The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-07-15
THE COMRETTTOR CASE
And Hawaiian Annexation Reported
to the Senate by
RELATIONS COMMITTEE.

Competitor Prisoners, and Urges
That Their Release BE Demanded
The Annexation of Hawaii Favored
Washington, July 15.-The senate was
in deadlock for several hours yester
day, with business at a standstill
while calls of the senate. roll Gals ant
other parliamentary expedients wer,
res0rtod to-. 1t was due TO the effor
TO secure action on the resolution OF
Mr. Harris. OF Kansas, designed tc
prevent the disposal of the government
lien ON the Union Pacific railroad under
the terms of an alleged agreement
There were many roll calls on Mr.
Harris motion to consider the reso-
luton, Quorums appearing and disap-
pearing and from u to 8 o'clock no
final vote on the motion was secured.
1t finally went over until today.
Senator Davis, chairman of the COM
mittee on foreign relations, late yestcr-
day afternoon reported a resolution
favoring the ratification of the Haw
allan annexation treaty. There was no
reference to the report beyond an in
quiry by Senator White as to whether
there would be an effort to take up the
treaty at the present session. To this
MIR. Davis replied that he was not now
prepared to say.
Senator Davis also reported from the
committee the following joint resolu-
tion.
That the president be empowered TO
take such measures as in his Judgment
may be necessary to obtain the release
from the Spanish government of Ona
Melton, Alfred A. Laborde and William
Gildea and the restoration of the
schooner Competitor to her owner, and
to secure this he is authorized and re-
quested to employ such means or ex-
ercise such power as may be necessary.
The report recites all the facts that
have been brought out in the Com
petitor case. her ownership, capture
and the citizenship of the three men
named in the resolution, together with
the proceedings thus far had by the
Spanish authorities, the trial, sentence,
etc. The report characterizes it a
''mockery of trial" The ahidavits of
the parties are cited to show that they
were coerced into Spanish waters. in
which case they were not amenable to
a Spanish jurisdiction. They were not
subject to piracy and intended no act
Of depreciation on the high seas, nor
were they subject to the Spanish au-
thorities on account Of alleged rebel
lion.
The report then says:
Irrespective of any of the foregoing
considerations, the conduct of Spain
constitutes such delay and denial of JUS
tice and such an actual infiiction of in
justice upon these men as to make it the
dutyo this government to demand rep
aration therefor Irrespective of any act
which these prisoners may have COM
mltted up to the date of their capture.
Among the acts of reparations which
ought to be demanded should be the
release Of these captives."
The report declares that the rights
of the men have been violated, and con-
tinues: "TheY have been tried and
sentenced to death by a summary naval
court martial in a proceeding which
has been annulled by the appellate
courts of Madrid, upon the ground
that such court martial had no juris-
diction whatever over them. Ten
months have elapsed since this death
sentence was annulled, and they have
not again been brought to trial. In the
meantime they have been subject to
protracted preliminary examinations
preparatory to their trial by another
court martial which differs from the
first only in the fact that it is less
summary and more formal in it's char
acter than the first"
The report says that the men in the
first trial did not know until after the
testimony for the prosecution was in
that an interpreter was present, and
the only translation made to them was
at the close of the sanguinary pro-
ceedings, when they were asked If
they had anything to say, and neces-
sarily they could have little to say,
yet one of them protested that he had
never understood one word of the pro-
eeedings against him, by which his life
was adjudged forfeited.
with these protests" continues the
report, "the trial ended and the de-
PENDANTS were Immediately sentenced
to death. 1t is now IA months since
they were arrested, during all of which
time they have been held in the Ca
banas Fortress as prisoners. Melton
and Laborde are unqestionably citizens
of the United States, Gildea is a Brit
ish subject, but he was a sailor upon
an American vessel when taken, was
acting as its mate, and it is the opin-
ion of your committee that he is en-
titled to be protected by this govern
ment. He was serving under the flag,
and he is entitled to be protected by it.
In our opinion these acts of delay
and denial of Justice, and of the in
Fiction of injustice, vitiate and make
void any right which Spain had in the
beginning Of this transaction to pro-
ceed criminally against any Of these
men. This government should demand
that they be set at liberty, and that
the Competitor be restored to the
owner, as there is no evidence that the
owner knew anything about the di-
of the vessel from its regular
voyage to Lemon city, Fla"