But  although  the  order  of  delivery  was  upon  its  face  absolute
and  unconditional,  it  was  made  conditional,  by  instructions  from
the  Secretary  of  State  to  the  District  Attorney.  It  was  to  be
executed  only  in  the  event  of  the  decision  of  the  court  beinf
favorable  to  the  pretended  application  of  the  Spanish  minister,
and  Lieutenant  Paine  was  to  receive  the  negroes  from  the  custody
of  the  marshal  as  soon  as  their  delivery  should  have  been  ordered
by  the  court.
"  Letting  I  dare  not  wait  upon  I  would,"  a  direct  collision  with
the  authority  of  the  judicial  tribunals  was  cautiously  avoided;
and  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  thoughtless  and  inconsiderate
character  of  the  whole  Executive  action  in  this  case,  appears  in
the  fact,  that  with  all  the  cunning  and  intricate  stratagems  to
grab  and  ship  off  these  poor  wretches  to  Cuba,  neither  the  Presi-
dent of  the  United  States  who  signed,  nor  the  Secretary  of  State
who  transmitted  the  order  knew,  but  both    of  them  mistook  the


84.
court,  before  which  the  trial  of  the  Africans  was  pending.  They
supposed  it  was  the  Circuit,  when  in  fact  it  was  the  District
Court.
