Beata. The Cerf-Volant, carrying the deputies of the West and South, is captured off the island by the frigates Magicienne and Québec.

Meanwhile General Rigaud was sending to France the deputies to the legislative body for the provinces of the West and the South, elected in April 1796 at Léogane and at Les Cayes before the Constitution of Year 3 had officially reached Saint-Domingue. He charged his aide-de-camp, Squadron Commander Bonnet, with the special mission of clearing him before the Executive Directory of the accusations of Sonthonax, and of representing Sonthonax as an ambitious man who had nothing in view but the independence of Saint-Domingue and the destruction of all the former free. Pinchinat alone represented the province of the South, for Sala, a young European and aide-de-camp to Rigaud, had been killed in the attack on Les Irois, and the other deputies were unable to leave. Rey Delmas and Fontaine represented the province of the West. Lachapelle, Garigou and Renéum were the commissioners of the commune. The deputies, Bonnet and the commissioners embarked on 25 October on the Cerf-Volant, a cartel ship carrying fifteen English prisoners. Instead of making directly for England, the vessel was to anchor at La Coruña, from which the prisoners would have been sent on to London. When they came abreast of La Béate, two English frigates, the Magicienne and the Québec, under the orders of Commodore Ricket, captured the French ship on the pretext that its voyage was irregular (1 November). The English seized most of the papers and all the money of the prisoners. Afterwards they showed them every kind of consideration. Renéum and Fontaine were taken to Jamaica. Pinchinat, Bonnet, Rey Delmas, Lachapelle and Garigou remained on board the commodore’s ship. Ricket took them to the Môle Saint-Nicolas and handed them over to Admiral Parker. General Rigaud, having learned that they had been made prisoners, made vain attempts to have them exchanged. Sonthonax for his part, wishing to have Pinchinat in his power, also applied to Admiral Parker to exchange them. He succeeded no better than Rigaud. Parker surrounded Pinchinat in particular with every kind of regard, and firmly opposed the scheme the colonists of the Môle had formed to murder the Republican captives. He forbade that they be sent to the dungeons of the town. The prisoners remained on board the ships Indostan and Aventure, and ate at the officers’ table. Shortly afterwards the frigate Succès carried them to England. On their arrival they were put aboard a hulk at Spithead, near Portsmouth.