Birmingham state herald., 1897-07-15
THE HARDNESS 0F JUSTICE As Shown in the Case of the
 Competitor, WHOSE SAILORS ARE HELD And = se Trial Was Simple Nochery of @ Justice, QgtS FORTH A RESOLUTION q,
 e oln the Foreign Relations Committee En- powering the President to Demand the
 Release of the Men and Vessel
 Spanish Justice Shown Up.
WHOSE SAILORS ARE HELD
q Us FORTH A RESOLUTION

Washington. July 14.--Senator Davis, chairman of the committee on foreign relations, today reported from that com mittee the following joint resolution.
 That the president be empowered to take such measures as in his Judgment may be necessary, to obtain the release by the Spanish government of Ona Mel ton, Alfred o. Laborde and William c. Cildea, and the restoration of the steamer Competitor to her owner, and to secure this he is authorized and requested to employ such means or exercise such pow CT as may be necessary"
 The report recites all the facts that have been brought out in the Compet;- tor case, her ownership. character and citizenship of the three men named in the resolution together with the proceedings thus far had before the Spanish authori- ties, the trial and sentence. The report characterizes it "a mockery of a trial.'
 The afhdavts of the parties are ctsd to snow that they were coerced into Span- 1sh waters, in which case they were not amenable to the Spanish jurisdiction. They were not subjected to piracy, and intended no act of depreciation on the high seas, nor were they subjected to Spanish authority on account of the re- belion.
 The report then says:
 irrespective of any of the foregoing con- sid rat ons, the con luct of Spain. IS here inbefore detailed, constitutes such delay and denial of justice and such an actual inhiction Of injustice upon these men as to make it the duty of this government to demand reparati therefor, irrespect- we or any act which these prisoners may have committed up to the day of their. capture. Among the acts of reparation which ought to be demanded is princi- pally the release of these captives"
 Secretary Evarts is quoted to sustain this position. The report declares that the rights of the men have been violated and continues:
 They have been tried and sentenced to death by summary naval courtmar- tal in proceeding which has been an nuIled by the appellate courts of Madrid upon the ground that such courtmartial had no jurisdiction whatever over them. Ten months have elapsed since the death sentence was annulled. and they have not again been brought to trial In the meantime they have been subjected to p"otracted preliminary examinations. preparatory to their trial by another courtmartial, which differs from the first only in the fact that it is less summary and more formal in it's character than the first''
 The report says that the men at she first lrial did not know until after the laas- timony for the prosecution was In that an interpreter was pfeseTst, and the only translation made to hem was at the close of the sanguinary proceedings when they were asked if they had any hing to say and necessarily they could have IL tle to say, yet one of them protested that he had not understood one word of the proceedings gainet him by which his life was adjudged forfeited.
 With thea protests" continues the report, "the trial ended and the, defend- an.s were immediately sertenced to death. It is now fourteen monlhs sin,ce they wer= arerSted. during all of which time they have been hold in the Cabanas for ress as prisoners. Melton and La bonde are inquest. )rlably citizens of the United States. Gildea Is a British sub ject bun h. was q sailor upon an Ameri- can vessel when takeE, was acting as its mate, and it is the opinion of your colr- nlItbee that he is eli tiled to be protected by this government. He was serving un- der the flag. and h. IS enr tiled to be protected by it.
 "In our opinion, these let's of delay anI denial eff justice and of the i,diictioa of justice viJate ard make void any right which Spain had in the beginning of this transaction to proceed crimiBally against any one of ehese men. Tn y should be set at liberty and the Competitor should be restored to the owner. who knew noah- ing about rbe divergence of the vessel from its regular voyage 10 Lemon City,