Year: 1868

run away. She was kind of brand, lighting the
sea with bonfires of different merchant vessels Inc
damage she did was enormous. The like OF such al
enterprise had never before been known ana was
scarcely possible until steam had given such great
advantage to such vessels over merchantmen, wDlch
were of the most part sailing vessels. The name ol
that vessel her cruise her bOnfres, her English
origin, and connection he regretted and the cheers
of the House he also regretted, when an
honorable member boasted of his connecton
with her. and said he would rather be the builder OF
it than make the speeches which the honorable
member from ROchdale had made liieari heaI'I
All these had entered deep into the hearts Oh the
American people, and had done untold mischief in
raising ill-feelng between them ana us. lhear,
hearl He supposed there were few now who would
not look upon all those who were connected with
that vessel as among the greatest malefactors of the
ace. Unfortunately they were never brought before
a criminal tribunal; and it was perhaps, account
Of their immunity that other similar attempts were
made-some successful, Others not so. He need not
recall to the memory of the House the of
the iron-clad rams also built by the MesSrs, Laird


The Government by that time had learned that if
they followed the strict line they had pursued III the
of the Alabama, viz: of insisting upon strlct
evidence TO connect the vessel with the South ana
disregardng the surrounding circumstances Oh ViO-
lent suspicion the vessels would get away. In the
case of the rams the Government Overstepped tho
line of the law and detained them, on their own
responsibility pending further inquiries. ii would
be recolected that Lord Cairns madea fierce attack
upon the Government and only failed by six votes IN
defeating them. Was there member Of tins House,
he wondered who did not wish that the same
course had been pursued in the case of the Alabama.
Another vessel called the Pampero, was also seized
at Glasgow, and was condemned in the courts there.
At the close of the war she was restored to her
owners, who responded 10 that act Of kindness by
Immediately rushing into another similar enterprise,
and under the name of the Tornado that vessel had
done her best to complicate our relations with SPAN


Two other vessels, however, escaped without as far
as ne could learn, any information or complaint
having been made by the American Minister They


were the Georgia and the Sea King, afterward the
Shenandoah Both these vessels sailed by stealth
from our ports met other vessels. bringing guns and
men to them, somewhere beyond our jurisdiction,
and then started ON the same eTand as the
Alabama In the case Of the last vessel he should
mention that a letter from the American minister at


London TO his own Government showed that there


was much TO be said on the other side of the question
as to the negligence of the American authorities. He
complained in his letter that he not yet informed
Of the whereabouts of the Federal cruisers and said
if he had BEEN he might have been able TO stop tho
vessel, as he knew what was going on ut Liverpool


The vessels he had named, constituted for long m
terya the cruising force he believed Of the Conied


crate navy, except perhaps, two or three coasilng
privateers, OF some floating batteries, which never
left their ports. OF these six vessels, four
escaped from our ports. The damage done
by them was very great They captured or burnt;
upward of two hundred merchant vessels with car
goes valued at about three millions pounds. con
siderable portion of that loss, however, fell upon
English Insurance Companies. Another portion fell
in the same way. owing to the enhancement Of the
price of oil and other commodities destroyed. But
the damage to the Americans not measured only
by the loss of these vessels their commerce fed
their flag; freights rose so high in consequence of
the rate Of insurance that their vessels could not get
them large numbers of their vessels sold either
really or cOllusvoly 40 10 he registered under 0ur
flag. WHAT they lost gained In Two ycars the
foreign commerce of America, carried under their
flag fell TO about Onethird of what n was before,
while that under our flag doubled This perhaps
not unnaturay, raised a suspicion in the minds
Of the people in the North, that the ship
builders and ship-owners Of Liverpool were not
even dsinterested in the aid which they gave to the
slave-owning South. Those only who had Travelled
in America since the war could lie believed, appre-



which he mentioned or the extent TO which i'll
feeling had been reused in that country. At the
same time he did not wish TO exaggerato or alarm
ON this subject for he did not think that would
ever arise out of the matter He believed that il
was the feeling and desire of most all classes In tins
country and in America to have this question brought
10 proper amicable conclusion, and the only
question was how that best could De DONE and what
shonld be the conditions of the arbitration He
would next refer to the manner in which diplomacy
had dealt with it. The first matter was
recognition of the bclligeTent rights of the
Southerners, and Mr.. Adams arrived in this
country, which they must all regret, he would
shortly quit on the very day the Proclamation OF
Neutrality was issued His first task appears to have
been TO communicate with Lord Russell and he ex-
pressed regret that the British Government had de-
cded to issue that proclamation, which at once
raised the lnsurgent States into belgerents. Lord
Russell replied that the proclamation due to the
advice of the Law Officers of the Crown, and that IN
recognizing the insurgent States belhgerentS no
opinion was expressed on the merits Of the war Mr.


Adams. while stating his readiness to as
sent to that view under other Cncnmstdn-
ces, intimated that the act appeared to be
a little more rapid than the occasion
actually called for. At. % subsequent period Mr..
Adams protested in conversation against the course
pursued but in the diplomatic communications no
official dispatch between the two countries referring
TO the fact of the protest was to be found until a
very recent period although in the letters from
Secretary Seward to Mr.. Adams there is abundant
reference to this matter. Such was not the case in
regard to the Confederate cruisers. No sooner was
il known that the Alabama had escaped and was
burning American vessels than Mr. Adams made a
claim against our Government for compensation for
the damage lie founded his claim on the remssness
of our Government in permitting her escape but he
said nothing of the question of recognition IN