So far as the United States are shown to be involved in censure, it is simply by the purchase and export of arms and munitions of war from a neutral; an act which your lordship expressly points out eminent authority to my attention to prove implies no censurable act on either party. While, on the other hand, it is American insurgents who find British allies to build in this kingdom, and to equip and send forth war-ships to depredate on the commerce of a friendly nation, and it is British subjects who load multitudes of British vessels with contraband of war as well as all other supplies, with the intent and aim to render null and void, so far as they can, a blockade legitimately made by a friendly nation, as well as to procrastinate and make successful a resistance in a war in which that nation is actually engaged. Surely this is a difference not unworthy of your lordship's deliberate observation.

But your lordship, in accounting for the admitted failure to enforce the enlistment law in Great Britain, has done me the honor to remind me that not long since Her Majesty's government was itself so far made sensible of injuries of the same kind with those of which I now complain, either inflicted or threatened against Great Britain in the ports of the United States, as to have made them the subject of remonstrance through Her Majesty's representative at Washington. With so fresh a sense of these evils before your lordship, there will be no further cause of surprise at the earnestness with which I have followed the precedent then set. You do me the honor to recall the fact that the enlistment law of the United States, which preceded in its date of [33] enactment that of *Great Britain, is almost identical with it. And you further state that "the notorious evasion of its provisions during the late war waged by Great Britain and her allies against Russia," was the cause of the remonstrances to which I have already alluded. Your lordship further remarks that "Great Britain was then, as on other occasions, assured that every effort which the law would permit had been made to prevent such practices; that the United States Government could only proceed upon legal evidence, the law as to which is almost if not entirely the same as in this country, and that without such evidence no conviction could be procured."

In the earlier portion of your lordship's note you did me the favor to cite, as good authority, to me an extract of the message of the President of the United States of the 31st December, 1865, which went to show the extent to which assistance not only had been, but might be, rendered without censure by neutrals to belligerents. Perhaps your lordship will not deny equal weight to the very next passage in that message, even though it should somewhat conflict with your own allegation :

Whatever concern may have been felt by either of the belligerent powers lest private armed cruisers or other vessels in the service of one might be fitted out in the ports of this country to depredate on the property of the other, all such fears have proved to be utterly groundless. Our citizens have been withheld from any such act or purpose by good faith and by respect for the law.

I forbear from quoting the text any further, because it may revive unpleasant recollections in your lordship's as it does in my mind. I will content myself solely with the remark that the very last thing which your lordship would be likely to object to in the facts there stated would be the want of ability of the Government of the United States to proceed with energy and effect in the repression of acts in violation of their enlistment act.

But if evidence of another kind as to its energy under the law be needed, I have only to remind your lordship once more of the fact that on the 11th of October, 1855, Her Majesty's representative at Washing

ton, Mr. Crampton, addressed to the Government of the United States a note with the evidence to show that a vessel called the Maury was then fitting out at the port of New York armed to depredate on British vessels. On the 12th the Attorney-General sent by telegraph to the proper officer at New York to consult with the British consul, and to prosecute if cause appear. On the 13th the collector stopped the vessel, then about to sail. On the 16th the district-attorney had prepared and filed a libel of the vessel, and in the mean time ordered a thorough examination of her cargo. On the 19th the marshal had made a full report of his examination. On the same day the complainant on whose evidence the minister and consul had acted, confessed himself satisfied, and requested the libel to be lifted. On the 23d Mr. Barclay, Her Majesty's consul at New York, published a note withdrawing every imputation made against the vessel. Thus it appears that in the brief space of four days the Government action under the enlistment law had been sufficiently energetic completely to satisfy the requisition of Her Majesty's representative. If any similar action have been had since the first day that I had the honor to call your lordship's attention to outfits of the same nature made in Great Britain, I can only say that I have not enjoyed a corresponding opportunity to express my satisfaction with the result.

The owners of the Maury were never compensated for the trouble and expense to which they were put by this process.

But the Chamber of Commerce of New York adopted a series of resolutions, two of which may serve as a sufficient comment on the remark which your lordship has been pleased to let fall touching the "notorious evasion" of the enlistment law in America at the time alluded to:

Resolved, That no proper amends or apologies have been made to A. A. Low & Brothers for the charge brought against them, which, if true, would have rendered them infamous; nor to the merchants of this city and country, so falsely and injuriously assailed.

Resolved, That the merchants of New York, as part of the body of merchants of the United States, will uphold the Government in the full maintenance of the neutrality laws of the country; and we acknowledge and adopt, and always have regarded the acts of the United States for preserving its neutrality, as binding in honor and conscience, as well as in law; and that we denounce those who violate them as disturbers of the peace of the world, to be held in universal abhorrence.

I pray your lordship to give one moment's attention to the manner in which the conduct imputed to Messrs. Low is stigmatized. I am sorry

[34]

to confess that I have not seen the like indignation shown in this kingdom against similar charges made against distinguished *parties in Liverpool, nor yet can I perceive it so forcibly expressed as I had hoped even in the tone of your lordship's note.

I beg to assure your lordship that it gives me no pleasure to revive the recollections of the events of that period. But inasmuch as they have been voluntarily introduced in the note which I had the honor to receive, and they seemed to me necessarily to imply an unmerited charge against the policy of the United States, I felt myself imperatively called upon to show that at least in one instance in which Her Majesty's government made a complaint there was no failure either in the manner of construing the powers vested in the Government of the United States, or in their promptness of action under the enlistment law.

I pray, &c.,
(Signed)

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 17.]

List of vessels, from the United States consul at Liverpool, which have either sailed from Great Britain and Ireland since the 1st of August last, or are now in course of preparation to sail, with contraband of war, for the purpose of breaking the blockade of the rebel ports.

Steamers.-Bahama, from Liverpool, on the 13th of August, with men and cannon; Bonita, (late the Economist,) Gipsy Queen, Iona, Cornubia, Pearl, Eagle, Kelpie, Ruby, Giraffe, Florida, Antona, Juno, Calypso, Thistle, Havelock, Northumbria, Nicolai I, Douglas, Britannia, Julia Usher, (late Annie Childs,) Stanley, Royal Bride, Albion, Douro, Denbigh, Beacon, Pet, Georgiana, Neptune, Prince Albert, Sheldrake, Leipsic. Sailing-vessels.-Ellen, Agrippina, (sailed from Cardiff 10th October with shot, shell, and coal; this is the vessel that carried arms and coal from London to No. 290 at Terceira; see depositions of Redden and King,) Severn, Queen of the Usk, Digby, Clarence, Mary Francis, Chatham, Peep o' Day, Speculator, Monmouth, Intrinsic.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 17.]

Mr. Morse to Mr. Adams.

UNITED STATES CONSULATE,
London, December 24, 1862.

SIR: In compliance with your request I herewith forward a list comprising most of such steamers and sailing-vessels as are known to have left the port of London laden with supplies for the insurgents now in rebellion against the United States.

I do not pretend that all the vessels which have left this port in the confederate service are known to me, but believe the following list of vessels can be relied on as being a part of those which have left with supplies, principally contraband of war, with the intention of either running the blockade directly, or of going to a neighboring Atlantic or Gulf port, and there discharging their cargoes into another class of vessels, the more easily to get such cargoes to their places of destination.

The screw-steamer Fingal left Greenock in the summer of 1861. Her cargo was sent there to her by steamer Colletis from London.

Vessels which have left ports on the east coast of England, and which may not have been reported by any other consul: Steamships Circassian, Modern Greece, Stettin,

1 The tonnage given is the net tonnage or carrying space of the vessel, the space taken up by the machinery, &c., being deducted.

Bahama, and Bermuda, from Hartlepool; Hero, Patras, Labuan, Sidney, Hull, and Tubal Cain, all screw-steamers, and brig Stephen Hart.

During the last six or eight weeks there have been great exertions made in this country to procure good, fast steamers, and to forward them, laden with supplies, for the insurgents to the ports of the rebel States, or to ports adjacent to the coast of those States. Many of the boats in this service have been purchased on the river Clyde. Three new ones destined for the same service have recently been launched there, and have not yet gone to sea. They have been named Emma, Gertrude, and Louisiana, and several more are building there.

The ownership of these steamers, the cargoes they carry out, and the manner of conducting the trade, is a question of much interest to Americans. During the early stages of the war the trade was carried on principally by agents sent over from the Confederate States, aided by a few mercantile houses and active sympathizers in this country. These agents, with their friends here, purchased the supplies, and procured steamers, mostly by charter, and forwarded the goods.

But by far the largest portion of the trade, with, perhaps, the exception of that in small-arms, is now, and for a long time has been, under the management and control of British merchants. It is carried on principally by British capital, in British ships, and crosses the Atlantic under the protection of the British flag.

Parties came from Richmond with contracts made with the rebel government, by which they are to receive a very large percentage above the cost in confederate ports of the articles specified. British merchants became interested in these contracts, and participate in their profits or loss. I have seen the particulars of one such contract drawn out in detail, and have heard of others.

There are good reasons for believing that a large portion of the supplies more recently sent to the aid of the insurgents has been sent by merchants on their own account. Several will join together to charter a steamer, and make up a cargo independent of all contractors, each investing as much in the enterprise as he may deem expedient, according to his zeal in the rebel cause, or his hope of realizing profits from the speculation. Again, some one will put up a steamer to carry cargo to a rebel port at an enormous rate of freight, or to ports on the Atlantic or Gulf coast, such as

Bermuda, Nassau, Havana, Matamoras, &c., at a less freight, to be from thence [36] reshipped to such southern ports as appear to afford the best *opportunities

for gaining an entrance. Ships bound on these voyages are of course not advertised or their destination made known to the public. Their cargoes are made up of individual shipments on account and risk of the shippers, or go into a joint stock concern on account and risk of the company, each member thereof realizing profit or suffering loss in proportion to the amount he invested in the adventure. Both steamers and cargoes are often, if not generally, insured in England, "to go to America, with liberty to run the blockade."

Some individuals and mercantile firms appear to have entered into the business of supplying the rebels with the means of carrying on and prolonging the war, with great zeal and energy on their own account. Mr. Z. C. Pearson, of Hull, has been largely interested in this contraband trade, but appears not to have been very fortunate in its pursuit, for he has had several valuable steamers taken by our blockading squadrons; and in addition to this bad luck, appears to have received in payment for the goods he did get in a kind of paper or payment that could not be made available here.

Of the firms which are the most largely engaged in this mode of rendering aid to and sustaining the rebellion, Fraser, Trenholm & Co., of Liverpool, and the firm of W. S. Lindsay & Co., of London, are among the most prominent.

The foregoing list of vessels, steam and sailing, was taken from memoranda. Had my other duties allowed me time to examine my dispatches for the last year and a half, I could no doubt add others to the last, and give you some interesting particulars concerning many of them. But for want of that time I am obliged to submit it, imperfect as I fear it is. I am, &c., (Signed)

F. H. MORSE.

No. 18.

Mr. Adams to Earl Russell.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,

London, January 5, 1863. (Received January 6.)

MY LORD: I have the honor to transmit to your lordship copies of certain papers having relation to the depredations committed by the

vessel called No. 290, which I am instructed by my Government to submit to the consideration of Her Majesty's government.

I pray, &c.,
(Signed)

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 18.]

Memorials addressed to the United States Government by various ship-owners.

New Bedford, November 18, 1862.

His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States;

SIR: I ask leave to present to you the accompanying memorial and papers from several of the ship-owners resident within this collection district whose vessels have been plundered and burned upon the high seas by the pirate steamer called the Alabama. And I respectfully and earnestly ask the immediate and decided action of our Government to the end that fair indemnity may be obtained and such safety of the seas secured to the loyal citizens of our Union that their lawful business may be done securely upon the ocean. From the facts set forth in the memorial, it would appear that some steps should be taken at once to arrest the progress of that pirate, and to obtain such redress for our ship-owners as may be due to them, by the provisions of international law.

I am, &c.,
(Signed)

To the President of the United States :

THOS. D. ELIOT.

The undersigned ship-owners, citizens of the United States, resident within the collection district of New Bedford, in their own behalf, and representing the interests of their co-owners, respectfully state that during the month of September last past, on the high seas, in the neighborhood of the Western Islands, a large number of American ships and

vessels were boarded, plundered, and burned, and their officers and crews captured [37] and *subjected to brutal treatment, by an armed vessel named the Alabama

that among the ships which, with their cargoes, were so destroyed, were the whale-ships Virginia, Benjamin Tucker, Elisha Dunbar, and Ocean Rover, owned by your memoralists; together with the whaling-schooner Altamaha, also owned in said district, and the whale-ship Ocmulgee, owned in the Edgartown district, next adjoining; that, in consequence of these gross outrages, they have suffered, by the ruin of their voyages and the defeat of their enterprises, great loss and damage beyond the value of their ships and cargoes; that the owners of the bark Virginia have been damnified in the sum of $124,574, composed of the following items, viz: value of bark and cost of outfits on day of sailing from New Bedford, August 26, 1862, $30,074; value of a fair cargo of sperm-oil, 2,000 barrels, at $1.50 per gallon, $94,500-total, $124,574 ; that the owners of the ship Benjamin Tucker have been damnified in the sum of $124,000, composed of the following items, viz: value of the ship and outfits on sailing from New Bedford, $29,500; value of 400 barrels of sperm-oil, burned with the ship, at $1.50 per gallon, $18,900; value of 1,600 barrels of sperm-oil to be taken to complete her voyage, at $1.50 per gallon, (the full capacity of said ship being about 2,800 barrels,) $75,600-total, $124,000; that the owners of the bark Elisha Dunbar have been damnífied in the sum of $93,000, composed of the following items, viz: value of bark and outfits at time of sailing from New Bedford, August 25, 1862, $24,000; value of 65 barrels of sperm-oil, burned with the ship, at $1.50 per gallon, $3,000; value of 1,400 barrels of sperm-oil to be taken to complete her voyage, at $1.50 per gallon, $66,000— total, $93,000; that the owners of the ship Ocean Rover have been damnified in the sum of $104,000, composed of the following items, viz: value of bark and outfits as she sailed, $39,000; value of 750 barrels of sperm-oil, burned with the bark, at $1.50 per gallon, $35,400; value of 50 barrels of whale-oil burned with the bark, at 80 cents per gallon, $1,260; value of 600 barrels of sperm-oil to be taken to complete voyage, at $1.50 per gallon, $28,340-total, $104,000.

Your memorialists further represent that this armed cruiser was built and supplied with stores during the past summer at an English port; that her armament and English crew, designed for and received by her, were also shipped from an English port; that, at the time the aforesaid outrages were committed, she had not been at any other than an English port; that she carried no other than the English colors until her prizes were within her grasp, and which were then exchanged for the rebel flag of