The weekly sun. (New York [N.Y.]) 1851-1869, 1862-01-18
THE WEEKLY SUN.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 1s, 1S62.


Went remarks by CONGRESSIONAL aRita'Vte, uuNh
= Die surrender Of MASON and SLIpELL should
D ave been submitted to tho people, ard tho do
|. ii siop Of the Administration he sustained by the
Il ouud common sonse Of the public AZ large.
rtbbis was speedily accomplished, and the mani.
n cstaliors Of public confidence in the govern.
nent were more general'an unanimous thau II
: had expecte'. Mr.. SUMNrR now comts out
= With the most thorough exposition Of tho whole
: fair which Las yet been presented.
n Indeed, Mr. SEWARD could never hsvo official
4 y issued, although he was able, such an ovor-
FhelminR document agairst the claims Of his
l ountry, without having excited a burst Of in
Iiignation from Maine to the Mississippi. Alr.
R'uMsEn may I've presumed to say what Mr..
N5SKwARD would have said, if ho Rad rot boon
|, ,Nho official representative Of the American Ma
W ion, and as such bourd to act with certain
- Icservo towards other countries. We have sd
: Inittod enough to England, but have wisely
l kopt our most important admissions for cur own
household. The proofs presented 10y Mr. SuM-
! lyER should forever silence Congressional COM
! plants upon the surrender Of tho Rebel Com
nissioners, and doubtless will.
Mr.. SuNSrR opens with a rocapitulstion 2
Ausricsn Government has always protested
against tho unlawful removal of persons from
vessels At sea, on tho ground that this action
constitutes the naval officer, who does 20,
.iudge Of the case, and withholds that abjudioa.
4 ion which certainly belongs to Pr1e Court
IThs argument is enforced by extracts from tho
papors fled in the State Department, eNten5ing
|I back TO the administration Of Washington,
= which ON thc1lth June, 1892, first addressed
y dispatches TO our Minister in London upon this
eubIeot, in reply to the British assertion Of the
right Of search, which was then becoming PROM
j inontly offensive, Bat the British eTut-
IS nevertheless, continued TO boarl
q our vossols and take men out Of them
at their option, during the remainder oi WASH
inltou's term Of office; during the administraticn
Of Mr.. Jefferson, and, indeed, down to that Of
Mr.. Madison. when, failing TO obtain any
rodreaa, the war Of 1Sl2 relieved II, of those
voxstious pro.eusions Of tho Bhtih Governs
ment, which have never since been renewed.
1 Duiirg 4 tlH pori,l, c,,ty state r'por and
A itm.r arc. ml. D,t.c Jui.cd St,'o Govern
4 m,.., Co. ol.r Do. iu- ally ycol IA, whole
! piouD' mId.,.oi TO any nation the right 60
i board Gd move iom ary u,I'rA. vessel p1r.
4 .pn, ~ opu,y oni dclcl tic light Of her
\ apt.ic. ull,.5 d.arly engaged in conveying
ooo,rauud prorcf,y
The RIO &. 90 further. Thy corclus.vcy
show that tho United States have, in treaties
with other nations, and in state plpcr Issued
abroad, deliberately qualified what should ho
Il considered contraband Of war, within tho un-
|h iorttandiug Of their own government, and
|1 plainly agreed that no Ambassadors were to DO
n considered rs such, nor any poryons gave those
4 in the actual military service Of tho enemy.
In rs treaty of commerce with France, in
l77s, it is expressly provided that Enemies
to both or either party are not to be taken out
II OF sbps Of a neutral powor, unlc,s they are
~ soldiers iu the actual service of the enemies.
u The same provision was mado in the treaty
n with Sweden in 17s2, with Prussia in 1856
ID wi h Spain in 1875, with france in 1900, with
Columbia in 1924, with Central America in
1926, with Brazil in 1928, with Mexico in
1881 with Chill in 1882, with Venezuela in
1896 with Bolivia in 1885, with Ecuador
ii in 1889, with New Granada in 1siG, with Gu
n atemala in 1si9, with San Salvador in 1850,
and in tho treaty with Peru in 1851. Thus
clearly was our government committed TO the
acknowledgment that ambassadors are not to
be considered contraband of war.
VI And still another point is settled against us
by the past policy and admissions of our own
Government. Tho Trent unquestionably car
ried dispatches, and these have been looked
upon as contrablnd beyond peradventuro.
According TO our laws and treaties thsy are
not So As early as 1926, in tho treaty with
Spain, after specifying eontraband articles
without including dispatches, it is declared that
Free goods arc all other merchandise and
things which are not comprehended and plriicu.
larly mentioned in the foregoing enumeration
Of contraband goods" In other treaties tho
\ following provision is introduced; "All other
merchandise and things not comprchended in
the articles of contraband explicitly enume-
rated aud classified as above, shall be held and
/ 'or siacr'd AZ fee Thus We have not only
positive words OF enumeration, without mon
tioning dispatches bu' also positive words Of
exclusion, so that 1'apat hes cannot be con-
n sid'rcG %. crDtrlHanl. Clearly, then, anil be-.
Honu al plesu according to American prin-
a P.h' Wd p Sc'cH' tho ship was not liable TO
4 rrure on account o' dispatches on board.
4 In Wow Of all Tho foregoing, We must conclude
lS'' We had no right to take SIIpELL and
MASON out OF neutral vessel.
md We would have had no right TO canturs
the Trent as prize, since an examination NV,
Commodore WILKES would have resulted in
proof that the vessel did pot carry articles con.
traband Of war.
n 3rd. The Ambassadors wero not contraband
|, within the meaning Of our laws.
n 4th. The dispatches on board were no, con-
raband within the same meaning.
In this surrender, if such it NAV 10 called. our
Government does not even "aioop to conquer. q"
1t simply lifts itself to the height OF its crgnaI
principles. Inc early efforts OF its best negotia-
tors-the patriot trials Of lts soldiers in an IN.
equal war-have at length prevailed, and q roat
Britain, usually so naughty, invites US to prac-
tiee upon those principles which she ha, as .tron.
uously opposed. There are vi,torios of c,rco
Here ia victory Of truth. If Great Brtain b,s
gained the custody Of two rebels the Irni,o5
states have secured the triumph Of their pripei.
l pies. P''''''
The Burial Of PTince Albert.
Tho funeral uf bis late Royl II. .Ir-- pI'u.. A.
.t T.It.4 1 DO. .fttI