The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-15 00:00:00

President Lincoln's Proclamation.

The following is the new Emancipation Procla-
mation issued by President Lincoln at the com-
mencement of the present year :
WASHINGTON, THVRSDAY, Jan. 1, 1863.
BY THE PRE •IDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA.—A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, on the 22d day of September, in the
year of our Lord 1862, a proclamation was issued
by the President of the United States, containing
among other things the following, to wit :
That on the Ist day of January, in the year of
our Lord 1863, all persons held as slaves within any
State, or designated part of a State, the people
whereof shall there be in rebe,lion against the
United States, shall be then, thenceforth, and for
ever free; and the Executive Government of the
United States, including the military and naval
authority thereof, will recognise and maintai❑ the
freedom of such persons, and wilt do no act or acts
to repress such persons, or any of them in any effert
they may make for their actual freedom ; that the
Executive will, on the Ist day of January aforesaid,
by proclamation, designate the States and parts of
States, if any, in which the people therein, respec-
tively, shall then be in rebellion against the United
States; and the fact that any State or the people
thereof, shall on that day be in good faith repre-
senfed in the Congress of the United States by mem-
bers chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority
of the qualified voters of such States shall have par-
ticipated, shall in the absence of strong countervail-
ing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that
such State and the people thereof are not then in
rebellion against the United States.
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President
of the United States, by virtue of the power in me
vested, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States in time of actual armed
rebellion against the authority and government of
the United States, and as a fit and necessary war
measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this
first day of January, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in
accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly pro-
claim for the full period of one hundred days from
the day of the first above-mentioned order, and de-
signate as the States and parts of States wherein
the people thereof respectively are this day in rebel.
lion against the United States the following, to wit :
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana—except the parishes
of St. Bernard, Picquemines, Jefferson, St. John,
St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption,
Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and
Orleans, including the city of New Orleans; Mis-
sissippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Caro-
lina, North Carolina, and Virginia—except the
forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia,
and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, North-
ampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and
Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Ports-
mouth, and which excepted parts are for the pre-
sent left precisely as if this proclamation were not
issued.

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose
aforesaid, I do aver and declare that all persons
held as slaves within said designated States and
parts of States are, and henceforward shall be free,
and that the Executive Government of the United
States, including the military and naval Authorities
thereof, will recognise and maintain the freedom of
said persons.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared
to be free to abstain from all violence unless in
necessary self-defence, and I recommend to them
that in all cases, when allowed, they labour faith-
fully for reasonable wages.

And I further declare and make known that such
persons of suitable condition will be received into
the armed service of the United States, to garrison
forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to
man vessels of all sorts in said service.

And, upon this—sincerely believed to be an act
of justice, warranted by the constitution—upon
military necessity—l invoke the considerate judg-
ment of mankind and the gracious favour of
Almighty God.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this Ist
[Seal] day of January, in the year of our Lord
1863, and of the independence of the
United States of America the 87th.

(Signed) ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President, Wm. H. SEWARD, Secretary
of State.

THE ALABAMA

A very erroneous impression has been created by
a communication in the Scotsman in reference to

his celebrated vessel. She was built by Messrs.
Laird Brothers, of the Birkenhead Ironworks, by
whom also her engines of 300 horse power nominal,
were designed and constructed. She was the 290
ship built by Messrs. Laird; and, as her proper name
had not been fixed on up to the time of her leaving
the Mersey, she was only known as the 290.
It is stated in the Scotsman that .the 290
neglected to return to Birkenhead, but steamed
directly for the island in the Atlentic where she
was to take in her guns, ammunition, &e." The
facts are stated, on the authority of one of her late
officers, to be as follow :—On the 29th of July last
the 290, with a party of ladies and gentlemen on
board, left her anchorage, and spent the day, till 3
p.m., in cruising about the bay of Liverpool, when
the passengers were put on board the tender, and
the vessel proceeded to Moelfra Bay, close to where
the Royal Charter was lost, where she anchored at
1 p.m. The next day she spent in securing every-
thing for sea. A tug arrived at 5 p.m. with a lot
of men to complete the crew, and from that time
till 2.30 a.m. of Thursday (July 31) was occupied in
shipping the crew, &c. As soon as this was com-
pleted the 290 steamed off, at the rate of 14 knots
an hour, round the north coast of Ireland, arriving
at her destination, Porto Praya bay, Island of Ter-
ceira, on Sunday, August 10, making a run of ten
days, not eight, as the Scotsman has it. The com-
mander of the 290 was Capt. Matthew J. Butcher,
R.N.R., who was the only person who appeared in
any of the ship's business to others than the builders.
Again, it is said " the 290 had a set of English
papers and other presumptive proofs of her neutra•
lity, in the face of which it might have been diffi-
cult for her captor to have acted." So far is this
from being a fact that the 290 had no papers what-
ever, having left without the formality of clearing
at the Customs. This celebrated vessel will " give
a good account of herself " if she is overhauled
by any of the United States ships of war. She
has proved herself, whether under sail or steam,
as a marvel of marine architecture ; but that is
only what one would expect to find from the
fame so justly achieved by her builders. One of
the pluckiest things ever done was the removal of
the Ariel's valve, thus rendering the ship entirely
at the mercy of her captor. We may state that the
Ariel was built by Commodore Vanderbilt as a yacht,
and in her he came over to England, and subse-
quently visited Russia. She is sister ship to the
Vanderbilt, and the two vessels were considered the
fastest steamers in the United States' mercantile
marine. The ruse with which the Ariel was over-
hauled show that the Alabama is a splendid craft,
We ought to state that the officers and crew of this
famous " Secesh" warship are not, as has been re-
presented, " the scum of the earth." The officers
are, many of them, accomplished gentlemen, and
from previous experience well up to their work as
naval officers, while the crew consist part of old
man-of-war's men and men who have served in the
Royal Naval Reserve, The Alabama is supplied
with coal by a regular relay of ships, which take
out, under inspection, the very best Welsh steam
coal.—Liverpool Daily Post.

RUNNING OF THE BLOCKADE BY THE STEAMER
GlRAFFE.—Definite intelligence has been received
that this splendid paddle steamship, so well known at this
port, has succeeded in evading the Federal cruisers which
were specially on the look out for her, and in reaching
Charleston. She shipped in the Clyde a lull and most valu-
able cargo, comprised entirely of articles suitable to the exi-
gencies of the Confederates. Her run across the Atlantic
was, as had been anticipated, very rapid. No craft in the
b ockading squadron would have any chance with the
Giraffe in a chase ; and it is not unlikely that her return
venture will be as well managed and profitable as was her
outward,—Belfast IYVWS Later.