The Express.
London, England, 1862-03-08 00:00:00

UNIFORMS YOR VOLUNTEERS.

Is reply to Lord A. Vial TEMPL,T,
Sir C. LEWLS said government bad determined to
issue cloth to the volunteen at contract prices, charging 5
per cent. for establishment expenses, the result of which, he
believed, would be that the cloth would be procurable at
from 15 to 20 per cent. below the ordinary prices.
THE BLOCKADE OF TIIE PORTS OF THE
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.

On the motion for going into committee of supply,
Mr. GREGORY, pursuant to notice, called attention to
the blockade o the porta of the Confederate States of
America. Let esesloo, he observed, he had been prevailed
upon to abstain from bringing the question of moopielas
the Southern States into discusser., though be was then (Si
he was still) of opinion that the contest in America was a
hopeless one ; that secession woe a right, separation a fact,
and reunion ea impossibility. lie should then, he said.
hale counselled the recognition of the Southern States as
independent Jr jure and de farts, and he was sorry the die-
Cl/Ision did not take place, since he believed the MUM& of
the House of Commons on that comma was not inter-
preted by the United States as prompted by a spirit con.
ciliatioo, but as the result of fear. HewonW not now
press the question of recognition, but should confine himself
strictly to that of the blockade—•question of the most vital
importance, not to England only, but to the whole world.
He proceeded to argue that by the acieowledgment of the
validity of the blockade our neutrality appeared to be ewe-
sided; we seemed to be conniving unfairly at the act of one
al the belligerents, and doing an injustice to the fair
trader. He was bound tory that helms more they eatir
bed with the past conduct of the government under air-
measkinoes of the greeteat difficulty ; hie only fear was that
they might go too far, and carry forbearance to a point that
would prejudice our own interests and derogate from our
character in the opinion of other nations. Hs then tried
the question by the role, of intereatiocal law sad by the
practice of prise courts, Minting that, according to tbe
legal dellnituni of •' blockade," to the dicta. of Pirate cd
authority lincludir.g the American judge, Kent), and to
judicial decisions us reported Phalle. the blockade el the
anthers
ineffective,
by the Uuited States was illegal; that
it was sad therefore illegal, wee proved
by the number of vowels which had run the liesitada.
He cited as evidence to this fact communications from our
moral commanders and console, and the acknowledgment
of American newspapers, testifying to the abesees, iail-
teiesey, or intenuiscons of the blockade, which, he aria-
lathed, continued up to the present time. If the blockade
had been effectual, would the government of the United
flutes, he asked. have resorted to the barbarous and dis-
graced's! policy of destroying the Southern harbours? In
emelneson, he moved an address for certain papers.
The motion was seconded by Mr. BENTLNCK, who,
deprecating the letraduction of the element of slavery into
the &menace, winch would, he said, be hypocritical and
unjust, considered that Mr. :regory had made it clear that
the blockade was null sad void, and he urged • recognition
of the oidependeoce of the Southern States, in conformity
with the doctrine enunciated by Lord Russell in the Mee of
Italy, that a people were eutitded to choose their own form

of govemmea.
Mr. W. E. FO RSTER said In hoped the house would
03t. 11.01 hie going into agony. Hi. hoe. friend men-
tioned • list., but be passed very gingerly over it.
(Hear, bear.) He (Mr. Forster) expected to have heard mare
of it, because before parliament met they mire told that a
list of litai vessel. which had *reaped notwithatheding the
blacked. was in the Lands of some gentlemen, and his bat
friend, it was understood, was to give them this Mien:latices.
Well, he supposed that hie information was not altogether
to be relied upon. sod therefore he had not brought it
froward. But still Lisbon. timed did my that, throwing
aside ships from the interior, there were still nearly 400
vowel+ of which information existed that they had run the
blockade from it. be; to the end of October. Now
that agreed with two bite which had been furnished to the
government in the despatches, one sent in by Hsu
Yancey, itost,and Mann, the Confederate coin miatiouses. sim
November 30, and • supplemeutary list sent in by Mr.
Neon. Now be had Suites • great deal of trouble in aualys •
rue these Ilea, and if the hones would allow him he would
give the result. Us would take the departuree am the test
because it was °midis that we should be more anxious to
get cotton than to export 4:mamboed of war. In the list
of Messrs. Yancey, Rost, and Mean, given in on November
40, they sail that between the declaration of the blocks&
and tho 110th of August, more than 400 vessels arrived end
departed, thereby giving contusive evidence that the
I.l,citaile was Dot effective, and was therefore not binding.
losing by several element paragraphs he found that the
t•tal departures and clearances, accenting to the custom-
lunue means, was :W. Of that number 119 were before
the declaration of the blockade. 75 of them were from New
(limns before May 27. the day on which Consul Muni
notated the blockade of she port, 44 wore from Wilmington
before July 14, the day on which that port was notified,
and 14) were foreign emits which left -before the 15days
of irises bad expired. Now he did not blame the
collectors for sending in their returns, teethes they were
ordered to do so, but he did think It estreeedieary that
the commissioners ahould have gives la the Wits nee ia
Fe 119vetesh le and

oreniher and one in February, . ems OM flik,
:vii in the other, when in both cases the vessels had left
before the blockade WAS enforced. It was the more extra-
ordinary, limiuse looking at the list of these 56 vessela, if
toy tel been reel branches they would have been most
iiiii.orteut breaches, because • very large number of them
were large vessels that came out from New Orleans and
Mobile to Europe, and chiefly to Liverpool, and if they bad
really broken the blockade he should have admitted that
there ware grenade for blaming our government. Of theta
56, 23 vessels were from New Orleans fur Europe, and 9
front Mobile, sod they mime out during the O.
teen days, because they had that time given them
to escape, and the very paper which contained this
list of breeches eordniued a congratulatiao front our meant
at Mobile that these very vessels hail been able to get out
before the blockade came into force. Adding three numbers
together they bad, out of the total of 3V, only 147 left. Of
these 23 wore river baits, chiefly flat bate, that wee up
from the ieterior to New O Irleans to b. kakis up Me{
moth wee said about them, and he moat give Mt. Mem
credit that whim ha entered them in the list he Mesa to
make weak ascinuat of them, but be mulct mot glut the
same credit to Meese. Yancey, Rost, sad Nam, at so doubt
they expected the list would pare ssies. Hs had
now brought the 3?2 to 122, and of there 106 were ourrilwa.
and of Chess 106 all but three were what Mr.
i Mason, is his despatch, wishing to be frank, Wiwi
quasi 'abut& iiisty.eit of them went between Mobile
sod New Orleans, and he was informed by several peat
men who visited that coast, that it was perfeetly .bused to
suppose that the vovage of a meal behind taituma,
scarcely appeanng in the open slit. bet erese alma Wcoast, could be cousidered • breach of the blochads. The
same remark applied to vowels Wreak Charleston sad