Among the depositions were the following: "I, Richard Robert Madden, a British subject, having resided for the last three years and upwards at Havana, where I have held official situations under the British government, depose and say, that I have held the office of superintendent of liberated Africans during that term, and still hold it; and have held for the term of one year the office there of British commissioners, in the Mixed Court of Justice. The duties of my office and of my avocation, have led me to become well acquainted with Africans recently imported from Africa. I have seen and had in my charge many hundreds of them. I have also seen the Africans in the custody of the marshal of the District of Connecticut, except the small children. I have examined them and observed their language, appearance, and manners; and I have no doubt of their having been, very recently, brought from Africa. To one of them I spoke, and repeated a Mohammedan form of prayer in the Arabic language; the man immediately recognized the language, and repeated few words of it after me; appeared to understand it, particularly the words 'Allah akbar,' or God is great. The man who was beside this negro, I also addressed in Arabic, saying 'salaam ailkoem,' or peace be to you; he immediately, in the customary oriental salutations, replied-'aleckoum salaam,' or peace be on you. From my knowledge of oriental habits, and of the appearance of the newly imported slaves in Cuba, I have no doubt of those negroes of the Amistad being bona fide Bozal negroes, quite newly imported from Africa. I have a full knowledge of the subject of slavery-slave trade in Cuba; and I know that no law exists, or has existed since the year 1820, that sanctions the introduction of negroes into the island of Cuba from Africa for the purpose of making slaves, or be534*] ing held in slavery; and that *all such Bozal negroes, as those recently imported are called, are legally free; and no law, common or statute, exists there by which they can be held in slavery. Such Africans, long settled in Cuba, and acclimated, are called ladinos, and must have been introduced before 1820, and are so called in contradistinction to the term creole, which is applied to the negroes born in the island. I have seen, and now have before me, a document, dated 26th June, 1839, purporting to be signed by Ezpeleta, who is captain-general of the island, to identify which, I have put my name to the left-hand corner of the document, in presence of the counsel of the Africans; this document, or 'trasspasso,' purporting to be a permit granted to Don I. Ruiz, to export from Havana to Porto Principe forty-nine negroes, designated by Spanish names, and called therein ladinos, a term totally inapplicable to newly imported Africans. I have seen, and now have before me, another document, dated 22d June, 1839, and signed in the same manner, granted to Don Pedro Montez, for the removal of three negro childern from Havana to Porto Principe, also designated by Spanish names, and likewise called 'ladinos,' and wholly inapplicable to young African children, who could not have been acclimated, and long settled in the island; which document, I have identified in the same manner as the former. To have obtained these documents from the governor, for bona fide

Bozal negroes, and have described them in the application for it as ladinos, was evidently a fraud, but nothing more than such an applica tion and the payment of the necessary fees would be required to procure it, as there is never any inquiry or inspection of the negroes on the part of the governor or his officers, nor is there any oath required from the applicant. I further state that the above documents are manifestly inapplicable to the Africans of the Amistad I have seen here and in New Haven; but such documents are commonly obtained by similar applications at the Havana, and by these means the negroes recently and illegally introduced are thus removed to the different ports of the island, and the danger obviated of falling in with English cruisers, and then they are illegally carried into slavery. One of the largest dealers and importers of the island of Cuba, in African slaves, is the notorious house of Martiner & Co., of Havana; and for years past, as at present, they have been [*535 deeply engaged in this traffic; and the Bozal Africans, imported by these and all other slave traders, when brought to the Havana, are immediately taken to the barracoons, or slave marts; five of which are situated in the immediate vicinity of the governor's county house, about one mile and a half from the walls of Havana; and from these barracoons, they are taken and removed to the different parts of the island when sold; and having examined the indorsements on the back of the 'trasspasso,' or permits for the removal of the said negroes of the Amistad, the signature to that indorsement appears to be that of Martiner & Co., and the document purports to be a permit or pass for the removal of the said negroes. The handwriting of Martiner & Co. I am not acquainted with. These barracoons, outside the city walls, are fitted up exclusively for the reception and sale of Bozal negroes; one of these barracoons or slave marts, called 'la miserecordie,' or 'mercy,' kept by a man named 'Riera,' I visited the 24th September last, in company with a person well acquainted with this establishment; and the factor, or major domo of the master, in the absence of the latter, said to me that the negroes of the Amistad had been purchased there; that he knew them well; that they had been bought by a man from Porto Principe, and had been embarked for that place; and speaking of the said negroes, he said, 'che, castima,' or what pity it is, which rather surprised me; the man further explained himself, and said, his regret was for the loss of so many valuable Bozals, in the event of their being executed in the United States."

"One of the houses most openly engaged, and notoriously implicated in the slave trade transactions, is that of Martiner & Co.; and their practice is to remove their newly arrived negroes from the slave ships to these barracoons where they commonly remain two or three weeks before sold, as these negroes of the Amistad, illegally introduced by Martiner & Co., were in the present instance, as is generally reported and believed in the Havana. Of the Africans which I have seen and examined, from the necessity which my office imposes on me at the Havana of assisting at the registry of the newly imported Bozala, emancipated by

the Mixed Court, I can speak with tolerable certainty of the ages of these people, with the 586*] exception of the children, whom I have not seen. Sa, about 17; Ba, 21; Luckawa, 19; Tussi, 30; Beli, 18; Shuma, 26; Nama, 20; Tenquis, 21; the others I had not time to take a note of their ages.

"With respect to the Mixed Commission, its jurisdiction extends only to cases of captured negroes brought in by British or Spanish cruisers; and notwithstanding the illegalities of the traffic in slaves, from twenty to twenty-five thousand slaves have been introduced into the island during the last three years; and such is the state of society, and of the administration of the laws there, that hopeless slavery is the inevitable result of their removal into the interior."

On his cross-examination the witness stated that he was not acquainted with the dialects of the African tribes, but was slightly acquainted with the Arabic language. Lawful slaves of the island are not offered for sale generally, or often placed in the barracoons, or man marts. The practice in Havana is to use the barracoons "for Bozal negroes only." Barracoons are used for negroes recently imported, and for their reception and sale. The native language of the Africans is not often continued for a long time on certain plantations. "It has been to me a matter of astonishment at the shortness of time in which the language of the negroes is disused, and the Spanish language adopted and acquired. I speak this from a very intimate knowledge of the condition of the negroes in Cuba, from frequent vists to plantations, and journeys in the interior; and, on this subject, I think I can say my knowledge is as full as any person's can be.

"There are five or six barracoons within pistol-shot of the country residence of the Captain-General of Cuba. On every other part of the coast where the slave trade is carried on, a barracoon or barracoons must likewise exist. They are a part of the things necessary to the slave trade, and are for its use only; for instance, near Matanzas there is a building or shed of this kind and used for this purpose.

"Any negroes landed in the island since 1820, and carried into slavery, have been illegally introduced; and the transfer of them under false names, such as calling Bozal, Ladinos, is necessarily, a fraud. Unfortunately, there is no interference on the part of the local authorities; they connive at it, and collude with slave traders, the governor, alone, at the Havana, re537*] ceiving a bounty or impost on each negro thus illegally introduced of ten dollars a head. As to the Mixed Commission, once the negroes clandestinely introduced are landed they no longer have cognizance of the violation of the treaty; the governor has cognizance of this and every other bearing of the Spanish law on Spanish soil. This head-money has not the sanction of any Spanish law for its imposition; and the proof of this is, it is called a voluntary contribution."

Also a statement, given by the District Attorney, W. S. Holabird, Esq., of what was made to him by A. G. Vega, Esq., Spanish Consul, January 10th, 1840: "That he is a Spanish subject; that he resided in this island of Cuba several years; that he knows the laws of that island on the subject of slavery; that there

was no law that was considered in force in the island of Cuba that prohibited the bringing in African slaves; that the Court of Mixed Commissioners had no jurisdiction except in cases of capture on the sea; that newly imported African negroes were constantly brought to the island, and, after landing, were bona fide transferred from one owner to another, without any interference by the local authorities or the Mixed Commission, and were held by the own. ers, and recognized as lawful property, that slavery was recognized in Cuba by all the laws that were considered in force there; that the native language of the slaves was kept up on some plantations for years. That the barracoons are public markets, where all descriptions of slaves are sold and bought; that the papers of the Amistad are genuine, and are in the usual form; that it was not necessary to practice any fraud to obtain such papers from the proper officers of the government; that none of the papers of the Amistad are signed by Martiner, spoken of by R. R. Madden in his deposition; that he (Martiner) did not hold the office from whence that paper issued."

Also a deposition of James Ray, a mariner on board of the Washington, stating the circumstances of the taking possession of the Amistad, and the Africans, which supported the allegations in the several libels in all essential circumstances.

The documents exhibited as the passports of the Spanish authorities at Havana, and other papers relating to the Amistad, and her clearance from Havana, were also annexed to the decree of the Circuit Court, in the original Spanish. Translations of all of these [*538 which were deemed of importance in the cause, are given in the decree of the District Court.

Sullivan Haley stated in his deposition that he heard Ruiz say, that "none of the negroes could speak Spanish; they are just from Africa."

James Covey, a colored man, deposed that "he was born at Berong-Mendi country; left there seven and a half years ago; was a slave, and carried to Lumboko. All these Africans were from Africa. Never saw them until now. I could talk with them. They appeared glad because they could speak the same language. I could understand all but two or three. They say they from Lumboke; three moons. They all have Mendi names, and their names all mean something: Carle, means bone; Kimbo, means cricket. They speak of rivers which I know; said they sailed from Lumboko; two or three speak different language from the others; the Timone language, Say-ang-wa rivers spoken of; these run through the Vi country. I learned to speak English at Sierre Leone. Was put on board a man-of-war one year and a half. They all agree as to where they sailed from. I have no doubt they are Africans. I have been in this country six months; came in a British man-of-war; have been in this town (New Haven) four months with Mr. Bishop; he calls on me for no money, and do not know who pays my board. I was stolen by a black ma: who stole ten of us. One man carried us two months' walk. Have conversed with Sinqua; Barton has been in my town, Gorang. I was sailing for Havana when the British man-ofwar captured us."

The testimony of Cinque and the negroes of

the Amistad supported the statements in their

answers.

The respondents also gave in evidence the "Treaty between Great Britain and Spain, for the abolition of the slave trade, signed at Madrid, 23d September, 1817."

The case was argued for the United States by Mr. Gilpin, the Attorney-General, and by Mr Baldwin and Mr. Adams for the appellees; Mr. Jones, on the part of Lieutenant Gedney and others, of the United States brig Washington, was not required by the court to argue the claims to salvage.

539*] *Mr. Gilpin, the Attorney-General for the United States, reviewed the evidence, as set out in the record, of all the facts connected with the case from the first clearance of the schooner Amistad, at Havana, on the 18th May, 1838, down to the 23d January, 1840, when the final decree of the District Court of the United States for the District of Connecticut was rendered.

The Attorney-General proceeded to remark, that, on the 23d January, 1840, the case stood thus: The vessel, cargo, and negroes were in possession of the marshal, under process from the District Court, to answer to five separate claims; those of Lieutenant Gedney, and Messrs. Green and Fordham, for salvage, that of the United States, at the instance of the Spanish minister, for the vessel, cargo, and negroes, to be restored to the Spanish owners, in which claim those of Messrs. Ruiz and Montez were merged; that of the Spanish vice-counsel, for the slave Antonio, to be restored to the Spanish owner; and that of Messrs. Tellincas, and Aspe and Laca, for restoration of a part of the cargo belonging to them. The decree of the District Court found that the vessel, and the goods on board, were the property of Spanish subjects, and that the passports under which the negroes were shipped at Havana, were signed by the Governor-General of Cuba. It denied the claims of Lieutenant Gedney, and Messrs. Green and Fordham, to salvage on the slaves, but allowed the claims of the officers and crew of the Washington to salvage on the Amistad, and on the merchandise on board of that vessel. It also decreed that the residue of the goods, and the vessel, should be delivered to the Spanish minister, to be restored to the Spanish owners; and that the slave Antonio should be delivered to the Spanish vice-consul, for the same purpose. As to the negroes; claimed by Ruiz and Montez, it dismissed the claims of those persons, on the ground that they were included under that of the minister of Spain. The libel of the United States, claiming the delivery of the negroes to the Spanish minister, was dismissed, on the ground that they were not slaves, but were kidnapped and imported into Cuba; and that at the time they were so imported, there was a law of Spain declaring persons so imported to be free. The alternative prayer of the United States, claiming the delivery of the negroes, to be transported to Africa, was granted.

As soon as this decree was made, an appeal 540] was taken by the *United States to the Circuit Court, from the whole of it, except so far as it related to Antonio. At the succeeding term of the Circuit Court the negroes moved that the appeal of the United States might be

dismissed, on the ground that they had no interest in the negroes; and, also, on the ground that they have no right to prosecute claims to property in behalf of subjects of the Queen of Spain. That motion, however, was refused by the Circuit Court, which proceeded to affirm the decree of the District Court, on the libel of the United States. It is from this decree of the Circuit Court that the present appeal to the Supreme Court is prosecuted.

Was the decree of the Circuit Court correct! The state of the facts, as found by the decree, and not denied, was this: The vessel, and the goods on board, were the property of Spanish subjects in Havana, on the 27th June, 1839. At that time slavery was recognized and in existence in the Spanish dominions. The negroes in question are certified at that time, in a document signed by the Governor-General of Cuba, to be ladinos negroes-that is, slavesthe property of Spanish subjects. As such, permission is given by the Governor-General, to their owners, to take them, by sea, to Puerta Principe in the same island. The vessel with these slaves, thus certified, on board, and in charge of their alleged owners, regularly cleared and sailed from Havana, the documentary evidence aforesaid, and the papers of the vessel being also on board. During this voyage the negroes rose, killed the captain, and took possession of the vessel. On the 26th August, the vessel, cargo, and negroes, were rescued and taken on the high seas, by a public officer of the United States, and brought into a port of the United States, where they await the decision of the judicial tribunals.

In this position of things the minister of Spain demands that the vessel, cargo, and negroes, be restored, pursuant to the 9th article of the Treaty of 27th October, 1795, which provides (1 Laws of the United States, 268) that "all ships and merchandise of what nature soever, which shall be rescued out of the hands of any pirates or robbers, on the high seas, shall be brought into some port of either State and shall be delivered into the custody of the officers of that port, in order to be taken care of and restored entire to the true proprietor, as soon as due and sufficient proof shall [*541 be made concerning the property thereof."

The only inquiries, then, that present themselves are:

1. Has "due and sufficient proof concerning the property thereof" been made?

2. If so, have the United States a right to interpose in the manner they have done, to obtain its restoration to the Spanish owners!

If these inquiries result in the affirmative, then the decree of the Circuit Court was erroneous, and ought to be reversed.

I. It is submitted that there has been due and sufficient proof concerning the property to authorize its restoration.

It is not denied that, under the laws of Spain, negroes may be held as slaves, as completely as they are in any of the States of this Union; nor will it be denied, if duly proved to be such, they are subject to restoration as much as any other property, when coming under the provisions of this treaty. Now, these negroes are declared, by the certificates of the Governor-General, to be slaves, and the property of the Spanish subjects therein named.