Laird Brothers to Captain Inglefield, R. N., H. M. S. Majestic.
Sir: We beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date, in which you state—
That you have received our letter of the 12th instant, in which we engage, for the reasons enumerated therein, to give you reasonable notice of our intention to lift the caisson for the purpose of working our dock, so that you may take such steps as you may think necessary to protect our property against the forcible abduction which her Majesty’s government apprehends.
And further, that you understood from the conversation that we had yesterday regarding the possibility of our people being induced to open the sluices without our cognizance, and by which, in one, tide the caisson might be floated out of its present position, and the iron vessel thereby withdrawn into the river, that we undertook that the keys whereby the sluices are worked should be removed from the place in which they are at present kept to another of greater security, under our personal care.
We beg to inform you that we are quite prepared to confirm the engagement given in our letter of the 12th; but you are under a misapprehension in supposing that we undertook that the keys whereby the sluices are worked should be removed from the place where they are at present kept to another of greater security, under our personal care. As we are not prepared to remove the keys of the sluices from under the care of the superintendent of our docks, in whose good faith and discretion we have implicit reliance, we have given him special instructions to place the keys in a place of security, under lock and key, which we know he has done.
With regard to the latter part of your letter, we offer no opinion as to the necessity, or otherwise of the proceedings which her Majesty’s government have [Page 425] taken, or may think fit to take, in relation to this vessel, nor do we admit that the engagement given by us is intended as an admission on our part that our arrangement for carrying out these proceedings is more convenient than another; but we undertake that we will give you reasonable notice of our lifting the caisson, through which alone egress can be had to the river, so that you may take such steps as you may think necessary to protect our property against the attempt which her Majesty’s government apprehends. And as you have informed us that you think at least twenty-four hours’ notice is necessary to admit of your making, by a personal interview, an arrangement for the security of our vessel, we will endeavor to give you not less than this length of notice.
We are, sir, your obedient servant,
Captain Inglefield, R. N., H. M. S. Majestic.