The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-27 00:00:00

THE SEIZURE OP THE TORNADO.

Further correspondence respecting the above
case was issued this morning.
On the 16th instant Sir John Crampton sends word that
six more of the crew have been released, and that every-
body belonging to the vessel is now free, except Colonel
Collier and McPherson, the third mate, who are detained
as prisoners on parole, " I presume," says the ambassador,
"as being liable to be proved Chili= officers. and con-
sequently prisoners of war." Writing to Lord Stanley
front Cadiz, on the lab, the two prisoners say :

" My Lord,—My third mate, John McPherson, and my-
self, are still ' prisoners of war' in the hands of the
Spaniards, who are (I mention it without meaning any
disrespect) laughing at your lordship, They say as much
themselves in their daily newspapers, and their acts seem
to prove it. We pray your lordship to inform us what
more we can do than we have done to prove that we are
British subjects, and that the Tornado is bona fide a
British ship, taken in Portuguese waters near to
Funchal on a legitimate voyage to Rio de Janeiro.
Your consul here could inform your lordship how
completely all this has been proved during the recent
re-examination of myself and others, at which he was
present, by your lordship's orders, to watch the case. We
IiCIII/lOd our liberty and indemnity for our lost time,
seven months' captivity, and many sufferings ; and we
petition ur lordship to interfere in our behalf without
delay. Why have the Spaniards been forced to release
others and permitted to retain us (untried and unheard)
as ' prisoners of war'?"

To this Mr. HMIIIIIOIII replies that the application will
be " duly eonaidered."

Among the letters arc two front Messrs. Isaac, Camp-
bell, and Co., to Lord Stanley, to the Last of which hlr.
Hammond replies as follows :

" Foreign-office, March 21.
" Gentlemen,— I stated to you in my letter of the 16th
inst. that before returning an answer to your letter of the
lith, Lord Stanley must consult the law officers of the
crown. Having done so, his lordship directs me now to
state to you that the passages in your letter with refer-
ence to the supposed opinion of the law officers, namely,
that your refutation of what you term the unwanantwl
and e/ parte allegations ooatained in the Cadiz Samaria
must have been found complete and conclusive,' is wholly
inaccurate and unfounded. Lord Stanley is advised, and
his lordship concurs in the advice, that a satisfactory con-
clusion cannot be arrived at as to the merits of the case of
the Tornado upon any statements or documents now be-
fore him ; and it was upon this ground that you were
informed in my letter of the 12th instant, that while the
protest, for the reasons pointed out, had been and still is
maintained, her Majesty's government had entirely re-
trained from discussing the merits of the case with the
government of Spain. For the same reasons Lord Stanley
must continue to decline to express any opinion whether
the vessel was or was not liable to be captured on the
high seas by a Spanish man-of-war, and condemned by a
prize court in a regular course of procedure. Lord Stanley
di recta me to add that, In the present state of things, it
would be premature for him to come to any decision
as to whether, regard being had to all the circumstances
of the nee, any demand for compensation or redress
should or should not be made on the Spanish govern-
ment."

In a further communication Mr. Hammond, on the part
of Lord Stanley, asks Messrs. Isaac, Campbell, and
Co., whether the person whom they call " the humble
mechanic John McPherson," is the same person as "the
Don Juan McPherson whose name appears in the Chilian
Nary List annexed to the report made to the Chilian Con-
gress by the Minister of Marine on the 10th of September,
1866, as senior engineer of the first-class, and as having
entered the Chllian service on the lit of May, 1/457, and
being on leave of absence in Europe!" No reply to this
inquiry is published in the return.

The Grand Duke Alexia Alexandrowitz, the
second son of the Emperor of Russia, is shortly expected
at the Cape of Good Hope, on his way to Australia, China,
and Japan.

The Panama papers state that the South Pacific
mail, which left London on the 17th Jmuary, did not
arri%e at Panama in time for the mail packet which left
fiat port for Valparaiso on the 10th of February, and that
the Chilian and Peruvian mail' would be detained at
Panama for a fortnight in consequence.