The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-01-02

quent aliusion has bssn made:
D-- -. Ess..
sMy Deer Sir You were right In doubttne
.s .nc cecIaration imputed to me. r. Wit that
70 ~. T.0sast az Washington had given orders
!. neutral nag; for was not even aware that
sne government had had that point under
Suonsi9eratlon. At the time of my leaving
- Msw xork II was not known that .hs San ia
cinto nad returned to the American seas
ana u was generally supposed those persons
nao escaped to Cuba for the purpose Of re-
emoorkfns ia the Nashville. in pursuit OF
which vessel the James Adgsr az d other crui.
sers had been dispatched. =
! tnink can satisfy you In . few words
tnat you nave NO serious occasion to feel CON.
eerned about our relations with England II.
encourage the dissensions In America.
In the first place, 1t is almost superfluous
10 say TO you that every instinct OF pru udence
as we'll as Of good neighborhood prompts our
government 10 regard no honorable sacrifice
too great for the preservation Of the friend
ship Of Great Britain. This M ust be obvious
20 all the world: At period OF our history
- our people-at 10 period has our govern.
ment hen in condition 10 make SrezaaRo con,
cessions % preserve IL. Tue two nations are
united by interests and sympathies-commer-
ciai, social, political, and religioue-almost
as tho two arms to one body, and NO one is go
ignorant as not TO know that what h arms
one must harm the otner in q corresponding
degree.
1 am persuaded that the British Govern. ..
ment can entertain no doubt upon this sub.
ject; but II 1t does, feel that might ts ke it
upon myself to say that the President of the
United states, when made aware Of Is exist
ence, will lose no opportunity OF dispeiling
it..
Nor is there anything, venture to affirm,
In the seiZuAe OF these rebel emissariee which
from England. Her statesmen will not
question the legal right OF an American ves-
sel-of-war to search any commercial vessel
suspected Of transporting eontraband of
war that right has never been surrendered
by England, il was even guaranteed to her
by the treaty Of Paris, and British guns,
frowDing down nearly every strait and inland
sea pom the globe. are conclusive evidence
that she regards this right as one, the effica-
cy OF which may be not yet entirely extin-
guished. OF course there is much that is ir-
ritating and vexatious in the exercise of this
right under the most favorable circum-
stances, and it is to be hoped the day is not
far distant when the maritime States Of the
world will agree in placing neutral COM
merce beyond the reach of such vexations.
The United States Government has been
striving to this end for more than fifty years;
to this end, early in the present century,
and in its infancy as a nation, 1T embarked
in war with the greatest naval power in the
world and 1t is even now a persistent suitor
at every maritime court In Europe for more
liberal recognition Of the rights of neutrals
than any OF the other great maritime ma.
t!ons have yet been disposed to make. But
till those rights are secured by proper inter.
national guarantees, upon q comprehensive
and enduring basis, of course England can
not com plain Of an act for which, in all its
material bearings her own naval history
affords such numerous precedents.
Whether the ca ptiTes from the Trent were
con ntraband of war or not, is a question
which the two Governments can have no
serious difficulty in agreeing upon. If Mr.
Seward cannot satisfy Earl Russell that they
were, have no doubt Earl Russell will be
able to satisfy Mr.. Seward tn It they were
not II they were. as all authorities concur
in admitting, agents OF the rebellion, it will
be difhcult to satisfy impartial minds that
they were any less cOntruband than a file of
rebel soldiers or battery Of hostile cannon.
But even should there be difference Of
opinion upon this point, it is very clear that
our Government had sufficient grounds for
presuming itself in the right to escape the sus.
picion OF having wantoniy violated the reia-
tions of amity which the two countries pro-
fess desire to preserve and cultivate
The pretence that we ought to have taken
the Trent into port, and had her condemned
by prize court, in order to justify our seiz-
ure OF four Of her passengers furnishes a
very narrow basis on which to FIX q serious
controversy between two great nations
Stated in other words, an offence would have
been less II it had been greater. The wrong
done IT, the British flag would have been
mitig:ted, If, instead Of seizing four rebels,
We had seized the ship, detained all her pas.
sengers for weeks and confscated her cargo.
am not surprised that Capt. Wilkes took a
different view of his duty, and Of what was
due to the friendly relations which subsisted
between the TIVE governments. The re-
nowned common sense Of the English peo-
pie, II believe, will approve of his effort to
make the discharge Of very unpleasant
duty as little vexatious as possible to all in
nocent parties.
If, under these circumst ances, Epalaud
should deem 1t her duty, in the interest ef
civilization, to insist upon the restoration Of
the men taken from under the protec tion of
her flag, it will be from q conviction, with
ont doubt, that the law Of nations in regard
to the rights of nentrals, which she has taken
q leading part In tablishing, requires re-
vision, and with suitable disposit ton on
her part to establish these rights upon just,
humane n and phiiosophic basis; Indeed, I
leading metropolitan journals which goes
far to justify this inference. Referring to
the decision of the English Admiralty Courts,
now quoted in defence OF the seizure Of the
American rebels on board the Trent, the
London Times, of the 2S tn Of November, says:
$50 Tar as the authorities 60, the testimony
Of international law writers is all one way /;
that belligerent war cruiser has the right
to stop and visit and search any merchant
ship upon the high seas. - But it
must be remembered that these decisions
were given under circumstances very differ
ent from those which now occur. Steamers
| in those days did not exist, and mail vessels,
carrying letters wherein all the nations of
the world have immediate interest, were uu.
kuOWu. VIC wore uBuuuS 1OF existence, 6N0
we did in those days what we should neither
do, nor allow others to do, nor expect our
selves to be allowed to do, in these days -
II England, AZ we are here encouraged to
war Of half its horrors by accepting the poll
cy long and persistently urged upon her by
our Government, and commended by every
principle Of justice and humanity, che viii
find no ground. in the visit Of the Trent, for
controversy with our Government. I am
sure the President and people OF the United
States would be but too happy 70 let these
men 60 free, unnatural and objectionable as
their onences have been, If by it they could
emancipate the commerce Of the world
0yeatly a. 1t would b to our disadvantaee at
this present crisis to surrender any Of those
maritime privileges Of beiltserents which
that take NO responsibility in saying that
the United States will be faithful to her ira
ditional policy upon this subject and to the
spirit of her political institutions.
On the other hand, sh ould England be I'M.
prepared to make corresponding sacrifice :.
should she feel that she coRld not yet afEord
to surrender the advantages which the pre-
sent maritime code gives to dominant naval
false position by asking us to do it. In either
case, therefore, ] do not see how the friendly
relations Of tho two governments are in any
immediate danger OF being disturbed.
The over-prompt recognition, a. belliEer.
ents, of . body Of men, however large, 90
long a. they constituted q manifest minority
Of the nation, wounded the feelings Of my
countrymen deeply will not attempt to de-
ny, nor that that act, with some of Its logi-
cal consequences which have already oc.
curred, has planted In tho breasts OF many
the suspicion that their kindred in England
wish them evil rather than good, but the
statesmen to whom the political interests Of
these two great people are confided act npon
higher responsibilities and with better lights,
and you may rest assured that an event 20
mutually disastrous a. . war between E0g-
land aud America cshnot occur without