The Adula

Decision Date26 February 1900
Docket NumberNo. 167,167
Citation44 L.Ed. 505,176 U.S. 361,20 S.Ct. 432
PartiesTHE ADULA
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

This was a libel in prize against the British steamship Adula, then under charter to a Spanish subject, which was seized June 29, 1898, by the United States cruiser Marblehead, for attempting to run the blockade established at Guantanamo bay in the island of Cuba, and was subsequently sent into the port of Savannah for adjudication.

The Adula, a vessel of 372 tons, was built at Belfast in 1889, for her owner, the Atlas Steamship Company, Limited, a British corporation, and was registered in the name of its managing director, Sir William Bowers Forwood. Prior to the American-Spanish war she was engaged in general trade between Kingston and other ports on the coast of Jamaica, and from time to time had made voyages to Cuban ports. After the breaking out of the war the steamer was chartered by various persons, in the intervals of its regular work, for voyages to Cuba.

In the meantime, however, under the command of Rear Admiral Sampson, a blockade was established at Santiago, where the Spanish fleet lay under the command of Admiral Cervera. Upon June 8th a blockade of Guantanamo bay was also established by order of Admiral Sampson, the blockading squadron being under the command of Commander McCalla. Both of these blockades were maintained during the war. On April 22d, a blockade of the north coast of Cuba between Cardenas and Bahia Honda and of Cienfuegos on the south coast, was declared by the President. On June 27th the President by proclamation gave notice that the Cuban blockade had been extended to included all the ports on the southern coast between Cape Frances and Cape Cruz. This included the port of Manzanillo. On the 28th this proclamation was made known to the vessels off Guantanamo.

On June 27th the Adula, then at Kingston, was engaged in taking on a cargo for shipment. On the 28th she discharged this cargo, and the agent of the Atlas company entered into a charter party with one Solis, a Spanish subject formerly resident in Manzanillo, of the material parts of which the following is a copy:

The Adula was put at the disposal of the charterer 'for the conveyance of passengers from Cuban ports hereinafter to be named, to Kingston. The ports that the vessel is to go to are Manzanillo, Santiago, and Guantanamo; but it is distinctly understood and agreed by the parties aforesaid that it shall not be deemed a breach of this agreement should the steamer be prevented from entering any of those ports from causes beyond the control of the company, but that should she be able to enter one or all of them, she shall embark the passengers that the charterer shall engage for her and proceed on her voyage. If she is not permitted to enter either Manzanillo, Santiago, or Guantanamo, the vessel is to return to Kingston, and the voyage shall be considered completed, and the charter money hereinafter referred to earned without any deductions. . . . The charterer is to provide a good and efficient government pilot to conduct the ship safely into the ports which have been named. Should she be permitted to enter them the charterer guarantees that the proper and efficient clearances shall be obtained for each port, so that the ship shall not be subjected to any fines for breach of regulations. . . . The company will give the option to the charterer for another voyage similar to this on similar terms, providing the charterer gives the company twenty-four hours' notice after the arrival of the steamer at Kingston.'

Accompanying this charter were certain instructions printed in the margin, from the agent of the company to Captain Yeates, the commander of the Adula. These were taken from the ship when she was captured. The Adula left Kingston late in the afternoon of June 28th. Before sailing, Solis asked from the United States consul at Kingston a permit to enter the ports of Guantanamo, Santiago, and Manzanillo. This the consul refused to give without special instructions from Washington. Just before sailing to Santiago, Solis cabled for a licensed pilot to meet the Adula. On leaving Kingston she took her course around Morant point at the easterly end of the island, first toward Santiago, and then to Guantanamo, and about 4 P. M. of the following day was met before reaching the harbor and brought to by the steamship Vixen; was directed to proceed, entered the harbor of Guantanamo, and was seized by the Marblehead, which, with other vessels of the fleet, was lying inside the bay, and was sent to Savannah, where a libel in prize was filed against her on July 21, 1898. The depositions in preparatorio were taken July 21st, and her owner, the Atlas Steamship Company, appeared as claimant and filed its answer. The case was heard upon the proofs in preparatorio, and a decree of condemnation entered July 28th. 89 Fed. Rep. 351. Before the decree, claimant moved for leave to take further proofs. The court set the motion down for August 9th, giving claimant leave to serve such affidavits and other papers as it might desire to read upon the motion, and directed the entry of the decree to be without prejudice to such motion. The motion was finally denied, and the vessel released upon a stipulation for her value.

From the decree of condemnation her owner and claimant appealed to this court.

Mr. Everett P. Wheeler for appellant.

Assistant Attorney General Hoyt for appellee.

Messrs. James H. Hayden, Joseph K. McCammon, George A. King, William B. King, and Wiliam E. Harvey for captors.

Mr. Justice Brown delivered the opinion of the court:

The rectitude of the decree of the district court condemning the Adula as prize of war depends upon the existence of a lawful and effective blockade at Guantanamo, the knowledge of such blockade by those in charge of the vessel, and their intent in making the voyage from Kingston.

1. No blockade of Guantanamo was ever proclaimed by the President. A proclaimation had been issued June 27th, establishing a blockade of all ports on the southern coast of Cuba between Cape Frances on the west and Cape Cruz on the east, but as both Santiago and Guantanamo are to the eastward of Cape Cruz, they were not included. It appears, however, that blockades of Santiago and Guantanamo were established in the early part of June by order of Admiral Sampson, commander of the naval forces then investing the ports on the southern coast of Cuba, and were maintained as actual and effective blockades until after the capture of the Adula.

The legality of a simple or actual blockade as distinguished from a public or presidential blockade is noticed by writers upon international law, and is said by Halleck to be 'constituted merely by the fact of an investment, and without any necessity of a public notification. As it arises solely from facts it ceases when they terminate; its existence must therefore, in all cases, be established by clear and decisive evidence.' Halleck, International Law, chap. 23, § 10. A de facto blockade was also recognized as legal by this court in the case of The Circassian, 2 Wall. 135, 150, sub nom. Hunter v. United States, 17 L. ed. 796, 799, in which the question arose as to the blockade of New Orleans during the Civil War. In delivering the opinion of the court, the chief justice observed: 'There is a distinction between simple and public blockades which supports this conclusion. A simple blockade may be established by a naval officer, acting upon his own discretion or under direction of superiors, without governmental notification; while a public blockade is not only established in fact, but is notified, by the government directing it, to other governments. In the case of a simple blockade, the captors are bound to prove its existence at the time of capture; while in the case of a public blockade, the claimants are held to proof of discontinuance in order to protect themselves from the penalties of attempted violation.' A like ruling was made by Sir William Scott in the case of The Rolla, 6 C. Rob. 364, which was the case of an American ship and cargo, proceeded against for the breach of a blockade at Montevideo, imposed by the British commander. It was argued, apparently upon the authority of The Henrick and Maria, 1 C. Rob. 146, that the power of imposing a blockade is altogether an act of sovereignty which cannot be assumed or exercised by a commander without special authority. But, says the learned judge: 'The court then expressed its opinion that this was a position not maintainable to that extent; because a commander going out to a distant station may reasonably be supposed to carry with him such a portion of sovereign authority, delegated to him, as may be necessary to provide for the exigencies of the service on which he is employed. On stations in Europe, where government is almost at hand to superintend and direct the course of operations under which it may be expedient that particular hostilities should be carried on, it may be different. But in distant parts of the world it cannot be disputed, I conceive, that a commander must be held to carry with him sufficient authority to act, as well against the commerce of the enemy, as against the enemy himself, for the more immediate purpose of reduction.' See also The Johanna Maria, Deane on Blockades, 86.

In view of the operations then being carried on for the purpose of destroying or capturing the Spanish fleet and reducing Santiago, we think it was competent for Admiral Sampson to establish a blockade there and at Guantanamo, as an adjunct to such operations. Indeed, it would seem to have been a necessity that restrictions should be placed upon the power of neutrals to carry supplies and intelligence to the enemy, as they would be quite sure to do, if their ships were given free ingress and egress from these harbors. While there could be no objection to vessels carrying provisions to the starving insurgents, if their...

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2 cases
  • Gerradin v. United Fruit Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • July 8, 1931
    ... ... The doctrine requires examination in the light of certain leading cases: ...         The Adula, 176 U. S. 361, 20 S. Ct. 432, 439, 44 L. Ed. 505. This ship, of British registry and flag, was chartered on June 28, 1898, to a Spanish subject, formerly a resident of Cuba, while war was pending between this country and Spain. The purpose of the charter was the conveyance of passengers from Cuban ... ...
  • Balfour, Guthrie & Co. v. Portland & Asiatic S.S. Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Oregon
    • February 8, 1909
    ... ... prize. Indeed, the law is so strict that a neutral vessel ... cannot approach a blockaded port with intent to enter, or ... even for the purpose of making inquiries of a blockading ... vessel, without subjecting itself to seizure. The Cheshire, 3 ... Wall. 231, 18 L.Ed. 175; The Adula, 176 U.S. 361, 20 Sup.Ct ... 432, 44 L.Ed. 505. This is according to international law, ... which applies in prize cases. The inhibition cannot help the ... respondent, however, as it has not been shown that any ... blockade existed at the time of the negotiations in question ... or of the ... ...
2 books & journal articles
  • Boumediene, Munaf, and the Supreme Court?s Misreading of the Insular Cases
    • United States
    • Iowa Law Review No. 97-1, November 2011
    • November 1, 2011
    ...e.g. , The Carlos F. Roses, 177 U.S. 655 (1900); The Benito Estenger, 176 U.S. 568 (1900); The Panama, 176 U.S. 535 (1900); The Adula, 176 U.S. 361 (1900); The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (1900); The Steamship Buena Ventura v. United States, 175 U.S. 384 (1899); The Pedro, 175 U.S. 354 (18......
  • Modern Maritime Neutrality Law
    • United States
    • International Law Studies No. 90, January 2014
    • January 1, 2014
    ...of Notices to Mariners. 263 The AMW Manual states that aerial blockades should be notified by a Notice to Airmen. 264 In 258. The Adula, 176 U.S. 361 (1899). 259. See Charles N. Gregory, The Law of Blockade , 12 YALE LAW JOURNAL 339, 342 (1903). 260. Supra note 154. 261. Id. at 91–92a. 262.......

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