Writing on October 24 to the Spanish representative with reference to the arrest of Ruiz and Montes, Forsyth informed him that the two Spanish subjects had been arrested on process issuing from the superior court of the city of New York upon affidavits of certain men, natives of Africa, “for the purpose of securing their appearance before the proper tribunal, to answer for wrongs alleged to have been inflicted by them upon the persons of said Africans,” that, consequently, the occurrence constituted simply a “case of resort by individuals against others to the judicial courts of the country, which are equally open to all without distinction,” and that the agency of the Government to obtain the release of Messrs. Ruiz and Montes could not be afforded in the manner requested.  Further pressure was brought to bear by the Spanish representative, however, and there was cited the case of Abraham Wendell, captain of the brig Franklin, who was prosecuted at first by Spanish officials for maltreatment of his mate, but with reference to whom documents were afterwards sent from Havana to America.  Much more correspondence followed, and Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, Attorney General of the United States, at length muddled everything by the following opinion:  “These Negroes deny that they are slaves; if they should be delivered to the claimants, no opportunity may be afforded for the assertion of their right to freedom.  For these reasons, it seems to me that a delivery to the Spanish minister is the only safe course for this Government to pursue.”  The fallacy of all this was shown in a letter dated November 18, 1839, from B.F.  Butler, United States District Attorney in New York, to Aaron Vail, acting Secretary of State.  Said Butler:  “It does not appear to me that any question has yet arisen under the treaty with Spain; because, although it is an admitted principle, that neither the courts of this state, nor those of the United States, can take jurisdiction of criminal offenses committed by foreigners within the territory of a foreign state, yet it is equally settled in this country, that our courts will take cognizance of civil actions between foreigners transiently within our jurisdiction, founded upon contracts or other transactions made or had in a foreign state.”  Southern influence was strong, however, and a few weeks afterwards an order was given from the Department of State to have a vessel anchor off New Haven, Conn., January 10, 1840, to receive the Negroes from the United States marshal and take them to Cuba; and on January 7 the President, Van Buren, issued the necessary warrant.

The rights of humanity, however, were not to be handled in this summary fashion.  The executive order was stayed, and the case went further on its progress to the highest tribunal in the land.  Meanwhile the anti-slavery people were teaching the Africans the rudiments of English in order that they might be better able to tell their own story.  From the first a committee had been appointed to look out for their interests and while they were awaiting the final decision in their case they cultivated a garden of fifteen acres.