Demoine courier., 1854-08-10
Correspondence of the N. Y. Daily Time
THE GREYTOWN AFFAIR.
WAsHINGToN. July 27,IS54.

COI. j. u. was one OF the
American citizens present al Greytown
a, the occurrence of The courage" upon
Mr.. Borland, for which such fearful ret
rlbution has been visited by Captain
Hollins u1on The town. As he is well
known. the world over, as a cool, clear,
headed. and truthful gentleman. his state
ment of that transaction, and the fact,
connected with it, cannot be other " Use
than highly Interesting at the presen,
time. Upon Questioning him on tine
subject this morning, he very cheerfully
communicated to me his understanding
Of the affair. which is substantially as
follows:
1t was quite evident thai, from some
reason or other, a very strong prejudice
existed at Greytown against all Ameri.
cans; n prejudice amounting almost 10
positive hostility, and TO conceal which
nc pains whatever were taken. The
immediate origin of the difficulty. ia
which Borland participated, was The
homicide Of the negio captain of a bungo,
or river boat, committed by Capt. Smith
of a steamer plying on the river. No,
wilhssanding published statements di-
reclly the reverse, this homicide was
considered by the Americans, almos,
wilhou. exception, a deliberate, cold,
blooded murder, without a shadow of
pslliation. There had been some pre-.
sious difficulty between Smith and The
negro. On the day of the homicide.
Smiths steamer ran into the %negro's
bungo, when the latter threatened to
shoot Smith if he broke his boat. The
bungo, however, was uninjured. Sub,
sequently the steamer started down the
river, and after i. had proceeded some
distance. put back again, apparently for
no other purpose than to run into The
bungo, which it did, crushing i, like an
egg-shell. All this time the negro was
sitting in his boat with his gun across his
knees. The weight Of testimony is.
that he made 90 hostile demonstrations
against Smith. having neither risen from
his seat or raised his gun, when Smil,
deliberately shot him. Immediately up
on being shot, the poor fellow got up. and
while attempting TO step from the wreck
OF bis bungo INTO the boat alongside ct
it. his strength failed him, and he fell
into the river. And yet, presses who
esteem i, ,helr duty TO defend the Holl:ns
victory, right or wrong, tell us il was
universally admitted that the negro was
shot by Smith in self defence.
A warrant was issued by tho Mayor
of Greyiown for Smnh's arrest, and an
officer went on board the steamer. as ev.
eryb"dy knows. but was prevented from
getting his prisoner by the forcible re
sls,ance Of the passengers headed bv
Borland. In aiding the Minister thus TO
resis, the officers, the passengers did not
intend TO endorse the murder Of the ne
gro. or absolve his murderer. On the
contrary, il would have been a very easy
matter TO have him hung on brief notice
by "Commitlee of Vigilance" had eli,
Their Of the acknowledge leaders pro-
posed it. BIZ, Mr.. Borland. in a speech
he made to the crowd. as well as in pri
vate conversation, told them he was not
instructed in any way to recognize the
authority Of Greytown, deriving its au-
thori,y from the Mosquito Klng.) as sep
arate and distinct from Nicaragua. 10
permit the Greytown officers TO arrest an
American citizen and Try him for crime.
would be TO recognize the authority of
the Town Government in The fullest
sense; and SO MI. Borland urged them
10 aid him in "crushing OUT this scion
Of theM Mosquitoes. Ii the Government
Of Greytown was illegal, deriving lis
powers from incompetent authority, the
act of the officers who attempted to ar
rest Smith could only be looktd upon as
the act Of a mob, proper to be resisted
by mob force. In, this opinion the
whole steamers party concurred. Aud,
of course. the arrest and Imprisonment
of Mr.. Borland that night was also
looked upon as the act of an irresponsi
bic mob, without law or authority of any
kind.
1t will be seen hat this statement OF
of the case relieves Mr.. Borland and
our Government from the charge of re-
sistance of legally constituted authority
but | give this statement Of the facts,
not with a view Of expressing any opin
ion on the merits of the case. ], is my
purpose simply to afford some addition.
al light whereby your readers may make
up their " opinions. 1t ought no, TO
be overlooked, that while the miserable
mud novels and shanues of Grey,own
stand in the foreground of this picture.
Great Britain, with her Mosquito Pro
lectora,e. lies in the background; and
while The Mosquitoes suffer in person,
the moral weight Of The blow struck by
The order Of the United States Govern.
ment falls indirectly upon the Pro,ecto.
rate. Ii remains to be seen whether
England will resent Dur act and main
tain her protectorate by force OF arms.
or whether she will abandon it as too
expensive for the possible results TO ac-
crue therefrom.
have no idea that Captain Hollins
exceeded his instructions in the course
he has pursued: bu, | feel well assured
tina. whoever else is responsible for the
sacking and destruction Of Greytown,
whenever the secre. history of this af
fair is revealed. If ever, il will be seen
that Mr.. Marcy never counseIed. approv.