Chapter XXIV: Part 24

8. To what ports and places was the said schooner or vessel concerning which you are now examined bound, the voyage wherein she was taken and seized? to and from what ports or places did she sail the said voyage before she was taken and seized? where did the voyage begin, and where was the voyage to have ended? what sort of lading did she carry at the time of her first setting out on the said voyage, and what particular sort of lading and goods had she on board at the time she was taken and seized, proceeding upon a lawful trade? had she at that time any, and what prohibited goods on board her?

9. Who were the owners of the said schooner and vessel and goods concerning which you are now examined, at the time she was taken and seized? how do you know they were the owners of the said schooner and goods at that time? of what nation are they by birth, and where do they live with their wives and families? and to what Prince or State are they subjects?

10. Was there any bill of sale made to the owners of the said schooner? in what month or year, and where and before what witnesses was the same made, and when did you last see it, and what is become thereof?

11. In what port or place was the lading, which was on board the schooner at the time she was taken and seized, first put on board the said schooner? in what month and year was the lading so put on board? what were the several qualities and quantities, and particulars thereof? whether were the same laden and put on board the said schooner in one port, or at one time, or in several ports and places, and how many by name, and at how many several times, and what particulars and what quantity at each port? who by name were the several laders or owners thereof, and what countrymen are they? where were the said goods to be delivered, and for whose account, and to whom by name did they then really belong?

12. How many bills of lading were signed for the goods seized on board the said schooner? whether were the same colourable, and whether were any bills of lading signed, which were of a different tenor with those which were on board the said schooner at the time she was seized and taken? and what were the contents of such other bills of lading, and what are become thereof?

13. What bills of lading, invoices, letters, or any instruments in writing, or papers, have you to prove your own property, or the property of any other person, and of whom in the schooner and goods, concerning which you are now examined? produce the same, and set forth the particular times when, and how, and in what manner, and upon what account, and for what consideration you became possessed thereof?

14. In what particular port or place, and in what degree of latitude[3] were or was the schooner, concerning which you are now examined, taken and seized? at what time, and upon what day of the month, and in what year, was or were the said schooner so taken and seized?

[Footnote 3: A statement of the longitude, it will be observed, is not required. Any navigator of that time could easily determine his latitude, but there was no accurate method of determining longitude at sea till John Harrison made his trial voyage to Jamaica with his chronometer in 1761-1762.]

15. Whether was there any charter party signed for the voyage, wherein the schooner, concerning which you are now examined, was taken and seized? what is become thereof? when, where, and between whom was the same made? what were the contents thereof?

16. What papers, bills of lading, letters, or other writings, any way concerning or relating to the schooner concerning which you are now examined, were on board the said schooner at the time of the seizure of the said schooner? were any of the papers thrown overboard by any person, and whom, and when, and by whose orders?

17. What loss or damage have you sustained, by reason of the seizing and taking of the said schooner concerning which you are now examined? to what value does such loss or damages amount? and how and after what manner do you compute such loss and damage? have you received any and what satisfaction for such the loss and damage which you have sustained, and when and from whom did you receive the same?

_LA VIRGEN DEL ROSARIO Y EL SANTO CRISTO DE BUEN VIAGE._

_184. Libel of Richard Haddon. March 9, 1757._[1]

[Footnote 1: This document, and all that follow relating to this case, nos. 184-196, are derived from the files of the vice-admiralty court which during the colonial period sat in New York. They are preserved in the offices of the United States district court in that city. In the case of the colonial admiralty courts which sat in Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston, only the record-books of those courts, from which several of our documents were obtained, have survived, and of the other courts apparently nothing; but from the New York admiralty court we have, besides records, a copious mass of papers relating to the cases, preserved by an exceptionally careful assistant register. By the care of Hon. Charles M. Hough, U.S. circuit judge, these papers have been arranged, mounted, and bound in model fashion. In interpreting the papers here printed, the editor has been much assisted by an opportunity to read a manuscript of Judge Hough's concerning them.

The case of the _Virgen del Rosario_, more exactly the cases of Richard Haddon _v._ 10 Doubloons, etc., of Ybanez _v._ L2409, and of the King _v._ Thomas Miller and Sampson Simpson, give excellent illustrations of the chicanery with which prize cases could be conducted and of the manner in which through admiralty courts the ends of justice could be defeated. The materials are copious. The history of the capture is sufficiently set forth in docs. no. 187 and no. 188. The legal history of the case may be summarized as follows. Sept. 20, 1756, Nathaniel Marston and Jasper Farmar petition governor and council for a privateer's commission for the _Peggy_ or _Charming Peggy_, whereof Richard Haddon was to be commander, Christopher Miller lieutenant; _Cal. N.Y. Hist. MSS._, II. 659. Sept. 29, 1756, the commission is granted. Dec. 7, 1756, the _Peggy_ captures the schooner _La Virgen del Rosario y el Santo Christo de Buen Viage_, plunders her, and lets her go. (It will be remembered that Great Britain was not at war with Spain at this time, but only with France.) Mar. 5, 1757, the _Peggy_ arrives at New York, "having taken as many Prizes during her Cruize as she could well man"; _Pennsylvania Gazette_, Mar. 10. Mar. 9, Haddon libels the plunder (doc. no. 184). Mar. 31, the admiralty judge decrees that it shall be his, provided no better claimant arises within a year and a day, and provided he furnishes sureties to the register of the court to the value of L2409. 4s. 11d.; notes of Sir William Burrell on this case in _Reports of Cases determined by the High Court of Admiralty and upon Appeal therefrom, temp. Sir Thomas Saulsbury and Sir George Hay_, ed. R.G. Marsden (London, 1885), pp. 185-186. July 26, 1757, the sureties present their account of sales (doc. no. 186). Feb. 17, 1758, and Mar. 10, on pressure from London, where Captain Ybanez has made his complaint, the advocate general in New York files a claim for money and goods, in the king's name, to restore them to the Spaniards. Apr. 5, the sureties demur. Apr. 19, the judge dismisses the advocate general's claim. Sept. 27, 1758, Ybanez files his own claim or libel (doc. no. 188), but the judge rules Feb. 10, 1759, that his time had expired (Marsden, _loc. cit._). Dec. 19, 1760, the Lords Commissioners of Appeals in Prize Causes reverse the colonial court, and condemn the captor in costs and damages (_ibid._, and doc. no. 195). July 4 and 26, 1761, the New York judge declares that, while the Lords of Appeal had apparently reversed his decree of Mar. 31, 1757, on Haddon's libel, they had not reversed his decree of Feb. 10, 1759, on that of Ybanez, the decree actually appealed from (court papers). But so the matter had been dragged on until, Jan. 4, 1762, Great Britain declared war against Spain, and it may be considered certain that Ybanez never recovered anything; perhaps he did not deserve to, for pretty clearly he had been violating or evading the laws of his own country.

Meanwhile, July 14, 1758, the advocate general, on account of irregularities on Haddon's part violating his commission as a privateer, had sued his bondsmen (King _v._ Miller and Simpson). Their counsel moved for a commission to take evidence in Havana, which was granted by the court, Sept. 2, 1758; hence docs. nos. 189, 191-194. June 27, 1761, on all the evidence now collected, the court decreed forfeiture of the bond. July 7, 1761, the sureties appealed (doc. no. 196), but there is no record evidence that their appeal was ever perfected, or that they ever paid. See doc. 196, note 1.]

Province of New York } To the Honourable Lewis
Court of Vice Admiralty } Morris Esqr[2] Commissary
and Judge of the Court of
Vice Admiralty for the province
of New York.

[Footnote 2: Lewis Morris (1698-1762)--son of Lewis Morris the governor of New Jersey and father of Lewis Morris the signer of the Declaration of Independence, of Richard Morris the judge, and of Gouverneur Morris--was admiralty judge in New York from 1738 to 1762. His own record of his life, from his family Bible, is in _N.Y. Gen. and Biog. Record_, VII. 16-18.]

The Lybell of Richard Haddon of the City of New York Marriner[3] Commander of the private vessell of Warr called the _Peggy_ in behalf of himself and the Owners and Company of the said Schooner _Peggy_ in all Humble Manner Sheweth unto your honor that his most Gracious Majesty George the Second, by the Grace of God of Great Brittain france and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, Vfd. by his Commission under the seal of the Court of Vice Admiralty of New York Bearing date the Twenty Ninth Day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Seven hundred and fifty Six writeing as is therein Recited did thereby Grant Commission to and Lycence and Authorize Jasper Farmer[4] and Nathaniell Marston[5] of the City of New York Merchants to Sett forth in warr Like manner the said Schooner called the _peggy_ under the Command of the said Richard Haddon, therewith by force of Arms to Attack, Surprize, Seize and take by and with the said Schooner and the crew thereof any place or fortress upon the Land or any Ship or Vessell, Goods, Amunition, Arms, Stores of Warr or Merchandize belonging to or possessed by any of his said Majesties Enemies in any Sea, Creek, Haven or River and Such other Ships, Vessells and Goods which are or shall be Lyable to Confiscation pursuant to the treaties between his Said Majesty and Other princes, States and potentates and to bring the same to such port as should be most convenient in Order to have them Legally Adjudged in his said Majesties high Court of Admiralty of England or before the Judges of such other Admiralty Court as Shall be Lawfully Authorized within his Majesties Dominions, which being Condemned it Should and might be Lawfull for the said Richard Haddon to sell and Dispose of Such Ships, Vessells, and Goods, Amunition, Arms, Stores of Warr or Merchandise so Adjudged and Condemned in Such sort and Manner as by the Course of the Admiralty hath been Accustomed as by the said Commission may more fully Appear, and the said Richard Haddon Doth further Show unto your Honour that in pursuance of his Said Commission on or About the Seventh Day of December Last past being on the High Seas within the Jurisdiction of this Court in the said Schooner _Peggy_ with his Company and Crew on Board the Same in or About the Latitude of twenty-one Degrees and Eighteen Minutes North Longitude Eighty Seven[6] Degrees fifty Seven Minutes West from London he did meet with, sett upon and take a Certain Schooner Belonging to the Subjects of the french King Enemies of our Said Lord King George the Second, having on Board ten Doubleloons,[7] five thousand seven hundred and Sixty four Dollars, one hundred and five pistereens,[8] and Some Small Silver as also one Bracelett, twenty Gold rings, Some Silver Buckells, six Swivell Guns, Some Shott, one Cask of Powder, Some Cutlasses and one Kegg of Indigo being the Money, Chattles, Goods and Effects of the Subjects of the french King, Enemies of our Said Lord King George the Second, which money, Bracelett, Rings, Buckells, Swivell Guns, Shott, powder, Cutlasses and Indigo Belonging to the Subjects of the french King and Enemies of our Said Lord King George the Second the said Richard Haddon hath brought into this his Majesties port of New York in the said Schooner _Peggy_ in Order to have the Same Legally Condemned by the Sentence and Decree of this Honourable Court (But the said Schooner being unfitt to Come upon a Winters Coast and he the said Richard Haddon having a Great Number of prisoners Delivered her to a Number of them to Carry them to some french port After takeing out of her the Money, Goods and Chattles aforesaid) Wherefore the said Richard Haddon Humbly prays your Honour that the said Money, Bracelett, Rings, Buckells, Swivell Guns, Shott, Powder, Cutlasses and Indigo Aforesaid belonging to the Subjects of the french King and Enemies of our Said Lord the King may by the Sentence and Adjudication of this Honourable Court be Condemned as Lawfull prize to the Use of the said Richard Haddon and the Owners and Company of the said Schooner _Peggy_ According to the Common Right of Nations and the Law of Arms in Such Case used.

RICHD. MORRIS Pr.[9] for the Lybellent.

[Footnote 3: Richard Haddon, mariner, was a New Jersey man, but became a freeman of New York City in 1749; _N.Y. Hist. Soc. Fund Pubs._, 1885, p. 167. An extract from a letter of his, written during this same cruise, Dec. 29, 1756, and conveying valuable information he had picked up respecting the proposed expedition of the French up the Mississippi to the Illinois country, is printed in _N.Y. Col. Docs._, VII. 219; it was an enclosure in a letter from Governor Hardy of New York to Secretary Pitt, Feb. 26, 1757, printed in Miss Kimball's _Correspondence of William Pitt_, I. 12; _cf._ p. 31.]

[Footnote 4: Jasper Farmer, merchant, owner in several privateers of the time, and militia captain, was killed a few months later, Apr. 23, 1758, by one whom he was trying to impress.]

[Footnote 5: Also an owner in several privateers; will (1778) in _N.Y. Hist. Soc. Fund Pubs._, 1900, p. 50.]

[Footnote 6: A scribe must have misread the figure 81, which appears in other documents, into 87. In reality, 87 deg. 57' W., in the latitude named, would locate the capture on dry land, in Yucatan. It took place near the Isle of Pines, south of the western part of Cuba.]

[Footnote 7: A doubloon was a Spanish gold coin, equal to $8.24.]

[Footnote 8: A pistareen or peseta was equal to about 19 cents.]

[Footnote 9: Proctor. Richard Morris (1730-1810), son of the judge (note 2, above), and at this time practising in the court, succeeded his father as admiralty judge in 1762 (commission Oct. 16, see doc. no. 180, note 1), and served as such till 1776, when he took the American side. From 1779 to 1790 he was chief justice of the Supreme Court of New York.]

[_Endorsements:_] New York Court of Vice Admiralty.--

Richd. Haddon in Behalf of himself the Owners and Comp'y of the Schooner _Peggy_ _v._ 10 Doubleloons, 5764 Dollars, 105 Pisterreens, one Bracelett, 20 Gold rings, Some Silver Buckells, Some Small Silver, six Swivell Guns, Some Shott, one Cask of Powder, Some Cutlasses and one Bagg of Indigo.--Read and filed Wednesday the 9th of March 1757. Proclamations Wednesday the 9th, Thursday the 10th and Fryday 11th March. Sentence Thursday 31st of March.

_185. Deposition of Francisco Raphe. March 31, 1757._[1]

[Footnote 1: The document is endorsed as filed on the same date.]

Province of New York ss.

The Deposition of Francisco Raphe Having been before Sworn and now Examined on the part and behalf of Richard Haddon Commander of the private Vessel of War the _Peggy_, Against Ten Doubleloons, five Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty four Dollars, One Hundred and five Pisterreens, one Bracelet, Twenty Gold Rings, Some Silver Buckles, Some Small Silver, Six Swivel Guns, Some Shot, one Cask of Powder, Some Cuttlasses and one Keg of Indigo.

1. To the first Interrogatory this Deponent saith that his Name is Francis Rafe, and is twenty Six Years of Age, that he is a Native of Sierra[2] in Greece and Subject to the Grand Turk, by Ocupation a Mariner.

[Footnote 2: Presumably the island of Psyra in the Aegean, now called Psara.]

2. To the second He says, that two Days after the Vessel he was on board of Sailed out of Cuba they were taken by Capn. Haddon, which was about December last, that he does not know the Vessels Name of which he was aboard for she had no Regular Commander, no Dispatches or Papers of any kind from any Port or Place whatsoever And he believes that had said Vessel been taken by any Vessel of any Nation she would have been a lawfull prize, and had she been taken by a Spanish Guarda Costa, the whole Ships Crew would have been Hanged as Pirates, that there were on board of all Nations almost, as Genoves, French and others, In Number Seventy two, and that one of the Chief in Particular was a Frenchman Subject to the French King. That He knows no further to Declare in Relation to any other Interrogatories, but only that He absolutly from all the Knowledge he can form thinks her to be a just and Lawfull prize.

FRANCISCO RAPHE.

Examined the 31st March Anno Dom 1757 (GARRET NOEL, Spanish Interpreter)[3] RICHD. NICHOLS Reg'er.[4]

[Footnote 3: "Spanish interpreter of the province of New York"; _Cal. N.Y. Hist. MSS._, II. 662, and _Cal. Council Minutes_, p. 443. Elder in the Presbyterian Church; _Cal. N.Y. Hist. MSS._, II. 698, and _Doc. Hist. N.Y._, III. 300. Schoolmaster; _N.Y. Hist. Soc. Fund Pubs._, 1885, p. 177. "Mr. Garret Noel, for many years a respectable bookseller in New York, died at Elizabethtown, N.J., September 20, 1776, aged 70"; _ibid._, 1899, p. 370.]

[Footnote 4: Register of the court of admiralty till his death, Aug. 19, 1775. "During a residence in New York of 60 years he followed the Profession of Law. He was of a respectable family in Wales". _Ibid._, 1899, p. 296, where his will is given.]

_186. Account of Sales. July 26, 1757._[1]

[Footnote 1: The document is not dated; the date may be supplied from doc. no. 188, p. 550, _infra_.]

Sales of Sundrys takeing and Brot. in by the Privateer Schooner _Peggy_ Richd. Haddon Commr.

1 Brasslett L 2. 0. 0 20 Gold Rings Case Mattle[2] @ 8/ 8. 0. 0 Some Odd Silver Buckles 2. 0. 0 Some Small Silver 1.12. 7 6 Swivle Gunns @ 40/ 12. 0. 0 Some Shott 9. 6 Cagg Powder 2.12. 0 Some Cuttlasses 18. 0 1 Kegg Indigo 10. 3. 4-3/4 --------------- 39.15. 5-3/4 5764 Dollars @ 8/ L2305.12. 0 10 Doubleloons @ 112/ 56. 0. 0 105 Pistereens 1/6 7.17. 6 --------------- 2369. 9. 6 --------------- L2409. 4.11-3/4 ---------------

[Footnote 2: Metal? The valuation indicates alloyed gold. The slanting mark after 8 is for shillings, and the shilling in this account is the New York shilling, equivalent to 12-1/2 cents.]

Errors Excepted

THOS. MILLER.[3]

[Footnote 3: Thomas Miller was a nephew of Jasper Farmer; C.F. Billopp, _History of Thomas and Ann Billopp Farmer_, pp. 45, 46.]

_187. Deposition of Don Felipe Ybanez.[1] September 2, 1758._

[Footnote 1: In some of the documents the name is found written, by ignorant scribes, Philip y Banes, and therefore it is found under Banes in some indexes. Ybanez, arriving in Jamaica soon after the capture, complained to Vice-Adm. George Townshend, commanding on that station, of the "piratical behavior" of Haddon. Townshend wrote to the secretary of the admiralty, enclosing affidavits. Holdernesse, secretary of state, sent on May 20, 1757, a circular to the colonial governors, printed in _N.C. Col. Rec._, V. 756, expressing his Majesty's indignation at such actions toward a neutral, and ordered the governor of New York to proceed against Haddon. The _Calendar of Council Minutes_, p. 434, shows the letter to have been received, July 16. On Sept. 16 Secretary Pitt sent a circular to the governors with strict commands against molesting Spanish subjects; Kimball, _Corr. of William Pitt_, I. 105. On Feb. 13, 1758, Lieutenant-governor James DeLancey writes (_ibid._, I. 181) that this circular had been received Jan. 19, and that a proclamation had at once been issued. He adds, "Capt. Phillip Ybannes who was plundered by Capt. Richard Haddon is now here and I have put him in a way to recover the loss he has sustained and if he meets with Justice in the Admiralty he cannot fail of a recompence."]

Province of New York. Court of Vice Admiralty.

The Deposition of Don Phelipe Ybanes being before Sworn and now Examined on the part of our Lord the King on the Lybel of William Kempe, Esqr.[2] his Majes'ys Advocate General for this Province of New York Against Thomas Miller and Sampson Simpson[3] Defendants.

[Footnote 2: Attorney general 1752-1759, advocate general 1753-1759, d. 1759. He filed his claim on behalf of the crown Feb. 17 and Mar. 10; the judge dismissed it Apr. 19, 1758, on the ground that the king had no interest in the goods. Marsden, p. 185; doc. no. 188, and other papers.]

[Footnote 3: Samson or Sampson Simson, d. 1773, son of Rabbi Joseph Simson and uncle of that Samson Simson who founded the Mt. Sinai Hospital, was the chief Jewish merchant in New York, owner of several privateers, and later one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce. At this time he was _parnas residente_ (president) of the Congregation Shearith Israel, till 1825 the one Jewish congregation in New York. _Publications of the American Jewish Hist. Soc._, II. 83, III. 81, X. 109-117, XI. 155, XXI. 74, XXV. 90. Dr. Benjamin Kennicott, in _The Ten Annual Accounts of the Collation of Hebrew MSS. of the Old Testament_ (Oxford, 1770), p. 161, mentions information from President Cooper in New York "that Mr. Sampson Simson, a very worthy and benevolent old Gentleman, of the Jewish persuasion, living in that city, is in possession of a MS. of very great antiquity, containing the whole Hebrew Bible"--on which see Ezra Stiles, _Literary Diary_, III. 3, 32.]

1st. This Deponent saith that his Name is Phelipe Ybanes Aged thirty seven years Born at St. Lucar[4] in Old Spain by Ocupation a Mariner and subject to the King of Spain.

[Footnote 4: At the mouth of the Guadalquivir. Columbus sailed thence on his third voyage, in 1498.]

2ly. That his first knowledge of Richd. Haddon and the Schooner _Peggy_ was on the sixth or Seventh Day of December 1756. That he first knew the Schooner called the _Virgin of the Rosary and Santo Christo_ in the year 1756 when he bought her in Jamaica. That she belonged to Port Trinity[5] on the Island of Cuba immediately before the 6th and 7th Days of December 1756. He this Depon't being then Commander of said Schooner having his Resident in the Havana with his Family. That he was on board said Schooner on the 6th and 7th days of December 1756 as Commander and Owner. That said Schooner was not then Equipped to use Force in any manner but only as a trading Vessel. That she had on board three small Guns unloaded and Six Swivel Guns, three of which were Loaded with Ball in Case of Necessity to make Signals but all in the Hold for Ballast, and fourteen Hangers,[6] which was all the Arms on board. That he this Deponent was sole Owner of said Schooner at that time. That when he this Deponent was met with by Richd. Haddon on the 6th or 7th Day of December 1756, he[7] came from Port Trinity but last from Port Banes[8] Eight Leagues from the Havana in the same District where he touched and took in for Jamaica, where he was Bound, two Passengers both Eng'h Subjects named Henry Myerhoffer[9] and Willm. Abbot[10] Beside which he took in Eight Spaniards. That they then made to the Number of Sixteen Spaniards on board and two English, seven of which were Mariners. The Names of the Spaniards were Don Phelipe Ybanes Capn. and Owner, Don Francisco Garcia, Pasqual de Cordova, Don Geronimo de la Cal, Cayetano Peres, Pablo Antonio Corea, Marcelino Marero, Silvestre Manuel de Castro, Miguel de Fuentes, Henry Myerhoffer, and Wm. Abbot English Passengers, Juan Lorenso Boatswain, Matheas Antonio, Antonio Malacallo, Bedro Valderama, Antonio Gonis, Bernardo Martines, Antonio Navarette, Mariners. That the Spanish Passengers were Residents at the Havana with their Families and so were the Seamen Except one who is a Resident at St. Agustin. That the motive of the Spanish passengers going in said Schooner was to trade at Jamaica. That said Schooner had no more Mariners on board than is Customary nor so many as is quite Necessary for such a Vessel. That there was no such person on board said Schooner as Francisco Raphel[11] at the time she was taken by Richd. Haddon nor any French Subjects.

[Footnote 5: Trinidad, near the middle of the south side of Cuba.]

[Footnote 6: Small short swords.]

[Footnote 7: The deponent.]

[Footnote 8: Cabanas, 35 miles west of Havana.]

[Footnote 9: A German living in Georgia, see doc. no. 194, paragraph 5.]

[Footnote 10: Also a resident of Georgia (_ibid._); constable of Frederica some years before, _Col. Rec. Ga._, VI. 210.]

[Footnote 11: See doc. no. 185.]

3ly. That all the Papers was the Licence and some Letters for some Merch'ts at Kingston in Jamaica. That said Licence was for said Schooner to go from Port Trinity to Port Mansanillo[12] which Licence and said Papers was taken from said Don Phelipe Ybanes by said Richd. Haddon by Force. That he this Deponent as soon as he came on board the Privateer shewed Richd. Haddon his Licence.

[Footnote 12: Manzanillo is on the south coast of Cuba, two hundred miles east of Trinidad, and thus on the way to Jamaica! It should be mentioned that export of provisions from Cuba to Jamaica was forbidden by Spanish regulations.]

4ly. That at the time of the Seizure of said Schooner, the Cargoe consisted of the following particulars--Six Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy five Spanish Heavy Dollars,[13] Six Hundred and Sixteen Dollars in Dobloons, two Hundred and Eighty Dollars in Gold Trinkets, a Bag[14] of Indigo [of] 125 lbs., the greatest part of the Schooners Provisions, the Spanish Colours, about 50 lbs. Gun Powder, Six Swivel Guns, about twenty Balls, a Box Sweetmeats Value Forty Dollars, and fourteen Hangers--all which belonged to this Deponent and other Spanish Subjects now in New York.

[Footnote 13: _Pesos fuertes_, Mexican hard dollars.]

[Footnote 14: Elsewhere _kagg_, keg.]

5ly. That said Richd. Haddon when he met with the said Spanish Schooner fired a Ball at her notwithstanding she had her Spanish Colours Flying and had brought to to speak with said Haddon and the Reason that induced said Deponent not to make the most of his way from said Privateer was that he knew the two Crowns of England and Spain to be in Friendship. That the Privateer Boat came on board said Spanish Schooner with a Lieut. Christop'r Miller[15] by Name and seven more Seamen. That he this Deponent shewed said Lieut. his Licence telling him at the same time that they were Spaniards and the Vessel and Cargoe Span'h property, From whence they came and whither Bound. That said Lieut. and People seemed very Civil and Regular till they discovered the Money which as soon as they had done, they Insisted on the Spaniards having run away with it and gave that as a pretence for Seising it which they did and carryed the same away by Force with other particulars already mentioned by this Deponent. That said Richd. Haddon did order this Deponent and all the People (except two or three) on board the Privateer and there treated them as Prisoners, said Haddon being on board. That he this Deponent told said Haddon from whence he came and where he was bound to and that he was a Subject of Spain and declared that Himself was Commander of said Schooner when she Sailed from the Havana and that he shewed said Haddon his Licence and other Papers. That said Haddon did not declare that he would carry the said Schooner to the Havana, on the contrary this Deponent and the People belonging to the Spanish Schooner were very desirous of it and requested of him to carry them there. That said Rd. Haddon's Lieut. and People did by Force and Violence Seize said Money and Effects and carry them away against the Consent and Solisitation of this Deponent and people belonging to said Spanish Schooner. That said Span'h Schooner was at that time in good Order and well Conditioned both as to her Hull, Sails and Rigging and fitt to come to New York. That this Depont. desired of sd. Rd. Haddon that the Money might be Counted but sd. Haddon Refused it. That when this Deponent and People were brought on board the Privateer they were all of them Searched and Money and Effects taken from the Several following Persons. From Miguel Fuentes 1 pair Silver Buckles and 1 pair Gold Buttons, From Don Geronimo de la Cal 1 pair of silver Buckles and a Ring, From Pablo Antonio Corea 1 pr Silver Buckles, From Cayetano Peres 1 pair Silver Buckles and four Dollars. All these were taken from the People beside the Money and Effects brought from on board the Spanish Schooner. That said Rd. Haddon never told them that he would proceed to New York in order to Lybel the Money and Effects aforesaid but on the Contrary Endeavoured to Conceal his Name and from whence he came as much as possible from this Deponent and his people. That there never was any Agreement between this Deponent and his People with Rd Haddon or anything like it relating to the Money and Effects aforesaid. That said Richd. Haddon's Lieut. Chrsr. Miller by Name, with some of the Mariners belonging to said Privateer, did treat this Deponent and Comp'y belonging to said Spanish Schooner with threatning and abusive Language on Returning them on board said Spanish Vessel. That said Rd. Haddon did not offer to bring this Depont. and People to New York, for as was declared before He did not mention New York nor did this Deponent and People know he came from thence. That said Rd. Haddon did take from on board said Spanish Schooner and carry away with him in the said private Vessel of War, two Passengers by Names Henry Myerhoffer and Willm. Abbot both subjects of Great Britn. That this Deponent did Request said Richd. Haddon to carry him to some Eng'h Port but was refused. That he this Deponent did Request from said Richd. Haddon a Receipt or Certificate Acknowledging that he the sd Rd. Haddon had taken from on board the said Span'h Schooner the Money and Effects aforesaid, which said Deponent Requested in order to shew as a proof of what had happened to him. That the said Richd. Haddon did thereupon give this Deponent a Receipt or Certificate, but afterwards said Receipt was Demanded from him by the said Christopher Miller which this Deponent Refusing to Return, said Chrisr. Miller did by Threats, Force and Violence take said Receipt or Certificate from this said Deponent as they were in a Boat in their Return on board said Spanish Schooner.

[Footnote 15: A nephew of Jasper Farmer; C.F. Billopp, _History of Thomas and Ann Billopp Farmer_, pp. 45, 46.]

6ly. To this Interrogatory can say Nothing.

7ly. That said Spanish Schooner after the Transaction aforesaid did Return to the Havana, where he this Deponent was informed by some Frenchmen that had been taken by said Rd. Haddon since this Deponent, that sd Haddon had proceeded in said Private Vessel of War to Sta. Lucea[16] on the Island of Jamaica, whereupon this Deponent determined to go there in Quest of him in order to procure Satisfaction for the Injury he had Received from him. That shortly after the Arrival of this Deponent at the Havana, an English Man of War came into that Port. That He this Deponent made Application to the Capn. for his Advice and Assistance, who thereupon gave him a Certificate to the Governour and the Admiral Stationed at Jamaica. That this Deponent thereupon proceeded to Santa Lucea but said Rd. Haddon was sailed from thence before this Deponent arrived there. That said Haddon was at Santa Lucea fifteen Days as this Deponent was Informed. That he there met with the two aforesaid Englishmen, that this Depont. had taken Passengers in his Schooner, but were carryed away by said Richd. Haddon. That this Deponent proceeded afterward with said Spanish Schooner to Kingston on Jamaica and there made his Complaints to the Governor and Admiral against Rd. Haddon.[17] That the said two Englishmen who had been Passengers in said Spanish Schooner, did make Oath before the Governor of Jamaica of the Transactions of said Rd. Haddon his Officers and People. That the Exhibits now Shewn him marked A No 1 and No 2 are the Affidavits lay'd before the Governor of Jamaica in support of the Truth of the Complaints made by him this Deponent against said Rd. Haddon, his Officers and People which this Deponent brought with him from Jamaica to New York. That the Name Subscribed to the Affidavit in the Exhibit marked A No 1 is his own Hand Writing and attested as Expressed in said Instrument of Writing. That said Henry Myerhoffer did Subscribe his Name to the Affidavit and that he knows that to be his Hand Writing in the Exhibit marked A No 2, and that he attested the same in manner therein Expressed. That Admiral Townsend in pursuance of the said Complaint and proofs Dispatched a small Man of War under his Command in pursute of said Richd. Haddon in order to bring said Schooner _Peggy_ into Port Royal[18] on the Island of Jamaica aforesaid.

[Footnote 16: Now Lucea, at the northwest corner of the island.]

[Footnote 17: Henry Moore, lieutenant governor, was acting as governor. The preceding governor, Vice-Adm. Charles Knowles, had lately removed the seat of government from Spanish Town to Kingston.]

[Footnote 18: Port Royal, on the south side of Kingston harbor, was the first capital of the island; but probably Ybanez means the harbor.]

8ly. That this Deponent did afterward Return to The Havana and Arrived there on or about the 16 May 1757. That said Admiral Townsend did afterward arrive at the Havana and Advised this Deponent to proceed to New York not doubting but he would receive Satisfaction for the Injury done him by said Rd. Haddon his Officers and Crew belonging to said Schooner _Peggy_ and that in Case he should not Receive the Satisfaction he Expected, then to proceed with the Affidavits to London to demand it there. That said Admiral being then in the Havana gave him a Letter to the Gover'r of New York Recommending to him to procure Justice to be done to this Deponent.

9ly. Does not belong to this Deponent to Ansr.

Lastly, He says that he knows of nothing further Necessary to or Concerning these Interrogatories.

PHELIPE YBANES.

Examined the 2d of September Anno Dom 1758. (Assisted by Garrat Noel Sworn Spanish Interpreter) RICH'D NICHOLLS, Regr.[19]

[Footnote 19: The document is endorsed as filed Sept. 2.]

_188. Libel of Felipe Ybanez. September 27, 1758._

Province of New York } To the Honourable Lewis
Court of Vice Admiralty } Morris Esqr. Commissary
and judge of the
Court of Vice Admiralty
for the Province of New
York.

The Lybel and Claim of Philip y Banes otherwise called Philip Vanes, otherwise called Philip de Francis,

Humbly Sheweth,