Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1836-12-17

" hnr character o al arK,rd vessr was mot protected o
1ar rrrriau>ly recognised by the u States: she "a'
;od ;i,,,u I'm. fact VI n.c-in !"rctHn port arl"o
NV ts,r,,l. ch.,acrsr Of i pirate The district al
,rev ,rsxe,ed the consul by letter, OF which theoe
crr,aIr Of Sl"ls will GnG copy. tN" - annexed u
This no,c Re will there see that The pcipat questi:
resppcpg the nature Of The a'g is, cnrely, though IN
courteous terms, sct aside, and that the attorney
speaks and acts merely with rchreAce 10 erHs
raj rules, which hare no bearing ca an eN W.
tive case In the time, the echoonei' 81. t
couraged by this IMMUNITY, entered iarss'ei '
port the I'd instant anchored near the Ssse
saluted the town. and was in return saio ~ W
tecr company, (whelher by o. without Inc oiu' ~ g
military authority, is not known , a'se. m"'O k Tbc
sscers and men landed with uniforms, arms ~
consul communicated 10 the undersigned all that nao
occurred: upon which, tie undersigned oroeea nun ~
ask The collector of that custom house wheti'e le
Texan armed schooner Brutus realty vessel OF "as'
or an armed merchant vessel on what gronAas Inc GUS
tomhonse had permitted her to enter, and Why recog
Missed her flag although that flag had not been Tecoshs
Cd bv The United States The consul did so; aud: IN the
annexed copy no. - the Secretary OF State may see
tho strange reply to call it by less gentle name,
which was received from the said collector; 10 use
prrycrbal English phrase, speaks volumes. The I'M
dersigned will take the Liberty OF cursorlly reviewing
this answer.
The collector begins by telling The consul that the
schooner is national ressel and that her commander
has eyhed commission us such from lhe rrtSfdcN ~
The Republic of Texas. national vessel! VINO IS the
collector of the custom house Of New ork, thai he
shod Tins declare TO be nQti0na vessel belonging 10
what is called Ration but IS not nation IN any oi us
relations with the Government or the citIzens OF Tie w.
States? He doubtless meant 10 say that she was YES
So of war; as he partly shows IN his auson 10 Inc com
mission delivered by the President # Tie Republc u
Tetas But who is the President of Texas: What is The
republic OF Texas? In what document has the collector
of the customhouse Of New York read that the united
States have recognised either the president or the
Republic. even as existing? In VIA. has he
seen his own Government applying to thciD the
names by which he calls them: And even though
all this NAV have been how is the collector assured ia
The commission is true one: Flow does he Know lllat
i, is sufficient 10 establish the naOnal character OF the
vessel lns he learnt whether other conditions may
not be necessary, from any navigation act maze ny
the Texans, II any such act have been lnaue. III rex
nso Has he cscertained the origin Of the and the
number Of Texans in it: Has he inquired where the
vessel was built, and whether, in case 1t should nave
been built in the United States, 1t be or be not enu"a
TO enter q port those States bellSersnl: II none
of these opinions should in the opinion OF The collector
of the New York customh house, be required IN oraer
that vessel which is not recognised may ener armed
into that port it difficult to why all the pirates IN
the world do take refuge there None OF them cpuu
certainly be without sheet OF paper to write comS'
sion, or Il strip Of bunting tor 4 Hug.
The collector tells The cuHsal that, having re-
ceved no orders from his Government TO inerd!ct the
entrance of the vessels Of the RepRtLtc OF Texas, mo
that district he did not feel himself Authorized 10 pre-
vent The Bruus from entering, or 10 modest her alter
wards so long she did not violate The laws ot The
country. Now he had received no orders to adi'It
Does not silence such subject say enough? Could
he have supposed that his Government would have III
city delegated suba!tern authority The important
faculty Of determining at what period dag not hitherto
recornzed by any nation, might be displayed IN port
of the United States without Inconvenience to them, or
offence to some other Power How repeats the under
signed could The collector Of the custom house OF New
York have mag that if The independence OF Texas
were 10 be recognised The first step towards lis ecogn
ton wouldbe lett entirely his discretion, and to be
made whenever hc plrased'
The collector then states that i, has been the practice
in the port of New York to treat with respect and courte
sy the hags OF those nations which have declared them
selves independent and maintained tkcir independence
against tie authority q the country from chtck they hare
seeeded This is all we'll, provided 1t has been So prev
ousy determined by the Executive, and not merely by
the collector OF custom house In order to arrive a
such result an Executive would, from respect to it,
SELF have first weighed carefully the merits Of the case
and have examined previous circumstances and engage
ments; while the collector Of custonhouse might act
improperly in serious matter, either from weakness
or from ignorance, from being VIGOROUSLY identified
by his opinions, and his interests with those who display
the new flag.
Finally the collector tells the consul, that the armed
vessels of Texas have been for months past odntl
ted in New Orleans without any opposition On The part
of that custom house, aud without uny conplaEt lar
he has been advised the part Of the Mexican
sui residing there Those who have told the collector
deceived him; and The best reply his last assertion,
which destroys, Also the woie value Of the precedent
attempted to be established is 10 be found in the subun
ed copy No. B of communication from the Mexican
consul at New Orleans hluset to the acting Secretary
of Relations of Mexico In that COMMUNICATION the Sc
creary of Stale will see that the consul did perform his
duty, by addressing the collector of the custom house
directly, in order 10 inquire under what flag ne had adj
mtted the first Texan armed vessel, which entered
that port the irs OF January Of this year. The !
Secretary Of State will also see, III the same docu-
ment that the only received from the collector
was the declaration, given indirectly, at he had deter
mined not ansecer the consul at aA Now, what more
could the poor consul do, when lie thus not even
allowed obtain evidence Of The fact which his first
complaint to be based? Or what the OF ad
dressing his complaints, in the subsequent cases, to
collector who had already adopted the ulagnannous re-
solution of giving to any question which might
be put TO him'
Such them so futile and so partial, the
~ which the collector of the New York Customhouse
ias been guided this OCCASION The Undersigned, nt
er this exposure Of them, has doubt that The Prcs
lent of the u States will view them in the light
and that he will adopt, without delay such
he may judge most efcacious for inaniiesng his entire
sapprobaton of the official acts of that nssidual.
With regard to the principles by which the United
States have hitherto been always governed in similar
cases. they ore those, obvious and we'll known,
which clearly laid down in the first paragraph Of The
Presidents celebrated message Of March s. lS22 Mr..
Monroe there in speaking Of the Spanish provinces
which had seeded from the mother country, says, that
6 the United States had acknowledged the tights TO
which they were entitled by the law Of nations and
,riiigerents, so as their movement had assumed
uch steady and consistent form 10 render their u
nate proJable and from tina, period, they had
permitted 10 enter with their vessels Of and
radng vessels into the ports Of these United States, for
he purpose Of obtaining provisions of trading" &c.
Thence it may be naturally inferred, in the opinion Of
he undersigned, that, until such movement had ac
uired such steady and consistent form to render
robatle (not merely possible) the ultimate success
{ the said provinces i'll their struggle against Spain,
he United States neither acknowledged their possession
any rights bellgerens, admitted their vessels
n the American ports.
There was, consequently, geent interval between The
commencement ofthe morement and the period at which
could have acquired The sleadincss md consistency
eemeed requisite to warrant The opinion that its
alton would probably be favorable; aud the neutrality
yhich may have been and iuderd rrnllr WIS