Ship under the U.S. flag; laden with salt, under charter party with W.N.
de Mattos, of London, to proceed to Calcutta. In the bill of lading the
cargo is consigned to "order;" and on the back of the bill is this
endorsement:--"I hereby certify that the salt shipped on board the Nora
is the property of W.N. de Mattos, of London, and that the said W.N. de
Mattos is a British subject, and was so at the time of shipment.
"(Signed) H.E. FALK, Agent for W.N. de Mattos."
At the bottom of the signature is "R.C. Gardner, Mayor," presumed to be
intended for the signature of the Mayor of Liverpool. As this statement
is not under oath, and as there is no seal attached to it, it does not
even amount to an _ex parte_ affidavit. Vessel and cargo condemned.
* * * * *
Some valuable supplies were extracted from these two ships, and the
prisoners--one of them a female--having been transferred to the Alabama,
the vessels were fired on the evening of the day after their capture. As
was but too frequently the case in boarding prizes, access was by some
means obtained to their strong liquor, and that evening saw a good deal
of drunkenness on board the Alabama. Unfortunately, the delinquents were
but too often some of the best men in the ship. They could be trusted
with anything in the world but rum or whisky; but against temptation of
this kind they were not proof, and the duty of boarding offered only too
easy an opportunity of indulging this true sailor's taste.
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