ITA'TA AFFAIR. In American history, an affair arising from the seizure by the United States in 1891. for an alleged infraction of her neutral ity laws, of a vessel, the Data, owned by insur gents against the Government of Chile. In April, 1891, this vessel was ordered to California for the purpose of receiving a large quantity of arms and munitions which an agent of the insurgent party had purchased in the United States with a view to sending them to Chile for the use of the insurrectionary forces. During her voyage to California the Data had on board several small cannon and a few old muskets, and at a Chilean port took on board twelve soldiers to serve as stokers. At Cape San Lucas the cannon and ammunition, together with the arms and uni forms of the soldiers, were packed in the bold of the vessel. The arms and ammunition purchased in New York, having been shipped to San Fran cisco, were loaded on a schooner, afterwards were transferred to the Data off the southern coast of California, and in due time the vessel proceeded on her way to Chile. By direction of the Attor ney-General of the United States, an effort had been made to detain her, on the ground that the neutrality laws of the country were being violat ed, but she succeeded in escaping from the officers left in charge of her. The cruiser Charleston was
then sent in pursuit. The Itata was overtaken on June 4th, was compelled to surrender to Rear Admiral Brown, and was given over to the cus tody of the United States District Court at San Diego for trial, on the charge of violating the neu trality laws of the United States. Upon trial it was held that the facts, as set forth above, did not constitute the fitting out of a hostile expedition against a government with which the United States was at peace, and that the mere purchase and transportation of arms to a party of insur gents in a foreign country in the ordinary course of trade was not a violation of the neutral duty of the United States or a violation of her neutral ity laws. The affair aroused considerable excite ment in the United States, and loud complaints were made of the manner in which the authority of the United States was defied by the officers of the vessel at San Diego.