The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-31 00:00:00

their meaning .I.iterally ; and if there was sincerity in
them, of which ir have not the slightest doubt. I am
happy to say I in see no cause of apprehension on
our part for a ,reeurrence of the proceeding.
I was much plejsed with both the gentlemen,
and everything ',vas done by Captain Gardner and
myself, which hospitality or kindness could dictate,
to make them Comfortable and at home. They
left the ship fu:l y so impressed.
Sit William (-3rore Ouseley is expected to reach
this-on Mond:-.3' next in the British mail steamer.
I have to t, .ate to you the utter impossibility of
this ship ~raining at anchor off San Juan del
Norte durip.4 the blowing of a norther. She has
been more. strained in the four days I was there, in
hull, ma sts, and rigging, than she could have been
in ad) .:en winter voyages across the Atlantic.
Then winds blow in squalls, and when they mode-
ratr the current from the river is running out
w" such velocity as to cause the ship to lay di-
_ctly in the trough of the sea, and to roll most
heavily, certainly endangering her masts and
straining her engines. It is a bad anchorage even
in the regular trades, for then, as was the case in
the Wabash when she landed her men, the ship
was rolling guns under ; but in a norther—and this
is the season for their recurring every few days—it
is simply impossible without the utmost danger. No
ship with too great a draught to enter the river
should be kept there from November to March.
Mr. Burton, the pilot, now informs me that he has
more recently sounded thoroughly the bar, and, as
a constant thing, 23 feet is all that can be found,
but that, occasionally, as was the case some time
since when the Savannah entered the river, 25 feet
were found in two instances. Such a variation
makes it too precarious for this ship ever to enter
the river.

The Jamestown, I regret to say, left here with
our mails before my arrival ; but, as she had fair
winds, and I ordered her immediately back, I hope
to receive any despatches she may have for me in a
few days, and I shall await here her arrival.
I herewith also transmit the petition of a town
meeting held at San Juan del Norte on the 18th
ult., addressed to Sir W. G. Ouseley, and the re-
sponse of Sir William. These papers I only re•
ceived from Mr. Cotrell, our commercial agent, just
previous to getting under weigh from that place.
pritis. 4,5, 6.)
I have the honour to be, sir, very respectfully
your obedient servant,
JAS. MCINTOSH,
Flag Officer, Commander-in-Chief Home Squadron.
The Hon. Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy.

Flag-ship Roanoke, off San Juan del North,
Nov. 26, 1858.

Sir,—l inclose you a copy of a report made
to me to-day by Capt. Y. R. Davis, commanding the
United States ship Savannah. It relates, as you
will perceive, to the visit to the American steamer
Washington by two of the officers of her Britannic
Majesty's navy, attached to the ship under your
command. I have also a verbal report relative to
the boarding, by Capt. Wainwright, of her Britan-
nic Majesty's ship Leopard, of the American steamer
Catherine Maria, in the Colorado River, in search,
it is said, of filibusters.
Of the last act I am as yet but imperfectly in-
formed. In both cases, however, quite enough has
been ascertained to cause me regret as to the course
pursued, and much anxiety if persevered in, or again
repeated, of maintaining the peaceful relations at
present existing between our two Governments.
My instructions are most rigid in relation to the
boarding, delaying or examining American merchant
vessels by the vessels of war of any other nation,
and I see no difference between the doing so, whe-
ther in search of filibusters or Africans. They look
to no such difference, and it cannot for a moment be
admitted. These instructions must be executed to
the extent of the power intrusted to my command,
and I assure you that it will be most agreeable to
me if it can be done without the slightest misun-
derstanding in relation to our respective duties, and
still preserve the peaceful relations which now and
I hope may continue to exist between our two na-
tions. To secure this most desirable end, vessels
under the American flag calling at the ports of
Central America must b exempted from visit or
search on any account. . _ _

A part of -my duty here, with a portion of the
squadron under my command, is to prevent the
landing in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the other re-
publics of Central America all filibustering or other
illegal expeditions, should any attempt it, from the
United States, under the American flag; and the
officers in command of the ships of my squadron are
strictly instructed upon this point. There can,
therefore, be no possible excuse for the interference
by the ships-of-war of her Britannic Majesty's navy
with vessels under the American flag, and it
is to be hoped that the officers commanding them
will desist from creating any unnecessary excite-
ment, and the danger of an interruption of the good
understanding which at present exists, particularly
as I received, under date of the 7th July last, the
assurance of Commo'lore Kellett, that he has issued
instructions to the respective captains and com-
manders of the ships and vessels under his orders,
"to cease visiting or interfering with American
vessels in these waters."—l have the honour to be,
sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JA3MES MCINTOSH,
Flag Officer, Commander-in-Chief Home Squadron.
Sir W. C. Aldham, K.O 8., Commanding her
Majesty's steam frigate Valorous.

United States ship Savannah, San Juan del Norte.

Nov. 20, 1858.

Sir,—l have the honour of informing you that
since I wrote you this afternoon I have received the
following information :

Two officers from one of the British ships in the
harbour boarded the Washington within 15 minutes
after she eame to anchor, and asked Capt. Churchill
the following questions :—" Where from ?" " How
many passengers have you ?" " How many days
out from New York ?" " Did you stop at any port
on your way out ?"
These questions were answered. They then wished
to look at his passenger list. Captain Churchill re-
ferred them to his purser. On looking over the list
which they received from the purser they asked,
"How many passengers have you ?" He answered
by stating the number. "Are they all Americans?"
"No ; they are of various nations." " Are they
armed ?" "Not any, to my knowledge." "Did the
American officers who boarded you examine your
hold?" "No." Mr. King, the first mate, who was
present at the interview, remarked that if they (the
officers) wished any Information on the subject they
might obtain it by applying to one of the American
ships of war in the harbour. They replied, "that
their instructions were to obtain their information
direct." .

The above is all the information I have received ;
I shall await your further instructions upon the
subject.—l am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient
se:want,

JOSEPH R. DAVIS, Captain.
Flag Officer James Mclntosh, Commander-in-Chief
Home Squadron.

Her Hajesty's ship Valorous, Greytown,
Nov. 28, 1858.

Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your letter of the 26th inst., inclosing a
copy of a report made to you by Captain Jarvis, of
the United States ship Savannah, relating to the
visit, on the 17th inst., of two officers of her Ma-
jesty's ship under my command to the American
steamer Washington, which had just anchored at
this port.
In reply, I must express my great regret that
you should consider the act of visiting an Ame-
rican merchant vessel within this port, which is
under• the protection of Great Britrin, for the
purpose of_ obtaining the information which is
usually required by all civilised nations from ves-
sels entering their harbours, or under their pro-
tection, or in any friendly port, in the same
light as delaying, boarding, and examining of
an American vessel on the high seas in search
of slaves or pirates ; and I still more deeply regret
that my acting in accordance with established
usages in this respect should cause you to appre-
hend any such grave danger as that to whick you
allude.

I trust to remove from your mind any misunder-
standing as to my, acts and intentions, and beg to
assure you that, in carrying out my instructions,
which are of a similar nature to those which you
have received from your government, and which
you have been kind enough to communicate to me,
it will be my earnest endeavour and my most pleas-
ing duty to act in a spirit of perfect frankness and
cordiality with the flag officer or any other officers
of the United States forces on the station.

There are some circumstances which appear to
have escaped your attention, and which I beg to
bring to your notice.
The Washington had been boarded by the United
States ship Savannah previous to my sending a boat
to her, and, as she had been permitted to enter the
harbour, it was evident, judging from the declara-
tions of the United States government against all
illegal invaders, that she was not-employed by the
fillibustcrs, for in that case she woi have been
forbidden to enter the port.
After the Washington had anchored in this port
the usual and natural course of sending to make
inquiries and obtain news was followed. No pro-
hibition of friendly intercourse between Ameri-
can merchant or passenger vessels and her Majesty's
peace
ships had been made known to me ; such inter-
coursee amongto
by
is customaarnydinistinmeeveor of
objectedpa
her
A all
ciLijleissetyd's offie nations,
cr officers when practised. by United States
men-of--war to English merchantmen.
I beg to point out that such a hostile prohibition

would have been in the present case highly incon-
venient to some of the passengers on board who arc
English subjects, one of them, indeed, a British
functionary, proceeding with his family to one of
her Majesty's possessions on the Pacific coast, and,
unless in case of actual warfare, such prohibition
of intercourse appears quite unusual. None such
now exists on board her Majesty's packets with
respect to foreign men.of-war, either in this har-
bour or elsewhere.

I have to thank you, sir, for imparting to me the
gratifying nature of your instructions respecting
the filibusters, or others illegally attacking nations
with whom our respective governments are in
peaceful relation ; such an honourable course was
to be expected from the well-known disposition
and declaration of the United States Government ;
and it is highly satisfactory to me to acquaint you
that my instructions are to a similar purport, and
are actuated by the same spirit.
" In order to convince you of the perfect frank-
ness and cordiality with which I am desirous to act
towards you, I will, if you will allow me to tres-
pass on your time, lay before you at once, and
without waiting till you communicate to me form-
ally the reports on the subject which, as yet, have
only reached you verbally, a clear statement of the
circumstances under which I direeted Capt. Wain-
wright, of her Majesty's ship Leopard, to proceed
to the Colorado river.

Having received a notification from the authori-
ties of the Nicaraguan and Costa Rican govern-
ments that a hostile force had landed, or were about
to land, in the River Colorado, with a request that
I would aid in preventing it, I immediately de-
spatched Captain Wainwright, in the Leopard, to
ascertain if such was the case.

Captain Wainwright left this port late in the
afternoon of the 18th inst., and, it being dark, mis-
took the entrance to the river, and anchored two or
three miles to the southward of it. At daylight he
weighed, and anchored off the river, and in his own
boat, accompanied by two others, pulled into the
river, examining the banks on either side, to see if
there were any traces of a landing having taken
place. In proceeding up the river he observed the
Catharine Maria at anchor, and as he neared her
perceived some persons on board with whom he was
acquainted. He immediately went alongside in his
own boat only, and, going on board, requested to be
informed if they had heard or had seen anything
resembling marauders or filibusters in the neigh-
bourhood ; and, being answered in the negative,
Captain Wainright left the Catherine Maria, and
returned to his own ship, weighed, and was at
anchor again in this port by noon of the 19th.
I trust, sir, that this frank explanation of the
circumstance to which your letter alludes will con-
vince you that I have acted in no spirit of inter-
ference with American merchant vessels, and have
not arrogated to myself any right which is not con-
ceded by universal custom to the commanding offi-
cer of the naval forces in a port belonging to, or
placed under the protection of, his own nation.
I have the honour to be, sir, with great respect,
your most obedient servant,
W. CORNWALLIS ALDHAM, Captain.
Flag-officer James Mclntosh, Commander-
in-chief Home Squadron U.S. ships.

Flag-ship Roanoke, off San Juan del Norte,
November 29, 1858. _

Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your communication under date of the
28th inst.

As a justification of your act in sending officers
from your ship to visit and examine American mer-
chant vessels entering the port of San Juan del
Norte, you inform me that " this port is under the
protection of Great Britain." lam not, however,
aware that my Government ever acknowledged such
protection. On the contrary, my Government has
always repudiated it. The first article of the
" Clayton-Bulwer Convention" distinctly disavows
it. I quote therefrom :—" Agreeing that neither
will ever erect or maintain any fortifications com-
manding the same, or in the vicinity thereof, or
occupy, or fortify, or colonise, or assume, or exer-
cise any dominion over, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the
Mosquito coast, or any part of Central America."
If her Majesty's vessels board our merchant
vessels for the purpose of examining the papers and
cargo of those which enter the port of San Juan del
Norte, as the officers from the Valorous did, then
you " assume" to " exercise dominion," which the
" Clayton-Bulwer Convention" distinctly disclaims.
Such construction I cannot for one moment recog-
nise until further advised by my Government ;
and, consequently, I must act under my present
instructions, the tenor of which was communicated
to you in my letter of the 26th instant.
I beg to express to you my entire satisfaction
with mur explanation in respect to the visit of
Captain Wainwright, of her Majesty's frigate
Leopard to the American steamer Catharine Maria,
in the Colorado River, and of which visit I stated
to you that I was but imperfectly informed; but
which I find, from your frank and clear represen-
tation, and for which I thank you, was very much
exaggerated.
I regret, however, to find that I am misunder-
stood by you as objecting to alriendly visit from one
of her Majestys ships-of-war to an American vessel
in this or any other port. Such is not my objection,
for I am aware that it is customary to make such
visits by the vessels of war of all natiorii, and they
are constantly made to her Majesty's mail-packets
by the ships of my squadron; but they are simply
acts of courtesy, with offers of services, &c. The
Washington has been boarded by an officer from
the United States' ship Savannah, in obedience to
my instructions to Captain Jarvis in relation to all
American vessels bound into the river, or that
should appear off this port, and she was strictly
examined, particularly as to improper persons who
might be forcing themselves into Nicaragua and
Costa Rica.

She was found to be in all respects regularly
cleared, her passengers unexceptionable, and she
was, therefore, permitted to enter the river. Under
other circumstances, the Washington would have
been, as you justly infer, prevented from going in.
A friendly visit from a boat from your ship after the
Washington had anchored would never have been
made by me the subject of complaint. But
the inquiries which were propounded by the
boarding officers from your ship looked• at
once into a thorough investigation and examination
of the ship, and to the manlier in which the United
States officers had performed their duties. This I
considered as exceeding what would be characterised
as a friendly visit, to which I called your attention
and which lam constrained still-to consider as un-
necessary on the part of the efficers under your
command.

I trust, however, from the frank and friendly tenor
of your letter' and which I assure you in no one
point exceeds my own, that we shall have no inter-
ruption to our friendly relations in the execution of
our respective duties.—l have, &c.,

JAS. WINTosn, Flag-officer
Commander-in-Chief, Home Squadron.
Sir, W. C. Aldham, K.C.8.,
Commanding H.M.'s steam frigate Valorous.

United States ship Savannah, San Juan delNorte,
Nov. 20, 1858.

Sir,—On the 17th inst. I had the honour of in-
forming you that I had called upen Sir Wm. Gore
Ouseley, and that he had stated tome that he should
sail for Aspinwall in two or three days. Ho now
informs me that it is uncertain when he sails, and
I have therefore thought it best, as the Jamestown
was going to s4a for a short time on account of the
health of her crew, to send her to communicate
with you.

Sir .William appears to be very busy in diplomacy,
but we have not been able to ascertain what about.
He appears to be in constant communication with
Mr. Green, her Britannic Majesty's consul. Mr.
Banuel, the reported consul for Nicaragua to this
place, was received on board the Valorous with
seven guns.
On the 18th, at one o'clock, the Washington
steamer arrived from New York, with 330 passengers,
bound to California. Her clearance, &c., is perfectly
correct. At 5.30 p.m. Colonel Childs proceeded up
the river San Juan in the Catharine Maria, bound
to Nicaragua, to try and obtain permission to carry
them over the transit to San Juan del Sur. Should
he not obtain it, the Washington on the 26th will
leave this port for Aspinwall. At midnight the
Catherine Maria, not finding water enough, re-
turned and went outside to the Colorado River.

There was a town meeting held at Greytown on
the 18th inst., and certain resolutions passed,
a copy of which I am trying to obtain. I herewith
send you a copy of a letter received from Mr. Cot-
trell upon the subject of the town meeting.
At 4 p.m. of the 18th the Leopard sailed from
this place and stood to the eastward, and the morn-
ing of the 19th returned and anchored here. Capt.
Wainwright informed me that ho was on board the
Catherine Maria in the Colorado river. At about
9 p.m. of the 18th, Capt. Aldham came on board
and asked me what I thought of the steamer Wash-
ington. I told him I had no doubts of her being
engaged in a lawful pursuit ; that her clearance,
&c., was all correct. He said he thought so too ;
that he had heard a report that she had landed at
the Colorado River over 200 men, under the com-
mand of General Henderson. I told him that I
did not believe a word of it—that it was all hum-
bug. He said he agreed with Me.
The Leopard sailed to-day on her way to Eng-
land.

Our sick list is on the increase, and I shall take
a cruise on the return of the Jamestown, unless
otherwise ordered by you. We have 21 with inter-
mittent fever, 1 with remittent, and 1 with scurvy.
The cases generally are very light. I cannot ac-
couit for the increase. For the last fortnight there