The Amiable Nancy. riners, against the appellants, as owners of the private armed brig the Scourge. The facts were in brief as follows: The Amiable Nancy, a neutral vessel, on a voyage from Port-au-Prince to Bermuda, but steering, at the time of capture, for Antigua, was boarded in the year eighteen hundred and fourteen by a crew sent for the purpose of search and examination, by the commander of the Scourge. Having ascertained her neutral character, and the regularity of her papers, which employed about ten minutes, the crew of the Scourge, instead of returning to their own vessel, continued two hours on board of the Nancy; during which time they plundered the libellants of property valued by themselves at five hundred and seventy-nine dollars, and took away some articles belonging to the vessel, worth about twenty-five dollars. They also destroyed or carried away the schooner's papers, and beat and otherwise ill treated the supercargo and mari ners. The schooner being abandoned by the boarding crew, pursued her course for Antigua, where she arrived the fourth day after her detention as aforesaid, and was there seized by his Britannic Majesty's guard brig the Spider; in whose possession she remained about a fortnight. She was then libelled in the vice-admiralty of Antigua, and a condemnation expected, as is alleged, on the ground of her not being furnished with any papers. No counsel was employed, but a condemnation was suffered to pass by default, on a previous agreement between the captors and supercargo, entered into by the advice of the merchant who acted as consignee, that immediately after the condemnation, the schooner and cargo should be delivered to the supercargo, on his paying one thousand dollars to the captors, and all law and court charges. The supercargo was obliged to take away the balance in spe The Amiable Nancy. cie, he being allowed to put no cargo on board in consequence of the condemnation. This sum of one thousand dollars was accordingly paid to the captors, as also five hundred and forty-two dollars and twenty-one cents for Court and law charges; to raise which, in specie, as no other money would be received, and also specie to take away with him, it became necessary to sell at a great discount the bills which had been given in payment of the schooner's cargo, which occasioned a further loss of five hundred and thirty-six dollars and fortyfour cents. The whole sum disbursed for the items already mentioned, and for sundries supplied the schooner during her detention, amounted to two thousand one hundred and twenty-seven dollars and forty cents. The cargo, at the time of the plunder, consisted of 3124 barrels of corn, and one of arrow root, the invoice price of which at Portau-Prince, exclusive of some charges, was sixteen hundred and twenty-one dollars and fifty-six cents. The corn was sold at Antigua, but before permission could be obtained for that purpose, the price of this article had fallen a dollar per bushel. Some of the corn was injured by the Spider's crew, who had mixed damaged with good corn, which caused a fermentation, that rendered it unfit for use; and it was in consequence thrown overboard, which produced a loss of twelve hundred dollars; at least the corn sold, which was 944 bushels, netted two thousand six hundred and one dollars and nine cents. The maintenance of the master and supercargo while at Antigua, twenty-five tons stone ballast, the charge for protest, and allowing fifteen dollars per day for the expense of the schooner, while lying at Antigua, amounted to four hundred and fourteen dollars. The cargo might have been sold at Antigua (but for the interruption of the Spider,) for rum, and the probable amount of sales in that case would have been three thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars. This rum, it is stated The Amiable Nancy. might have been sold at St. Bartholomews, where it is said the schooner would have gone, had she not been captured by the Spider, and would have there produced probably more than four thousand dollars. It appears further, that the original plan of the voyage was to sell the cargo at Bermuda. The price of corn at which place is not mentioned, except it is stated to be very high. At Bermuda eight hundred muskets were to be taken in, which had already been contracted for at three dollars each, and for which the Hay tien government was under agreement (which however is not produced,) to pay sixteen dollars a piece. From Antigua the schooner proceeded to St. Bartholomews, where she took in sundry articles, which sold, at an average, at the enormous profit of about three hundred per cent. at Port-au-Prince. Some of the parties concerned in the plunder of this schooner, have been tried by a naval court martial and punished for their misconduct. On this evidence, the District Court ordered the clerk to associate to himself two respectable merchants, and with them to estimate the damages sustained by the libellants by reason of the capture, and detention of the Amiable Nancy. 1. Those arising from the destruction of and taking and carrying away property from on board the said vessel. 2. All the expenses incurred at Antigua, including the loss on the corn and wages of the crew. 3. Interest on the amount of damages thus arising, from the time of the vessel's leaving Antigua. 4. A reasonable allowance for coming to the United States to prosecute this claim, collect testimony, &c. 5. The Court further ordered, that the claim for damages, for personal injuries, and counsel fees, be allowed; but that the assessment of the same be made by the Court on the filing and confirmation of the clerk's report. The Amiable Nancy. In obedience to this order the clerk, and merchants as associated with him reported, that they had assessed the damages as follows: Monies paid for redeeming vessel and cargo at An tigua after condemnation $2,127 60 Loss sustained on the sales of the cargo of corn at Antigua in consequence of the capture Detention, wages of the crew at Antigua in consequence of the Spider brig, occasioned by the loss of ship's papers Articles of plunder from the Schooner Money and effects plundered from Mr. Roux, the supercargo from the master from the mate 1,200 00 414 00 25 00 470 00 100 00 80 00 124 00 from four of the mariners Losses sustained in consequence of the expenses occasioned by the seizure and condemnation in Antigua, growing out of the schooner having been deprived of her papers by the crew of the Scourge, as proved by the deposition of Sam uel Dawson and T. Lavand of Port-au-Prince 3,500 00 Interest on this sum from 1st January, 1815, to 1st July, 1817, at 6 per cent. per annum Allowance for Mr. Roux's expenses to and from Port au-Prince, Antigua, Boston, &c. detention in 1,206 07 1,500 00 $10,746 67 This report was filed and confirmed on the 30th June, 1817, when the Court further decreed, that For counsel fees, proctor's fees, and the costs of Court 750 2500 00 $13,246 67 making a sum total to be paid by the appellants of $13,246 67. From this decree the owners of the Scourge have appealed to this Court, and contend, 1. That the District Court had no jurisdiction of the cause. This Court will not stop to inquire whether it be too late to urge this objection to the decree, because, which is one answer given to it by the respondent, no plea to the jurisdiction was interposed below; for it entertains no doubt that the libel was properly filed in that Court, and that error would have been committed if it had been dismissed on that ground. Some doubts were expressed whether, if such cases be cognizable in the District Court, they are so in virtue of the powers which it possesses as a prize, or of those which exercise it as an instance Court; and it was supposed, or at least intimated, by one of the appellant's counsel, that if cases of this kind were to be regarded as appendages of its prize jurisdiction, the present suit could not be sustained, in as much as the District Court possessed no such jurisdiction, without some special act of Congress conferring it. In support of this position, the practice of Great Britain was referred to. |