The Portland daily press., 1869-03-31
Violation of international aaw by u
Spanish Mnn.Of.War.

An Havana letter of Mar, h oath has the fol-
lowing particulars of the capture of the brig
Mary Lowell, of Eastport, at Ragged Island
by a Spanish man of war:
The British ganboat Cherub came into port
Yesterday evening from Nassau N. p, and
brought news of sensational Importance, since
they tell of great insult to and outrage upon
the American and British flags by Spanish
man-of-war / have told you of an American
sailing vessel having shipped arms and ammu-
milton and number Of Cuban passengers
from an American steamer that had been dis
abled in her machinery at or near Nassau, and
her having put into Ragged Island, port in
the Bahamas, where she was closely watched
by Spanish man-of-war, the Andalusia.
By the arrival of the British schooner Mar
garet at Nassau, from Ragged Island, the
startling announcement was conveyed that the
vessel in question had been captured in an
English port of entry by the Andausia, in di-
rect violation OF international and British
laws. By the Margaret there came a passen-
ger to Nassau, Mr. Walter Wilson, the Custom
House officer at Ragged Island, who had charge
of the American brig Mary Lowell, the vessel
in question, in the capacity of pilet and Gus
tom House officer, for period of eighteen
days, and who had the hatchways sealed down
with the seal of Her Majesty's customs.
Mr. Lowell gives the following account of
the capture:
On the afternoon of the 15th at about 40
p. NJ, was in the act of removing the brig
Mary Lowell from the man-of-war anchorage
to a safer place, known as the 'sHarbOr,' when
! was ordered to heave to and lower my sails
by the commander of the Spanish gunboat
Andalusia who, finding that did not do SO
at once, gave the order three times, in loud
voice, to fire into us. Upon this Immediate
ly hove to, when boat came along side, con-
tanning fifteen men, well armed, under the
IL zG4A oEx II
manded permission to come on board. re-
piled that he might do SO as private individ-
ual but not in an official capacity, upon which
he came on board. We had not, however,
been in conversation more than minute or so
when an order from the captain of the gun
boat was given to the men in the boat to board
the brig, which they accordingly did and i'm
mediately took formal possession of the vessel.
may here mention that the order three times
given to- fire into us was prevented from being
carried into execution by an officer, who
placed his hand on the cap of the gun to pre-
vent its being fred. demonstrated with the
officer who boarded me, who, by the way,
could speak English fiuently, in as energetic a
manner as was consistent with my duty, ask
ing him whether he was aware of the illegality
and gravity of the act which he was about to
commit, and whether he knew that the brig
Mary Lowell, under my charge, was an Amer
ican vessel, and that she was in British waters
and under British protection and, moreover,
that was an officer in the employ of Her
Majesty's Government of the Bahamas, to
which he replied "that he was only obeying
the orders of his superior officer" He then
ordered me to get into the boat and go on
board the gunboat, as the commander wanted
to see me.
then with six men that were not with me
in the brig, four of whom belonged to her and
the other two of whom had brought from the
shore, got into the boat and proceeded to the
Spanish man of war. On going on board /
asked the captain what his intentions were,
and what he wanted with me, to which he
simply replied that must at once go ashore.
To make me do so, he gave me the boat belong
ing to the Mary Lowell, in which my brother,
George w. Wilson, who was on board of the
man of war, together with myself and the two
men from the shore, reached the land The
other four men belonging to the brig, who were
on board the Spanish gunboat During all the
above proceedings as narrated by me, the Anne
rican flag was flying from the main deck of the
brig, until was obliged to lower my sails
when it was carried to the side of the vessel
and spread over the rail. On our leaving the
Mary Lowell, the American flag was removed
and almost Immediately afterward the brig was
made fast to the gunboat, which proceeded
with her to sea in a southwesterly direction.
The Captain of the Mary Lowell had left her
and Ragged Island some time before the cap
ture of the vessel, and her Cuban passengers
back to Nassau in the schooner Margaret, with
custom house officer Wilson. The good people
of Ragged Island were thrown into a high
state OF excitement by the capture and conse-
quent insult to their flag, and some were even
desirous of proceeding to extremeties, not only
in consequence of all this, but also in conse-
| quence Of certain threats which had been made
from time to time by the commander of the
Andalusia. The early departure of that vesse
with her prize, however, precluded these de-
good people of Ragged Island have sworn ven
Seance against the Spaniards, and the first
spanish vessel that puts into their port is likely
| to get warm reception.
The capture of the Mary Lowell is likely to
lead to serious diplomatic complications be-
tween Great Britain and Spain, in which the
| American government will NECESSARILY have to
take part against the latter power. The An.
dalusia is supposed to have brought the prize
| to Nuevitas, and as we have no mail steame,
| from there before next Saturday, we will prob
ably have to wait till then before hearing the
| Spanish version of the capture.