On the
last voyage she had brought the ammunition already so frequently referred
to; as a matter of fact, she was again bringing contraband of war. It is
necessary to be explicit upon this, which served as spark to so great a
flame of scandal. Knappe was justified in interfering; he would have
been worthy of all condemnation if he had neglected, in his posture of
semi-investment, a precaution so elementary; and the manner in which he
set about attempting it was conciliatory and almost timid. He applied to
Captain Hand, and begged him to accept himself the duty of "controlling"
the discharge of the _Richmond's_ cargo. Hand was unable to move without
his consul; and at night an armed boat from the Germans boarded,
searched, and kept possession of, the suspected ship. The next day, as
by an after-thought, war and martial law were proclaimed for the Samoan
Islands, the introduction of contraband of war forbidden, and ships and
boats declared liable to search. "All support of the rebels will be
punished by martial law," continued the proclamation, "no matter to what
nationality the person [_Thater_] may belong."
Hand, it has been seen, declined to act in the matter of the _Richmond_
without the concurrence of his consul; but I have found no evidence that
either Hand or Knappe communicated with de Coetlogon, with whom they were
both at daggers drawn.
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