To James Madison from Carlos Martínez de Yrujo, 14 October 1805 (Abstract)
From Carlos Martínez de Yrujo, 14 October 1805 (Abstract)
§ From Carlos Martínez de Yrujo. 14 October 1805, Philadelphia. Has the honor to send JM the attached copy of a letter just received from the governor of Puerto Rico,1 to the effect that the American brigantine Neptune, which was supposed to have been captured by a French or Spanish cruiser called Resource, Captain Janet, has not come to his port nor any of the others in his district. Asks JM to observe with satisfaction the just and friendly disposition of the governor toward American citizens and vessels, as a necessary consequence of those which characterize the king in this regard.
RC and enclosure (DNA: RG 59, NFL, Spain, vol. 2). RC 2 pp.; in Spanish. For enclosure, see n. 1.
1. The enclosure is a copy of Toribio de Montes to Yrujo (2 pp.; in Spanish; undated), acknowledging receipt of Yrujo’s 25 Aug. 1805 dispatch and the papers pertaining to the Neptune, captured by a French or Spanish privateer and said to have been sent to one of the western ports of Puerto Rico. After making the most effective and diligent inquiries, he said that the ship had not arrived anywhere on the island, that the capture and entry could not have happened without his knowledge, and he asked Yrujo to make that known to the owners and JM. He further added that in his jurisdiction the rights of neutrals were respected, particularly those of American citizens, with whom the king had intimate connections, demanding conduct that did not give the lie to the sentiments of justice that characterize him, as all American ships and crews that have come to Puerto Rico have experienced. He said that if he could find out the fate of the Neptune, he would inform Yrujo and proceed appropriately (editor’s translation).