1. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, October 9, 1862.
2. Mr. Hamilton to Mr. Hammond, September 27, 1862.
3 Commissioners of Customs on No. 290, September 25, 1862.
[Untitled]
Foreign
Office,
October 9,
1862.
Sir: With reference to my letter to you
of the 22d ultimo, I have the honor to enclose a copy of a
letter which I have received from the board of treasury,
forwarding the copy of a report from her Majesty’s commissioners
of customs relative to the supply of cannon and munitions of war
to the gunboat No. 290.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your
most obedient, humble servant,
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., &c., &c., &c.
[Untitled]
Treasury
Chambers,
September 29,
1862.
Sir: With reference to your letter of
the 12th instant, and previous correspondence, I am directed by
the lords, &c, to transmit herewith, for the information of
Earl Russell, copy of a report, No. 478, dated 25th instant, of
the commissioners of customs relative to the supply of cannon,
&c., to the gunboat No. 290.
I am, &c.,
[Untitled]
No. 478.]
Custom-House,
September 25,
1862.
Your lordships having, by Mr. Arbuthnot’s letter of the 16th
instant, transmitted to us, with reference to Mr. Hamilton’s
letter of the 2d ultimo, the enclosed communication from the
foreign office, with copies of a further letter and its
enclosures from the United States minister at this court
respecting the supply of cannon and munitions of war to the
gunboat No. 290, recently built at Liverpool, and now in the
service of the so-called Confederate States of America; and your
lordships having desired that we would take such steps as might
seem to be required in view of the facts therein represented,
and report the result to your lordships, we have now to
report:
That, assuming the statements set forth in the affidavit of
Redden (who sailed from Liverpool in the vessel) which
accompanied Mr. Adams’s letter to Earl Russell to be correct,
the furnishing of arms, &c, to the gunboat does not appear
to have taken place in any part of the United Kingdom or of her
Majesty’s dominions, but in or near Augra Bay, part of the
Azores, part of the Portuguese dominions. No offence, therefore,
cognizable by the laws of this country appears to have been
committed by the parties engaged in the transaction alluded to
in the affidavit.
With respect to the allegation of Redden that the arms, &c.,
were shipped on board the 290 in Augra Bay partly from a bark
(name not given) which arrived there from London, commanded by a
Captain Quinn, and partly from the steamer Bahama, from
Liverpool, we beg to state that no vessel having a master named
Quinn can be traced as having sailed from this port for foreign
parts during the last six months; the Knight Errant, Captain Quine, a vessel of 1,342 tons burden,
cleared for Calcutta on the 12th of April last with a general
cargo, such as is usually exported to the East Indies; but so
far as can be ascertained from the entries, she had neither
gunpowder, nor cannon on board.
The steamer Bahama cleared from Liverpool on the 12th ultimo for
Nassau. We find that Messrs. Fawcett, Preston & Co.,
engineers and iron founders of Liverpool, shipped on board that
vessel nineteen cases containing guns, gun carriages,
[Page 221]
shot, rammers,
&c., weighing in all 158 cwt. 1 qr. 27 lbs.; there was no
other cargo on board except 552 tons of coals, for the use of
the ship; and the above-mentioned goods having been regularly
cleared for Nassau in compliance with the customs law, our
officers could have no power to interfere with their
shipment.
With reference to the further statement in the letter to Mr.
Dudley, the consul of the United States at Liverpool, that the
bark that took out the guns and coals is to carry out another
cargo of coals to the gunboat 290, either from Cardiff or Troon,
near Greenock, we have only to remark that there would be great
difficulty in ascertaining the intention of any parties making
such a shipment; and we do not apprehend that our officers would
have any power of interfering with it, were the coals cleared
outwards for some foreign port in compliance with the law.
