The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 9, 1861.

THE LIVERPOOL AND LONDON FIRE
AND LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY.
The Annual Fire Premiums 0315,000.
Mercantile Risks in London and elsewhere, at home and
abroad, freely insured by Floating Policies and otherwise.-
20 and 21, Poultry.

VAST AND WEST INDIA DOCK
COMPANY.
The COURT of DIRECTORS of the East and West
India Dock Company HEREBY GIVE NO I'ICE, that the
Transfer Books of the said Company will be shut on Satur-
day, the 14tH day of December, 1861, and opened again on
Friday, the 3d day of January, 1862.
By order of the Court.
GEORGE COLLIN, Secretary.
East and West India Dock House,
Billiter-square, 6th Dec., 1861.

AMERICA.

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.

The Inman steamship Edinburgh and the Cana-
dian mail steamer Nova Scotian have arrived, the
former with advices from New York to the 23d, and
the latter from Quebec to the same date.
The Hon. E. Everett, in an address on the " State
of the Country," before the Middlesex Mechanics'
Association at Lowell, is reported to have given the
following opinion on the Mason and Slidell case :
"He began by remarking that he had been re-
quested to say a word_ or two upon an event that
reached us within a day or two—the capture of
Messrs. Mason and Slidell. Some have apprehended
that this act, however :desirable in some ret.peetm,
may yet be considered by the British Government
as unauthorised by the law of nations, and there-
fore likely to bring us into unpleasant relations
with that Power. This apprehension is entirely
groundless. There is no right better recognised by
the law of nations than that of the armed vessel of
a belligerent Power to detain a neutral vessel on the
high seas to ascertain whether on board of that
neutral vessel there is anything contraband of war.
It is expressly laid down by all the text-writers on
the law of nations that among the things which are
forbidden to be carried by a neutral vessel are Am-
bassadors of either belligerent Power. There have
been many cases in which this principle has been
laid down and enforced in the English Courts of
Admiralty. In the year 1808 an American vessel
called the Caroline, on her way from New York to
Bordeaux, in France, was captured by a British
cruiser, carried into England, tried and condemned
before Sir William Scott, after wards Lord Stowell,
the highest authority on any question of the law of
nations that can be found in Great Britain—con-
demned because it carried dispatches from the
Government of one of the French colonies. In
giving his opinion on the condemnation of this
vessel Sir William Scott expressly said that the
belligerent cruiser was authorised in stopping the
Ambassador of the enemy on the way to his desti-
nation. You are, many of you, familiar with the
case of Mr. Henry Laurens, who was at one time
President of the Continental Congress, in the Revo-
lutionary war, who was on his way from Marti-
nique to Holland, on board of a Dutch vessel, at
that time a neutral Power. This vessel was cap-
tured by a British frigate, carried into St. John's,
Newfoundland, he was transferred to another ves-
sel, and sent to England, and there confined in the
Tower of London, as a traitor, for two years, and
it was only after the surrender of Cornwallis at York-
town he was given up in exchange for the Com-
mander-in-Chief of the British forces. You see that
there is not the slightest ground for apprehension
that there is any illegality in this detention of the
mail packet, that the detention was perfectly lawful,
the capture was perfectly lawful, their confinement
in Fort Warren will be perfectly lawful, and, as
they will no doubt be kept there in safety until the
restoration of peace—which we all so much desire
—we may, I am sure, cordially wish them a safe
and speedy deliverance."
The tone of the New York press respecting the
Mason and Slidell affair is more moderate. The
New York Tribune says :

" We have been, and still are, most anxious that
our Government should studiously avoid all pre-
text for hostility on the part of Great Britain pend-
ing the settlement of our domestic troutles. We
know that the slaveholders' rebellion was plotted
and inaugurated in the sanguine hope that cotton
and commerce would soon force the British and
French Governments to interfere in its behalf; and
it is to-day kept alive, in spite of the general misery
and squalor it causes throughout the revolted States,
and its utter destitution of funds, by that hope.
Demolish that to-morrow, and the rebellion could
not be kept on its legs through the winter. Now,
the Union wants nothing of Europe but that fair
play to which treaties and the law of nations en-
title us. If the Republic cannot subdue its revolters,
let the Republic be dissolved ! Hands off' is
all we ask of Europe, and that is our simple due.
We do most decidedly want Europe to let us alone
Hence we have regretted that Secretary: Seward
has not al ways evinced, in his official and personal
intercourse with the British and French ambassa-
dors, that earnest and frank desire to maintain the
best understanding with them and their Govern-
ments that is the obvious dictate of national inte-
rest if not of national safety. We think he should
not have hesitated to say to them in acts, if not in
words, ' Just at present we cannot afford to quarrel
with you, and I shall take good care that you have
no plausible excuse for quarreling with us. . . •
We have already intimated our hope that Great
Britain will claim Mason, Slidell, and their secre-
taries, on the ground of the illegality of their cap-
ture. We could very well afford even to surrender
them for the sake of the precedent and principle
thus established. If Great Britain is , ready for a
broad acceptance of the principle that free ships
make free goods, it does not become us to object,
But there must be no juggle in the premises, but
the clear and simple recognition of a rule of action
henceforth obligatory on both parties. Nothing is
more certain than that Great Britain has acted to
our prejudice on the opposite principle to that
which she must assert in demanding the liberation
of Mason and Slidell. . . . The temper of a
portion of the English people is such as probably
to render necessary some formal inquiry into the
matter, and a demand for explanations. But these
will be forthcoming in such abundance, and of such
a nature, as will speedily silence all complaints.. .
We once' more assure our timorous friends that
Great Britain not only has no decent pretext for
fastening :a quarrel upon us, but that President
Lincoln will take good care that she shall not get
one, at least till we shall have settled our little ac-
count with Jeff. and Company.",l
The New York, World says :
" It may be said, indeed, that when this question
comes to be discussed between Mr. Seward and
Lord Lyons our Government, by a sort of argu-
mental): ad civitatem, may take advantage of the
British concession of a belligerent status to the
South, and hold the British Ministry to the logi
cal consequence of their own act, without making
any concession itself. But it would not befit the dig-
nity of a great nation to discuss an international
question in that spirit, and to rest its justification of
a very grave act not on the solid basis of a clear
right,but on a sophistical wrestling of an adversary's
position, by which it is turned to his disadvantage.
It would simplify all the questions likely to arise
between us and foreign nations growing out of the
war if our Government would frankly treat the re-
bels as possessed of the ordinary rights of parties to
a war. It would also relieve the question of an ex-
change of prisoners of the embarrassments that
have thus far surrounded it ; and if it should re-
quire us to treat the Southern privateers otherwise
than pirates, the increased efficiency of the blockade
will prevent the escape of many more privateers to
prey upon our commerce. If we must either give up
those arch traitors, Mason and; Slidell, or let :the
privateers go unhanged, the pUblic voice would re-
quire us to keep fast hold of the rebel envoys. But
it is not easy to see on what justifiable ground we
lyent ()11 board a British yessel to arrest them, un-

less we concede a belligerent status to the Southern
Confederacy."

The New Fork Mites remarks as follows

" It suits the purpose of some of our people to ex-
cite an alarm by pretending that we are in danger
of war with England on account of the seizure of
the two rebel agents, Mason and Slidell, on board
the British mail steamer Trent. Nothing can be
more absurd than such an apprehension. Even if
our act was entirely wrong, there is not one chance
in ten of its involving war, whatever other conse-
quences may flow from it. Many persons talk and
write as if the instant she hears it England would
send a fleet of war steamers to bombard our cities
and sweep our commerce from the face of the ocean.
Even in the most flagrant cases national insults are
not resented in this summary manner. First comes a
formal complaint of the wrong done, and a demand
that it be disavoweil. If this is met fairly, in a
friendly spirit, and with an evident intent to do
justice, it will be followed by a protracted nego-
tiation, which is almost certain to end in
such explanations on the one side or con-
cessions on the other as put all hostile
measures utterly out of the question. In this case
no one supposes for a moment that there was any
intention to insult the British flag on the part of
Capt. Wilkes. His sole object was to serve his
own Government by arresting two rebel agents on
a mission of deadly 10fOility to it. He found them
on tue high sc, , .11 bold a nritish vessel, from
which he took them without violence, and with only
such a display of force as the case required. Now,
of what can the British Government make com-
plaint P"
The New York Journal of Commerce, alluding to
the money market, says :
" The feeling in the market to-day is less buoyant,
but it is difficult to tell why, except that some per-
sons are determined to believe that we shall have
trouble with England growing out of the Mason
and Slidell affair. No argument is sufficient to
settle the equanimity of those whose fears have
taken such strong hold of their judgment, and we
must wait patiently for the future. If the British
Government were left free to act entirely upon their
own view of the legality of Commander Wilkes's
performance, we should regard these misgivings on
the subject as almost ridiculous. The only serious
phase of the future prospect is coloured by the
known irritation of a portion of the British people
at the unwarrantable tone of some American docu-
ments, both official and private, that have been sent
across the water for republication. But we cannot
believe that these objectionable taunts and crimina-
tions will provoke Great Britain to a course that
her law officers cannot approve."
The review at Washington was vi itnessed by an
immense concourse of spectators. The number of
troops estimated to be on the ground was 70,000.
The New Fork World alludes to it as follows :
"It was a scene to intrance a civilian and to
satisfy a soldier—the latter through the sense of
professional pleasure at so rare a spectacle as the
tout ensemble of a complete army. Well, M'Clellan
came on the field at 11 o'clock, and was received
with salutes from all the artillery present ; bat-
teries firing on the right and left confronting each
other, and converting the review, for a moment, into
the:aspect of ideal battle-field. Then, accompanied
by Messrs. Lincoln, Cameron, and Seward, on horse-
back, and escorted by his full Staff, he galloped at
a spirited rate up and down the long battalions.
His style of action presented a marked contrast to
the stolidness with which he has made previous re-
views. The president looked well in the saddle,
much better than he evE r looked on any other public
occasion. He is an excellent horseman, and grace
—impossible as it may seem—becomes a Lincolnian
attribute when the executive legs are spurred and
and stirruped. General Cameron and Governor
Seward seemed less at ease in their unusual occupa-
tion. As the distinguished heads of the army
passed swiftly through the lines cheer after cheer
arose in waves, which followed the cavalcade as a
billow rises on either side of a great ship's course.
I thought that a clear pride flushed across the Pre-
sident's face, making him almost handsome, as he
saw and heard the mightiness of the legions sent
from the north for the protection of his sacred
charge. As for M'Clellan, at this moment he en-
tered into the splendid enthusiasm of the occasion,
and spurred his black charger at the head of the
Staff with a dash and animation which should
have been caught by some artist for a spectacular
war-painting. Afterwards, when each regiment
had been passed by the young commander,
and he had taken his position on the left of the
field in order that the whole army might pass
before him as it retired; his face became reposeful
and content. He was more than satisfied with the
condition of his soldiers, felt that he could handle
them, and no doubt felt a desire to do so. What
dramatic interest centres around this man ! What
shall be his future—glory or forgetfulness ? But
we strew flowers, and wish the good young knight
God speed as he steps featly forward into the dark,
enchanted land."

The New York journal of Commerce publishes
some incidents relating to the passport system :
Superintendent Kennedy, with a large force of
police, attended the departure of the Aspinwall
steamer Champion yesterday, and scrupulously en-
forced the new passport regulations. No dodge,
decree, or excuse, no rank or station, could escape
the common ordeal. The slightest inaccuracy in
the passport caused its rejection. A large party
from Boston exhibited mysterious envelopes,
stamped with Government seals, and said to con-
tain passports. The superintendent opened the
parcels, found the contents defective in some re-
spect, and sent the Bostonians ashore. Even a
bearer of despatches, Senor D. X. F. Perez, from
the Central American Minister, Senor Molina, was
precluded for want of the magic paper, although
he showed his credentials and was vouched for to
any extent by the Plenipotentiary in person. A
telegram from Secretary Seward soon set his case
all right, and Signor Perez entered his cabin re-
joicing: A number of organ-grinders, labouring
under similar difficulties, were also refused a pas-
sage, greatly to the regrot of all the citizens by-
standers, and also of the superintendent himself,
who was strongly tempted to waive a point in their
favour."

Washington letters state that Lord Lyons had
taken no action in the Mason and Slidell case.

Alluding to a recent order issued by General
Halleck respecting slaves, the New York. Journal
of Commerce speaks out boldly as follows :
"In the many discussions which the slave ques-
tion has brought about, there has not as yet been
elicited a particle of evidence that the slaves of the
South would accept freedom and arms, or would
fight for the Union against their masters. In the
Beaufort district, the site of the rice plantations,
where it has been said that slavery was more pain-
ful and oppressive than in any other part of the
South, it is abundantly manifest that no large
numbers of them come into the camp, although the
correspondents describe them as working in the
fields on the plantations which their masters have
deserted. There is every reason to believe that a
large majority of the slaves are firmly attached to
the families they served. The fugitive slaves who
have allied themselves to the forces in St. Louis
prove to be the worst enemies to the cause they pro-
fess to have espoused, as appears from the following
telegram from that city, published yesterday morn-
ing Gen. Halleck has issued orders that in con-
sequence of important information respecting the
number and condition of our forces being conveyed
to the enemy by fugitive slaves, no such person
shall hereafter be permitted to enter the lines of
any camp or any forces on the march, and any now
within such lines to be immediately excluded there-
from.' At Fortress Monroe, too, it was discovered
very soon after the breaking out of hostilities that
the negroes there were secretly giving information
to the enemy. If this i 4 the way the b 144 popult;-

tion of the South serve the cause of the Union the
less we have of them the better."
In the United States' Circuit Court on the 22d
the case of the Hiawatha was heard on appeal. The
Court affirmed the decision of the Court below,
condemning the vessel and cargo, in order that the
case might be sent to the Supreme Court of the
United States for hearing at the coming term.
The New I'ork World speaks of the object of the
"stone fleet," as it is denominated :

" For some weeks it has been whispered that the
vy Department was preparing a fleet of vessels,
stone laden, to be sunk in one, or perhaps several
harbours of the Southern coast. The fleet sailed on
the 20th instant. They are all old but substantial
whaling vessels, double-decked to give them greater
firmness. They were stripped of their copper and
other fittings which were not necessary for so short
a voyage as they will make, and loaded with picked
stone as deeply as was safe. In the bottom of each
ship a hole was bored, into which was fitted a lead
pipe five inches in diameter, with a valve so fixed
that, though perfectly safe even for a long voyage
it can be very quickly removed. It is calculated
that the ship will be filled and sunk to the bottom
in 20 minutes after the removal of this valve. To
provide against accidental jamming of the valves
each vessel is furnished with two augres of the pro-
per size. The crews consisted of six men each.
These will be returned by the men-of-war, who will
assist in the work of sinking. Each ship will be
anchored in the place chosen for her, and will then
be sprung round broadside to the channel, thus ef-
fecting as great a stoppage as possible. When this
is done, and she is in position, the valve will be
withdrawn, and when the vessel is nearly level with
the water's edge the men will leave in a small boat.
It is reported that an enterprising rigger has gone
down with the fleet, with the intention of taking off
what pieces of spars and rigging may remain above
the water's edge after the ships have sunk. The
captains of the ships are all well acquainted with
our coast, first-rate seamen, and good pilots. Each
captain received on the day he sailed sealed orders,
not to be opened till after the pilot left his vessel."
On the 21st the steamship Constitution, with two
regiments of Gen. Butler's command, left Boston
for Portland, and arrived off the latter port during
the night, with the intention of taking on board a
Maine regiment, in addition to the two already ship-
ped. After getting the baggage of the troops on
board, however, it was decided that a third regi-
ment would crowd the vessel too much, so the bag-
gage was sent ashore again, and the Constitution
proceeded on her voyage.
Two or three vessels had run the batteries on the
Potomac and reached Washington.
From Baltimore we are informed that the Confe-
derates in Accomac county, Virginia, numbering
some 3,000 men, had disbanded. The proclamation
of Gen. Dix had been favourably received by the
people generally. The Secessionists of Northampton
county, to the number of 1,800, had laid down their
arms, and the Federal troops had full possession of
that county.
The Confederates were reported to be throwing
up earthworks at Flint-hill, near Falls Church.
From Missouri we have advices to the 22d ult.,
which report an unreliable rumour, that the Con-
federates hadburnt Warsaw to prevent it being used
as winter quarters for the Federal troops. On the
18th Judge T. S. Richards was shot through a win-
dow of the co art-house in Memphir,4Scotland county,
while confined as a prisoner in the hands of Col.
Moore, of the Homo Guards. Col. Moore subse-
quently offered a reward of 1,000 dole. for the ap-
prehension of the assassin. Gen. Price had aban-
doned his position at Cassville, and was moving
towards his old camp at Neosho. About 4,300 of his
army under Gen. Harris were on the Kansas line,
evidently about to invade that State. Gen. Lane
was in the vicinity, and it was not improbable that
that an engagement would take place. The latest
account states that Gen. Price was in Barry county
making preparationsto advance to Springfield. The
Confederate Legislature of Missouri had passed an
ordinance of secession at Neosho, and one uniting
the State with the Southern Confederacy.