To James Madison from Stephen Cathalan Jr., 27 March 1807
From Stephen Cathalan Jr.
Marseilles 27th March 1807.
Sir
In my letter of the 10th. november last, I had the honor of inclosing you the Statement of the American vessels entered into this Port from the 1st. January 1806. to and included the 30th. June last, also the statement of the vessels sailed from this Port during that Period;
I now remit you here inclosed the statemt of the fifty five vessels arrived here from the 1st. July 1806. to & included the 31st. December last,1 also the statement of the thirty Eight vessels sailed from this, in that same period;2
The list of our vessels will be more numerous this year than ever before from this Port, not only on acct. of the advantageous trade they carry on direct from & to the United States, but also with other Ports in the Mediterranean, while it Remains but a small number of Neutral Colours, & since the differences between the United States & Tunis have been amicably terminated, which agreable intelligenc⟨e⟩ I published here on the 11th. inst, on the Receipt of commo⟨dore⟩ Hugh G Campbell’s letter he addressed to me from Tunis, dated 26. January last.
I beg your refference to the here inclosed repport on violence committed in this Port of Marseilles on Board the Brig Sally of Philadelphia Ml. Brown Master, on which & on such one committed at Antwerpt,3 a Decree of the Emperor of France King of Italy of the 20th. November last has forbidden to the tribunals of France cognizance of such cases. I have the Honor to be with great Respect Sir Your most Obed. Humble & devoted Servant
Stephen Cathalan Jun⟨r.⟩
RC and enclosures (DNA: RG 59, CD, Marseilles, vol. 2). For enclosures, see nn. 1–3.
1. Cathalan enclosed “A Statemt of the American Vessels entered into this port of Marseilles, Since the ⟨1st⟩ July untill the 31st of December 1806,” 31 Dec. 1806 (2 pp.; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Cathalan; docketed by Brent as received in Cathalan to JM, 27 Mar. 1807). At the end of the list of fifty-five vessels is added the U.S. schooner Enterprize, for a total of fifty-six vessels. Cathalan also signed the addition.
2. Cathalan enclosed “A Statement of the American Vessels Cleared from the port of Marseilles Since the 1st. of July to the 31st. December 1806,” 31 Dec. 1806 (2 pp.; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Cathalan; docketed by Brent). At the end of the list of thirty-eight vessels is added the U.S. schooner Enterprize, for a total of thirty-nine vessels. Cathalan also signed the addition.
3. The enclosure is Cathalan’s 27 March 1807 report to JM “on violence and unlawful means Committed on Board the Brig sally of Philadelphia” in the port of Marseille (14 pp.; docketed by Brent as received in Cathalan to JM, 27 Mar. 1807). On 28 August 1806 Capt. Michael Brown of the Sally informed Cathalan that mate William Carter had struck and “wounded Severely with an axle at the right arm” Francis Hunter, one of the seamen of the Sally. Cathalan suggested to Brown that “it would be proper” to put Carter in the navy prison, but Brown responded that doing so would be unnecessary as Brown had already “turned [Carter] before the Mast.” The following day, Brown informed Cathalan that French gendarmes had arrested Carter and committed him to a criminal justice prison. Cathalan recounted the steps he had taken to investigate the incident, including interviewing three witnesses on board the Sally and Hunter in his hospital bed, and provided details from those declarations. Cathalan also visited the French prison to interview Carter and found that the French authorities were already in the process of so doing. Cathalan enclosed copies of his communications, in French, with M. Ricaudy, the magistrate of safety in Marseille who had interrogated Carter in prison: 1) Cathalan to Ricaudy, 2 Sept. 1806, complaining that by failing to notify Cathalan of the arrest or questioning of Carter, Ricaudy had violated the terms of the 14 November 1788 convention between the United States and France “defining and establishing the functions and privileges of their respective consuls and vice consuls”; 2) Ricaudy to Cathalan, 3 Sept. 1806, assuring Cathalan that Ricaudy had acted within his duty and that Carter would receive a fair trial; 3) Cathalan to Ricaudy, 10 Sept. 1806, complaining that officials had refused to allow the Sally to leave port; and 4) Ricaudy to Cathalan, 13 Sept. 1806, stating that the Sally had received permission to sail. Cathalan noted that Hunter’s injuries “with an adz” gave “Scarcely no hopes” that he would recover the use of his right hand and fingers and that Carter faced four to six years in jail if convicted. Hunter ultimately dropped the charges against Carter in return for a $200 cash payment from those interested in the vessel and its cargo and returned to Philadelphia on the Sally on 26 October 1806. Carter was tried “for the form” and acquitted in December 1806. Cathalan also enclosed a copy of an extract from Napoleon’s 20 November 1806 decree declaring that French courts would not intervene in such incidents among crew members of neutral vessels.