No. 14.
Mr. Mason to Earl Russell.—(Received July
30.)
24 Upper Seymour Street, Portman
Square,
July
29, 1863.
My Lord: As promised in my letter of the 21st of
July instant, I have now the honor to communicate herewith to your lordship
a copy of the despatch of the 6th of June ultimo, from the secretary of the
Confederate States to me, with copies of the documents accompanying it. They
relate to the matter of the dismissal of Mr. Moore, late British consul at
Richmond.
I have, &c.,
[For enclosure 1 in No. 14, Mr. Benjamin to Mr. Mason,
June 6, 1863, see “North America, No. 13, (1864,)” p. 6–8.]
[Enclosure 2 in No. 14.]
Consul Moore to Mr. Benjamin.
Richmond,
February 16, 1863.
Sir: I have the honor to request your favorable
consideration of the following enactment, in so far as it regards
British subjects.
I observe that the legislature of Mississippi has passed an act to amend
an act entitled “An act to revise and reduce into one the militia and
volunteer laws of that State.” Section 12 runs thus:
“Be it further enacted, That all white male
persons above the age of eighteen years and under the age of fifty
years, residing temporarily or permanently in this State, and not
specially exempted by law, shall be liable to serve in the militia of
this State.”
Also, the following order has appeared, thus:
“Department of State,
Richmond.
“Headquarters, State of Mississippi,
“Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office,
Jackson, January 19, 1863.
“Special Order, No. 271.
“Major General T. C. Tupper:
“Section 3. You will order all field, company,
and staff officers not in active service, and all white males between
the ages of eighteen and fifty, who are either temporarily or
permanently residing in the State, to be included in the draft, except
such as may be liable and have not been discharged from conscription.
All those discharged from State service by reason of surgeons’
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certificates, together with
those who are exempt from conscription by act of Congress, are to be
included in said draft, unless specially exempt by the laws of the
State.
“By order:
“JOHN J. PETTUS, “Governor and
Commander-in-Chief.
“James S. Hamilton, “Adjutant
and Inspector General, State of Mississippi”
I would, therefore, now crave your opinion as to the construction of this
order, if I am to understand that any act of Congress is to be
subservient to the legislature of Mississippi.
I put this question as a case has arisen, this morning, claiming my
interference to protect a British subject, in accordance with the
Queen’s proclamation of neutrality, from enrolment in that State.
I have, &c.,
P. S.—Since writing the above, I have received a letter from a Mr. Thomas
Kingsly Jones, a British subject, from Rankin county, Mississippi, who,
according to his own statement, has been most harshly dealt with,
assaulted, and one eye injured, and imprisoned as a malefactor at
Jackson, in a bitterly cold prison, for resisting the conscription. Mr.
Jones holds a certificate of British nationality, and he has already
rendered military service here, and has been honorably discharged, whose
soldier’s discharge is on file at my office.
G. M.
[Enclosure 3 in No. 14.]
Mr. Benjamin to Consul Moore.
Department of State,
Richmond,
February 20, 1863.
Sir: Your letter of 16th instant, in relation
to certain enactments and military orders in the State of Mississippi,
has been received. In that letter you also make reference to the
complaint of a British subject, alleging ill treatment at the hands of
officers enforcing the conscript law in Mississippi.
Before replying to the subject-matter of your letter, it is deemed
necessary to inquire into the extent of the authority vested in you, by
her Majesty’s commission, as her consul in Richmond. The exequatur
granted on that commission, by the government of the United States, was
conferred at a date when that government had the right to act in such
matters as the agent of the States that have since formed the
confederacy, and the exequatur has therefore not been questioned. It was
supposed to have reference solely to consular functions in Richmond, or,
at furthest, in the State of Virginia.
As your letter, however, initiates a diplomatic correspondence with this
department on the subject of the laws and regulations of the State of
Mississippi, it becomes necessary to request that your consular
commission, as well as any other authority you may have received, to act
in behalf of the government of her Britannic Majesty be officially
submitted to this department, in order that the precise nature and
extent of your functions may be ascertained before further
correspondence can be held with you as her Majesty’s consul at the port
of Richmond.
I am, &c.,
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[For enclosure 4 in No. 14, Mr. Benjamin to Consul
Moore, June 5, 1863, see “North America, No. 13, (1864,)” p. 2.]
[For enclosure 5 in No. 14, letters patent revoking
Consul Moore’s exequatur, ibid., p. 2.]
[Enclosure 6 in No. 14.]
Lieutenant Colonel Edgar to Captain Catlett, C. S. A.
Headquarters 26th Virginia
Battalion,
Hundley’s Hill,
May 25, 1863.
Captain: The communication from the secretary
of war, asking information respecting the conscription of Nicholas
Maloney and Eugene Farrel, has been received, and, in reply, I submit
the following:
Nicholas Maloney is a native of Ireland. He does not know exactly how
long since he came from Ireland to this country. He has been a resident
of Greenbrier county, Virginia, for eight years. He bought land in said
county, and, after the several payments were made, he received the deed
for the land, and that deed was recorded in the clerk’s office of
Greenbrier county, three years ago. From the time of purchase till he
was conscribed he resided upon and cultivated the land. His family still
resides upon it. He has also exercised the right of suffrage. He was
assigned (as a conscript) to this battalion in December, 1862.
Eugene Farrel is a native of Ireland; does not know the exact time when
he came to this country. He bought land in Fayette county, Virginia,
and, after the payments were made, he received the deed for the land;
that deed was recorded in the clerk’s office of Fayette county. He
afterwards exchanged his land in Fayette for land in Greenbrier. He
afterwards sold one-half of his land in Greenbrier to his brother, and
his family still resides upon the half reserved. He has been a resident
of Virginia for eight years, and has exercised the right of suffrage. He
was assigned to this battalion (as a conscript) in December, 1862. From
time of purchase to time of conscription he resided upon and cultivated
his land.
Very respectfully, &c.,
[Enclosure 7 in No. 14.]
Mr. Moore to Mr.
Caldwell.
Richmond,
Virginia,
May 5, 1863.
My Dear Sir: I have just received your letter
of the 30th April, and I have at once addressed a letter to the
secretary of war on the subject of Maloney and Farrel, of which I
transcribe a copy herewith.
I am really at a loss to account for the dilatory proceedings, not to
make use of any harsher term; however, I cannot help saying to you,
unofficially, that the apparent apathy and indifference with which the
war department seems to regard cases of the most atrocious cruelty quite
baffle all my preconceived opinions of my own kindred race.
I have lived thirty-two consecutive years (from 1826 to 1858) in despotic
countries, and I am compelled to bear witness that I have met in those
foreign countries more official courtesy and consideration from the
local authorities, on my representation of grievances, than I have met
at the hands of my own blood and lineage.
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These reports, which I am obliged to send home, do not tend to the
consummation which, perhaps, some of us desire.
I will say no more, for it grieves me to write this.
Believe me, &c.,
