the British consul, as to produce some hesitation in my mind as to the propriety of instituting process in the case; but the specific and positive statements of Cornell and Craft, especially the former, as to the build, rig, armament, and imputed contents of the vessel, seemed to me, on the whole, to justify and require an examination of the case, at the hazard of possible inconvenience to innocent parties.

To make such examination effectual, it was necessary to libel the "Maury," and place her in charge of the marshal.

I have now received from Mr. McKeon a report of the result of the investigation.

It appears that the "Maury" was owned in part by Messrs. A. A. Low & Brothers, who have afforded satisfactory information as to her construction, character, and destination.

They make affidavit that she was built and equipped for trade with China, having, in addition to the ordinary armament of vessels in that business, only two deck-guns, deemed requisite on account of the increase of piracy in the seas of China.

It further appears, by these explanations, that the statements made as to the guns and munitions of war and extra spars on board the "Maury" were inaccurate, to use the mildest admissible expression; that the surmises as to the illegality of her character are not substantiated by proof; and that she is, in fact, advertised for general affreightment, and receiving cargo destined for Shanghae.

Neither Mr. Barclay,nor Mr. Edwards brought forward any evidence to contradict these facts; on the contrary, Mr. Edwards has, in a letter addressed to Mr. McKeon, expressed his conviction of the propriety of dismissing the libel; which is also recommended unreservedly by Mr. McKeon.

Under these circumstances, it affords me pleasure to enable you to give assurance that the Cunard mail-steamers may continue to enter and to leave our ports, without apprehension of being captured by the "Maury," and converted into Russian men-of-war for the prosecution of hostilities in the East Indies.

I annex copies of Mr. McKeon's report; of the affidavits submitted by parties interested in the "Maury," or in her lading; and of the letter of Mr. Edwards to Mr. McKeon.

I am, very respectfully,

Hon. Wм. L. MARCY,

Secretary of State.

C. CUSHING.

No. 20.

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK,

U. S. District Attorney's Office, New York, November 20, 1855. SIR: I have the honor to enclose a copy of a letter received from Hon. M. H. Grinnell.

I am not aware of any objection on our part, but still I desire to

have your assent to the application before I deliver the papers referred to in Mr. Grinnell's letter.

To John A. Stevens, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Chamber of Commerce.

The barque "Maury" was launched about the last of September; and, at an early day thereafter, the undersigned agreed, with Fogg Brothers, of this city, to take for them to the port of Shanghae, in China, two hundred tons of coal, one thousand barrels of merchandise, and seventy to eighty tons of measurement goods.

The coals not being at once available, ten mounted guns and their equipments, intended to have been sent by the "N. B. Palmer," but not ready in season for her, were sent to the vessel to be placed in her bottom, and to serve as ballast till the coal could be had. When this was put on board, the guns were raised between decks, and shortly afterwards the vessel was moved to her berth at pier 27 East river.

Having been publicly advertised by the undersigned for the port of Shanghae, in five daily papers, the "Maury" was receiving freight at the place above named on the seventeenth day of October, at 2 to 3 o'clock p. m., when the United States deputy marshal appeared on board, displaced the captain, and ordered the hatches of the vessel to

be closed.

Captain Fletcher immediately made known to us what had taken place, and the writer repaired to the office of the United States district attorney to obtain an explanation. He was in court, and appointed the following morning for an interview. At 9 a. m. of Thursday, the 18th, the writer called at his office with his partner, Mr. Lyman, and Mr. Fogg, of the firm above referred to, and finding that the vessel had been seized by reason of information lodged against her by the British consul, as set forth in the accompanying deposition, the following statement was drawn up and sworn to. [See No. 14.]

This, the district attorney said, he would forward to Washington. In the meantime, he was willing to release the vessel on our giving bail, which we thought it best not to do.

From the district attorney the writer went to Mr. Barclay, made the explanations which had been given to the former, showed the order under which the guns had been purchased, and requested a withdrawal of his complaint against the barque. Mr. Barclay was not willing to act without first seeing Mr. Edwards, his counsel, and a party to the complaint. When called upon a second time, the state

ment made to the district attorney was read to him, but he was still unwilling to act without Mr. Edwards.

On the following day, about forty-eight hours after the vessel was seized, Mr. Edwards called at the district attorney's office, withdrew the complaint, and the libel was lifted without any charge to the owners of the "Maury.'

It is due to the district attorney to state, that in the meantime the vessel was allowed to receive cargo under the surveillance of two of the marshal's men.

On Monday, the 22d, Mr. Barclay called at the office of the subscribers, and expressed his regret that he had occasioned us so much trouble; and was told that the least he could do was publicly to acknowledge the error into which he had been betrayed, and to say that the vessel had been seized in ignorance of her ownership.

A paragraph from the Boston Daily Advertiser was shown to Mr. Barclay, as an evidence of the exaggerated character the report of the vessel's seizure was assuming in other places. On Wednesday, the 24th, the following appeared in the New York Herald:

"Misrepresentations on the above subject having been published in various newspapers-among others, that munitions of war were found on board, 'secreted under a quantity of cotton'-I desire to disabuse the mind of the public of that impression, by stating that such was not the case.

"Had my endeavors, made before information was formally lodged, to ascertain the owners of the ship Maury, succeeded, the explanations which that respectable firm, Messrs. A. A. Low & Brothers, gave after the libel was filed would have been sought by me, and no doubt would have been given before, and the course which was adopted would not have been resorted to.

"A. BARCLAY, H. B. M.'s Consul.

"NEW YORK, October 23, 1855."

The undersigned beg to say, that it had been publicly announced in New York papers, again and again, that the vessel was building for them; she was publicly advertised in their name; insurance had been done upon her to a large amount in Wall street; the deponents Cornell and Craft are well known to the builders, are accustomed to be in their yard almost daily, and it is impossible to resist the conviction that to them at least it was known for whom she was preparing for sea. They respectfully ask, then, if the evidence upon which the complaint is founded should be weighed against the character and standing of respectable and responsible men; if it was of a nature to warrant so extreme a measure, without the most rigid inquiry in a proper direction; and, when shown to be utterly worthless, whether the apology of Mr. Barclay was of that prompt and ample character which one honorable man should delight to make to another whose reputation he has, unwittingly, unjustly called in question? A. A. LOW & BROTHERS, By A. A. Low.

Ex. Doc. 35-16

No. 22.

City and County of New York, ss.

John N. Cornell, policeman of the eleventh district of this city, acting as dockmaster, being duly sworn, doth depose and say: That in September last he was applied to, by the person acting as mate of the three-masted schooner or ship "Maury," then launched about one week from the shipyard of Roosevelt, Joice, & Co., to give said vessel a berth at the foot of Stanton street, East river. That this deponent gave said vessel a berth, and was in the habit of seeing her every day whilst she lay at that berth. This deponent further says, his particular attention was called to said vessel by some cartmen telling him that they had seen cannon going on board, and asked this deponent if he knew what it meant. This deponent was then invited by the mate to go on board, which he did, and was shown by the said mate several cannon in the hold, and some small-arms in the cabin, and said mate at the same time remarked to mechanics working on board that he supposed there was a vessel of war waiting outside for us, and here was an officer on board (alluding to this deponent) ready to take possession of the vessel. And this deponent further says, that in reply to an inquiry made of the said mate, he said he had shipped on board the "Maury" to go to the China seas, but that he had a damned queer cargo to go there.

And this deponent, from these circumstances, and from what he had seen, had his suspicions excited that all was not right, and so stated in general conversation in his family, and in the presence of his son, John T. Cornell, a law student or clerk in the law office of Charles Edwards, esq., attorney at law, 35 Pine street, this city. A few days after this conversation in the family of this deponent, his son told this deponent that his employer, Mr. Edwards, would like to see him; and one or two days thereafter he repaired to the office of said Edwards, and in reply to his inquiries, and at his request, narrated the above circumstances; the said Edwards at the same time telling this deponent that some person, a stranger to him, had made to him similar statements. And this deponent further says, that said Edwards stated that the person who had been his informant told him that it was designed to fit out the "Maury" as a Russian privateer, for the purpose of capturing one of the Cunard English steamers, and asked this deponent to make an affidavit of what he had seen and heard of this vessel, and all other particulars relating to her or her equipment; but that this deponent should first get some person who was better acquainted with vessels, also to go on board and see what he could, as combative, particularly whether the vessel looked like a vessel of

war.

And this deponent further says, that said Edwards told him that if he, this deponent, could be the means of detecting this movement, and it should turn out that the vessel was being fitted out for such a purpose, this deponent would receive a large reward. This deponent then returned to the station-house, and informed Lieutenant Craft of the circumstances, knowing that said Craft had been a ship

carpenter by profession, and was a judge of vessels. Said Craft consented to go on board and look at the "Maury," and did go on board and make examinations. And this deponent further says, that he and said Craft, a few days afterwards, went down to the office of said Charles Edwards, at whose request both this deponent and Craft went to the office of the United States district attorney, to make oath to the affidavits in the premises, which had been previously drawn up by said Edwards in his own office. And this deponent further says, that at the office of the district attorney he was presented to John McKeon, esq., to whom he stated the whole matter, and who, after reading this deponent's affidavit, stated that it was very suspicious, and that he thought there was enough to seize the vessel, and informed this deponent that, if there could be sufficient evidence obtained to seize the vessel, this deponent "would make a good thing of it."

And this deponent further says, that about one or two weeks after this, his son, John T., informed him that the owners, Messrs. Low, had explained everything satisfactorily to Mr. Edwards, and that the "Maury" had been allowed to sail.

JOHN N. CORNELL.

Sworn before me, this 23d November, 1855.

FERNANDO WOOD, Mayor.

William D. Craft, lieutenant of the 11th district police, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is the person alluded to in the deposition above made by John N. Cornell, and that the said deposition is true, of his own knowledge, so far as it refers to this deponent going on board of the "Maury" at his request, and making an affidavit at the office of Mr. Charles Edwards, at the request of said Edwards. And this deponent further says, that his suspicions were somewhat excited as to the character of the "Maury," from her model, her rig, the armament on board, and the general rumor as to Russian privateers.

Sworn to this 23d November, 1855, before me.

WM. D. CRAFT.

FERNANDO WOOD, Mayor.