upon international law, to consist in two principal circum

stances:

1. Entire abstinence from any participation in the war. 2. Impartiality of conduct towards both belligerents. These obligations are frequently strengthened, and made obligatory upon all persons resident within the territorial jurisdiction of a nation, by, first, treaties; and, second, enactments of the local legislature, or whatever, in each case, corresponds to such a body. As between this nation and Great Britain, the right and duty of neutrality rest upon international law and the statutes of the respective countries. We have, on our part, endeavored to provide for the prevention or punishment of unneutral acts, by either citizens or strangers, while among us, through acts of Congress of 1794, 1818, and 1838. Great Britain has undertaken to accomplish the same end by act of Parliament, 59 Geo. III., c. 69.* A review of the action and

* The following are extracts from the act of 59 Geo. III., commonly called the Foreign Enlistment Act:

"SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, that if any person within any part of the United Kingdom, or in any part of his majesty's dominions beyond the seas, shall, without the leave and license of his majesty, for that purpose first had and obtained, as aforesaid, equip, furnish, fit out, or arm, or procure to be equipped, furnished, fitted out, or armed, or shall knowingly aid, assist, or be concerned in the equipping, furnishing, fitting out, or arming of any ship or vessel, with intent, or in order that such ship or vessel shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince, state, or potentate, or of any foreign colony, province, or part of any province, or people, or of any person or persons, exercising or assuming to exercise any powers of government in or over any foreign state, colony, province, or part of any province, or people, as a transport, or storeship, or with intent to cruise or commit hostilities against any prince, state, or potentate, or against the subjects or citizens of any prince, state, or potentate, or against the persons exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in any colony, province, or part of any province, or country, or against the inhabitants of any foreign colony, province, or part of any province or country with whom his majesty shall not then be at war; or shall within the United Kingdom or any of his majesty's dominions, or in any settlement, colony, territory, island, or place belonging or subject to his majesty, issue or deliver any commission for any ship or vessel, to the intent that such ship or vessel shall be employed as aforesaid; every such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, upon any information or indictment, be punished by fine and imprisonment, or either of them, at the discretion of the court in which such offender shall be convicted; and every such ship or vessel, with the tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all the materials, arms, ammunition, and stores, which may belong to or be on board of any such ship or vessel, shall be forfeited; and it shall be lawful for any officer of his majesty's customs or excise, or any officer of his majesty's navy, who is by law empowered to make seizures for any forfeiture incurred under any of the laws of customs or excise, or the laws of trade or navigation, to seize such ships and vessels as aforesaid, and in such places and in such manner in which the officers of his majesty's customs or excise and the officers of his majesty's navy are empowered respectively to make seizures under the laws of customs and excise, or under the laws of trade and navigation; and that every such ship and vessel with the tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all the materials, arms, ammunition, and stores, which may belong to or be on board of such ship or vessel, may be prosecuted and condemned in the like manner, and in such courts as ships or vessels may be prosecuted and condemned for any breach of the laws made for the protection of the revenues, customs, and excise, or of the laws of trade and navigation.

"SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, that if any person in any part of the United

demands of each government, in cases of infraction of neutral rights in times past, will be important, for the purpose of ascertaining what, precisely, is the law of nations upon this point; but that must be postponed for a statement of some of the facts of which we now complain.

Upon the breaking out of the rebellion, the British government made haste to concede belligerent rights to the insurgents, and to declare its intention to observe strict neutrality. The state of English law was such that this proclamation was entirely uncalled for, as it could neither increase nor decrease legal obligations or penalties; and its only effect was to guarantee to adventurers, who might wish to enlist with the rebellion, that they should thereby undergo no greater risks than the ordinary chances of regular war. The promulgation of the first proposition was generally taken to be, and perhaps was, intended to relieve such persons from the character and ugly responsibility of pirates and freebooters. It became, in fact, an invitation, as it did not, on the other hand, enjoin vigilance upon officials or threaten punishment to offenders. Under this encouragement, the business of ship-building for the South commenced, and went on with a rapidity which was surprising to those who had forgotten that Manchester and Sheffield furnished supplies to maintain the Sepoy rebellion. The two principal cases are those of the war-steamers Oreto and Alabama. In February, 1862, it was notorious at Liverpool that the Oreto (now called the Florida), a newly-launched war-steamer, was intended for the Confederate service; and the American Minister, Mr. Adams, wrote to Lord Russell (Diplomatic Correspondence for 1862), notifying him of the

Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or in any part of his majesty's dominions beyond the seas, without the leave and license of his majesty for that purpose first had and obtained, as aforesaid, shall, by adding to the number of the guns of such vessel, or by changing those on board for other guns, or by the addition of any equipment for war, increase or augment, or procure to be increased or auginented, or shall be knowingly concerned in increasing or augmenting the warlike force of any ship or vessel of war, or cruiser, or other armed vessel, which, at the time of her arrival in any part of the United Kingdom, or any of his majesty's dominions was a ship-of-war, cruiser, or armed vessel in the service of any foreign prince, state, or potentate, or of any person or persons exercising or assuming to exercise any powers of government in, or over any colony, province, or part of any province, or people, belonging to the subjects of any such prince, state, or potentate, or to the inhabitants of any colony, province, or part of any province, or country, under the control of any person or persons so exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government; every such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon being convicted thereof, upon any information or indictment, be punished by fine or imprisonment, or either of them, at the discretion of the court before which such offender shall be convicted."

แ

character of the vessel; upon which the customs officer of that port was directed to investigate the matter. This zealous official proceeded to make inquiries of the builders, who informed him that the vessel was owned by Fawcett, Preston & Co., of Liverpool, and that they (the builders) believed she was destined for Palermo-stating, as the ground of this belief, that "they had been requested to name a master to take her to that port. No inquiry appears to have been made of the owners or other persons, and the collector reported that the Oreto was, without doubt, bound. on a legitimate voyage. Upon further representations by Mr. Adams, an examination was made of her, when her crew was found to consist of fifty-two Englishmen and one American, and her cargo of one hundred and seventy-three tons of arms, for Palermo and Jamaica. These suspicious circumstances, together with the universal public rumor as to her real destination, were disregarded, and she was permitted to sail. Her first port was Nassau, in New Providence, a British colonial port. At this place her real character was well known and no longer denied. Upon demand of the American consul, some sham proceedings were taken against her by the English local authorities, but she was detained only long enough for her new commander to reach her, and then allowed to continue her piratical voyage. IIer career since that time is fresh in the memory of every man, and need not be recapitulated. Her latest exploit is the burning of the ship Jacob Bell. Mr. Adams writes (March 7, Dip. Cor. 1862:)

"The nominal destination of the Oreto for Sicily is the only advantage which appears to have been derived from my attempt to procure the interference of the government to stop her departure."

The only apology for such dereliction was, "a polite expression" by Lord Russell "of regret;" but "he did not see how her majesty's government could change its position." (Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward, April 16, 1862.)

In the next case, that of the Alabama, this excuse (bad in itself), that the American minister did not furnish sufficient proof to justify interference by the government, is wholly wanting. On the 23d of June, 1862, Mr. Adams wrote to Lord Russell, informing him that the Oreto had gone to Nassau, and that another and more formidable war-steamer was nearly ready to follow her. Said he :

"This vessel has been built and launched from the dockyard of persons, one of whom is now sitting as a member of the House of Commons, and is fitting out for the especial and manifest purpose of carrying on hostilities at sea. It is about to be commanded by one of the insurgent agents, the same who sailed in the Oreto. The parties engaged in the enterprise are persons well known at Liverpool to be agents and officers of the insurgents in the United States, the nature and extent of whose labors are well explained in the copy of an intercepted letter, which I received from my government, and had the honor to place in your lordship's hands a few days ago." (Diplom. Corr. 128.)

On the 25th, Lord Russell replied, stating that he had, without loss of time, referred the matter to the proper department. On the 1st of July, the persons to whom the matter was thus referred reported that the fitting out of this vessel had not escaped the attention of her majesty's revenue officers, and that, pursuant to directions, they had made inquiries of the builders, who did not deny that she is built for a foreign government, but "do not appear disposed to answer any questions as to her destination when she leaves Liverpool." The government are not shown to have taken any offence at this trifling, but, on the contrary, declined to interfere until further proof should be presented. This demand was not difficult to be complied with, for within a few days affidavits were produced to the Board of Customs, upon which the opinion of Mr. Collier, an eminent English lawyer, was first taken, who replied:

"It appears difficult to make out a stronger case of infringement of the Foreign Enlistment Act, which, if not enforced on this occasion, is little better than a dead letter." (Diplom. Corr. 152.)

A further delay was caused by the rejection of these affidavits on account of some technical defect in form; but at last every captious objection being exhausted, copies of the perfected affidavits were, on the 23d of July, sent to Lord Russell; but no action being taken, the Alabama went to sea at her leisure on the 29th. The flagrant delinquency of the government is admitted by Lord Russell on the 31st, in a conversation with Mr. Adams, at which time he stated that the delay of the government " had been caused by the development of a sudden malady in Sir John D. Harding, the queen's advocate, totally incapacitating him for the transaction of business. This made it necessary to call in other parties, whose opinion had at last been for a detention of the gunboat, but before the

order got down to Liverpool she was gone." It is not pretended that any expedition was used by the parties who came to the rescue of the government when Sir John D. Harding's "malady" assumed international importance, or that any attempt was made to delay the gunboat temporarily, until a decision could be arrived at; or that the telegraph or any extra-expeditious means of communication with Liverpool was made use of when this decision was "at last" obtained.*

It should be stated, in justice to Earl Russell, however, that he declared his intention to send to Nassau to have the vessel intercepted; but in that connection let it also be remembered that he did not send; or at least that he did not send to the British squadron to seize her elsewhere in that neighborhood, and that the Alabama has avoided that point with as much shrewdness as if her captain were possessed in advance of the intention of the British cabinet; that, although she has been cruising in British West Indian waters for months, and has been for six days of the latter portion of the time lying in the British port of Kingston, to be refitted, no attempt has been made to seize or detain her, and that no prosecutions have been instituted against any of the many parties in England who infringed the Foreign Enlistment Act and the law of nations, by conniving at her escape and perfecting her armament afterwards in Terceira.t

*It may be remarked in passing, as a fair illustration of the fact, that a change in Lord Russell's stand-point of observation sometimes affects a change in his views of a subject; that while Great Britain was thus violating every legal, moral, and honorable obligation to us, she was insisting with pertinacity and almost imperiousness against those wholesome restrictions on trade between New York and Nassau, which the collector of this port four d it necessary to adopt in order to prevent the sending of supplies to the rebels (Dip. Cor., 145, 304), and that the inadvertent act of a prize-master, the ludicrous character of which the following note will exp ain, was magnified into an insult to the English nation, fit to become a subject for diplomatic correspondence (Dip. Cor. 244).

"NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 1862.

"SIR: I received your order to-day, stating for me to make a written statement "and explain the reason for hoisting the English flag under the American Commo"dore; not being acquainted with the custom of bringing in prizes, I was under the "impression that I was right. My intention was to do right, but it was not done "for any bad purpose or intention to insult the English flag in any way whatever. "I was wrong for so doing, and truly hope the department will forgive me. "JOHN BAKER,

"Commodore PAULDING."

"Acting Master, U. S. N.

It appears by a letter from Commodore Wilkes to the Secretary of the Navy (Dip. Cor., p. 229), that the British gun-boat Bull Dog knowingly gave passage to rebel naval officers, on their way to England to take charge of the Alabama and other vessels of her character.

As these sheets are going to press, I have received, through the courtesy of Mr. Grant, librarian of the Mercantile Library, a pamphlet just published in London, entitled, "The Alabama," from which the following extract is made:

"The '290,' as she was then called, sailed, as we have seen, from Liverpool on the