78 AVES ISLAND. 



public papers allege to have been made by the United States minister 

 at Caraccas in behalf of a Philadelphia company, expressly reserves, 

 as this department is informed, the anterior claims of the Boston 

 discoverers of the Aves Island guano deposits. 

 I am, sir, &c., 



W. L. MARCY. 

 B. B, French, Esq., Washington. 



Mr. Sanford to the President. 



St. JSTicholas Hotel, 

 Neiv York, Becemher 24, 1855. 



Sir: In obedience to your verbal direction, when I had the honor of 

 seeing you on Thursday, the 20th instant, at the Presidential man- 

 sion, I now address you on the subject of Shelton's Isle and the action 

 of the government thereon, having postponed this communication till 

 my arrival here this morning, in order that I might acquire more cer- 

 tain particulars in Baltimore and Philadelphia and this place concern- 

 ing the extraordinary circumstances which I intimated to you there 

 was reason to believe had occurred in that business. 



The department of State possesses documentary proofs of most of the 

 following facts, and of incidental circumstances strengthening Mr. 

 Shelton's claim to the prompt interposition of the government: 



1st. That nearly two years ago, Mr, Shelton's agents, while on a 

 voyage of discovery in the Caribbean sea, expressly for guano, discov- 

 ered and took possession of that derelict isle, and others, containing 

 valuable deposits of guano, and a short time afterwards he sent thither 

 several vessels and men, and brought several cargoes of guano to the 

 United States. 



2d. That after several months' peaceable possession of Shelton's Isle, 

 and after having erected tenements, built wharves, and made other 

 improvements, and hoisted the American flag thereon, Mr. Shelton's 

 agents and men were forcibly ejected by an officer of the Venezuelan 

 navy, in an armed vessel of that navy, and with a military force of 

 that government, and his property on the isle forcibly wrested from 

 his possession by military force, and the American flag struck and the 

 Venezuelan hoisted in its place with a salute, and this outrage was 

 committed by the express order of the Venezuelan government. 



3d. That Mr. Shelton sustained damage to an amount at least of 

 three hundred and forty thousand dollars, and he has been utterly 

 ruined thereby. 



4th. That the Venezuelan government had no pretense of right nor 

 title to the isle 300 miles or more from its coast, either from discov- 

 ery, occupation, or transmission of the right thereof from others, and 

 the outrage was totally unjustifiable, and is now so conceded and 

 admitted by all parties. 



5th. That there are circumstances connected with the attempt first 

 made to defend this outrage, that superadd fraud to the original vio- 



