The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-24 00:00:00

the attacks made on the trade of the United States by that
vessel. There was, however, another case which was the
subject of much discussion, and in respect to which con-
siderable irritation was created. After the Alabama had
sailed from Birkenhead other vessels wera built, the con-
struction of which amounted in itself to r‘n armament,
and furnished evidence of a hostile purp )se. The owners of
those vessels were in correspondence wi ;h Capt. Bullock,
the agent of the Confederate States, and we had every rea-
son to believe that those iron rams were intended to break
the blockade of the Southern ports, which had been esta-
blished. Now, it seemed to me that if those vessels were
allowed to proceed from the port of Liverpool, the utmost
danger to the friendly relations existing between this coun-
try and the United States would have been the result. I
could not conceive it possible that the 'United States would
have allowed these armed vessels to break the blockade,
which had been acknowledged by the authorities of this
country, and not make demands with which we might not
have found ourselves able to comply. Itherefore took what
was a very strong measure on this subject. I ordered these
rams to be detained, and afterwards directed they should be
seized for the purpose of preventing them from committing
acts of hostility. We subsequently had placed in our hands
the contract by which the agents of the Confederate States
had agreed to sell those rams to Mr. Bravay, who said they
were not intended for purposes of hostility against the
United States. The question, however, remained to be
tried, and we came to the conclusion that, though the moral
evidence was complete, and though we believed the legal
evidence to be complete, that there might still be circum-
stances which would prevent a conviction from being ob-
tained. I am, however, convinced that it would not only
have been unfortunate, but that it would have been an
ignoble and ignominious thing if we hadheen obliged to go
to war, not for the honour of England, because that was
not engaged—notfor the interests of England, because they
were not involved—but for the sake of private conside-
rations, where no injustice had been done. I therefore
regret very much that the noble earl opposite took the
course which he has taken, and that he should have done
everything in his power to prevent our stopping those
vessels, which might otherwise have gond and broken the
blockade. I will now say that there is every reason to hope
that, as the ports of the Southern States have been captured
by the arms of the United States, many questions which
have hitherto arisen as to the breaking of the blockade, the
imprisonment of the crews of vessels, and several other
questions touching the maritime rights of the two countries,
will disappear, and that there will be less reason to ap-
prehend the occurrence of hostilities between us and the
United States. I must at the same time observe that the
impartial course which her Majesty's Government has
pursued has from time to time been impeded and endan-
gered on the one side by those partisans of the North who
were constantly stating that we were acting in a manner
hostile to the North, and, on the other hand, by those who
were as constantly violating the neutrality which her Ma-
jesty had proclaimed in the pursuit of their own private
ends. But, be that as it may, lam satisfied that there is
not the slightest pretence for saying that the course which
the Government has pursued has not been strictly neutral.
To-morrow a new Minister will set out from this country to
represent her Majesty at Washington. We greatly lament
that Lord Lyons is, owing to the state of his health, unable
to return to his post. (Hear.) There is no person to whom
the country is more indebted for the wise, calm, and con-
ciliatory line of conduct which he has pursued than that
noble lord, who has never failed, at the same time, to main-
tain the dignity and honour of the country. Sir F. Bruce,
who is about to take his place, has distinguished himself
greatly by the firmness of his policy. He has acted in such
a manner towards the Chinese Government as completely
to win their confidence, while his conduct towards the re-
presentatives of the other European Powers has been such
as to obtain their concurrence in every step which he
has taken. Towards the British interest in China he has
so acted that, while willing tolisten to their complaints and
to obtain redress for their just grievances, he has never
shown himself prepared to support their unreasonable de-
mands. That being so, he appears to me to be exactly the
man whom it is desirable her Majesty should choose to re-
present her in the United States, and I hope that under his
auspices the friendly relations between the two countries
will be maintained. (Cheers.)

PRIVATE BILL COSTS BILL.
Lord HOUGHTON moved the second reading of this
bill, which after some discussion was agreed to.

The Felony and Misdemeanour Bill went through com-
mittee.

The Consolidated Fund (£175,650) Bill was read a second
time.

The report of the amendments on the Election Petitions
(1848) Amendment Bill was agreed to.
The Dublin International Exhibition (1856) Bill was
read a second time.

The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the
house adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING.
The SPFAXVII took the chair at 4 o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bills were read a third time and passed:—
Great Eastern Railway (Somersham to Ramsey), Ilfra-
combe Railway, London and South-Western Railway(New
Lines in Surrey), and Merthyr Tydfil Local Board of
Health.