Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-02-19


hexion. \ our excrllency is perfectly con
!,1ced, by documentary evidence of IN
1isputable authority, from every depart
meni OF the Hacienda, that The royal
treasury Is debtor 10 Meade for the a.
mount In specie OF the deposiie made by
hun; that with, OF without law, Meade
has been twelve months, and still is, IL,
prison, Tor the same amount due To tlle
English claimants, for whose beneii, the
said deposite was made, by order of the
tribunal, which, at that time, had cogni-
zance of the then pending suit and it is
evident that the repay mcni Of this money
would release Meade from prison, at t!.c
same time that IL would satisfy The En-
glish creditors. Allow me, thea, TO ask
Ia what useful end is the council OF war
now employed To declare The licgaiiiy
o. IFS own acts T! Bun all Investigations OF
that nature will be rendered unnecessary,
by the repayment of the money now III
the hariiis of government. The council
can decide I'D whom the right Of money
deposited belongs but on this point
there Us no .iisn..;r. The deposite be-
longs OF right, 10 The English creditors,
represented by M'Dermoi. The council
has no control over the treasury. In cx-
amining, therefore, into the nature of the
the very official documents which have
been before your eXcrllency. These are
mequivocal and conclusive. Ii matters
not, now, whether the dcposite, in its o.
riSinal form, was or was not, of nature
To- satisfy tue demands of the English ere
dItor. We can dispense with all exami-
nation oil that question, also ; because,
i'll whatever form the ticposite was origi-
nally made, 1t has been now converted,
by regular fiscal operations, into effective
cash, and in that form exists, and in
that form will be speedily received by
Mr.. MDermot. Tie documents which
certify the real nature of the deposite, can
neither be called in question or set aside
By the council; nor is there any necessi-
~ of a Judicial investigation, 10 es,a5-
liSh the authenticity or validity of them.
Upon those grounds, therefore, rerew
my demand, IN every aspect OF II so just,
that your eacel!ency would lay this case
ministeriaily before the king, and procure
his orderfor the immediate repayment of
the depositee existing in his treasury.
(Signed) GEO. w. ERVING.
Petition Of Mrs. Meade, aud papers com-
minucdted by her az relation to R.rha,d
w. Meade
To his excellency, the president of the
United States-ihe folio wing case is re-
specially submitted:
Richard W. Meade was bornin Chester
county III Pennsylvania, in June, U.S.
lie went 10 Spain III 1905, 10 CLAIM resti-
tuition Of property detained al Buenos
Ayres, Ill which claim lie was unsuccess-
full. He then established Il commercial
house al CadlZ, where he has ever since
resided, IN the character o: an American
citizen ani having held, from 1906 I'LL
The present year, tie station of navy a.
gent OF The United States for the port OF
Cadiz. Mr. Mead has wife (the un-
dersigncd) and nine children now resid-
ing III Philadelphia.
in then iaie struggles, he reRdercd es-
sential services 10 the people OF Spain,
as repeatedly and publicly ackowleds
ed. la 1912, being iB actual advance 10
the government of Spain, TO TIC amount
of near eight hundred thousand dollars,
and being satisfied that ilie treasurer gen
eral, Don Victor Soret, was using ilIe
funds, which by contract had been APP
proprlated 10 repay that advance, lie APP
pealed TO the regency against The CON
duct of the treasurer; aud receiving no
satisfaction, published pamphlet. con-
y u
the government, and lis injustice towards
him: in Consequence of which pubIcati-
on he vas imprisoned for three m0aihs,
and then released on bail. On an appeal
20 the corits, Mr.. Meade obtained an or
der for the payment of his advances,
which order has been but partially COM
piled with, and that under enormous sa-
crihces, amounting, in many instances,
TO one third of the capital, besides seve-
raj years interest, for which no allowance
has ever been made. Mr.. Meade also
appealed 10 the cortes against the unjust
proceedings of the regency Ill imprson-
ing him: the cOrtes reported the proceed
ings as Illegal and unjust, and decreed
the constitutional penalties against the
ministers who gave, and fhe Judge who
executed, the order The dismissal of
the regency by the cortes, and tie sub
scquent dissolution of the cOrtes itself,
on the arrival of King Ferdinand, pre-
vented the report of the cortes against the
regency being acted on, and the affair
being revived by the supreme council of
war, composed Of men subservient TO the
old regency, (who are now all in high of
fees round the courDit was lately decreed
that Mr.. Meade should pay fine of two
thousand ducats for the publication
which they termed a libel OH the late re-
gents.
II istO be understood that the affair a
bove related, ofihe imprisonment in 1919,
is altogether distinct from The present
confinement Of Mr.. Meade and its causes,
though often enormously blended with
it it will clearly appear however, that the
rancour produced by the events related,
has operated with many now in power
III stimulating the present persecution,
Tie circumstances leading to which are as
follow: