110 ^ AVES ISLAND. 



One of these is, that the department should indicate to you what 

 proof it ^' deems requisite and sufficient" to sustain the claim of 

 Shelton, Tappan, and others against the government of Venezuela 

 for their expulsion from the Aves Islands, and consequent losses and 

 damages. 



Upon more mature reflection j^ou will doubtless perceive the imprac- 

 ticability of complying Avith this request. The claimants themselves, 

 and recently you in their behalf, have presented a case to this depart- 

 ment claiming redress from Venezuela upon certain specific and well- 

 defined grounds, and damages have been claimed for losses alleged to 

 have been actually sustained. It is not the province of the depart- 

 ment to designate the nature of the evidence by which the claimants 

 should substantiate their claim. It is to be presumed, of course, that 

 the same care will be taken to obtain the most positive proof of which 

 the case is susceptible, as though the claim were to be subjected to the 

 scrutiny of a court of justice. 



The department cannot engage in the stipulation which you propose, 

 to the eifect that, if the claimants enter the courts of the United 

 States for redress against the Philadelphia Guano Company, the diplo- 

 matic negotiations in their behalf shall not be prejudiced or estopped 

 thereby. In regard to a "suit in chancery," or any other judicial 

 proceedings, the claimants must use their own discretion, guided by 

 such legal advice as they may see fit to adopt. In this respect, how- 

 ever, the department does not perceive the analogy between the case 

 under consideration and that of McFadden vs. the Vengeance, (Query 

 Exchange?) in 7 Cranch Eep., to which you have been referred '^as 

 showing that the express authority of the government for such suit is 

 primarily necessary." 



I think it fair to acquaint you that on Saturday, 22d, dispatches 

 were received from Mr. Eames, one of which, relating to Mr. Shelton's 

 case, was of the date 12th ultimo. With this Mr. Eames transmitted 

 a copy of the contract made with Mr. Pickrell, a transcript of which, 

 in the original Spanish, I herewith inclose. At the moment of writing 

 Mr. Eames had not received all the instructions and documents whicl* 

 the department has forwarded to him upon that subject,* and he ex- 

 pressly regrets ''that, in a case of such magnitude, the claimants 

 have not furnished more ample materials upon which to estimate the 

 amount of the indemnification to which they are entitled. Should 

 such further materials, however, not reach me by the next arrival 

 from the United States, now daily expected, I shall deem it my duty, 

 under your instructions, to urge strongly the claim, as it now stands, 

 upon the attention of this government, without further delay." 



That you may understand what documents and data were either in 

 Mr. Eames's hands or on the way to him, I append a schedule of the 

 dates of the different instructions on this subject, and of the documents 

 accompanying each. From this you will observe that a statement of 

 the items of the claim which you represent was first sent out on the 

 20th ultimo. This schedule will enable you to determine whether any 

 further testimony is desirable in Mr, Eames 's future proceedings. 



* Instruction No. 23 was the last he had received. 



