Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-07-15
THE END OF A SCORPION.

A story which began over. forty years ago came to it's last chapter one day last week, when the double-tur- reted ram Scorpion went to her grave on the Georges Banks, about a hun miles off Cape Cod She was being towed from Bermuda to St John, New Brunswick, to be broken up and sold for old iron. A heavy sea was running and the tug boat having her in tow cut the hawsers and let her sink.
 The Scorpion was one of the two famous war ships built in England by the Lairds, of Birkenhead, for the gnothern coufederacy. Before they could be sent to sea, Minister Adams, through vigilant naval officer who was on the lookout for such operations. ascerta ined their mission and made a vigorous remonstrance to the British government. Receiving no satisfac- ton, he reported the matter to Wash sington. Then occurred the historic cabinet conference at which the sub ject was long and fruitlessly discussed until President Lincoln took a card and scrawled on it the message, "Tell Adams to say to Lord Russell that the sailing of those rams means war"
 The confederate agent in London, who, by the way, was MT. 'Bulloch, an uncle of President Roosevelt then tried other measures by putting the Scorpion alternately under the French, the Egyptian and the English flag. Flying the last, she sailed for Bermu- sda, where the English authorities, not unmtndful of ,Lincoln's brief message, Eeized and held her where she could strike a blow for the confederacy.
 There for 3S years the Scorpion did guard duty until she was accidentally sunk at her noorings. A Boston firm ehad her raised recently and tried to take her to St. John to be sold for junk with the result above stated Thus ended probably the last chapter in the story of the Anglo-C Confederate alliance aAgainst the United States. The American officer above mentioned swho spied out the secret of the Laird rams wasthe late Lieutenant James R Wheeler, who afterwards did good ser vice as commander of the after pivot gun which fired the shot that sank the AngiolC Confederate privateer Alabama off Cherbourg harbor on June 19, 1S64
 Another bit of contemporaneous his. tory is recalled by writer in Pear son's magazine for July, under the ti tie, Piracy or Privateering?" It il fle story of the capture of the passen ger steamer Chesapeake on her yoyag, from Boston to Portland on the sixtl of December. 1863. The plot wa organized at St John, N. B., by on Lieutenant J. c. Braine, claiming tt act under a confederate commission made out not to himself but, to a nal passing by the name of Captain Par ker." Braine claimed that Parker hat a right to delegate his authority, b. the usage of his government Tn capture of the Chesapeake was accom- plished by ruse, the band of confed crates, mostly provincialists and Brit fish subjects, going on board as passen gers and surprising the crew.
 Three of the ships officers wer wounded and one murdered. The the steamer was taken into St Joh harbor, thence to Nova Scotia, and f nally deserted by her captors.
 The customary farce of British fai play followed, when some of the at venturers were brought to trial. The were severely rebuked, told that thei confederate commission was doubtful aEd--1et go.
 Our government just then was not position to press for justice on th rufflans who had hired themselves ou to the confederacy for purposes c murder and rapine. But it had no lde at that time that the mother countr loved us dearly, and its only evidenc of the fact that ''blood is thicker tha water was visible on the blood stained deck of the Chesapeake. Tn British poet laureate will not be invi cd to write dirge for the Scorpion Boston Pilot.