The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-12-01 00:00:00

AMERICAN PAPERS.

WASHINGTON, Oef. 27.
Tui CLAMS o Siam:a-We expected that soon afi‘r
the adjournment of the Commissioners appointed under
the Florida treaty, we should balm been able to lay be;
/bre the public a concise abstract of their proceedings

during their late session. But, little of a conclesivc
TaTure- having been dete;mined on, and great India-
gepeebsviag been alerted to the claimants who wished
•frcespession of eases involving the least doobt; mall au
tirguthtot wds heard—it wits impossible for or to obtain
or furnish much satisfactory information. In. fact, the
principal part of rho time of the Commissioners was
employed in examining the memorials filed with the
Secretary of the lioardprevious to, or on the 10th nit.
which moulded to sheaf throe hundred io number.:s.
Of these• aressorials, many, we understand. were elk
defective in the statement of the particu!ars of the
.eleis, or is complying with the orders of. the Hoard,
us;to require arnen.dnient ; anti of lbw impended for
uegament. some -invoived very important and doubtful
priaciples, while others. were mspecied merely at the
acquest of the clsinmots or their agents.
Many claims, as stated by the memorialist, them-
&elms, were es obviously out of the pale of the treaty,
.$ll4l they were at once rejected en the claimant's own
okowlag. We mention ewe or threw of these to phew
she kind of caul which have assisted .to constitute the
OCOP4IIOIIS amoleat claimed by our officer's from the
Spanish Goveromust-Aserotofore stated.. we believe,
et between thirty and forty of dollars. For
immure, a woman restated• a claim for damages sus-
'Weed by her in coasequeese of the detention of her,
hatband by Spanish authority ; soother for injury
done to a Yes el accideatallylros foul of by a Spanish
vessok;..orsother for a capture by a French privateer,
which despatched the captured vessel to Cobs, bat
before its urinal there, a recapture by a British vessel
occurring, a heavy decree far salvage by a British
Court of Admiralty followed, &c.
• (If the important points suspended for argument, the
tenoning, among others, may be eoutaerated..
I. Cases of American vessels captured by privateers,
(bearing French *commissions and colours, but owned
add manned, in whole or in part, by Spaniards.) carried
into a Spanish Colony, coder the sight. or with the
knowledge of Spanish Authorities—the American
crew there dismissed, the cargo plendered, diatribe-
s* of the prise made smog the captors—no pro.
ceediugs ending in a ceadramatioa tostituted before
any Cotirt—and all application made by the American
bwhers to the SpanislsAuthorities for redress, evaded or
refused.

2. ease. of cootracts Ins& by American citivens with
the Spanish Government, and not complied with by the
latter—in other word*, whether auy but cases of torts
ate embraced by the treaty.
3. Claims for contingent losses—the loss of contiogent
interests. or the lout of probable profits.
4. Cases of seisure of vessels by the French Govern-
ment, in the Ports of Spain.
Argument. in writieg are required to be rn ide by
the board on all the questions that are this suspend.
eti, at their next session. A liberal construction
Mill no doftbebe given to the treaty. but it is the
slaty Aof the Board, at the same time, to gnard the
%Wrest of those tlainiants whose rights • ati,ittilia-,1

petit &t for the admission of a false claim will
stetessitily diminish the animist received hy rightful
ctaims, should the sum quoted by the treaty falf short.
We would by no means sug,est to claimants any
step that would Wear unnecessary expense; but,,
*hers they cannot attend personally the meeting of
the Miami, it appears to us to be their interests to hove
Counsel to represent them.

We undersf.and that the number of memorials,
filed with the Secretary of the Board to this date,
civet's five hundted. The board, it will he remeni-
hated, has adjourned totbe first Monday in January.—
(Net/omit/ letet.)
lavanawmip. . Carvatas or Suet's--Captain
Riggs, master of-the America. ship (formerly brig)
Gen. Gates, was tried on the lath Sept. 1820, before
she Supreme Court at Sydney, New South Wales.—
The action was .brought against him in consequence
nif. having forfeited the usual bends given by wasters
of vessels on entering that port, not to suffer any
person, convict or free, to be carried away without
permission from the Governer. and not to quit the har-
bour without a proper clearance. The lien. Gates
bad left Sydney. in July, 1819, was fallen in with
on the 12th of Aptil messing, by Capt. Skinner,
of the Dromedary store-ship, in the service of the
British government ;. taken possession, of by Capt. S.
soil sent into. Sydney, on the 12th of .514 y, with Cart-
Riggs ender arrest.. it appeared ha evidence that the
defendant bad eatieed.away Gve convicts, and suffered
five more sod one free man to be conveyed on board
Lis ship. from•the colony, many of the best mechanics
in the employ of goverement. A defence was attempt-
ed on the ground of unlawful *Atom arrest and ins-
poisensuent. which was replied to. that the plaintiff bad
found him there. sad might see him for debt, like any
other debtor, his present imptisaoment having no-
thine to de with the original capture, lawful or un-
lawful. The question was. to decide whether the bond
was not forfeited. In the course of the trial there
was mach aggravating matter on both sides. which the
Court declined entering into.
A verdict was found fur twelve penalties of 500/.
earh-11 for carrying away so many ;limns, and the
twelfth for quitting the Whinier without a proper
clear* nee.--(Freensaa'a Jowled.)