The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 3, Volume 2. Page: 244
viii, 1007 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.
During all this time S. H. Kennedy & Co. have not accepted the
amnesty proffered by the proclamation of the commanding general,
but preferred to remain, within its terms, rebels and enemies.
Upon this state of facts the commanding general called upon Ken-
nedy & Co. to pay the amount of net proceeds of the cotton (the
third exchange of the draft) which, with the documents relating to
this unlawful transaction, he had captured, as a proper forfeiture to
the Government under the facts above stated, which was done. Upon
the submission to you whether the forfeiture was a proper one you
have decided that the money should be repaid because the forfeiture
was not proper.
Pardon me if I respectfully examine the grounds of that decision.
They are: First, that there was no capture of the property or its
representative actually running the blockade; second, that there is
no personal deliction in Kennedy & Co. in the acts done by them
which can render them subject to forfeiture; and third, that the
blockade being raised by the proclamation of the President, and
before the capture of the draft and paper, all deliction on account of
the transaction is purged.
Was not this third of exchange the very representative of the trans-
action, in connection with the account sales? If the first or second
has been paid, then, of course, it becomes valueless; but there was
no evidence that- either the first or the second had been paid, nor
could that have been done in ten days from Havana to London, in
which case the third is the sole " proceeds" of the illegal transaction.
Is not the third of exchange usually sent by consignee to the princi-
pal, where the order is to transfer the fund to a distant house, precisely
for the purpose of representing the transaction ? In the hands of the
owners, S. H. Kennedy & Co., were not these several of exchange of
equal value ? If one holds the first, second, and third of exchange,
can it be said that one is more valuable than the other to the holder?
Kennedy & Co. did hold all three by themselves or their agents; all
of equal value up to the capture.
The hazards of the return voyage were guarded against by a ship-
ment to England of one of the representatives of the cotton, but the
commercial transaction was still in fieri in the transmission of its
account sales, and vouchers and representative of value to the com-
pany here. Even if I am right, however, it is unnecessary to elabo-
rate the point further, because it seems to me that the decision turns
upon a non-appreciation of the law as to what is the effect of the
blockade.
As applied to this transaction the citations and arguments derived
from elementary writers upon the law of nations are of no value.
This is not the case of a resident subject of a foreign state, attempt-
ing to elude the vigilance of a blockade by a foreign power of a port
of a third nation. The rule that a successful running of the block-
ade, or a subsequent raising of the blockade, purges the transaction,
so far as punishment for personal deliction is concerned, is too
familiar to need citation, at least by a lawyer to a lawyer. It would
be desirable to see some citations to show there was no personal
deliction in the transaction under consideration.
A traitorous commercial house directly engages in the treasonable
work of aiding a rebellion against the Government by entering into
a trade, the direct effect of which is to furnish the rebels with arms
and ammunition. To do this they intentionally violate the revenue
taws, postal laws of their country, as well as the laws prohibiting244
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The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Additions and Corrections to Series 3, Volume 2. (Pamphlet)
Errata sheets for the Records of the War of the Rebellion include additions and corrections to the text and the index for Series 3, Volume 2.
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United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 3, Volume 2., book, 1899; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139264/m1/253/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.