Protest of the consignee and master of the Black Warrior, March 7, 1854. Messrs. Livingston, Crocheron & Co. to Mr. Marcy, (with accompaniments,) March 11, 1854. Mr. Sutherland to Mr. Marcy, (with an accompaniment,) March 13, 1854. [No. 34.] Mr. Robertson to Mr. Marcy. CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES, HAVANA, SIR: The steamer Black Warrior, of New York, Captain Bullock, arrived yesterday inorning from Mobile on her way to New York. As she was expected here on the 26th, her consignees, Messrs. Charles Tyng & Co., entered and cleared her on the 25th in ballast, which is the same way in which she has been usually cleared; although generally having cargo for Mobile or New York, she is not permitted to bring cargo to be landed in Havana. She now had upwards of nine hundred bales of cotton on board, destined for New York. The consignees sent yesterday to the custom-house for the despatch to take the same. to the captain of the ports, for the purpose of procuring the usual pass to leave the port, when they were informed that she was stopped for having cargo on board, although the custom-house authorities well knew that she, as well as the steamers of the Law line and of the British mail line, had been usually cleared in ballast, though having cargo for their final ports of destination. Upon this, Mr. Tyng, with the captain, came to see me, and whilst the former was having a protest entered, I took the captain with me to the Captain General to explain the circumstances, and to show, above all, that there was no intention of infringing any law of Spain, or regulation of the port. The Captain General listened to me, and then replied that the facts had not been reported to him, and recommended that I should address him a communication on the subject. I immediately returned to my office, and wrote the letter to his excellency. In the mean time Mr. Tyng, knowing that by law he had twelve hours to alter any entry, went to the custom-house to make a post entry, thinking that this would settle the difficulty, but the privilege was denied him there, on the plea that the Black Warrior had been already cleared. The collector knew very well that it had been, and is, customary for all the steamers before referred to, to clear the day before they come in, as it is sometimes the case that they remain here only three or four hours, and on some occasions not within customhouse hours. It is very true that the law provides that the steamers shall enter their cargo, if any is on board, in transit, but the custom-house authorities themselves have suffered the law to become obsolete; neither can they allege ignorance of the fact, because it must be understood that a custom-house officer and policemen are on board of every steamer immediately on her arrrival, to watch every passenger and package there may be on board. Last evening I received the Captain General's reply to my letter. I enclose you a copy of the same in Spanish, and accompany a translation thereof. In accordance with their determination, the cotton on board has been confiscated, and a heavy fine, which I am told is of double the value of the cotton, laid on the captain. Men have been sent on board this morning to discharge the cotton In consequence, Captain Bullock has hauled down the flag and abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities. I am requested by Captain Watson, of the United States steamer "Fulton," to state to you that, on being informed of the outrage committed upon the Black Warrior, he intended to haul his vessel alongside, drive out the Spanish officials, take possession of her himself, and then take her out of the harbor; but understanding that such a course was contrary to my advice, and Captain Bullock's, who went on board for the purpose, he was deterred from taking these steps. I have notified his excellency the Captain General that I am sending the United States steamer "Corwin" to Charleston with despatches for my government, and that if he has any communications to make, I shall be happy to forward them; and also that it is the intention of Captain Bullock to proceed in the "Corwin" on his way to Washington, and that I give him this notice in case of any demands against him. I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, WM. H. ROBERTSON. Hon. WM. L. MARCY, Secretary of State of the United States. [Translation.] [Ever faithful Island of Cuba, Office of the Governor and Captain General.] HAVANA, February 28, 1854. DEAR SIR: His excellency the governor and captain general instructs me to say to your lordship, as I now do, that when he received your communication of this date, relative to the detention by the customhouse of this port of the American steamer Black Warrior, he called for information on the subject from the administrator general of the customs, who has reported that, at the solicitation of said steamer's consignee, Mr. Charles Tyng, he ordered that the commandant of the revenue officers should make the clearance visit to the steamer aforesaid, and from it resulted that she was not in ballast, as the consignee said, but that she had four hundred bales of cotton; that the proper proceedings having been commenced, he reported to the intendant of this department, upon the penalty of confiscation of the goods and the captain's fine, according to the customs regulations, and said officer, finding all to be correct, ordered the same to be carried into effect; whereupon he gave orders to the commandant of the revenue officers to have the confiscated effects landed and put in deposite-having proceeded to all this with the necessary promptness, so that the steamer should suffer no delay. Lastly, that before giving that order to the commandant, he had an interview with Mr. Tyng, to see if he consented to be surety for the captain that the vessel might sail to-morrow early, but he declined. This is all that I have to say upon the subject, and by order of his excellency I communicate it to your lordship, and remain your attentive and obedient servant, &c., &c., &c., JOSE ESTEVAN. To the CONSUL OF THE UNITED STATES, in this city. Mr. Robertson to Mr. Marcy. [No. 35.] CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR By the United States steamer Corwin, which I despatched to Charleston on the 1st instant, conceiving that the importance of the intelligence I had to communicate justified that course, I advised you of the seizure, by the custom-house authorities here, apparently, or rather evidently, with the consent and approbation of the supreme authority of the Island, of the cargo on board the steamer Black Warrior, of New York, and of the attempt to lay a very heavy fine upon the captain of the vessel, which fine is said to be double in amount to the value of the cargo all this under the pretense of his having made a false entry, to wit, that he stated his ship to be in ballast, when she had cotton on board in transitu. I feel it to be my duty to repeat the circumstances of the case to correct any errors that I may have communicated in my despatch before mentioned, numbered 34. The steamer was expected here from Mobile, on her way to New York, on the 26th ultimo; Messrs. Tyng & Co., her consignees, on the day before (Saturday, 25th) entered and cleared her in ballast. This has been customary for steamers of the Law and British mail lines. I am informed that the Black Warrior has been entered and cleared in ballast since she commenced to run, now about nineteen months past, making two trips per month, without any objection on the part of the custom-house authorities, who cannot plead ignorance of the fact; for immediately that a steamer drops her anchor, two custom-house guards and an unlimited number of policemen, public and secret, are placed on board to watch every passenger or package on the ship. No attempt has ever been made, that I am aware of, to conceal the cargo. Furthermore, the captain of the Black Warrior has been in the habit to deliver to the authorities on arrival several numbers of the public journals of New York or Mobile of the latest dates, which contained the advertisement of the Black Warrior's being about to sail on such a date, expressing the cargo she carried for her port of destination. The ship arrived here in the morning of the 28th; the captain delivered his manifest in ballast as had been customary. He assures me that he had always been under the impression that a special concession existed, which exempted his vessel and other steamers from the formality of manifesting their cargo in transitu; he thinks that the owners of the ship entertain the same belief. On the same day, (28th,) at about 12 o'clock, Mr. Tyng sent his clerk to the custom-house for the despatch of the steamer, to take the same to the captain of the port, to procure the pass for her to leave the port; it was refused to him, and he was informed that the ship was stopped by order of superior authority of the Royal Exchequer. Upon this, Mr. Tyng, with the captain, care to my office and informed me of the state of the case. Whilst the former was entering a protest, I took the latter with me to the Captain General. The object of this interview was to lay before his excellency all the circumstances of the case, and particularly to show that there had not been, on the part of Captain Bullock, or any one concerned in the ship, the least intention of violating any law of Spain, or regulation of the port. His excellency courteously listened to me, and replied that no report had been made to him on the subject; he also recommended that I should give him my statement in a memorial or official communication. I immediately returned to my office, and prepared my letter to the Captain General. Of this letter, in my anxiety to bring the affair to a satisfactory settlement without delay, I kept no copy, which I regret. In the mean time Mr. Tyng went to the custom-house. Finding that the cause of the difficulty was the omission of the cargo in transitu in the manifest, and thinking that as the twelve hours allowed by law to amend manifests had not elapsed, and that by making the amendment the difficulty would be terminated, he applied to the collector, stating that in the course of fifteen minutes or half an hour, he would be prepared to present the correct manifest. The collector replied that it could not and should not be admitted, because he had already applied for the vessel's despatch, or something to this effect. It is true that Mr. Tyng had applied for the despatch, but it may be well to bear in mind that it was not given; and it is a question, in my opinion, whether the steamer could be considered as cleared in effect, so far as regards the clearance on the 25th, before she had arrived. I deem it informal. Mr. Tyng was at the same time informed that the cargo was confiscated, and the captain fined, according to the custom-house regulations. In the afternoon of the same day, (I have been informed,) a gang of men were sent alongside the ship to commence the discharge of the cargo, but finding that the captain and purser were on shore, the operation was deferred until the next morning, when they again appeared, and the officer at the head of the party demanded of the captain the delivery of the cargo, which Captain Bullock declined, remarking to the officer that if he took by force, as he must do, one single bale of the cargo, he, the captain, would instantly haul down his colors and abandon his ship to them. This seemed to make the officer hesitate. He suspended his operation, and came on shore, no doubt to lay the facts before his superiors and receive their directions. He soon returned on board, opened the hatches and commenced the dis charge; whereupon Captain Bullock hauled down his flag, and, with his officers and crew, abandoned the vessel to the Spanish authorities. On the evening of the 28th I received the Captain General's reply to my letter, which was far from satisfactory; a copy and translation of the same were transmitted to you with my communication No. 34, sent per steamer "Corwin." On the 1st, at about twelve o'clock, the collector wrote a communication to Mr. Tyng. I send you a copy of this communication, as well as that of a second letter from the same officer; also that of Mr. Tyng's reply. Enclosed you will likewise find a copy of a letter I received last evening from the "Intendente" of the Treasury, and of my reply thereto. I also accompany a copy of the printed regulations which are handed to all captains of vessels on the first visit from the customhouse officers. I have omitted to say that I am informed that the regulations concerning steamers require that they shall manifest the quantity of coal they have on board, but that in no instance has this law been complied with. This neglect or unobservance of the laws by the authorities themselves have rendered them obsolete, and therefore inapplicable. I am also assured that a law prescribes that when it is clearly shown that there has been no intention of infringing the law, or defrauding her Majesty's revenues, that parties shall not be deemed culpable. In my opinion, it is simply ridiculous to suppose for an instant that the captain of the Black Warrior had any intention to do otherwise than conform to all established regulations. Although I had written to the "Intendente" last evening, declining the request that I should appoint a person to take an account of the cargo proposed to be landed to-day, being led to that course by the idea that the Intendente's object was to present at least the semblance of a sanction on the part of this consulate to their proceedings, I, nevertheless, called upon him this morning, remarking, by way of introduction, that I presented myself not only in the character of consul or commercial agent, but as a friend; that I was expecting the steamer Philadelphia to-day, and I was anxious to communicate to my government the true relation of the facts on both sides, that my government might be prepared to meet the many demands upon it for indemnity by innocent parties interested in the cargo; that I did not come to solicit that his government should alter its position, however desirous I might be to aid in preserving good relations between the two governments, but to obtain facts. This led to a discussion. I remarked that I could not see how two wrongs made a right; that it might have been wrong to have entered and cleared the ship in ballast; but that the captain, through his consignee, had attempted to correct the error within the legal time, and he had not been permitted; that this, added to the longcontinued, and by the authorities well known, practice of entering in ballast when she had cargo in transitu, I did not see how they could put themselves in the right; still, that I was not disposed to contest the law points bearing on the case, but that it had given me much pain that the matter had not been settled satisfactorily and amicably as it should have been; and, finally, that I was apprehensive that this affair might create great agitation and difficulty, from the circumstance of |