Salmon P. Chase

“ Frankness and truth are especially required of the officers of captured vessels when examined in preparation for the first hearing in prize. And the clearest good faith may very reasonably be required of those engaged in alleged neutral commerce with a port constantly and notoriously used as a port of call and transshipment by persons engaged in systematic violation of blockade and in the conveyance of contraband of war. ”

“ The fairness of the papers, the apparent good faith of the stipulations of the charter-party in favor of the owners, and the testimony of the other witnesses, restrain us from harsh inferences against the owners of the vessel, who seem to be in no way compromised with the cargo, except through the misrepresentations of the master, and are not shown to have been connected with any former violation of neutral obligations. ”

“ There is more weight in the argument for condemnation derived from the misrepresentation of the master concerning his knowledge of the cause of seizure. The master testified that he did not know when examined on what pretence the capture was made, while the mate and the steward deposed that they understood that the vessel was captured under the supposition that the cargo was contraband, and the boatswain testified that it was because the bills of lading did not show the contents of some of the cases. ”

“ The substance of the article does not make it contraband. It does not even get its name 'contraband' until it is going, positively moving, to an enemy's port-a hostile port. In order to constitute contraband of war, two elements must concur, viz., a hostile quality and a hostile destination. If either of these elements is wanting, there can be no such thing as contraband. Hostile goods, such as munitions of war, going to a neutral port, are not contraband. ”

“ And the reason why the articles of tea, coffee, ginger, pimento, cloves, and pepper are specified on bills of lading was, that these articles are foreign to England, and are, by rule and custom, to be designated, from the fact of being dutiable, and the country requires to know, through periodical returns, the quantity of goods, subject to duty, which have been transshipped.
A neutral, it must be remembered, has a right to carry any kind of merchandise from one neutral port to another neutral port. It may consist of warlike weapons and their appliances. ”

“ He signed bills of lading for 1394 packages of merchandise, the contents of only 613 of which were disclosed by the bills of lading, all of those so disclosed being innocent articles. His manifest, identifying the packages by their marks and numbers, described them only as cases, bales, boxes, chests, bags, &c. He knew of the existence of invoices, but sailed without them. These facts show that his ignorance of the character of his cargo, if real, was his own fault. But they show still more strongly that his ignorance was not real, but affected. ”

“ But the question of contraband cannot arise; the cargo was destined wholly for Nassau. The invocation does not materially help the case. The proof derived from the 'dovetailing' of a few parcels on the Springbok and Gertrude is of very little significance. The whole source of the evidence is interested. The marshal and prize commissioners make out their elaborated lists with the very purpose to procure condemnation. Besides, the amount of dovetailing is far too small, to infer as a necessity a guilty purpose. Condemnations cannot be made on presumptions. ”

“ The master must have known as much about the cause of capture as either of the witnesses; and his misrepresentation of the truth in this instance brings his statements concerning the real destination of the ship and the intention to deliver her cargo at Nassau into some discredit. ”

“ The bills of lading, three in number, show no interest in any other person.
The charter-party was made by the master with one Begbie, and stipulated that the ship should take on board a cargo of lawful merchandise goods and deliver the same at Nassau to the charterers' agent at that port. ”

“ And this insult to the court is aggravated by the excuse offered, that in six weeks it was impossible to communicate with them (at London) in time to allow them to make the claim and test affidavit.
The case rests on the following propositions of fact and law, which, it is submitted, the evidence and authorities sustain. ”

“ Page 2 APPEAL from a decree of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, respecting the British bark Springbok and her cargo, which had been captured at sea by the United States gunboat Sonoma during the late rebellion, and libelled in the said court for prize. ”

“ Coffey, contra, for the United States.
1. As to the invocation. No case decides that a decree will be reversed because an invocation has been made on original hearing; the suits invoked being like those where judgments have gone against the captors, and in one suit was taken pro confesso. In such a case, even if not technically regular, the maxim of Quod non fieri debet factum valet, would apply.
2. As respects cargo. ”