Daily Richmond Whig

From the Baltimore Chronicle and Daily Marylander.

The U. S. Ship Erie and the Buenos Ayrean Privateer Schooner Federal.

The papers, north and south, are teeming with accounts of the capture of a "piratical" schooner called the Federal, commanded by a capt. W. I. Taylor, by the U. S. ship Erie, capt. Turner, who cut her out of the harbor of St. Bartholomews. We have before given all that we have seen upon the subject, with the exception of the correspondence which took place between Capt. Turner and the authorities of the Island, previous to the cutting out of the said schooner, and to this article we now add that correspondence, not as an article of news, but as a matter to which, we may have occasion, sometime hereafter to refer.

In order that both parties may be heard, we give the following statement received from two of the officers of the schooner Federal, who arrived here on Thursday last, in the schooner Lapwing, Captain Kennedy— their names are Lieutenant ZP Puhy, and W. Forsey, the purser.

They have in their possession, documents which we have seen, which sustain the averments in their narrative. They are on their way to Washington, for the purpose, as we learn, of representing their case, to our government.

The schooner Federal was regularly commissioned by the government of Buenos Ayres, and sailed from that port on the 15th September last, commanded by W.H. Taylor, who, with his officers were alike regularly commissioned, bound on a cruise the number of persons on board was fifty-one. She made one or two small captures, and on the 22d October fell in with a small Brazilian schooner from Bahia which they captured: and finding from her papers that her cargo was invoiced at $10,000, took out the supercargo, officers and crew, put a prize-crew on board and ordered her into port. On the 28th of the same month, in latitude about 14 S., Bahia bearing by calculation about N. N. W. distant one league, fell in with the brig Nymph, of Boston, W. T. Glidden, master, bound on a voyage from Bahia to the river Lagos, on the coast of Africa. Capt. Taylor sent an officer on board, who, in a short time, returned with a few bales of dry goods, believed to be about twelve, with the information that Captain Glidden had surrendered those articles as Brazilian property (a.)

Taking it for granted that the report which the officer had brought was correct, the Nymph was permitted to proceed without further detention.—When she was in the act of departing the supercargo of the captured Brazilian schooner whose name was Jose de Santos, who was detained on board the Federal as a prisoner, recognized the Nymph, and stated that she was at Bahia taking in cargo when he sailed, that he knew her cargo was Brazilian property.—Santos was required to go aft and make oath to these facts, which he unhesitatingly did, and Captain Taylor attaching implicit confidence to the statement of Santos, believing that if he had not been worthy of credit he would not have been entrusted with a cargo of $10,000, had the Nymph brought to, determining not to permit her to again proceed on her voyage until he had fully satisfied himself of the character and ownership of her cargo.

The crew of the Nymph were brought on board the Federal, and an officer and prize crew put on board the brig, with instructions to proceed with her to Buenos Ayres. During the preparation of getting under way, however, the second mate of the Nymph, whose name was James Parker, went aft, and voluntarily stated that all the Brazilian letters and papers which had been put on board the brig, had been deposited in the caboose house, by the steward by order of Captain Glidden, and burnt, (b.) and that to his knowledge, all the cargo on board was Brazilian property. Under these circumstances, Captain Taylor felt himself fully authorised, according to the instructions from his government, to take out, or dispose of her cargo, as he thought proper, and accordingly had seventy-eight packages taken out altogether, including those which were taken out when the Nymph was first detained, and put on board the Federal: he caused 400 demijohns of aguardiente to be thrown overboard.

During the time of the detention, which was about 30 hours, Captain Glidden did not object to the course pursued by Captain Taylor; and after all the matters were settled, and the crews re-exchanged. Captain Taylor gave Captain Glidden an order on Don Mariano Baudrix, at Buenos Ayres, for four thousand Spanish milled dollars, being the amount of the freight which the brig was to have received, took Captain Glidden's receipt (c) for the same (besides receiving a complimentary note from him, thanking him for his polite treatment, (d) when they parted)— the Federal continuing her course until she arrived at St. Bartholomews on the 25th November.

Soon after his arrival at St. Barts, Capt. Taylor learnt that one of the prizes which he had captured, had arrived at St. Eustatius, and he immediately proceeded thither for the purpose of advising and directing the disposing of her, and was, therefore, absent when the Federal was cut out by the U. S. ship Erie, which arrived at St. Barts after the Federal got in there. On the cutting out of the Federal, her agent immediately sent information to Capt. Taylor, and the messenger meeting him on the passage coming up from St. Eustatius, in the prize, communicated to him the occurrence, upon which, Captain Taylor put into St. Martins. The manner in which she was cut out will be shown in note (e.)

While at St. Martins, a ball was given to Captain Turner on some occasion, about 5 or 6 miles in the country, and as Capt. Taylor could not meet with him at any other place, he thought it advisable to wait on him there, which he did, and demanded the release of his schooner. The application was unsuccessful; and, at the suggestion of Capt. Turner, the authorities of the Island arrested and confined capt. Taylor for 30 hours in a kind of dungeon, and after a short examination, transferred him to the Erie as the prisoner of capt. Turner.

The officers of the Federal, who were ashore at St. Barts, on hearing of the arrest of capt. Taylor and of his being about to be taken to the U. States, as well as their schooner, drew up, and forwarded a petition to the authorities of the Island, (f) praying them to call on the U. S. Consul for means to enable them (the petitioners) to proceed to the U. States to attend the trial of the said schooner. The Consul, they say, refused the means, and they then presented a petition to the authorities of the island, who furnished them with the means to proceed to the U. States. (g.)

The officers further state, that the Federal is exclusively owned in Buenos Ayres, as her papers will show—that peace was not concluded when they sailed, neither had they any knowledge of the existence of it, until after their arrival in the West Indies—but even if they had possessed that knowledge, that the time limited by the treaty had not expired when the Nymph was taken.

They deny also that the mate, Parker, volunteered on board the Federal as one of the crew; but they say that he came home as a passenger—and that instead of twenty-nine bales being found on board of her and landed, as stated in some of the papers, there were seventy-six. That the Federal did not touch or call off any port or place, from the time of her leaving Buenos Ayres, until her arrival in the West Indies—and that this statement, (which they have seen) contains all the prominent acts relating to the whole of the transactions, within the period mentioned.

(a) See article 23 of the "Marine Laws and Regulations of the United Provinces of the River Plate," which is in these words:

"Vessels having on board merchandise belonging to enemies, and the captains thereof should declare the same voluntarily, the trans-shipment of the same shall take place without unnecessary delay, providing, the safety of the vessel permits it; and in such case a receipt of the goods trans-shipped shall be given to the captain, explaining in the same all the particulars that have occurred, and, providing the captain of the privateer should not be able to pay the amount in cash for freight for said goods to their destined port, agreeable to the bills of lading or charter parties, a promissory note or draft for the amount shall be given on the owners of the privateer, which he or they shall be obliged to pay on presentation; and also, the captains of privateers in such cases must bring the deposition signed by the captain of the detained vessel, and authenticated in the best possible manner."

(b) Idem—Article 30.—"If the captain or any other persons belonging to vessels detained, either by privateers or armed vessels belonging to the state, should throw any papers into the sea, and this can be proved in due form, they shall for this sole act be declared lawful prizes, in this manner the preceding article and all others that treat on this subject are to be understood."

(c)

Ar Sts, Oct. 29th, 1828.

Capt. W. H. Taylor.

Sir I hereby acknowledge to have received from Capt. Taylor, of the Buenos Ayrean schr. Federal, order in duplicate on Don Mariano Baudrix, of the city of Buenos Ayres, for four thousand Spanish milled dollars, for and in consideration of certain cargo taken from on board of brig Nymph, of Boston, as freight money, together with his acknowledgement in duplicate of the goods, &c. taken from the aforesaid brig, under my command.

(Signed)

W. T. GLIDDEN.

(d)

At Sea, Oct. 29th, 1828.

Capt. W. H. Taylor.

Sir—I have yet one more favor to ask of you, which is to send me dark Powditch, a seaman of mine, which as yet remains on board your schooner.