The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-04 00:00:00

THE AMERICAN BLOCKADE,

:owing appears in the columns of a ccr.•

temporary :

" TO MR. W. J. GRAZEBROOK, LIVERPOOL.
"Foreign-office, April 24.
"Sir,--I am directed by Earl Russell to acquaint
you that her Majesty's Government having consi-
dered, in communication with the law officers of
the Crown, the circumstances attending the capture
of tha Dolphin, as represented in your letters of the
13th and 15th inst., Lord Lyons will be instructed
to apply to the Government of the United States
for the release of the vessel, unless some valid
ground for taking her before a prize court shall be
alleged.

"Lord Lyons will also be instructed to call the
special attention of the Government of the United
States to the manner in which a portion of the crew
of the Dolphin was dealt with by the captor,--I
am, sir, your obedient bumble servant,

"E. HAMMOND."

TO THE RIGHT HON. EARL RUSSELL, SECRETARY
OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
" Liverpool, April 29.
"My Lord,—l find on my return your lordship's
communication dated April 24, 1863, informing me
that her Majesty's Government have instructed Lord
Lyons to apply for the release of the Dolphin, if no
valid grounds can be alleged for bringing her before
a prize court, and also calling attention to the treat-
ment of the crew.
"I have to thank her Majesty's Government for
the prompt steps they have taken in this case, and
I trust the Federal Goverment will not be per-
mitted to detain this vessel an unlimited time, to
my great detriment.
" I beg to hand herewith an attested copy of a
letter received in Liverpool on the 27th inst. from
Captain It. 11. Eustice, dated Key West, the 6th of
April, 1863, informing me of the capture of the
Dolphin, confirming previous statements of that
part of the crew arrived in England, and giving de-
tails of further outrages, showing that my captain
has been robbed and was left at Havannah, my first
.
engineer put in irons, and my ship and cargo pillaged
in a shameful manner. I have also to call t
called at
the Dolphin, with a prize crew. onii. a
ords
grounds
atten-
tion of her Majesty's Government
btooatrhd,
Havannab, which, lam told, ofi(t)fse ff
the Ccnfederate
for her release, as two p
rizeersews on board, having
steamer Sumter, with
prizee
weather into Cienfuegos, in
the
t that
been driven by stress of
... . , . .
my letter of
grounds that Spain WELo neu-
and restored on the
ienrchant
Cuba, were claimed by the Amtman authorities,
tral, and that prizes were not to be taken into
neutral porta.
"'bare to call your lordship's s.r, - 1 . i ..cia attention
qt
ou egs
give
ceo
tnot at ihnee dm
April 21--
s of England soma
plain definition of the laws, so that when and where we may all know
We are HAI
twined, and our we
' eto be seized or de-
loss and to the derangementcc interrupted, to our great
and, in short, is theß. of ail financial matters ;
lawful destination ' ritish port of Nassau to be a
for goods in British ships ?—I
am' my lord, yo•ar 1
ordship's most obedient for-
" WILLIAM J. GRAZEBROOK."

vant,

"TO MR. W. J. ORAZEBROOK, LIVERPOOL.
"
"Foreign-office, April 30.
am directed by Earl Russell to acknow-
ledge the receipt or your letter of the 21st instant,
and I ma to state to you, as to the case of the Dol-
phin, that his lordship has nothing to add to his
letter which, by his direction, I addressed to you
on the 24th inst. respecting that vessel. With
for
re-
gard to the special protection which Y
Sour steamerßussell
et
ahne
nAo
t promise
d l er, I ana t
oto a state
yiotorolduysato seek
stip ephaea:
L
cial protection for that vessel. Hie
protect,
onlysayinwignenneortaflaitiertoms
principles
n ao fl a international
lawful
f u l
I trade
8 zawc that
, andeare in3oir theiiben Majesty's
cyPtt
ssro Go-
vernmentt
en-
gagedhe
obliga-
tionsm annoefr neutrality.--I vesselsral i ty .—o f am, herand
observing
Majesty's
s theu j

«P. liAmmOND.
"P.S.—Since this letter was written your letter
of the 29th inst. has been received."

lon Saturday d evening the official inspection of the
2dia,: rSouth Middlesex (Lord Ranelagh's) Regiment of
R
Volunteers, being the first of the present season, by
Colonel M'Murdo, Inspector General of Volunteers, took
place In Hyde-park in the presence of a great concourse of
spectators.

I beg to hand you some further ecrresponclence
with the Foreign-office concerning my steamer
Dolphin.
This steamer having left Falmouth on the 17th
of February, 1863, and the ship's papers, &c., being
altogether in order, are the best refutation to the
inferences intended to be drawn from the publica-
tion of an old circular referring to the blockade in.
the columns of one of your contemporaries, well-
known for its devotion to the Federal cause, and
intended to injure my case in the eyes of the public.
I defy auyone to disprove that my steamer Dol-
phin was not on her legitimate voyage to Nassau
when seized near St. illomas.—l am, sir, your
obedient servant,
Liverpool, May 1. W. J. GRAZEBROOR.

"TO THE BIGHT HON. EARL RUSSELL, SECRETARY OF
STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
" Londob, April 21.
"My Lord,- I regret having again to trouble
you with reference to the capture of my steamer
Dolphin, but in the meantime by business is
suffering.
" This vessel was publicly advertised in the
Liverpool papers to carry freight or passengers to
Nassau, New Providence.
"Her bills of lading and articles engaging the
crew were signed for Nassau, and she was cleared
at the Liverpool Custom-house for St. Thomas and
Nassau, with a cargo of lawful merchandise.
"Near St. Thomas she was seized by the Federal
steamer Wachusetts on her evident course to her
destination.
"An armed force took possession of the engine-
room and the bridge before her papers were
examined.
"Although the ship's papers were in perfect
order, clearly demonstrating the above, the British
flag was struck, and
"Her captain was insulted and by force removed*
"Her crew were made prisoners.
" Her cargo broken into, as the armed Federal
sailors got drunk with champagne which had been
packed
"Sixteenin the
of her crew
fore hold.
were illegally detained on
board the Wachusetts at St. Thomas for 48 hours,
without being allowed to communicate with any
one until her Majesty's ship Nile left St. Thomas.
" The crew were not landed on American or
but were landed on the foreign
to starve or to beg, as no ar-
ißoraitnidshopf ossts.eTsshioonmsa,
raugement was made for them with either the
American or British Consuls to provide for them.
"As the foregoing capture occurred nearly 1,000
miles from the blockaded ports, I have to request
from her Majesty's Government some exact infor-
mation as to the limits of the law within which we
may demand protection, as at present it seems to be
left to the acquisitiveness of each American captain
who can catch a British vessel going towards our
West Indian possessions,
"I have at this moment my steamer Adler, in
Liverpool, ready for sea, and waiting your lordship's
decision, es my shippers and myself desire to know
before despatching her what protection we have to
expect on her legitimate voyage.
"If the Americans had declared war against us
we should go prepared to defend ourselves, but at
present we are like sheep delivered up to the
slaughter, and we wish to know what is lawful and
what is not.—l am your lordship's most obedient
servant, "W. J. GRAZEBROOK."

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

The fund for the relief of the widows, children,
and relatives of those who perished in the wreck of
the Orpheus already exceeds £BOO sterling, all re-
ceivad from private sources. The committee who
have the management and distribution of the fund,
at the Naval College in Portsmouth dockyard, are
paying all allotments to widows and families for
April as fast as their claims are received. The real
value of this proceeding is best appreciated by those
who know that ?Men news is received of a man's
dbach in the service his pay is stopped, and the half
pay sviiich his wife and children have received
monthly for their support during his abserce from
home is stopped at the same time. As a result of
the measures taken by the committee, therefore, all
to whom were allotted monthly payments have re-
ceived or will receive them for April as usual, the
committee paying the amounts on this occasion in
lieu of the Admiralty. The immediate wants of the
families of the men bat will be thus promptly re-
lieved. To aid the good cause Captain Cowper
Phipps Coles, R.N., has issued a notice that be will
deliver a lecture at Hirat's Portland hall, Southsea,
on Wednesday evening next, " On the Principles of
Revolving Shields and Ironclad Ships," Vice-Ad-
miral Sir Michael Seymour, G.C.8., will take the
chair. The proceeds of the lecture will be handed
over to the " Orpheus Fond."
Tne marine forts at Spithead—the Horse, No-
man,
and Sturbridge—present the same appearance
as yet that they have done through the winter. in
each instance a score or so of wooden piles has been
driven into the shoal, with a huge iron cylindrical
pile in the centre, and the whole covered by a wooden
staging, on which is erected a timber cabin, with a
temporary lighthouse attached, to which some one
from the staff of the contractor for the construction
of the forts (Mr. Leather) is occasionahy sent to
trim his lamps and keep watch that no drift runs
foul of the staging. In Stokes Bay a substan-
tial pier has been run out by the contractor,
and fitted with the necessary cranes and pur-
chases for receiving and discharging heavy
weights, while, at a convenient distance from the
shore and the pier, a village of workshops has sprung
up. Looking, therefore, at the preparations made
by the contractor, the progress already made with
the forts, and the penalties which would be incurred
by their abandonment, there cannot be a doubt that
when the question comes before the House of Com •
mons it will be decided by a large majority to pro-
ceed with the two outer forts, the Noman and Horse,
whatever may be otherwise decided upon with re-
gard to the Sturbridge, off Ryde. While the ques-
tion of marine foes for Spithead remains thus un-
decided and favourable weather for the construction
of their foundations is beitg lost, the construction
of new batteries, flanking the position of the forts

on the Isle of Wight shore, and the strengthening
of old batteries in a similar position on the Ports-
mouth shore, is being rapidly proceeded with by the
Royal Engineers. Preparations have been nearly
completed by the erection of temporary piers on the
sea beach and deposit of materials for strengthening
the Oinks and altogether altering the nature of the
defences opposite the Spit buoy, now occupied by
Southsea Castle. On the island shore the earth-
works of a large open redan at Popful Point are
being rapidly developed. Popful Point is the most
projecting portion of the coast line between Ryde
and Seaview, and forms a portion of the Puckpool
Estate, adjoining St. Clare, where the Prince and
Princess Louis of Hesse spent their honymoon. To
obtain possession of the piece of land en which to
erect the battery, it has been necessary to purchase
the whole of the estate and residence. The work is
being constructed for mounting guns of great cali-
bre and range, and will probably have mortar bat-
teries at its angles.

The screw frigate Orlando, 46, 1,000 horse power,
Capt. G. G. Randolph, steamed into Chatham har-
bour, from the West Indies, at noon on Saturday,
attended by the Adder and Otter steamers, and was
immediately afterwards placed in No. 3 dock to un-
dergo a thorough overhaul and repair. Owing to
the Orlando's great draught of water, it was found
necessary to lighten her considerably to enable
her to pass over the sill of the dock, and accord-
ingly while at the Nore she had 400 tons of coal,
all her heavy maindeck guns, the whole of her shot

and shell, and about 70 tons of water taken out,
which reduced her draught about 12in. As it was,
however, there was barely sufficient water to allow
of her being docked without dragging the bottom
of the dock, the strong north-easterly wind having
brought up the tide on Siturday much earlier
than had been calculated upon. On entering the
harbour her draught of water was found to be 19ft.

bin. forward and 21ft. 4in. aft, and, as the depth
of water in the dock was only a little over 21ft. on
her entering, she slightly dragged while being
placed on the blocks. She will undergo a thorough
survey by the dockyard officials this morning in
order to discover her defects, which are considered
to be rather serious. During the time she is in
dock the officers and crew will be berthed on board
the Gloucester and the Diamond receiving ships in
the harbour. Tne crew, 600 in number, are one of
the finest disciplined bodies of men in the Queen's
service, and the whole number, with their effects,
&c., were conveyed on board the hulks on Satur-
day without the least confusion and with the most
perfect order.

The whole of the available hands that can now
be spared from the dockyard are employed in
completing the vessel and gunboats belonging to
the fist division of the Chatham steam reserve in

the Medw-ty in readiness for the naval review which
will take place at the Nore on Whit Monday, on
which day Vice-Admiral Sir W. J. Hope Johnstone,
K.C.8., will manoeuvre the fleet under his command
at the Nore, prior to hauling down his flag.
The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. R. Pitman, to the
Liverpool ; Lieut. the Hon. H. B. Hamilton, to the
Leander; Lieut. H. C. A. Brand, to the Orontes;
the Marquis of Queensberry, midshipman, to the
Emerald ; and A. N. Jones, clerk, to the Fisgard,
as supernumerary.