[88] Cay," or words to the like effect. I virtually replied, using, as nearly as I *can remember, the following words: "That is an old (or stale) story; tell me of some intended breach of the law on the part of Maffit or any one else, and I will endeavor to stop it at once, but I won't act in this matter unless you bring very distinct and positive evidence before me."

He then said something about Mr. Dillet having taken the evidence at the time, and that I might get it from him, to which I remarked that, if the United States authorities had had evidence taken at the time, it should at once have been laid before the local government, in order that its weight might have been judged of and the course of government decided on.

Here the conversation ended; and, after speaking about some other matters, he left, having been with me altogether not more than ten minutes.

Whether Mr. Jackson came to my office merely for the purpose of making the communication referred to I cannot say; but I think it probable that that was the object of his visit. He has, however, within the last three months, been in the habit of frequently calling and conversing with me at my office, first, chiefly with reference to a criminal prosecution pending against a man of the name of Savage for an alleged complicity in a case of collusive wrecking, and more recently in reference to the case of Verdon Locke, against whom he, as agent for the New York underwriters, laid the original charge. In this latter case he had been in daily communication with me since the arrest of Locke on the 20th; and in such conversations had repeatedly spoken of Maffit, who was in command of the Owl, from on board of which vessel Locke was taken, without hinting the existence of any charge against him; and when he suddenly mentioned it on the 23d, Maffit having been then in port here for some time, I certainly viewed it as a stale charge brought forward at the eleventh hour, and one which I was not called on to notice in an unofficial manner, without any details to warrant me in initiating criminal proceedings, and paid no attention to it. I would remark, however, that before Captain Maffit could have been in due course of law arrested to answer the charge, a regular information on oath must have been laid before a justice of the peace, or such distinct and positive testimony should have been laid before me as would have satisfied me, as attorney general, not only that a violation of law had taken place, but as would enable me to name the witnesses and the precise nature of their testimony; in which case, acting under a local law, I might have issued a precept to a magistrate to inquire, sending him at the same time the names of the witnesses to support the charge.

Up to this moment I am without the latter, as although I have written to Mr. Jackson for the names of the men alleged to have been here, he has, up to this moment, been unable to give them to me, and has only given me, as a means of getting hold of them, the probable place in which one of them is to be found. This was given to me on Saturday, and the police are now in search of them.

(Signed) MARCH 6, 1865.

J. C. ANDERSON,

Attorney General.

[Inclosure 11 in No. 47.]

Mr. Kirkpatrick to Mr. Nesbitt.

UNITED STATES CONSULATE,

Nassau, December 9, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of this day's date. You say, "That if I have any evidence tending to show that any violation of the municipal law has taken place in regard to the steamer Mary, late Alexandra, and will submit to me your proofs for consideration, prompt measures will be taken to vindicate the law should such proofs be of a nature to justify the adoption of proceedings either for the arrest of the vessel or for the prosecution of any party or parties who may be indicated by you."

I thank your excellency for the offer made; and if you would indicate what additional evidence is required I would respectfully consider what my duty would be in regard to it. I have no power to compel the attendance of witnesses to give evidence, even if it were possible for me to do so; my information comes to me in most cases strictly confidential, or from parties who, if known, would be ruined in their business, some of whom may be getting their livelihood from parties interested in these very violations spoken of. Should I be called upon to furnish proofs of the violation of the municipal laws of this colony? Should it not rather be the duty of some one in some department of government to obtain information as to the vindication of their [89] own laws? Nevertheless, if such officer as you may indicate will call upon me I will furnish him the names of parties, confidentially, who may be able to put

the officers in possession of information. But I still think that sufficient evidence will be furnished by the search, if completed, of the vessel to more than sustain what the law-officer, the honorable attorney general, thought to be sufficient, taken in connection with the known character and purposes of the vessel in question.

I have, &c.,
(Signed)

[Inclosure 12 in No. 47

THOMAS KIRKPATRICK.

Mr. Kirkpatrick to Mr. Nesbitt.

UNITED STATES CONSULATE,
Nassau, February 7, 1865.

SIR: I had the honor to receive yesterday afternoon your communication of the 4th instant.

I do not intend to enter into any discussion as to whether it was or was not a violation of Her Majesty's proclamation for a boat to land from a ship belonging to the Government of the United States cruising in the offing, or whether it was a violation of the laws of this colony regarding quarantine regulations, nor will I discuss why vessels belonging to other governments, or pretended governments, have been permitted to enter the harbor, or leave it without let, or hinderance, or complaint, as far as I am aware; but I must be permitted to say that I am surprised at the tone of your letter, insisting that Captain Harris was aware that he was committing a violation of those laws, when taken in connection with the conversation had with his excellency the governor, the afternoon when Captain Harris and myself had the honor to converse with him in regard to his (Captain Harris's) errand to Nassau, and the reasons for desiring to anchor inside the bar. I shall give the details of that conversation, and the facts necessary to a full understanding of the subject, to the Department of State of the United States of America, and leave further discussion concerning it where it more properly belongs.

SIR: In continuation of my report contained in dispatch of the 10th instant, upon the subject of the charges brought by the United States consul against Captain Maffit, I inclose for your information a copy of two letters from the attorney general, reporting the result of his inquiries after and from the several persons named by the consul.

I have, &c.,
(Signed)

RAWSON W. RAWSON.

[Inclosure 14 in No. 47.]

The attorney general, Nassau, to Governor Rawson.

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Nassau, March 9, 1865.

SIR: In obedience to the instructions received from your excellency, I addressed a letter to Captain Chadbourne, the person named in the United States consul's letter to me as having a knowledge of certain intended piratical acts on the part of persons in the interest of the southern confederacy, and requested from him information in reference to the matter. Captain Chadbourne had, however, left this port on his return to the United States; but the consignee of his vessel waited on me, and stated that he heard Captain Chadbourne mention a rumor to the effect stated, but that he did not believe that Captain Chadbourne was in possession of any evidence in support of it, and that he, the consignee, did not place the slightest credence in it.

2. I have also to report to your excellency that, through the instrumentality [90] of the *police, I have had Patrick Crawley, one of the persons named as witnesses

against Captain Maffit, brought to my office, when he made a statement to me, substantially the same as made by him in 1862 before Mr. Dillet, as a notary public, with the difference that he now says that the Oreto was equipped at an island to the northward of New Providence; whereas Green Cay, the island originally designated, lies to the southward. He also gives the name of the place as Green Turtle Cay, which does lie to the northward of this, but which could not have been the place, as it is a thickly populated settlement, and therefore does not answer to his further description of the locality, to the effect that there were no inhabitants there.

3. If the Oreto was equipped, as described, within the limits of this government. there can, I apprehend, be little doubt that the transaction took place at or near Green Cay, to the southward of this, and Crawley's present evidence as to another locality must be erroneous.

4. The other man, said to be here, has not as yet been brought to me. Crawley promised to bring him, but as yet has failed to do so.

I have, &c.,
(Signed)

G. C. ANDERSON.

[Inclosure 15 in No. 47.,

The attorney general, Nassau, to Governor Rawson.

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Nassau, March 11, 1865.

SIR: In reference to my letter to your excellency of the 9th instant I have to report that, in compliance with your excellency's instructions. I have made every exertion to find the person therein referred to, as a witness to the equipment of the Oreto. this search I have been aided by the police and the man Crawley, but as yet without

effect.

In

Should I be able to see him before the closing of the mail I will at once send your excellency a memorandum of his evidence.

SIR: In connection with my dispatches of the 10th and 13th instant I have the honor to inclose a copy of a letter which I have just received from Mr. Consul General Bunch, at Havana, expressing his opinion of the rumor brought to my notice by the United States consul at the port, and reporting the steps that he had taken, in concert with the United States consul at Havana, and the Spanish authorities there, to prevent any piratical attempts being carried out at that port.

I have, &c.,
(Signed)

RAWSON W. RAWSON.

[Inclosure 17 in No. 47.]

Consul General Bunch to Governor Rawson.

HAVANA, March 9, 1865.

SIR: In reply to your excellency's letter of the 3d instant respecting a possible fitting out in this port of some vessel under American colors for the purpose of preying upon British commerce, I beg to say that I agree with you in attaching no importance to the rumor that such is likely to be the case.

It is, however, not impossible that some of the fast steamers which have, until lately, been engaged in the running of blockades from Havana, mostly under British colors, may be equipped as privateers to cruise against American trade, although this could not be done easily. I have deemed it right to put myself in communication with my col

league of the United States in the matter, and we have concerted such measures [91] with the Spanish authorities as will, we believe, effectually prevent such an attempt from being successfully carried out.

I am indebted to your excellency for your letter, and have the honor, &c.. ROBERT BUNCH.

(Signed)

No. 48.

Sir F. Rogers to Mr. Hammond.

DOWNING STREET,

March 23, 1863. (Received March 24.)

SIR: I am directed by the Duke of Newcastle to transmit to you, for the information of Earl Russell, the copy of a dispatch from the governor-in-chief of the Windward Islands, reporting the arrival at Barbados of the confederate steamer Florida, for coaling and repairs.

I am, &c.,
(Signed)

[Inclosure in No. 42.]

FREDERIC ROGERS.

Governor Walker to the Duke of Newcastle.

WINDWARD ISLANDS, BARBADOS, February 25, 1863.

Arrival at Barba

MY LORD DUKE: I have the honor to report to your grace that the so-called Confederate States steamer Florida arrived here yesterday, and applied, in consequence of her having met with severe weather, to be allowed to do. February 24, ship some coal and some lumber for repairs.

1363.

2. As in the case of the United States ship of war San Jacinto, which came in here under similar circumstances some two or three months ago, I placed no difficulty in the way of the Florida supplying herself; but, notwithstanding the assurance of the commander that he was bound to distant waters, I have notified to the several colonial governments the fact of her having coaled here yesterday afternoon, a precaution which I also observed with regard to the San Jacinto.

3. In consequence of an application made to me by the United States consul, on behalf of an American bark which was desirous of putting to sea yesterday afternoon at 5 o'clock, I have required the Florida not to sail till this evening at the same hour. I have, &c., (Signed)

JAS. WALKER.

No. 49.

Sir F. Rogers to Mr. Hammond.

DOWNING STREET, March 31, 1863. (Received April 1.)

At Barbados.

SIR: With reference to my letter of the 23d instant, forwarding a dispatch from the governor-in-chief of the Windward Islands, in which he reported the arrival at Barbados of the confederate steamer Florida, I am directed by the Duke of Newcastle to transmit to you the copy of a further dispatch from Governor Walker, inclosing a correspondence with Rear-Admiral Wilkes, of the United States Navy, respecting a complaint made by him of the partiality shown by the governor to this ship; together with the protest of the United States consul, to which reference is made, and other correspondence on the subject.

I am, &c.,
(Signed)

FREDERIC ROGERS.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 49.]

Governor Walker to the Duke of Newcastle.

WINDWARD ISLANDS, BARBADOS, March 7, 1863.

MY LORD DUKE: I have the honor to forward to your grace a copy of a letter which I received this morning from Rear-Admiral Wilkes, commanding the United States naval forces in the West Indies.

Correspondence as to coaling with Admiral Wilkes.

*2. This letter was delivered to me, as your grace will observe, at 25 [92] minutes to 11 o'clock, with a verbal message that the admiral would sail at 11, and I returned by the bearer of it the acknowledgment, of which a copy is inclosed.

3. The rear-admiral had called upon me the previous evening, accompanied by the captain of the Vanderbilt, his flag-lieutenant, and the United States consul.

4. In the conversation which ensued, nothing passed of which it would be possible to complain. The rear-admiral used some expressions as to the unfriendly character of our neutral position as between an old ally and a set of pirates; but these were points of policy, as I told him, which I was not at liberty to discuss, being merely an agent to carry out the instructions which had been given to me.

5. He had come, he said, to inquire into the circumstances under which the Florida had been allowed to coal here. The impression I had been led to form before seeing the admiral was, that he had expected to find the Florida here, and that it was on arriving here he learned that she had refitted and gone to sea.

6. I recapitulated to the admiral what I had done in the case of the San Jacinto, United States vessel of war. She arrived here last from Bermuda on the 13th of November. The commander, Rockendorff, came to me, accompanied by the United States consul, and representing himself to have suffered at sea, and been obliged to exhaust his coal, he claimed, under Earl Russell's instructions, a special permission to ship the necessary articles for his repairs and a moderate quantity of fuel.

7. I then stated to the admiral that the Florida had arrived here under precisely similar circumstances, and had been dealt with in precisely the same way.

8. Indeed, the captain of the last-mentioned vessel told me that unless I allowed him to have some lumber to repair the damage which he had suffered in a recent gale of wind to the northward, and some coal, every bit of which was exhausted in the same bad weather, he could not go to sea, and that he would be obliged to land his men and strip the ship.

9. My permission to him to coal was limited to 90 tons, which was not considered to be by any means a great quantity.

10. Although, as your grace will perceive from the accompanying report of the harbor-master, the Florida reported herself as last from Mobile, it did transpire that she had been at Nassau since, and had there received supplies; but in her case, as well as in the San Jacinto from Bermuda, I was without any official intelligence of where they had been, or what they had been doing, and both cases were dealt with specially as being in distress, and without reference to the circumstance of having been in British ports within the previous three months.

11. On both occasions I immediately wrote to all the governors in this part of the world, to notify the fact that the vessel had coaled here on a specified day; and I so informed Rear-Admiral Wilkes, apparently to his satisfaction. The accompanying acknowledgment of my last circular was put into my hands when Admiral Wilkes was with me. I only annex it to show that no time was lost in adopting all due precaution against any attempt to make this a cruising station.

12. Referring to the last paragraph of the rear-admiral's letter, I would not like to appear to disavow words of proper courtesy and civility, but at the same I would not like to bear the appearance of having made offers of aid and assistance which were not asked of me, and could scarcely have been given under the circumstances, without doing the very thing for which Admiral Wilkes now endeavors to find fault with me. He probably refers to my having said to him that I only gave to the San Jacinto and to the Florida the same assistance which I would be ready to give to him under similar circumstances.

13. The admiral made some complaint about the Florida remaining here a longer time than was warranted by the instructions, but I explained to him that she was prepared to quit at the end of twenty-four hours, and was detained in consequence of the consul's own application.

14. I have only further to inclose a copy of the protest of the American consul referred to in the admiral's letter. It was not put into my hands until some hours after the Florida had received permission to be supplied, but it could not have made any alteration in my line of conduct.

I have, &c.,
(Signed)

JAS. WALKER.

P. S.-I should mention that, after the San Jacinto coaled here on the 13th Novem