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had requested by my first advertisement. I therefore beg you, sir, should the said captain Bernard appear off this port with the said schooner America Libre, or any prize of her, not to molest them, and allow them to enter freely here; as I have charged Dr. Gual with all the business of Venezuela, he will give you any other information, should any difficulty occur with respect to captain Bernard, or the prizes he may send him, which I hope will not be the case, trusting, that after this application of mine, to you, you will let them freely enter this port.

I have the honour to remain, &c. A. G. VILLERET.

A Register of the Proceedings at Galvezton, April 15, 1817. THE undersigned persons having appeared for the purpose of taking the necessary oath of fidelity to the Mexican republick, now in the possession of those who represent that nation in this quarter, which act having been executed with all the solemnity due to the occasion, appeared.

1. The citizen Louis Derieux, commandant, who took the said oath in the presence of the citizen Louis Itourribarria, after which the other authorities were severally sworn before the said commandant in regular form; and to establish its authenticity, it has been signed by all those who were present; and the said document, shall be kept in the office of said port or place, with the signatures, as well as that of the representative, so that its validity may, at all times be established. And not being able, from existing circumstances, to obtain a seal of state, its place will be supplied by a common one, until an official one can be procured.

LOUIS ITOURRIBARRIA,
LOUIS DERIEUX,

A. PIRONNEAU, Jun.
J. DUCOING,

ROUSSELIN,
R. ESPAGNOL,
LAFON JENTERIM.

Bay of Galvezton, April 20, 1817.

THE commanders of the independent Mexican vessels of war, assembled on board the schooner Jupiter, for the purpose of nominating, with the requisite formalities required by the authority, which in the name of the Mexican government, legitimately supports this nation, particularly in the existing war, carrying on against the royalists of Spain, in consequence of which, they have proceeded to pronounce an opinion on the following articles:

The undersigned captains and owners of vessels, now in this port, having met according to publick notice, have taken into consideration the proceedings of the 17th of this month, under which they named the citizen colonel Louis Derieux, military commandant, the citizen captain A. Peronnean, jun. as adjutant commandant, the citizen, J. Ducoing, as judge of the admiralty, the citizen Rousselin, as administrator of the revenue, and the citizen R. Espagnol, as secretary of the publick treasury; all of whom, have been recognized by the provisional assembly; and at the same time, the citizen Jean Jannet, was appointed marine commandant of the said place, with all the necessary powers.

And after due deliberation, all the members of this assembly unanimously resolved, that the duties which shall accrue from the prizes already arrived, or may hereafter arrive at the port of Galvezton after condemnation being pronounced, shall be disposed of as follows:

1st. The treasurer shall pay on demand, (bisto bueno) on the order of the government of the place, every expense which may be necessary for the port or harbour of Galvezton, for the support of the officers employed, and for munitions of war and other expenses fixed according to the claims and obligations of the several officers.

2dly. That when the expenses of one month are ascertained, those of the month following may be anticipated out of the funds in hand.

3dly. That the surplus will be applied towards the payment of the debts of the government contracted prior to the 15th of April, 1817, upon the express condition, however, that no one, who is not actually employed at the said port, shall enjoy the advantage of that arrangement, and that the old debts will be paid only to those who are actually employed at the port of Galvezton.

4thly. That the salaries of the officers and others employed, will be regulated by a special council, and that the whole will be entered in the register of the deliberations.

The whole has been signed in the presence of the secretary protempore, Lafon.

L. Derieux, A. Peronneau, jun. John Ducoing, Rousselin, Jean Jannet, Richard Espagnol, Parisi, John Queré, Dutrieu, Denis Thomas, Faiquiere, Joseph Place, Renaud, B. Lavard, Savary, Marcelin, Gilop.

Passport from Don Radmond Gil, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, to Mr. Casimir Prieto, Captain of the Brig Charles.

I, DON REDMOND GIL, lieutenant of a frigate, having rank in the royal navy, captain of this port, charged with the branch of the naval engineers, and the superintendence of the merchant vessels in this province, member of the board of health of this place, on behalf of his majesty, and temporary commandant of the marine register of this province, &c.

Hereby certify, that Mr.Casimir Prieto,captain, pilot,and sailing master of the brig Charles, belonging to the United States of America, arrived in this port on the twenty-first day of the present month, from New Orleans, with a cargo of goods: that he declared and certified, that the Mexican privateer "Congresso Mexicano" opened his register and all his papers, and took away his sailing orders, and other documents, and carried off his mate. And to the end, that the said captain Prieto may make known to all whom it may concern, the proceeding of the said privateer, and be enabled to return with his vessel, to the port of his destination, I have granted him the present at Vera Cruz, this first day of July, 1817. RAMON GIL.

[Gratis.]

Nota. Free to pass, by permission of the government. To Tli. Federico Melas.

I CERTIFY, that I visited the brig "Charles," under American colours, from New Orleans, and allowed her to proceed, after examining her papers.

At sea, the 13th June, 1817.

L'ANGE.

Commander of the privateer "L'Amiable Aimee."

FROM

THE

MESSAGE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE SENATE, RELATIVE TO THE RESTITUTION OF SLAVES UNDER THE FIRST ARTICLE OF THE TREATY OF GHENT.

DEC. 29, 1817.

IN compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of this month, requesting information touching the execution of so much of the first article of the treaty of

Ghent, as relates to the restitution of slaves, which has not heretofore been communicated, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State on that subject. JAMES MONROE.

Department of State, December 24, 1817.

THE Secretary of State to whom has been referred the resolution of the Senate, of the 16th instant, requesting information touching the execution of so much of the first article of the treaty of Ghent, as relates to the restitution of slaves, which has not heretofore been communicated, has the honour to report to the President,

That no answer has yet been received from the British government to the proposal made by order of the late President, on the 17th of September, 1816, that the question upon the different construction given by the respective governments to that article, should be referred to the decision of some friendly sovereign. That the late minister of the United States in England, before his departure from London, renewed the request for an answer, and that the present minister at the same court has been instructed to invite again the attention of the British government to the subject.

All which is respectfully submitted.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

REPORT

OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS RELATIVE TO THE INTRODUCTION OF SLAVES FROM AMELIA ISLAND. JAN. 10, 1818.

The committee, to whom was referred so much of the President's message as relates to the illicit introduction of slaves from Amelia Island, having carefully taken the matter committed to them into consideration, respectfully report:

THAT, having applied to the department of State for information respecting the illicit introduction of slaves into the United States, they were referred by the Secretary of State, to the documents transmitted to this House by the President's message of the 15th December last, con

VOL. XI.

50

sisting of various extracts of papers on the files of the departments of State, of the Treasury, and of the Navy, relative to the proceedings of certain persons who took possession of Amelia Island in the summer of the past year, and also relative to a similar establishment, previously made at Galvezton, near the mouth of the river Trinity.

Upon a full investigation of these papers, with a view to the subject committed to them, your committee are of opinion, that it is but too notorious that numerous infractions of the law prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States, have been perpetrated with impunity upon our southern frontier; and they are further of opinion, that similar infractions would have been repeated with increasing activity, without the timely interposition of the naval force under the direction of the Executive of our government.

In the course of their investigation, your committee have found it difficult to keep separate, the special matter given into their charge, from topicks of a more general nature, which are necessarily interwoven therewith: they therefore crave the indulgence of the House, while they present some general views connected with the subject, which have developed themselves in the prosecution of their inquiry.

It would appear from what can be collected from these papers that numerous violations of our laws have been latterly committed by a combination of freebooters and smugglers of various nations, who located themselves in the first instance, upon an uninhabited spot, near the mouth of the river Trinity, within the jurisdictional limits of the United States, as claimed in virtue of the treaty of cession of Louisiana by France. This association of persons organized a system of plunder upon the high seas, directed chiefly against Spanish property, which consisted frequently of slaves from the coast of Africa; but their conduct appears not always to have been regulated by a strict regard to the national character of vessels falling into their hands, when specie or other very valuable articles formed part of the cargo. Their vessels generally sailed under a pretended Mexican flag, although it does not appear that the establishment at Galvezton was sanctioned by, or connected with any other government; the presumption, too, of any authority ever having been given

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