Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-03-17

THE BLACK WARRIOR DIFFICULTY.
In our congressional proceedings of yester-
day we gave our readers the message of Presi-
dent Pierce to the Senate, relating to this affair
To-day we present the letter of Mr.. Consul
Robertson to the Secretary of State.
Letter from Consul Robertson to Secretary
Marcy.
CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES,
Hapana, March 8, 1854.
SIR: BY the United States steamer Corwin,
: which / despatched to Charleston on the lst
instant, conceiving that the importance of the
intelligence / had to communicate justified
that course, / advised you of the seizure, by
the custom-house authorities here, apparently,
or rather evidently, with the consent and APP
probation of the supreme authority of the is
land, of the cargo on board the steamer Black
Warrior, of New York, and of the attempt to
lay very. heavy fine upon the captain of the
vessel, which fine is said to be double in amount
to the value of the cargo-all this under the
pretence of his having made false entry, to
wit that he stated his ship to be in ballast,
when she had cotton on board TN transitu.
feel it to be my duty to repeat the circumstances
of the case, to correct any errors that / may
have communicated in my despatch before
mentioned, numbered "a.
The steamer was expected here from Mobile,
on her way to New York, on the 18th ultimo.
Messrs Tying 4 Co., her consignees, on the day
before, (25th, Saturday entered and cleared
her IN ballast This has been customary for
steamers of the Law and British mail lines. ]
am informed that the Black Warrior has been
aln I,,U - ,1xx
menced to run, now about nineteen months
past, making two trips per month, without any
objection on the part of the custom-house au-
thorities, who cannot plead ignorance of the
fact, for Immediately that steamer drops her
anchor, two custom-house guards, and an un-
limited number of policemen, public and secret,
were placed on board to watch every passenger
or package on the ship. No attempt has ever
been made, that am aware of, to conceal the
cargo. Furthermore, the captain of the Black
Warrior has been in the habit to deliver to the
authorities on arrival, several numbers Of the
public journals of New York or Mobile, of the
latest dates which contained the advertisement
of the Black Warriors being about to sail on
such date, expressing the cargo she carried
for her port of destination.
The ship arrived here on the morning of the
28th. The captain delivered his manifest IN
ballast, as had been customary. He assures
me that he had always been under the impress.
sion that a special concession existed which
exempted his vessel and other steamers from
the formality of manifesting their cargo IN
tranSitn; he thinks that the owners of the ship
(28th,) at about II o'clock, Mr. Tying sent his
clerk to the custom-house for the despatch Of
the steamer, to take the same to the captain of
the ports, to procure the pass for her to leave
the port; it was refused to him, and he was in
formed that the ship was stopped by order of
superior authority of the royal exchequer.
Upon this, Mr.. Tying, with the captain, came to
my Office and informed me of the state of the
case. Whilst the former was entering o pro-
test, took the latter with me to the captain
general. The object Of this interview was to
lay before his excellency all the circumstances
of the case, and particularly to show that there
had not been, on the part of Captain Bullock, or
any one concerned in the ship the least inten.
ton of violating any law of Spain or regulation
of the port. His excellency courteously lis
tened to me, and replied that no report had
been made to him on the subject; he also re-
commended that | should give him my state
ment in memorial or official communication.
Immediately returned to my Office, and pre-.
pared my letter to the captain-general. OF
ILLS ictIcI, III anxiety W UIluS luc uudtI "
satisfactory settlement without delay, l kept no
copy, which regret.
In the mean time, Mr.. Tying went to the
custom-house, finding that the cause of the diff
fculty was the omission of the cargo in transitu
in the manifest, and thinking that as the
twelve hours allowed by law to amend mani
tests had not elapsed, and that by making the
amendment the difficulty would be terminated,
he applied to the collector, stating that in the
course of fifteen minutes or half an hour he
would be prepared to present the correct mani
fest. The collector replied that it could not
and should not be admitted, because he had
already applied for the vessels despatch, or
something to that effect. 1t is true that Mr..
Tying had applied for the despatch; but it may
be well to bear in mind that it was not given;
and tits a question, in my opinion, whether the
steamer could be considered as cleared, in
effect, so far as regards the clearance on the
25th, before she had arrived. deem it m
formal Mr.. Tying was, at the same time, in
formed that the cargo was confscated, and the
captain fined according to the custom-house
regulations. In the afternoon of the same day,
Il have been informed gang of men were
sent alongside the ship to commence the dis
charge of the cargo but, finding that the cap
tain and purser were on shore, the operation
was deferred until the next morning, when
they again appeared, and the officer at the
head of the party demanded of the captain the
delivery of the cargo, which Captain Bullock
declined, remarking to the officer that if he
took by force, as he must do, one single bale
of the cargo, he (the captain) would instantly
haul down his colors and abandon the ship to
them. This seemed to make the officer hest
tate. He suspended his operation, and came
on shore; no doubt to lay the facts before his
superiors, and receive their directions. He
soon returned on board, opened the matches,
and commenced the discharge; whereupon
Captain Bullock hauled down his flag, and,
with his officers and crew, abandoned the YES
sci to the Spanish authorities.
On the evening of the 18th, received the
captain-generars reply to my letter, which was
far from satisfactory. A copy and translation
Of the same were transmitted to yon with my
communication, No. 81, sent per steamer
Corwin.
On the LIST, at about IL o'clock, the collector
- a.