When I received his lordship’s latest note of the 8th, I thought it
susceptible of so triumphant a reply that I had it in my mind to prepare
one without delay.
Subsequent reflection, however, caused by information of a peculiar
character which had then reached me, modified my views, and determined
me to desist from any such proceeding.
I am utterly at a loss in attempting to give the proper measure of
confidence to the intelligence referred to, which has come to me
indirectly from France, but not through English or American agency. I
can only say that the two sources of it are of high character, though by
no means to be presumed to possess the confidence of the Emperor, and
that they are wholly distinct from one another.
[Page 166]
The substance of the story is, that the Emperor
felt so keenly the danger of his Mexican creation, in the event of a
reconciliation in America, that he was organizing a powerful naval
armament at Cherbourg to meet any sudden emergency, and at the same time
was making earnest efforts to press this government to an engagement to
co-operate in any line of policy which might be deemed necessary to
anticipate future hazards to both parties in America, even to the
extent, if necessary, of giving aid to the rebels. to prevent their
sinking under pressure. At the same time it was said that the Emperor
would not act at all unless sure of this co-operation.
So many rumors of the same sort have been spread by the adroit and
intriguing emissaries in the French capital, for their own purposes, and
have proved so utterly unfounded, that I habitually give no faith to
them. But I was at the same time told that the solicitation to this
government was not likely to prove successful, provided the fears of
this country were not played upon by the powerful interest in sympathy
with the rebels to such an extent as to overbear the resistance of the
majority of the cabinet. Although, in my own mind, I was fully convinced
that the more any such urgency might be used from that quarter, the less
would be the probability of any consent of this government to be made an
instrument for any such purpose. I had not been unaware of the efforts
in the press and elsewhere to stir up the popular apprehension of what
was to follow in case the rebellion should be subdued. I had heard—
1st. That enormous claims for damages for the ravages of the vessels let
out of English ports would be immediately presented, to which Great
Britain could never give any countenance.
2d. That the rescinding of all the various treaty engagements, especially
in connexion with Canada, was to be only a prelude to an advance into
that country of the great armies liberated from the war.
Seeing the bearing of all these movements to be to stimulate the notion
that a quarrel was about to be picked by ourselves, and that the more
decided and irrefutable any note of mine to Lord Russell at this time
might be, the more it might have a tendency to add to these suspicions,
I deliberately came to the conclusion, for the present, to let the
correspondence drop.
I presume that you must have received by the last week’s steamer a report
of the proceedings of the House of Commons on Friday evening, the 10th
instant. You will there have noticed the elaborate and bitter attack of
Sir John Walsh, opening out the whole policy heretofore imputed to the
party to the policy hostile to us. I am happy to be able to say,
however, that on all sides it is pro-nounced to have been an entire
failure, and not to have elicited even from our best-known enemies a
single cheer of approbation. The reply of Lord Palmerston was, on the
contrary, received very favorably, and was regarded as a complete check
upon all similar demonstrations. I thought it, on the whole, the most
unexceptionable speech I had known him make on the subject; and the next
evening, being at a reception at his house, I took the opportunity
privately of expressing my thanks to him, for it is at once serving the
best interests of both countries. I thought he seemed a little gratified
by what I said.
It was plain to me, from the proceedings, that even if the Emperor had
ventured upon any overtures, of which I feel great doubts, he had not
yet taken much by his motion. It was at this moment I received a note
from Lord Russell, asking me to call upon him on Tuesday, at 3 o’clock.
I went accordingly. Then it was that I received the communication of
which I gave you intimation in my hurried despatch, No. 877, of the 15th
instant, which went out of the customary course in the steamer of that
date. I now proceed to report to you my interview.
His lordship said he had asked to see me in order to let me know the
result of the deliberations of the cabinet on American affairs. With
regard to the state of things in Canada, in view of the instructions
which had been sent by
[Page 167]
Mr.
Cardwell to Lord Monck, of the action that had been taken by Lord Monck
himself of the measures in progress in the legislature, and of the
decisions of the courts of the province, it was thought that enough had
been done to establish confidence there.
With respect to the difficulties that had been occasioned on this side by
the proceedings of the confederate agents and their friends, in fitting
out vessels and enlisting men to carry on the war, from this country as
a base, the cabinet had come to a determination. This was to direct him
to address a letter to the three persons who had, some time since,
written to him as authorized agents of the confederates at Richmond, on
another subject, Messrs. Slidell, Mason, and Mann. These persons were
believed to be, all of them, now at Paris. Such a letter had accordingly
been prepared. He proposed now to read to me its contents. Accordingly,
he read it over slowly and deliberately. After he finished, he said it
was proposed to furnish me with a copy for my government. He had
already, on Monday, sent the letter to Lord Cowley, at Paris, to be
forwarded to his address. In order to be still more sure of its
destination, however, he proposed to send a duplicate to Washington,
with a request that, through the channels of communication which appear
to have been established between that place and Richmond, it might, if
thought proper, be transmitted by us.
I then said that I had listened to the reading of the letter with much
satisfaction. That I could not, at the moment, say what view my
government would take of it, or of the proposition to transmit it
through its agency. I could, myself, perceive no objection. Possibly the
other side might be disposed to refuse to receive it, because it came in
that way. His lordship remarked that he had first sent it directly to
the agents to guard against that difficulty. He alluded to the refusal
of the government to permit a vessel to pass, on a former occasion, as
having been based upon other reasons which did not seem to apply to this
case. I said it had always seemed to me a matter of surprise that some
course of this kind had not been earlier taken. The proceedings
complained of were of a most outrageous kind. Indeed, so far as I could
remember, a deliberate, systematic attempt like this to conduct a naval
war from the territory of a neutral power was wholly unprecedented. I
had regretted it the more that the toleration of it appeared to be
establishing a precedent of a most pernicious character in all future
cases; and, particularly, to us it was setting an example which would
hardly fail to be followed by myriads of loose people, among us, who
might be induced, by the hope of profit or of adventure, to embark in
any cause, no matter how unprincipled or desperate, that promised fair
returns of spoils on the ocean. His lordship said that such ships might
be anywhere taken; to which I assented, but at the same time reminded
him that this was a war of a novel character, that depended mainly upon
the skilful use of modern science, in furnishing vessels of the most
speed, at once to overtake the helpless and run away from the strong. In
short, it was an emulation in racing in which the governing power took
the chances against itself. His lordship did not seem disposed to
contest this. He alluded to the various efforts that had been made to
stop these outfits under the law, and to the difficulties which had been
met with at every step. I remarked that I had become convinced, from the
result of the last trial, that the United States could stand no chance
before a jury. His lordship said that it was in consequence of doubts of
the Crown lawyers, in the case of the ironclads, as to the possible
presence of one or two advocates of the confederates on the jury; that
it had been decided to buy them up. People here now took sides, almost
as vehemently on our question as we did ourselves. It was to be
regretted, but there was no help for it. Under the circumstances, they
must do the best they could.
From all which it appears, plainly enough, that this measure of a letter
has
[Page 168]
been finally adopted, as
the only alternative, after consciousness of the utter failure in a
resort to the law as a means of preventing this gross abuse, and of the
impossibility of procuring from Parliament any amendment to make it more
effective.
The closing remark of his lordship, as I took my leave, was significant.
Alluding to the possibility of a failure of this letter in producing any
effect, he remarked that the question would be of going on; to which I
replied, that I hoped it might prove equally convenient to us whether
the one party should be made to stop or the other to go on.
This conference was one of a most friendly character, and convinced me
that, whatever might be the desires of the French Emperor, nothing but
the grossest mismanagement on our part would effect any change in the
established policy of this ministry towards us.
I have since received a note from Lord Russell, with a copy of the
letter. I send a copy of the former with the latter, just as it came to
me, preserving a copy of it to place in the archives of this
legation.
[Enclosures.]
REBEL RECRUITING IN AND NAVAL EXPEDITIONS FROM LONDON;
CASES OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, THE HAWK, THE VIRGINIA, AND THE NO.
40, OR LOUISA ANN FANNY.
1. Mr. Adams to Lord Russell, January 14, 1865.
2. The same to same, January 14, 1865.
3. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, January 16, 1865.
4. Same to same, January 27, 1865.
5. Mr. Adams to Lord Russell, January 30, 1865.
6. Mr. Morse to Mr. Adams, January 27, 1865.
7. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, February 1, 1865.
THE SALE OF THE SEA-KING.
Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, February 1, 1865.
THE LETTERS FOUND ON THE FLORIDA.
1. Mr. Adams to Lord Russell, January 18, 1865.
[For above letter see Mr. Adams’s despatch No. 857,
current series.]
2. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, February 8, 1865.
THE AJAX AND HERCULES.
1. Mr. Adams to Lord Russell, February 7, 1865.
2. Mr. Dudley to Mr. Adams, February 2, 1865.
3. Same to same, February 4, 1865.
4. Advertisement; paying crew of the 290.
5. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, February 8, 1865.
6. Mr. Adams to Lord Russell, February 9, 1865.
7. Deposition of John Melley, February 6, 1865.
8. Advance note—the Ajax, January 9, 1865.
9. Deposition of George Smith, February 6, 1865.
10. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, February 9, 1865.
LORD RUSSELL TO THE REBEL EMISSARIES, DEMANDING THE
DISCONTINUANCE OF EXPE DITIONS AND ENLISTMENTS FROM GREAT
BRITAIN.
1. Lord Russell to Mr. Adams, February 15, 1865.
2. Lord Russell to Messrs. Slidell, Mason and Mann, February 13, 1865
[Page 169]
Mr. Adams to Lord Russell
United States Legation.
London,
January 14,
1865.
My Lord. I have the honor to submit to
your consideration a copy of a letter received from the consul
of the United States at this place, furnishing information of
certain proceedings, believed to be conducted in violation of
the neutrality of this kingdom.
I pray your lordship to accept the assurances of the highest
consideration with which I have the honor to be, my lord, your
lordship’s most obedient servant,
Right. Hon. Earl Russell. &c., &c., &c.
Mr. Adams to Earl Russell
United States Legation.
London,
January 14,
1865.
My Lord. Since despatching my note this
morning I have received further information in regard to the
subject to which it relates, from the same source. I hasten to
submit to your lordship’s consideration a copy of another letter
from Mr. Morse, dated this morning.
I pray your lordship to accept the assurances of the highest
consideration with which I have the honor to be, my lord, your
lordship’s most obedient servant,
Right Hon. Earl Russell.&c., &c., &c.
Earl Russell to Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
January 16,
1865.
Sir. I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letters of the 14th instant, en-closing
copies of two letters, dated respectively the 10th and 14th of
this month, which have been addressed to you by the United
States consul in London.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your
most obedient, humble servant,
Charles Francis Adams. Esq, &c., &c., &c.,
London.
Lord Russell to Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
January 27,
1865.
Sir. With reference to my letter of the
16th instant I have the honor to inform you that it does not
appear to her Majesty’s government, from the information which
you have furnished to me, or from such information as they have
otherwise been able to obtain, respecting the Hawk and the City
of Richmond, that either of these vessels is intended for the
war-service of the so-styled Confederate States, still less that
there has been any illegal equipment in this country of either
vessel.
With regard to the men supposed to have enlisted into the
confederate service, the greater part of whom appear to have
already sailed for Nassau by the City of Richmond, it seems,
indeed, to be probable that they came together for some purpose
connected with the war-service of the Confederate States; but
there is no evidence in the possession of her Majesty’s
government to show either that any particular persons among
them, being natural-born subjects of her Majesty, have enlisted
in that service, or have left this country with a view to such
enlistment, or that any of them, whether natural-born subjects
of her Majesty or not, have been induced to enlist in this
country, or to go from here for the purpose of enlistment, by
any particular person or persons now amenable to her Majesty’s
jurisdiction.
The information which her Majesty’s government possesses with
regard to such of these men as belonged to the Florida rather
leads to the conclusion that when they arrived in this country
from Bahia, they, whether subjects of her Majesty or not, were
already the confederate service, and that no new enlistment or
engagement in this country need be supposed in order to account
for their coming together and going out to a port from whence
they may be able to proceed to the Confederate States.
I have, further, the honor to state to you that when the
particular facts relative to the engagement of the crew of the
Florida were under the consideration of her Majesty’s
government, on the occasion of the presence of some of them at
Liverpool, it was found that they had been engaged and shipped
at Mobile, in the Confederate States, under circumstances which
did not seem to her Majesty’s government to justify the
expectation that they could be
[Page 170]
successfully prosecuted for any offence
against the foreign enlistment act. Whether the men now in
question wore part of the same crew, or were enlisted for the
Florida at some other place and under different circumstances,
does not at all appear.
Her Majesty’s government are, therefore, of opinion that there is
not at present any such evidence before them of a violation of
the foreign enlistment act—either by the equipment or fitting
out of the ships Hawk and City of Richmond, or either of them,
or by the enlistment or procurement of men in this country for
the confederate war-service—as would justify them in taking any
legal steps in the matter.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient, humble
servant,
Charles Francis Adams. Esq., &c., &c., &c.
Mr. Adams to Lord Russell
Legation of the United
States. London,
January 30,
1865.
My Lord. I have had the honor to
receive your note of 27th instant, in answer to mine of the
16th, furnishing information of certain operations of the
emissaries of the American insurgents within this kingdom.
I now have the honor to transmit a copy of another letter from
Mr. Morse, the consul at this place, giving further information
on the sanie subject. The object of these papers is to furnish
cumulative evidence that this kingdom is, in point of fact, yet
made, as it has been heretofore continually made, the base of
operations, hostile to the people of the United States on the
ocean, by the agents and emissaries of the insurgents in
conjunction with British subjects.
However skilfully this action may be covered, the fact itself
cannot but be regarded by the nation liable to be seriously
affected by the results as a practical violation of neutrality,
as well as a legitimate cause of complaint.
It is not in the province of a party injured by such a steady and
persistent course of aggression to enter into any examination of
a suitable policy of prevention, if the proper means are not
already in existence. It is sufficient for the present purpose
that it should endeavor to place upon record the evidence which
goes to justify its painful sense of the wrong that is committed
at the hands of a nation with which it is at peace.
I pray your lordship to accept the assurances of the highest
consideration with which I have the honor to be,
My lord, your lordship’s most obedient servant,
Right Hon. Earl Russell.&c., &c., &c.
Mr. Morse to Mr. Adams
United States
Consulate. London,
January 27,
1865.
Sir. The privateersmen who left the
Thames on the City of Richmond went to Cherbourg, France, where
they remained on board about one week. I learn from our consular
agent at Cherbourg that they are now on
board a steamer at Oman ville, waiting to
be transferred to the corsair on which they are to serve.
The City of Richmond has left the port of Cherbourg, and as is
supposed proceeded on her voyage to Bermuda, for which island
she cleared from the port of London.
If the men were intended for service of any kind on the other
side, would they not have continued their voyage on the City of
Richmond, as she is nearly new, and in the late storm on the
coast proved an excellent, staunch sea-boat? I think there is no
question about the men being engaged for the rebel service, and
received £ 10 advance here before leaving.
It has been said for the last month or more in the councils of
confederate agents in Europe, and even by the head of their navy
department in Europe, Commodore Barron, himself, that they
expected to get out two privateers, at least, by the last of
January or early in February; Possibly the City of Richmond may
be one of them, and may have gone to the place appointed to take
on her armament, crew, &c.
There are two ships or steamers now in this port of which there
are better reasons for suspicion than there was of the Sea King,
now the Shenandoah. One is the Virginia, a few days ago the
Zealous. She is a sister ship to the City of Richmond. She is
nearly new, over 450 net, and said to be a remarkably fine
vessel. She went, I learn, to Green withe this morning. She has,
so far as known to us, nothing but coals in at present, and had
not cleared for any port last evening, though her crew signed
articles for Bermuda, and there their arrangement ends. She will
probably leave the river to-morrow, perhaps earlier. The other
is a double-screw steamer, just completed for Mr. Dudgeon, the
builder of the privateers Tallahassee and Chickamauga. She is
now called No. 40, and is entered out for
[Page 171]
Bermuda. I have seen this steamer,
and think she must be not far from 800 tons, and not at all
suitable for blockade-running; she is too large and draws too
much water.
Like the Sea King, any steamer now destined for privateering fits
away as a commercial vessel, and there is nothing about her
movement before she leaves port, or until within a few hours of
her leaving, when she may suddenly change owners, and her master
be given authority to sell at a given sum
out of British waters, to create any
mistrust of the purpose of those who control her here.
Under such a mode of operations it is next to impossible for us
to get testimony in season and
sufficiently strong to ask for their detention. The only course
left me, therefore, is to call your attention to all cases
offering any reasonable ground of suspicion, and leave them to
be disposed of as you may deem most expedient.
No. 40 is now in Victoria dock.
I remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
Hon. Charle. F. Adams. United States Minister.
P. S.—Since writing the above I have learned that the
double-screw No. 40 has Louisa Anna Fanny on her stern,
without stops between the names. She is 900 tons, and the
men on board who went on the trial trip say she went
eighteen miles per hour. This is probably an exaggeration,
but no doubt she is very fast.
Lord Russell to Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
February 1,
1865.
Sir. I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 30th ultimo, enclosing a copy
of a letter addressed to you by Mr. Morse, respecting the
vessels, the Virginia and the Louisa Ann Fanny, which are
suspected to be intended for the service of the so-styled
Confederate States, and I have to inform you that I have
referred these papers to the proper department of her Majesty’s
government, in order that due inquiry may be made in the
matter.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your
most obedient, humble servant,
Charles Francis Adams. Esq.,&c., &c., &c.
Lord Russell to Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
February 1,
1865.
Sir. With reference to the case of the
Shenandoah, I have the honor to inform you that having
ascertained the names of the brokers by whom that vessel had
been sold, I caused them to be asked whether they had any
objection to state the circumstances under which she was sold,
and particularly whether she was sold to an agent of the
so-called Confederate States.
I have been informed by the brokers, in reply, that the
Shenandoah, then the Sea King, was sold by them to a British
subject at Liverpool, in the usual way, and that the bill of
sale, &c, passed through her Majesty’s customs in duo order.
The brokers further state, that after the sale of the vessel
they had nothing whatever to do with her, and that she remained
in dock for some weeks, being entered out for Bombay.
The brokers add, that they are not aware, nor have they any
knowledge, that any confederate agent had anything to do with
the ship during her stay in this country.
I have the honor to be, sir, with the highest consideration, your
most obedient, humble servant.
Charles Francis Adams. Esq.,&c., &c., &c.
Lord Russell to Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
February 8,
1865.
Sir. I have had the honor to receive
your note of the 18th ultimo, calling the attention of her
Majesty’s government, with reference to the papers therein
enclosed, to the proceedings of Confederate agents in this
country.
I have now the honor to state to you that after careful
consideration of these papers there appears to me to be nothing
in them upon which any person can be convicted of a breach of
the law. Her Majesty’s government will apply the law with
strictness, but they cannot go beyond it.
[Page 172]
I may observe that a great part of this correspondence relates to
arrangements to be carried into effect in France, and not in
this country.
With regard to your observation that it is for you to point out
the operations of confederate agents,
inconsistent with the neutrality of the United Kingdom, and that
it is the duty of her Majesty’s government to consider how these
operations can be checked and prevented for the future, I have
to point out to you that her Majesty’s government, having used
all the means in their power to prevent the fitting and arming
of vessels in their ports to cruise against the vessels of the
United States, and having faithfully carried into execution the
laws enacted to preserve inviolate the neutral and pacifie
obligations of Great Britain, cannot consider themselves bound
to answer for the acts of every individual who may evade the
operation of the laws by fitting out and arming vessels bought
in this country, in some distant neutral port, or on the seas
beyond her Majesty’s jurisdiction. For such acts no nation does
in principle or in practice hold itself responsible.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your
most obedient, humble servant,
Charles Francis Adams. Esq.,&c., &c., &c.
Mr. Adams to Lord Russell
Legation of the United
States. London,
February 7,
1865.
My Lord. I have the honor to submit to
your consideration copies of two letters addressed to me by Mr.
Dudley, the consul of the United States at Liverpool, touching
the building and outfit of a vessel called the Hercules, at
Dumbarton, for the purpose of carrying on war against the people
of the United States. The history of the Ajax is well known to
me from the fact of her accidental detention at Kingston, in
Ireland, on her departure outward, by reason of the refusal of
some of the men to sail in her, because they had been deceived
as to her true character. Yet, instead of inquiring into the
truth of the allegation, it appeared that the authorities at
Kingston proceeded to punish the men as mutineers.
I likewise have the honor to transmit a copy of an advertisement
taken from the Liverpool Daily Post, of the 1st instant, going
to show that the crew of the vessel formerly known as the
Alabama, being all of them British subjects, enlisted in
violation of law, on a voyage of hostility to the United States,
are openly paid their wages by agents of the insurgents in a
British port, just as if they had been embarked in a common
undertaking, fully recognized by all the British
authorities.
It is not without great pain that I am constrained to admit the
impression that her Majesty’s government seem to be almost
without the power to restrain the commission of this systematic
abuse of the law of neutrality within her territories. I regret
it the more that it seems to be gradually fixing in the minds of
my countrymen a conviction that there is little reciprocal force
in treaty obligations, and hence that it is expedient for them
to be released, as far as possible, from those into which their
government has heretofore cheerfully entered with Great Britain.
I trust I need not say to your lordship that this state of
things is regarded by me as most unfavorable to the best
interests of both nations, which would, in my view, dictate
rather a closer approximation than any alienation.
Not having bad any reason to doubt the favorable disposition of
her Majesty’s government, I still cherish the hope that some
additional means may be devised to correct the evils complained
of, and to restore that confidence in reciprocity of friendly
action which is the only stable foundation of all international
relations of amity throughout the world.
I pray your lordship to accept the assurances of the highest
consideration with which I have the honor to be, my lord, your
lordship’s most obedient servant,
Right Hon. Earl Russell. &c., &c., &c.
[Enclosures.]
1. Mr. Dudley to Mr. Adams, February 2, 1865.
2. Mr. Dudley to Mr. Adams, February 4, 1865.
3. Advertisement about the Alabama, from Daily Post.
Mr. Dudley to
Mr. Adams
United States
Consulate. Liverpool,
February 2,
1865.
Sir. A steamer called the
Hercules is now fitting out on the Clyde, and which I
understand is a sister steamer to the Ajax that recently
sailed from the same river, and built and owned by thes
ame parties. I think, from what I learn, she is intended
for a gun boat for the
[Page 173]
rebels, and has been built for
that express purpose. I understand they are fitting her
out as rapidly as possible, and that she will be ready
for sea in about eight days.
I am entirely satisfied that the steamer Ajax, above
referred to, is to be used as a gunboat to make war
against the United States, and was built and fitted out
for that purpose.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Charles Francis Adams.
Esq., &c., &c.,
&c.
Mr. Dudley to
Mr. Adams
Glasgow.
February 4,
1855.
Sir. Referring to my despatch
of the 2d instant, and the steamer Hercules, which was
supposed to be intended for a confederate gunboat, 1
have now to report that this steamer was built by P.
Denny, of Dumbarton, and, as is said, or pretended, for
McCleese and Knott, I believe, of Glasgow; but, as I am
informed and believe, for the so-called confederate
government in the southern States of America, now in
rebellion against the United States. She is at present
at Dumbarton, on the Clyde, very nearly completed; is to
have a trial trip on Wednesday next; has 300 tons of
coal on board, and is to sail in a very few days. She is
a double screw boat, of 220 tons register, and 500 tons
burden, with two engines, combining 150 horse power,
nominal; the hull 170 feet long, 25 feet beam, and 111/2
feet depth of hold, drawing about 8 feet water; one
funnel, two masts; the fore one, brig-rigged; the last,
schooner-rigged; the decks flush, fore-and-aft; the
timbers are of angle iron, heavy and very close, so as
to give her great strength; plated over with iron
plates, and two inches of cement in thickness on the
inside, and four inches of wood on the inside of the
cement; making a thickness of six inches independent of
the iron plates. The deck-beams are strong enough to
hold guns of any size. From her build and the material
used, and the manner it is put together, it would be
difficult to make any vessel of her size stronger than
she is. The bulwarks are made purposely low, like those
of the steamer Alexandra, built at Liverpool, so the
pivot-guns and swivels can be fired over them. The hull
is divided into three water-tight compartments; the
forecastle is fitted up with twenty-two berths, and a
mess table for this number, constructed to screw up like
those used on ships-of-war. The space in what is called
between-deeks, or more properly in the middle
compartment, is fitted up with thirty-two berths, with a
like mess table for their accommodation; then follows
the engine-room, and accommodations for the engineers,
and then the after-cabin, which has ten state-rooms,
five on each side, for the officers. There is no
hatchway for taking in cargo, or space in the vessel for
stowing anything but her coals, provision, and
ammunition for her cruise. She is to carry two
pivot-guns, and one or more swivels. No preparations, so
far as can be seen, (except the space left, ) are made
for mounting the guns. It is not probable that this is
to be done in port, but, like her sister ship the Ajax,
built by the same party, will clear and sail as a
merchant vessel, as was also done in the case of the
pirates Alabama, Georgia, Oreto, and Sea King, and then,
as in the other cases, mount the guns, and take in her
ammunition and supplies from some other English vessel,
and enter upon her cruise of devastation and
destruction. They have put up as a blind across the
hinder part of the steamer a temporary wooden tow-rail,
to pass her off to casual observers as a tug-boat.
The foreman in the yard, by name of Leslie, a
brother-in-law to the builder, says he does not know for
what purpose she is to be used, or where she is to go.
From the above description you will perceive that she is
built for war purposes, and nothing else. My information
from private and confidential sources is, that she is
for the confederates, and to be used as a privateer to
burn and destroy our commerce, and to make war against
the government of the United States, of which I have not
myself the least doubt. To show the peculiar form,
power, and construction of the vessel, abundant
testimony can be obtained; but of the intentions of the
parties in building her, and the purpose for which she
is to be used, I have no positive evidence but from
confidential sources, and I suppose none can be obtained
short. of the parties who are building and fitting her
out, and I have no power to compel or make them
testify.
I am,sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
United States Minister &c.,
&c., &c.
Advertisement paying crew of the
No. 290.
Daily Post,
Liverpool,
February 1,
1855.
Late confederate screw steamer
Alabama.—On and after the 1st of February next, £10
will be paid to each of the crew of the late confederate
screw steamer Alabama, (who were on board at the time of her
loss,) as compensation for their bags lost in that ship. The
money
[Page 174]
will be paid
on application to Richard Taylor, at the office of M. P.
Robertson, esq., Bumford Court, Liverpool, between the hours
of 12 meridian and 2 p. m.
Men must produce their discharges, and administrators of
deceased men must bring their certificates of
administration.
Liverpool. January 27, 1865.
Lord Russell to Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
February 8,
1865.
Sir. I have received your letter
dated the 7th instant, and delivered at the Foreign Office
at a late hour yesterday evening after the close of
business; but not being marked immediate, it did not come
under the notice of the under secretary of state until 1 p.
m. to-day.
The matter shall be immediately attended to, but in the mean
time I wish to call your attention to the dates of the
letters which you enclose. The first letter of the United
States consul, at Liverpool, is dated the 2d instant, and
affirms that a steamer named the Hercules is fitting out in
the Clyde for the confederate service, and that this vessel
is to be ready for sea in eight days. The second letter
which you transmit to me is dated Glasgow, the 4th instant,
and contains further information respecting this vessel, and
states, moreover, that thè trial trip is to take place
to-day.
In a former instance I was able by means of the lord advocate
to prosecute the owners of a vessel building in the Clyde,
and to get a verdict entered by consent which defeated the
purpose of the confederate agent. But these operations are
very quick, and unless I have timely notice I can have but
little hopes of stopping these nefarious transactions.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir,
your most obedient, humble ferrant,
Charles Francis Adams. Esq.,&c., &c., &c.
Mr. Adams to Earl Russell
Legation of the United
States. London,
February 9,
1865.
My Lord. I lose no time in
transmitting to you copies of two depositions which have
this moment come to hand touching the outfit of the two
vessels from Glasgow called the Ajax and the Hercules. I
have strong reasons for the belief that the first vessel is
already cruising in the ocean as a privateer, and the other
is about to follow her immediately. I scarcely deem it
necessary to call your lordship’s attention to the
deposition of John Melley, as justifying the refusal to
proceed on the voyage by the seamen in the examination at
Kingston, notwithstanding which they are punished by the
authorities as having committed an offence.
I pray your lordship to accept, &c.,&c.
Right Hon. Earl Russell. &c., &c., &c.
[Enclosures.]
1. Deposition of John Melley, February 6, 1865.
2. Advance note, the Ajax.
3. Deposition of George Smith, February 6, 1865.
Deposition of John
Melley.
I, John Melley, of Glasgow, seaman, being duly sworn,
depose and say: In the month of January last past,
being in want of a ship, saw Captain Adams, of the
steamer Ajax, at the, Sailors’ Home, in Glasgow; he
told me she was a tug or tow boat, going to Nassau,
and that he would like me to go. I signed the
articles for a voyage to Nassau for three pounds ten
shillings per month. Two days afterwards, on a
Friday, I went on board of her, lying at anchor,
about two miles from Greenock—the tail of the bank.
She sailed that same night about 12 or 1 o’clock. We
arrived at Kingston, Ireland, the next morning. I
left the vessel at Kingston and returned to Glasgow.
Captain Adams was in command. The crew consisted of
eight sailors, twelve firemen, and three engineers.
There was one person on board who was formerly the
captain of the confederate steamer Fingal, who was
to have command of the Ajax as soon as Captain Adams
left. I discovered as soon as I got on board of her,
and before she sailed, that she was intended for a
war vessel. She was fitted up for one in every
particular. In the fore part of the vessel
eighty-four berths fitted up for the accom modation
of the men. There were also mess tables for the same
number of men, arranged so as to screw up the same
as on a war vessel. I have served on board of a war
vessel, and
[Page 175]
know something of their construction. I saw two
gun-breeches on board. There were five buckets also.
The next morning after we sailed I went to the
captain and told him I was not going to be
shanghied. He replied, that I was not going to be
shanghied. I told him this vessel, the Ajax, was a
southern privateer, and that I believed she had her
guns and ammunition on board. He would hardly give
me any satisfaction, but said it was not so. I told
him the captain of the Fingal was on board to take
charge of her. He made no reply to this, except that
he himself was captain now. The captain of the
Fingal kept himself concealed as much as he could.
He is a southern man. After we got into Kingston we
got on the rocks. I told the captain I would not go
in the vessel, on account of her being a southern
privateer. He denied this. I told him she had guns
and ammunition on board. He could not or did not
deny this. I told him that if he did not let me go
on shore and leave the vessel that I would make a
complaint to the American consul and to a
magistrate, and have the vessel seized on the ground
of her being a confederate privateer. He then agreed
that I might leave her and return back to Glasgow,
which I did. I have not the least doubt about
her—the Ajax—being a war vessel for the confederates
in America. All the men on board were satisfied that
she was a privateer, and to be used for no other
purpose. At the time I signed the articles I
received from Captain Adams an advance for £3 and 10
shillings, payable by Patrick Henderson &. Co.,
of Glasgow, ten days after the ship sailed. I knew
the captain of the Fingal; saw him when in command
of her at Savannah, Georgia.
Sworn and subscribed at
Glasgow, before me, this 6th
day of February, 1865.
A. GALBRACK, J.
P.
Seaman’s advance
note.
Glasgow,9th
day of January, 1865.
Ten days after the departure of the ship Ajax from
the last port or place in the river or Firth of
Clyde, in which, from any cause, she may be, before
finally leaving for the voyage, for which this note
is issued, pay to the order of John Melley the sum
of three pounds ten shillings, being an advance of
wages, provided the said seaman sails in and
continuos on board of the vessel, and has
previously, and during that period, been duly
earning his wages, in terms of the articles of
agreement.
Messrs. P. Henderson
& Co., West St., Vincent
Place.
Deposition of George
Smith.
I, George Smith, of Dumbarton, iron ship-builder,
being duly sworn, do depose and say: I work in the
ship-yard of P. Denny, of Dumbarton, and have worked
there since the month of August last past. I worked
on two steamers built by Mr. Denny—one called the
Ajax, which sailed for Nassau some days ago, and on
the Hercules, which is still at Dumbarton, and now
nearly ready for sea. They are sister ships, were
known in the yard as the twin screws, and built off
of the same model. I am well acquainted with their
construction and everything about them. The frames
are of angle-iron—very strong—stronger than I ever
saw in vessels of their size. This frame-work is
covered with iron plates, strongly and securely
riveted to the frame-work. The inside has cement two
inches thick, and on the inside of the cement a wood
lining four inches in thickness. The cement does not
come up to water-mark, but the wood lining comes up
above this. The beams that support the upper deck
are very close and strong for vessels of this
size—strong enough to support guns of almost any
size. The hull is in three water-tight compartments.
The forecastle is fitted up with twenty-two berths,
and a mess table for this number of men, made so as
to screw up to the ceiling. The middle compartment
is fitted up with twenty-six berths—none of them
large enough to hold two persons—with a similar mess
table large enough to accommodate this number of
persons, made to screw up to the ceiling. The after
cabin is fitted up with twelve separate state-rooms.
The bulwarks are low—a pivot gun could be fired
right over them. The decks of the vessels are flush
fore and aft. There is space on each vessel, near
mid-ships where pivot guns can be placed. There are
also two portholes cut on each side of the vessels,
making four portholes on each Vessel, but so cut and
concealed that they would not bo observed by a
casual inspection. They have hinges and are secured
with bolts on the inside, and can be opened and used
at any time. These portholes are suitable for guns.
I put on the hinges for those on the Hercules this
very day. You cannot see them—the portholes— from
the outside. From the best of my judgment these
portholes are for guns. I cannot see that they can
be used for any other purpose. Each steamer has one
funnel and two masts. The fore masts are
brig-rigged, the hindmost schooner-rigged. They are
to carry very large sails. The screws are double,
and driven by two engines. The boilers and engines
aro so
[Page 176]
constructed as to be protected from shot or shell by
the coal-bunkers. There is an apartment under the
fore peak, all iron, suitable for storing powder,
and which has the appearance of a magazine, and
suitable for that purpose. From the material used in
the construction of the Ajax and Hercules, the
strong manner they are built, and the peculiar
construction and fittings, I should say that they
are both adapted and have the appearance of being
for war purposes— what are called and generally
known as gunboats—and in my opinion are intended for
gunboats and for war purposes. The general opinion
of all the people, workmen in the yard, is that they
are for war purposes, and they are called gunboats
by them—this general appellation by which they were
known in the yard. It is not known for whom they are
being built by the men, but they suppose and think
for the confederates in America.
GEORGE SMITH.
Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 6th day of
February, 1865.
W. N. WATSON, One of her
Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the County of
Lanark.
Lord Russell to
Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
February 9,
1865.
Sir. I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day’s
date, enclosing copies of two depositions respecting the
outfit of the two vessels from Glasgow, called the Ajax
and the Hercules. And I have to state to you that I have
lost no time in communicating copies of these papers to
the proper departments 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.
Lord Russell to
Mr. Adams
Foreign
Office.
February 15,
1865.
Lord Russell presents his compliments to Mr. Adams, and
has the honor to enclose a copy of the letter of which
Lord Russell spoke to Mr. Adams yesterday as having been
addressed to Messrs. Mason,
Slidell, and Mann.
Lord Russell to
Mason, Slidell, and
Mann
Foreign
Office.
February 13,
1865.
Gentlemen. Some time ago I had
the honor to inform you, in answer to a statement which
you sent me, that her Majesty remained neutral in the
deplorable contest now carried on in North America, and
that her Majesty intended to persist in that course.
It is now my duty to request you to bring to the notice
of the authorities under whom you act, with a view to
their serious consideration thereof, the just complaints
which her Majesty’s government have to make of the
conduct of the so-called confederate government. The
facts upon which these complaints are founded tend to
show that her Majesty’s neutrality is not respected by
the agents of that government, and that undue and
reprehensible attempts have been made by them to involve
her Majesty in a war in which her Majesty had declared
her intention not to take part.
In the first place, I am sorry to observe that the
unwarrantable practice of building ships in this country
to be used as vessels of war against a state with whom
her Majesty is at peace still continues. Her Majesty’s
government had hoped that this attempt to make the
territorial waters of Great Britain the place of
preparation for warlike armaments against the United
States might be put an end to by prosecutions and by
seizure of the vessels built in pursuance of contracts
made with the confederate agents. But facts which are,
unhappily, too notorious, and correspondence which has
been put into the hands of her Majesty’s government by
the minister of the government of the United States,
show that resort is had to evasion and subtlety, in
order to escape the penalties of the law; that a vessel
is bought in one place, that her armament is prepared in
another, and that both are sent to some distant port
beyond her Majesty’s jurisdiction, and that thus an
armed steamship is fitted out to cruise against the
commerce of a power in amity with her Majesty. A crew
composed partly of British subjects is procured
separately; wages are paid to them for an unknown
service. They are despatched, perhaps, to the coast of
France, and there or elsewhere are engaged to serve in a
confederate man-of-war.
Now, it is very possible that by such shifts and
stratagems the penalties of the existing law of this
country, nay,, of any law that could be enacted, may be
evaded; but the offence thus offered to her Majesty’s
authority and dignity by the defacto rulers of the Confederate States,
[Page 177]
whom her
Majesty acknowledges as belligerents, and whose agents
in the United Kingdom enjoy the benefit of our
hospitality in quiet security, remains the same. It is a
proceeding totally unjustifiable and manifestly
offensive to the British crown.
Secondly, the confederate organs have published, and her
Majesty’s government have been placed in possession of
it, a memorandum of instructions for the cruisers of the
so-called Confederate States, which would, if adopted,
set aside some of the most settled principles of
international law, and break down rules which her
Majesty’s government have lawfully established for the
purpose of maintaining her Majesty’s neutrality. It may,
indeed, be said that this memorandum of instructions,
though published in a confederate newspaper, has never
as yet, been put in force, and that it may be considered
as a dead letter; but this cannot be affirmed with
regard to the document which forms the next ground of
complaint.
Thirdly, the President of the so-called Confederate
States has put forth a proclamation acknowledging and
claiming as a belligerent operation, in behalf of the
Confederate States, the act of Bennett G. Burley in
attempting, in 1864, to capture the steamer Michigan,
with a view to release numerous confederate prisoners
detained in captivity in Johnson’s island, on Lake
Erie.
Independently of this proclamation, the facts connected
with the attack on two other American steamers, the
Philo Parsons and Island Queen, on Lake Erie, and the
recent raid at St. Albans, in the State of Vermont,
which Lieutenant Young, holding, as he affirms, a
commission in the Confederate States army, declares to
have been an act of war, and therefore not to involve
the guilt of robbery and murder, show a gross disregard
of her Majesty’s character as a neutral power, and a
desire to involve her Majesty in hostilities with a
coterminous power with which Great Britain is at
peace.
You may, gentlemen, have the means of contesting the
accuracy of the information on which my foregoing
statements have been founded; and I should be glad to
find that her Majesty’s government have been
misinformed, although I have no reason to think that
such has been the case. If, on the contrary, the
information which her Majesty’s government have received
with regard to these matters cannot be gainsaid, I trust
that you will feel yourselves authorized to promise, on
behalf of the confederate government, that practices so
offensive and unwarrantable shall cease, and shall be
entirely abandoned for the future. I shall, therefore,
await anxiously your reply, after referring to the
authorities of the Confederate States.
I am, &c,
J. M. Mason. Esq., J. Slidell. Esq., J. Mann. Esq.
