Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser

ALGERINE PIRATES.

The Charleston City Gazette gives a translation from a Hamburgh paper, proving that the consuls of Great Britain, the Netherlands, France and Spain, sanction the indiscriminate plunder of the world by the Barbary corsairs. Captain Schumann, of the Russian ship Industry, was taken by the Algerines, and retook his vessel by killing all the prize crew.

"Among the papers found upon the bodies of these pirates were passports of the consuls of Great Britain, the Netherlands, France and Spain, residing in Algiers, directing the commanders of vessels of war belonging to their respective nations neither to detain or molest Algerine cruizers, or any of their prizes!"

Remarks by the National Advocate:

Much importance is attached to a discovery of English and Spanish passports, found on the person of an Algerine captain, who was killed in action. The fact is, no armed vessel, belonging to any of the states in Barbary, ventures to sea without having Mediterranean passports from the various consuls at peace with the governments; and the want of this passport is an evidence of hostility, and would subject the vessel to capture. It is also provided that passports should be granted by the existing treaties, and is by no means a novel occurrence.

The passport merely mentions the name of the vessel and captain, and her force, and then requires all armed ships to suffer her and her prizes to pass without molestation. So many passports were required for the Tunisian squadron, gun-boats, and xebeques, that it was difficult to describe their names, characters, and force; and this difficulty was not in the least done away by a very ignorant and indifferent board of admiralty—the secretary of which was familiarly termed Mr. Croker. This Turk used to collect the passports, and in such a careless manner that it not unfrequently happened that one vessel went to sea with the passport belonging to another.