The New York Herald Newspaper, December 20, 1850, Page 2

=a omas Ap Catesby Jones, then being in eommand | Pickering, Commander Johnston, or anybody else, | ico. In an age Of unprecedented commercial | me in instructions Navy Department. In| _ It is true the cl is here based on “ opprese- NAVAL COURT MARTIAL. bie Waited Sate naval forces in the Pacific rd det is chereoee for veracity ands wholly | activity and en and when, by the joint | July, 1848, 1 rey se . Secretary that | sion ;” butthe i makes it murder. Op- | ocean, did, on the fifth of November, in the i ired ”” ope: mn sof cor ree and free goverament, the | ‘ wes im pu th and preseion is crime, recognized by the } ‘Trial of Com, Thomas Ap Catesby Jones. | year eghteen hn forty-nine, at the bay of the said Captain Jones, having dissolved the | energies of men been stimulated to extraor- | who escaped from the 8 la Tread vy article , styled oppression, but not defined Wasutneton, Dec. 18, 1850. ew Franciseo, fri lently p and cause to | said ‘on the thirty-first day of October, inthe | dinary force in the pursuit of all those objects | to the Court my entire report, as follows;— in that article, or elsewhere in our written law. A ‘A Naval Court Martial, by order of the Secretary | be prepared, and fraudulently did. transmit to the year aforesaid, thereafter oppressively and mali- } which contribute to the Repriness, ahd comfort, (cory) court martial is left to gather the definition frome =‘ th dore Jones, | Secretary of the Navy, a paper purporting to be an | ciously did su and withhold from promul and convenience of life, first among these to | No. 22. ‘ ¥LA@ See Onto, the usege of the sea service, as in all other et the Navy, for the trial of Gommodore * | account showing what amount of public moneys or | tion the said finding and opinion of said Court the pursuits ef wealth-in such an age,the discovery R ih Paz, July 27, 1848. offences not detined by the act, ory any express upon charges laid against him, and of week se the United Sales of tee Taito | Coatribation ‘und | the space of nearly two months, thereey, res 20 Se gid mines of Colliorsia, added 80 great The Hon. Jean c. Masem, . law. aeut this power to ascertain | the >a of | come et at the Wash- foresaid, was then in the hands ot him, the said | sivel liciously depriving t! ietten- | and sudden an increase tothese objects—so power- cretary of the Lewd the offence is merely a part o} j pervenn Oo bafow them, m Cay Jones, in and by which said paper he stat ant ana of the ey cepny the said findiag and | ful en incentive to these energies—effected so vast Sir—I have pa Had to enclose herewith an | of al) courts to mre meani "othe general a change in the business of the commercial | extract of a letter just received from Lieut, Com- and ambiguous ‘erms of statutes. It is not a legis-- world, a8 must ferm an important epoch ia the | manding Jos. Lanman, enclosing to me re of | lative power to fix an arbitrary meaning, to ereate- history ota nation which is already filled with | a letter from Passed Midshipman L. E. Wood- | anew meaning, or extend ag old meaniag—stil® wonders. The California Sein was on | worth, disclosing the melane'! fate of the | less so to extend it as to invade and over-ride the the very verge—almost within the vortex—of | officers in charge of the U. 8. ‘Warren’s | rest of the criminal law, and, under pretence this excitement. Every man saw before him | launch, as long missing, and which was supposed | of defining one crimey confound all crimes. Be- not only the near, but the immediate and cer- | to have been accidentally lost in the Bay of San | cause oppression is not defined, it does not follow tain, opportunity of wealth. Could the country | Francisco. : Pr that other crimes are to lose their distinct and retain its sailors, for its hard earned and scanty | Mr. Woodworth’s letter was received by Lieut. | long-established and well settled defiaitions. pay, when all the gold mines were before their | anman just as Gov. Mason was on the eve of set- | der is still murder, and is not to be confounded eyes, and within reach of their hands? Was the | ting out for the gold region; so that witheut excit- | with oppression or cruelty. law then strong enough to control all the power- | ing any suspicion,one of the Warren’s officers was On ail these grounds I pray the Court-to dismisa ington Navy Yard, in the chapel of the station, on | [ois a de e 7 presented that a certain balance of four thow- | opinion, and keeping him under the odium and dis- Monday last. The court is composed of the fol- | sand one hundred and fourteen dollars and eigh- pace of char, 4 affecting not only his character lewing officers :— ° teen cents therein mentioned, was sti!l subject to | asan officer, but his honor as & gentleman; and op- President, Commodore Charles Stewart ; asso- | the satisfaction of certain awards to Lewer Cali- | preesively and maliciously, pending the said ciates, Com. Lewis Warrington, Com. John | fornia refugees; whereas, in truth and in fact, the | creey, ordered the said Lieutenant Stanley from Downes, Com. George C. Read, Com. Henry E. | esid Captain Thomas Ap Catesby Jones had in the | the Pacific station; thereby confirming the iajuri- Ballard, Com. Wm. 3. Shubrick, Com, Laurence | same account claimed and taken credit for the | ousefiect produced by the suppression of the said Kearny, Com. John D. Sloat, Com. Matthew C. | full amount of the said awards, as paid by him out | finding as uforesaid. - 3 Z of said fund; and the balance aforesaid was not Specification 2—In this, that the said Captain subject to the satisfaction of such awards; thereby | Jones then being in command as aforesaid, and having, on or about the eighteenth day of August, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-nine, at San rry. 4 Advocate, James M. Carlisle, . A awar, ose for accused, Gen, Walter Tome attempting # fraud agaiast the United States. The court organized on Monday, and oa Tuesday SRARAB: Sis : Francisco, Ci i ived from the Secretary | ful motives which actuate human nature ?}~and | directed to accompany Gov. Mason, for the pur- | and quash the 34 specification to the 5th charge, ag the charges end specifications against the accused ; Scandalous Conduct, fauna: to the Destruction of rhe Navy a To ae tiecoce for the said yd was it ~s strong that its superfluous rigors could | pose of identafyin, capan the mutineers who may | null and void. 93 ttl nog tenant Stanley, oppressively and maliciously with- | be then relaxed, and the experiment then made | be found among the gold washers, or elsewhere ia Upon the other charges and sregifiontions, toall how far men may be geverned by persuasion and | California. of which I have herembefore offered my plea of without force, and the criminal law stripped of its Should we be so fortunate as to lay hands on | the general issue, I desire now only to make & penalties and power? I am sure I need offer no | any of them, with sufficient authority to convict | single observation. I am advised by counsel that argument, and hardly a suggestion, on this head, | them, the penalties of the law will be promptly | the matters and things specitied in them, also, were read, and his reply, which are as follows :— Specrfication 1.—In this, that’ the said Captain CHARGES AND SPECIFICATIONS OF CHARGES, PRE- | Thomes Ap Catesby Jones, then being in command FRRRED BY THE SECRETARY OF THR NAVY, AGAINST | of the United States naval forces in the Paciic THOMAS AP CATESBY JONES, A CAPTAIN IN THE | ocean, on the thirty-first of October, in (he year of held and suppressed the same, from the said day until the eighteenth day of December following, and until he had ordered the said Lieutenant Stan- Jey to Panama, whither he sent the said Stanley, PU SY Te ae Pree our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty: | ditecting the said li to be delivered to him | t easonable manjto enforce the necessity— | executed in the most exemplary manner, unless it | even if they be muiotained by proofs, would con- CHARGE 1. eight, off Monterey, Upper California, scandalous- | Giecting the said leave to - i cup Sea marverm eS ah i oi i n itu ; thin th i Fraud agaist the United States. ly ‘did Be eae aitie tenet omens 23 | ta: hiee. by ete waeee Me retecadon' ot of puvlie duty, the foe and overwhelming necessity—of ap- | may be necessary, after conviction, to send one or | stitute no crime or offence within the purvieu of plying, promptly and efficiently, every legal power | more te the United States to identify others. the Naval articles of war, otherwise cognizable by with which T was entrusted to check desertions bs Me be ht ie this Court ; and [ need no advice to assure me that Specification 3. —In this, that the said Captain | and suppress mutinies in the Pacific squadron. | Most hig Pd 1 your obedient servant, whether or not they constitute legally the offences Jones, then being in command as aforesaid, onthe | ‘The desertion and mutiny of the Ewing’s mea (Signed.) ‘Tuos. Ar C. Jones, a under which they are laid, they are incompetent | coast of California, in the Bay of San Francisco, icenened, as it was, with a murder) was not the Commander-in-Chiet Pacific Squadron.” | to sustain the charges—still, they can never be im and in other waters on the said coast, the same | first which had occurred, to leave thenecessity of | —To which report, in due time, and after my arri- | any essential particular maintained by the proofs. being the waters of the United States, on the eighth | example, and of the enfercement of law to be | val at San Francisco, | received an answer dated | But] thought it would ill become me, and ill ace day of August, in the year eighteen hundred and | a question of reason and speculation, but other | February 15th, expressing the approbation of the | cord with the obligations I owe to the honor of m forty-eight, on the the twelfth day of March, | instances had occurred to enforce the argument | government, and directing me to bring them to | profession, in any manner to afieet m integrity eighteen hundred and forty-nine, and on the fifth | with all the strength that a terrible experience | trial. Herewith is the complete answer of Mr. | to plead technical objections, and quash and dis day of October, eighteen hundred end forty-nine, | could give it. Secretary Mason, of which | present to the Court miss such charges, without a complete and search and on divers otherdays and times subsequent to I will relate the circumstances attending the | en authenticated copy, uader the seal of the Navy | ing inquiry Into each and all of them. I have felt the day first above mentioned, during his said | fate of the launch of the Warren, which, in | Department. Solr wounded by these charges. | have felt command, oppressively, and without warrant or | the leading facts of the mutiny,!the murder, and Again, ina report made at Monterey, November | that they were drummed up in a manner uausual authority of law, convened, and ordered to be con- | the desertion—closely resembled the history ofthe | Ist, 1845, to the I{on. John Y. Mason, Secretary of | in our Naval trials. There is a skilfal mode of vened, ‘livers Naval General Courts Martial for | Ewin’s boat, only remarking here, inregard to the | the Navy, I stated as follows :— statement of them, which carries al! the power o€ the trial ef divers offences alleged to have been | laiter, and by way of a passing explanation, that “Thave had occasion, more than once, I am argument. These charges are so drawn as to exe commitied by divers officers and seamen of the | it is the trial and execution of two of the mutineers | sorry to say, to speak of the insubors and | hibit in a bigh degree this peculiar skill and art, Nevy of the United Sta and oppressively, and | of the Ewivg’s boat which forms the only ma- | unruly disposition of a few of the officers of this | and must operate greatly to my prejudice in ad- Specification 1.—In this, that the said Captain | virtue of his commend aforesaid, by causing the Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, then being in com- | sum of ten thousand six hundred and forty-three mand of the United ®rates Naval forces in the Pa- | dollars and nine cents of the public moneys of the cific ocean, on the thirty-first day of October, in | United Statesto be transferred from the charge the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred | and custody of one Edward D. Reynolds, a purser and CE off Monterey, Upper California, | in the navy of the United States, who then held the unlawfully and fraudulently, and for his own pri- | same for the use and benefit of the said United vate uses, speculations, and gains, did withdraw, | States, and who was then under the com- and by coler of his office and command aforesaid, | mand aforesaid, of the said Captain Jones, te one eause and procure to be withdrawn from the | Joseph Wilson, @ Purser in the said Navy, and iblic use, and frem the custody of one Edward | likewise under the said command, with the intent . Reynolds, a purser in the Navy of the United | that the said sum should be more conveniently States, then and there charged with the custody | subject to the orders of him, the said Captain thereof for public use, a large sum of money, to | Jones, for his own private uses, adventures and wit, the sum of ten thousand six hundred and | gains; and, thereafter, in pursuance of said intent, forty-three dojlars and nine cents, of the fund | did, on the first day of Novebiher in the year known as the Muitary Contribution fund—the said | aforesaid, at Monterey Bay, order and direct the moneys then aad there being of the publi moneys | said Purser Wilson to exchange the moneys malice against the said Lieutenant Stanley. of the United States. aforesaid for uncoined gold at San Francisco, in i atl f ‘ti " i ‘ i vee ?. Bee i i Spe tea that the id C i ) i N J without warrant or authority of law, ordered and | teria! part of this specitication tothe third charge, | squa¢ron, and particularly so o! ~ *. He has | vance of the preofs. But I do not complain of this pease oF tae wel K e ome he mghen a come bere pete gee Seige ig re giteted caused the sentences of said courts to be executed; | to which the exception is directed. just been convicted a second time, bya naval gene- exertion of professional ability ia the discharge of | i ; 1 £ bp 3 vurser Wilson | 88d, by color of said usurped powers and unlawful | uring the operations of the war with Mexico, | Tl court martial. * * * * Mir. fl. will be | professional duty. | only desite to go at once to mandof the United Stat aval forces in the Pa- | Jones’ further orders; and the said Parser Wilson cific oceun, at San Francisco, in California, on the | having thereafter, to wit, between the last men- first dey of November, in the yeur of our Lord one | tioned day and the twenty-fifth day of the said thourand eight hundred and forty-eight, and on | month of November, executed the said order, the divers days and times, between the said first day | said Captain Jones did, on the said last mentioned of November, and the twenty-sixth day of | day, on board the U. 8. Ship Obio, in San Frain- the seme month, unlawfully and fraudulently did | ciseo Bay, take and receive the uncoined gold for convert to his own use, and by color of his office | which the said public moneys had been exchanged and command aforesaid, unlawfully and fraudu- | as aforesaid, and did receipt for the same to the lently cid cause and procure to be converted to said Purser Wilsen as the said sutn of ten thousand his own use, by adventuring, and causing to be ad- | six hundred and forty-three dollars nine cents, ventured, the same in his own private speculations | whereas the same was of much greater value. and adventures, and by dealing with the same as Specrficatven 2.—In this, that the said Captain the facts, to exhibit the entire truth, aad to havea woceediogs, inflicted divers cruel punishments » Unit m4 wi WwW. w tried again as soon as another court can be con- i e the United States sloop ot war Warren was \ fair and full trial on the merits. upon such office:s and seamen, and particularly | ; i in the of San Fran- | Vened,” &e..&e. on the twenty-third day of the said month of Octo- be ba yg frig ithe ion 8 (Counianted ‘The letter from which these extracts are taken was ber, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, in the bay of | Montgomery, of the Portsmouth,) despatched the | Teylied to by the Secretary of the Navy, in a letter San Francisco, in the waters of the United States, | Warren's launch, ia charge of his soa, the sailing | #ddressed to me, ia the following words, to Wit:— inflidted, and caused tobe inflicted, the punish- | joaster of that ship, accompanied by’ another of “ Navy Derareaent, March 1, 1849, ment of death upon two men, named John Black | Capt, Montgomery's cons, clerk to his father, in Your course respecting the officers re- and Peter Black, and who were of the crew of the | charge of a considerable amount of specie required ‘our despatch No. 85, of the Ist of Ne- - echconer Ewing; the said punishment of | py our troops in the neighborhood of Sutter's Fort, #A ipampreses”” death having been adjudged and sentenced against | 139 miles up the Sacramento river. From the day The criainel of nis reply, signed in the proper the said two men by a Court Martial ordered and | the jcunch left the Warren at anchor, near the | pand of Mr, Mason, is herewith offered to the convened as aforesaid, but net having been con- | ccene where the Ewing's boat's crew mntinied, no | Court. - . hi Tuos, Av C. Toxesy @ the Pacific Squadroa. | 850. ¢ ) Navy Devantent, Feb. 15, 1819. Srr:—Your despatch of the 27th of July, 1848 with its enclosures, respecting the fate of the officers in charge of the United States sloop War ren’s launch—has been received. Measures are taken to apprehend the wretches his own private funds and moneys, divers sums of | Jones, then being in command as aforesaid, on | ftmed by the President of the United States. tidings transpired of her fate, or the fate of her | “And on the 2lst of November, 1848, from the | who were concerned in the horrid murder teferred money, amounting in the whole to ten thousand | board’ the flag ship Ohio, Monterey Bay, on’ the | (S!#ed) mia A. GRAHAM, officers and crew, until some time in the early part | flag ship Ohio, at San Francisco, | made the fol- | to, ifthey cross the continent. If you succeed in fix hurdied and forty-three dollars and nine cents | twenty-fifth day of October, in the yeareighteen | vv Dy vn, Noerelary of the Navy. | of 1818, when some articles, known to have been | Jowing report to the Navy Department :— apprehending them, be pleased to’ bring them. to- =cihe same then and there being ofthe pubits mo | hundied and forty-eight, tm an oficial despatch, avy Derartuxnt, November 1, 1850. FT Te eee ee ee tne | sus) ceneee anumemumnan as Geleemen. orn teiats Tam, respectfully, | ‘Themes Ap Catesby Jones, then beingia command | and cause to be written, and falsely, scan- | /r-President and Gentlemen of the Court:— articles was such as to make it impossible that they .” Lam sorry to say that the combined infla- | _ Commodore ‘Thos. Ap ©. Jones, Commanding I desire that my plea of the general issue be en- could have been submer, ‘ + meng) ; 9 wed in the water, or could | ence and example of » produced no leas than | U, S. Squadron, Pacifie Ocean. tered 10 the Ist, 2d, Sd and dth charges, and the | have drifted on shore. Among them a box chto- | four trials of officers of thelr grade which bikini (Copy a ps dai - tn ag ma rte Liber vow ae orate nometer was identified. The woman said she | charges were severally pro\ed,and the accused ac- shine freee March 1, 1519 by undaetatian, newavels sence an ae » | obtained them from a sailor. Upon the discovery | cordingly sentenced in every ease.” Sir—Your couree respecting the efficers referred tiene t the veut es f th fects’ thi ein speci. | ofthis first glimmer of light as to the fate of those In a cespatch from the Navy Department, dated | 14 iq your despatch No. 35, of the 1st November; fied, of that may be civen inevidence under them, | Unfortunate young officers, for whom the most | March the Ist, 1849, I received from Mr. Secretary | Taig 4 caaed dpe: > to ‘alfect od with say orices or Stites sees the rae ee cow er withered brother anes Mason, the express assurance of his “ fall conti- You will be pleased to forward to the Departs " “ je» | Of the squadron—both for their own worth and | dence.” ‘ ji . copsinable by thle ourt ‘ nd ‘ I Hider eraany promise, and sympathy with their ber: father— | At length on the 15th of March, 1849, when the fo thetr dan en you receive ‘ee anane fine peg tomcat gg dg by fhe +4 i oc ‘4 & captain in the squadron, the most judicious means | quthority which | had been exercising in regard to | J). Seeient I vay reepectfally, aueaceat an in act en ar ome in scit | Were immediately employed nd put in force to | court martials, became questioned by some of the pa . Vout codtuabeis tpecibeations, Oras tay be wiven in viene aut | trace up the clue which had been accidentally dis- | jpsubordinate and arguing young officers of the (Signed) vent rte der them, 1?” 8 may Be given in evidence un- | covere:!, and to apprehend and bring to punishment | squadron. 1 reported to the Navy Department, and Commodore Thos. Ap ©. Jones, Commandit As to the 3d specification to the Sth charge, | | the criminals, if the suspicions thea entertained | applied for instructions; the following is the por- | 1) ‘Squadron Pacific Ocean, » ag desire to be ohare and dispensed from an j Be should be realized; but without any other result | tion of my despatch which referred to this matter: orm > +. slen of anewer, bat such os consists of the follow. | than to satisfy the late Col. R. B. Mason, myself, | «There is another important question mooted in 7 (Copy.) om ‘exceptions to the same, to wi end | believe all in California at the time the cir- | this squadrov,fapon which I need your instructions; __., Navy Devarraent, March 1, 1849. = egainst the validity of the 34 specifica. | cumstances occurred, that the launch’s crew had | it is the right of the Commander of the Pacitic Sir—Your despateh, No. 34, of the 25th October, tion to = seh haves, and “efi the sufficiency | M™tinied and murdered those officers. The sailors ron, to order courts martialgin the ports of | 1848, has been received. of the matte nd things therein charged and Y | of the Pacific uadron, I am sure were of that be- | California, now a territory of the United States. | Lieut. Lanman arrived at the department on the F thin lief, a8 I learned from a faithful coxswain who had | have no doubt upon this subject myself, at least un- Mth of February, ultimo, and delivered your dese | of the United States naval forces in the Pacific | dalously, and maliciously did S , 8 report sand trans- ocean, off Monterey, in California, on or about the | mit to the said Seersiary, o! and relate: | } thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord | ing Lieutenant Joseph F. Gree i one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, frau- | John B. Marchand, and. Lieutenant’ oo ‘Angaas dulently, and by color of his office and command | M. Craven, Lieutenants in the same Navy, the fol- sforesaid, did Cause and procure the sum of ten lowing false, scandalous, and malicious Tibel that thousand’six hundred and forty-three dollars and | is to sey: “Nothing, sir,” (meaning the said’ Sec- nine cents, of the public moneys of the United | retar ed can exceed the deplorable state of things States, of a certain fund known as the Military | in all Jpper California at this time, growing out of Contribution Fund, levied upon Mexico during the | the maddening eflects of the gold mania. I am wer between that republic aud the United States, | sorry to say, that even in this squadron, some of to be transferred from the custody of one Edward D. | the officers are a little tainted, and have manifested Reynolds, a purser in the navy aforesaid, then and | restlessness under moderate restrictions, impe- there charged with the custody thereof for public | riously demanded by the exigencies of the times, use, to the custody of one Joseph Wilson, a purser | as you will perorive by the enclosed paper addressed in the said meso with intent to convert said sum of | to three of the lieutenants,” (meaning the three money to his, the said Captain Jones’ own use, and | lieutenants above named ) Thereby falsely, scan- unlawfully and fraudulentiy, and by color of his | dalously, and maliciously imputing to the said office and command aforesaid, and with the in- | three lieutenants a bage and sordid disregard of tent aforesaid, at Monterey Bay, on the first day | their duty and character as officers of the said of November, in the year aforesaid, did address | Navy, anda restlessness under moderate and ne- and deliver, and caused to be delivered to the said | cessary restrictions springing from their being | “if, te constitute any crime or offence wi tunity to know their opipione. » Uni tended patches placed in his charge. Purser Wilson, then being under his command | tainted with the “gold mania” naB | the perview ory sage Collen apmahalibetnt sg 15. oNThe t iettiotalk of the Ewing’s boat knew all thie phe Seana ac ie meron ‘and | Lhave observed the serious difficulties in whicky aforesaid, the following order, to wit:— Specification 3.—In this, that the said Captain came OF Cepooen unforeseen circumstances have involved your com- i in | these facts relating to the Warren’s launch. | | cistinct courts composed of the senior and most in- and specified were in . give the narrative of it as taken from the recorded | telligent officers of the squadron have declared in | mand, and I am happy to say that the department with law, and with my duty. evidence of the trial—they attempted the like | favor of the right—neverthel some of the | has full a that your good judgment will 2d—Because they were acts and things of im- | crime nenr the seme scene, and witha like hope | younger officers deny it, and thereby produce | Carry you sa! ge them all. - Fiac Sir Onro, Monterey Bays) Jones, then being in command as aforesaid, on the November 1, 1848. Pacific station, on the fourteenth day of September, Sm—There being an unexpended balance of se- | in the year Cor hundred and forty-nine, was vera! thousaud doilars of the Military War Con- guity of wilful and deliberate falsehood, in writing i d opportunity ot impunity. They threw thetr | doubts and dissatisfaction on the minds of others. Lam, respectfully, your obedient servant, tnbution Fund, collected st Mazatlan by the | und transmitting to the Secretary of the Navy, in coer tha rach aoe able to the Pre- | cflicer Passed Midshipman’ Gibson’ the only offic | ‘The sooner that question can be settled by execu- (Signed ) J. Y. Mason. squadron during the late war with Mexico, over | certain despatch, numbered 67, the following | ““3i° Recause they were in pursuance and in| cer in the boat with them, into the sea, in the | tive or legislative action, the better for the cause of | Commodore Thos. Ap 0. Jones, Commanding and above every legitimate claim which [can now | language, viz :— faithful execution of the orders and instructions of | night, encumbered with his heavy watch-coat, to | law and order on this coast, and the discipline ad U.S, Squadron, Pacific Ocean. With regard to the balance of the Milit Contribution Fund which remained in my hands at the date of sy last returns, it has been turned sed in their dealings and operations for want of a | everto Purser KR. M. Price, Whose receipts, with silver circulating medium, you will, on yourar. | MY account current, will be duly forwarded to the rival at Sam Francisco, exchange se much of the | Feagyh Anditor of the Breacury aforesaid fund as may then be in your hands, fo. | ereas, the said balence hid not, in fact, been vnccined gold, at the current market price, which | turned over to the said Purser Price, and the said gold you will hold subject to my further orders, | Captain Jones well knew it had not been. Wasutxeton, Doe. 18, 1850, . Court met at half past ten A. M. , ‘The court sae oy in —— on the xceptions rai mst certain charges and specifications by the has y foresre as likely to arise against it; and as the in- habitants of Upper California, and especially the the pore’. bufiet egainst the strong currents of that coast, and | harmony of the squadron.” miners in the gold regions, are greatly embarras- 4th—Because, if I erred in my construction of | With no apparent probability of escape; but to men hae te, law. and convened co! |. and executed | meke sure of their victim, he was thrust under Te Nesp ho* odes samen nn cir sentences as specihed, sull thy acts in the | water by the two men named Black, whilat others | « Commodere Tuos, At. G. JOxts : vremices, 88 alleged and specified, Consticuve uv | vf the Weerew vociferated, “tail, kill, or Commanding U. 8. Squadron, Pacifie— crime or oflence within the purview of the naval | drown, drown the damn rascal,” or the like * etic: * * Court being reopened, the sudge Advocate read articles of war, or otherwise cognizable by this | words; and, under the impression that the deed “The question in relation to the right of the | theirdecision upon the exceptions by the accused court, but were offences against the law of the | was done, rowed away with the boat to an unfre- Comanendapin Ciel of the U. 8. Squadron in the | t© the third specification of the fifth charge. land, and exclusively cognizabte by the ordinary eee part of the eastern shore of the bay of San | bacitic, to convene courts martial, has been sub- | decided that Commodore Jones, while on the Pa Very respectfully, &c., CHARGE Iv. courts of criminal judicature. rancisco, where they landed at an early hour . on - a your obedient servant, : pe . . WNeglect of Duty. 2 In support of which several grounds of this ex- | next morning, and from thence, by unfre Ae torf pied ~ Oe Sper San, eee Capea b it ppg pet eathoehy te uring Cee martial (Fond); mendebic ChistU. 8. Rew” | lecsnt sian belek te, eseeuad colin Cname | ae seed pesvtea.va be olla treds dtcasie ket | ler tea Upson Waneameotes sal, teeeal Gr ioeee | cemeea Midshipman Beales. if nor, it wit be for | suited, even in eases of capital punishment, first to- | a SS eset — , n e right, ing to be allowed, ifne for T Sacramento, until, fore T 5 Q is | Forces, Pacific Ocean. | States Naval forces in the Pacific ocean, on the said | to muintain them further by argument and autho: | to seek Hood, they went into ‘the ‘embryo town | Warde : by the tiret aay afterward. pe or ye floes gdp nnn th i the Dome To Purser Sos. bd ye Pag nies pomapenagen Ma Lea le ~~ of | November, in rity, if the court shall entertain doubt that the said | called “New York of the Pacific,” near one of pleads or servant, the two men was an offence on his part which . 5 d ° ; - aaine P gt | for «long + rior oe tall ag cig .m 34 specification to the said 3d charge should be | the mouths of the San Joaquin, where Lieut. Me- (Signed) Wot. Battanp P nae s beyond the jurisdiction of this court to set aside, quashed, and dismissed as null, and | Arthur, commander of the Ewing, had preceded | _ Thus gtili leaving me, till pecmean eae ton weenie at Using ole to eee chased | Moneys of the United States, of the fund known | ‘tst—That { had authority of law. OGS ceased Grisman at Ten i08., | the Atiomey General, ‘which never camey to pur gy Bag Hl. Faye > as the Malitary Contribution Fund, kept and regu 35th article of the naval articles of war | Gibson were fortunately heard by some passer by, | SUC the course I had before pong with their moneys aforesaid, amounting to the sum aforesaid, | '1Y disbursed by the Pursers of the Navy under his | empowers “ the commander of a squadron, while | who went to his relief; but not until life was appa feteranadl the and approbation, which | distinctly , * | command, for the public use, and neglected to re- | acting out of the United States (1 cite the exact | rently extinct. The body, when recoverec, was in | formed them to be in accordance with my own at Sen Francisco aforesaid, on the eleventh, four- _ th 8 4 teenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, twenti- | bs: ne Pot aud eoretend bp veoh apices oie words of the law) to convene general courts | @ state of entire insensibilty, and the attending eg 5 gaged, « Beam nengpegmoms Bead wre language in which the charges and eth, and twenty-first days of the said month of | ang took the said moneys under his own martial.”” - hysician saw no hope of the life which, however, until otherwise instructed. [ ‘did j: were drawn up. It was the province of the court in: | h peraon The 4st article empowers him to confirm and skill, under Heaven, succeeded most unexpect- meer yiee tow n, & RODOE SEL SOE TORRY bs November” and ps Figs ea ag . o tree be control, and so managed and disposed the same, | execute a sentence Pp at . or any other, ‘if the edly in Testoring. - - such instructions, and | therefore did continue 80 pad LIT and chars Bo die Del ohaae tad trotere ths aid cevenied | On ing the time aforesaid, and during the whole | trial takes place out of the United States, ind Midshipman Gibeon been drowned outright, | 8° 6 1 a hy lew te thie E. D, Reynolds aworn.—On the Stet Octoher; old, to be delivered by the said geet May to | fo interest to pes tnd injery saat the'sald hand to es pedi tain sieg tas bdaishan of courts ody into whion' e Tantnoue pte on whom i the responsi, veither legal or met 148, 1 held the commission of a purser in the Unie im, the said Captain Jones, on board the United | depredation and embezzlement » 0 {| ral! Is the legai responsibility with me or with | ted States navy, on the Pacific station; I was there. in 8 . 4 . “4 and the execution of sentences are not permitted | mutineers, they would probably have made good ihe ‘ about J August, Sao the fwaoty bah a ana phe age Jeden, ibendelaa tn cabaaen bod Po vomblh > rer te commanders of squadrons within the United their escape to ‘he mien, aa the discovery would feoliclns eotitaeen teed ran Nae tee 187, cad November, 1619; ry thesis of October, ember, and did then and there take and re- | jaying ir 4 vad ape ety » nor would the pursuit have stions | 1848, Com. Jone: in © Pacific ceive the same for ; his own use and private traffic | pn soos we igi — a of the See- | “Phe question, therefore, is—Was the Pacific | been so hot; neither would the officers of the squad- ron pe sesbality lat our PE age senioons I think atthat time oie “Sonseveyy } and gain, and did then and there fraudulently and the fet da ‘of March, 1819. 6 wall ay mon aees Squadron, under my command on the coast of | 10M have received that aid or assistance from the | 4. commented I on a remote sea, engaged ia an | 1 Was charged with custody of public moneys; deceittully give to the said Purser Wilson, a receipt ing } & a, containing OW" | California, within or without the United States, | Citizens, in regaid to mere desertions, which they | srauous service “encompassed with unexampled | | cannot say what particular amount at that times nd signed by him, the said Captain | "ht 4 vor desirable that the accounts of Mili- | Within the meaning of the naval articles, at the | S8ve to the apprehension of murderers. i, | embarrasements and di culties, far from home | it was a large amount; I had charge of moneys re~ | tary Contributions collected from the enemy shall | ‘me ef these transactions !—that isto say, after the Had the commander of the Pacific squadron, | and all reliable sources of information and legal larly appropriated; also, of military contribae 8. H ws ht — Josey wine. Soom U- | be setiled without delay, and the Balance’ unex- pag As Tw ethene pegs cad betore oad laws | or tg egy og he pact neg ec advice ; the government, on the other hand was a ee la dipowicn made of the pititary storeship Lexington, the sam of ten thousan i jicial eystem nited States had been | from the responsibilit exe- roun " contri \fornia refu- pe sintains \jollars and nie centa, | Pended in preventing the war with Mexico and its J y' ¥> sibility surrounded with all the means and facilities for a geen eat RO See yt And by the means aforesaid, and with the in- | the said comma neglected to have the public ws of the land. But deciding that the modore had acted consistently with the laws regu- | the service, the court ordered the said third ciftcation to the fifth charge to be quashed.— ‘he court could not take nizance ot the com- int of the accused, as to the harshness of the ications extended over the acquired territory? cuting the law in regard to these mutineers, how | sound, sure and prompt judgment, which the laws necessary incidents, should be paid into the Trea- i ases ones; ($10,643 09,) in full of all demands om account of fury of the Unite!’ Seton cote ‘die The words within, or out of the United States, | ™#ny like cases of mutiny and murder, as those | and institutions of our country could afford. Can | York volunteers, by order of Com. Ji { think the same amount, for which he gave triplicate ro- may be made exclusively of eporoptiated money, in the hi of a law like the naval articles of | of > Warren’s launch and the Ewing's boat, | the government, even in the fast straight or em- about the 31st October, 1848; I did not pay over any eeipts on the Sst ultimo, to Edwar ‘olds, Yon will be pleased to take the necessary measures | War, Which construct and establish a judicial eys- | ¥OUld now blacken the annals of the Pa- | barrasements of this matter, decline their advice, | PAtt of this fund to any other officer; hut l do not reer U. 3. ship Warren, acting as special agent | to eflect this object.” r military contributions, for which amouat he 1) peglect to take the necessary mensures to effect mber; some time in November, L. tem’and machinery, create courts, and confer | cific sqeadrony and the records of the Navy | and withhold their intentions, and throw upon me think 1 pald over Ti of this fund to Purser Wii is fund to Purser their jurisdiction, and apply these terms to detine | Department! Notwithstanding their crime, the | the responsibility of a decision and action! Can was responsible to me. Tuos. Ar C. Jones. | the said object. This on the said Paciit the juriedietion, must be Constroed by the . | highest in the naval code, and attended with | the government now, which allowed, approved and | £0me 10,600 and odd dollare, by order of Com. Vm .e'Pances Hays Nov. 251808" Ste th iy of Sapo Jeroen, ad |S and mow mpm lest al nga, | athe emsrareee, th ev ewe | iia me he’ Rin aun, adie | Sper wan ee Monty OF a - ae thenceforth during the continuan ft to use these ‘out Jnited as - with me any instructions of a coa- —i he itary on i ‘said pooner of the said meaning the extent to which its laws coma and | Means of defence consistent with a tair trial. The trary nature, hold me reaped and pursue ms of 1848 in my custody was not less under Com. Whereas, in truth and in fact, the said Captain | Captain Jones in best counsel in California was employed. b Po vga: A mar : ie me to -, or any part thereof, from the seit usees aes haired cen, ee pa yey strictly conversabip, and its most obvious and | The question of the jurisdiction of that court was Wand i _” Snan 4 peng meg which order I have not with cons Laid not consider gus chou "ihe ‘sume being of much greater | ship, the Ohio, in the Bay of ‘San Francisco, hav- and given jurtediot jon J wig he Unned Semon, Sere ae ene © le aoe oe gl | b= overnment ba a Seen ale ~ tk the Sa et value than the sum aforesaid, to and for his, the | ing premiees certain official migra hap = 4 because there is there no other judicial system; Spagithal caren cel cneeae ace a Shawne y m..... ly th pak aria oem: “er vue tui, sprcuan, and ais thereby, and aary, 12 comainng among eter thing the | aang’ the wemies of deal” The commmeader | ‘nr jecieme apohey court marta) ahd decided, | crib and faith, and honor," so favenly and ua: | «~-Wae the military contribution fund, while * 5 = 3 as it always had been before, and always was pli conduct profuse was ited jones, by means ot the premises, fraudulently and un- following language: is empowered to institute these courts, because sherwarde, by. all other courts before whieh the — af ineveris oe these Sacer ach pore placed in your hands as patver ia the navy, ots a fund ? fully converting the public moneys of the |“ The ‘tment is anxious to have a full ac- | there is no higher Officer, no other officer in i = count of Mili Contributions collected, . question was raised. The sentence of death was | fairly characterize in th ts of all ho- | Special agent for disbursing that particular ted States to his ows use, and committing a | tary, a col , and of | whom this high but necessary power is invested. x sons The court was Cleared. for consultation upoa the U Ys ry certified on the record as sustained by the majorit men: fraud again the nai ted Slates. sa their di sition.” hen and thenostorth ounug Within the United States, Aceees can be had tothe | Cf two-thirds, which the law voquires, and er when raites Galies aaa betrays foithfal went | Question, and on re-opening, the court declared that Specification in this, that the said Captain pong L - - peg te| z a ‘wich ouch fall President for the institution of the court, and for | mitted without a recommendation to merey from a 1? Tam far fro , At ithets it could not see the relevancy of the question i Jones having, in the mann tT and under the cireum- pt a partment such full ac- | the revisione of ite j is; and, within the tingle member of the court, thus conveying to me | this government yd Aw am os Com. Jones put in an explanation of the fitness j speetheation, purchased aad caused to be purchas: | . Specifcation 4.—In thie, that the said Captain | uniee, orate, thet, camel erimes which, with: that every member of the court was of opinion that | from inking them metited—nor would I seek to | Of the question, when the court withdrew ail objec= 4, the uncelued geld thereia, mentioned, with the Jones, then being in command as aforesaid, on the | from this jurisdiction, and rexerved for the ordinary | Victs’; nordid T recence fan way cede that apritigt ott osteniote iaiciel Lecce ray esi rotted fc ce pastel eaeats pure public moneys of the United States therein men- | first day of August, in the teen hundred | courts of ‘civil judicature: thus retai the mili- e . f “4 javectigation of 7 | seria thet 1 reouive from S wr Yorvod tioned, upon the pretexts set forth in his wri and forty-eight, on the Paci “Eis. Reppelde wae next oleae prove a t Jones’s control than that of any other purser of the rer ad recommendation to mercy, or application for ic ’ aforesaid, in | tary inw in proper subjection to the civil, wherever | *”Y, Ys jeation for a | integrity and conduct. The misfortune of the de- eived the said gold on said 8 m, , sary meane o ration. ithe el the mare a Unk | Ua ioe ier ee Perens | onsen gmeacy cena the ero | i'n oar dad exces olson the temac | beret opetntion om when hey ed | len cefoet Glia, Lak inetd lerwarda, on the twenty. 0- r é je it we were not, at the time of (ma! A J in the year eighteen headeed ond forty. with the duty of collecting the Military Contribu- | these transactions, in the actual exercise of ‘ar Seen pote ae rai — Navy Department in a brief period of as many | that me Ate wy Tdid not hold myeele he Hay of San Francisco, frandulesily | tion Fund at Mevatien, in California, negligently, | legal domision over it. We had not extended | rrerbcard, and the ther three who stood by aids | Lotte Aaa hectare ner armed othe official | enponeitie to the Treseury Department’ of ; it, or estal i v a crane canard uncon the Cated Sttce made y he sald Urea sad | (em, "Wi beac epee wnat ue | sand seg but ound wanectiery add | for my atl cxection et the Stes ose Se yay gold, parce! of the same gold which had been pur- Statement and account of a large sum of money, | or annulled the established system for the admi- difficulty in reeognizing the least legal or moral rete: + am thrown into arrest and sent to a = Sy the v4 err as special chased with the public moneys of the United | 1 Wit:—the sum of twelve thousand seven hun- ration and execution of the old laws. All the | Gistincti¢a in the guilt of (he parties Butt hoped | crrntebY is successor, But of these things, cence tt the Cccmrere ei ies apeciel agent, States as aforesaid, by shipping the same upon his dred and eighteen dollars and forty-three cents, | jaws in existence at the time of the transfer, con- that a partial execution of the sentence might be on yy re behind, | make no compiaint; I Jeet, he styled me ned fon the sub- own private account and for his own private uses, for commissions as compensation for the dischar, tinued till repealed by the new sovereign; and | sufficient for the discipline of the squadron, tnd the bo adh ave expected that age, services, official q y! special agent. | ee er — for the military emt | collected at Mate culatio to New York, on board of | Of his duty aforesaid; and negligently sutlered t tis forced to this conclusi ‘sanc- t rank, and personal character, would have shielded | @-—Have you got that letter. the United oreship Lexington; coucianaag | seid Greene to retain the sa Tom teen the pre- tion bya jadielel feoogaition, What ho court of satan wee confirmed only in reward to the two me fiom some of the imputatiens which have been $y aon ie Pat | ehall be able to produce tt. pag ph ~~ pe i. oe at oe CHARGE Y. wat of fs — po ree A 5 ie a 1 feel that I should pay but aa ill compliment to beck r my pest Ti Anat have sate ders ng addressed me as special egeat wan not my only tees and procuring the said two hundred and seventy: Oppression favre, applica 2? 2 meh no law, oF system of | wig Court itl were to offer further explanation to | Navy Department, and if it should so to | fom for soting, as auch. From the tenor of the , I was five and a quarter ounces of gold to be disposed of, ion 1 —In this, that the said Captain as they afterwards in fact were, for the private use and benefit of him, the said Captain Jones. Specificatron 5 —In this, that the said Captain eeean. ing at Sansalito, California, on board Jones having, inthe manner and under the circum- 8 fleg ship, the Savannah,on or aboat the twenty- California refugee payments from this partic fund. The Saas lated I before referred Ps tews ‘ite unnecessa! le satiefy them of the necessity and justice of the | come before a court martial of my some piessthe Came, OK Wy ieedenne execution of this sentence. But I may take ocea- | of the mptions in favor of Peco characier eneral principle. But I am advised by counsel | *on to add, solemnly to affirm it, thatl have | andja fair life; I might |, that in those feurned in the laws, that the principle here stated | not yet heard, and do not believe that any men ia parts of my oflieial conduct, when a'good motive | Rot the poe but can produce it in the morning. is establiched (which, indeed, was not encom- | California, in the Pacitic squadron, or inthe Navy, | eppeared, a good motive might be imputed; 1 | By defence—The first deposit of this military stances set forth and charged in the third specifica- | Binih day of October, in the year eighteen hundred | peaced with any well founded doubts before,) by | having & kuowledge of the facis, has ever ques- | might have expected that even in an unsettled ac- ; Contribution fund was placed in my hand at La tion of thie charge, caused and procured the sum ®D4 forty-nine, had transmitted to hi having | the Supreme Court of the United States, at ita last | toned, that the execution of these mutineers wag | Count current, an apparent error in a few dollars,to fete fs refagece” a) 1 the purpose of page of ten thousand six hundred and forty-three dotiare | Teceived for teview the proceedings of a certain | cession, in the decision of Page vs. Fleming, which | RECf##arY, except the two lieutenants who seized | Which my attention was never called, until { saw | i ein) refugees. and nine cents of the public moneys of the United | Court Martial theretofore convened on board the is grounded on the doctrine, that ports het by the | their opportunity to add this grave charge to their | it" of the specifications just read, would pass | 1. gr tlson sworn --In October and Noveme States, known as the Military Contribution Fund, to | U. 8 sloop-of war Warren, at ancher in the bay of | United States were not Within ite juriediction and | OWN Unfounded personal complaints against me. error merely, and would neither be sus- | ber) 1846, | held commission of purser in the navy, be invested in uncoined gold; and having received | Sam Franciseo, Upper California, by his order, in | ihe operation of its revenue laws, till the same 3d. That din pursuance of the instructions gS ed. nor impared fora * fraua” and a‘ faise- bk ‘acific on, under command of Commodore: the said uncoined gold, to wit: nine hundred and | the case of Lieutenant Fa Stanley, of said | were duly extended over them by express provi. | Of the government. ood.” But I make no complaints, and proceed to heft th eighty-t and one-fourth ounces of grain gold on | Navy, upon certain cting the charac- | sions, The treaty of peace found me exerci: all the | the left the board ship Ohio, on the twenty-fifth day of | tT of the said Lieutenant Stanley as an officer, And I am further advised, that the argument | powers of a commander of @ squadron on a foreign {th. Ground of exception, to wit—That if I erred | Ceived publi November, in the yenr eighteen hundred and forty- | and imputing falsehood to the said Lieutenant | under this head is not material, because, if this | #Ation—convening courts and executiug their sen- | in the law, and my authority to convene couris | that time, to the amount of $10,643 09. I received t, at San Francisco bay, afterwards on the day | Stanley; that is;to say-— round of exception to the charge were untenable, | tencer. [continued the exercise of this power, | martial, and execute their sentences, it was not an | it by order of Commodore Jones, and receipted for and year jast aforesaid, at San Francisco al , | 2 Disobedience of orders. netead of being, as it is, surrounded with impreg- | Tevorting my Proceedings thereia, as in al other | offence of which this court can take jurisdiction — | it, iknow ledgiog myseit ble to him. That and on divers other days and times, ana at divers | 2 Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentle- | patie defences of law, teaon, and authority raft, | matters, regularly and habitually, to the govern- | It is obvious and unquestionable, the naval | isthe receipt. By order of Commodore Jo other places, which last mentioned days, times, and = man. the other exceptions are sufficient and incontro: | Ment; and receiving no instructions to the con- | articles herein before cited, that my lawfal autho- | (the order isin file there), 4 purchased gold wees, are unknown to the said Secretary the | And having be ore him the finding of the said | verible, trary, of course am presumed legaily, and, in fact, | rity for acts turns wholly on the fact, whe. | With the money. lavy, fraudulently did convert the said gold to his | Court, to the eflect, that the said Lieutenant Stan- 2d—That they were acts of necessity, essential | to have acted with their concurrence and appro- | ther I was acting within or out of the United St ites. The order was read, ording on exchange of own use, and fraudulently did sell and diepoee of, | ley Was technically convicted of disobedience of ot- | yo sne preservaton.of the equedron.”” bation, So far, now, as this goveramentis con- | Now, if | was within the United Staves, and took | the silver specie fot gold dust, for the pare If ever a naval force of our country was in a | eetned, they can make no complaint, and take | the lives of these men without any authority of law obtaining a. more convenient ich presen’ raordinary no proceeding against me, bein, ee ee for my proceedings, the Sante Fy B- Sais preoepio aake own, saeet “obeqerrenst aed tion; and | that crime this court has ; spore ders, but that no punishment should be adjud, og ot, Oe sold gotd | against — and ‘that the vaid Lieutenant agley 5; F i i Jare of which several quantities and parcels are nn- | Was not gui i”, of the said charge of conduct unde- #0 purchased on board the known to the said jand an T and a gentleman; andthe 0; every rule of law, as well as ity, their | ssysthe 2lst article of war, ° jones. I took gaine and profits, which he, t sald conta of thesaid Court accompanying the said fiadiog in Pine cect a eomanaee Semmeend wine ai mheespent Consent was ent to previous COM pet of pi0,era be vf ae rs . Ap Catesby Jones, fraudulently converted | the ing eRe Cult and hazatdouswervice, required allthe ordar, for | have not, until ne charges, received marige belonging to any public ship, or of eed }, received on board me, jane Nov. to his own use. “ The Court therefore feels itself bound by its | and support which the law can give him, and any intimation that I acts, which I was | the United States, without the territorial janadie- acy thee, he} delivered ao other cmahen n. own sense of justice and propriety, to express in | which only he can be fortified, and sustained, and | Tegulorly reporting to were not in exaet | tion of the same, may be with death by | Or money than the uncoiaed know of no Atgcrceeng 0 Sven apuinat the Unaied States. | arthe vecused didaor mtend opraciestnesngnr, | Rel 0, the diaaherge of hs duty vo hie ouaty, | Secgrganen Wan ney 4atp Gad Gutherty, Gad Geir | She Mera court martial joriedione ie murat | gala oe yf tendered an coorion etna a 10 practics the slight- 4 wishes. om—In thie, that the suid Captain | ost decepion whatever, either towards Licutcuant | it,wee the Pecihe sqiedron and ite comme But [ was not left to infer their a tion from | wi a the ‘United States, which this 21st article | Jones the prices paid for i va bare