Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1812-06-05

III ihtO 0dlASbHAs WHY oNNA -
tention Of ten months and FIVE days, she was
liberated subject, however, to the payment
of costs, on the ground that she was bona tide
American property, and had not contravened,
either the law of nations or the modern law
set up by the government of France, and en-
forced under its influence and authority in o.
Their countries of the continent of Europe.
Thus liberated after so long a detention,
and at an expense of more than four thousand
dollars, and thus furnished with the opinion
of a vigilant court that she was liable to NJ
suspicion, the vessel departed from Jahrsund
and proceeded to Gottenburgh, her original
port of destination, where finding her
carg~ unssleable, she sailed for st. Peters
burgh, first stopping at Elsineur to pay the
sound duties, in order to prevent any possible
pretcnce, either that she availei nerrelf of
the enem US convoy, or that she had made an
attempt to elude the laws of Denmark, and
having there complied with all the regula-
tions both of France and Denmark, and hav-
ing also had the good fortune to escape being
visited by British cruisers, the vessel sailed
from Elsineur to st. Petersburgh, when on
the Sd of May, 1911, she was captured by a
French privateer, duly commissioners by the
Emperor of France, and carried into Dant
zic-On her arrival at that port, she was put
under the c~ontcoll of the consul OF France,
and all her papers were forcibly taken by the
said consul and sent to Paris, In otder that
legal process ms8ht be there instituted against
her.
In unloading the cargo, the most illegal
conduct was adopted-several of the crew
were impressed for the service of his imperi-
al majesty, and impediments we're thrown in
the way of the supercargo, by Withholding his
passports near two months, although he had
applied for them to the American charge daft
faires to prevent his getting to Paris to defend
the vessel and cargo. Thus situated, at a
very early period the supercargo made known
to Mr. Russell, the American charge d'atlairs
at Paris, the circumstances otthe ca turc, who
applied to the French minister OF Foreign AT
fairs, and received assurances from him, that
he had made a favourable report of the case
to the Emperor. Notwithstanding this per
feet knowledge of the case, aud the favorable
report OF the French minister, the council o.
prizes on the 10th day of September last,
without hearing any plea or defence on be
half of the owners of vessel and cargo pro
cesded to the condemnation of them both-in
which after r~eciting that the Catharine had
been captured by the French armed saip the
Jeune Adalphe, and,that she had been libel
led on the ground =" that part Of the cargo
came from Spanish and Portuguese colonies.
and that moreover it consisted in colonial arti-
cles, whose importation was prohibited by
his majesty's decrees-that she had been cap
tured by the Danes, and acquitted by the
Danish courts, and that she had arrived at
Gottenburg, in which port an English cutler
was then lying, but which had not hailed the
Catharine-after reciting that another vessel
had hailed her on her passage, the officers of
which had spoken the Englieh language ;
that the captain supercargo and mariners had
concurred in these facts-after r~eciting
moreover a complete list of all the papers
found on board the Catharfhe, which consist
ed ofevery document required by the law of
nations, and the modern usages of France, all
certified by the French consul at Boston,
the council of prizes proceeded to condemn
both vessel and cargo, valued at eighty five
thousand dollars, on the following pretences,
ifeven such they may be called, that " the
said brig had anchored at Gottenburg, at
which port there was an armed English
packet boat, and that this was an indication,
or proof, the cargo consisting also mostly of
articles of colonial produce, that the same
was III the interest OF the enemy's m
that there was no reason to believe that she
entered the Baltic without convoy and if
she were not disturbed by the numerous vessels
ofthe enemy, it was because she was an enc
my's ship under an American mask" and
they then proceeded to condemn both vessel
and cargo, and to decree that the capture was
good and available.
Thus, if ar American vessel is cleared ina
Danish court as being bona-fide neutral pro-
perry but subjected to the payment of cost
in a French court. the payment of these con-
demns her, because she ought to have been
released without them.
If she has been met with going to, or com
ing from, an English port, whether with a
cargo or without this is sufficient ground to