§ MR. GOURLEYsaid, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it be correct that at the time of the seizure of the American Brig "Mary Lowell," on the 15th March last, in the British Waters of the Bahamas, that vessel had on board an Officer of Her Majesty's Customs; and, if so, whether it be the intention of Her Majesty's Government to demand the surrender of that vessel; and, if any demand has been made in reference to this seizure upon Her Majesty's Government by the Government of Washington?
MR. OTWAYsaid, in reply, that he was unable to give any further answer to the Question than he gave the other day to a Question put In the Hon, and gallant Member opposite (Sir John Hay). The facts were that the Mary Lowell, an American vessel, was captured by a Spanish man-of-war, and there seemed to be good reason to believe in British colonial waters. She was taken to Havannah and condemned by a Cuban prize court as a prize. Some communications had been made to the Spanish Government on the subject; and, pending the result of them, it was not desirable to state what was the nature of the instructions which had been issued by Her Majesty's Government, and that answer applied with still more force to the latter part of the Question.