APPEAL from the Circuit Court of Massachusetts.
The petition or libel, in this cause, by the consul of his Catholic Majesty at Boston, alleges and propounds: 1. That there lately arrived at the port of New Bedford, in this district, and is now lying in the said port of New Bedford, a Spanish vessel, called the Esperanza, otherwise called the Divina Pastora, having on board a cargo, consisting of cocoa, cotton, indigo, hides and horns, of great value, to wit, of the value of $10,000; that the said vessel is navigated by seven persons, who are all American citizens, as he is informed and believes; and that there are no other persons on board of said vessel, and none other were on board when the said vessel arrived at said port. That the aforesaid persons say, that the said vessel was bound on a voyage from Laguayra to Cadiz, in Spain, and that she was captured by a privateer, or armed vessel, sailing under a flag, which they denominate the flag of La Plata; and that they did intend to carry said vessel to some port in the West Indies, but, afterwards, came into the port of New Bedford. 2. That the said vessel and cargo purport to have been consigned to Antonio Seris, a merchant at Cadiz. 3. That the said consul verily believes, that the said vessel has been captured and brought into the aforesaid port, contrary to the law of nations, and in violation of the rights of the said Antonia Seris, and that the said Antonio is justly and lawfully entitled to the possession of the said vessel and her cargo: concluding with a prayer, that the process of the court may issue, directed to the marshal of this district, or his deputy, requiring of them, respectively, to take the said vessel and cargo into custody, to the end, that due inquiry may be made into the facts pertaining to this case, and that the property may be adjudged, decreed and restored, according to the just rights of whomsoever may be therein interested, and according to law and the comity which the United States have always manifested towards foreign nations.