The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-22 00:00:00

The Solicitor-General at Plymouth.

On Thursday evening the Solicitor-General, Sir Robt. P.
Collier, M.P., and Walter Morrison, Esq., M.P.,in accord-
ance with the annual custom, met their constituents at the
Plymouth Mechanics' Institute, for the purpose of rendering
an account of their stewardship during the last session of
Parliament. The attendance was exceedingly large, the
place being literally crammed from floor to ceiling. David
Derry, Rue , a veteran in the Liberal cause, presided.
The SOLICITOR GENERAL, on rising to address the
meeting, was received with tremendous cheering. After
the cheering had subsided he said—Mr Chairman and gen-
tlemen, allow me to thank you once again for responding
t ) my invitation to meet me,
and I may add, allow me to
thank you for the extremely kind and flattering reception
you have given me. Gentl, men, I address yen now, fur
:hl second time, in a somewhat new character. Formerly
I addressed you as your representative—not indeed as your
representative only, but the representative of all England—
(hear)—as every member of revilement ought to be—
(hear)—but upon this occasion, as upon a former one, I
address you as holding a subordinate, but at the same time
an important and reel onsible cflhe under her Majesty's
Government. (Hear,)
Gentlemen, that yen do not think
mo wrong in accepting th .t office, you testified by unani
mously re-electing me; and I shall not forget the ex-
tremely kind and flattering manner in which I was received
by my constitutents, and I shall not forget, not merely the
kindness of my friends,but the courtesy of my political op-
ponents—(hear, hear)—and I am induced to hope, gentle-
men—to hope and believe—that although among ray con-
stituents and fellow-townsmen I may have political oppo-
nents—as of course I have—yet I have no personal enemies.
Now, gentlemen, I trust that the manner in which I have
performed the duties of my office has not been such as to
forfeit your confidence. The present times have been pecu-
liarly trying times for the law (Moms of the Crown. A
greater amount of labour, and a greater amount of respon-
sibility, has been thrown upon us than usual, and that
greater amount of labour and respensibility has chiefly
arisen from the American war. The American war has
given rise to questions of very great importance—to inter-
national questions of the highest importance—some of them
indeed governed by authorities, but others for which lawyers
have searched the precedents and searched the books in
vain. A great number of new questions have arisen which
could be determined only by a refereece to the general prin-
ciples of international law, and I may add, to the geutial
principles of common sense and of justice, on which all laws
ought to be founded. (Applause.) Gentlemen, under these
circumstances we have done our best to give that advice to
the Crown which we deemed consistent with law. You aro
aware we aro not consulted on questions merely of polLy—
we are consulted only on questions of law. Now, I believe
the whole country approves of the determination of her
Majesty's Government to maintain a strict neutrality be-
tween the two belligerents. (Cheers ) But, gentlemen, it
is one thing to say that you will be neutral—it is another to
act with perfect neutrality, and in steering a neutral course
you have to navigate between a number of rocks and quick-
sands. (Hear, hear.) There is a third more difficult thing
still, and the t is, so to act that you shall not be accused by
either party of a want of neutrality; and that I venture to
say is impossible— (hear, hear)---for each belligerent, and
its more eager partisans, regard all questions which arise
from a totally different point of view; and in faot that neu-
trality which each belligerent really desires, is partiality to
itself. (Hear, and a laugh) It is that sort of Irish reci-
procity which is stated to be all on one side. (Laughter.)
Now, I think it is some testimony to the real neutrality of
the Government that we have been complained of by both
sides; we expected that would bo the case, for if we were
really neutral that is almost unavoidable. Now, gentle-
men, you are aware that in most of the great wars which have
desolated the world in modern times, England, unfortunately
for herself, has been a belligerent. In this, the greatest and
perhaps the most desolating of all, we occupy the com-
paratively novel position of neutrale—(bear, hear)—and I
think you will all agree that it becomes us, as a great nation,
now we are neutrals, to submit to those rules which we laid
down when we were belligerents ; for nothing would be
more unworthy of us—no' hing would tend more to the dis-
repute of this nation among the nations of the world—if it
could be stated that we laid down different rules and laws,
according to the extent of our position—on one occasion
being neutrals, and on another belligerents. (Hear, hear.)
Therefore, to protect our belligerent rights, we laid down
certain rules, which no doubt to some extent threw a burden
upon neutrals. That burden which we impose upon others
it is our duty that ourselves should bear—(hear. hear)— and
upon that principle—a principle of fairness and justice which
everybody will acknowledge—my colleague and myself have
given all the advice we have given to her Majesty's Go-
vernment; and I may say this on behalf of my colleague
and myself,—that, although I am not presumptuous
enough to suppose that we have been always in the right,
this I will assert—that we have viewed every question
which came before us in an impartial and judicious spirit,
and determined to do to the best of our judgment—(hear,
hear)—withcut allowing ourselves to be influenced by syme
pathy fur either belligerent, or partiality with the weaker
for fear of the stronger. (Hear, hear.) But where we
have had reason to think that the Federal Government have
violated international' law—we have invariably thought it
our duty to remonstrate and to require redress. (Hear.)
Gentlemen, I think it but fair and proper for me to say that
as far ae the decisions of the American Priz 3 Courts are
concerned, I think we have no great ground of complaint.
(Hear, hear.) Ido not say we have no cause of complaint,
but I will not now dwell upon the subject. I may observe,
perhaps, in passing, that unquestionably I think we have
a ground of complaint in this :—that a number of Irishmen
and other persons emigrating from the shores of Ireland
and of England, on their arrival at New York have been en-
trapped inteeenlieting in the armies by most unwarrantable
means—those means being employed, no doubt, by the
subordinate officers—l do not say by the responsible officers
—of the American Government. (Hear, hear.) But I pass
that by, and I do not mean to dwell upon it, but it gives me
satisfaction, and I think it is fair to state, that the decisions
of their prize courts have been, on the whole, such as we
have no great reason to complain of. The cases have been
fairly argued by counsel on both sides, and the American
judges have paid as much respect to the decisions of our
courts as to the decisions of their own; and, although I do
not commit myself to agree with every proposition of inter.
national law which has been laid down, or to the view of the
facts always adopted by the courts, I think it fair and right
to say that, upon the whole, the judgments of the American
Prize Courts appear to have been well considered, and de-

_ .
livered with a desire to do justice. (Hear, hear, and great
applause.) Gentlemen, I think you will say that we have
done right in advising her Majesty's Government to enforce
the Foreign Enlistment Act. That is a statute passed, as
the preamble recites, " for the purpose of enabling his Ma-
jesty the better to preserve the peace and tranquillity of this
country," than which what object can be more beneficial to
the whole community ? It is true that that statute is not
very carefully drawn. It has been somewhere stated that
you may easily sail a fleet of ships through it— (a laugh)—
but it is a statute passed for the benefit of all classes, and
more especially for the trading classes, and ono which it is,
I think, the duty of the
,Guvernment to enforce. Years
ago, it has been said
-that this is a statute which bears
hardly upon the trading :classes of this country.
I emphatically deny it—(hear) —and I will call as my wit-
ness Mr Baring, ono of the leaders of the Conservative
party, and, as you are aware, a man above all others who is
entitled to speak on behalf of the great commercial classes
of this country. Upon its being stated in the House of
Commons that the Foreign Enlistment Act was a hard
statute upon traders—that it was a bad thing for us to seize
the steam rams, and to prevent our ports being made the
arsenals of one of the belligerents—Mr Baring got up, and
in the most forcible manner showed that it is the preserve
tion of peace which is, above all things, conducive to the
real prosperity of the commercial classes—(applause)—that
it is war which the legitimate trader has to fear—(ll€ ar)—
and he repudiated with indignant scorn the pretence that
the trading classes of this country were fairly represented
by a few contraband traders whose interests were directly
opposite to the interests of the great mass of the commu-
nity, and whose gain was in the lees and calamity of another
country. (Applause.) Gentlemen, the Alexandra was seized
before I became a law officer of the Crown, but 1 altogether
approve of the seizure of that vessel. Unfortunately it has
happened—and I deeply regret it---' hat the decision in that
case turned entirely upon a technical question, so that the
real construction of that portion of the Foreign Enlistment
Act applicable to the case has not been arrived at. I regret
it; it is a reproach to our law. I cannot help thinking,
gentlemen, that you will think that her Majesty'e Govern-
ment wore right
.in preventing those steam rams from
issuing from the port of Birkenhead. (Hear, hear.) In
that case we have come to a compromise, and probably you
will think that discretion was the better of valour. Know-
ing the difficulties by which one is surrounded in the con-
struing of the Foreign Enlistment Act, and the difficulties
attending a prosecution of this description, we thought it
well to end the matter by buying those vessels. They,
therefore, are now part of the effective navy of this country,
instead of issuing from our ports to prey on the comm' rce
of a nation with whom we aro at peace, and possibly to in-
wive us in hostilities. (Hear, and cheers.) I may say that
the object of the Government has been not to punish or in-
convenience individuals, but to prevent hostile cruisers
issuing from our ports. And let us think of it; can any-
thing be more important—can there be a more important
duty, not only to a friendly nation with whom wo are at
as you wi,h to be done by. (hear, hear.) Supposing we
golden rule, and do
peace, but to ourselves ? Nuw adopt the
were at war with any European Power—(confusion in the
gallery, and cries of " Order")—with the Americans if you
please—a consummation which I hope wilt be averted—
why our great naval superiority would enable us to close
their ports to prevent privateers issuing from them, and
would destroy their navy and their commerce, but if the
weaker nation were permitted to resort to the ports of a
neutral country, and to use its ports as an arsenal to fit out
fleets against us, what would bo the use of our naval
superiority ? Our naval superiority would be thrown away,
and therefore it coneetus us more than it does any other
Power in the world to enforce the doctrine that the ports
cf a neutral country shall not be made the arsenals of
) We have also thought
those who have enlisted
iat foourerigdnutnyattoioinlr.os(eLcuotuedimapipmlratuiasell.y
in the service of either belligerent. Now, gentlemen, this
conduct on the part of the firuveruluent has been made the