The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-01
RARRUNDIA'STRAGICEND
ztAw OF NATIONS. JUSTIFIED
AN HIS SEIZURE.

-.,o, of This Jurisdiction I'm
80 the Right to Kill if He Re-
~.od-The Gomez Case Similar
Ona-secretary Bayard's Position in
u-,suvGroN. Aug. 31.-The state de-
--,,,srt has taken measures TO secure fun
ff-..iorars of the shooting Of Gen. Barrun-
r. oo hoard an American vessel lying In
- .,ort of San Jose by officers of the
cno+emalsn government, and until the ex-
act facts and circumstances connected with
+ha affair are known it does not care to
sxnress any opinion of the case or of the
conrse of Minister Miner.
A SIMILAR CASE.
A cose involving the identical principle
-, that involved in the shooting Of Gen.
porrnpdia occurred in Nicaragua in 1885,
ond in that case Secretary Bayard informed
o,,r minister to Central America that the
Njcaraguan government had right TO take
tho man wanted from on board an Ameri-
ran merchant vessel, provided she were n
Nicaraguan waters.
GOMEZ THE MAN.
The case was that of Jay Gomez. In a
Iatrar dated Uatamita, Feb. 10, 1885, Min
ister Hallinformed Secretary Frelinghuysen
tbat he had been informed that the Guate-
malan government proposed to take from
m hoard the Pacific mail steamer Sonderlo
then living in San Juan del Sur, passenger
named Gomez in transit from Panama but
wanted in Nicaragua to answer charge of
heirg implicated in a recent insurrection in
that country.
MINISTER HALLS POSITION.
Minister Hall said he had directed our
consul to inform the Nicaraguan govern
ment THAT our government has never con-
sented to the arrest and removal from an
American vessel in foreign port of any
passenger in transit, much less If the ohense
be political"
The captain of the vessel did not give up
the man, and sailed out of port without
proper clearance papers. He was tried and
convicted for this by the Nicaraguan author
titles. The case came before the state de-
Jartment in this way, and it said that
Minister Hall had acted according to the
law.
SECRETARY BAYARD's POSITION.
In his letter to the minister, dated March
12, 1885, Secretary Beyard says: 1t ap-
pears that Gomez voluntarily took passage
on the vessel knowing that it would enter
en- route Nicaraguan port. 1t may be
safely affirmed that when merchant
vessels of one country visit the
ports of another for the purposes
of trade it owes temporary allegiance
and is amenable to the jurisdiction of that
country and is SUBJECT to the laws which
nOKy fbhr @,-ffk sk- 81
mains, unless it is otherwise provided by
treaty. Any exemption or immunity from
jurisdiction must be from the consent of
that country"
SEIZURES IN HAWAII.
1t is said that cases have frequently oc.
Cured in which revolutionists and Others.
wanted for officers Of one character or an
other, have been seized by the Hawaiian
government while on British merchant
ships, and Great Britain has not protested.
thus establishing a diplomatic precedent.
had the vessels been q man-of-war Gen.
barrundla would not have, been subject to
jurisdiction, as war vessels carry every
where the jurisdiction Of the country whose
flag they fly.
THE RIGHT TO KILL.
The Barrundia affair differs from the
others In that the man was shot, but the
rlgLt 10 seize being conceded the right to
XII II resistance is made is an old estab.
hshed principle Of law.
The principal criticism made in diplo.
matte circles of Minister MINERS cor1rsa is
that OF unnecessary interference. 1t is suq.
Gasted that he might have simply stated to
Guatemala that they seized at their own
lisk, but on this point it is thought wei tc
await knowledge of exactly what the minis
,ts ser sald and did before pronouncing judg-
ment upon his conduct. e