Mr. Sundell to Mr. Judd.
Hon. Sir:Yours, greatly esteemed, of the 2d instant, I have had the honor to receive, and in regard to the notified blockade, by Danish vessels of-war, of the six seaports in this consular district, of which I had the honor to report under the 29th of last month, I now beg to state, in addition, that it is being generally considered here that no such blockade as notified by the Danish government under the 12th, and again by the commander of the Danish squadron somewhere in the Baltic, under the 18th of same month, has at any time, up to this present, ever existed de facto.
In support of this opinion, which, as stated in my last, is also cherished by most of the consuls of the neutral powers residing at this place, the enclosed exposé has been gotten up here for circulation in Great Britain, and which, as I feel bound to admit, gives the nature of the case exactly as it exists, leaving the arguments therein contained at what they are worth, and to be considered separately.
The greatest strength of the notified blockade has hitherto been in the notification itself, and in the fact also of the Danes commanding the sound and the belts, where every neutral vessel passing is being officially notified that the ports named are blockaded, and the captains believing therein, in order to avoid supposed dangers, run into some other port, not among the pretendingly blockaded, to discharge or dispose of their cargoes.
Concerning the irregularity in notifying the consuls of the neutral powers of the blockade, the matter stands thus: When, after the naval engagement on the 17th of March, the Prussians returned to Swinemünde, and the Danes to Möen, a British merchantman fell in with the Danish squadron when at sea, and was induced to appear on board the flag-ship Szalland, where he received a permit to proceed on his voyage to Stettin, and at the same time Contre Admiral von Dockum handed him six sealed letters for delivery when in port, [Page 211] addressed to the consuls of the neutral powers, namely, one letter in common to all the consuls in each of the places to be blockaded. This was on the 18th, and on the 20th the British captain arrived at Swinemünde, where he very innocently delivered said letters to an officer of the Prussian government, who saw fit to forward the same to the minister of foreign affairs at Berlin.
On the 26th the British consul here received a despatch from his ambassador at Berlin, with these same letters enclosed, which, having been sent to him unopened from the ministry of foreign affairs, he now directed Consul Black-well here to open, and communicate their contents to the other consuls, who all reside here, and which was accordingly done by sending the documents around for copying. After which they were returned again to the British consul. The notifications were all of the same tenor, excepting the name only of the different places to which addressed; were worded in French; dated Bay of Stettin, March 18, 1864, and signed C. von Dockum, contre admiral. A translation thereof will be found in the exposé, and, if required, I will send you a copy of the original.
The exposé contains all that I could at present report regarding the intended blockade, and its effect upon the minds here, wherefore I take the liberty to send you the same; and awaiting your instructions as requested,
I have the honor to be your sincerely obedient servant,
Hon. N. B. Judd, Minister Plenipotentiary, &c., U. S. of A., Berlin.