So was that Madison, one of her crew, confined on board for desertion and mutiny, and subsequently, Captain Ridgway, whilst in charge of the U.S. Corvette, to whom he had surrendered himself to answer any charge against him, arrested, and after the form of trial in one of the Courts of the Colony, fined Seventy-five dollars for alleged assault upon said Madison in placing him in irons; and that Nichols escaped from custody, refusing to pay the fine, and took refuge on board the U.S. Frigate "Prebleton."
And that Capt. McCluney therefore protected and refused to surrender him. Severe indisposition, and a press of business in "dispatching the 'Prebleton' to sea, have prevented my sooner giving this matter my attention.
As Commander in Chief of the U.S. Naval forces on this station, I deem it my duty to notify to you my entire disapproval of the course pursued by Capt. McCluney, and to express my opinion that a great outrage has been perpetrated upon an American citizen, and upon the American Flag. The proceedings of the Magistrate and the police in releasing the man "Madison", and subsequently in arresting Capt. Ridgway whilst in the custody of the U.S. Court, were, in my opinion, a gross violation of the laws of nations.
The man "Madison" was confined for a breach of the discipline of the U.S. "Cayit. "Nichols had committed his offence against the laws of Great Britain, in the regulation of the Port. His offence, if any, against the laws of the United States, was cognizable, not by your Courts, but...
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81.