Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-04-26

cruisers on the high seas in their exercise of
pohce-this same military police which, on
shore addresses the first word with a slash Of
the sabre, or the thrust of lance, Just as the
cruiser did his two and thirty pound shot FIRST
and his hail afterwards, to the III Dorado? This
police system is the old Spanish custom, and
kept up to this day perhaps in old Spain as
well as in the Spanish colonies 1t is now iut
about two and thirty years since we were
treated to most painful example of this same
police system, which our indulgent and vener
able friend of the Hatelligencer may find re-
corded on his files, if he will turn to them.
Whilst Commodore Porter was on the coast of
Porto Rico, ain the waters ofthe island" he sent
into ST. Johns one Of his squsdron, the "Fox,'
OF seventy tons, little bay craft schooner,
which had been made TO carry nine pound
pivot gun and thirty.fve men, to communicate
with the governor of the island. 1t was blow
ing fresh gale at the time right into the har-
Dor of st. Johns, and as the Fox passed in
she was almost smothered in the breakers. At
| this critical moment heavy gun was fired
from the Moro Castle, and the shot fell Just
across her track; another followed, which struck
close to her; ii acas to cause her TO heave TO !;
but as she was in the midst Of the breaking sea,
it was deemed impracticable; but, in the mean
time, as she bounded through the surf another
gun was seen to smoke, and twenty four
pound shot tore away the heart of the brave
lieutenant who commanded her. Poor Locke
expired almost instantly, and the little Fox
barely escaped being swallowed up by the sur
rounding breakers as she swung to her anchor
This shot was fired from the castle of Porto
Rico at a little schooner not much larger than
cock boat, under the pretext that she might
have been patriot privateer under American
colors, running into the port!
Are these the people we entrust with the
| "police Of the seas2' as it is called by our re-
spected friend of the Lntelligencer, who rather
seems to like it. and certainly justifes and ex-
cuses the prctensions and the practices of the
| Spanish cruisers.
We have quarrelled with and fought England
upon this very issue. She claimed the right to
"visit" and to "search" our ships. Chow else
could she reclaim her seamen to man her
ships?" We fought with France for Selling
our ships, because, as she alleged we had
suffered England to do the same In one OF
these friendly twists" the shot fred by a
British frigate to bring to an American ship of
Sandy Hook, instead of going over the "wheel.
1
house." as in the Eldorado case, killed her
captain; and that accident was deemed a
brutal murder instead Of a lawful consequence
of the rightful exercise of "police" power on
the high seas. The right to visit is the right
to search a ship-one is the necessary conse-
quence of the other. 1t may not be necessary to
search into the character or cargo of a ship.
because you "vist'' her, but if you "visit," as
of right, it must be for the final exercise of the
full right, if it suits your purpose, otherwise
neither is effective, and the right is of no value.
But there is no right in the premises as be-
longing to any nation. 1t is not recognized in
the law Of nations; on the contrary it is IN
known to international law. Vattel calls the
claim to this right of OBTAINING ships, &C., "a
pretension no less iniquitous than chimerica.'
Spain once claimed the right as to British
ships in the American seas, and Lord Cha.
than denounced it as can usurpation and in.
human tyranny" Sir William Scott denounced
it Visitation and, search, &C., as unjust and
unlawful. General Cass defeated the proposed
quintuple treaty, the very object Of which was
L
to make it lawful to the parties to the treaty
Mr. Webster argued it fully and in the eighth
article ofthe Ashburton treaty, we if quote cor
rectly from memory, it was virtually abandoned
by Great Britain. We agreed to keep a squad
ron on the coast of Africa, so that no pretext Of
necessity should be given to Great Britain for
"visit" to our merchant ships. No American
statesman will now even argue or negotiate on
this topic again forever. There is no right, OF
shadow of right, in the cruisers of one nation
to visit, overhaul, detain, or search, the mer.
chant ships of another nation on the high seas.
And whenever it is done, if done courteously,
it is done on the same ground as one man
knocks politely at a neighbors or a strangers
door and inquiries Of the master on business OF
his own; or-if there must be police COM
parison-as policeman under authority exer.
cses the functions Of his Office in his oun
country and amongst his own people, and even
these, where ignorantly, or violently, or wrong.
fully, subject to the lawful penalty of his tress-
pass. But he has no authority out of his own
country; or, in other words, quite as much
right as a foreign cruiser has over the commerce
of friendly nation.
Granting that the Spanish cruisers in their
recent exploits had no right, and that knowing
this, yet under the pressure Of a fancied ne
cessity, they chose to exert this power at their
own peril, which is the true state Of the case !:
and granting that they we're justified in their
apprehensions of invasion, is it our duty to
submit patiently to this detention and scrutiny
Of our commerce? Is the indignant spirit of
our people to be reviled by our party prints and
partizan politicians because it is irritated and
revolts at this injurious maritime armed police