Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-11-24

hO anu HIS OlHceFs are WITHOUT pecunldfy
resources. Several of the crew who re-
main on board are down with scurvy.
The communications between the Gov
eminent and the authorities here in refer
ence to the Shenandoah have been and are
being carried on by the telegraph. The
crew are stated to be, for the most part,
smart young fellows, and to have the APP
pearance of excellent seamen. They are
of mixed nationality, several of. them be-
ing apparently Americans
II OPINION OF THE LONDON MI
From the London Times, Nov. 81
The temperance of the Shenandoah in
British waters at the present ju%ncture is an
untoward and unwelcome event. When
we last heard Of this notorious cruiser she
was engaged in a pitiless raid upon Amer
canswhaiers in the North Pacific, and sew
eral war steamers Of the, United States
were stated to. be in pursuit of her. 1t
was also reported, though somewhat vague
ly, that our own naval commander on that
station had offered any assistance in his
power, and little doubt was entertained of
her speedy capture. 10 .{
The next thing that We learn is that she
has entered the Mersey under the Confed-
crate flag, that she is alongside and in
charge of Her Majesty's ship Donegal,an
that Captain Waddell has forwarded a let
ter to Lord Russell. Whatever be the
contents of that letter, this act Is obvious
ly equivalent to a surrender of the vessel
to the Government of Great Britain, as the
Stonewall was surrendered to the Spanish
authorities at Havana. The time which
has elapsed, however, since the termina-
ton of the war, and the conduct of Capt.
WaddeI during this interval, constitute
very material points of difference between
the Two cases, and render it necessary to
consider that of the Shenandoah exclusive
ly on its W merits.
1t is unfortunate that in this instance
nothing practically turns on the original
equipment of the ship thus placed in our
hands. In n certain sense it is doubtless
true that the Shenandoah was built and
manned in fraud of u neutrality, for
those who gave the order for her co~nstruc-
ton and engaged her crew must have been
well aware of her real destination. But
it is also true, as Lord Russell pointed out
in one of his letters to Mr.. Adams. that
when she cleared for China as a merchant
ship, under the name of the Sea King, not
a title of evidence was offered on behalf of
the United States or any other party to
Justify her detention.
Arms were afterwards sent out in a
French vessel to IA rendezvous at sea, and
the Sea King assumed the character of a
Confederate ~man-of-war but it is far from
certain that, even if all that is knownno
had been known then, a conviction could
have been obtained against her under our
W or the American Foreign Enlistment
Act AT all events, she has since been re-
ceived as a public ship of the Confederate
States in one, at least, of our colonies. and
although this circumstance would not avail
to screen any individuals who NAV have
conspired to violate our law in respect of
her, it would be too late to discuss the
validity of her claim to shelter during the
war
Had the Shenandoah arrived at Liver
pool at the beginning of this year, it must
beassumed that she would have been en-
titled to the benefit of the regulations
then IN force as to the reception of bellig-
erent vessels. According to these She
would have been required to depart within.
t~wenty-four hours, unless either stress of
weather or the want of immediate sup
plies should have made a longer STAY abso-
lutely useful, but no Federal ship of war
would have been allowed to start in pur-
suis of her within twenty-four hours.
Its, of course, s~elf-evident that she now
presents herself under wholly different
conditions. Not only has she lost the
character of a lawful cruiser bv the col
lapse OF the power by which she was
commissioned, but she has forfeited the
temporary privileges reserved to vessels in
the Confederate service by Lord Russer's
notice of the ID of june. AT any time
within a month after the receipt of that
dispatch in any colonial port, it would
have been competent for Captain Waddell
toinvoke the benefit of it, 'divesting his
vessel of her warlike character, and, after
disarming her, remaining without a Con-
tederate flag within British waters7-sub-
ject however, to all legal risks. one of
which would have been a claim of owner
shipon the part of the United States Gov
eminent.
As it is, the month of grace has long.
slnce expfreu; and tho Shenandoah stands
in the same position as if it had never been
granted. What, then, is this position, and
what consequence does the fact of their
having carriedo on wal for months after the
fall Of the Confederacy entail upon Cap
tain Waddell and his associates? These
are two very different questions, and aues-
lions ofvery unequal difficulty.
1t is much to be regretted that either of
them has been raised in this country instead
of America, and hat no Federal man-of-
war succeeeed in capturing the Shenan-
doaA before she cast herself, as it were. up-
on IL mercy. Having been raised, how
ever, both issues must be honestly faced,
and we may be sure that, whatever it may
involve, strict justice will be done by the
Government and tribunals of England.
With regard to the Shenandoah herself
we apprehend that little hesitation can be
felt. On every principle of law she be-
longs to that Government which has sue
ceeded to all the rights and all the proper-
ty of the de tacto Confederate Govern
ment. This doctrine is laid down very
clearly by Nice-Chancellor Page Wood in
the decision which has been so much criti-
oIsed Of late in America; but, in truth. if
Is scarcely more than a rule of common
sense. Lord Russell did not affect to over
ride 1t by the provision in his dispatch for
the disarISing of Confederate vessels in
our ports, but, on the contrary, facilitated
the application of it through Il resort to
the proper civil tribunals.
The Captain General of Cuba doubtless
acted on the same view when he delivered
over the Stonewall to the agents of the
United States nor, indeed, is it easy 10
imagine on whose behalf any counter
claim could be preferred. What NAV be
technical formalities to be observ-
ed in the transaction is a matter of very
little Importance. Whether we ought TO
wait for a demand, or to make over the
ship unasked, we hold it in trust for the
United States to all intents and purposes.
1t is only when we come to the personal
liability of Captain Waddell and the crew
hat we are met by perplexing circum-
stances. 1t is now more than half a wear
iince the American wal virtuallytermina-
and the ravages of the Shenandoah
lave been infinitely more destructive dur
ng this period han before. The state
nent of losses contained in Mr.. Adams
etter of April 18th is nothing compared
With those that have since reached ms
rom Behring's straits and the adioining
casts,
Nearly forty whalers are said to have