POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 39 



My own experience has taught me the 

 proof of this, and as a further proof, I have 

 in my hand a list of fifteen vessels which 

 sailed for Europe between Sept. 1st and 

 Dec. 23, 1807. Three arrived, two were 

 captured by French or Spanish, one was 

 seized at Hamburg and nine were carried 

 into England." This speech of Senator 

 Smith's caused a good deal of discussion 

 in the Salem papers, and the "Gazette" 

 of Aug. 23, 1808, prints a letter from a mer- 

 chant giving a different story: "Of seven- 

 teen vessels which sailed in the month pre- 

 ceding the embargo, nine reached their 

 ports and have returned in safety, one has 

 landed a profitable cargo in England, and 

 of the rest three have been detained by the 

 French or Spanish and have not yet been 

 condemned." 



How large a proportion of vessels seized 

 were actually condemned the writer has 

 been unable to ascertain. Of forty cases in 

 the High Admiralty Court on appeal, as 

 reported by Acton, condemnation was af- 



