New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-01-10
NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, FRIDAY, JANUARY TO- 1862

aud interrupt the Of rdicue by tears q grief
yengeauce"-(J John Adamss WorGs vol 9, p, 322.
At last all redress through negotiation was fonnd
10 DO impossible; and this preieulion, aggravated
INTO mulitudinous tyranny, was openly announced
TO he # the principal reasons for the declaration
of war against Great Britain ia 1872. In his message
to Congress- dated June |, Of that year, Mr.. Madi
sou, who was now President thus exposed the often
sive character Of this pretersic1; and his words
directed as sns persistent practice, are now echoed
ny Great Britsjn in tie single Instance which La
accidentally occufrea:
Could the seizure Of Bti.h subject. ~ such cases be re-
ssrded within the OF be gerent rgbt tie &C
know edzed laws which forbid aftce Of csptare'
COMPETENT tribunal, ronid imrer'rst demand me jdTe'
"tf chsrs he 'Gce 9ts ~ PENN rere az h'ne ps@o
y u bia hs'e yigat' are .ub'eted 70 ne 'oW o. er"!
pcfig commander "-Stsesfnsns Mammal vol p 2s4
Willie the war vas waeiug the subject was still
discussed. Mr.. GrGpdy, in the House OF Represen
tatlyes, in a report from The Committee on Foreign
hfairs, said:
ubaern any other officer OF the Bii,h navy ought
not 10 be sfpitsr In such The liberty aud lives oil
american citizens not depeud on tue win Of u-h
2srlg." [jIste Paper. vol 3. p. COS
Such was the American GROUND. Ibe BRUSH Ire-
tension was uEhesiatngly proclaimed in the decla-
ration Of the Prince Regent, afterward George w.,
gigen at the Palace Of Westminster, Jan. g. 1873:
The President Ct the United has it true. since
IroToi b Great Britain isti;e rot, however the
sd on that tho cause Of war hitherto relied on was re.
moved but on condition that Gr-a, Britain preliminary
s.ep shord DO Of now brought forward
for first the nsutly that .houd obaada
orocas u her UsDoUBTgD KiGBr VI ssayea 10 take fran
Ameycon merchant vsseis Br feGmen, the nasuaI-boTn
sp9i,es y hs MIjeUy
n NE rNDoURTKD and hitherto vHdpuisd right Of sedyehaG
GeHrd merchant re"ls IN time II rdr, The tnpre'smsnt d
rim II neEuGL G12 Neither he admit that the taking
Il such from board vessels be dssd
Of 'ca,.o
The war was closed by the treaty at Client; but
pCrversely the British priension not renowned.
Other negotiations in 1913 under PRECEDENT Monroe
IN 1873 also under Monroe; and again In ls2', under
John Quincy Adams expressly to procure ito renun-
citation, were all unayailng At last, 10 1872 at The
treaty of Washington, Mr. Webster, calmly setting
aide all idea OF further negotiation on this preten
sion, and without even proposing any stipulation
with regard to it, deliberately announced tie priu
ci lie adopted by our Government. IL was the pin
clIle early announced Ut the beginning Of the Repub
tic by Mr.. Jefferson Ibis Dispatch is one OF the
most memorable In history, and IL bears directly
on the existing controversy when, In exposing the
BiIiish pTo'entiOD, u says:
But the lieutenant. Of ms1-ofws, having necessity FOR
quite significant OF us own wants aud hs own power Of
Webster. WORKS, vols, p. so.
Alta later day still, on the very eve of recent
ey.nts iind Gen. Cass, as Secretary oil STATE ID
lis elaborate Instructions our Ministers IN Europe,
dated June ~ 1889, declaring principles which may
properly control toe present question. lie says:
obvious from the temper Of the see that the present
il ae tine 10 s,.r. and eGorce preen.i9s on The part OF
5es-Teu, Powers affecting tho nioe,t OF nations at pesce
nne,s fBcH gYefensi,ns enf JsIhrd by ne lac "
nosaf " Ta- stoypiD2 of neutral se,-
sos spon the high seas their focOe entrance aud the
hauling sEd examining OF their casoes. the seizure Of their
eyht. at TIE ua o. Jorcign etoer the frequent inerrnP
don Of ia, Al voyage. By com 5.ing them change thsr
detias o. in order TO seek Ie5fr.. and abrs aH the alma
prone a. accompany bs trerciss - unlimited
r5,r ygl.te responsibility h. remote this. are indeed
s1f .slv 10 be
present. stls oi tho word without ioridabe o1o ~ pre-
ser, them
snch il An authentic history Of this British pre-
tension ana Of the manner in which IL has been met
by our Government. And now the special argument
formerly directed By against this pre,ension Is a..
rrcied by Great Britain against the pretenslon OF
Capt. VI likes 10 take two Rebel emissafies from
Bish packctship. II Capt. Wilkes IS right IN this
preensOl, then throughout ail these International
debae, extending over a least two generations, we
have been wrong. But il has been sometime, said
The steam-packet having on board the Rebel eulssa.
es was on THE account lilble 10 capture, and there
fore the error OF CAPT. Wilkes IL taking the eniss
es slmI an error o! form ana no; OF substance.
| do not stop 10 consider whether an exercise oi
summary power against which our GoVenment
has so constantly protested can be under any cir
curnsances an error merely Of FORM for the policy
of our GovernIe nt, most positively declared Ia
its diplomacy and also atteste1 IN numerous treat
ties leaves room 10 doubt that neutral ship with
bel igerent passengers-not IN the military or naval
eryice-is not huble 10 capture, and therefore the
whole proceeding Id wrong, not Only because the
passengers were taken from the ship, tus also be-
cause tue snip howsoeyer guilty morally, was not
guilty legally in receiy ing such passengers on board
III tLis uuee1on were argued English Authorities
It nigh, be- otherwise; but according 10 American
the ship was legally innocent. vi course
SAY nothing of the moral guilt forever indelihle Ill
that ship. la the middle OF the Last century, the
swiss Professor Vattel declared that on the break
iug ont OF war We cease 10 be under any obhgauon
of leaving the enemy 10 the free enioyme OF bis
rights; aud this principle he applied loosely to the
transit OF ambassadors. (Vatlc, book 4, cap. I,
sec. 49, Sir William Scott, quoting this authority,
AZ the beginning Of the present century, let fall these
words
The beseren may stop The ambassador Of the enemy on
his passage" lIhe A'aanss Robinson H. P 'SV'
And this curt proposition, though in some respects
indefinite, has been often repeated since by writers
on the law Of nations. GA iss face Il leaves The ques-
ton unsettled, whether the enssslies of an unrecog
niked Cover nment eau be stopped But there Is an
other case in which the came Bfish Judge, VINO has
done 80 much to illustrate International law, has
Al ed language which seems TO embrace not only au-
tbeic ambassadors but also pretenders ~ tbs char
acter and all others who ere public agents oil The
enemy. Says this eminent magistrate:
oI spossr TO me on principle to be but reasonable that
whenever II Is Of sufficient importance to the enemy nat 'ae
pe,0A' should BE- 'e;f ogt Oh ms yay., d ~ err
s., tns vessel that mar be let on, for purpose 50 IN
tr,try connected with hostile operatons"-lThe OIoIeu
bo / Robinson REP, "a
Admit that the emissaries OF an unrecognized Gov
ernpent cannot DO recognized as ambassadors with
the liabilities as well as imuIiCs OF tbs character
vet in the face Of these word, 1t ia dihenr 10 see
how "A Government bowling h.bituaily TO the hu nor
iy OF sir William Scott, aud regarding en- rcCcis as
,belligeren's," can assert that steam pcket con-
vevirg emis,aries from these begerents " sent out
on The public .ervice and ut the public sxpense
YVES, according TO the language Of LorG Russell,
- pnrruipg u lawful and ipno,ent voyage AT
lea.l in this assertion, this Governments seems TO
tnrn is back again upon its own history or II sets
aside the facts openly boosted wIth regard 10 INC
nublic character of these fugtves On this question
tlIti.b nolicy NAV change with circumstances, aud