Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-12-31

NEw PHASE IS IHE ALiHa5iA CLAIMS QUESTION.
The correspondence on the Alabama Claims is
very lengthy, occupying about i've COLI mns
newspaper. L. embraces O long letter Of insi rue
tons TO Motley, aui one from Lord Care idon
90 Thornton ce,y Fish. under ia,e Of .S-pt.
-5 'fH. 60 N1..eT. informs that gentleman that
AT the time ot A., departure from the Ia tel
States the claims were not IA condition the
most l0peiI. for ne-1t4ton. and the sul ,i-
ience Of ne- ;at,0us for a short time might al
lay the excitement. TO this Lord Clarendon b. d
expressed a-re, leut tlt ls Ile President Of q
United State now consider, t appropriate T.
resume uc-ltatiaus. Mr. Fish sIys % Motley this
the President hopes lcr Naiesiys Government
will couIuct further uegotilt3ns At Washington,
where any prop positions vii De received and care
fully considered by the President. Lord Cl.ren-
dous letter 70 Minister Motley. Of late N0s. O..
't], refers 90 the despatch oi Secretary Fish ON
the causes ot dissatisfaction 90 which the Ja.tel
States considers itself entitled with the British
Government. during the late war Lord Cla.eu
don says Secretary Fish despatch make> 10
proposition as 90 the manner ia which such dis
satisfaction may be remeiiei but be us,ructs
Thornton TO inform Fish tha- the British e. We
ernment will be ready 20 cooperate IN suy Lon-
0rsble manner 10 effect satisfactory adjustment
OF difficulties between the two countries In se,l-
tion 10 the Alabama claims.
sE- rsH's LETTER of NsrRrcu7ys.
The following is an extract from Fisd's second
letter of instructions 90 Motley
Department Of State, Washington. Sept lt1,
ls6H. Sir-When You left here on your mi .-.on
the moment was not thought 20 be the most hpp,-
ful 90 enter upon Renewed discussion Or lego
tiatons with the government 0t Great Britain
on the subject Of the claims Of this Government
81. e H.
structed to convey 10 Lord Clarendon the opin-
ion Of the President that a suspension Of Discus
sion for short period might allow the suh-i-
dence Of any excitement or irritation growing
out Of the events then recent, and might enable
the two governments 20 appr0acs more reaiiiyto
a solution Of the differences. lou have informed
me that Lord Clarendon saw no objection to this
course, and agreei with You that it would be
well 90 give time for the emotions which had
been excited OF late 20 suhsile The President
IS inclined TO believe shat sufficient time may
have now elapsed 20 allow the subsistence Of
those emotions, and that thus il may be oppor-
tune and consistent at the present conjunction TO
place in your hands for appropriate use dis
passionate exposition Of the Just cause of COM
plaint Of the government Of the United State
against that Of Great Britain. In order to do
this ina satisfactory manner, II is necessary 20 So
back to the very beginning Of the acts and events
which have 10 their progress and consumm. .tiou
80 much disturbed the Otherwise amia5le rels-
tions between the two governments (Ihe Sec.
then enters into history of the grievances in the
course Of which be writes y The precipitancyuf
the declaration Of the Queens gov L, as Bright
characterized it, the remarkable celebrity, undue
and unfrieud.y h4s,e with which il was made,
appears in its having been determined on the
9th Of May, four days prior to the arrival in
London Of any official knowledge OF the Presi-
dents proclamation Of April 18th. '6l, by re-
ference to which the Queens proclamation has
since been defended, and that It was actually
signed Oh the 18th Of May, the very day q the
arrival of Mr. Adams, the new American Minis
ter, as if in particular aim Of foresialling and
preventing explanations on the part Of the
United States. The prematureness of measure
is further shown by the very tenor of the procla-
nation, which sets forth its own reason, name
W" Whereas hostiiities have unhsppily COM
menced between the Uniiei States Of America
and certain States styling themselves Confeler-
ate States of America
He then argues that there was not Just ground
for the proclamation Of belligerency. He ssys
there was no such fact Of necessity. No such
fact Of continued and Aagraut existing hostill-
ties as 10 justify the action Of Great Britain in
the present case Hence the United States felt
constrained at the time to regard the procama-
ton as a sign Of the purpose Of unfriendiness to
them and Of frendliness TO the Insurgents
which purpose could not fail to aggrayate all the
evils of the nding contest, to strengthen the
insurgents, and to embarass the legitimate gov
ernment And II proved /; for as time went
or, aui the iusurrection from political came at
I length 10 be military, as sectional controversy in
tine United States proceeded to exhibit itself in
the organization Of great armies aud fleets, and
l in the prosecution Of h0stilities scale OF
magnitude, then it was that the spirit Of the
Queens proclamation showed itself in the event.
/ Seeing that in virtue Of that Proclamation mari
time enterprises in the ports Of Great Britain,
which would otherwise have been pirat.cal, werv
rendered lawful &; and 10 the end Great Bri;sin
continued to be the arsenal, navy yard, and
treasury of the insurgent Conielerates. A spec
tacle was thus presented without precedent or
parallel in the history Of civilized nations Great
Britain. although the professed friend Of the
United Sta,es, yet in the time Of evowed internal
peace permitted armed cruisers 10 be fitted
out, harbored, and equipped in her ports, to
cruise aCaint the merchant ships OF the
United States, and to burn and destroy
them until our maritime commerce was swept
from the ocean. The merchant vessels were des-
troyed particularly by captors who had no ports
| Of their own in which 10 rent or to condemn
prizes and whose only nationality was the quar-
ter decks Of their ships built and dispatched to
sea, and though seldom in name still professedly
owned in Great Britain. Earl Russell truly
said, 81 1, so happens that in this conflict the
Confederates have no ports except those OF the
Mersey and Clyde, from which to send out ships
to cruise against the Feiersls.'' The numbers
Of our ships thus directly destroyed amount TO
nearly 200, and the value Of property destroyed
to many millions. Indirectly the effect was to
increase the rate of insurance IN the un'te1
States. to diminish the exports and imports, and
otherwise TO obstruct domestic industry and pro-