1210 MISCELLANEOUS. 



In 1824, Captain Hoare, of his Majesty's brig Dotterel, seized nine 

 vessels.* The conduct of this gentleman caused much excitement and 

 indignation. I personally witnessed many of his proceedings. How- 

 ever censurable his general course, it is not remembered that he dis- 

 turbed the humble men who fish in small open boats in the Bay of 

 Passamaquoddy, and in waters always considered free and common 

 to the people of the two flags. Of the vessels which he captured, one 

 was retaken by her crew, assisted by one of his own men; and two 

 others were rescued by their crews, aided by an armed party from 

 Eastport. 



In September, three memorials, signed by citizens of Maine who 

 were aggrieved by the acts of Captain Hoare, were transmitted to the 

 President. These papers, with the accompanying protests and depo- 

 sitions as to the wrongs complained of, formed the subject of a corre- 

 spondence between the Acting Secretary of State and the British 

 charge d'affaires. No results followed. Our countrymen demanded 

 indemnity and reparation . The British functionary required, on the 

 other hand, "the punishment of the transgressors for the act of vio- 

 lence perpetrated on persons bearing his Majesty's commission while 

 engaged in the discharge of their public duties." Meantime, the 

 President directed Ether Shepley, the attorney of the United States 

 for Maine, to proceed to the frontier and mate inquiry into the cir- 

 cumstances of the matters in dispute, and especially those attending 

 the recapture of the three vessels just referred to. That Captain 

 Hoare was sometimes unjustly reproached by our fishermen, was ad- 

 mitted by the calm and considerate in 1824; and this fact, in common 

 fairness, ought to be stated in this brief record of the troubles which 

 are connected with Ins command of the Dotterel, and which will not 

 soon be forgotten by those who live on the eastern border of Maine. 

 The charge preferred against him that he converted the vessels which 

 he seized into tenders for assisting him in his operations "prior to 

 their adjudication in the courts," he denied in the most explicit 

 terms. It was never proved to be true. It may be said, also, that the 

 capture of seven of his prizes was held to be justifiable by the British 

 charge d'affaires in his correspondence with Mr. Adams. The accu- 

 racy of this opinion, however, we shall have occasion to dispute. 



The excitement occasioned by the zeal with which Captain Hoare 

 "guarded the coasts from the intrusion of foreign fishermen and 

 smugglers," did not suddenly cease. In 1825, his conduct, on motion 

 of the Hon. Jeremiah O'Brien, who represented the frontier district 

 of Maine, became a subject of inquiry in Congress; and the United 

 States schooner Porpoise, under the command of Lieutenant Parker, 

 was despatched to the Bay of Fundy for the protection of our flag. 



Early in 1826, the Dotterel was again the terror of our fishermen. 

 The presence of the United States sloop-of-war Lexington, Captain 

 Shubrick, under orders to cruise upon the fishing grounds, relieved 

 their fears; and the season passed away without any serious disturb- 

 ance. But there had been no adjustment of the difficulties which 

 occurred in 1824. The note of the British charge d'affaires to our 



fovernment, relative to the recapture of two of the Dotterel's prizes, 

 ad not, in fact, been answered. Meantime, Mr. Adams had passed 



* The documents submitted to the Senate by the President, August, 1852, contain 

 several papers connected with matters in the Bay of Fundy at this period. 



