Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the First Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part I
Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.
Sir: Having received copies of some depositions Mr. Underwood, the consul at Glasgow, had caused to be prepared and sent in to the collector of this port, touching the construction and outfit of the steamer Canton, alias the Pampero, I concluded to transmit them to Lord Russell, together with a note. Copies of this note, of the other papers, and of his lordship’s acknowledgment, are herewith transmitted. There is increasing difficulty in obtaining evidence of intent. since the animus of the government has become the source of greater apprehension.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Mr. Adams to Earl Russell.
My Lord: I have the honor to submit to your consideration copies of a number of additional depositions taken before the collector at Glasgow, all going [Page LXIV] to corroborate the evidence already presented, touching the outfit and preparation of the steamer Canton, alias Pampero, for objects similar to those now prosecuted by the Japan, alias the Georgia, issued from the same port.
I pray your lordship to accept the assurances of the highest consideration with which I have the honor to be, my lord, your most obedient servant,
Right Hon. Earl Russell, &c., &c., &c.
Deposition of W. L. Underwood.
I, Warner Lewis Underwood, of No. 5 Newton Terrace, Sanchiehall street, in the city of Glasgow, in the county of Lanark, make oath and say, that I am consul of the United States of America for the port of Glasgow and its dependencies; that I have now resided in Glasgow in discharge of the duties of the said consulate for upwards of one year; that shortly after my arrival here, my attention was called to the fact that there was being built in the ship-yard of Messrs. James and George Thompson, of Glasgow, a vessel-of-war, for the use of the so-called Confederate States, then in rebellion against the United States of America, known as the Ram, and now in process of construction and unlaunched in the yard of the said James and George Thompson, being a formidable ironclad vessel-of-war; that some months ago I learned that a further vessel was in course of construction by the said James and George Thompson, and the said last-mentioned vessel has been recently launched from the ship-yard of the said James and George Thompson, and is now lying in the river Clyde, at or near to the foot of Finnestin street, Broomidan; that my attention was further directed to the construction of such vessels-of-war, and to the object of their construction, by a perusal of the intercepted correspondence between the agents of the confederates in America and those in Europe, which is more particularly referred to in the accompanying affidavit of Mr. Thomas Haines Dudley, to which reference is here made, and which is adopted and made part of this affidavit, a copy of said correspondence having been sent to me by the United States Secretary of State; that before being launched, the said last mentioned vessel had gilded on her stern the words “Canton, London;” that on the day she was launched the word “Canton” had disappeared, and the word “Pampero” was gilded where it had been, and also was seen on a flag which floated from one of her masts; that I was present on the immediate opposite side of the Clyde at the time of the launch, the river being there, in my judgment and opinion, about two hundred yards wide; that I was in full view of the ship, and, besides, had a strong glass with which to aid my vision; that there were not a great many persons present, but I had pointed out to me, by a gentleman who knew them, Messrs. James Galbraith and Robert Henderson, known members of the firm of Patrick Henderson & Co., and recognized agents in Glasgow of W. S. Linsay & Co., of London; that these two gentlemen, in company with one or two others whom I did not know, immediately prior to the launch of said ship, took an active and conspicuous part in looking after the preparations of the launch, giving, apparently, directions concerning it: that on the day after the launch, the following notice of it was published in the same words in the Journal, Mail, and Herald, newspapers published in Glasgow:
“Messrs. James and George Thompson launched, yesterday, from their building yard at Goran, a screw steamer of about 1,000 tons register. This vessel has been constructed for London owners, and as she took the water, was named the ‘Pampero,’ by Mrs. Galbraith. After the launch, the friends of the [Page LXV] owners and builders present adjourned to the model room, when the usual good wishes, on such occasions, were expressed and responded to.”
That prior to the launch of said ship, I had frequently seen her, and I state that she was at first constructed with eight port-holes, plainly to be seen; that a short time, say a week or ten days, before she was launched, those port-holes were carefully closed, and effaced by putty and paint, or other material, so that no trace could be seen of them, except that the hinges of their doors were visible; that I have the following distinct items of information touching said vessel, which I fully and sincerely believe to be true, most of which can be verified and established by an inspection of the vessel, to wit:
1. That in addition to the port-holes above spoken of and referred to, she was at first constructed with eye or ring bolts, corresponding with said port-holes, suited for and intended to handle guns; that these eye-bolts, with one or two exceptions, have been removed, and the places where they were have been disguised by facings on the bulwarks, and the eye-bolts stowed away to be inserted hereafter.
2. That she had magazines constructed; these have been attempted to be concealed and disguised under the appearance of water-tanks.
3. That she has one hundred and fifty lockers, and sixteen mess-racks, or more, for eight men each.
4. That she has about fifteen holes or apertures in the bottom, duly secured by valves and stop-cocks, for the rapid introduction of water into her hold, with an appropriate number of pumps to pump it out again as required.
5. That her machinery and boilers are those of a war vessel, all under the water-line, and thus out of reach of an enemy’s shot, whilst at the same time they occupy much of the space appropriated to cargo in a merchant vessel.
6. That the form, material, and arrangements of her propeller indicate that she is a vessel-of-war.
7. That her bulwarks are about seven feet high, so as to conceal her crew from the sight of an opposing vessel, and to afford them protection.
8. That on her cut-water or bow, immediately under the bowsprit, is painted or gilded a miniature figure, about a foot high, of the goddess of liberty, with a staff in her hand, on which is surmounted a liberty cap, and what is intended, I believe, the palmetto plant, is springing up around her feet. I further state that I have been informed, and verily believe, that the contract with the Messrs. Thompson for the building of said ship Pampero was and is entered into with a certain party acting as the agents of the so-called Confederate States of America; that Captain Sinclair, mentioned in the exhibit (D) to Mr. Dudley’s affidavit, together with Messrs. Tennent and North, officers of the confederate navy, have been spending most of this year, and perhaps a part of last, in Glasgow and its vicinity, and, according to my information and belief, giving necessary over-sight and attention to the construction of said vessel and the ram first mentioned; that from the foregoing facts, and the affidavits of Thomas Haines Dudley, John Latham, Archibald McClellan, and William Dryer, and facts which have come to my knowledge in a confidential manner, and which I am not now at liberty to use, I am satisfied, and fully believe, said vessel Pampero is a war vessel, built and intended for the so-called Confederate States in America, to commit acts of hostility and make war upon the government and people of the United States.
W. L. UNDERWOOD.
Deposition of Thomas H. Dudley.
I, Thomas Haines Dudley, of No. 3 Wellesley Terrace, Prince’s Park, Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, esquire, do solemnly, sincerely, and truly affirm and declare that the taking of an oath is contrary to my conscientious scruples, and I do also solemnly, sincerely, and truly affirm and declare as follows: That I am the consul of the United States of America for the port of Liverpool and its dependencies; that soon after the publication hereinafter referred to I received information from the government of the United States that certain correspondence between the government of the so-called Confederate States of America and their agents to their representatives and agents in Europe had been intercepted, and that the same was then in the hands of the government of the United States of America; that soon after I had received the above information I received from the State Department of the United States a copy of the Daily National Intelligencer, published at Washington, on Saturday, the 17th day of January, 1863, containing the publication of said intercepted correspondence; that I now refer to the said copy of the said newspaper, which is annexed and signed by me as relative hereto, and particularly to certain portions of said correspondence and memorandum therein published, consisting: 1. Of duplicate letter from Mr. Mallory to Mr. Mason, dated October 26, 1862. 2. Letter from George N. Sanders to Reed Sanders, dated August 5,1862. 3. Unsigned letter or memorandum, (without date,) addressed to the Hon. S. R. Mallory, secretary of the navy. 4. Memorandum following the last mentioned unsigned letter or memorandum, without date or address. 5. Letter from Mr. S. R. Mallory, secretary of the navy, to the Hon; O. G. Memminger, secretary of the treasury, dated October 27, 1862. 6. Letter from Mr. Memminger to Mr. Mallory, dated October 30, 1862. 7. Letter from Mr. Mallory to Mr. Mason, dated October 30, 1862; which said letters and memoranda are marked A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, respectively, on said copy of newspaper, and initialled by me as relative thereto; that since the publication in the newspaper above mentioned of the said intercepted correspondence, I have received from the State Department the original manuscripts from which the aforesaid publication was made, and I have the said original manuscripts in my possession at Liverpool, and am prepared to produce them when required by the proper authorities; that I understand and believe the house of Galbraith & Co., referred to in memorandum D, before mentioned, is the same house as Messrs. Patrick Henderson & Company, of Glasgow, of which firm Mr. James Galbraith is, I believe, one of the partners.
THOMAS H. DUDLEY.
Deposition of John Latham.
I, John Latham, of No. 8 Douglas street, in the city of Glasgow, and county of Lanark, make oath and say: That I am an engineer, and have served as engineer of steamers for the last eight years; that I have served on board of war-ships for five years, and for about five months I served as fireman on board of the Alabama; that I have also served in the merchant service for about four years; that I have seen the vessel called the Pampero, which has been recently launched from the ship-building yard of Messrs. James and George Thompson, of Glasgow; that I was on board of her before she was launched; that nine port-holes were pierced on each side of said ship, and one of these port-holes on [Page LXVII] each side appeared to be intended as a gangway; that before said ship was launched the said port-holes, with the exception of one on each side, were closed with movable shutters, and these movable shutters were secured by rivets on the inside, and I saw the joints or seams where the shutters met filled up with red lead putty and painted over, and nothing is now visible of the aforesaid portholes but the hinges of the said movable shutters; that I observed rings or eye-bolts on the side of the said ship on each side of each of the said port-holes; that I afterwards saw some of these rings or eye-bolts removed, and the sides of the ship are now cased over, and the places intended for fastening on these rings or eye-bolts are not now visible; that I have always seen similar rings or eye-bolts in the men-of-war in which I have served, and they are used for the purpose of securing the guns and of moving them backwards and for wards; that in the merchant vessels in which I have sailed, I never saw such rings or eye-bolts as I have described, and there is no use for them in merchant vessels; that the name Canton, London, was at first gilded upon the stern of the said ship, but that before the said ship was launched that name was changed to Pampero; that I believe the said ship was known and designated in the yard of Messrs. James and George Thompson as the frigate, and on one occasion when I was in the yard, I asked for one Charles Gibson, who had been in the employment of Messrs. Thompson, and I was informed by one of the engineers working in the yard that he did not know the man, but that if I went over to the frigate (pointing to the said vessel now called the Pampero) I would likely find him there; that the bulwarks of said ship are between seven and eight feet in height; that I have seen the boilers and engines of said vessel; that the boilers are four in number, and are flat in construction; that the engines are horizontal, and the whole, both boilers and engines, are under the water-line; that the construction of the boilers is such as to take up a deal of carrying space, which would not suit a merchant vessel; that in order to save space, a merchant ship would likely have two boilers in place of four, and such boilers could be made of the same extent of the Pampero, by being constructed, as is usual in merchant ships, above the water-line; that the said ship appears to be about two hundred and fifty feet in length, and between forty and fifty in beam; that from the whole construction and build of the said ship, I consider and declare that the said ship is intended and adapted for warlike purposes, and not for mercantile service.
JOHN LATHAM.
Deposition of William Dayer.
I, William Dayer, ship-joiner, of No. 29 Salisbury street, in the city of Glasgow, and county of Lanark, make oath and say: That I am presently in the employment of Messrs. James and George Thompson, ship-builders in Glasgow, and have been in their employment for the last three weeks; that a vessel has been recently launched from the ship-building yard of Messrs. James and George Thompson called the Pampero; that previous to being launched the name Canton, London, was gilded on said ship’s stern, and the day before the said ship was launched her name was changed to Pampero; that I have been many times on board of said vessel, while in course of construction; that the said vessel has eight port-holes, besides one large one on each side; that the large one might serve as a gangway; that these port-holes were seen open by me, but [Page LXVIII] that they were afterwards closed, and still remain closed; that the port-holes have been closed up by the movable shutters being secured on the inside by bolts, and the joints or seams closed up, and nothing is now visible of the port holes save the hinges; that rings or eye-bolts were fitted on the deck of said ship on each side of each of the port-holes; that the object of these rings or eye-bolts appeared to be to fasten guns, and serve as a means of moving them backwards and forwards; that seven of these rings or eye-bolts on each side were removed before the launch, and the places where they were filled up have been lined up; that the ring or eye-bolts opposite one port-hole on each side of the vessel of the bows still remain; that the bulwarks of said vessel are about seven feet in length; that there are about fifteen stop-cocks and valves on the bottom of the said ship, with grating on the outside; that some of these are very close to one another; that the number of the stop-cocks and valves is more than are required for the purposes of the engines, and for ordinary ship purposes, and I believe that the extra number have been fitted with a view to adapt the said ship to warlike purposes, and among others to drown the magazine in case of need; that a magazine was fitted in the after part of the said ship, and consisted of four compartments, with a hole on the top of each large enough to admit a man, and there is a hatch on each hole; that I was informed by a carpenter who was working on board of the said ship, and about the said compartments, that these compartments formed the magazine, and I believe that they were adapted for that purpose; that there were about one hundred and fifty lockers fitted up in said ship along the side in the forecastle between decks; that these were all taken down, marked and numbered, and packed away before the said vessel was launched; that sixteen mess-racks have been made for the use of said vessel, and more are to be made, and that each of said mess-racks contains places for dishes for eight men; that from the number of lockers and mess-racks thus constructed for said ship, taken in connexion with other circumstances, I am of the opinion, and believe, that the said ship is not intended or built for mercantile service; that I cannot state with accuracy the measurements of said vessel, but I think her length is about two hundred feet, or upwards, and her water-mark about fifteen feet at the bow, and sixteen feet at the stern; that I cannot state the breadth of her beam, but she is of very fine proportions, and I believe her tonnage to be about one thousand tons, builder’s measurement; that the general belief among the workmen in the yard is that the said vessel is built as a vessel-of-war for the Confederate States of America, and since I have commenced to work in the yard of the said James and George Thompson, such has been the universal reputation as to said ship among my fellow-workmen; that among us she generally went by the name of “another Alabama,” “another 2.90,” and such like names.
WILLIAM DAYER.
Deposition of William Cook.
I, William Cook, of No. 1 Clermont street, in the city of Glasgow, and county of Lanark, make oath and say: That I am a ship broker and commission merchant in Glasgow; that I was present at the launch of the ship called the Pampero, on the 29th of October, 1863, from the ship-yard of Messrs. James and George Thompson, ship builders, Glasgow; that I am acquainted with Messrs. Robert Henderson and James Galbraith, ship brokers in Glasgow, and partners [Page LXIX] of the firm of Patrick Henderson & Co., merchants in Glasgow; that the said firm of Patrick Henderson & Co. are reputed to act as agents in Glasgow of the firm of W. S. Lindsay & Co., of London; that on the aforesaid occasion of the launch of the said ship Pampero, I saw the said Robert Henderson and a person believed by me to be James Galbraith present, and apparently acting as if interested therein; that I afterwards noticed in the reports which appeared in the Glasgow newspapers of the following day, that the said ship Pampero had been christened by Mrs. Gilbraith; that I particularly observed the said ship when being launched, and having been for many years a master in the merchant service, I am able to judge of the appearance and build of said ship; that from the general appearance and build of said ship, as so seen and observed by me, I declare that she appeared to me to be a vessel intended for war, and not for mercantile service; that her appearance impressed me with the belief that she was adapted for war purposes, and not for mercantile service.
WILLIAM COOK.
Deposition of Archibald McLellan.
I, Archibald McClellan, joiner, of No. 45 Eglinton street, in the city of Glasgow and county of Lanark, make oath and say:
That I have been employed in ship-building yards as a joiner for the last nine years; that I was informed about five months ago, by James Henning, joiner, in the employment of Messrs. James and George Thompson, that they were building a ram and a privateer in the yard of Messrs. James and George Thompson, for the Confederate States of America; that we had been conversing about the screw steamer Georgia, which had about that time sailed from the Clyde, as a privateer, and in the course of our conversation the said James Henning volunteered the above information regarding the ram and the privateer; that about three weeks ago I casually met one Kinlock, a carpenter, in the employment of the said James and George Thompson, and in the course of conversation he stated that he was engaged fitting up magazines on board of the new vessel built by the said James and George Thompson called the Pampero, and he said he was fitting them up as water tanks; that the said Kinlock further stated that the vessel had been fitted up with messrooms for a large crew, and that these had been taken down and marked, with a view to be put up again; that I have frequently seen the said ship Pampero while in the course of construction, and about seven weeks ago I saw her lying in the yard of the said James and George Thompson, and I observed that there were eight port-holes pierced in the side of the said ship which was towards me, three of which port-holes were larger than the other five, and might be used as well for gangways as for the sweep of pivot-guns; that the said port-holes were then open; that since the said ship was launched, I have seen her on frequent occasions, and I then observed that the port-holes above mentioned, with one or two exceptions, have been closed up, and nothing is visible of these port-holes but the hinges; that on one occasion, in the course of last week, I was on board of said ship, as she lay in the river Clyde, and I observed four eye-bolts opposite certain of the port holes, which I saw were intended for securing guns; that on frequent occasions, besides those above referred to, I have heard from various persons in the employment of the said James and George Thompson that the said ship Pampero was being built for the Confederate States of America, and the said ship had the universal reputation among these persons of being a vessel-of-war or privateer for the Confederate [Page LXX] States; that the construction of said ship is, in my opinion, in accordance with that reputation, and in the course of my experience I have not seen a vessel built for the merchant service, of similar construction as the said ship Pampero, and I believe that the said ship Pampero is built for warlike purposes, and not for the merchant service.
ARCHIBALD McLELLAN,
Earl Russell to Mr. Adams.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, enclosing further papers respecting the Canton, and I have to state to you that I have lost no time in forwarding copies of the same to the proper department of her Majesty’s government.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., &c., &c., &c.