The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-26

| man-of-war. And in numberless in
| stances they were killed in the service
of king to whom they had never for
I one moment owed allegiance.
Some of the incidents forming the
| basis for the declaration of war may
| be worth reading about. April 20, 1906,
| the American sloop Richard, approach
| ing New York, was fired on when two
miles from Sandy Hook by the British
warship Leander Some damage was
done the vessel. But most serious was
| the effect Of the third shot fired, which
| killed John Pearce, the helmsman. OF
course the Richard could do no more
than run. but she did that and escaped.
The Leander had lain off Sandy Hook
for months stopping coasting vessels,
| searching them and sending them to
| Halifax in charge of n prize crew, If
| they were worth it. Pearce was an
| American born citizen.
| CONFISCATED THE AURORA.
| The Aurora an American vesseV
brought a cargo of Spanish goods from
| Havana to Charleston. landed and paid
| duty according to law. Three weeks
later the goods were loaded and re-
| shipped the duty was Withdrawn,
| save s 1-2 per cent retained on articles
exported after importation. and the
| Aurora cleared for Barcelona, Spain.
On the way an English cruiser over
hauled her. searched and seized her,
and sent her to Newfoundland, where
every farthing's worth of the cargo
was confscated by England.
British war vessels hung about the
American coast continually Some lay
| 80 I 1rlo
squadron passed within the capes of
the Chesapeake Bay and anchored in
Hampton Roads. Captain William Love
of the Diver. which had been specific
ally forbidden to enter American wa
ters, sailed boldly into Rebellion Roads
and anchored off Fort Johnson. Love
was reminded of the proclamation and
warned to leave. He had attacked un-
armed American boats in American WA
ters. He could not be accorded any
courtesies. Love replied that Jeffer-
sons proclamation was insolent and
tyranical; he would sail when he got
ready, and he was prepared to punish
any affront to his masters flag. If
water We're refused him he would take
it by force. And he did. Then he sailed
away unmolested, and his letter was
placed on file in Washington.
Lieutenant John Flintoph of the Brit
ish armed schooner ,Pogge entered
Passamaquoddy Bay, boarded and
searched the shipping, fired on the
town and sailed away. A month later
he was again in port. searched half
dozen Americans vessels, fired on rev.
enue boat, impressed seven American
sailors, and with round shot cut the
sails and riggings of the unarmed ship
| ping at the NfarVes.
OUTRAGES BY GREAT BRITAIN.
The Melampus, off Cape Henry and
| two miles from shore, made prize of
| the American sloop Three Brothers,
impressed ten of her crew and detained
her passengers. Later the Melampus
overwhelmed the Mercury, rifed the
mail she carried and examined all the
papers on board.
Later still, while the MelamDus lay
at anchor in Hampton Roads, her Of
| ticers gave an entertainment on board.
| While the festivities We're at their
height, five of the crew-American sea-
| men imDressed-alert for a chance of
| escape, as was the case usually with
i'cn on the British ships, went over the
side in small tOat and rowed ashore.
They are Ware, Martin, Strachan,
Little and Watts. Martin, Ware and
Strachan enlisted at Norfolk for the
American frigate Chesapeake. Not
one of the three. Commodore Barron
said was a subject of King George.
Strachan and Ware were natives of
Maryland and Martin was born in
| 10 nd h.,
British ships and vessels of the North
American station wrote an order direct
ing all officers to watch for the Ches-
| apeake and search her for deserters
The order had just reached the Brit
lsh fleet at Lynnhaven when the Ches-
apeake put to sea on her way to Eu-
rope. She was by no means ship shape.
Not gun was mounted not a chest
Of arms was in readiness for use; the
decks were Uttered with sails, ropes.
stores and cannon. The Leopard fol-
lowed her, hailed her and sent an Of
hcer aboard demanding search. Bar
ron made pacifactory answer and the
Leopard replied with a shot across
the bow and then with a broadside.
CAPTURE OF THE CHEsAPEAKE.
| II took Barren twenty minutes to get
a gun ready, and then it was fired
| with live coal brought from the
cooks gallery. In twenty more min
utes the Chesapeake was riddled with
British cannon shot, three men had
| been Killed and eighteen wounded, Bar
| ron hauled down the stars and stripes
| and the Chesapeake was a prize. The
| British officers came aboard, searched
the ship and took Ware Strachan and
| Martin and Rattord, who was really a
| British subject. These four were taxi
en- to the Leopard, and the Chesapeake.
| disabled and without a flag was re-
leased. Ratford was sent to Halifax
| ana hanged. The other three were
compelled to serve in the British navy
| against their American brethren.
These acts, taken from hundreds of
ike instances, all occurred before the
United States declared war. They
show a national temper quite incompre-
hensible now. Imagine such provoca-
ton being answered with a protest to-
| dayl
Then there was another cause for the
war. Since England went to war with
Napoleon she made commerce one of
| her offensive and defensive weapons
| Napoleon could not conquer England
on the sea, Her merchants traded with
every port In the world, and he could
not drive them from the ocean. so he
declared closed every port in Europe
Not only did he forbid English mer-