Don Joseph de Llanos, Captain of the vessel which sailed from London, and Don Joachin Garcia de Luca, of the other which sailed from Cadiz, which, as has been said, have been condemned, have sent me an express, with copies of the said proceedings, which I have had the honor, in concurrence with the said M. Gerard, and in his presence, to deliver to his Excellency the President of the Honorable Congress, who was so kind as to receive them, and to offer to lay them before the Honorable Congress, in order that it may take into consideration an affair of so great consequence, and be pleased to order what is just, as well as it regards the interest of the proprietors of the vessels and cargoes, as the honor due to every neutral flag, and particularly to that of his Catholic Majesty.
Having learnt, that considering that the said court of Boston has not agreed to grant to the said condemned Captains the appeal, which they have made from their sentences to the said Honorable Congress, and which has only been referred to the Supreme Court of the said Province of Massachusetts, they are to judge the said indictment definitively, in the last resort, and that there is no doubt that the first sentences pronounced by the Court of Admiralty of Boston will be confirmed; the said Don Juan de Miralles earnestly requests his Excellency, the said M. Gerard, that he would be pleased to interpose his influence and his mediation with the said Honorable Congress, in order that it may have the goodness to pass a resolution ordering the said Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and every other tribunal, to suspend every proceeding and determination with regard to the aforesaid three Spanish vessels and their cargoes, until the said Honorable Congress shall have decided definitively on this affair, and that this may be done soon, so that the order, which it may be pleased to give, may arrive at Boston before the said 5th of June next, which is the time at which the said causes are to be judged definitively and in the last resort.
JUAN DE MIRALLES.
Philadelphia, May 18, 1779.
The foregoing letter from the Minister of France, together with that of Don Juan de Miralles, was referred to Mr Burke, Mr Duane, and Mr Lovell, who on the 22d delivered in a report, and thereupon Congress passed the following resolution.
Resolved, That the resolutions of Congress passed the 6th day of March last, relative to the control of Congress, by appeal in the last resort, over all jurisdictions for deciding the legality of captures on the high seas, be immediately transmitted to the several States, and that they be respectively requested to take effectual measures for conforming therewith.
Resolved, That the following letter be written to the Minister Plenipotentiary of France, and signed by the President.
"Sir,
"Congress having taken into consideration your letter of the 19th of this month, I am directed to assure you, that as soon as the matter shall in due course come before them, they will attend very particularly to the cases of the vessels, stated in the note from Don Juan de Miralles, to have been sailing under the flag of his Catholic Majesty, and captured by armed vessels under the flag of the United States, and that they will cause the law of nations to be most strictly observed; that if it shall be found after due trial, that the owners of the captured vessels have suffered damage from the misapprehension or violation of the rights of war and neutrality, Congress will cause reparation to be made, in such a manner as to do ample justice, and vindicate the honor of the Spanish flag. That Congress have every possible disposition to cultivate the most perfect harmony with his Catholic Majesty, and to encourage the most liberal and friendly intercourse between his subjects and the citizens of these United States.
"But they cannot consistently with the powers intrusted to them, and the rights of the States and of individuals, in any case suspend or interrupt the ordinary course of justice."