850 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



interested in his venture, that he should proceed on his voyage at 

 once. Mr. Phelan then telegraphed to the assistant commissioner of 

 customs at Ottawa that it was impossible for Captain Landry to have 

 reported while he was in the outer harbor on the 8th instant, and 

 asking that the deposit required to release the vessel be reduced. He 

 was told in reply that the minister declined to reduce the deposit, but 

 that it might be made at Halifax. Mr. Phelan at once deposited at 

 Halifax the $400, and telegraphed to Captain Landry that he was at 

 liberty to go to sea. On the evening of October 11 Mr. Phelan 

 received a telegram from Captain Landry, who had already been kept 

 four days in the port, stating that " the custom-house officers and 

 Captain Quigley " refused to let him go to sea. Mr. Phelan the next 

 morning called on the collector at Halifax to ascertain if an order 

 had issued to release the vessel, and was informed that the order had 

 been given, " but that the collector and captain of the cruiser refused 

 to obey it, for the reason that the captain of the seized vessel hoisted 

 the American flag while she was in custody of Canadian officials." 

 Mr. Phelan at once telegraphed this state of facts to the assistant 

 commissioner at Ottawa, and received in reply, under date of August 

 12, the announcement that " collector has been instructed to release 

 the Grimes from customs seizure. This department has nothing to 

 do with other charges." On the same day a dispatch from the com- 

 missioner of customs at Ottawa was sent to the collector of customs at 

 Halifax reciting the order to release the Grimes, and saying " this 

 [the customs] department has nothing to do with other charges. It 

 is department of marine." 



The facts as to the flag were as follows : 



On October 11, the Marion Grimes, being then under arrest by 

 order of local officials for not immediately reporting at the custom- 

 house, hoisted the American flag. Captain Quigley, who, represent- 

 ing, as appeared, not the revenue, but the marine department of the 

 Canadian administration, was, with his " cruiser," keeping guard 

 over the vessel, ordered the flag to be hauled down. This order was 

 obeyed; but about an hour afterwards the flag was again hoisted, 

 whereupon Captain Quigley boarded the vessel with an armed crew 

 and lowered the flag himself. The vessel was finally released under 

 orders of the customs department, being compelled to pay $8 costs in 

 addition to the deposit or $400 above specified. 



The seriousness of the damage inflicted on Captain Landry and 

 those interested in his venture will be understood when it is con- 

 sidered that he had a crew of twelve men, with full supplies of bait, 

 which his detention spoiled. 



You will at once see that the grievances I have narrated fall under 

 two distinct heads. 



The first concerns the boarding by Captain Quigley of the Marion 

 Grimes on the morning of October 8th, and compelling her to go to 

 the town of Shelburne, there subjecting her to a fine of $400 for 

 visiting the port without reporting, and detaining her there arbi- 

 trarily four days, a portion of which time was after a deposit to meet 

 the fine had been made. 



This particular wrong I now proceed to consider with none the less 

 gravity, because other outrages of the same class have been perpe- 

 trated by Captain Quigley. On August 18th last I had occasion, as 

 you will see by the annexed papers, to bring to the notice of the British 

 minister at this capital several instances of aggression on the part of 



