The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-14 00:00:00

- _
7HE AMERICAN OUTRAGE.

BANQUET BY THE ROYAL WESTERN YACHT
CLUB.-COMMANDER WILLIAMS'S SPEECH
ON THE "TRENT" AFFAIR.

An interesting meeting was held on Thursday
evening at the Royal Western Yacht Club of Eng-
land, at Millbay, Plymouth. Commander Williams,
R.N., who was the mail agent on board the Royal
Mail steamer Trent when she was stopped by the
Federal war steamer San Jacinto, and Messrs.
Slidell and Mason, the Confederate Commissioners,
taken from her, is a member of the Royal Western
Yacht Club. When it became known how nobly
he had acted upon that trying cccasion, some of
his brother members thought it would be well to
entertain the gallant officer at dinner in the club
on his return to his home at Stoke, Devonport. No
sooner was the suggestion made than it was eagerly
adopted, and very soon quite as many names were
entered for the dinner as the club dining-room
would accommodate. Commander Williams having
accepted the invitation the dinner was fixed for
Thursday. It took place in the dining-room, and
was attended by about 50 gentlemen.

The chair was taken by John C. Thicrens, Esq.,
the chairman of the committee of management, and
the vice-chair by Captain Basden,
After the usual loyal toasts,
The CHAIRMAN—The next toast which I have
the pleasure of ,'proposing to you is the " Health of
our gallant and worthy guest, Cowman der Wil-
liams—(great cheering)—who has kindly accepted
the invitation of the members and subscribers of
the Royal Western Yacht Club, who were desirous
of inviting him to dinner, as a mark of their admi-
ration of his conduct on the occasion of the late
insult offered to the British flagon board the Royal
Mail steamship Trent. However various our
opinions may be as to the course of events, we are
all united in our approval of that prompt, dignified,
and happily-worded protest made by our brother
member, Captain- Williams—(much applause)—
whose sentiments not only express the feelings of
the great mass of our countrymen, but are also ap-
proved and confirmed by those in authority. (Hear,
hear.) Our desire is to mark our approbation of
Commander Williams' conduct on this occasion—
on this trying occasion, which roused the feelings
of a lion's spirit, without quenching the calmer
judgment of the diplomatist. You know the pro-
test which he made. (Yes.) The whole world
knows it. It must be as pleasant to Commander
Williams as it is gratifying to the members of the
Royal Western Yacht Club to know that one who
can so well acquit himself is a member of their
body. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, lam proud to pro-
pose to you the " Health of Commander Williams,
and long life to him."
The toast was drunk in the most flattering man-
ner, the company giving cheer after cheer.
Commander WILLIAMS, who, upon rising, was
received with enthusiastic applause, which was again
and again renewed, said—Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice-
Chairman, gentlemen, and brother members of this
the Royal Western Yacht Club, it is not with the
feelings of arrogance and presumption which Mr.
Fairfax has thought proper to impute to me that I
will now endeavour, as well as severe illness will
permit me, to convey to your minds the deeply-seated
gratitude that I feel, not only to the chairman for
the complimentary and too partial language used
by him, whom I have ever found, for the last four
or five years, my kind and considerate friend, but
also from the manner in which the mention of my
name has been received by you—you, many of
whom are old tried friends of mine, and many whose
faces I have never met before. Therefore, I take it
to be not so much a personal matter, but a national
matter—(hear, hear)—that you have taken this
opportunity of throwing around my shoulders the
mantle of your approbation. (Renewed applause.)
Gentlemen, if I fail to convey to you—if I fail to
convey to you from the poverty of my language, the
throbbings that swell up from the well of my heart,
I beg you to believe that I am sincere in all that I
shall say. (Bravo, and hear, hear.) This compli-
ment was never looked for by me. (" We believe it,
Williams.") I will endeavour to be as little egotis-
tical as possible, but in the present instance it may
be necessary that I should speak in some measure of
myself, in consequence of what has been said about
me in the New York papers and which has been
referred to by Punch. The New York papers have
thought proper to allude to me in unwarranted lan-
guage, and which, I fear, has been countenanced by
Mr. Fairfax. Before I say one word about Mr.
Fairfax, or the proceedings which took place on
board the Trent, and which perhaps you would like
to hear from my own lips—(" We should," and. ap-
plause)—and the manner in which the Trent was
bearded, I crave your indulgence to allow me to
refer to notes. lam not a practised speaker. I have
never had to speak on any occasion like the present,
and, therefore, I must crave your indulgence to
allow me to refer to notes which I have this day
made from extracts taken from different papers, in
order that I might not omit any portion of such evi-
dence as I should wish to lay before you. I throw

myself on your indulgence. (Hear, and cheers.) I
believe, at all events, that I have on my side truth
and honour. To convince you of that truth, I can-
not give you the chapter and verse of these extracts
that I am going to read to you, because I have nei-
ther had time nor have I had the health to put my-
self to the task of taking any notes of the particulars
of the dates in such papers. (Hear.) But I read
in the Press the opinions of the Americans—l mean
the Northern portion of the Union, the Federal
States. In alluding to the attack on the Trent, it
says :—" If the act itself is justifiable, the manner
in which it was performed is unexceptionable."
(Oh, and derisive laughter.) As to the manner in
which it was performed. I was, at the time Capt.
Moir came to me to say that a suspicious vessel was
a head, on the maindeck, with a pipe in my mouth,
reading the Essays and Reviews. I did not then
think for one moment that such an atrocious thing
would have been done as that which was enacted by
the gallant officers of the San Jacinto to take as
prisoners of war, contrary and in violation of inter-
national law, the so-styled Commissioners from the
Confederate States. The argument that appeared
or presented itself to my mind—the argument of
the moment—as a flash of lightning was, that if a
slave—a fugitive slave—once succeeds in putting
his:foot in a Free State—putting aside Great Bri-
tain—that that slave from that moment was free
from his bondage. (Cheers.) The manner in which
it is performed is " exceptionable." Shortly after
the San Jacinto was seen, a very few minutes after
the vessel was descried, we hoisted our ensign. It

was not responded to. As we approached the San
Jacinto, a shot was fired across our bows. I appeal
to you now—to you officers of the army and navy—