The case of the United States, laid before the tribunal of arbitration, convened at Geneva, under the provisions of the treaty between the United States of America and her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, concluded at Washington, May 8, 1871.

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Table of Contents

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I. Introduction. Geneva edition. Present edition.
Page. Page.
Meeting of the Joint High Commission at Washington 9 9
Protocol of the conferences as to the Alabama claims 10 9
The Treaty of Washington 17 12
What the United States will attempt to establish 29 16
Evidence and documents, and how referred to 30 17
II. The unfriendly course pursued by Great Britain toward the United States from the outbreak to the close of the insurrection.
Relations of the United States with Great Britain prior to 1860 31 19
Friendly relations of the two Governments in 1860 33 20
The United States in 1860 34 20
Election of Mr. Lincoln 36 21
Secession of South Carolina 36 21
Secession of Alabama 36 21
Secession of Georgia and other States 37 21
Opposition to the territorial limitation of slavery the cause of secession 37 21
A party in the South opposed to secession 39 22
Inauguration of Mr. Lincoln 42 23
The British government informed of his purposes 42 23
Lord John Russell promises to await Mr. Adams’s arrival before acting 43 23
The surrender of Fort Sumter 44 24
The insurgents to issue letters of marque 44 24
Proclamation giving notice of blockade 45 24
Objects of that proclamation 45 24
The joint action of France invited by Great Britain 45 24
When the President’s proclamation was received in Great Britain 47 25
Opinion of law officers taken on an imperfect copy 49 26
Her Majesty’s government decide on the first of May to recognize a state of war 50 26
Lord John Russell and the insurgent commissioners discuss the recogonition of southern independence 51 26
Communication with the French government 52 27
Answers of the French government 53 27
When the President’s proclamation was received by Great Britain 54 27
Effect of recognition of a state of war 55 28
The Queen’s proclamation 57 28
Uncertainty of Her Majesty’s government 57 28
Effect of the Queen’s proclamation 58 29
Mr. Bright’s views 62 30
The sovereign right to issue such a proclamation not denied 63 31
It was an unfriendly act 63 31
And issued with an unfriendly purpose 64 31
M. Rolin Jacquemyns on the Queen’s proclamation 64 31
Unfriendly conduct of Great Britain as to the declarations of the congress Paris 65 31
The instructions to Lord Lyons might have been regarded as a cause of war 68 33
Former negotiations regarding the declarations of the congress of Paris 69 33
Lord Lyons’s interview with Mr. Seward 72 34
Termination of negotiations with the United States 73 35
Great, Britain desired to legalize privateering 74 35
Negotiations at Richmond 74 35
Mr. Adams’s comments 78 36
Contrast between conduct of Great Britain toward the United States in the Trent affair, and toward violators of British neutrality in the insurgent interest 82 38
M. Rolin-Jacquemyns on British neutrality 86 40
Proof of the unfriendly feeling of members of the British cabinet and Parliament 87 40
Conclusions 100 45
III. The duties which Great Britain, as a neutral, should have observed toward the united states.
The Queen’s proclamation a recognition of obligations under the law of nations 105 47
Great Britain has recognized its obligations in various ways 105 47
The obligations recognized by the foreign enlistment act of 1819 105 47
Municipal laws designed to aid a government in the performance of international duties 106 47
History of the foreign enlistment act of 1819 106 47
Great Britain bound to perform the duties recognized by that act 108 48
The duties recognized by that act 109 48
Royal commission to revise the foreign enlistment act of 1819 113 50
Great Britain bound to perform the duties recognized by that act 114 51
The duties recognized by that act 116 51
Royal commission to revise the foreign enlistment act of 1819 117 52
Report of that commission 118 52
Duties recognized by the Queen’s proclamation of neutrality 122 53
Definition of neutrality 123 54
Duties recognized by instructions to British officials during the insurrection 125 55
Correspondence between the two governments in 1793–’94 126 55
Treaty of November 19, 1794 131 57
Construction of that treaty by the commissioners appointed under it. 132 57
The neutrality laws of the United States enacted at the request of Great Britain 133 58
Case of the bark Maury 134 58
Principles thus recognized by the two governments 135 58
Obligation to make compensation for injuries 136 59
Correspondence between the United States and Portugal 137 59
Principles recognized in that correspondence 146 63
Rules in the treaty of Washington 148 63
What is due diligence 150 64
Fitting out, arming, or equipping, each an offense 159 68
The second clause of the first rule 159 68
Reasons for a change of language 159 68
Continuing force of the rule 163 69
Duty to detain offending vessels recognized by Great Britain 163 69
Also recognized by France 166 70
The second rule of the treaty 166 70
The third rule of the treaty 168 71
Duty to make compensation for injuries 169 71
The foregoing views in harmony with the opinions of European publicists 169 72
Hautefeuille 170 72
Bluntschli 171 72
Rolin-Jacquemyns 176 74
Ortolan 181 76
Pierantoni 184 77
Lord Westbury 185 77
The case of the Swedish vessels 186 78
Offending vessels not simply contraband of war 193 80
Opinion of Ortolan 195 81
Opinion of Heffter 196 81
Case of the Santisima Trinidad 197 82
Controlled by the case of the Gran Para 201 83
Effect of a commission of the offender as a vessel of war 202 84
Opinion of Sir Roundell Palmer 204 84
Opinion of Chief Justice Marshall 204 85
Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States 206 85
The principle recognized by France, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, and the United States 209 86
Deposit of the offense 209 86
Résumé of principles 210 87
IV. Wherein Great Britain failed to perform its duties as a neutral.
Admissions of British cabinet ministers 215 89
British ports the base of insurgent operations; a partial hospitality shown to the insurgents; a branch of their government established in Liverpool, their government vessels officially aided in evading the blockade, and in furnishing them with arms, munitions, and means for carrying on the struggle 218 90
The firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Co 219 91
Character of the blockaded coast 222 92
Geographical situation of Nassau and Bermuda 223 92
What was done at Nassau 225 93
The United States denied permission to deposit coal art Nassau 229 94
Complaints to Earl Russell and his reply 232 95
Instructions as to hospitalities to the belligerents 233 96
Lord Palmerston’s threats 234 96
Contraband of war fraudulently cleared at Nassau for British ports 236 97
Résumé for the year 237 97
Base changed to Bermuda 239 98
What was done at Liverpool by Bullock 240 99
The Florida 241 99
The Alabama 243 99
The Sumter at Gibraltar 245 100
The Florida at Nassau 245 100
Contracts for constructing six iron-clads 246 101
The Sumter at Trinidad 247 101
The Florida at Nassau 247 101
Mr. Adams represents the foregoing facts to Earl Russell 248 101
Earl Russell declines to act 249 102
Inefficiency of the foreign enlistment act 250 102
Propositions to amend the foreign enlistment act 251 103
Propositions declined by Great Britain 251 103
Proposition renewed and declined 253 103
These proceedings were an abandonment, in advance, of “due diligence” 256 104
The Georgia 256 105
The Alexandra 257 105
The rulings in the Alexandra case emasculated the foreign enlistment act 259 106
Laird’s iron-clad rams 260 106
Their detention not an abandonment of the lax construction of the duties of a neutral 264 108
The contracts with Annan for the construction of vessels in France 266 108
Conduct of the French Government 267 109
Contrast between the conduct of France and of Great Britain 269 109
The Tuscaloosa at the Cape of Good Hope 270 110
She is released against the advice of Sir Baldwin Walker 272 110
The course of the governor is disapproved 272 111
The Tuscaloosa comes again into the waters of the Colony 273 111
The governor reverses his policy and seizes the vessel 273 111
His course is again disapproved 274 111
Blockade-running 274 111
Cotton shipments 275 112
The insurgent government interested in blockade-running 278 113
These facts brought to Earl Russell’s notice 282 114
He sees no offense in them 282 114
Earl Russell’s attention again called to these facts 284 115
He again sees no offense in them 285 115
Blockade-running in partnership with the insurgent government 286 116
Continued partiality 288 117
The Rappahannock 291 118
The Shenandoah 293 118
Mr. Mountague Bernard’s list of vessels detained by Great Britain 296 120
The charges in Mr. Fish’s instructions of September 25, 1869, are sustained by this evidence 300 121
V. Wherein Great Britain failed to perform its duties as a neutral. The Insurgent Cruisers.
Earl Russell denounces the acts of which the United States complain as unwarranted and totally unjustifiable 309 125
British territory the base of the naval operations of the insurgents 310 125
Their arsenal 310 125
The systematic operations of the insurgents a violation of the duties 311 126
Continuing partiality for the insurgents 313 126
Recapitulation of hostile acts tolerated in British Possessions 314 127
These facts throw suspicion upon the acts of British officials toward the insurgent cruisers 316 128
They show an abnegation of all diligence to prevent the acts complained of 317 128
They throw upon Great Britain the burden of proof to show that the acts complained of could not have been prevented 318 128
List of the insurgent cruisers 320 129
The Sumter 320 129
The Nashville 328 132
The Florida and her tenders, the Clarence, the Tacony, and the Archer. 332 133
The Alabama and her tender, the Tuscaloosa 364 146
The Retribution 390 156
The Georgia 392 156
The Tallahassee, or the Olustee 409 163
The Chickamauga 413 164
The Shenandoah 416 165
Summary 454 180
The conduct of other nations contrasted with that of Great Britain 462 183
VI. The Tribunal should award a sum in gross to the United States.
Offer of the American Commissioners in the Joint High Commission. 467 185
Terms of the submission by the Treaty 468 185
General statement of the claims 468 185
Claims growing out of the destruction of vessels and cargoes 469 185
Claims growing out of the destruction of vessels and cargoes 469 186
Government vessels 470 186
Merchant vessels 470 186
Injuries to persons 471 186
Expenditures in pursuit of cruisers 472 186
Transfer of vessels to the British flag 472 187
Enhanced rates of insurance 476 188
Prolongation of the war 476 188
Interest claimed to the date of payment 479 189
Reasons why a gross sum should be awarded 480 189
Index 483 191
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Contents