Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Third Session of the Fortieth Congress
Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward
Sir: I have to acknowledge the reception of your dispatch No. 2090, of the 15th of November, in relation to the case of Captain John Warren, and likewise of a telegram by the cable on the 28th, instructing me to forward immediately the statutes of treason-felony under which he was tried. I infer from this message that at the moment you must have been in possession of my dispatch No. 1481, of the 16th of November, explaining the nature of that statute. I have caused to be procured copies of the different statutes relative to the late modifications made of the old law of treason and their application to Ireland, together with a specification of the trials already had under them, which I have the honor to transmit herewith.
This seems to me the quickest and best answer I can make to the message, without a necessity of incurring the expense of the telegraph.
The execution of the three men condemned for the rescue of prisoners and killing of a policeman took place in due course of law, on Saturday last, without any extraordinary incident. It was attended with far less excitement than had been apprehended. Many missives threatening assassination had been sent to different public officers, of which I also happened to be a recipient of one, but nothing serious has thus far come of it.
I now have the honor to transmit, at the desire of the writer, a letter addressed to me by Colonel Nagle, which seems to demand my immediate interference in his behalf, on account of the delay caused by the postponement of his trial. Since this was written, an application in due form has been made by his counsel to the court at Dublin, and has been refused. It has hardly seemed to me possible to dispute the right of this government to judge of the time when it is convenient to bring a prisoner to trial, in the face of the fact universally known here, and much commented on, of the long detention in confinement of Mr. Jeffer son Davis.
Mr. West, on the 22d instant, reported to me that, so far as he was informed, there were at that date only ten persons claiming to be citizens of the United States remaining in prison. One of the ten, Lawrence Doyle, has been since offered his release on the ground of his failing health. Of the remainder, he is notified that six, including Colonel Nagle, are to be tried at the spring assizes of the county of Sligo. The three others are also to be tried at the next spring assizes of the respective counties in which they were arrested.
I am glad to learn that the ground of just complaint, on the score of long imprisonment without assignable cause, will be, before long, removed.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward , Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
ANNO UNDECINO.—VICTORIÆ REGINÆ.
Cap. XII.—AN ACT for the better security of the Crown and government of the United Kingdom.—[22d April, 1848.]
Whereas by an act of the Parliament of Great Britain, passed in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, intituled An act for the safety and preservation of his Majesty’s person and government against treasonable and seditious practices and attempts, it was, among other things, enacted that, if any person or persons whatsoever, after the day of the passing of that act, during the natural life of his said Majesty, and until the end of the next session of Parliament after the demise of the Crown, should, within the realm or without, compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend death or destruction, or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim or wounding, imprisonment or restraint of the person of his said Majesty, his heirs or successors, or to deprive or depose him or them from the style, honor, or kingly name of the imperial Crown of this realm or of any other of his said Majesty’s dominions or countries, or to levy war against his said Majesty, his heirs and successors, within this realm, in order, by force or restraint, to compel him or them to change his or their measures or counsels, or in order to put any force or constraint upon or to intimidate or overawe both houses or either house of Parliament, or to move or stir any foreigner or stranger with force to invade this realm, or any other of his said Majesty’s dominions or countries under the obeisance of his said Majesty, his heirs and successors, and such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, should express, utter, or declare, by publishing any printing or writing, or by any overt act or deed, being legally convicted thereof, upon the oath of two lawful and credible witnesses, upon trial, or otherwise convicted or attainted by due course of law, then every such person or persons, so as aforesaid offending, should be deemed, declared, and adjudged to be a traitor and traitors, and should suffer pains of death, and also lose and forfeit as in cases of high treason. And whereas by an act of Parliament passed in the fifty-seventh year of the same reign, intituled An act to make perpetual certain parts of an act of the thirty-sixth year of his present Majesty, for the safety and preservation of his Majesty’s person and government against treasonable and seditious practices and attempts, and for the safety and preservation of the person of his royal Highness the prince regent against treasonable practices and attempts, all the hereinbefore-recited provisions of the said act of the thirty-sixth year of his said Majesty’s reign which relate to the heirs and successors of his said Majesty, the sovereigns of these realms, were made perpetual; and whereas doubts were entertained whether the provisions so made perpetual were by the last-recited act extended to Ireland; and whereas it is expedient to repeal all such of the provisions made perpetual by the last-recited act as do not relate to offenses against the person of the sovereign, and to enact other provisions instead thereof, applicable to all parts of the United Kingdom, and to extend to Ireland such of the provisions of the said acts as are not hereby repealed:
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and common in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this act the provisions of the said act of the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King George the Third, made perpetual by the said act for the fifty-seventh year of the same reign, and all the provisions of the last-mentioned act in relation thereto, save such of the same respectively as relate to the compassing, imagining, inventing, devising, or intending death or destruction, or any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maim or wounding, imprisonment or restraint of the person of the heirs and successors of his said Majesty King George the Third, and the expressing, uttering, or declaring of such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, shall be and the same are hereby repealed.
II. And be it declared and enacted, That such of the said recited provisions made perpetual by the said act of the fifty-seventh year of the reign of King George the Third as are not hereby repealed shall extend to and be in force in that part of the United Kingdom called Ireland.
III. And be it enacted, That if any person whatsoever, after the passing of this act, shall, within the United Kingdom or without, compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend to deprive or depose our most gracious lady the Queen, her heirs or successors, from the style, honor, or royal name of the imperial crown of the United Kingdom, or of any other of her Majesty’s dominions and countries, or to levy war against her Majesty, her heirs or successors, within any part of the United Kingdom, in order by force or constraint to compel her or them to change her or their measures or counsels, or in order to put any force or constraint upon, or in order to intimidate or overawe both houses or either house of Parliament, or to move or stir any foreigner or stranger with force to invade the United Kingdom, or any other her Majesty’s dominions or [Page 23] countries under the obeisance of her Majesty, her heirs or successors, and such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions, or any of them, shall express, utter or declare, by publishing any printing or writing, or by open and advised speaking, or by any overt act or deed, every person so offending shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for the term of his or her natural life, or for any term not less than seven years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labor, as the court shall direct.
IV. Provided always, and be it enacted, That no person shall be prosecuted for any felony by virtue of this act in respect of such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions as aforesaid, in so far as the same are expressed, uttered, or declared by open and advised speaking, only unless information of such compassings, imaginations, devices, and intentions, and of the words by which the same were expressed, uttered, or declared, shall be given upon oath to one or more justice or justices of the peace, or to any sheriff or steward, or sheriff substitute or steward substitute in Scotland, within six days after such words shall have been spoken, and unless a warrant for the apprehension of the person by whom such words shall have been spoken shall be issued within ten days next after such information shall have been given as aforesaid, and unless such warrant shall be issued within two years next after the passing of this act; and that no person shall be convicted of any such conspiracy, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions as aforesaid, in so far as the same are expressed, uttered, or declared by open or advised speaking as aforesaid, except upon his own confession in open court, or unless the words so spoken shall be proved by two credible witnesses.
V. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful, in any indictment for any felony under this act, to charge against the offender any number of matters, acts, or deeds by which such compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices, or intentions as aforesaid, or any of them, shall have been expressed, uttered, or declared.
VI. Provided alivays, and be it enacted, That nothing herein contained shall lessen the force of, or in any manner affect, anything enacted by the statute passed in the twenty-fifth year of King Edward the Third, a declaration which offenses shall be adjudged treason.
VII. Provided also, and be it enacted, That if the facts or matters alleged in an indictment for any felony under this act shall amount in law to treason, such indictment shall not, by reason thereof, be deemed void, erroneous, or defective; and if the facts or matters proved on the trial of any person indicted for any felony under this act shall amount in law to treason, such person shall not by reason thereof be entitled to be acquitted of such felony; but no person tried for such felony shall be afterwards prosecuted for treason upon the same facts.
VIII. And be it enacted, That, in the case of every felony punishable under this act, every principal in the second degree and every accessory before the fact shall be punishable in the same manner as the principal in the first degree is by this act punishable; and every accessory after the fact to any such felony shall on conviction be liable to be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for any term not exceeding two years.
IX. Provided always, and be it enacted, That no person committed for trial in Scotland for any offense under this act shall be entitled to insist on liberation on bail, unless with consent of the public prosecutor, or by warrant of the high court or circuit court of judiciary, in such and the like manner and to the same effect as is provided by an act passed in the session of Parliament, holden in the fifth and sixth years of the reign of his Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled An act to provide that persons accused of forgery in Scotland shall not be entitled to bail, unless in certain cases; but the trial of any person, so committed, and whether liberated on bail or not, shall in all cases be proceeded with and brought to a conclusion under the like certification and conditions as if intimation to fix a diet for trial had been made to the public prosecutor in terms of an act passed in the Scottish Parliament in the year one thousand seven hundred and one, intituled An act for preventing wrongous imprisonment, and against undue delays in trials.
X. And be it enacted, That it shall not be lawful for any court, before which any person shall be prosecuted or tried for any felony under this act, to order payment to the prosecutor or the witnesses of any costs which shall be incurred in preferring or prosecuting any such indictment.
XI. And be it enacted, That this act may be amended or repealed by any act to be passed during the present session of Parliament.
ANNO VICESIMO QUARTO ET VICESIMO QUINTO.—VICTORIÆ REGINÆ.
Cap. XCIV.—AN ACT to consolidate and amend the statute law of England and Ireland relating to accessories to and abettors of indictable offenses.—[August 6, 1861.]
[Extract.]
Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the statute law of England and Ireland relating to accessories to and abettors of indictable offenses:
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
As to accessories before the fact—
I. Whosoever shall become an accessory before the fact to any felony, whether the same be a felony at common law or by virtue of any act passed or to be passed, may be indicted, tried, convicted, and punished in all respects as if he were a principal felon.
II. Whosoever shall counsel, procure, or command any other person to commit any felony, whether the same be a felony at common law or by virtue of any act passed or to be passed, shall be guilty of felony, and may be indicted and convicted either as an accessory before the fact to the principal felony, together with the principal felon, or after the conviction of the principal felon, or may be indicted and convicted of a substantive felony, whether the principal felon shall or shall not have been previously convicted, or shall or shall not be amenable to justice, and may thereupon be punished in the same manner as any accessory before the fact to the same felony, if convicted as an accessory, may be punished.
As to accessories after the fact—
III. Whosoever shall become an accessory after the fact to any felony, whether the same be a felony at common law or by virtue of any act passed or to be passed, may be indicted and convicted either as an accessory after the fact to the principal felony, together with the principal felon, or after the conviction of the principal felon, or may be indicted and convicted of a substantive felony, whether the principal felon shall or shall not have been previously convicted, or shall or shall not be amenable to justice, and may thereupon be punished in like manner as any accessory after the fact to the same felony, if convicted as an accessory, may be punished.
* * * * * * * * * *
Mr. Nagle to Mr. Adams
Sir: I respectfully call your attention to the following statement, and request that it may be forwarded to the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State:
After five mouths’ imprisonment without any charge or evidence of crime being brought against me, notwithstanding my continued protest and repeated demands for liberty, I was on the 25th of October indicted by the grand jury of the county of Dublin for treason-felony. The commission of oyer and terminer, before whom the indictment was brought, adjourned on the 16th of November, after a session of three weeks, without bringing me to trial. The attorney general had promised to bring up my case in the first week of the commission, but failed to do so. On the last day of its session I asked through my counsel for an immediate trial, or that I might be released on bail. This was denied me, and I stand committed for trial at the Sligo assizes, which will be held in March next.
It appears the court acknowledges my claim as an American citizen, of which fact the Crown officials were informed before my indictment, although the same court denied the rights of other American citizens, and tried and condemned them as British subjects upon the same indictment which was found against me, and under the very law of England which, as announced by the lord chief baron, holds them perpetually bound to their natural allegiance, and further declares that “all children born out of the realm, whose fathers are natural-born subjects of England, shall themselves be natural-born subjects to all intents, constructions, and purposes whatever.” If one portion of the law can be enforced, as it has been against Warren and Costello, denying the rights of naturalized citizens, then we may expect, as a legal and logical consequence, that the balance of it, claiming the children of those citizens as British subjects, will be enforced in my case. I call attention to this now, that our government may not be surprised at the position likely to be assumed by the Crown, should I be brought to trial.
The reason assigned for the postponement of my trial to Sligo is, that my status as [Page 25] an American citizen being recognized, I cannot be held accountable as a co-conspirator for the overt acts committed on the 5th March last, for which Warren and Costello were tried and convicted. It would appear, therefore, that I am to be held and tried on the statement of the witness Gallagher, who swears that I administered an oath to him on board of a vessel in Sligo bay, with a pistol at his head, if he refused to take the oath.
I suppose Mr. West will forward an official report of the trial, as he had a special counsel watching the case, aside from those engaged for the defense; so I will not enter upon the details of it. As this story of Gallagher is the only foundation for a prosecution, the only pretense of an overt act, and the plausible excuse for keeping me a prisoner, I deem it necessary to call particular attention to the character of this man’s testimony, and the circumstances connected with it. It appears Gallagher was first examined in Sligo in the latter part of May, when he swore that the vessel he boarded in the bay was to the best of his knowledge a Spaniard, and bound to Glasgow. He told a plain, simple story, and said that was all he knew about her. On the trial the coast guard swears he told him the same.
Gallagher was brought to Kilmainham jail early in July, and remained in prison about one month, seeing me every day, exercising in the same yard, becoming well acquainted with my name and appearance, but never recognized me, or made any pretense of having ever before seen me. He left the jail in August. On the 12th of October I was brought before a magistrate, and Gallagher was produced and told the strange story he swore to on that day. During the trials of Warren and Costello he was placed upon the witness-stand and repeated his story, with many variations and contradictions, sticking, however, to the main point. I will not here attempt to analyze his evidence, trusting that the counsel employed for that purpose by Mr. West will not fail to point out the contradictions, inconsistencies, and improbabilities of his conflicting statements— his probable and undoubted perjury. Colonel Warren solemnly declared, before sentence was pronounced upon him, that he never saw the man until he came to Kilmainham jail. I declare, before God and the world, upon my honor as a man and a soldier, that his whole statement about me is an infamous lie. Yet, upon the unsupported and uncorroborated story of this miserable perjurer, this government has the effrontery to hold me subject for an indefinite period to the torture of this lingering death, to which I have been already so long subjected upon mere suspicion. I am now under the treatment of the medical director, who can certify to the debilitated condition to which I am reduced, after being shut up in this bastile all summer. My health is now seriously affected; a continuance of this confinement will cost me my life. Is this the penalty I must suffer at the hands of a merciless, tyrannical government for having dared to express in my native land my abhorrence of a rule which seeks to expatriate a race, and would exterminate every vestige of a nation? I again appeal to my country and her representatives for justice, for freedom—aye, for life. I again repeat and declare that I have done no act, offended no law within British territory, which should subject me to the wrong and injury I have already suffered, much less to a continuance of it. The Crown officials have attempted to show cause for my arrest and imprisonment. They have made up a case, and a Dublin grand jury have indicted me for acts committed on the 5th of March, (proposing to deal with me as a British subject,) but there they stop. After five months of search and labor, they produce three perjured informers to swear away my liberty. How they were procured may be inferred from the persistent efforts made to procure others to do likewise, which will be made public, notwithstanding the attempt made to suppress the facts. The attorney general finds it is not safe to proceed, and at the last moment sets aside my trial for four months, trusting that in the intervening time, by proper manipulation, some wretch may be found willing to barter soul and honor and tell a tale to support Gallagher.
To sum up the whole matter in a few words, I, a citizen of the United States, a stranger in Ireland, having committed no offense, am arrested in mid-day upon a public highway by the first policeman I meet; put in irons; placed in close and solitary confinement; subject to all the humiliations and privations of the worst class of criminals; and thus deprived of my liberty for several months, to the serious injury of my health; from the commencement protesting against the outrage, and constantly demanding my freedom. Compelled at last by my persistent demands and the action of my government, a charge is preferred against me, for acts committed in Ireland, by some parties to me unknown; and to sustain it, the evidence of Corydon, Buckley, and Gallagher is produced, and an attempt is made to try and pass judgment upon me as a British subject, by finding a true bill of indictment against me upon the bribed and perjured testimony of these men. The Crown lawyers, finding there is not corroborative evidence to insure my conviction, suspend proceedings and return me to the gloom and misery of my prison, there to linger on for months to the great danger of my life.
I now most respectfully appeal to you, honored sir, earnestly and firmly demanding my immediate release. This government has had ample time to justify its action against me, and has failed to do so. I have already received the punishment due established crime, by six months’ confinement. I have suffered irreparable injury, and a continuance of my imprisonment would, in all probability, be fatal to my life. My life [Page 26] may be of small consequence to a power whose whole career and existence is marked by cruelty and the sacrifice of human life, hut I am of some value to my family, and I trust my rights and liberty are worthy the protection of the American government.
I have the honor to remain, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. Charles Francis Adams, United States Minister,