The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-24 00:00:00

bags, The law, in his opinion, ought to be enforced, and
onr commerce protected by the Government of the eountry.
(Hear, hear.)
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said he would not wish
to add one word to this discussion but for the misapprehen-
sion of his hon. and learned friend the member for Belfast,
whom he did not expect to hear draw from the correspond-
euce which had been referred to by his hon. friend near him
an inference so entirely erroneous as that her Majesty's Go •
vernment were prepared to admit that the United States
Government were justified in capturing vessels upon the
ground that the mail bags might contain letters of a hostile
character. He would not refrain from stating that such a doc-
trine was not held by her Majesty's Government, and they
would not submit to it for a single moment. But until the
evidence was completed on both sides it would be most un-
wise to enter into a discussion of the subject. He would
remind the house that they had had before them upon more
than one occasion a statement of the views of her Majesty's
Government, the principles which might be involved
when questions arose, and those upon which they would
be prepared to act. (Hear, hear.) 0 the 28th of
November last year, Lord Russell, writing to Lord Lyons,
placed on record the minutes of a conversation which his
noble friend at the head ot the Government had with Mr.
Adams, and in which his noble friend stated that
her Majesty's Government could not permit any interference
with any British or foreign vessels in British waters ; but
that in the open sea he did not mean to dispute the belligs-
rent rights ot the United States ; adding, however, that the
decision on the exercise of those rights must in each case be
dealt with according to the special circumstances of that case
His noble friend added that it was not necessary turther to
discuss a case which was not in point, but that it would no
do for the eh ps of the United States to harass Brit sh com-
merce on the high seas under the pretence of prey( wing the
Confederates getting contraband of ever. That was what
was stated in November last. and the house would remem-
ber that in the case of the Aguilar, and subsequently of the
Peterhoff. when the officers; of the U ited S aces justified
themselves in detaining those vessels, not after an exercise
of the right of search, but on intornsa ion which bad been
received from this country, no time was lost ins ating that
such conduct was an abuse of belligerent rights. Mr. Sew trd
did not vinuicate it, but immediately issued instructions
which, if they had been obeyed, would have been an answer
to the compl .ints which were now made, his instructions
were that no vessel should be seized until previous search
had proved her to contain contraband of war, or that she
was about to violate the blockade. Mr. Seward ordered that
if it could be proved that the vessel was proceeding from
one neutral port to another, and not to a p, rt in the hands
of the insurgents, there could be no lawful seizure. The
house would see, then, that there was no controversy, as
the American Government did not claim the r ght to seize
our vessels. It their officers had since done so, it was to
be presumed that the Government would not uphold such
conduct. Then as regarded the mails, certain British mer-
chants engaged in the trade with Mexico, which was in the
line of the contraband trade, although in itself perfectly
innocent, stated their apprehension that their vessels would
be exposed to relay and capture, under the pretext that
treasonable matter might be found in their letter bags. The
noble lord the Foreign Secretary, without pretending that
the presence of such matter would be sufficient to justify
capture, said that there might be inconvenience or loss to in-
dividuals from the mere circumstance of being put in such a
situation, and that he thought it, therefore, reasonable to
relieve them if they wished from the compulsory obligation
of carry letter bags. It was no part of his present object to
enter into the justification of that course, although it might
be justified on the grounds of consieeration for individuals
whilst it was not against the honour of the country or in
obedience to a principle which his hon. and learned friend
gave him the oppoatunity of disclaiming. He was thankful
to his hon. and learned friend for showing that the steps
which had been taken by the Government were opened to
such a construction, and for giving him the opportunity of
declaring that it was unfounded.
Lord R. CECIL said that this was no new case. The
Aguilar was seized in June last, and the Peterhoff three
months since. Complaints were made to the Government
before Easter, and yet, according to the hon. and learned
gentleman, they were not able now to make up their minds.
The case of the Aguilar was still before the prize court,
although the Government had declared the capture unjus-
tifiable, and as yet no reparation had been asked. British
trade was now in tact carried on by the sufferance of the
foreigner, and it had actually come to this, that an extra
preuaturn of insurance was taken now between the two Bri-
tish ports of Liverpool and Nassau, against the chance of
being detained by the American cruisers, and this for no
reason but because Admiral Wilkes chose to practise pira
deal proceedings on the high 8€ as. A good deal had been
said about the Peterhoff, but nothing whatever about the
Dolphin, which was a worse case. That ship was trading
legitimately ; she was captured by an American cruiser,
her crew taken prisoners, her cargo broken up, and her Bri.
tish seamen were turned on shore destitute, in the harbour
of St. Thomas. For that outrage no redress had as yet been
obtained. He believed that this discussion would be useful,
as showing the Government that they must no longer trifle
with the feelings of this country. They were told that the
national honour was safe in the hands of the noble lord at
the head of the Government, but they had had the noble
lord before them in two characters—that of the Lord Pal-
merston of the Russian and Crimean war and of the Greece
and Brazil negotiations, and the Lard Palmerston of the
Conspiracy bill. It was yet to be seen in which chat acter
the noble lord would deal with the present complication.
Mr. OSBORNE thought that two more mischievous de-
bates had never taken place in that house than those which
had been just raised by the hon, and learned members for
Sheffield and Wallingford. He (Mr. Osborne) thought that
whilst they were treading almost on the living embers of war
they were bound to be more careful of what they said than
at any other time. If they were to go on reviewing Ame-
rican institutions and inflaming the American mind by offen-
sive observations on cases respecting which they were as yet
imperfectly informed, he could not see how ary Govern-
ment could prevent this country from being plunged into
war. He (Mr. Osborne) was no degenerate Englishman,
nor was he a member of the peace party, but as an indepen•
dent member of that house he thought his best cou,se was
to avoid discussions like the present. They all had confi-
dence in the noble lord at the heed of the Government as a
war minister, and therefore it was the less necessary to
magnify this question into one of mischievous proportion.
The motion was then withdrawn.
INCOME TAX ON ENDOWED CHART rIE S.
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY wished to know how the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer meant to raise the question f im-
posing the income taxon endowed charities. Many important
institutions were interested, one of which, if assessed, would
have to pay £1,500 a year.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
the institution alluded to, if liable to a charge of £1,500 a
year, must have an income of at least £50,000 or £60,000,
and therefore was very well able to take its share in the
burthens of the country. The course he intended to take
*as to ask for a general resolution that night which would
be reported on the following day, and the bill with its
clauses would be in the hands of members on Saturday
morning. The mode of proceeding would then be seen,
and he should be subsequently, in committee, ready to
answer any specfic question.
MEMORIAL TO THE PRINCE CONSORT.

The house then Went into a committee of supply.

Viscount-PALMERSTON—I rise to move the resolu-
tion of which I have given notice, for a grant of £50,000 to
her Majesty towards the expense of erecting a suitable ti.e •
merial to the late Prince Consort. We all recollect the
effect—the stunning effect—pro,luced on the public mind
by the announcement made about a year and a half since
that the country had lost the late Prince consort. 'I he
event struck a gloom into every household, it inspired with
deep grief the heart of every subject of her Majesty and
there was no one who did not feel that not only ha,l the na-
tion snff-red a great and irreparable loss but that each imcli-
v,dmil had to mourn one as dear to him as a near friend or
relative. What that loss was to her gracious Majesty I
shall not presume to describe. There are truths which ace
only weakened by any attempt to enforce them ; there are
feeli, gs which are t o sacred to permit say attempt to ex-
plain them ; and it would be a sort of sacrilege to attempt.
to draw aside thJ veil behind which those feelings shrunk
from the public gaze. Stilt, it was felt that this was an cc-
ca,ton on which it was becoming both for the satisfaction of
national feeling, and as a tribute of respect to the S.,ve-
reign, that some prominent and substantial m, morial should
be erected to commemorate the virtue of the great man
whom we had so suddenly lost. A public subscription was
commenced, and the late Lord Mayor plan, d himself at the
head of the committee. Contributions poured in from
every part of the country, according to the means of those
who desired to testify their feelings on the subject. it was
*an the beginning the intention of her Majesty's Govern-
ment not t ) leave the commemoratien of a great national
loss simply and entirely to the result of private subscrip-
tions, as it appeared to them to be fitting that, in addition
to anything which was the result of private impulse, there
should be added something which, cowing as a vote of Par-
liament, should be more completely a national tribute to the
memory of the Prince Consort. What should be the amount,
had to depend upon two things ; first, what might be the
result of the private subscription ; and secondly, what
might be the probable c-ist of such memorial as sh old be
deemed fitting for the occasion. No sooner had the sub-
scription commenced than the committee which undertook
its management made it publicly known that the selection
of the kind and character of the
memorial should, as was
fitting, be left to the feeling and judgment of the Queen.
Subsequently various circumstances occurred which diverted
into other channels those means which might otherwise
have flowed into the subscription. The great and magnifi-
cent act of public generosity by which the people of Lance
-
shire were in a great degree supported, took away much
which might otherwise have been subscribed for the memo-
rial, the sum raised for which at last amounted to between
£50,000 and £60,000. With a view of determining what
should be the nature and character of her memorial her
Majesty requested four eminent persons to undertake the
task of inviting plans, and of considering and reporting on
them. These were the Earls of Derby and Clarendon, Sir
Charles Eastlake, and the late Lord Mayor, and these com-
missioners invited a certain number of architects to send in
plans, and the plans when sent in consisted of two parts.
The idea which each architect endeavoured to work out
was to combine a personal memorial on the one side, and