The Express.
London, England, 1864-05-14 00:00:00

THE GEORGIA.

Mr. T. BARING rom to call the attention of the
house to the feet that an aimed steamer was now in the
port of Liverpool which, bertha been originally manned and
equipped from British ports. had preyed upon the comments
of a friendly mike, and had sever been in any port of the
belligerent nadir whose leg she sailed, and to ask whether the
meet thought the 'Armholes of arch vessels to British
harhoan consistent with oar internationelobligationa,oerpre-
ferias' of arintrality,aod the preservation of British istenete.
It was a matter of 4126110••• import and dangerous otg .
The government he was sera would sot be deterred from
adopting such measures as they might consider maarariary
from soy idea that they might be tempted with meting co the
dictation of a foreign power. He was convinced they would sot
be turned aside fear of • newspaper taunt, or an
siectioesering speech, ar • piece of stamp erseary, from
applying a remedy to the evil which exited. The Foreign
Enlistment Act bad bee. pealed in time of war, arid if they
waited until a time of poses to leek Into the matter. that
which they might do is time of puce would sot be re.
prded in time of war. The present was the moment when
these whe guided and eastudied the destiny of the country
@build eons• whether theorist* law WA IfltfiCillOt teat.
lain theobject for which it wee muted. Theyould donow that
which might save them from resibatice and loss hereafter.
He was aeries* to ask the (eventual whether in what
had Gunned at Liverpool they did sot see that our neutral
oblkatiorie had been infringed, and that our interests and
are in the future had been seriously compromised.
(Cheers.)

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that the t
assumed it was beyond controversy that the
had been fitted out in violation of our neutrality.
No doubt we bad strong reason for suspect-
Mg that that had been the aim ; but never-
theless we were asked to act upon • state of
fans which had sever been judicially established,
and which it was sot easy to bring to the test. That wee
proposition which could oce be aconted without Bast
that pconie&ration ; Cod the difficulty wee iscressed by the fad
thet we had Dot the ordinary means of aeons to the Coo-
led/irate Sinn We had not reeogrned their government
—and those who approved of the neduct of her Majesty's
government would sot node= them for that. Her
Manny's government had not the opportunities of
tannin= which recognition would give them •
sad the difficulty warn increased by the media
of the United Stake in missies us access to
the Confederate porta. Menhir day her Majesty's govern-
meet, wishing to remonstrate with the Confederate govern-
ment, had actually oomminiond a diplomatic esnreat, •
cooed. to proceed to Richmond ; bet the blockading squad-
roe would not allow even on of oar ships of war to pain for
would , the of *pinnies him thither. (Hear, hear.) It
be found that tie American authorities by no means
I warranted the 1)(4100, that we ought to act lightly or with
ont onset proof. Mr. Justice Story, is the one of the
Santini= Trinidad, said that they were bound to abet=
from interfering, ant= it weld be proved by clear
deuce that there had Ines • violation of their 'Neutrality.
Here was • principle of which we were entitled to have
the benefit, sod which made it a matter of merges diffi-
=Hy to act upon • mere rem ef strong moral suspicion ;
and it was possible that the Confederate States
might have thought that they bad kept within
our law. (Hear, hear) Agate, we meet in say case
act towards the United States on the same principle as we
acted towards the Confederate& If we were to proceed
upon mere moral belief, it was impossible to acquit the
agents of the United State theme/yes, although we might
acquit their goverment in plot of tannin. of acts on •
somewhat considerable eels not ern atent with the law or
the neutrality of this country. Then was, for example, the
OW of the Beensge, w hick, whilelookingout for theirenemy
in or near our waters, ellectd • considerable
amount of recruiting from Ireland. The matter RSA repro.
seated to Mr. Adams, who said that what had been don
was quite contrary to the intention of his government ;
and accordingly the ship came back and reloaded the men.
Bet here was • clear violation of oar neutrality by an agent
of the UMW States. From all quarters reports reached
her Majesty's government that agents were oolitic. per.
son for the Federal army both in Ireland, in Canada. sad
New Brunswick. They knew of cases of British nbjects
being kidnapped into the eery= of the United Slates army
sod being treated se &metiers when they tried to mope; and
that the chime of her Majesty's goverment made is web
ones had not been met in that prompt sod 'andante/yens-
' Der that they might have impeded. (Cheers.) Were we to
exclude all the vessels of the rodent Steles bosom they
had taken advantage of the acts of their eslistmeet agents,
' which had entainly added largely to their armies? BMW
hear.) He wished to make as.mare observeties. wha
as= he derived to give so aeon whatever to the United
Mane. Her Majesty's inurement wen sot /mined is
the matters by the Fading instrument. The doodads
wlnehithat goverment mode were rase anything they
meld he Gentled to ask upon asy ru or prim-
ciples d intereatiosel law ; and it became *mosissary for
her Majesty's go met to nines greet esuins be.
fete taking any stops whin might possibly be seinnientood.
I Ha relsaid putietklarily be the sztraindiaerr amen& wain

had been made is tie eneesif the Alabama. He had so 1111 Si•
Is ea eat thetfaited States govenunent, in seeking
tri make has t pecuniaril responsible
for all the prism g'sillrliaehama, thougy h they had
never less breeskillate Port% or in say way under oar
matrol. Owl sigma via area divntly contrary
M doe awn and OM nesdarad ft haat*
mon dais* than It might have hese for her
Majesty's veining.* ke de anything that wow
within their ow dimeldiona (Cheers.) H.r tiajestes
goyim's... were. 110 11. ought, quite justified in
sayieg that they would adhere to the rules
wWh the United Stake own great authorities bad hid
down—thall they would endeavour fairly to execute &owlish
law, and give no layium to prises sad property unjustly
captured. If any such were brought into Eeglish porta
sad reclamatiou were mock, si-oh reclamation. should be
attended to ; but her Majesty's goverumeot would not
wedertake to recognise claims going beyond those limits—
they would sot undertake to interfere between the born-
guest. is say other way than tie rides of internatiosal
law sad out ow °Mistier as neutrals required. (Load
ehirare.)__ . . . .

E FORSTER maintained that unless we
settled this question of international law before we went
to war, two results would follow--ourrnerehaste would have
to sell their ships to the merchants of other math's, our
sailors would be out of employ, and the sources of our navy
would be dried up. This ought aot to be coasidered as a
qamtios merely between North and South. It was an Gr-
ottiest opportunity for estabbehing math a state of the law
as other countries might follow. Then came the particular
question of acme to our ports. On this point he thought
the Attorney-General had led the house somewhat out of
the true course. He had transferred the question from cue
as to whether thee@ particular ships should have their rights
gives to them into this— whether =should TOM* wracif
the Osafederate navy with the punishmeat of exclusion from
our courts, because clue or two of their vessels bad violated
their neutrality. Asother point which the Attothey.G•nentl
took was, that it was hardly fair to take such a strong step
before we had proof of the breach of =ninthly. But was
there any moral doubt, even as between the two govern-
ments, of the breach of that neutrality? (Heir, hear.)
Be (blr. Forster) could not pretend to define what inter.
=Mona' law was. But he thought it was so far founded
ups good sense that a layman might form an opinion e
it. He believed it amongst other thing to be this—such
an meat between nations ea that individuals of •
nudes not be allowed by the sovereign pewee
to levy war spit= • foreign state without the have
of the sovereign. The circumstance that the Feder* had
found it difficult to ad at sea in this struggle
_sad the Oct.
• federates had found it easy, was coo with which a neutral
had nothing to do, and which he might fairly call upon the
belligerents themselves to deal with the best way they contd.
Ha had heard it said that the Americas@ ought to have pre.
vented there ships leaving the ports. Bet suppose the port
of Liverpool blockaded by an American squadron, sad oar
ships overhauled. Did any man believe such • state of things
scald have existed, and that we could have remained at
peace with America? (Hoar, hear.) The America= had
DO alternative, for to have blockaded all =atrial perks mild
have been to blockade all the polio I. the world.
He trusted that the effect of this disourrioe would
be, hooked as it was by the shipowners of Liverpc34
of all partite, and of differeat sympathies—to impose
=co the government the duty sad necessity of not 'Wier
this opportunity par without putting us in • tight position
as neutrals—in cam we should ever Moan belligerent&
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. OOBDEN said that is matters of international
law it was in the power of any country to lay down
mar** and precedents which themselves breams ia:er-
national law, and we had lost • precious occasion of pissing
*twelves in a better for the future if we ever went
to war again. (Hear.) it was sot merely in time of
war that they would feel the offsets of this state of things.
Was tt likely that foreign govorameets would sot appre-
ciate our altered eireumetamies with regard to the question
of belligerent rights? Foreign governmo= would take into
soonest the dagger we fnoarred in case of war, and would
*ow that that was a motive for oar keeping at peace. Wha:
=tlast autumn ? We 'stared into diploma* relations
ee in respect to Russia, and Russia, feeling that
warmight ensue. immediately meet her fleet toAmerica. Could
anyone doubt lb* reason why the astute men who goemed
at Si. Petersburg seat that fleet to America? They naturally
said, If England and France me going to attack us again, we
will ant be shut up as we were at Sebastopol, but will
plate 0112101.01 in a position whore we eau make reprisals
=Met them is the MOO way that the Confederates am
earrying on war against the United States. Take the ease of
Germany. He had frequently seen references to the =lntr.
abilit of Eagle= in mosques= of the state of the law as
• by ourselves la the me of them cruimes—thear,
beer)—we had seta roost perilous example that would t
felt by the Fori-oftioir in our nepotistic= ma with such
• weak gate as Branl. It might be mid that we could
build WM skips than the Americana. But any one who
bees that country must be aware that her people poi-
owed mechanical skill, and that the stamens which railed
co her lakes sod cheese were some of the swiftest is the
world. Bat even supporieg that we were superior to the
Americans in this respect, could we make eared finding
*Sr cruisers ? Be asked in the presence of nautical men
whether it we sot a matter of the greatest difficulty—ahnoet
knposabk—to fled • cruiser on the ocean after the mos
left • port ? Nelson was railing for many mouths after
• fleet seat from France to Egypt, end after all be
found them in harbour at the Nile. But when a cruiser
wee found in harbour, you allowed her to escape, because
you gen her 24 hours' start. (Hem.) This tewasht him
back to the question. It was a vital ens. The only
t_h_l_ats yen could do was to conciliate the Americassod to ray that henceforth you would deny
itj to those remelt which bad been built in our
ports, which bad left clandestinely, which had left armed
is our ports, manned is our porta, and which went English
ships altogether. If we allowed them to come back after
playing this havoc on • friendly micro, we should be losing
sight of what was due to muselve• and our best interests
in the future. (Cbraert.)
. . . .

Lord & CECIL obserwed that if interests, Nam, sad
laternational considerations weighed on U.• Oda of the
North, they would equally, if not more powerfully, be
effective on the side of the South. No proof bad base
given of any breach of intonational kw by the South, and
II there had been any such Much is was on the part of
the North. the house of Baring having been especially in-
strumental io exporting vast quantities of ammunition to
the Northern porta.
The discussion wu continued for a brief space by Mr.
Leiser*, Lord 8.. Montagu, and Mr. Alderman Rase;
and the motion for adjournment to Thursday next wee
Weal to.