The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-21 00:00:00

i SECOND EDITION.

BUN OFFICE, HALF-PAST 4 O'CLOCK.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,—This Day,

SOUTHAMPTON RACES—This DAY.
(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH>)
STAND PLATE.

Deerfoot
Gamecock
North End

Eight ran.

Outrages on British Subjects in New York,

In the House of Commons, on Friday evening, Mr Laird
asked the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether be
hid received any communications from Lord Lyons in re-
ference to the seizure by the customs authorities at New
York of a large amount of property, including geld coin,
bills of exchange, and other securities, belonging to Messrs
A. Wolf and Co., British merchants at Nassau, N.P.
Mr Layard said no report had been received from Lord
Lyons on the subject of tha seizure, but a printed statement
had been given to him (Mr Layard) by the hon. member
for Birmingham, giviteg an account of what had taken
place, and he had sent that statement to Lord Lyons and
requested him to make immediate inquiry into the matter.
He had also laid the statement before the law officers of the
Crown.

The following are the particulars of the case :—ln the
latter part of November, 1863, a Mr George G. Wolf, who
represented the house of Messrs A. Wolf and Co., British
merchants, residing and doing business at Nassau, N.P..,
arrived at the port of New York, direct from thd former
place, on board the British steamship Corsica. He had in
his possession money, bills of exchange, and securities t
the aggregate value of 0,000 sterling. A portion of thi
property was designed for direct remittance to the
correspondents of the firm in England, for the purpose
of covering bills which had been drawn von them at Nas-
sau, and the rest was intended to be applied to the liquida-
tion of indebtedness due their commission agent in New
York, and for the purchase of merchandi.e for shipment to
Nassau. Before leaving the vessel, iNir Wolf was subjected
to a rigid personal search, and the whole of this property,
with every shilling of his private funds, was taken from him,
under and by direction of the customs authorities of the port.
No reason was assigned, nor was there any authority for
the act shown by the officer who made the seizure. Mr.
Wolf respecttully requested that a proper inventory should
bo made, and a receipt be given for the property by the
officer, This was refused with abusive and violent language.
Immediate application was made to the Hon Edward M.
Archibald, her Majesty's Consul, who called upon the
customs authorities and requested an explanation of
the outrage. Mr Archibald carefully presented to the
notice of the collector the very serious injury which
would result to the business interests and to the
commercial credit of the parties concerned by a prolonged
retention of the property, A prompt investigation and a
definite answer were promised by the collector, in reply to
his application, either for the immediate restoration of the
property or the assigning of some good reason for its re-
tention.

Mora than ten days elapsed before any reply or satis-
faction could be obtained. During this time Mr Archibald
called upon the collector, and also addressed him in writing
on the subject, several times. Tho parties interested fre-
quently made personal application to the authoritks them-
selves, and were invariably met with insult, and threpts
arrests and imprisonment in Fort Lafayette should they,
persist in claiming their property. Finally it was stated
that the United States marshal had seized the property in
the name of the Government, upon the ground that it was
owned by citizens of the Confederate States. Mr. Wolf,
accompanied by his friends, proceeded immediately to
Washington, and laid the case, with all the circumstances
connected with it, before Lord Lyons, who promptly called
upon the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, and placed him
in possession of the facts. Application was also made to
the Treasury Department at Washington by the commission
agent of the parties, who resided in New York, for the pur-
pose of ascertaining if the action of the customs authorities
was the result of instructions from or had received the ap-
proval of the Department, after the same had been properly
communicated to the Government. The Treasury Depart-
ment denied having authorised the action of the customs
authorities at New York, and promised a speedy investiga-
tion of the facts in connection with it. Four days after the
demand for the restoration of the property had been made
by Lord Lyons, it was surrendered to Mr. Wolf, by the
customs authorities in New York, without apology or a
word of explanation.
On Dec. 31, 1803, and about three weeks after the surren-
der of the property, the commission agent of the firm of A.
Wolf and Co,, residing in New York, together with several
other British merchants engaged in trade with the Bahamas,

were arrested by order of the War Department and thrown
into Fort Lafayette, where they now remain imprisoned.
The customs authorities took immediate possession of the
offico:of this gentleman, seized all his books and oorrespon-
deuce, stopped his business, and a few days afterwards cut
(-pen his iron safe and removed from it a large amount of
property, among which was gold coin, bills of exchange, and
other securities to the value of £S,OOO, belonging to Messrs
A. Wolf and Co., of Nassau. This sum Embraced a large
portion of the funds previously seized from Mr G. (.I,Wolf,
and subsequently given up ; and also remittances after-
wards made to him by the firm at Nassau.

::Apphcation for redress was again made to Lord Lyons by
the owners of their property through their counsel. The
matter was presented to the attention of the State Depart-
ment by Lord Lyons, who was assured by Mr Seward that
an investigation would be shortly made, and that an injus-
tice growing out of the retention of the money, without
good and suffic:ent reason, would be carefully avoided,
This application was made about the 12th of last January.
Lord Lyons continued to press the matter upon the
attention of the State Department from time to time, and
was assured that the great pressure of business had pre-
vented the promised investigation.
In an interview between the counsel for the parties inte•
rested and Lord Lyons, about the 25th day of May last, the
former were assured by his lordship that another formal
application for redress would be made, and that in the event
of the United States Government refusing either to deliver
up the property or consenting to institute legal proceedings
before the courts for its condemnation upon some alleged
ground, so that the owners might have the opportunity of
being heard, through their counsel, in its defence, his lord-
ship would make it the subject of a special communication
to her Majesty's Government.
It is proposed to state that the owners of the property
seised allege, and are abundantly able to prove, that their
business at Nassau and elsewhere is of a strictly legitimate
character; that they have at no time been engaged in any
attempt to run the blockade of the Confederate ports ; that
they have never shipped, or caltsed to be shipped, from
ports in the United States, any article or articles coming
under the designation of contraband of war ; that they have
strictly complied with the customs and regulations adopted
by the United States Government for the control of
trade between their ports and the Bahamas; that
they have moderately and respectfully urged their
rights, and have repeatedly solicited a proper ju-
dicial investigation of the facts, expressing their
entire willingness to acquiesce in the result ; and that up
to the present time all the efforts of their counsel at New
York, with the customs authorities and the action of Lord
Lyons with the Government at Washington, have been uni-
formly met with promises of attention which were never
intended to be kept, or with direct evasion, and with an ap-
parently persistent determination to refuse any satisfaction
whatever in the matter.

FATAL FALL FROM THE ROOF OF A HOUSE.--
Yesterday Isaac Cooper. aged 16, of White Horse-Yard,
Poplar, was amusing himself with some pigeons at the cop
of the house when he fell from a height of 60 it. Ile aa
taken to the hospital, but before his arrival Ile was found to
be dead.
THE ASSAULT ON A LADY NEAR GLASGOW...-.
AT EAST GREEN.
Miss Adie, the young lady who was ao cruelly assaultea on
Saturday evening, was on Tuesday afternoon in a more
teolfegbrai p,,11.
favourable condition than on the previous evening, although
cable manu-
factory,her life is still in danger.
FATAL CASE OF DROWNING
WlCH.—Yesterday afterno.on, some boys were
bathing
it oppositethen
beGinlags;
--.g.,-water, when
one of them, rat Lynch, aged 14. , got out of his deFtb was
seized with cramp, 00d was carried away with the reee'stino•
water. Two boys attempted to rescue him, but withoutr
0950tdt1133el I it°utrBn
- The body had not been recovered' up to last

success.

evening.
64 norLEY V.
11°PLEY•"—A contemporary states
that Mrs 11opley, as soon as the verdict in the Divorce Court
was communicated to her, r f her own free will I(ft England
in order to avoid returning to her husband,
_ _ _

EXTENSIVE FIRE AT .13LACKIIEATII.—Last night
the inhabitants of Greenwich and Blackheath were
thrown into a state of considerable contusion, owing to the
outbreak cf a serious fire in the premises belonging to Mr
Richardson, situate in the Colonnade, in the last-named
district. The horses and carriages were extricated, but
the filmes were not extinguished until the upper part of
the stales, over 5) feet long, was destroyed and the roof
burned off. Mr Richardson was not insured.
nIsCOVERT or A STALACTITE CAVERN.—A
quarryman employed at Brisham,
in Devon, per-
ceived a day or two ago, after blasting, an aperture 1211 or
1411 overhead. It has been found to lead to an extensive
stalactite cavern, which extends in several directions and
for considerable distances. Many of the crystals of lime
have assumed beautiful and curious forms. It is under-
stood that a scientific exploration of the cavern will shortly
be made.
314eipsic, which is a city of only 80,000 inhabit,
ants, possesses 39 printirig-oilloes, in which are in operation
146 steam presses and 65 worked by hand. These estab-
lishments employ 677 compositors, 79 machinists, and 92
pressmen, to which number must bo added 243 apprer.
tines.