, 1863-03-10

TE3E ENeEh1SHP P1RATES34AP.
Settlement Day Coming.
F1om the N, r. Independent, 9Th lnst1.
The name of the *'A1abama" is destined
| and she may figure III history as the occasion
| Of prsdlgious changes In tho destiny Of na-
tions. Her novel mode Of warfare, in seIzfng
! and burning merchant vessels on the high
seas, without any fornalisy Of legal condem:
natfon, would alone make hcr record hatefEl
to all maritime nations. Civilization cannot
endure such relapse toward the dark ages.
But there are yet more important considora-
| ttoDs. She was bni1t and equipped in an
| English port, by English skill and capital, and
sailed under the English flag. and to this day
has legally no other nationality than that Of
Englnnd. The British Government, In viola
tioa ofinternational right, aud in plain disre-
gard Of its OWL statute laws, suffered her to
set ont on her career Of destruction, with the
full knowledge that she WIS to be engaged in
pre5tng upon the commerce Of the United
States nation With which that Government
was at pence
Such are the allegations, in substance.
which are calmly and dispassionately exam
ined, and couclusve1y proved, in pamphlet
offourteen pages which We have Just received
from England The aft1davi's and some other
! documents are given, with names and dates,
and quotations from acts Of Parliament, and
SO much of compressed narrative aud argu-
1nent as is necessary to make the case intelIi-
glble We should be glad to make fuller
exhibit of the matter than our space will allow,
| but will endeayor to make it as plain as We
can in lew words.
The Alabama, formerly the 900, is q wooden
screw gunboat, built By Messrs Laird, Of
Birkenhead, mar Liverpool her keel laid
in January, 1869, launched in April, aud
sailed from tho Mersey the 18th Of July.
The builders made no secret that she was
intended for chip Of war, and for foreign
government, but declined to state Of what
country, although public opinion was well
Earl Russell, on the o3d Of June, that such
vessel was nearly ready for her departure,
built By firm, one Of whom WAS then sitting
as member of Parliament, under direction
Of agents Of the Southern Insurgents, known
as such by an intercepted letter which Mr.. 4.
toms. to which Earl Russell referred the let
ter, reported, July 4, th3t. the U. g. Consul
should present the evidence to the Collector
at 1iverpoo -intimating their opinion, and
that Of their solicitor, that there was not suf-
fcient ground for the detention Of the vessel
With some yc1atious delay, the evidence was
received by the Collector, and pronounced in
sufficient.
Tho same case md evidence were in the
meantime submitted by Mr.. Adams to Mr..
opinion that the evidence was almost conclu-
Biye that the vessel Was fitted out In contra
yentlon of the Foreign Enlistment Act, 50
Geo. ILL.,, chap. G9;- and that the officers OF
customs ought to be required to seize the
vessel uude1 the 7th section The act forbids
Kingdom OF in any part OF his Mnjesty's do
minions," without license obtained, to ''e1uip,
furnish, fit out, or ARM any vessel to be en-
ployed BY "any foreign prince or province, or
persons assuming powers Of government" on
penalty Of fine and Imprisonment. With for;
Russell copies Of six afadavits, which
had been submitted to the Collector,
on which Mr.. Collier had given stronger
opinion than before Mr. G. said: "1t ap-
pears difficult to make out q stronger case
Of infringement Of the Foreign Enlistment
sion, is little better than dead letter. It
well deserves consideration whether, if tho
vessel be allowed to escape, the Federal
Government would not have serious grounds
Of remonstrancc." July q, Mr. Adams sent
two additional deposit1ons, and the whole pa
Crown. Five days elapsed. and on the Goth
thelega1 gentlemen gave In their opinion that
the vessel should be stopped; but that morn
ing she had sailed from Liverpool. Of course,
it Is idle to make charge, which could not
be proved, Of intentional completely or OBJ
etructivencss, but the coincidence Is a. least
"very extraordinary"
One Of the af1daEits presented WAS from an
English sailor, who sworc that he and thirty
others were enlisted and taken on board the
vessel under Captain Butcher, and that she
was to be employed as prirateer under
the Confederate States of America. She
sailed, without register or clca rance, un-
der command Of Captain Butcher, an English
subject, with fifty men, took another 1lfty of
Cape Lynas, went to the Azores, where
r1,i {rr 4 49,
British, bringing her guns and stores, from
London and Liverpool, fifty more men, md
Captain Scmmes," all three vessels still un-
der the British flag. Scmmcs then took the
command, ran up. the Confederate flag, and
christened her the sAIabama." t Is said
Naval Reserve" arc trimmed gnnners, and are
to receive from the Confederate Government
half the value Of every American ship and car
go they destroy.
After the horse was gone, Earl Russell made
show Of desire to do something, by prom
isiug to send orders to have the pirate stopped
Mt Nassau; hutthose orders, If they wero sent,
came to nothing-the vessel Is at home In
every British port in the West Indies, and
has just visited Kingston and remained several
being treated with the greatest consideration
by those Of the British army and navy.
As she has never entered i Confederate port,
1t IS held that she has never changed her na-
tionality, hnt Is still Brftisl! ship, and amen
able to British law. But if she has become a
Confederate man-of-war, she WAS acquired BIZ
an open violation Of British law, aud it is the
duty Of Great Britain, having acknowledged
the insurgents as belligcrents, to compel them
to redress the Insult to her laws, as wo1l as to
make ample amends to the United States for
fragrant breach Of neutrality, to say nothing
Of comfy or friendship. The pamphlet puts
the cage, tor illustration, that had the Ala
balna been fitted aud sent out from Liverpool
us Mexican priyateer, and had begun forth
with to capture and burn French merchant
men in the Bay Of Biscay, :severy one must
"fcel that no palty excuses like those put
forward to the United States Government
would have prevented the Emperor Of the
French from insisting on prompt redress;
"and that the British Government would very
"speedily have found means Of putting an
'tcnd to her carecr.''
1t is to bcbornc in mind that there WAS no
| want Of evidence, no want Of authority, aud
| no want Of opportunity. The enlistment of
sae men Fns as open and notorious IS the fit-
! ting out Of the vessel, aud equally a violation
| Of the statnte. The officers Of customs arc
| the same manner as they do II. cases Of sn,.
pected violations Of the customs or ey-
else. And any other person is authorized to
prosecute, with right to half the pcnalty that
may 20 imposed. In word, the thing could
aaTe been stopped # Government or people
had wished to stop it.. The Alabama went to
sea because 10 many thought 1t good thing,
and SO many others thought it good joke fo
injure the commerce Of tho United States.
We only add in conclusion a single sueees-
ton, which is, that the gravcst consequences
are likely to grow hereafter out Of this aud
kindred cases, and TINT 1t should be the spe-
eial care Of ali parties who mny snfIer loss By
these pirates TO procure and preserve the most
documentary droofs ii every Instance and Of
every material circumstance, In the beliefthat
at fnsure day, under this or anotheT Admin
istration, the Government Of this country will
feel bound to make effective rcclamations at
the hand OF England. As the ship yards Of
Great Britain are now full of war yesse1s,
hastening completion, all cma}ous ofthc pirat-
1cal glories Of the Alabama, the case is assum-
inE sufficiently gigantic Dimensions to secure
full consideration when the time comes to
take 1t up.