It appeared, however, that the conscience of the society had p.r.i.c.ked them for this concession to the majesty of the law, and a pen had been carefully run through the last sentence. A little lower down, upon the same packet, was written, "As may be convenient, please report (by letter, if necessary) anything of interest which may occur in connexion with the distribution; also take any orders for Bibles, and forward them to John S. Peerin, Marine Agent, New York Bible Society, No. 7 Beekman Street."
The other noteworthy fact in connexion with the Dunkirk was the capture on board of her of one of the seven sailors who had deserted from the Sumter whilst lying at Cadiz ten months before. This man, whose name was George Forrest, was at once recognised, and on the day but one after his capture on board the enemy"s vessel, a court-martial, consisting of the first lieutenant (president); senior second lieutenant; master, chief engineer, and lieutenant of marines, with the captain"s clerk as judge-advocate, was a.s.sembled in the wardroom to try the prisoner for the crime of desertion. The evidence was, of course, simple enough, and the man was found guilty, and sentenced to lose all pay, prize money, etc., already due to him, and to fulfil his original term of service, forfeiting all pay and allowances, except such as should be sufficient to provide necessary clothing and liberty money.
That same afternoon another sail was descried and chased, and just before sunset the Alabama came up with and brought to, the fine packet ship Tonawanda, of Philadelphia, belonging to Cope"s Liverpool line, and bound from Philadelphia to Liverpool with a full cargo of grain, and some seventy-five pa.s.sengers. Here was a serious matter of embarra.s.sment; of the seventy-five pa.s.sengers, some thirty or more were women, and what to do with such a prize it was hard to know. It was, of course, impossible to take the prisoners on board; yet Captain Semmes was, not unnaturally, reluctant to release so fine a vessel if he could by any possibility so arrange matters as to be able to destroy her. It was therefore determined to place a prize crew on board, and keep the ship in company for a time, in hopes that ere long some other vessel of less value to the enemy, or guarded from destruction by a neutral cargo might, by good luck, be captured, and thus afford an opportunity of sending the prisoners away upon cartel.
Accordingly, a bond was taken of the captain for eighty thousand dollars, as a measure of precaution, in case it should be found necessary to let the ship go without further parley, and a prize master having been put on board the Tonawanda, was ordered to keep company, and her captor started off on a chase after a brig, which on being overhauled proved to be English. One transfer, however, was made from the prize, being nothing less than a well-grown and intelligent negro lad, named David White, the slave of one of the pa.s.sengers, who was transferred to the Alabama as waiter to the wardroom mess, where he remained until the closing scene off Cherbourg, by no means disposed, so far as his own word may be taken for it, to regret the change of masters.
The following day, as an additional security, the master of the Tonawanda was brought as a hostage on board the Confederate steamer, the prisoners from the last two ships burned being at the same time transferred to the prize. In this manner the two vessels cruised in company for two or three days-an anxious time enough for the crew and pa.s.sengers of the unlucky Tonawanda, who spent most of their time in eagerly scanning the horizon, in the hope that some armed vessel of their own nation might appear in sight, and rescue them from their unpleasant predicament. No such luck, however, was to be theirs; but on the 11th October, a fresh addition was made to their numbers in the crew of the Manchester, a fine United States ship from New York to Liverpool, the glare of which as she, like so many others, was committed to the flames, by no means alleviated their anxiety, as they thought how soon a similar fate might befall their own vessel, should fortune not interpose to arrest the disaster.
At length, on the 13th October, excitement prevailed on board of both vessels, and the hopes of the anxious pa.s.sengers on board the Tonawanda rose to fever pitch, as a large vessel was seen bearing down under topsails only, her easy-going style of sailing seeming to prove conclusively to a sailor"s eye, that she must be either a whaler or a man-of-war. On board the Alabama the former was the favorite supposition, and hopes ran high of another glorious bonfire fed by tons of brightly burning sperm oil. The aspirations of the Tonawanda were naturally in favor of the man-of-war, and it was with difficulty that considerations of prudence restrained the open exhibition of their delight as the stranger drew near, and the long pendant floating proudly from her masthead seemed to a.s.sure them that their hopes were to be fulfilled.
But disappointment was equally in store for all. The big easy-going ship proved to be nothing more or less than an ordinary Spanish merchantman, who, with more regard for personal appearance than maritime etiquette, had quietly appropriated to herself the distinguishing ornament of a man-of-war. So the guns of the Alabama, which had been cast loose and loaded, were again secured, and the crew dismissed from quarters; while the disconsolate Tonawandas, balked of their fondly antic.i.p.ated rescue, shook their fists at the deceptive Spaniard, and went below to digest as best they might their grievous disappointment.
At last, however, this time of suspense was over, and kind fortune came to their a.s.sistance in the shape of a threatening gale of so ugly an appearance that the captain determined not to run the risk of parting company, and thus altogether losing his awkward, but not the less valuable prize. Accordingly, having accepted from the master a ransom bond for eighty thousand dollars, he dismissed him to his ship, and amid the wildest demonstrations of delight from the closely-packed prisoners on board, the Tonawanda filled away, and was seen no more.
The wind now freshened to a tolerably fresh gale. Not sufficient, however, for the next two days to prevent the Alabama from chasing and capturing, on the 15th October, the United States barque Lamplighter, of Boston, from New York to Gibraltar, with a cargo of tobacco, which, however, as it proved, was never destined to soothe the ennui of the British soldier at that not very lively station. The sea was running high, and the boats had a rough time of it in boarding the barque, and returning with prisoners, &c. However, it was managed at last; the unlucky vessel was fired, and after burning fiercely for some time, went headforemost to the bottom, leaving behind her a savoury cloud that almost tempted her destroyers to regret their work.
And now it proved indeed fortunate for the prisoners who had so lately been discharged, that they were not doomed to weather out on the Alabama"s deck the gale that came upon her. The 17th of October saw the culminating of the bad weather that had prevailed during the last four or five days, and for some hours the Alabama was exposed to a perfect hurricane. The storm did not last long, but for about four hours it blew furiously. It was not yet at its height, and the ship was still carrying her close reefed maintopsail with reefed main trysail and fore topmast staysail, when a sharper lurch than usual threw a sudden strain upon the b.u.mpkin to which the weather main brace was led, and in a moment it had snapped in two. The mainyard no longer supported by the brace, and pressed by the whole power of the straining topsail, flew forward and upward till it was bent nearly double, when with a loud crash it parted in the slings, splintering the topsail into ribands with a noise like thunder.
The ship was now in the greatest peril, for there was no longer sufficient after canvas to keep her head to the wind against the powerful pressure of the foretopmast staysail, and in another moment she must have fallen into the trough of the sea, and probably been at the least dismasted, if not altogether swamped. But the quick eye of the captain of the foretop saw the danger, and springing to the staysail halyards he cut the sail away, and the ship relieved of pressure forward, again came up to the wind.
The main trysail was now lowered, though not without splitting the sail, and a small three-cornered storm trysail hoisted in its place. Even under this minimum of canvas the tremendous pressure of the gale upon her spars forced her down in the water several streaks, and the idlers and boys were lashed for safety under the weather bulwarks, life-lines being stretched before them to prevent them from falling to leeward.
So far as it was possible under the circ.u.mstances to estimate the probable extent of this cyclone, its greatest diameter would appear to have been from about one hundred and sixty to two hundred miles, whilst the diameter of the vortex, through a considerable portion of which, if not actually through the centre, the Alabama appears to have pa.s.sed, would probably be from about thirty to five-and-thirty or perhaps forty miles.
The Alabama took the gale at S.W., the wind hauling afterwards to S., and the vessel pa.s.sing completely through the vortex. During that time it lulled for about half or three-quarters of an hour, then hauled in a few minutes to about N.N.W., which was the severest portion of the gale, commencing with the squall by which the mainyard was carried away. The barometer sank as low as 28.64. At 2 P.M. it had risen to 29.70, but fell again a little, and then rose gradually. The rise and fall of the barometer were both very rapid.
During the violence of the gale, the birds flew very low, and with great rapidity, and some rain fell, though not a great deal. The surface of the sea was one sheet of foam and spray, the latter completely blinding all on deck. A curious result of the gale was a huge knot into which a strip of the maintopsail, the clew line, and chain sheet had twisted themselves in a hundred involutions, defying any attempt at extrication except by aid of the knife.
During this tremendous storm the Alabama behaved splendidly, proving herself as fine a sea-boat as ever swam.
By the evening the storm had lulled, but the sea was still running fearfully high, and it was not until the next day that it was possible to set about repairing the damage suffered in this by far the severest trial through which the Alabama had as yet pa.s.sed.
CHAPTER XVII.
Out of luck-Tempest-tossed-Rotatory storms-A prize-The case of the Lafayette-A long chase-The Crenshaw-Neutral or not?-Rough again-The Lauretta-Condemned!-The Baron de Custine-Released on bond.
The Alabama was again out of luck. For the second time since her departure from Terceira, nearly a fortnight pa.s.sed without bringing a single prize. It was, indeed, hardly to be expected that the splendid success which had attended the first three weeks of her cruise could be maintained. From the 1st to the 18th of September, she had captured and destroyed no less than ten vessels, of an aggregate value of nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Then had followed an interval of a fortnight, during which one vessel only was overhauled, and proving to be French, permitted to proceed. This dull period over, the 3rd October had seen the commencement of another run of good fortune, extending over nearly a fortnight, during which she succeeded in capturing five more vessels, all of considerable size, and for the most part with valuable cargoes. In this fortnight alone damage was inflicted upon United States property to the amount of more than half-a-million of dollars; and it was but natural that, after so splendid a gift, fortune should for a time hold her hand.
Accordingly, for the next ten or twelve days the Alabama lay helplessly on the ocean, tossed and beaten about by a succession of gales from every point of the compa.s.s, culminating, as we have seen, in the hurricane of the 16th October. The season was, indeed, most unusually severe, this month of October being commonly one of calm and fine weather. A gale at this time is a most unusual occurrence; but for more than a week a succession of storms was experienced of the most violent description, while for fully three weeks the weather continued dark, rough, and gloomy, with strong shifting winds and heavy rain, the thick clouds rarely separating sufficiently to afford the chance of an observation.
Occasionally a break in the murky canopy would give promise of a change for the better; but a very few hours served to dissipate the rising hope. The sky would be again overcast, the wind breeze up from a fresh quarter, and another night of discomfort set in. In addition to this adverse weather, a still further difficulty was experienced in the strong current that appeared to set continuously from the westward, drifting the vessel bodily out of her course at the rate of sixty or seventy miles a day. During this period, the barometer ranged from 28.64 to 29.70. It was remarkable that the winds appeared to succeed each other with perfect regularity, rotating, as nearly as possible, once in every two days, or at the utmost, in two days and a half. The course taken by these rotatory storms was always the same, and it was a rare occurrence for the wind to remain stationary in one quarter during eight or ten successive hours.
On the 23rd October the gale at last finally broke, and with the return of better weather the Alabama"s luck seemed also about to revive. At noon a brief break in the clouds just gave time for an observation for lat.i.tude, and this was barely worked out, when "Sail, ho!" was heard from the masthead; and a fine brig was discovered hull down on the lee bow. Running down to her under close-reefed topsails, she proved to be English; but though not destined herself to become a prize, the deviation in the Alabama"s course, occasioned by the chase, proved most fortunate for her. She had scarcely luffed up again, after ascertaining the brig"s nationality, when again the welcome cry was heard, and the helm shifted in pursuit. Soon the new chase became clearly discernible from the quarter-deck, when she proved to be a large ship running to the northward and eastward under a press of canvas. So determinedly was she "cracking on" as to have everything set, even to her main-royal, notwithstanding that the wind was still blowing very nearly half a gale.
The course of the stranger being diagonal to that of the Alabama, the speed at which she was travelling soon brought her within speaking distance, and, as usual, a feint was made for the purpose of extorting a confession of her nationality. The flag chosen this time was the English blue ensign, and it was speedily answered by the Stars and Stripes, which fluttered gaily from the merchantman"s peak as she dashed along under her towering ma.s.s of canvas before the breeze, right across the Alabama"s path.
Another moment and the scene was changed. The Yankee ensign had hardly reached her peak, when down came the beguiling signal from the Alabama"s flagstaff, and the white folds of the Confederate ensign unfurled themselves in its stead. A flash, a spurt of white smoke, curling for a moment from the cruiser"s lee-bow, and vanishing in snowy wreaths upon the wind, and the loud report of a gun from the Alabama, summoned the luckless Yankee to heave to. In a moment all was in confusion on board the merchantman. Sheets and halyards were let go by the run, and the huge cloud of canvas seemed to shrink and shrivel up as the vessel was rounded to with folded wings like a crippled bird, and with her foretopsail to the mast, lay submissively awaiting the commands of her captors.
She proved to be the ship Lafayette, of Boston, bound to Belfast, with a full cargo of grain, &c. Of her own nationality there was, of course, no doubt; but a question now arose about the ownership of the cargo, and some hours of patient investigation were necessary before Captain Semmes could determine upon the course to pursue. Finally it was determined that the claim of neutral ownership was a mere blind to insure against capture; and at 10 P.M., the ship having been formally condemned, the crew were transferred to the Alabama, and the prize fired and left to her fate.
The following is Captain Semmes" memorandum of the
CASE OF THE LAFAYETTE.
Ship and cargo condemned. The cargo of this ship was condemned by me as enemy"s property, notwithstanding there were depositions of the shippers that it had been purchased by them on neutral account. These ex-parte statements are precisely such as every unscrupulous merchant would prepare, to deceive his enemy and save his property from capture. There are two shipping houses in this case; that of Craig and Nicoll, and that of Montgomery Bros.: Messrs. Craig and Nicoll say that the grain supplied by them belongs to Messrs. Shaw and Finlay, and to Messrs. Hamilton, Megault, and Thompson, all of Belfast, to which port the ship is bound, but the grain is not consigned to them, and they could not demand possession of it under the bill of lading, it being consigned to order, thus leaving the control in the hands of the shippers. The shippers, farther, instead of sending their grain as freight in a general ship, consigned to the owners, they paying the freight, charter the whole ship, and stipulate themselves for the payment of the freight. If this property had been bona fide the property of the parties in Belfast named in the depositions, it would undoubtedly have been consigned to them, under a bill of lading authorizing them to demand possession of it, &c., &c.; the agreement with the ship would have been that the consignees and owners should pay the freight upon delivery. Even if this property were purchased, as pretended, by Messrs. Craig and Nicoll, for the parties named, still their not consigning it to them and delivering to them the proper bill of lading pa.s.sing the possession, left the property under the dominion of Craig and Nicoll, and as such, liable to capture. The property attempted to be covered by the Messrs. Montgomery, is shipped by Montgomery Bros. of New York, and consigned to Montgomery Bros., in Belfast; and the t.i.tle to the property, so far as appears in the bill of lading, is in the latter house, or in the branch house in New York. Further, the mere formal papers of a ship and cargo prove nothing, unless properly verified, and in this case the master of the ship, although a part owner of the ship, whose duty it was upon taking in a cargo in time of war, to be informed of all the circ.u.mstances attending it, and connected with the ownership, knew nothing, except what he learned from the face of the papers. These certificates, therefore, were p.r.o.nounced a fraud, and the cargo as well as the ship, condemned. 3d Phillimore 610-12 to the effect, that if the goods are going for account of the shipper, or subject to his order or control (as in this case), the property is not divested in transitu. The goods shipped by Craig and Nicoll, were consigned to their order, as has been seen.
As to the Montgomery"s, see 3rd Phillimore 605, to the effect that if a person be a partner in a house of trade in an enemy"s country, he is, as to the concerns and trade of that house, deemed an enemy, and his share is liable to confiscation as such, notwithstanding his own residence is in a neutral country. Further, the property consigned to Montgomery Bros., even admitting the Belfast house not to be a partner in the New York house, is liable to the same objection, as in the case of Craig and Nicoll; since, although the property is described as belonging to a party in Sligo, there is no bill of lading among the papers authorizing that party to demand the possession. The property is not divested, therefore, in transitu.
3rd Phillimore, 599, to the effect, that "further proof" is always necessary when the master cannot swear to the ownership of the property (as in this case). And as I cannot send my prizes in for adjudication, I must of necessity condemn in all cases where "further proof" is necessary, since the granting of "further proof" proceeds on the presumption that the neutrality of the cargo is not sufficiently established; and where the neutrality of the property does not fully appear from the ship"s papers and the master"s deposition, I had the right to act upon the presumption of enemy"s property.
By midnight the Lafayette showed only a dim glare on the distant horizon, but the event formed a topic of discussion for the next two days, more especially as from the newspapers found on board it was ascertained that news of the captures on the banks of Newfoundland had already made its way to the United States, and that the Yankee cruisers were, therefore, probably by that time in full pursuit.
The 26th October, however, provided the crew of the Alabama with a fresh excitement. The weather had cleared beautifully, the wind was light from the eastward, and the vessel was gliding smoothly and swiftly, with studding-sails set alow and aloft, over the long, easy swell, which alone remained to tell of the heavy gales of the past fortnight. Every one was enjoying the change, and even the strict discipline of the man-of-war was, for the moment, in some measure relaxed, as officers and men gave themselves up to the full pleasure of a period of sunshine and tranquillity, after the long spell of gloom and storm. The look-out-man alone, high up on the fore topgallant crosstrees, still swept the horizon as eagerly as ever in search of a prize. At about noon his vigilance was rewarded by the sight of a sail on the port-quarter, and in a moment all was again bustle and excitement on board. Quick as the word could be given, the "flying kites" were furled, yards braced in, and the ship hauled up on a taut bowline in chase.
But the stranger was now well to windward, and fully four or five miles distant. The Alabama flew through the water with the freshening breeze, flinging the spray over her sharp bows, and stretching to her task as though she herself were conscious of the work before her, and eager in chase. But the strange sail was almost, if not quite, as fast as herself, and her position so far to windward gave her an immense advantage. The day, too, was wearing on, and the sky beginning to cloud over, giving every token of a dark if not a stormy night. If the chase could only hold on her course till dusk she was safe, and already the hopes of another prize were beginning to fade, and the anxious speculators on the forecastle were expecting the order to up helm and relinquish the chase.
On the quarter-deck, too, the idea was gaining ground that the affair was hopeless, and that it was not worth while to keep the ship longer from her course. But the Alabama was not given to letting a chance slip, and before finally abandoning the pursuit it was determined to try the effect of a shot or two upon the nerves of the stranger. A slight cheer, quickly checked by the voice of authority, rose from the eager crowd on the forecastle, as the weather bow gun was cast loose and loaded, and in another minute the bright flash, with its accompanying jet of white smoke, leaped from the cruiser"s bow, as the loud report of a 32 pounder rang out the command to heave to.
A moment of breathless suspense, and another cheer rose from the delighted throng of sailors, as the stranger"s sails were seen for a moment to shiver in the wind, and the frightened chase luffed to the wind, and then lay motionless with the Stars and Stripes at her mizenpeak. Another sharp hour"s beating and the Alabama was alongside, and had taken possession of the United States schooner Crenshaw, from New York to Glasgow, three days out.
And now began another investigation into the character of the cargo, and notes were once more carefully compared, lest any bona fide neutral property should become involved in the fate that would otherwise befall the captured enemy. Finally, however, the case was decided against ship and cargo, and both were accordingly committed to the flames, the following entry being made by Captain Semmes of the grounds of his decision:-
CASE OF THE SCHOONER CRENSHAW.
This vessel was captured under the North American flag, and had on board a North American register-there is, therefore, no question as to the ship. There has been an attempt to cover the cargo, but without success. The shippers are Francis Macdonald and Co., of the city of New York; and Mr. James Hutchison, also of New York, deposed before the British consul, that "the goods specified in the annexed bills of lading were shipped on board the schooner Crenshaw, for, and on account of, subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, and that the said goods are wholly and bona fide the property of British subjects." No British subject is named in the deposition, and no person is therefore ent.i.tled to claim under it. Further: even admitting the goods to have been purchased on British account, the shipper has not divested himself of the possession by a proper consignment, under a proper bill of lading. The property is consigned to the order of the shipper, which leaves it entirely under his control; and it having left the port of New York as his property, the t.i.tle cannot be changed while the property is in transitu.
As to the first point-to wit, the failure to point out some particular British owner of the property-see 3d Phillimore 596, to the following effect:-"If in the ship"s papers, property, in a voyage from an enemy"s port, be described "for neutral account," this is such a general mode as points to no designation whatever; and under such a description no person can say that the cargo belongs to him, or can ent.i.tle himself to the possession of it as his property," &c.
And as to the second point-to wit, the failure on the part of the shipper to divest himself of the t.i.tle and control of the property by a proper bill of lading-see 3rd Phillimore 610-12, as follows, viz.: "In ordinary shipments of goods, unaffected by the foregoing principles, the question of proprietary interest often turns on minute circ.u.mstances and distinctions, the general principle being, that if they are going for account of the shipper, or subject to his order or control, the property is not divested in transitu" &c.
Monday, October 27th.-Another gale of wind! In the mid-watch last night the barometer commenced falling, and by 3 this afternoon it had gone down to 29.33, where it remained stationary for a time, and then began to rise slowly, being at 29.45 at 8 P.M. The wind began to blow freshly from the south, and hauled gradually to the westward, the barometer commencing to rise when the wind was about W.S.W. In the early part of the gale we had the weather very thick, with heavy squalls of rain, clearing about nightfall, with the wind from the W.S.W.
In the midst of a heavy squall of wind and rain, and with a heavy sea on, we discovered a brig close aboard of us, on our weather quarter; but as we were on opposite tacks we soon increased our distance from each other. Wore ship, and hove to, under close-reefed topsails on the starboard tack. Being about a degree to the southward of St. George"s Bank, got a cast of the lead at 7 P.M., with no bottom at eighty-five fathoms. Lat. 39.47 N., Long. 68.06 W., a little over two hundred miles from New York.
Tuesday, October 28th.-Weather cloudy; wind light from the north, hauling to the eastward. The heavy sea, from the effects of the gale yesterday, continued all day rolling and tumbling us about, and keeping the deck flooded with water. In the morning watch descried a brig running off to the southward. She being some distance off, and running in the wrong direction, we did not chase. Soon afterwards another sail was reported to the westward, standing in our direction; shaped a course to head her off, and at 11 A.M., having approached her within half a mile, hoisted the English blue. The stranger showing United States colours, we hoisted our own, and hove him to with a gun. Brought the master on board with his papers, and finding the cargo condemnable, got the crew on board, fired the ship, and filled away.
The prize proved to be the barque Lauretta, of Boston, from New York, for Madeira and the Mediterranean. Received papers as late as the 24th. The intelligence of our captures (as late as the Brilliant) seems to have created great alarm for the safety of commerce in New York.
CASE OF THE LAURETTA.
This ship being under American colours, with an American (U.S.) register, no question arises as to the ship. There are two shippers of the cargo, Messrs. Chamberlain, Phelps, and Co., and Mr. H.J. Burden, both houses of New York city. Chamberlain, Phelps, and Co. ship 1424 barrels of flour, and a lot of pipe staves, to be delivered at Gibraltar or Messina, to their own order; and 225 kegs of nails to be delivered at Messina, to Mariano Castarelli. The bill of lading for the flour and staves has the following indors.e.m.e.nt, sworn to before a notary: "State, city and county of New York: Louis Contenein being duly sworn, says, that he is a clerk with Chamberlain, Phelps, and Co., and that part of the maize in the within bill of lading, is the property of subjects of the King of Italy." This certificate is of no force or effect for its generality; it points to no one as the owner of the merchandise, and no person could claim it under the certificate. See 3rd Phillimore, 596. Farther: the property is consigned to the order of the shipper. The t.i.tle, therefore, remains in him, and cannot be divested in transitu. See 3rd Phillimore, 610-12. The contingent destination of this property, too, shows that it was property for a market. It was to be delivered either at Gibraltar or Messina, as the shipper might determine-probably on advices by steamer, before the ship should reach her destination. She was to stop, as we have seen, at Madeira, which would give ample time for the decision.
The bill of lading for the 225 kegs of nails has a similar indors.e.m.e.nt, except that it is a.s.serted that the whole of the property belongs to subjects of the King of Italy. It is not sworn that the property belongs to Castarelli, the consignee, and for aught that appears, Castarelli is the agent of the shipper to receive this consignment on his, the shipper"s account. The presumption being, that notwithstanding a consignment in due form by an enemy shipper to a neutral, the property is enemy"s property, until the contrary be shown. The consignment alone does not show the property to be vested in Castarelli, and the certificate does not indicate him as the owner. Although Castarelli could demand possession of the goods, under this consignment, he could not claim to hold them as his property under the certificate. There is, therefore, no evidence to show that he is not the mere agent of the shipper. What renders this consideration still more clear is, that if the goods had really belonged to Castarelli, it would have been so stated in the certificate. Why say that the goods belonged to "subjects of the King of Italy," when the consignee was the real owner?
The property shipped by H. Jas. Burden consists of 998 barrels of flour and 290 boxes of herrings, and is consigned to Charles B. Blandly, Esq., at Funchal, Madeira. The shipper, H.J. Burden, makes the following affidavit before the British consul in New York, to wit: "That all and singular the goods specified in the annexed bill of lading, were shipped by H.J. Burden, in the barque Lauretta, for and on account of H.J. Burden, subject of Her Britannic Majesty." Now, Burden may be a very good subject of Her Britannic Majesty, but he describes himself as of 42 Beaver Street, New York, and seems to lose sight of the fact, that his domicile, for the purposes of trade, in the enemy"s country, makes him an enemy, quoad all his transactions in that country. Further: if the H.J. Burden, the shipper, is not one and the same person with the H.J. Burden for whom the property is claimed, then there is nothing in the papers to show that property is vested in the latter, since it is not consigned to him, nor is it shown that the consignee, Charles B. Blandly, Esq., is his agent. The presumption, in the absence of proof, is, that the consignee is the agent of the shipper.