and crew were inhumanly, and, so far at least as relates to those who were citizens of the United States, without due process of law, put to death.

"It is a well-established principle, asserted by the United States from the beginning of their national independence, recognized by Great Britain and other maritime powers, and stated by the Senate in a resolution passed unanimously on the 16th of June, 1858, that 'American vessels on the high seas in time of peace, bearing the American flag, remain under the jurisdiction of the country to which they belong; and therefore any visitation, molestation, or detention of such vessel by force, or by the exhibition of force, on the part of a foreign power, is in derogation of the sovereignty of the United States.'

"In accordance with this principle the restoration of the Virginius, and the surrender of the survivors of her passengers and crew, and a due reparation to the flag, and the punishment of the authorities who had been guilty of the illegal acts of violence, were demanded. The Spanish Government has recognized the justice of the demand, and has arranged for the immediate delivery of the vessel, and for the surrender of the survivors of the passengers and crew, and for a salute to the flag, and for proceedings looking to the punishment of those who may be proved to have been guilty of illegal acts of violence toward citizens of the United States, and also toward indemnifying those who may be shown to be entitled to indemnity. A copy of a protocol of a conference between the Secretary of State and the Spanish minister, in which the terms of this arrangement were agreed to, is transmitted herewith.

"The correspondence on this subject with the legation of the United States in Madrid was conducted in cipher and by cable, and needs the verification of the actual text of the correspondence. It has seemed to me to be due to the importance of the case not to submit this correspondence until the accurate text can be received by mail. It is expected shortly, and will be submitted when received."

President Grant, Fifth Annual Message, 1873.

"In my annual message of December last I gave reason to expect that when the full and accurate text of the correspondence relating to the steamer Virginius, which had been telegraphed in cipher, should be received, the papers concerning the capture of the vessel, the execution of a part of its passengers and crew, and the restoration of the ship and the survivors would be transmitted to Congress.

"In compliance with the expectations then held out, I now transmit the papers and correspondence on that subject.

"On the 26th day of September, 1870, the Virginius was registered in the custom-house at New York as the property of a citizen of the United States, he having first made oath, as required by law, that he was 'the true and only owner of the said vessel, and that there was no subject

or citizen of any foreign prince or state, directly or indirectly, by way of trust, confidence, or otherwise, interested therein.'

"Having complied with the requisites of the statute in that behalf, she cleared in the usual way for the port of Curaçoa, and on or about the 4th day of October, 1870, sailed for that port. It is not disputed that she made the voyage according to her clearance, nor that, from that day to this, she has not returned within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. It is also understood that she preserved her American papers, and that when within foreign ports she made the practice of putting forth a claim to American nationality, which was recognized by the authorities at such ports.

"When, therefore, she left the port of Kingston, in October last, under the flag of the United States, she would appear to have had, as against all powers except the United States, the right to fly that flag, and to claim its protection, as enjoyed by all regularly documented vessels registered as part of our commercial marine.

"No state of war existed, conferring upon a maritime power the right to molest and detain upon the high seas a documented vessel; and it cannot be pretended that the Virginius had placed herself without the pale of all law by acts of piracy against the human race.

"If her papers were irregular or fraudulent, the offense was one against the laws of the United States, justiciable only in their tribunals.

"When, therefore, it became known that the Virginius had been captured on the high seas by a Spanish man-of-war; that the American flag had been hauled down by the captors; that the vessel had been carried to a Spanish port; and that Spanish tribunals were taking jurisdiction over the persons of those found on her, and exercising that jurisdiction upon American citizens, not only in violation of the rules of international law, but in contravention of the provisions of the treaty of 1795, I directed a demand to be made upon Spain for the restoration of the vessel, and for the return of the survivors to the protection of the United States, for a salute to the flag, and for the punishment of the offending parties.

"The principles upon which these demands rested could not be seriously questioned, but it was suggested by the Spanish Government that there were grave doubts whether the Virginius was entitled to the character given her by her papers; and that therefore it might be proper for the United States, after the surrender of the vessel and the survivors to dispense with the salute to the flag, should such fact be established to their satisfaction.

"This seemed to be reasonable and just. I therefore assented to it, on the assurance that Spain would then declare that no insult to the flag of the United States had been intended.

"I also authorized an agreement to be made that, should it be shown to the satisfaction of this Government that the Virginius was improp erly bearing the flag, proceedings should be instituted in our courts for

the punishment of the offense committed against the United States. On her part Spain undertook to proceed against those who had offended the sovereignty of the United States, or who had violated their treaty rights.

"The surrender of the vessel and the survivors to the jurisdiction of the tribunals of the United States was an admission of the principles upon which our demands had been founded. I therefore had no hesitation in agreeing to the arrangement finally made between the two Governments-an arrangement which was moderate and just, and calculated to cement the good relations which have so long existed between Spain and the United States.

"Under this agreement the Virginius, with the American flag flying, was delivered to the Navy of the United States at Bahia Honda, in the Island of Cuba, on the 16th ultimo. She was in an unseaworthy condition. In the passage to New York she encountered one of the most tempestuous of our winter storms. At the risk of their lives the officers and crew placed in charge of her attempted to keep her afloat. Their efforts were unavailing and she sank off Cape Fear. The pris. oners who survived the massacres were surrendered at Santiago de Cuba on the 18th ultimo, and reached the port of New York in safety. "The evidence submitted on the part of Spain to establish the fact that the Virginius at the time of her capture was improperly bearing the flag of the United States is transmitted herewith, together with the opinion of the Attorney-General thereon, and a copy of the note of the Spanish minister, expressing, on behalf of his Government, a disclaimer of an intent of indignity to the flag of the United States." President Grant, Special Message, Jan. 5, 1874.

The following correspondence, being part of that submitted in the message above given, tends to explain the position taken by the Gov

ernment:

"The capture on the high seas of a vessel bearing the American flag presents a very grave question, which will need investigation, and the summary proceedings resulting in the punishment of death, with such rapid haste, will attract attention as inhuman and in violation of the civilization of the age. And if it prove that an American citizen has been wrongfully executed, this Government will require most ample reparation."

Mr. Fish, Sec. of State, to Mr. Sickles, Nov. 7, 1873 (telegram). MSS. Inst.,
Spain.; For. Rel., 1874.

"You will receive by the mail of this date a copy of the telegrams which have been sent to you with reference to the capture of the Virginius, and also of those from you relating to the same subject, as they have been received and deciphered here.

"The first intelligence was received here late in the evening of the 5th instant, from Mr. Hall, acting consul-general in Havana. I was

absent from Washington the 6th, returning on the evening of the 6th. Your telegram was received announcing the instructions of the Madrid Government not to inflict any penalties until the matter should have been reported there.

"On the 7th the public journals announced the execution on the 4th of four persons who had been captured on the vessel, one of whom was represented to be an American, who is said to have entered the military service of the insurrectionists in Cuba, and who claimed to hold a mil itary commission from the insurrectionary authorities, and to have been in actual military service on the island.

"The execution, as it is called, of those persons was forced on with indecent and barbarous haste, and in defiance of all humanity and regard to the usages of the civilized world.

"It was perpetrated in advance of the knowledge of the capture reach. ing Havana or Madrid, and it would seem to have been thus precipitated in cold blood and vindictiveness, to anticipate and prevent the interposition of any humane restraints upon the ferocity of the local authorities from the Government at Madrid or its representative in Havana.

"This is but another instance in the long catalogue of the defiance of the home Government by those intrusted with authority in Cuba, and adds another page to the dark history of bloody vengeance and cruel disregard of the rules of civilized war and of common humanity which the military and other officials in Cuba have but too frequently made part of the history of Spain's Government and of its colony.

"The promptness with which the Madrid Government responded to your suggestion, and forwarded instructions to the captain-general to await orders before inflicting any penalties on the passengers or crew of the Virginius, is accepted as evidence of their readiness to administer justice, and gives promise of the promptness with which they will condemn and punish the hot thirst for blood and vengeance which was exhibited at Santiago de Cuba.

"Condemnation, disavowal, and deprecation of the act will not be accepted by the world as sufficient to relieve the Government of Spain from participation in the just responsibility for the outrage. There must be a signal mark of displeasure and a punishment to which the civilized world can point, and which other subordinate or local officials will have cause to look to as a beacon on a dangerous rock, to be forever after avoided.

"You will represent this to the Government at Madrid, and you will further very earnestly, but avoiding any just cause of offended sensibility, represent that the failure of some speedy and signal visitation of punishment on those engaged in this dark deed cannot fail to be regarded as approval of the act, and in view of the orders given to abstain from any punishments which the home Government had passed upon

them, will be regarded as admission of the inability of the Government of the peninsula to control the affairs of the Island of Cuba. The omission to punish the acts of the 4th November, in Santiago de Cuba, will be a virtual abandonment of the control of the island, and cannot be regarded otherwise than as a recognition that some power more potent than that of Spain exisits within that colony.

"You may read what precedes to the minister, and you may say that this Government has confidence in the sincerity and good faith of the present Government of Madrid, and of its desire to have executed in Cuba the promises made in Madrid.

"We fear, however, that unaided, Spain has not the power to control the resistance to its authority under the attitude and profession of loyalty and of support which is more formidable than the insurrection of Yara to her continued ascendency. The rebellion and insurrection of the Casino Espagnole and its pretorian volunteers, present the most formidable opposition to the authority of the peninsula.

"With regard to the Virginius, we are still without information as to the particulars of her capture. There are conflicting representations as to the precise place of capture, whether within British waters or on the high seas, and we have no information as to whether she was first sighted within Spanish waters and the chase commenced there, or whether it was altogether in neutral waters.

"Mr. Hall has been requested to furnish full particulars, and a vessel of the Navy has been dispatched thither. Mr. Hall informs me that telegraphic communication between Havana and Santiago de Cuba has been interrupted.

"There is also some doubt as to the right of the Virginius to carry the American flag, or of her right to the papers which she unquestionably carried. This is being investigated, and, of course, no admission of doubt as to the character of the vessel can be allowed until it become apparent that the Government cannot sustain the nationality of the vessel, while the doubt imposes on the Government the necessity of caution in ascertaining the facts before making a positive demand.

"While writing this instruction, a telegram from Mr. Hall mentions that Havana papers of this morning published a statement, apparently from official sources, that the captain and thirty-six of the crew of the Virginius and sixteen others were shot on the 7th and 8th instant.

"Such wholesale butchery and murder is almost incredible; it would be wholly incredible but for the bloody and vengeful deeds of which Cuba has been the theater. No Government deserves to exist which can tolerate such crimes. Nature cries aloud against them. Spain will be loud and earnest in punishing them, or she will forfeit her past good

name.

"Your request to the Government that our consul be permitted to see and to confer with American citizens who may be prisoners at Santiago