Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-12-24


It requires strong effort Of self-restrsint To al.
a cuss with coOiness the intelligence received
n An Engsh mali steamer, aRlirg under tie Britsb
. h3g, and Carrying letters and pGssenxsrs from J
3 Spanish port to England, haE been stopped on The
high seas and oEerhanled. -Four Of the passengers
!, have been taken out and carried Of ss rrisc1srs
3 claiming, and vsiny claiming, they were being
forced away, the protection Of the dag Of Great
: Britain. qheee Rrs naked facts. We put out of
sight the accidents that the four gentamen thus
3 kidnapped were accredited with dipl0m0tic mis-
sion from the Confederate States OF Amerca 70 the
courts Of Europe, and also tha peFemDtoFy manner
il which the Federal fFigate acted IN MAKING her
seizure. The intenfion Of the Federal Govarnmaut
evidently was 70 act upon thefr strict right and %
do so in as little csEemonions . manner as mighs
be. If they are jaatiasd by thsir rights as belh-
/ gereutE in what they have done, the manner Of
doing II Is mere question Of good or bad t8ste II
a rude feliog claims bis rights eesrsely we must
give him his rights and, If we would not find our
selves in the wrong, We must not quarrel with him
on account Of his IL manners -. ----
II Is it. then true thss any oficer Of the American
navy can stop and overhaul our ships wherever
they may be found, and take out OF them eny per-
sons whom he may claim to be citizens OF the UNI
ted States or officers Of the Confederate Govern
menil If We were to admit the Federal view Of
their own position it would be plain that no such
right exists. They tell us that they are not at war
but are only putting down 4 rebellion. They say,
| or said, that they are not b'Oekadiag their own
pOAsSf UuS hEc Simply GAlQEIllA y law WHICH n1d
closed the Southern ports ports Of entrrL They
insist upon putting their quarrel upon she sEme
ground As if the Queen OF England wsro. putting
down & rebellion in The Isle Of Wight. Now, il
this co. il is clear that the Federal States Of
/ America have, in stopping oar mail steamer, been
gailty Of an act Of aggression cAiGh could ey Be
properly punished by layiag an embargo on eUsTV
A1gsTieGsg ship IN British ports and SJOsepaq sir
/ litls nary from tie seas. They would, according
/ to that point Of view, not be at war, Snd would
4 have nf fha rirhfz 0f halligaranku
ueutrsls. They would no mere be belii-
gerents than England was after the celebra>
ted Smith O'BFien battle in the cabbage
gardep, sad they would have 10 more right 70 stop
cur ships aEd carry CT our passengers thsn We
should have had 70 stop French ship and take NJ.
Smith O'Brien out Of her. But this assumption Of
the Federal GoVernment has been disallowed The
world generally has refused 70 in this disrup-
don and reconstruction Of the North American re-
public mere rebellion. We have recognized both
republics ss beIlgerent States. We declare neu-
tratity between them ss between two warning DOW
ers. We mete out precise degree Of equal con-
sideration for the ships-OfzSr Of saeh. In every.
thing but cur dipoDscy we bear ourselves exact
ly equal between thf n- " Whenever the Southern
States shall have given pro2f Of such stability as
may make it sure that they sustain their inds~
pendenee We shall doubtless reeogatzs-thsm diplOs
matcaly, as we already do dc fnct9. This is the
test applied By all writer's International Law.
To support claim TO enter into the comfy Of ma
tons the only proof required Of any people 3 that
they are sble TO make neutrality-suspicious. respected.
Kings and emPerors, and even dukes and electors,
have sometimes refused 80 recogaizs the govern
ment, for the time being, Of England, France,
or Italy, hut only to their sWn ultimate ridlcule.
We have already recognised these Confederate
States ss g beliggsrst power, and we shall, whs
the time comes, recognise their gOvernmsat there
fore we have imposed upon ourselves al the du-
ties and inconveniences of power neutral between
two belligereuts. 70. ta sl La
Unweleorle as the truth may be, il n ne4srths-
less q truth, thEt we have ourselves established
system Of international law which row tss sgslnst
Us. 10 higb~haDded and almost desP0tc manner
we have ia former days claimed privileges over
leutrals which have st different tITRss bsndsd II
the naritime powers Of the world aSE7Dss We
have insisted even upon stopping the ships-Of-War
Of neutral nations and taking British subjects OUT
Of them ; and an instance is given By JeiersOR in
us Memoirs in which two nepheWs Of Washington
we're impressed by our cruisers rs they were re-
urning from Europe, and placed as common sea
men under the discipline OF ships-ef var.
We have always been the strenuous asserters Of
he rights Of belligerents neutras and the de-
,isi0ns of our courts Of law as they must now be
.ted by our law officers, have been in confirmation
# these unreasonable claims which have called m
o being cOnfederAtions and armed neutralites
.Eainst u.s. and which have always been nodded
n practice when we were not supreme il our do
ninion at sea. Owing 70 these facts the authOri-
les which may be cited this question are too nu-
aerous snd too uniform as to the right Of search
y belligerent ships OfwEr over neutral merchsut
esseis 70 be disputed. The e1ly security tdat
0thing IA 70 be fOuRd inconsistent with anity and
he Law Of nations. known 70 the law Of nations
aid Lord Stowen IN the celebrated case Of the Ma
ia lis the right of personal visitation and search
0 be exercised BY those who have IN interest in
making it" Again, Lord StOwsu in the sane
Judgment, which is the store-house Of all English
aT on the subject, says. BE the ships the cargo
nd the destination what they may, the right OF
isit and search are the incontestible riQbt Of
q hollf
isited and searched 1t does not appear what the
hips the destination and it is for the purS
Of asesrtaiDiug these pOnts that the necessity
this right Of yisItatisn and search exists.
his right is so clear in principle that no car
eny it who admits the righs Of maritime capture;
ecsuse. you are not st liberty 70 ascertain by
efficient inquiry whether there is property that
an be legally captured, it is impossible to capture.
he many European treaties which refer 70 this
lght refer to II as preexisdng, aCd merely regu-
re the exercise Of 1t. All writer's upon the law
{ nations unanimously acknowledge IT," The
reat American authority, Kent, treating upon the
Ime subject in his @COmmentaries,D y says The
uty Of self preservation gives to beIigerent nations
lis right. The doctrine Of the English Admiralty
ourts on the right of visitation and search, and on
le limitation Of the right has been recognized in
3 fallest extent BY the courts Of justice in this
1untry7 So far as the authorities 20 the testimO-
Of international law writers is all one way that
beliigerent cruiser has the right % stop and
sit and search any merchant ship upon the high
as.
We quot5 these authorities beesuse it essentiaT
at upon matter so important az that now before
J. the public mind should be well informed But
must be remembered that these decisions were
ven under circumstances very different from those
hich now occur. Steamers in those days did not
list; and msii vessels carrying letters wherein all
e nations Of the world have immediate interest,
ere unknown. We were fighting for existence
ID we did in those days what we should neither do
" allow others to do, ncr expect ourselves TO be
lowed to DO, in these days. MoreoveP, # we gave
II scope to all this ant quatea law, it remains still
be ssked whether the men who have been taken
ON beneath the protection Of our flag were liable
seizure. They were not officers Of the army or