Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/799

Rh claimed the captured ship Concepcion, but no heed was paid to the demand. The commander of the French naval force protested against the Saratoga's interference in the affairs of Mexico, which he called an unlawful precedent. Marin was put in jail in New Orleans, and subsequently released on bail. On the 27th of March, calling himself a jefe de escuadra, or rear-admiral of the Mexican navy, he entered a similar protest.

The action of Captain Jarvis had been in obedience to the orders of his government to recognize no blockade of Mexican ports by the reactionists. He was also instructed to land from his ships such an armed force as might be deemed sufficient to afford protection to United States citizens.

The right of the United States government to interfere between the belligerents to hinder their free action, or of their war ships to attack and capture Marin's squadron, is not at all clear. Notwithstanding the approval of Jarvis' course by the president, the United States district court at New Orleans declared the capture of Marin's ships illegal, and decreed immediate restoration. Nothing was said of damages, Marin having waived them. That was right enough, but meanwhile Miramon had been deprived of the services of the ships as well as of the war material they had brought for him.

The besiegers prosecuted their operations without interruption from sallies of the besieged, though