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

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening,
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack a
the usual hour.

PETITIONS.

Lord SHAFTESBURY presented ft number of peti-
tions in favour of closing public houses from eleven .o'clock
on Saturday night till six o'clock on Monday morning.
PRIVATE BUSINESS,

The North Brierley Gas, Aylesbury Markets, Leyland
and Farington Gas, Hereford, Hay, and Brecon Railway,
Swansea Municipal Corporation, Aberystwith and Welsh
Coast Railway, Caledonian Railway (Bredisholth Devia-
tion), Caledonian Railway (Carstairs and Dolphinton
Branches) Bills were read a second time.
THIRD READINGS.

The Okehampton and Lidford Junction Railway, Mid
Wales Railway, Berke and Hants Extension Railway, and
Leeds Gas Bills, were read a third time and passed.
ALKALI WORKS REGULATION BILL.
The house went into committee on this bill.
The Earl of DERBY thought the time fixed for the bill
coming into operation should be fixed at an earlier date
than January 24. He thought it might very well be made
effective in September or October.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said he should not
object to the suggestion of the noble earl in cases where the
owners of works had already constructed condensing appa-
ratus, but where that was not the case, it would take some
time to effect the necessary improvements, and, therefore,
that was the reason for fixing the time for the bill coming
into active operation in January, 1864.
The clause, having been amended, was agreed to.
On clause 4, a discussion arose as to whether it would be
possible by the bill as it at present stood to proceed against
the owner of works for a second conviction at the same
quarter sessions at which the first was tried and adjudicated
en.

Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said he would con-
sider the effect of the words and state his determination on
the bringing up of the report.
Clauses 5,6, and 7 were agreed to.
After some discussion, and some formal amendments, the
remaining clauses were agreed to, and the bill passed
through committee.

OFFICE OF SECRETARY, OF WAR ABOLITION

BILL.
Earl DE GREY moved the second reading of this bill,
which was merely to abolish an office which had virtually
been abolished since the separation of the offices of Secre-
tary at War and Secretary for the War Department, in
1855.

The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said he was not going
to oppose the bill, but he hoped the noble earl who had
succeeded to the office of Secretary for War with so much
satisfaction to the country—(hear, hear)—would take into
consideration the fact that there were several important
functions connected with the office then declared to be
abolished, such, for instance, as seeing that the war ex-
penditure did not exceed the votes of Parliament, and others
which could not be efficiently performed by the present
secretary.

Earl RUSSELL was understood to say that the change
effacted was merely nominal, and that the duties were per-
formed just in the same way as formerly.
EMI GREY said, if it was to be assumed by that bill be-
ing allowed to pass that the house approved of the present

administration of the War Department, he for one would
protest against that assumption. He considered the present
state of that office requited considerable reforms.
The bill was then read a second time.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT (1858) AMENDMENT

BILL. - -
This bill passed through committee.
DOCKYARDS PROTECTION ACT AMENDMENT

BILL.
This bill was read a third time.

SEIZURE OF BRITISH VESSELS BY FEDERAL
CRUISERS.

The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said he rose to put
Aso or three questions to the noble earl at the head of the
Foreign Office upon a matter of very grave importance,
namely, the seizure by a naval officer of the United States
Government of vessels belonging to British merchants.
He was well aware of the gravity of the subject, but the
circumstances were so gross and so notorious, and of a
character so deeply affecting the beat interests and the
honour of the country, that no time ought to elapse Wore
it was made known to the world, by the expression of
opinion of both Houses, that we did not hear of such
occurrences without the strongest feelings of indignation.
(Hear, hear.) ' The first case to which he would allude
was that of the Dolphin. Presuming the accounts they
had probably all read were true, an insult had been offered
to the British flag. She was a legitimate trader, her papers
were all clear and in order, and she was going from Lon-
don to Nassau. On coming out of St. Thomas's, however,
she had been stopped and seized, without any excuse
being made for her capture; and, moreover, her crew were
detained on board the captors' vessel, a^xd put ashore, not
on territory of her own nation or of her captors, but on
Danish ground. (Hear.) Indeed, they were not put ashore
at all until her Majesty's ship INile left St. Thomas's in
pursuit. That was clearly contrary to international law. I
shall be glad, therefore, to know if any official account has
been received at the Foreign-office; and if so, what has been
done in the matter. It was impossible to look upon it as an
isolated case of reckless imprudence, because, only a month
ago, they had the case of the Peterhoff, which was very
similar, and the Adele, respecting which there were no
grounds for seizure whatever. It must not be forgotten
that those things were done under the very eye of that
Commodore Wilkes who had once before brought his coun-
try to the shame and humiliation of making an apology for
the Trent affair. It was therefore necessary for the Govern-
ment to understand that the people of EnglaLd expected
they would bestir themselves, and not submit to acts which
he believed were both unlawful and unprecedented. It
appeared by the reports in the papers, if correct, that a de-
putation of merchants and shipowners had waited upon the
noble earl (Earl Russell) and laid before him an example
of audacity such as had seldom occurred in any country,
much less in Great Britain. Why Mr. Adams, the Ameri-
can Minister, had actually given a certificate of protection
to a ship sailing from London to a neutral port to enable
that vessel to sail safely through the waters of the West
Indies and the Gulf of Mexico. (Hear, hear.) He appre-
hended something had be_n said, however, by the noble
earl, because there had since appeared another letter
from Mr. Adams, in which he said he had been mis-
understood, and added, with some fine irony, that he
could not give any protection to British subjects,
but no doubt they could get it from their own Government.
That letter was in answer to an application for a certificate
by the owners of the Sea Queen, and would appear to have
been alter some hint had been conveyed that he had no
power to give it. That circumstance led to the consideration
what ship it was for which the certificate was given, what
was her destination, and how the matter became known to
the public. Their lordships would admit that while the
ships or subjects of another power were in this country, and
subject to our laws, there was no occasion, when leaving
for a neutral port, to take their papers to Mr, Adams to be
examined. That was for the authorities of the port of Lon-
don to do. It bad turned out on inquiry that the vessel be-
longed to a New York trader, who had made a contract to
supply arms to the Mexicans to use against the French.
(Hear, hear.) That was the country whose boasted neutrality
had been so well exposed in another place a short time back.
They wanted to sell £BO,OOO worth of arms and £30,000
worth of goods for the use of the Mexicans—and when the

New York merchants went to effect an insurance for those
8111128 a certificate was producedfrom the American Minister

giving protection from the Federal cruisers. (Hear.) Such
a departure from all usage could not pass unnoticed, and so
far as was consistent with the public interests, he should
like to know what representations had been made on the
facts becoming known. Another topic on which he should
like some explanation was the withdrawal of the mail from
the Sea Queen, and the notification that for the present
British ships trading to Matamoras and other ports in the

Gulf of Mexico would be relieved from the necessity a

0 carrying ship letters. Could her Majesty's Governmentisore
' give any reason for that, except fear of the American
iit 'e
be?i. .T) The He
lettersu sed
werethe wo
putrd onwi Ibho shame,ar d ,bl t but
the whatowtnh else ru
wouldcould
havenot
pt r
oh etre saileti protection.
nut.il
Theyess t h enyl hadalso
t.e referred
assurancered to the
cathseeauto:_n theee
tyrhsAdele, e should
p
where here Majesty's mails had been brokenl p i
aii...,
get e r
reinforcementwb aasd dq n quite
to
of the vessel ; and ultimately the agent to find some letters that would subsequenttg:3
'eenexpense, nominate a
Government would. at the ownheor
letter bags, as a guaran-
mail agent to go on board with the
legmate voyage. He
tee that she was going uponu. right not to send the
the West India
u:setc:Vl:37isleiifzighree
case, he must
mail agent, because, if
u thole
, e Government ought to have int-
hathovuegdhotnethiteinPoasltmi soin one
mediately sent a
Gulf, also notified to the admiral that station and the
meGnut ;as coming, and that he Would be held
Ile that no further outrages of that kind were tole-
rated.the prize courts. The condernnatiolnP
responsible
5 It was a farce to talk of those eh'
(cheer ' .
ships being
the
dealtsvch with
hfobrcey
Adela and Peterhoff showed that, though in the former
there was an acase
ppeal pending. He did not wish to see the
oonntry drift into another war, and therefore it
the British Government should know what
theßritish
was righ t
people would not submit to. (H ) So flagrant were
the circumstances that foreign newspapers believed the
Americans were trying to get us into a war. There had
been no great difftcult•y in arranging the affair of the Trent,
when it became known what the public feeling was. He
thought the Government of the United States ought to be
called upon to decide at once, "Do they or do they not
mean to go to war with England ?" (Hear.) What could
the English people think when they remembered the
speeches of Mr. Wilkes at public dinners, when he went
home fresh from the outrage upon the Trent, " and that
he would lose no opportunity of insulting the British flag,
or destroying a British cargo, wherever he could find the I

one or the other." (Hear.) If the Government did not
dare to send the mails or our ships to sea, and our own
merchants were obliged t) apply to foreign Ministers for
a certificate to trade, the sooner the shipowner hoisted
his broom at the masthead the bettor, so that Com-
modore Wilkes might go and boast all over the world i

-
that he had driven us from the seas. The Government
ought to see to the matter promptly. He had that day seen
a newspaper which contained the following advertisement :
" Wanted, a French vessel to load for a good English island
in the West Indies.—Apply to K. and Co., Pudding-lane,
merchants
ere
Iris friend at
ya
that
tßtt
hset
ueho
E.C." That was the state of things we had arrived at al-
ready. (Hear, hear) Be had great confidence in his noble
of
,yunslhsde
be:no:due:a
hmbe p
dignaaeitytieysesatisfy
overp a Parliament Government,
anm e silence,
nbtu
Rnt hdaons
tedhiet were
country
oausmuntar:y:
that they ere prepared to uphold the honour of British
ofno
btlhee British Crown.baa
made (Hear.)
thehe most
etaredpar that t
warmspeech upon this subject, and would be perfectly
oo-
l:ro were n
instance,oe for
justified
and we stufied if the points to which he alluded had been
f
smned by the Prize Court : Courts,—the assumed
varioust
e A Adel
vessels
a ht
i the
to be facts.
e
had been nd
Peterhoff, and others. That, certainly, is unknown
because, though the Adela has been condemned by
Court of Key tVest, an appeal has been made; and with re-
gard to the Peterhoff we have no account that any such
event has taken place. (Hear, hear.) For my
own part,
instead of proceeding on assumptions, I have thought it my
duty, in the graveend responsible position which I bold, not
to proceed in any of those cases without seeking in Cite first
place the be:t information as to the facts that could be pro-
cured, and in the neat place, without referring to the law
officers of the Crown in order to know the character to bo
attached to those facts. (Hear.) I have not thought it right
to proceed in matters of such difficulty without taking
soundings at every step. (Hear, hear.) That has been my
course in the various instances to which my noble friend
has referred. With regard to the Dolphin, 1 thought it ne-
cessary, having received the reports with regard to that
vessel, to refer those reports to the law officers of the Crown,
and what they say is, that it does not appear from the papers
that there was a prima facie ground for seizure; they do not
see any probable reason for her capture, but, they add, there
may be facts unknown to me and unknown to them, with
respect to the master of that vessel, which may have afforded
sufficient grounds for sending the vessel to a prise court.
But they say that two evident violations of neutral rights
have taken place with regard to that vessel. They state that
the vessel which took the Dolphin had made use of a neutral
port for the purpose of watching British merchant vessels,
and that as soon as the Dolphin left the port she was imme-
diately pursued, and when she had passed beyond the three
miles of water of the neutral power she was seized by this
United States vessel of war. (Hear, hear.) There is
another point upon which they say there is great reason
for complaint, namely, the taking a part of the crew out of
the vessel and landing them afterwards upon neutral terri-
tory. (Hear.) With regard to these two matters they say
there cannot be a doubt her Majesty's Government have a
right to complain; and accordingly, having this day re-
ceived their report, which is dated yesterday, I shall imme-
diately, by the next mail, bring those matters of complaint
under the notice of the United States Government. (Hear.)
My noble friend says that this impunity which the United
States have affected to claim is owing to our neglect of out-
rages which have taken place on the part of the United
States. Now, with regard to that particular point to which
the law officers have roferred—namely, the unneutral use of
a neutral port—the placing there of a belligerent vessel to
watch a neutral one and pursue her immediately after her
departure,—a case of that kind took place last year with re-
spect to the Tuscarora. It was immediately brought to the
attention of the United States' Government; they laid
down rules by which such conduct should not be permitted,
and said that the officer who bad committed the offence, if
it could be shown that he /led done so, should be censured.
Well, then, again, we complain that in certain cases there
are no searches. With respect to that they say that no ves-
sel was to be seized without a search. They lay it down:—
"That when that visit is made the vessel is not then to be
seised without a search carefully made so far as to render it
reale noble to believe that she is engaged in carrying contra-
band of war to the insurgents and to their ports, or other-
wise violating the blockade; and that if it shall appear that
she is actually bound and passing from one friendly or so-
called neutral port to another, and not bound or proceeding
to or from a port in the possession of the insurgents, then
she cannot be lawlully seized."
Now, that is the rule which the United States' Secretary of
State has laid down for the guidance of the Secretary to the
Navy, and of the United States' navy itself. Well, then,
it is not fair to assume that, in a case where the rule is ap-
parently violated, the United States are not able to show
that the vessel that his been seized was not proceeding
from one neutral port to another, but that she was proceed•
ing to a port of the belligerent States while apparently on
her way to a neutral port. That is a case which the law
officers of the Crown say frequently occurs. Even sup-
posing that Admiral Wilkes and other officers have
violated these rules, we have no reason to assume
that reparation when asked will not be given in
conformity with the rules the United States have
themselves laid down. I do not think, then, it is
convenient—l will say more, I think it tends to interrupt
the friendly relations between the two nations, as soon as
you have a report of an outrage, to say that the Govern-
ment of a friendly people will act in contravention of the
law of nations; that they meant to commit an offence, and
that they will refuse reparation. (Hear, hear.) On the
contrary, we are bound to assume either that there were
some facts not known to us which will show that the act
was not indefensible, or that the Government of a friendly
nation will, oven from regard to its own character, give re-
paration. This, then, is the case of the Dolphin. There
were no apparent prime facie grounds for the seizure, and
if it turns out that there were no grounds then we must not
assume that the United' States will refuse to conform to the
rules which they have themselves laid down. (Hear, hear.)
My noble friend adverted to the letter of Mr. Adams which
has appeared in the public prints. I must say that was a
very extraordinary and, in my opinion, a most unwarrant-
able act, and I cannot conceive that it can be proper for a
person holding a diplomatic position in this country to issue
such a permit to a vessel. That is making a distinction be-
tween vessels departing from the ports of this country, and
giving a security to one vessel as distinguished from another.
(Cheers.) It is not possible, as it appears to me, that he can
bestow that favour on one vessel without making an in-
vidious and perhaps dangerous distinction as against other
vessels. There can be no doubt that the conduct cf Mr.
Adams is entirely unwarrantable, but I should not think of
complaining to Mr. Adams. I shall bring that conduct
before the consideration of the United States' Government.
(Hear, hear.) It is for them to say in what manner such
an act should be visited. (Cheers.) My noble friend next
went on to name a case which he described fairly enough
according to the facts known to him. But the whole facts
were evidently not known to my noble friend. He spoke of
an interview at the Foreign-office between myself and seve-
ral owners of ships and persons connected with the trade of
the Fort of London, with respect to vessels sailing to Meta-
moms. The account of that interview, although, generally
speaking, fairly given, was certainly marked by many orris-
' eions. The persons who came to me complained of this
grievance. They said it might happen that the letter bags
that were sent by their vessels by the Postmaster-General
done without
"Isikdetrhaet'puo.stmasteseG
ATlhtuners:wlash,onuoldsvhevaevre,
might contain letters that were written by persons con-
nected with or favourable to the Federal Government, and
that those persons might invent a story that the ship was
conveying stores to the Confederates, that they might put
false names to those letters, that those letters might be
opened, and used as evidence against the vessel, and that
there was not sufficient security against such practices be-
ing resorted to, because they could not avoid taking the
mail bags, in consequence of shipowners being liable to a
penalty of £2OO if they refused to take the letter bags. They
therefore complained that their ships and cargoes might be
put in danger by acts of her Majesty's Government which
were beyond their control. I considered that matter, and
ut_
also a proposal which they made to me that an agent
Q should
be put in charge of the bags, asis done on board :oh
we
a many.
packet ships. On consideration there
appeared should have fallen
objectionsjuto rb eea to
e e taking
rrorassurchho
taocfo utridere. . d
given them a protection
singled out particular vessels
a At all events that should
which others would not enjoy.
master-General not
not be
r to
are compelled to take theseh
them, 6. you say you mail 'Jags,
ships and cargoes are put in jeopardy
one obvious redress which I could give. I could re**:.-
and your , Y by the act
of the rostinaster-Gt?ieral W 1 will relieve you from
danger, and I will as
that
oblige you to take the mail hags." That to
for the grievance of which theywady
was a -
seems to have been understood out of doors
complained ; but it
claration that we would not send as it were a de-
and that, as my noble friend sa mail bags to Matamoras,
sequences that might ha ys, we were afraid of the con-
say to shipowners, 44 If ppen. What we retail did was to
vessels, you shall be you like to send mail bags in these
pel you to do so." at liberty to do b
I have so, at we will not com-
to the Foreign office b now in my hand a letter written
states that, for the e y the Postmaster-General, which
on board any vessel pc'els* ant'
no ship.letter mail shall be put
ing for Matamoras "unless with the
full concurrence of 1
not the commander." It is only that we do
Use the compulsory power that the law gives us in these
cases. I confess it would have been hard upon the owners
of vessels to have refused to give them the security for
which they asked. I have no doubt there will be many ves-
sels the commanders of which will be quits ready to take
these letters, but if they do, we ought not to leave them to
say they have been put in jeopardy by the sot of the Go•
vernment, nor ought the law to be put in force to their in-
jury. My hon. friend states truly that the fears of the
owners of the Sea Queen and other vessels were founded on
what had been done in the case of the Adela—namely, that
the United States had got possession of her letteB, r bags.
ib62,
Now, in the letter of Mr. Seward, dated Aug.
there is the following order :
"And, finally, that official seals or locks or fastenings_t3ef
foreign authorities are in no case, b
nor on any pretext, to
read by any naval broken, or parcels covered by theni
bags or other things
but
au-
thorities of the United States; 1 d or fastened by
ls and duly sea discretion of the United
conveying such parcels and
in the discretion o.
foreign authorities will be,
may
come, delivered to
.the
States' officer to whom they
oftleer, or Legation of the foreigrl
consul, commanding
naval
Government to be opened, important upon the understanding th'at
whatever is contraband or
ortant as evidence concerning
will be remitted to the
of a captured vessel
the character of State at W ashington or
the Secretary
Prize Court or to
ects way be at once forwarded to thiPs
such sealed bags or parcels t
the
proper authorities of the
department, to the end that
lay receive the same with t d
foreign Government '°
especially that naval On °u elay,
The President desirest
that a
suspectedvessel l'er6
may
tie
informed that the lac,. has been in-
dicated to them as aiming any whichhas been pre.