The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-04-28
EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS IN
SAN FRANCISCO.

SAN FRANCISCO.
The San Francisco Herald gives the par
ticulars Of most extraordinary proceea'.,s'
which has taken place in that port, u"ae. 'ne
orders of Santa Anna--the levying OF an
.rr,Aa earce Of 5000 Frenchmen and ter
man. 10 he sent to Sonora. and employed in
s,nnrass;np revolutions in that and other
n.;gbhoring States, and in preventing the in
cursious of Americans. The British ship
Challenge was employed to convey the
troops; and two other vessels, the Chill and
Helena, were to follow with the munitions Of
war. The Herald charges that the French
Consul, Mr. Dillon, was implicated in the af
fair, and remarks that in view of this bad
faith on the part of Mexico, and this unseen
ly intermeddling on the part of France, it
cannot regard it as incumbent any longer on
our Government, or its agents, to take any
inconvenient steps to arrest expeditions of
our citizens, designed to aid the people of
Mexico to revolutionize against their lead
ers.
Gen. Wool exhausted all the legal means
at his command to arrest the sailing of the
expedition, but the requirements of the law
having been complied with. he had no OPP
ton but to suffer the vessels to depart.
The Challenge, however, it appears, had
violated the revenue laws, and we are glad
to see she was detained The Herald gives
the following account of the matter:
Tho British ship Challenge, bound for Gusymas,
dropped off from Meige's wharf yesterday, about 2
She soon got under way, with number OF passen-
gers board, and stood for the heads with an ebb
The United States revenue cutter Frolic, Lieut Mer
ryman commanding, stood down the bay, and when
near Ssucelito spoke the Challenge and ordered her
complied with. and the ship came to anchor on
North Beach, the Fyolie anchored little astern.
movements of the two vessels created intense int.
rest. When the Challenge came to an anchor, sne
was boarded by Lieut. Merryman VINO seizea ael lot
violation Of the laws OF the United States
We understand the seizure was made in accordance
with instructions frem the Collector, one OF the
OF passengers Another of the grounds Of her de-
tention appears to be- that she had greater number
of ber hs between decks than the law allows In or
der to keep the case of the Challenge clear OF mis-
representation, will state that, in her seizure
Gen. Wool had no agency. 1t was for breach OF
back -8'f 80
The San Francisco Chronicle of April lst'
states that on the afternoon before, Senior l..
NJ Dslvalle, the Mexican Consul at that port,
was arrested and taken before commission
er, and held to bail in the sum of Sl5,O 900.
Heis charged with enlisting men to serve in
the army of Mexico. This arrest was request
ed by Gen. Wool, who wrote letter to the
Hon. s. w. Inge, U. s. District Attorney, San
Francisco, expressing the opinion that the
Mexican Consul had rendered himself sub
.ject to the penalties prescribed by the act OF
April 20, 1915, and desiring him to be arrest
ed and brought to trial before the U. s. Dis
trict Court in San Francisco. The law under
which the Consul was arrested, is quoted
by the Chronicle, and is known as the Neu-
trality Law of 1918, which provides that if
any person shall, within the territory or juris-
dictien of the United States, enlist himself, or
hire or retain another person to enlist in the
service Of any foreign power, either as a
soldier or a. seaman, the person so offending
shall be fined not exceeding $1,000, and i'm
prisoned not exceeding three years. .sa
The French Consul has written note to
the San Francisco Herald, disclaiming any
participation in the affair. Monsieur's state
ment, however, is not credited, and he is re-
minded by the Herald that he labors under
singular poverty of information from his
own Government, if che is now to learn for
the first tinAstha the matter has formed the
subject of a correspondence between the
Minister of Interior Relations of Santa An
IA, Mr.. De Bonilla, and M. Alphonse Dano,
the French Charge dAffaires at Mexico; and
that cognate matter has before this time.
been made the subject Of an application from
the Mexican Minister at Paris, acting by in.
structions from his Government, to the En-.
peror Louis Napoleon"