The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-26 00:00:00

Captain Waddell and the Shenandoah,

The Times correspondent, writing from Mel-
bourne on April 26, notices some extraordinary
statements, which appear to have been made on
oath to the Unitbd States Government by a man
named Temple, professing to describe the proceed-
ings relating to the Shenandoah, when in that port
in the month of February of last year. Assuming
that Temple's deposition is accurately abstracted,
hefinds the deponent stating as follows :
s That on her (the Shenandoah's) arrival at Melbourne
she was received in the most cordial manner by the officials
and people of that port, and had every facility afforded to
obtain supplies and make repairs ; that the officers of the
Shenandoah were entertained on shore, and in their turn
entertained the officials of Melbourne on board the Shenan-
doah ; that Captain Waddell entertained privately on the
Shenandoah the Governor of Melbourne ; that the Govern-
ment engineer at Melbourne was on the vessel two or
three times a day, and, if he did not superintend the repairs
that wore being made, at least gave the benefit of his ad-
vice; that at the time they left Melbourne they had more
than 40 persons stowed away on board the vessel, all of
whom were and enrolled upon the ship's articles
before they went out of sight of land."
The Times correspondent continues : " Now,
in reference to the above passage, which is all
that relates to Melbourne, you may find in the
letter of your own correspondent for the month of
February, 1865, a circumstantially correct account
of The proceedings and 'treatment of the offiders
of the Shenandoah in this port and city, and that
account is diametrically opposite to the one deposed
to by Temple. In point of fact, the Governor, so
far from being entertained by Captain Waddell,
never had even an interview with him or any of
his officers ; no member of the Government ever
visited the Shenandoah, or the Shenandoah's
officers, or any of them, or ever had any but strictly
official communications with the ship, such commu-
nications being confined to the subject of the amount
of repairs and supplies which could be permitted to
Captain Waddell for the purpose of enabling his
ship to leave our port. So far from the Shenan-
doah having been welcomed by the Government
here, it is quite fresh in the memories of the
people of Melbourne that the Government, on re-
ceiving well-authenticated information that Capt.
Waddell had in his vessel British subjects who
had been shipped in Melbourne in violation of the
Foreign Enlistment Act, caused a warrant to be
issued for the apprehension of the men, which war-
rant Captain Waddell would not allow to be exe-
cuted; that at this time his ship was on the patent
slip, and that on Captain Waddell's resisting the
search of his ship ho was refused assistance in
getting her off the slip; that the following morn-
ing the Argus had an article with a sensational
heading, Seizure of the Shenandoah,' the Govern-
ment being denounced for inhospitable treatment
of the vessel; that, to the confusion of the sympa-
thising believers in Captain Waddell's ' word of
honour as a gentleman and an officer,' which
backed his assertion that he had no one on board
whom he had not brought into port with him, four
men were arrested by our police one night, when
being rowed away from the ship, all of whom had
been secretly shipped in Melbourne ; that two of
these men were afterwards prosecuted to conviction
by our own authorities in our Supreme Court for
violating the Foreign Enlistment Act ; and that
whatsoever men were finally shipped by the cap-
tain were taken into the vessel outside the Heads,
and beyond the control of our Government. That
the officers of the Shenandoah were privately en-
tertained by certain members of the Melbourne
Club and at Ballarat is as certain as it is certain
that the Government had no right or power to in-
terfere with these private hospitalities. And when
Temple deposes " that Captain Waddell entertained
privately on the Shenandoah the Governor of Mel-
bourne," I half suspect that he must mean the then
Mayor, inasmuch as I believe that civic dignitary
did visit the Shenandoah, and we have no Governor
of Melbourne eo nomine. I cannot suppose that so
sensible a man as Mr. Seward or Mr. Adams would
propose to hold her Majesty Queen Victoria liable
for an exuberant Melbourne Mayor's admiration,
which must be equally innocent and harmless,
whether bestowed on a Confederate Captain or on
a State coach."—Anglo-American Times.

ELOPEMENT OF A BRIDE.—An amusing scene has
been enacted in Cirencester during the week, the
chief performer being a Mrs. B—, from the neighbour-
hood 'of Rodditch, who arrived in the town on Thursday;
last, withher newly-married husband. Tho quarters chosen
merry
adoreta. The
as a marriage-bell,"
were situate at an inn, not a long way from Dyer-street.
Ethvee
married couple were accompanied by the bridesmaid and
hryutshbaiengdscacielmliendg thoisgowoifne "ashis
father in church," and were on the eve of returning to
Tewkesbury, after hsving.seen the newly married couple
off to London. The delighted husband was so pleased with
his young wife's charms that during their stay at Cirences-
ter he made her several purchases out of the money he was
foolish enough to obtain by the sale of some houses in the
neighbourhood of Redditch (the facts of which ho gave to
our correspondent). Tuesday evening was fixed upon for
the start, and dinner for the four was prepared at 4 o'clock,
at which they were seated, when, shortly after that, a
stranger arrived at the inn, and seated himself in a chair
by the fire. Alas, the scene ! We now describe it. It
appears that some years ago the stranger was the first love
of Mrs. B—, and immediately she saw the gentleman she
rose from her seat, shook him by the hand, and invited him
to partake of dinner. The invitation was accepted. At
this juncture Mr. B— left the table and called out his
wife. She followed, and shortly again resumed her seat.
Tho husband wont it for a walk to console his feelings
and on his return ho found that the two had fled, the lady-
love not forgetting to take his purse, containing some £32.
He immediately searched the town, but to no effect ; his
viola tricolour (or "heart's ease") had duped him. OnWed
nesday he left for Stroud, taking with him the bridesmaid
and _ father at church."—North Wilts herald.