New-York tribune., 1868-03-09

SPEECHES BY LORD STANLEY AND MIR. GLAD
STONE.
LONDON. Saturday Night, March Z, 1868.
nr cyrs F present.. h, compliments 70 Mt s@Gos Ps P tSs
.sd. With h Hy The telegraph ioT f NE Ho8.s fCe@mors 5y Mr.
sAa. Iee Lord sby MrFOs's Mr. Mil and Mi Gladstone on
In the House Of Commons, on Friday night, on the
order of the day for going into Committee OF supply
Mr.. Shaw Lefevre, in rising to call attention TO the
failure of negotiations with the United States Gov
enment for arbitration of the Alabama claims sald'
that ia bringing forward this important subject he
trusted it would not be supposed that
he desired to take course which would
embarrass the future negotiations of the noble
Lord, the Foreign Secretary, in his diplomatic cor
respondence with the Government of the United
States, or which would add to the complications
already existing between the United States and tins
country 1t seemed 10 him. and TO Others, however,
that some good might arise from the discussion OF
the subiect if il were conducted with 'oandOr and
due sense OF responsibility. lie would not ask the
House to follow him through long statement, Dut
there were certain facts and dates with which he
must trouble the House. The earnest cause OF COM
paint ON the part of the United States Government
arose out Of Her Maiesty's Proclamation OF Neu-
trality which was issued May L., 1861 on the advice
nf the law officers Of the Crown. The tall OF Fort
gumter took place on the 14th Of April and was gen
erally considered to be the commencement oi the
civil war Long before that however, seven ol inc
Confederate States had made great pTepara-
lions for war. and had virtually separated
from the Northern States The fall ot foft
Sumter was followed two days aftcrward by the
Proclamation of President Lincoln, calling out sew
enty-fve thousand men. That was followed 10y
proclamation from the Confederate States calling ont
thirtythousand men, and inviting privateers TO ap-
ply for letters of maIque. The next day President
Lincoln proclaimed the blockade Of the Southern
coast and announced his intention to treat hecrews
of the privateers as pirates. These facts reached
this country on the third Of May, and on the fourth
they were published in The Times, although it was
not till the tenth that an official copy reached the
Foreign Office. On the sixth of May Her Malestys
Government announced in this House thattbey should
recognize the South beligerents; and on the
18th of May as he had stated, the Proclamation of
Neutrality was issued by the Government. The
actual blockade enforced by the North along the
coast by the end of April and from that day forward
there were in the Prize COurts numerous cases of
English vessels captured during the blockade and of
vessels of the Southern States captured the high
-ocs 1t was not until some time afterward that the
Southern flag made its appearance IT was the Gus
tom of the American Government to talk as if all
the vessels which carried the Confederate flag had
their origin in this country bnt there were four cases
of Confederate men-Of-war or puyateers, which
sailed from Southern ports before any was buit
in this country. The first, it is believed. was
vessel called the Sumter, which escaped from
New-Orleans and which, after capturing several
prizes Off Cuba, put into Trinity on the
10Th of July, 1861. That was the first instance
in which the Confederate flag had been recognized
by the Government Of this country Another vessel,
the Nashville, also duly commissioned in Southern
port, afterward sailed on cruise of destruction,
and put into English ports at various times. Ii was
not until the following year that any complaint was
made Of vessel being built and equipped in our
ports. In the course Of the Winter Of 1872 the
Confederate Government sent over here stan OF
naval officers with instructions IN hnv or hn''" ''
sells of war; their main object being 10 embrol us
with the North They also raised considerable loan
ont Of the proceeds of which these vessels were TO be
paid for. In due course, the Otta, or Florida was
completed by Messrs Miller & Co. of Liverpool The
American Minister having made complaint in re-
tpect of this vessel inquiries were made, and the
Collector OF Customs gentleman who seemed on all
occasions TO have been easily msed asserted his be-
lief that she was intended for the Italian Govern
ment She cleared for Palermo but she sailed direct
for Nassau there underwent some judicial inyestga-
DOn; there obtained a portion of her armament,
and ran the blockade into Mobile whence,
IN due time, she sailed vessel of war.
burning and destroying every Federal vessel she fell
IN with in his complaints of the dones OF that YES
sel Mr.. Adams pointed out that another vessel was
being built in the Messrs Lairds yard also for the
Confederates. The Collector of Customs, on being
consulted about that vessel reported that she was
obviously intended for war purposes that her owners
did not deny it, but that they refused TO say for
whom On the 2lst of July 1862, atlidayits were OBJ
tanned by the American Consul throwing light upon
her intentions. Among these was one from Pass
more. who stated that he had been told by Capt
Bullock, who engaged him. that the vessel
was intended Ito fight the North These
anidavts the next day. the 2}d, were
also sent TO the Foreign Office by Mr. Adams and on
the 23d the Solicitor TO the American Government,
Mr. Syramey on calling at the Foreign Office, was
Informed by Mr.. Layard that the papers bad been
sent on the 22d to the Law Officers. The honorable
and learned member for Richmond, Sir Il. Palmer,
then Attorney General had on a previous occasion
told them that they only reached him On the 2sth.
During that interval they appear to have been left
with the Queens Advocate. who, according TO the
routine Of the Office, would have given his opinion
and sent them on TO the Attorney General. Unfortu
nately, at that very moment, the then Queens Ad-
vocate was suffering from a severe malady,
from which it was To- be- feared he never
would recover: and the result was that
long delay That fact hitherto had not
been statedin this House chiefly through the Kind
serve of the honorable and learned member for Rich
Inond but as in a conversation between Lord Rus
sell and Mr. Adams, reported in the Amercap official
correspondence the delay was attributed 10 that
cause and, as it was well known in the States there
was TO longer any reason for that reserve On the
esth the papers reached the Attorney General, vino
st once gave his opinion, and orders sent the
next day 10 stop the vessel. On the next
day unfortunately, before the order arrived,