Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1856-01-17

out its consent, and that whether fol
: bidden by the municipal law or moi
t the very attempt to do it, withou
{ such consent, is an attack on the ma
! tional sovereignty.
Such being the public rights ant
, The municipal law Of the Unite,
States, no solicitude on the subjec
was entertained by this government
when a year since, the British Par
lament passed an act to provide fo
the enlistment of foreigners in th'
military service of Great Britain
Nothing on the face of the aot, or il
! its public history, indicated that tht
British Government proposed to at
tempt recruiting in the United
States; nor did it ever give intimatior
Of such intention to this government
1t was matter of surprise, therefore
to find, subsequently, that the en-
gagement of persons, within the u
States to proceed to Halifax, in the
British province ofNova Scotia, and
there te,enlist in The service of Great
Britain, was going on extensively,
with little or no disguise. Ordinary
legal steps we're Immediately taken
to arrest and punish parties concern
ed, and SO put an end to acts in
fringing the municipal law and de-
rogatory to our sovereignty. Meah-
while suitable representationson the
subjectwere addressed to the British
government.
Thereupon it became known, by
the admission ofthe British govern
ment itself, that the attempt to draw
recruits from this country originated
with it, or at least had its approval
and sanction; but it also appeared
that the public agents engaged in it
had stringent instructions" not to
violate the municipal law ofthe Uni
ted States.
tbs difficult to understand how it
should have been supposed that
troops could be raised here by Great
Britain, without violation of the mu-
nicipal law. The unmistakable OBJ
.ject of the law was to prevent every
such act, which, if performed, must
be either in violation of the law, or
in studied evasion oft; and, in eth
er alternative, the act done would be
alike injurious to the sovereignty of
the United States.
In the meantime, the matter ac-
quired additional Importance, by the
recruitments in the United States
mot being discontinued, and the dis
closure of the fact that they we're
prosecuted upon a systematic plan
devised by official authority; that re-
eruiting rendezvous had been OPEN
ed in our principal cities, and depots
for the reception ofrecruits establish
ed on our frontier; ard the whole
business conducted under the super
vision and by the regular co-opera-
tion of British officers, civil and mil
itary, some in the North American
provinces and some in the United
States. The completely of those off,
GERS in an undertaking which could
only be accomplished by defying our
laws, throwing suspicion over our at
'titude of neutrality, and disregarding
our territorial rights, is conclusive'
Fly proved by the evidence elected
oh the trial ofsuch of their agents as
have been apprehended and convict
ed. Some of the officers thus i'm
plicated are of high official position,
and many of them beyond our ,juris-
diction, so that legal proceedings
could not reach the source Of the
mischief.
These considerations and the fact
that the canse of complaint was not
a mere casual occurrence but a de-
liberate design, entered upon withfull
knowledge of our laws and national
policy, and conducted by responsible
public functionaries, impelled me to
present the case to the British gov
ernment, in order to secure. not only
a cessation of the wrong, but its re-
.paration. The subject is still under
discussion, the result of whichwill be
communicated to you in due time.
BRITISH RELATIONS @eoNrfNUED.
Irepeat the recommendation SUBJ
mitted to the last Congress, that pro-
vision be made for the appointment
lofa commissioner in connexion with
Great Britain, to survey and 'estab-
lish the boundary line which divides
| the Territory of Washington from
the confiCuous British nossessiops.