HC Deb 04 May 1869 vol 196 cc105-6
SIR JOHN HAY

said, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it is true that a vessel under the Flag of the United States of North America has been captured in British Colonial Waters by a Spanish Gun-vessel, and condemned as lawful prize in a Cuban Prize Court; and what course Her Majesty's Government have taken in consequence?

MR. OTWAY, in reply, said, it was true that a vessel had been captured under the flag of the United States and taken to Havannah, where she had been condemned as a good prize by the Cuban prize court. The Government had every reason to believe that the vessel was captured in British colonial waters, but this was denied by the Spanish Government. No time had been lost in communicating with that Government, but in the imperfect state of the information possessed by Her Majesty's Government it was not desirable to state the nature of that communication.