river, out of provisions, with her officers and crew, including her captain, dead or sick with fever, and prays for assistance; and a telegraphic message sends from the quarantine my health officers on board, with medical supplies and other aid. I have thus given to the Department a full explanation of the complaints involved in my administration of the quarantine laws.

Upon the other branches of the inquiry relating to the Spanish steamer Cardenas, I am most happy to report.

As to the Spanish steamer Cardenas, let me observe that the did not come to me in such manner as to command the highest degree of courtesy or respect.

The Cardenas left Havana on the 31st of May after "epidemic yellow fever" had made its appearance there, bringing many passengers, a large portion of whom were rebels, who had been in Havana buying arms and munitions of war for the Confederate, having on board, to bring her up the river two pilots who had successfully conducted vessels through the blockade.

She ran past the fort without stopping, which was permitted because she was mistaken by the officer of the guard for the U. S. steamer Connecticut, then hourly expected, which mistake caused the Connecticut to be fired at when she made her appearance and attempted to go by without reporting.

The Cardenas then loitered up the river till near night, and, without coming up to the usual place of landing or reporting to the harbor master, came alongside a wharf some three miles below the usual places of steamboat landing and put on shore all her passengers without passports being examined or any report to any person, so that many obnoxious persons escaped into the city, and the provost-marshal has never been able to ascertain the character of all her passengers. Will it be pretended that any captain of a Spanish steamer is so ignorant as not to know that such conduct is in the highest degree improper in landing passengers at a military post?

Mr. Tassara says well "that no difficulty was made about landing the passengers from the steamer." True, because they and their baggage were surreptitiously landed miles blow the usual landing place, without the knowledge of any person friendly to the United States, but evidently with the knowledge of the secessionists, because the captain says in his protest that "crowds invaded the vessel" as soon as she made the wharf.

She was ordered back to quarantine, but many frivolous excuses and delays were interposed by her officers until a most peremptory order, accompanied by a threat, was given, which she obeyed. After a proper quarantine the Cardenas came up-not thirty days, but one, precisely, such as was thought sufficient.

I do not understand Mr. Tassara's notion about reciprocity in quarantine. He seems to insist that if we require a long quarantine at New Orleans, the Governor-General of Cuba will require an equally long one at Havana. But what need of a quarantine at all against epidemic yellow fever in a port where it is already raging in its most virulent form? What possible reciprocity of quarantine could there be between Iceland and Vera Cruz?

I have endeavored to make quarantine a sensible, not senseless, regulation.

It is complained, however, that the U. S. steamship Roanoke suffered a shorter detention at quarantine than the Cardenas, and that she sailed from Havana on the day after. (This is an uncandid