The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1864-07-08
THE ALLEGED ENLIST
MENTS ABROAD.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
A Letter from Secretary seward.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, June 25, 1864.
To the PreSident;--
The Secretary of State, to whom has
been referred the resolution of the
Senate of the oath inst, requesting the
President to inform that body IF any
authority has been given any one, eth
or in this country or elsewhere, to OBJ
tain nuts in Irsiand or Canada, for
our army or navy, and whether any
such recruits have been obtained, or
whether to the knowledge Of the gov
ernmcnt, Imshmen or Canadians have
been induced TO emigrate to this coun-
try in order to be recruited; and if 50,
what measures, if any, have been
adopted III order to arrest such CON
Duct has the honor, in reply to the
inquiries thus submitted, to report,
that no authority has been given by
the Executive Of this government, or
by an executive department, to any
one, either i'll this country or else
where, to obtain recruits either in Ire
land or in Canada, or in any foreign
country, for either the army or navy
of the United States, and, on the con-
trary, that whatever application for
such authority has been made it has
been refused and absolutely withheld.
If any such recruits have been OBJ
tanned, either in the provinces named
in the resolution OF in any foreign
country, they have been obtained 10y
persons who are not even citizens of
the United States but subjects or citi-
zens Of the country where the recruits
were obtained. The persons who OBJ
tanned such recruits, if any were SO OBJ
tanned, were amenable 10 the laws of
the foreign province or country where
1 their offences were committed, and at
the same time they were not within
the reach OF our own laws and tribu-
nails. and such persons acted without
any authority on consent, and even
without the knowledge of this govern
ment. This government has no
knowledge that any such recruits have
been obtained in the provinces named,
or in any other foreign country. In
two or three instances it has been re-
ported to this department that recruit
ting agents erosasss.-slae the Cs,nedian
/ frontier, without authority, with a
view to engage recruits or reclaim de-
serters The complaints thus made
were Immediately investigated, the
proceedings of such recruiting agents
were promptly dsayowed and con-
demned, the recruits or deserters. if
amy had been brought into the United
Safes, We're Mt once returned, and the
offending agents We're dismissed from
the public service.
IN the land and naval forces of the
United States there are found not on
~ some Canadians some Enghshmen,
and some Irishmep, but also many
subjects Of Continental European Pow
ers, All of these persons We're volun-
tary immigrants into the United
States They enlisted after their ar
rival on our shores of their own free
, accord, within our own limits and iu-
, risdiction, and not in any foreign
country. The executive government
= has no knowledge of the nature of the
| special inducements which led these
volunteers to emigrate from their ma
: tive countries, or of the purpose for
) which they emigrated. 1t has, how
ever, neither directly nor indirectly in
yited their immigration by any offers
of employment in the mililar or naval
: service. When such persons were
) found within the United States, exact
ly the same inducements to military
+ service were open to them which by
= authority of law were offered at the
: same time to citizens of the United
| States.
3 Having thus answered the inquire:
contained IN the resolution Of the Sen
= ate, the Secretary Of Sta might here
! without Improperly, close this report
| Nevertheless, the occasion is a proper
) one for noticin@ complaints ON the
? subject of recruitment in our army
| and navy which have recently founc
, utterancein the British House of Lords
The Secretary State has, therefore, far
ther to report that the government O
the United States has practiced the
/, most scrupulous care in preventing anc
avoiding IN Great Britain, and in al
, other foreign countries, any violation
of international or municipal laws il
regard to the enlistment of soldiers anc
seamen.
Moreover, when the British govern
mont, or any other foreign govern
ment, has complained Of amy ALLEGED
violation of the rights of its subjects
within the United States, this govern
ment has listened to the complaints pa
tiently, investigated them promptly
and, where redress was found due anC
b was practicable, has cheerfully accord
| ed it, This government, on the othe
! hand, has been obliged to submit il
' the ordinary way grave complaints o
: the enlistment, equipment and period
s zeal payment, in British ports, of sea
: men and mariners employed in max
( ing unauthorized war from such port
n against the United States.
1t is notorious fact, manifest to al
o the world. that vigorous and contin
l. ual tide of emigration is flowing fror
is Europe, and especially from portion
3 of the British empire aud from Ger
It many and Sweden, into the Unite