Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams.
Sir: Your despatch of September 4, (No 214,) has been received. It sets forth a conversation which had recently been held between yourself and Earl Russell, in which explanations were exchanged concerning a statement said to have been made by J. M. Frailey, commander of the United States steamer Quaker City, at the time of his capture of the Adela, to the effect that you had justified his alleged course in making captures of all vessels which have been indicated to him as suspected ones by the Secretary of the Navy; and that you had stated as the ground of the justification that Lord Palmerston had told you that the American naval authorities might catch all such vessels if they could.
The explanations and disclaimers which you made in reply seem to have been as satisfactory to Earl Russell as they were just.
I have referred to your despatch of the 15th of November last, in which you gave to this department an account of your interview and conversation with Lord Palmerston, on the subject of the appearance of the American ship-of-war the James Adger in British waters, the only one in which you have given me any relation of any interview with Lord Palmerston in regard to the operations of enforcing the blockade, or to violations of the neutrality laws. I find nothing in that despatch that could be construed so as to warrant the statement concerning Lord Palmerston imputed to the crew. I find, also, that the despatch was marked confidential, that it has never been presented nor even referred to the Navy Department. It results that this report does not originate from any communications you have ever made to this department.
I apprehended, rather, that if the statement has indeed been made by Commander Frailey, he must have given it upon some one of the thousand rumors which the press of both countries is in a habit of publishing as a part of the news of the day.
With a view to prevent any misunderstanding upon the subject, I will ask the Secretary of the Navy to communicate to the admiral of the blockading squadron so much of the despatch now before me as relates to the crew’s report, and I will further ask him to call Commander Frailey’s attention to [Page 195] the subject, and to ask him for such explanation concerning the crew’s statement attributed to him as he may be able to give.
You may, if you think expedient, show this despatch to Lord Palmerston, as nothing would be further from the desire of this government than to do him or the government over which he presides injustice in any form whatever.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., &c., &c., &c.