William H. Seward to J. Hume Burnley, March 13, 1865

Mr. Seward to Mr. Burnley

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 9th instant, which relates to the proceedings in the case of Linus Seely, one of the* pirates of the Chesapeake. I accept with pleasure the assurance you give me that this offender will be dealt with according to law.

I am aware of the two important facts mentioned in your note, namely, that Seely was once before arrested in New Brunswick, and was released by a provincial judge, and that a similar discharge of the pirates of the J. L. Gerrity was affirmed by the court of Queen’s Bench in England. It must not, however, be understood that this government assents to the constructions of the extradition compact which the colonial judges and the judges of the realm thus adopted; that question must abide the test of further examination. In the mean time I have to remark, that in the case of Seely, as well as that of the pirate of the J. L. Gerrity, extradition was denied because the culprits were amenable to the municipal laws of New Brunswick and of Great Britain, respectively; and yet the first and only points of the decision in each case were that the culprits should be set free from all duress, or rearrest, or prosecution, to renew their crimes upon the ocean. We protested against that course of proceeding in each of the cases as an absolute denial of international justice most unfriendly to the United States. It is, moreover, a sincere satisfaction to have your assurance that the precedents thus set will not be followed by the authorities of New Brunswick on the present occasion.

I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your obedient servant,