The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-16
FIGHT OF THE THREE FRIENDS.
SUPREME COURT HEARS THE APP
PEAE ARGUED.

erhmSnt-N. halAcAt Hhtllips fOl-
lows i'm Behalf of the Three
Friends and w, A. COckren COntin-
ues the Argument.
Washington, Feb l5.-In accordance
with the decision reached two weeks ago.
when the usual February recess began,
the supreme court of the United States
reassembled to-day to hear arguments up
on the appeal of the United States from
the judgment of Judge Locke of the
United States court in Florida. in the
case of the Three Friends" the steamer
seized last November for engaging in Gu
ban hlibustering movements.
Caldron Carlisle, counsel for Spain, ask
ed and obtained leave to file a brief in
the case. as amicus curae, stating that
the latter representing the appellee, had
the Attorney General and Mr. Phillips,
courteously stated they had no objection.
Mr.. Phillips said he had not seen the
brief and while he had no objection to
the counsel for the Spanish government
filing 1t, he desired permission to reply
to it if he found it desirable or necessary
to do So This was granted, and the ar
Sument proceeded.
e. b. Whitney. assistant attorney gem
eral, reviewed the preliminary proceeding
resulting in the lower court in the release
of the vessel under stipulation and bond
from the libel of the government. A lead
ing question in the case, he said, was: DO
the words colony, district, or people in
the section under which the libel was filed,
include discretionary bodies like the
present republic of Cuba whose bellig-
erency, technically speaking, has not yet
been recognized by the executive depart
nf 10
that such bodies were SO included, and
quoted an opinion to that effect by Attor-
ney General Hoar upon former Cuban
instruction, and this construction held,
he said, until Judge Lockes decision had
been acqueSced in, This decision was
the first which put upon section 52S3 the
construction that the colony,
district district Or or people" in whose e
employed was to be recognized by the po-
litical power of the United States, and this
decision, it was stated, directly overruled
his own decision in 1886 in the case of the
steamer City of Mexico
Proceeding Mr.. Whitney made the points
that, Qthe internal evidence of the stat
ute was opposed to the theory that a
recognition of beligerency was necessary
to the operation of the statute; (2) the his
tory of the statute is opposed to the the
ory; CD II any executive recognition is
necessary to put the statute in operation,
that recognition had been given when the
libel was filed; ca the stipulation and bond
for the release of the vessel were not au-
thorized by law and the vessel should
be remanded to the custody of the mar
shall.
Discussing the first point Mr. Whitney
called attention to the serious conse-
quences of the recognition of the bellig-
erency of one insurgent body-trafic in
arms and munitions must be stopped ;
claims for reparation on account of dam
ages suffered by citizens of the United
States through the hOStilitieS could not
be enforced and merchantmen must sub
init to the rights of blockade visitation,
search and seizure of contraband articles
on the high seas.
w. Hallett Phillips followed. in behalf
of the Three Friends. He argued that the
position of the lower court was correct;
that the statute was not violated, because
when the act mentioned the word people"
it meant one of the denominations APP
piled by congress to foreign power. The
same construction, he asserted, had also
been given to the words by the executive
and congress. Meeting the point made by
the government counsel that If a recog-
milton of belligerency was essential to the
operation of the statute, it had been suf-
hciently made at the time the libel was
fled he said the proc. p,roeelamations
did not lend countenanee to the position
of the government for they did not recog-
nize a public war existing in Cuba, mucn
less a government or new power assert
ing its sovereignty. The opinion of A.
torney General Hoar quoted by counsel
for the United States, did not meet the
present case. for he had a different ques-
ton presented to him. No argument could
properly be made on the ground that the
United States had any duties TO perform
other than those specified in its legisll-
ton, or that citizens could be proceeded
against criminaIy, except as thus provid-
ed Neither the United States nor Spain
admitted that there existed a state of bel
ligerency, and in the absence of that al
mission there could not exist any obli-
cations of neutrality.
The argument for the steamer was con-
tinued by A. W. Cockrell of Florida, attor-
ney for the owners of the vessel He de-
n 10 mott Ion
of the statute 1t was penal, he said, and
in enforcing it, the government could not
eliminate a single fact or circumstance re-
quired by the statute to make out the for
fixture provided for In seeking, under the
libel In question, to make out case of
forfeiture independently and without ref
erence to the ascertained guilt of the Of
Tending persons. he said, the government
was forced to say that the vessel might
be liable to condemnation under the stat
ute and the offending persons acquitted.
The proceedings against the Three
Friends, he said, was not case of prize,
but based upon section which made the
criminal interest of the offending persons
an essential ingredient of their conviction
and an essential ingredient of the forfeit
ure of the vessel. The libel he asserted.
was deficient in respect of allegations COW
ering these points.
Mr.. Cockrell paid some attention to the
phrase colony district or people," i'm
the law, and contended that it's meaning
must he defined in view of the status of
the South American insurgents. at the
troduced Their belligerency, he asserted,
had been fully and distinctly recognized.
The words must be considered as apply
ing to powers recognized as existing and
making war.
The argument was concluded by Attor-
new General Harmon, who briefly address,
ed the court. The sitting was prolonged
until an unusual hour in order TO obvi-
ate The necessity for a session tomorrow.
Attorney General Harmon said that
President Cleveland by proclamation and
by statements In his messages to congress
had recognized the fact that hosti,ities
were in progress in Cuba, nut that had
not conferred beligerency on the Cubans
1T was a recognition Of insurgency lie
declared tina. any body of persons claim
ing the right TO be Independent and strus-
Cling TO achieve that Independence were
commonly called "a people, from the mo-
ment that the struggle became important
enough 20 attract the attention Of the
world, and they would not, he said, be-
called by that title any sooner because
bv reason of their access TO the sea, or
iheir contigui.v to some other nation, their
bcligerency might receive foreign recog
rition at an eai her stage of the Insured.
ton.
The Attorney General dwelt upon the
necessity for a reversal OF Judge Locke's
ruling. When a vessel belonging TO cit
izens Of the United States committed hos