M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1861-11-07
LYONS.
The Hon. WM. II. SEWARD, etc.
MR.. SEWARD TO LORD LYONS.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,


WASHINGTON, Oct. Il, 1861.
My Lord have the honor to &C
knowledge your lordsbip's note of thC
present date. .I. .".
In that paper you inform me thai
the British Government is much con.
cerned to find that two British sub.
Ijects, Mr.. Patrick and Mr.. Rahming,
have been brought under arbitrary ar.
rest, and that, although her Majesty 3
Ministers have been advised by you
oil the release Of Mr.. Patrick, yet tuey
can not out regard the matter as re.
quiring the very serious consideration
Of this Government.
You further INFORM me that her
Majesty'a Government perceive that
when British subjects, as wei! as AM.
erican citizens, are arrested, they are
transferred to military prison, and
that the military authorities refuse to
pay obedience TO writ of ha6eas cor.
puS.
You add, that her Majesty's Gov.
ernment conceive that his practice is
directly opposed to the maxim of the
Constitution Of the United States,
that no person shall be deprived ..
life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law. You then observe
that her Majesty'S Government are,
nevertheless, willing to make every
allowance for the hard necessities of a
time Of internal trouble, and they
would not have been surprised if the
ordinary securities Of personal liberty
had been temporarily suspended, nor
would they have complained i! British
subjects, falling under suspicion, had
suffered tom the consequences Of that
suspension. But that It does not ap.
pear that Congress has sanctioned, in
this respect, any departure from the
due course Of law, and it is in these
circumstances that the law officers OF
the Crown have advised her Maiestys
Government that the arrests of British
stbjects arc Illegal.
You remark further, that so far as
appears to Her Majesy's Government,
the Secretary Of State for the United
States examines, upon the report Of
spies, and assumes the power of de.
priving British subjects of their liber.
ty, a. liberatiRg them by his own will
and pleasure; and youinfcrm me that
Her Majesty's Government canflol but
regard this despotic and arbitrary
power as inconsistent with the Con.
stitution Of the United States, as at
variance with the treaties OF amity
Subsisting between the two nations, as
tending to prevent the resort Of Brit
ish subjects to the United States for
the puIV6se OF trade and industry
You d dhclude with informing me that
upon these grounds Her Majesty 3
Government have felt bound 10 N,
struct you to rem6nstrate against such
irregular proceedings, and to say that,
| in their opinion, the authority Of Con,
gress is necessary in order to justify
the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment
OF British subjects.
The facts in regard to the persons
named in your note are as follows:
Communications from the regular
police ofthe country to the Executive
at Washington, slNwOA sEat disloyal
persons in nthc State OF Alabama were
conducting reasonable correspond.
ence with Coniederates, British sub.
jects and American citizens. in Eu.
rope, aimed at the overthrow Of the
Federal Union by armed forces actu.
ally in the field and beseiging tue
capital OF the United States. A por.
ton of this correspondence which was
Intercepted was addressed to the firm
of Smith & Pa trick, brokers, long es-
Itablished and doing business in the
city Of New York, ltappeared that
this firm had a branch in Mobile; that
the partner, Smith, is a disloyal eiti-
zen OF the United States, and that he
was in Europe when the treasduab!e
papers were sent from Mobile, ad
dressed through the house of Smith &
| Patrick, in New York. On receiving
this information, William Patrick wa;
arrested and committed into military
custody at Fort Lafayette, by aniordcl
of the Secretary OF War OF the. Unit
ed States, addressed to the police O.
the cltyof New York. These pro
ceedings took place on tho 2Sth o
August last.