The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-26 00:00:00

THE ALABA.L►,

(From the Cope sown Argus of .4vgitst 11.)
During the whole of Saturday the Alabama 131
qnietlyatanchor
eionTerabriaet:ly e
Biey, thahon7 bat
h the
s with
t which
had then become m n
Valorous no longer alongside, that vessel having
d ragged;her
considerable distance
t
during
leeward.g Fr
idsy I
nightu thande drifted
a latter
part of the day, although the weather was gloomy,
a goodly number of visitors went
off to the vessel,
and were received with the courteous urbanity which
distinguished the conduct of the officers of the ship
towards the crowds who thronged around her on
Thursday. His Excellency the Goveinor ha-Cog,
as stated in oar issue of S aturday last, decided that
prima facie there was no ground for his interference
in regapart. Semmes d to the
wascapture u
of the
by anyhrteSbeaßride, of mindthe
of e
the
abstruse questions supposed by some people to_be
occupying the attention of his Excellency the Go-
vernor and puzzling the brains of the Attorney-
General.
pairsen e rianl
t.
d hor
on Sunday morning Capt. Semmes weighe anc ,
Having
eeeffalepclteetdedheerne, Saturday
early the h
he
orue-r
y had
bama steered a south-west course, and s
carcel
c laobclke
Bt ha ey A loa bna
Ime
aavti onogkt
hh
ee rbfia
rr s
tt
hdoeAp al
ar
at
tin re aftr o6me
gthnealnmoarnthrwe on tshte,
el
tosi
sLhieong,sotßouumt
pomf
asdigehdt
owwnhena
stahi
edferroaml thesame
and
e c t subsequentlyion .
merchant-
men—one the bark Kedron, from Baltimore to this
B Both
th
turned
r anotherned out
tcoo m
bei nFg
port, with a consigned to Jamieson
general cargo,
and Co., and the other the whaling schooner Charles
Colgate, from New London to Desolation, which put
in for repairs. The Alabama passed within a few
miles of both. The signalman on the Lion's Hill
had all the ships under his view at the same time.
A fog bank between the steamer and the Federals
prevented Capt. Semmes from getting a sight of his
prey. On her passage to Simon's Bay the Alabama
fell in with the American ship Martha Winzell,
bound from Akyab to Falmouth, but she, not being
three miles off the land at the time, was allowed
to proceed on her voyage. Yesterday morning
she put into Simon's Bay, where the Alabama
also will remain for a few days to complete re-
pairs, and then will proceed to sea. She will pro-
bably cruise off l'Agulhas for some time in thehope
of falling in with homeward bound American ves-
sels engaged in the China:trade. On Saturday the
Confederate cruiser Tuscarora, Lieut. Low com-
mander, formerly the Conrad, of Philadelphia, cap-
tured by the Alabama, and converted by Captain
Semmes into a tender to his ship, put into Simon's
Bay for the purpose of refitting. She carries two
guns and 10 men before the mast. About 14 days
ago she fell in with the American ship Santee,
bound from Rangoon to Falmouth, and captured
her, but as the vessel was laden with cargo belong-
ing to British owners she was allowed to proceed
on giving a bond of 150,000 dols. A few days after
the Tuscaloosa fell in with the American China
clipper ship Snow Squall, 800 tons, homeward
bound. It was blowing hard at the time, and the
Tuscaloosa, having fired at the Snow Squall with-
out bringing her to, made chase, but the latter be-
ing the fastest sailer escaped.
The Cape Town Argus of August 20, says :—The
Alabama sailed from Simon's Bay on Saturday
last. The bark Saxon, from Algoa Bay, belonging
to Messrs. William Anderson, Saxon, and Co., re•
ports having been boarded by the Confederate
stermer Alabama off the Cape. After inspection of
the ship's papers she was allowed to proceed on her
voyage, with an apology for her detention. The
Saxon arrived in Table Bay on Monday. On Sun-
day afternoon the Confederate steamer Georgia,
Captain Maury, entered Simon's Bay for coals and
repairs. She appears to be an ordinary iron built
packet boat, certainly not intended for a fighting
craft, but having a good crew, and armed with two
Whitworth rifled guns aft, one large 56-gun for-
ward, and two 32's on her quarter-deck; and,
being a fast sailer, is well suited to capture mer-
chant ships, and run from war vessels of superior
armament but inferior speed. On the 25th of
April she captured the ship Dictator, of New York,
bound to Shanghai, with coal. After burn-
ing the Dictator, she proceeded to the Cape Verd
Islands to land her prisoners. As she got into the
entrance of the harbour of St. Vincent, she dis-
covered a man-of-war with the American colours
flying ; put about, and went to the north side of the
island, where she lay until dark, and then stood out
for sea. On the 13th of May she arrived in Bahia,
where the Alabama was lying at the time. From
Bahia she proceeded down the South American coast
off Cape Trio, in sight of land, she captured the
George Griswold, which vessel had a British cargo
on board, and was therefore bonded. The Georgia
then proceeded to the island of Trinidad, on her way
capturing the barque Good Hope, of Boston, bound
to Agulhas, with a general cargo. Her captain had
died some days before, and his body being pre-
served in salt, Captain Maury had it brought on
abt
hno
ead r
committed
oatt
nrhqr
aeu
ieGt
teelod.r r
W. set
eahvde e trdhe
hee
pof
v.O
en eDir.
naulr
sis
ineggr
hv
ttie o
,chae
n dvr e
w iat,
services
chased by the Georgia. She was from Boston,
bound to the Amcor River, with machinery for the
Russian Government. The prisoners of the Good
an t
btbheo
the
rd,
25th
Georgia
o and
fJune
she was
ur
arrived
eves
hd e
at
taptbonded.bt
captured
rei ad a
tOnh
island
otril Hope
eiBnwt
ihedraoedf P.Juutnoee
f
ship Constitution, of New York, loaded with coal
for Shanghai, made a prize of her, and took her
into the island. On the 28th of July the Georgia
captured the ship City of Bath, of Bath, from Callao
to Antwerp. The cargo being neutral she was
bonded, and the prisoners of the Constitution were
put on board her. On the 16th of July, the
Georgia captured the ship Prince of Wales, of Bath,
Valparaiso, bound to Antwerp, with guano. The
cargo being neutral, the ship was bonded. The fol-
lowing is a list of the Georgia's officers :—W. L.
Maury, commander ; Chapman, Ist lieutenant;
Evans, 2d ditto; Smith, 3d ditto; Ingraham, 4th
ditto ; Walker, passed midshipman ; Morgan, mid-
shipman ; Curtis, paymaster; Wheedon,doctor; Pear-
son, chief engineer. The Georgia will take in from
200 to 300 tons of coals, besides general supplies.
The Florida is expected to put into Saldanha Bay.
The Valorous was last night signalled to proceed at
once to that port. As soon as it was known that
the Alabama was in Saldanha Bay, Mr. Graham,
the United States' Consul at Cape Town, addressed
a letter to the Governor, requesting that the vessel
might be "at once seized and sent to England,
from whence she clandestinely escaped," on the
ground that the British Liovernment, which had a
treaty of amity and commerce with the United
States, had not recognised "the persons in rebellion
against the United States as a Government at all."
His Excellency replied that he had no instructions
or authority to seize or detain the vessel, and that
the course taken by Captain Semmes was, in his
opinion, in conformity with the instructions he had
received relative to ships of war and privateers be-
longing to the Government of the United States
and the States calling themselves the Confederate
States visiting British ports. Against the capture
of the Sea Bride Mr. Graham protested, on the
ground that the capture was made within British
waters, contending that neutral waters were limited
to the fighting distance from land, which, since the
invention of Armstrong guns, must be held to be six
miles. He also subsequently claimed her forfeiture
on the ground that on the day succeeding her cap-
ture the prize crew on hoard of her brought her
within a mile and a half of Green Point lighthouse,
which he maintained was " a violation of neutrality
as much as if the capture had taken place at that
distance from land," But on both points the deci-
sion of the Governor was adverse to his views.
Mr. Graham also claimed the delivery to him, as
the official agent of the former owners of the Con-
rad, of the Tuscaloosa, on the ground that being a
prize, and " not having been condemned by any Ad-
miralty Court of any recognised Government," she
was debarred from entering any British port, and
ought, therefore, " to revert to her real owners" the
moment she violated the Queen's proclamation.
His Excellency replied that he was not aware of
of any provision of international law by which cap-
tured ships, as soon as they entered neutral ports,
reverted to their real owners ; and believed that the
claims of contending parties to captured vessels could
be determined in the fast instance only by the