ister of state yesterday, requesting that any American citizens in cus tody of the authorities at Santiago de Cuba be allowed all the privileges guaranteed to them by the seventh article of the treaty of 1795, and that the consul of the United States at that place be permitted to have free communication with the accused. This suggestion seemed to me proper, in view of what happened in March last in the case of the sailors of the bark Union, and your instructions in that case. I am, &c., [Inclosure.] D. E. SICKLES. General Sickles to Mr. José de Carvajal. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, The undersigned presents his compliments to his excellency the minister of state, and has the honor to request that orders be sent to the authorities at Santiago de Cuba to allow the consul of the United States at that place to see and freely confer with any American citizens among the officers, passengers, and crew of the Virginius who may be now in custody, and that they may have accorded to them the rights and privileges stipulated and guaranteed by the seventh article of the treaty of 1795. The undersigned finds an additional motive for this suggestion in the fact that in March last, in the case of three American sailors of the bark Union, the governor of Santiago de Cuba refused the same reasonable request when made by the United States consul, and alleged, as the ground of such refusal, that war existed in the island, and no rules could be recognized except such as prevailed in an ordinary Spanish court-martial. The undersigned, in obedience to the instructions of his Government, remonstrated against such action, and was assured by Mr. Castelar, then minis ter of state, that the conduct of the governor was disapproved; that, moreover, Spain did not regard the insurrection in Cuba as a war, and would not claim for herself, or desire to see accorded to either party in the contest, the rights of belligerents: and that, in conformity with these views, the government of the republic would send instructions to the captain-general of Cuba for the guidance of himself and the subordinate authorities of the island. The Deerhound, an English vessel, with arms and munitions of war for Don Carlos, captured in July last off this coast, on the high seas. by a Spanish gunboat, was released, with her crew and passengers, including one or more prominent Carlists, on the demand of Great Britain. SICKLES. No. 820.] No. 597. General Sickles to Mr. Fish. UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN, Madrid, November 12, 1873. (Received December 8.) SIR: The case of the Deerhound, of which I cabled a brief statement this morning, was not settled without considerable hesitation and delay on the part of this government. Mr. Carvajal insisted for some time that it was a proper subject for the decision of a prize-court, and that until the judgment of that tribunal should be given no diplomatic reclamation could be entertained. This ground was not satisfactory to Great Britain. It was replied that no declaration of war had been made by Spain; that the parties to the contest had not been recognized as belligerents; that no jurisdiction over such a capture could be acquired by a prize-court in time of peace; that the act of the Spanish cruiser was a mere trespass on the high seas, from which no right of condemnation could possibly follow. Great Britain therefore urged that the matter was in the exclusive and sole cognizance of the execu tive authorities; and, considering that the facts of the case and the principles of public law applicable to them were indisputable and clear, the immediate release of the vessel, passengers, and crew was demanded. The Spanish government at length yielded to the arguments ably presented by Mr. MacDonell, the British chargé d' affaires, and made ample reparation. I am, &c., D. E. SICKLES. No. 821.] No. 598. General Sickles to Mr. Fish. UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN, Madrid, November 12, 1873. (Received December 8.) SIR: Night before last I called at the executive mansion, and was received by President Castelar with his usual amiability. His excellency had scarcely welcomed me when he exclaimed "How deeply I deplore the execution of the four prisioners at Santiago de Cuba! What a misfortune that my order was not received in time to prevent such an act! It was against the law, and the only excuse offered is that a sentence of death had already been pronounced against these men." Interrupted for a moment, the President continued: "Such scandals must cease. A conservative deputation was here, this morning, and I told them frankly that we must put an end to slavery in Cuba; it brutalizes all it touches!" I replied that so grave an offense against civilization should indeed have a great atonement, and in the abolition of slavery the cause of these barbarities would disappear. His excellency proceeded to state, in reply to a reference to my interview with Mr. Carvajal, that, in conformity with our understanding, a series of interrogatories had been put by cable to the captain-general, the replies to which would afford the information necessary to a just ap preciation of the case in any international aspect it might have. The government of the republic had every disposition to treat the matter dispassionately, and to come to a resolution in harmony with the of the nations and the friendly relations it desired to preserve with the United States. In reply to my request for early intelligence of the action proposed to be taken, Mr. Castelar assured me that I would receive a communication from himself, or Mr. Carvajal, as soon as the answer of the captaingeneral could be considered by the council of ministers. I am, &c., D. E. SICKLES. No. 599. General Sickles to Mr. Fish. [Telegram.] MADRID, November 12, 1873. Minister of state informed me this evening at the legation that a preliminary report had been received from Cuba, from which it appeared that the Virginius was seen making a landing on that coast. Pursuit began in Spanish waters, and about twenty-three miles from Jamaica the vessel was captured. It is also alleged that her papers had no consular certificate, and are otherwise irregular. Mr. Carvajal said he expected further particulars to-night, and appointed to-morrow, at four in the afternoon, for a conference with me at the state department. He also remarked that Admiral Polo's report of his interview with yourself had been read with much satisfaction. Your cable of this date received. SICKLES. No. 823.] No. 600. General Sickles to Mr. Fish. UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN, Madrid, November 13, 1873. (Received December S.) SIR: Mr. Carvajal, accompanied by the under-secretary of state, called at the legation last evening. The minister stated that a partial report had been received of the incidents attending the capture of the Virginius. It appeared that the vessel was seen on the coast of Cuba attempting to land her passengers and cargo; that the pursuit began in Spanish waters, and somewhere about twenty-three miles from Jamaica she was overtaken and captured. It was also alleged that the Virginius exhibited no papers; but this was subsequently qualified by the statement that her documents were not authenticated by the risa or certificate of any consul, and were, besides, irregular in other par ticulars; and although the report was incomplete, yet enough was known to indicate that the case would be less difficult of adjustment than was apprehended at the outset, and this was a matter for sincere congratu lation. Mr. Carvajal proceeded to observe that Admiral Polo's dispatches alluded to the excitement and irritation manifested in the United States when the news of the capture was first received, which had now, however, perceptibly diminished in view of more accurate information since published. His excellency said it was gratifying to learn, through the same channel, that my reports of the friendly disposition of this government had impressed you favorably, and he had read with much satisfaction the Spanish minister's résumé of his conversation with your self. Mr. Carvajal, in conclusion, invited me to a conference on this subject this afternoon at four o'clock, at the palace, when he would be prepared to make a further communication to me. I remarked that whatever popular agitation might have been provoked in the United States by the news of the capture of the Virginius, it would not influence the action of the President in a matter affecting our relations with a friendly power. In this respect the conduct of my Government might perhaps be observed with advantage by several European states I might mention. When, for example, the rebel agents Mason and Slidell were taken from the Trent, the uproar in England was reflected in the impatient action of the British cabinet, while the decision of Mr. Lincoln to reprove the act and return the men was adopted and executed in the face of a public opinion which desired a different course to be followed. Unfortunately the Spanish authorities in Cuba had hitherto failed in restraining the passions of a turbulent element in the population of the large towns, so that whenever our citizens were known to have fallen into the power of the mob at Havana or Santiago de Cuba, public opinion was justly apprehensive of their fate. I had received a further communication from you, containing additional particulars of the capture and its consequences, of which we would speak this afternoon when I should have the honor to meet his excellency at the ministry. It was, however, quite certain that no demand would be made by the President until trustworthy information was received of the whole case. Meanwhile, it would be satisfactory to know that this government had spontaneously taken such action in the matter as would facilitate a prompt solution of any question that might arise. I am, &c., No. 601. D. E. SICKLES. No. 824.] General Sickles to Mr. Fish. UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN, Madrid, November 13, 1873. (Received December 15.) SIR: At four o'clock this afternoon, the hour appointed yesterday, I had an interview with the minister of state at his office. His excellency received me with the remark that late news from Cuba had deprived our conference of the results he had anticipated from it. Last night a report had been received from the captain-general, stating that forty-nine of the prisoners taken in the Virginius had been shot on the 7th and Sth instant, at Santiago de Cuba. The order of President Castelar, dispatched on the 6th, had reached Havana on the following day, too late to prevent these executions. He made this communication to me with profound regret. President Castelar had received the intelligence with deep concern. The laws passed by the Cortes not being applicable to Cuba without a special declaration therein to that effect, the authorities had followed the prescriptions of the old colonial code, and thus the humane legislation of September last, which forbid death-penalties without the approval of the Cortes in the cases of civilians, and of the exec utive in military sentences, had failed to become operative in Cuba. General Jovellar now held himself responsible for the due observance of this law, which had been extended to Cuba by an executive order, and it was at least certain that the slaughter had ceased. I inquired whether his excellency could inform me how many of the victims were American citizens, to which he replied that no particulars had been received, and it was precisely that question he had put to the captain-general in a cable-message sent at two o'clock this morning. With reference to the suggestion that a Spanish law had no force in Cuba without an express provision in the statute declaring it so appli cable, I asked Mr. Carvajal whether the executive authority of Spain exercised any jurisdiction over the island, and, if so, what powers be longed to it. His excellency answered that he had merely expressed an opinion in saying the ordinary laws of the republic were inapplicable. There could be no doubt, however, that the executive jurisdiction was ample; and now that the revocation of the royal order of 1825 had deprived the captain-general of the faculty of suspending the dispositions of the supreme government, there was no reason to apprehend a repetition of the irregularities that had hitherto occurred in the adminis tration of Cuban affairs. I observed that in June last I had invited the attention of Mr. Castelar, then minister of state, to the ground taken by the authorities in Cuba in asserting that war existed in the island, and that no other than martial law was recognized. His excellency having replied that this government rejected any such assertion, authorizing me to convey to you the declaration that Spain did not so regard the conflict in Cuba, I begged that instructions be sent to the captain general not to withhold from any citizen of the United States, within his jurisdiction, the protection and securities of the ordinary tribunals of justice in due course of law, as provided by the seventh article of the treaty of 1795. I was assured that such orders would be given; and so that nothing should be wanting to impress on the government of the republic the justice and the urgency of the appeal I made, I referred Mr. Castelar to a series of instances in which the authorities in Cuba had assumed to exercise powers in derogation of the rights of the United States and of their citizens. If, therefore, it should now appear that American citizens had been put to death by the Spanish authorities in Santiago, without properly acquiring jurisdiction of their persons, or without respecting the rights guaranteed to the accused in all trials for offenses charged against them, the responsibility would rest on the executive department of this government, which had been again and again admonished that the United States insisted on the fulfillment of these solemn obligations. Mr. Carvajal said that in the present state of the question he could not proceed with the discussion. He had hoped that to-day we could at least have settled the preliminaries of an adjustment, but the intelligence now received had so modified the case as it had been considered in the council of ministers, that he must adjourn our conference until another day, of which he would notify me. Further information was needed, which he looked for hourly from Cuba. I stated that the publication of the events of the 7th and 8th instant would produce a profound impression in the United States, and, indeed, all over the civilized world. The President could not be unmoved by incidents of such gravity occurring on our borders, and perhaps affecting our own citizens and the inviolability of our flag. He had, so far, withheld any demand, believing and expecting that Spain would spon taneously hasten to offer complete reparation for what had occurred respecting the Virginius and her passengers. I need scarcely intimate to his excellency that this question was acquiring from day to day more serious proportions. And in behalf of interests which I was sure he cherished no less sincerely than myself, I trusted not a moment would be lost in arriving at a resolution which I might convey to you with satisfaction. Mr. Carvajal remarked that orders had been sent to the captain-gen |