PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
N
Reference :-
CO. 885
12 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
2
on a somewhat similar question as to the construction of an Imperial statute, which would be found at page 76 of the annexed printed paper.
In obedience to your Lordship's commands we have the honour to
Report
That we are of opinion that, under the 82nd section of the Trinidad Customs Ordinance 1880, the Governor is not empowered either: (a) to prohibit the exportation of arms, &c. to a particular country or place; or (b) to except from such prohibition arms, &c., exported for the use of the Government of the country, exportation to which is prohibited.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley,
&c.
&c.
&c.
1
We have, &c.,
(Signed)
HENRY JAMES. FARRER HERSCHELL.
550.
No. 282.
(GIBRALTAR.)
LAW OFFICERS to FOREIGN OFFICE.
MY LORD,
We are honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Sir Julian Paunce-
Temple, 5th December 1882. fote's letter of the 22nd ultimo, stating that he was to transmit to us papers relative to the expulsion from Gibraltar, by the local police, of three Cuban refugees, at the request of the Spanish Consul, under circumstances which had attracted the attention of Her Majesty's Government, and which were, at the present time, the subject of a searching inquiry on the spot. That the facts of the case, so far as they were known, were detailed in the Despatch of the Governor of Gibraltar of the 2nd October, a copy of which was enclosed in the Colonial Office Letter of the 19th October last, and in the petition of J. R. Castillo and C. Roderiguez to the Earl of Kimberley, which formed Enclosure 4 of the same letter. That the petitioners, and a third person named Maceo, were ex-officers of the Cuban rebel army, and had, according to their statement, been confined (under sentence of transportation) in the fortress of Cadiz, from which they effected their escape on the 15th August. That on the 16th August the Spanish consul at Gibraltar informed the Colonial Secretary of the escape of Maceo, and asked that he might be expelled should he enter the fortress.
That the Colonial Secretary apparently treated the application as one for the surrender of a fugitive in the event of his being found in the Colony, and he instructed the acting police magistrate "to facilitate his apprehension."
That the three prisoners had first sought refuge in Tangier, and afterwards, on the 20th August, they crossed in a British steamer to Gibraltar, intending to proceed from thence to the United States.
That on arrival at Gibraltar they were arrested by the police on the ground that they had no passports, and were liable therefore, under the "Aliens Order in Council," to be expelled from the garrison.
That the police magistrate and police officers were under the impression that the instructions of the Colonial Secretary meant that the fugitives were to be expelled under the "Aliens Order in Council," in order to facilitate their apprehension by the Spanish police outside the British lines. That, accordingly, the Inspector of Police communicated to the Spanish consul, and, notwithstanding the protest and declaration of the fugitives that they were political prisoners and refugees, they were conveyed in carriages out of the garrison, and put outside the British lines, where they were arrested by the Spanish police, who had been posted there for the purpose.
That copies were enclosed of the "Aliens Order in Council," of the Extradition Treaty between Great Britain and Spain, and also Confidential Print, communicated to the Foreign Office by the Colonial Office, containing the whole correspondence which had passed on the subject.
That the report of the commission of inquiry then sitting at Gibraltar would be laid before us as soon as it was received.
That, in the meanwhile, your Lordship desired our opinion as to whether the facts disclosed in the correspondence were such as to warrant a demand by Her Majesty's Government for the restoration of the prisoners to British jurisdiction.
In obedience to your Lordship's commands we have the honour to
Report
That we do not think the facts disclosed in the documents transmitted to us are such as to warrant a demand, as of right, for the restoration of the prisoners to British jurisdiction. But we think it is a case in which very strong representations may be made to the Spanish Government that this course ought, under the circumstances, to
• Colonial Office Confidential Print, September 7 to November 14, 1882; Extradition Treaty between Great Britain and Spain, June 4, 1878, No. 627; Aliens Order in Council, August 30, 1873; "Hertslet's Commercial Treaties," vol. xiv. p. 820; to Colonial Office, October 24, 1882.
▲ 12916.-363. 25.—13/84.