Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-04-28
GREAT BRITAIN AND TUE UNITED
STATES.
The Fftting Gui Of Confederate PriVaieers
in Briiisb Ports.
speech Of Lord PaES'ersfOH.

I
teers that had been fitted cut in English port
Lo.d Palmerston spoke on the subject as TO
lows:
r Now, sir turning to the question raised b.
my honorable friend, the member EOr Bradford
l cannot but express my regret ct the tone o
his remarks and stiIl more at the tone OF tn
honorable member for Birmingham. Hear
hear There is M coneealing the fact, sn'
there is no use in disgusting it, that WheneVe
any political party, whether in or out OF office
in the United States, finds itself in difficulties
il raises cry Ggains. England, hear, hear,
as means of creating what in American Ian
gusgs is called political capital" That is
| practice, of course, which we must deplore
As long as it is confined to their internal affairs
we can only hope that, being rather dan
gerOus rsme, it will not be carried further
than is intended. Whea a Government
or q large party excite the passions o.
one nation against another, especially If there Is
no Just cause, it is manifest that such a course
has great tendency to endanger friendly rela-
| tions between two countries. We understand
however the object of these proceedings ~ the
present instance, and therefore we do not feel
that irritation which might othgr gi5e be excited
But il this CRY is raised for the purpose Of driV-
! ing her Msjssty's government to do something
| which may be contrary to the laws of the coun-
| try, or which may be dsrogatory TO the dignity
of the country, in the way of sltering our laws
| for the purpose Of Pleasing another government
| then all can say is that such course is not
likely TO accomplish it5 purpose I very much
regret, therefore, that the speech Of my honora,
! bic friend, the member fer Bradford, and more
! particularly that of the honorable member for
Birmingham, are calculated to encourage those
| com plants which thiok arc totally unfounded
/ on the part of the American Government Hear,
! hear l should have hoped that gentlemen,
| bringing this question before the house,
| would rather have trisd to allay the irritation
instead of making out, as they endesvor to do,
| thSt the Americans have reason TO blame Eng
land and the English Government Hear,
| heer ] Ny honorable and learned friend, the
SoleitoT General. in that admirable speech which
we all listened TO with the greatest delight hear,
hear, has demonstrated indisputably that the
Americans have no cause Of complaint 8g2inst
us. He has shown that the British Government
have done, on the report Of the American minis
ter here everything which the laws of the coun-
try enabled them 10 do. eau easily understand
that in the United States, where the civil war
has produced so much agitation, and where the
course of practice has been TO set aside the law,
msn have been led to forget, ia great degree,
the obligations Of the law, and S. 9 not disposed
to give that weight which is due to our eTgu-
ment-shst we cannot go beyond what the law
prescTi6ss and authorizes. Yet think that the
house at least will see that the statement Of my
honorable aud learned friend proves that we
have, in enforcing the foreign enlistment act
done all that the law enabled or permitted us to
do. Hear, hear.
Honorable members have argued as if the
seizure of q vessel were equivalent to its con-
demnation. They ask, "Why did you not seizs
the Alabama when you were told that It was
known and believed that it WAS intended for
warike purposes on the part of the Confedor-
stes Now, in the first place, you cannot seizs
s vessel under the foreign enlistment act unless
you have evidence on oath confirming your sus-
picion. That evidence was wanting in thscs
The American Minister came to my noble friend,
the Foreign Secretary, and said 81 tell you
this, and tell you tha';" "I'm sure Of this, and
I'm sare Of that" but when be was asked TO pro-
duce evideuca ca oath, which was the only
thing on viii h we eo1ld grounl any proeeed
ings, he said that he Information was furnished
to him conf1entially, that he cou'd not give
testimony on oath, but that we ought never
theles5 10 &C: on his suspicious What would
happen if we were to act in that wsyi When
a vessel is seized uDjastly and without good
grounds, there is a process Of law to come
forward hear, heaTl, and the Government
may be condemned in heavy costs and damages
Way arc we to undertake an illegal measure
which may lead to these consequences simply TO
please sn agent of 2 foreign government
{ Hear, hear. say, if there was any fault, it
was on the part of those who called on US to do
a certain act, and yet withheld the groundwork
on which that act could alone be based. Hear
hear. l have myself great doubts whether, if
we hsd seizsd the Alabama, we should not have
baeu liable tc considerable damages. 1t is gen
orally known that she sailed from this country
Gnsrmed, and not properly fitted out for war
of ha hnr
and crew in a foreign port. Therefore, what
ever suspicious we may have had-snd they
were well founded, as it afterward turned oEt-
as 10 the intended destination Of the vessel her
condition ct that time would not have justified
a seizure. Hear, hear
/ can assure ih9 house. that her Maissty's Gov
eminent have no iudisposition to eforcs the pro-
visions of the foreign enlistment act The hon
orable member for Birmingham reproaches Us
with exhibiting cold and uufriently neutrality
do not know what the meaning of these terms
may be; but they appear to me to be contra.
detion in themselves. Hear, hesr ] II neu-
trality is more than friendly toward one party,
il is something very different toward the other
laughter and "Hear, hear" and ceases to be
whst in common psrlsncs is meant by neutral
ity between contending parties. But whether
our neutrality is warm or cold, friendly or un-
friendly, it is sincere and honest. Hear, hear.
can assure my honorable friends and the
house that, whenever it is in our power 70 en-
force the enlistment act legally aud Justly, we
shall not be found wanting in the performance
of our duty. It is great mistake to suppose
that we can view with pleasure any transsc-
tions which have a tendency t0 violste, not only
the letter, but even the spirit, of the foreign en-
lis tment act 1t would have been much more
agreeable to Us if all the supplies thai hsve
been so we'll enumerated blythe honorable mem-
Der of Brkenhead, aud which have been fur
nished in abundance to one party and very
sesntily to the other CheSr, hear had been /
witbbeld, and if the whole of The United King !
dom had remained in state Cf perfect neutral |
ity. Hear But, wien we are blamed so
heavily for not having acted on suspicious, is it
fair to say that as far as suspicious go, we have
been informed, perhaps enormously, that not
only have arms been dispatched to the northern !
part of ths United States, but efforts have been
made in Ireland to enlist persons to serve in the
Federal army and nsvy7 { Hear, hear IN |
quethionably great many cases have occurred |
in North America in which British subjects
have been seized and attempts made to compel |
them to serve against their will in the civil war.
Feeling, as we must do, the greatest desire
that the most friendly relations should continue
to be maintained between this country and the |
United States, Tegretting exceedingly any cir |
eumstsnees of any kind which should have
caused irritation in the minis Of the people Of
the Northern Uuion, we can only say that it is
impossible tor us to 60 beyond the law. The
law is, in this case, Of very difficult execution.
[ Hear, hear This is not the first time when |
that has been discovered. When the contest
was raging in Spain between Don Carlos and
Queen isabella, it was my du.y-ths British |
Government having taken part with the
Queen-to prevent supplies from being sent to
Don Carlos from this ccuatry. There were sew
eral cases of ships fitting out in the Thames, but,
though knew they were intended to 90 in did
of Don Carlos, it was impossible to obtain that
which would have enabled the gov
ernment to interfere with success. Hear,
hear
hope, therefore, that those gentlemen who
have made themselves in this house the mouth
peee Of the North will use tie influence to which
they are entitled by the course they have taken
to exert, to prove to their friends on the other
side of the Atlantic that the charges made against
the British Government are not founded in res-
son or in law. Hear. trust they will assure
than that her Msiestv's Govarnmenk will oon-