Note 2 — THE DAGEROED.

Le Bon Rencontre. The case was a curious one (notes of Judge Hough, from the papers relating to it in the files of the New York vice-admiralty court). On March 22, 1757, this French snow of 160 tons, while on a trading voyage from Port Louis in Guadeloupe to Bordeaux, was captured off Bermuda by the English ship Maxwell, Etherington master, and the New York sloop St. Stephen, Thomas, who sent her with an English crew to New York; but neither of them had any letters of marque, or commission authorizing them to take prizes. The snow was brought to anchor inside Sandy Hook. Early in the morning of April 6, John Crew, captain of the New York privateer Fox, came aboard from a small boat with a few men, and took possession. Later, the snow was taken over by the Sutherland man-of-war. Thus, the Bon Rencontre was without doubt a captured enemy vessel, but the captors had not been authorized privateers, and the authorized privateer and the king's ship had not made the capture. Under these circumstances the admiralty judge, Lewis Morris, ordered the marshal to take custody of the snow, and appointed Benjamin Nicoll and William Smith, jr., the writer of this letter (see doc. no. 188, note 13), to be advocates for the Lords of the Admiralty, whose interests seemed to him to be involved. Thus there were four parties claiming—the original captors, Crew, the King, and the Admiralty. April 7 the snow was libelled on behalf of the Admiralty. Later, Etherington withdrew and Crew's claim was ruled out, but as between the King and the Admiralty Judge Lewis Morris gave no decision before his death in 1762. His successor, Judge Richard Morris, gave judgment Aug. 10, 1764, but it has not been preserved.