Norwich bulletin., 1921-12-16
Famous Trials
JOHN ETIENNE GUINET.

In the latter part of the 18th century. when the government of the United States was not very firmly established, they found frequent trouble among citi- I zens who tried to make money out of con- ditons then prevailing in the fitting out in neutral ports of this country armed vessels to be employed in the service of foreign countries. One of the most inn portant incidents that came under the
 jurisdiction of the circuit court of the
 United States was the trial of John
 Etienne Guinet, who was charged with
 fitting out and arining Q French vessel
 within the port of Philadelphia, Guinet and his assistants were indicted on May II, 1795 in the circuit court at Philadel- phia for the crme of arning Les Jameaux to cruise and commit hostilities
 upon the subjects and property of the king of Great Britain, with which for eign ruler this country was then at peace When Guinet was arraigned he pleaded
 not guilty The material facts that ap- peared ill evidence were that Les Jameaux entered the Philadelphia port
 the previous year laden with sugar and coffee from Port-au-Prince. On her ar rival she mounted four guns and two swivels. When the master warden of the Philadelphia port discovered what Iswas being done he ordered the contractor to des!st and notified the secretary of l war who directed that all the recent equipments of a Warlike nature should be dismantled and the vessel restored to the state in which she was when she arrived. When Guinet was apprehended two 1 papers were found in his possession, one of them being an account in his own | handwriting between Le ATaitre, one of l his accomplices, and himself, in which were charges for supplying muskets, ball
 and cannon, foO moneys advanced at l sundry times on account of the equipment and for commissions and attendance in experimenting the repairs and outfit of ] the vessel.
 i This was the first prosecution that had 1 occurred since Tae act Of congress was 1 passed on the subject It was contended l that, according to a treaty between the 1 United States and France an American | citizen had the right to enter into the l service of the French government, this 1 position having received some countemant
 from the refusal of the grand jury only
 a short time before. to g bills of indict- l ment against persons Nno had acted in l that manner. After the case against 1 Guinet, in which the charges were 1 proven, MT. RawIe, the district attorney 1 Of Philadelphia. entered into a descrip- 1 ton of the principle and advantages of an l honorable enutrality. He contended, first 1 that the offense had been committed :: ! second, that the defendant was knowing 1 ly concerned iE committing it, and, third 1 that the indictment was founded on the l proper section of the act of congress.
 In summing up. Justice Patterson said: "The vessel in question arrived with
 cargo of coffee and sugar, and so ap- l pears to have been employed by her own ] CT wit ha view to merchandise. and not l With view to war. It is true she left 1 the wharf with only four guns but it is
 equally true that when she dropped to
 some distance below Philadelphia harbor ] She took on board three or four guns
 more, and it Is manifest that other guns
 were ready to be sent 10 her by the niIot
 boat
 These circumstances clearly prove a
 conversion from the original commereial
 design Of the vessel to a design of cruis-
 ing against the enemies of France. and
 or course, agains ta nation at peace with
 the United States. which is at Deace win
 ali the world, nor can it be reasonably contended that the articles placed m
 board of the vessel were articles of rnar-
 chandise, for if that had been the case
 they would have been mentioned in her
 manifest on clearing the port, whereas if
 expressly states that she sailed in hal . last" '''i- ? The chief question to be decided wa s the extent to which Guinet was aware. o4 , the use to which these implements of war
 were to be put, and being a Frenchnan l by birth there was no doubt from the ice.
 tirnony that was advanced that the object
 was to fit the vessel as a nrivateer as ! soon as 1t could get well to sea.
 II olo not take the jury long to find g