The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-06-13
Domestic intelligence.
LAW CASE.-FRoM THE CHARLESTON
COURIER.
L'AFRIcANE Important CARE in the
Us Dfri9 Court Of South
GARLAND. Carolina.
GAR LAND

The Commercial Agent of the French Re-
public fled libel in the Diftri6t Court againft
the Captain of the Britiih letter of maroue
Garland, for reftitution of and damages for the
capture and detention of the French corvette
L'Africane, Illegally captured on the Sd infant,
within the iurifdiGtion of the United States.
To this libel the Captain of the Garland pIead.s
ed in bar to the juriididion, aledging that the
capture was not made within the iuriidiction of
the United States-aIld to prove fhis, two
branch pilots were examined by Mr.. Drayton,
proctor for the defendant, who fwore that the
corvette, al the time of the capture, was about
FIVE Or fix miles diftant from Sullivan's Ifland.
the neareft land. On their crofs-examination
by MIR. William Loughton Smith, proctor for
the hbelant, they admitted and proved that the
corvette having loft her mizen-matt in gale of
wind, & feVera of her men, thrown jer-board
many OF her guns, was feeking refuge in CharIef-
ton that fhe was brought TO anchor off the
bar in fix fathoms water, and as near as ihe
could be with fafety that at the time of the
capture fhe was within one or two miles of the
Rattlefnake breaker, and that the Captain
truck to the Garland on the advice of the pi-
lot, and on his afuring the Captain that the cor
vette was then within the iurifdiftion of the u
nited States, and would certainly be delivered
up. On thefe fa9sthe queftion arofe, whether
the Afncane was, at the time of the capture,
within our jurifdittion? Mr.. Drayton quoted
feveral authorities, viz. Martens, Vatten, Sir
w. Scott, &c. to prove that by the law of ma
tons territorial urifdiction on the ea was limit
ed to marine league from the coat, that is, to
the extent o. the protection which could be ci-
ven from the ihore, by cannon fhot, which was
calculated at marine league, or three miles.
IF there could be any doubt as TO the law of ma
tions in this reipect the act of Congrefs of 1914
fettled the quefon by that act the difria
Court is authorized to take cognizance of cap
lures in the waters of the United States, "or
avitbin marine league If the coats or Bores
fbereof"-He defined the terms coats on flores
to be of iynonimous import, and referred to
Johnfon's Dictionary, the Dictionary of Arts
ard Sciences, and Cooks Voyages, to fupport
his dehntion-the word hank was the margin
OF a ri1er, coat, or Nore, the margin of the lea.
Confequently the Court had no iurifdicton in
Cafe.
Mr.. w. LoUGHToN SMITH, faid that this
claim TO the aid of the Court to obtain refttuti-
on Of the Africane, was founded on the law of
nations, on our treaty with France, on the laws
of neutrality and ofhofpitality, all of which had
been groisly violated blythe capture in quelton.
He confidered this caule Of confiderable mag
nitude--it was not a common queition between
two fhips Of war, but great national auenion
for the frf time to be decided, and to fix the Ii
mits of our own iurifdetion. Different naval
powers, by recurrence to hifory, would be
found to have laid claim and fome of them to
have maintained it for centuries, to whole o.
ceans. Thus Great Britain claimed iurfdi6tion
over the whole Britilh channel, st. Georges
Channel, &C.; Venice the Adriatic the Otto
man Empire the Black Sea Denmark the
Sound, &c. In later times feveral writers have
attempted TO aicertai1 the iuiffdiaional line
with precifon, but they all difered--fome fpoke
of the extent of the human fight, fome of the cx-
tent ofprotettion, others ofthe diftance re qui-
fte for the fafety Of trade. Bodinus fixed
go miles, Martens 9, VatteIl cannon fliot, or
marine league Sir w. Scott III modern cafe