way of stating the fact.) The Roanoke sailed from New York, went into the harbor at Havana, staid less than twenty-four hours, and held little or no communication with the shore. Her captain reported her at quarantine station as direct from New York. Was there any reason for so long a quarantine for her as for a vessel loaded in Havana? When the Roanoke was about to sail for New York at her return from New Orleans a large number of Spanish persons were desirous of taking passage in her to Havana and engaged passages accordingly.

Upon application to the Spanish consul for a bill of health, as the purser of the Roanoke informed me, the consul or vice-consul told him that as I had quarantined the Cardenas the consul would not give the Roanoke a bill of health, but would report that New Orleans was afflicted with epidemic fever unless I would permit the Cardenas to come up, and if so a clean bill of health would be given.

The effect of and motive for this conduct were obvious. If the Roanoke went to Havana and carried her passengers she would take away this business from the Cardenas. If she carried such a bill of health as to put her in quarantine at Havana no New York passenger would sail in her, so that she must lose one or the other lot of passengers. This seemed to me so unjust that I sent for the consul for an explanation. I understood his explanation to be exactly what the purser of the Roanoke had informed me it had been told him.

It is proper to remark here that I have been since assured by the Spanish consul, for whom I really entertain a high respect, that this conversation was misunderstood by all parties, neither understanding the other's language. I told the consul at that interview that any retaliation upon the Roanoke for any supposed wrong done by me to the Cardenas ought not to be and would not be permitted. That if he slandered the health of the city of New Orleans by giving any report that epidemic fever existed here when he knew it not to be the fact, preventing trade and commerce coming to this port by such false report, that I would certainly send him out of the city, to Havana, and report his conduct to the Governor-General, as the nearest Spanish authority. And in that event this I most assuredly would have done. That the bill of health of the Roanoke must be such as was required by the laws and his instructions precisely as if nothing had been done to the Cardenas.

To this (as he was interpreted to me to say) the consul replied that he would not give a clean bill of health to the Roanoke because it was now past the 1st of June, and whatever might be the health of the city, in fact, he must report it unhealthy. Further, that if I still held the Cardenas under quarantine he would write to the Governor-General of Cuba not to send any more vessels here.

To that I replied that he would give my compliments to the Governor-General of Cuba and say that until the yellow fever season was over he could do me and the city no so great a favor as to prevent vessels from coming here.

I then put in writing and handed the consul my claim that he should give a bill of health to the Roanoke required by his laws and the regulations of his Government, regardless of my treatment of the Cardenas.

The interview here ended. The bill of health, however, which was given to the Roanoke was such (although the city was perfectly healthy) that her officers did not dare to sail to Havana lest they should be held to quarantine there in a city where the smallpox and the yellow fever were both raging, and she was in consequence obliged