Year: 1870

Rights of American Citizens who hav,


violated the laws of Foreign COun


tries.


We give below, as pertinent to the discus
sions growing out of the recent Fenian dem
onstratious, the remarks made by Mr.. VIII
LARD, in the House of Representatives a
Washington, on the I'd and Sd of last Feb
ruary. The following is the resolution
which was before the House


Resolrsd 5y the House of Representatives. That tn.
President of the United States be requested com
public interest, any in1brmation which may have
come to his knowledge concerning American citi
this time confined in tho jaiIs prisons of Greai
Britain for political easpses an9 amy facts c e rea Ia
mzysfokl af liberty 60 communicate.


Nh WazAsa,e Mr.Speaker. SO far as the
! res0lu<ion H Ad1crned with which this re-
I port concludes, have no objection to the re
port. / am certainly prepared at any time,
when any member of this House rising here
in his official capacity asks for Information
affecting the rights of any American citizen,
native or Or,adopted, anywhere on the globe, to
aid in pr6curing that information and if the





tleman from New York MIR. Cox had teen
so phrased as not to express an opinion in
advance; as not to reflect upon any depart
msnt of the government; as not to ally us il
we adopt it with any demonstration against
any foreign Power L should have been quite
ready to have assented TO it even without
reference. And if the Committee on Foreign
Affairs had concluded to simply ask the pas
sage of the resolution with which the report
ID b,-@ = he H.
SWAMI concludes, | should have allowed the
matter to pass the House without any obser-
vations of mine. But I regard this demon
stration of sympathy with an organization
which has for its object the forcible wrench
ing from the government of Great Britain
of portion of its territory and portion of
its people, as unwise, as untimely and as
beneath the dignity of the House of Repre-
sentatives.


can understand why gentleman who
represents a constituency in New York city,
constituency made up largely of adopted
citizens, of persons who belong to an organ
izatiOn which is hostile to the government of
Great Britain, and which contemplates armed
hostility to that government--I can under
stand why gentleman who represents such
a constituency should deem it not only advi-
sable, but in some sense his duty to rise in
his place here and express sympathy with
his constituents--sympathyw with them wheth-
er they are at home or in the British prisons.
But l cannot understand why the Represeu-
tatives of the American people, the Repre-
sentatives of American interests, the Repre-
sentatives of nation which holds to the
strict enforcement of neutrality in all its re-
lations with other nations, should express
here any sympathy s,zation that
! ! !. : !
has led to the q. that
adopted citi3 pow
immured
which


sas! sida!


the cd


possible gf
offense to az eh
that organiza host
daily through We read
dispatches announc5 kngs of this
organization declarediy, aVJs.udly hostile to
the government of Great Britain. They
make no secret of their purpose to wage war
upon England. They not only make no Sc
cret Of that purpose, but they raise money
openly by contribution and assessments for
the purpose of furnishing arms and recruits
to aid Irish instructions.


Not only this sir, but they have organized
on our own soil invasions of the coil of
friendly Power. and it was only by the timely



istration that we escaped, happily escaped
perhaps, a more just claim against this gov
ernment for damages by reason of that raid
upon Canada than any claim we now have
against Great Britain by reason of the dam
age accruing to our commerce in consequence
of the escape of the rebel cruiser Alabama
from the ports of England. And it is to the
credit of that former Administration, one of
the few things for which | have reason to
thank that Administration, that it inter
posed the executive arm of this government
and forcibly prevented that invasion.


But we know that at that time there were
many politicians in this country who con-
sidered, as many politicians in the country
now consider, that it was wise and polite
for them to denounce the government for
that act in order that they might secure the
votes of the Irish, the votes of those who are
called " our adopted fellow citizens of Irish
Descent" by this expression of sympathy
with them in their assault upon the govern
ment of Great Britain.


Now, sir, if the lessons of the last eight
or ten years of our history have not taught
the value of an honest neutrality, the
value of the friendly Offices of a friendly
Power when the existence of our government
was assailed-if those lessons have failed to
teach us this truth, then for the last ten
years VIC certainly have been very unprofita-
BILE scholars.


We have had occasion time and time again
to urge, and the published correspondence
Of our State Department for eight years is
loaded with, the protests af this government
against the unfriendly feeling manifested by
the British government against US during
the late insurrection in the United States.
We have made that a reason for stating many
times that we would remember this conduct
of Great Britain ; that we would remember
the unfriendliness that had been visited upon
us in our time of trial and that we would
teach our children and grandchildren to re-
member it and that if the time should ever
come when we would be able to redress that
wrong on the field of strife we would accept
the opportunity to show the English people
what terrible memories we have.


Yet, sir, with these words in our mouths,
with these protests on every page of our di-
plomatic correspondence, gentlemen express
on this floor and on the platforms in conven-
tions and mass meetings sympathy-with
whom and with what? With those whom
they call 81 our adopted fellow-citizcns; +"
with those who are plotting, who are plan
ming, who are raising money, who arc organ
izing in this country for the purpose of di-
viding the kingdom of Great Britain and
establishing a separate government in Ire
land. Now, sir, whether the Irish at home
are right or wrong in their aspiratsOns for
independent government, whether it would
be wise or unwise for the people of ireland
TO be allowed to have separate nationality,
is no concern of ours SO long as VIC profess
to be a friendly Power; so long as we hold
that in matters of this sort non-intervention,
rigid, strict neutrality, are the doctrines
which our Interpretation of international
law has clearly settled and established


Sir, it is because, incorporated in the body
of this report like the stump speech in tho
belly of bill famous in our congressional
history, there is practically this declaration
of a fellow-feeling with this Fenian organi-