Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1856-01-10

ton of those articles: Ourmcrchantmcn have
been, ndStll continue to be, largely employed
by Great Britain and By France, in transport
inc troops, provision and munitions of war to
the principal scat Of military operations, and
in bringing home their sick and wounded SOL
dicrs: but such use Of our mercantile marine
is not intcrdictcd either by the international,
or by our municipal law, and therefore does
not compromit our neutral relations with Rus
sia
But our municipal law, in accordance with
the law of nations, peremptorily forbds, not
only foreigners, but our citizens, to fit out,
within the limits of the United States, vessel
to ccrmit hostlitics against any State with
which the United States arc at peace, or to III
crease the force Of any foreign armed vessel
intended for such hostilities against friendly
State.
Whatever concern may have been felt by
either of the bclligerent powers lest private
armed cruisers, or other vessels, in the service
of one, might be fitted out in the ports Of this
country to dcpredatc on the property of the
ether, all such fears have proved to be utterly
groundlcss. Our citizens have been withheld
from any such act or purpose by good faith,
and by respect for the law.
While the laws of the Union are thus pei
cmptory in their prohibition of the equipment
or armament OF bcllgcrcrt cruisers in our ports
they provide not less absolutely that 10 person
shall within the territory oriurisdiction Of the
United States, enlist or enter himself, Or hire
OF retain another person to enlist or enter him
sell, OF to 90 beyond the limits CT jurisdiction
Of the United states with intent to be enlisted
or entered, in the service Of any foreign State
. either as soldier, or as a marine or scamcn Oh
board of any vcsscl-of-war, letter Of mar4uc,
; OF priyatcer. And these cnactmcntS arc also
in strict conformity with the law Of nations,
which declares. that no State has the right 10
F raise for land or sea service in another State
without its consent, and that, whcthcrtorblddcn
BY the municipal law or not, the very attempt
to do it, without such consent, is an attack on
the national sovereignty
E Such being the public rights and the mum,
, cpal law Of the United States, no solicitudc oil
, the subject was entertained by this government
when, year since, the British Parliament pas.
scd an act to provide for the enlistment Of for,
cgncrs il the military service Of Great Brit
. ain. Nothing on the face of the act, or III lis
public history, indicated that the British gov
ernment proposed to attempt recruitment in
the United States, nor did it ever give int!ma-
tion of such intention 10 this government. 1t
was matter Of surprise, therefore, to find, sub
<cQuently, that the engagement Of person:
within the United States 10 proceed t" Halifax,
i'll the British provinces OF Nova Scotia. and
there enlist in the service Of Great Britain was
going on extensively, with little or no disguise
Ordinary legal steps were Immediately taken
to arrest and punish parties concerned, and 50
put an end to acts infringing the municipal law
and dcrogatory to our sovereignty. Meanwhile
suitable representations Oil the subject were
f addressed to the British government.
, Thcrcupon it became known, BY the admis,
sion of the British government itself, that the
attempt tn draw recruits from this country orig
mated with it, or at least had its approval and
sanction; but it also appeared that the public
agents engaged in it had ''stringcnt instruc,
tions" not to violate the municipal law of the
United States
1t is difficult to understand how it should
have been supposed that troops could be raised
here by Great Britain, without violation Of the
municipal law The unmiStakablc object oi
the law was 10 prevent every such act, which il
performed, must be either in violation Of tho
law Or in studied evasion Of it; and, in cithcl
: ALTERNATIVES the act done would be alike iniu,
rious to the sovereignty Of the United States
In the meantime, the matter acquired addi
tional Importance, by the rccruitnicnts i'll the
. United States not being discontinued, and the
disclosure of the fact that they were prosccu-
ted upon a systematic plan devised by official
authority; that recruiting rendezvous had Ltcr
opened in our principal cities, and depots tol
the reception OF recruits established on ON
frontier; and the whole business conducted
under the supervision and By the regular co
operation of British officers, civil and military
some in the North American provinces, and
some in the United States. The completely Of
those officers in an undertaking, which could
only DC accomplished by dclying our laws
throwing ~SuSpicion ovcrcur attitude Of ncutrali
ty, AID diSrvgardm@ our territorial rights, i;
conclu$irrIy provcdby the evidence elected on
the trial Of such of their agents as have DccN
arprchcnled and convicted. Some Of the Of
tiycr$ thus implicated are Of high official posi-.