The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1869-04-30

J ined the more clearly do we discern tn
} character Of the transaction. The dedica
! ton of the ship to the rebel service, from
the very laying of the keel and the orgsni
tiOn of her voyage with EngiSnd as hel
i naval base, from which she draw munitions
, of war and meR, made her departure a
much hostile expedition as if she had sailed
forth from her M9iesty's dock yard. 1t wal
in no Just sense a commercial transaction,
but an act Of war.
The case is not complete. Mark now q
new stage of completely. Constantly the
pirate ship was within reach Of British cruis
ers, and from time to time within the shelter
Of British ports. For six days, unmolested
she enjoyed the pleasant hospitality Of Kings
} ton, in Jsmaiea, obtaining freely the coal
and other supplies so necessary to her vOca-
tiOn. But no British cruiser, no British
magistrate, ever arrested the offending ship,
whose voyage was a continuing scandal and
lreproach" to the British government. The
} excuse for this strange license is a curious
ltechnicalitY, as if technicality could avail
} in this case at any stage. Borrowing q
phrase from that master of iuris- prudence,
Sir William Scott it is said that the ship
Sc deposited y her original sin at the conclu-
sion of her voyage, so that sftsrvard she
lcluded her voyage until she sank under the
lguns Of the kearsarge, because she never
had port Of her own. She was no better
than the Flying Dutchman, and 50 long as
lshe sailed was liable for that original sin
(which had impregnated every plank With an
Ii0delible dye. No British cruiser could al
low her to proceed, no British port could
give her shelter, without renewing the COM
plicity of England. Thus at three different
stages the British government is compFO-
misedi first, in the concession Of ocean bel
lHgerencY, on which all depend secondly,
in the negligence which allowed the evasion
of the ships in order to enter upon the hos
tile expedition for which she was built.
manned, armed and equipped and thirdly,
in the open completely which, after this eva
sion, gave her welcome hospitality and sup
plies in British ports. Thus her depreda-
tions and bUrniBgs making the ocean blaze,
all proceeded from England, which, by three
different acts. lighted the torch. To Eng
land must be traced, also, all the widespread
consequences which ensued. / take the
case of the Alabama because it is the best
known, and because the building, equipment
and escape of this ship were under eircum-
stances most obnoxious to Judgment /; but it
will not be forgotten that there were con-
sort ships, built under the shelter of thatfa-
tai proclamation, issued in such an eclipse of
just principles, and like the ships it unloos-
ed, rugged with curses dark" One after
the other, ships were built one after the
other, they escaped on their eFrand and, one
after the other, they enjoyed the immunities
of British ports. Audacity reached irs
height when iron-clad rams were built, and
the perversity of the British government
became still more conspicuous by its long
refusal 10 arrest these destructive engines Of
war, designed to be employed against the
United States. This prOtracted hesitation,
where the consequences were so menacinQ.
is part Of the case. It is plain that the
ships which were built under the safeguard
Of this illomened proclamation, which stole
forth from the British shores, and afteTward
enjoyed the immunities Of British ports,
were not only British in origin, but British
in equipment British in armament. and
British 10 crews. They were British in
every respect, except in their commanders
who were rebel, and one of these as his ship
was sinking, owed his safety to a British
yacht, symboliziDg the OmnipTesent support
Of England British sympsthies we're active
IN their behalf The cheers of a British
passenger ship crossing the path of the Ala
the cheers of the House Of Commons en-
cOuraged the builder of the Alabama, while
he defended what he had done and exclaim-
ed, In taunt to him who is now an illustrfous
member Of the British cabinet, John Bright,
that he would rather be handed down to
pOsteFity as the builder Of dozen Alabama
than be the author Of the speeches Of that
gentleman "cryiDg up" the institutions of
the United States which the builder of the |
Alabama, rising with his theme, declared |
" as Of no value whatever, and as reducing |
the very name Of liberty to an utter absuFdi- |
ty," while the cheers of the House of Com
mons echoed back bis words. Thus from |
beginning to end, from the fatal proclama-
ton to the rejoicing Of the accidental ship |
and the rejoicing Of the House Of Commons, |
was this hostile xpeditiOn protected and en- /
coursged by England. The same spirit /
which dictated the swift concession of bel |
hgerency, with all its deadly incidents, ruled
the hour, entering into and possessing every
pirate ship.
With that clearness of vision, which he
posses ed in such rare degree, this statesman
saw that England bad virtually made value
less a vast property IS much as if this
power had bombarded all the accessible
seaport towns of America So strong and
complete is this statement that any further
citation seems superfiuous; but cannot for
bear addueing pointed remark in the same
debate, by that able gentleman, Mr.. William
E. Foster:
There could not be a stronger illustration !
IF the damage which has been done 10 the
American trade by these cruisers, than the
act SO completely was the American flag
iriven from the ocean, that the Georgia, on |
Ter second cruise, did not meet sinqle I
american vessel in sac peeks, tbeEghishe s6v
% less than seventy resssls IN usry fer
lays
This is most suggestive. So entirely was
ur commerce driven from the ocean that
Or six weeks not an American vessel was +,
cen Another Englishman, in an elabor- !
te pamphlet, beam similar testimony. I I
efer to the pamphlet of Mr. Edge, publish
d in London, by RidgeWay, in 1864, and d.
ntitled The Destruction of the American
IarryiDg Trade After setting forth at
,ngth the destruction Of our commerce by
Iritish pirates, this writer thus fOreshadows !
he damages: a
Were we the sufferers, we should certain- i
: demand compensation for the loss of the il
roperty captured or destroyed-for the in &
rest of the capital invested in the vessels &
nd their cargOes, and may be a fair COM p
ensatiOn in addition for all and any injury s.
,curing to our business interests from The II
expectations upon our shipp ng. Tie re- q
lansTatiOR may reach q high figure IN the b
resent case; but Il loOuld be simple act of "
istice, and might prevent an incOmparably G
-eater loss in the future d
Such is the candid and explicit testimony 9
Euglishmen, pointing the way TO the 8
'oper rule Of damages. How to authenticate q
e extent of national loss with reasonable y
Ttainty is not without difficulty; but it .
nnot be doubted that such loss occurred "
is folly to question it. The loss may be -
en- in various circumstances, as in the rise y
insurance on all American vessels; the =
te Of the carrying trade, which was one Of =
e great resources Of our country; the d. oo
mutton Os our tonnage with theeOrrespOnd. y
8 increase Of British tonnage; the falling -
in our exports and imports, with due al = :,
vance for our abnormal currency, and the Il
version of war. These are some Of the -
7ments; and here again we have British ua
stimOny. Mr.. w. E. Foster, in the speech 70 70
ready quoted, announces that The carrying ~ ~
lde of the United States was transferred na
British merchants aud Mr.. Golden, with y
! Characteristic mastery of details, shows 8.
at, according to an official document laid N
the table Of parliament American ship -
lg had been transferred to English capital ~ ~
; as follows; In 1858, 80 vessels, I3, 639 y.
ls; 1853, 40 vessels, 81, ,673 tons; 1860, "a
vessels, l3 636 tons; 1861, l26 vessels,
,673 tons; 1862, I35 vessels, 81 ,573 tons; "a "a
d 1868, 348 vessels, 252, ,579 tons; and be snl 81
adds, i am told that this operation Is I. II
" going on as fast as ever and this OR ~ ~
he declares to be the gTGrest part y
the question of our relations With Amer q,
: But this gravest part is left ftuntouched =, -
the pending treaty. Our own official - -
suments are in harmony with these Eng q soI