as a na-
tional act which may justify reprisals, or even general
war, if the Government of the United States, in the
judgment which it shall form of the transaction, and of
its own duty, should see fit so to decide, yet that it
raises a question entirely public and political, a question
between independent nations, and that individuals con-
cerned in it cannot be arrested and tried before the ordi-
nary tribunals, as for the violation of municipal law.
If the attack on the Caroline was unjustifiable, as this
Government has asserted, the law which has been vio-
lated is the law of nations, and the redress which is to be
sought is the redress authorised in such cases by the
provisions of that code.
You are aware that the President had no power to'
arrest the proceedings in the civil and criminal Courts of
the State of New York. If this indictment were pend-
ing in one of the Courts of the United States, I am
directed to say that the President upon the receipt of
Mr. Fox's last communication, would have immediately,
directed a nolle prosequi to be entered.
Whether in this case the Governor of New Ycrk have
that power, or, if he' haVe,- Whether he would feel it his
duty to exercise it, are points upon which we are not
informed.

It is understood that M'Leod is hoiden also on civil
process; sued out against him by the owner of the
Caroline. We suppose it very clear that the Executive
of the State cannot interfere with such a process ;
and, indeed, if such.process were pending in the Courts
of the United States, the President could not arrest
it.
~,In such and many analogous cases, the party
prosecuted '.or sued must avail himself of his ex-
emption or defence by judicial proceedings, either
in the Court into which he is called, or in
some other Court. Bat whether the process be
criminal or civil, the fact of having acted under public
authority, and in obedience to the orders of lawful supe-
riors, must be regarded as a valid deferce, otherwise in-
dividuals would be holden responsible for injuries result- '
ing from the acts of Government, and even from the
operation of public war.
You will be furnished with a copy of this instruction
of the use of the Executive of New York and the Attor-
ney-General. of that State. You will carry with you,
also, authentic evidence of the recognition by the British
Government of the destruction of the Caroline as an act
of public force done by national authority.
The President is impressed with the propriety of
transferring Vie trial from the scene of the principal
excitement to souse other and distant county. You will
take care that this be suggested to the prisoner's counsel.
The President is gratified to learn that the Governor of
New York. has .already directed that the trial shall
take place before the Chief Justice of the State.
Having consulted with the Governor, you will pro-
ceed to Lockport, or wherever else the trial may
be holden, and furnish , the prisoner's counsel with
the evidence of which you will be in possession ma-
terial to his defence. You will see that he have skilful
and eminent counsel, if such be not •dlready retained ;
and, though you are not desired to act as counsel your-
self, you will cause it to be signified to him, and to the
gentleman who may conduct his defence, that it is the
wish of this Government, that in case his defence be
overruled in the Court in which he shall be tried, proper
steps be taken immediately for removing the cause, by
writ of error, in the Supreme Court of the United States.
The President hopes you will use such despatch as to
make your arrival at the place of trial sure before the
trial comes on; and he trusts you will keep him informed
of whatever occurs by means of a correspondence through
this Department.
I have the honour to he, Mr. Attorney-General, your
obedient servant, DANIEL WEBSTER.
Hon. John J. Crittendon, Attorney-
General of the United States.