No. 21.
Mr. West to
Earl Granville.
Washington, January 25, 1882.
(Received February 12.)
My Lord: I have the honor to inform your lordship
that the Committee on Foreign Affairs has reported back to the House a
resolution to the following effect:
“That the President be requested to obtain from the British Government a list
of all American citizens, naturalized or native-born, under arrest or
imprisonment by authority of said government, with a statement of the causes
of such arrest or imprisonment, especially of such citizens as may have been
thus arrested and imprisoned under a suspension of habeas
corpus in Ireland, and, if not imcompatible with the public
interest, that he communicate such information as he receives, together with
all the correspondence now on file in the Department of State relating to
any existing arrest or imprisonment of citizens as aforesaid;” upon which
Mr. Robinson, of New York, made a violent speech, copy of which is herewith
inclosed, against the British Government, and said, alluding to the
prohibition of the importation of hogs into England from America some time
ago, which created so much sensation, “Oh! that we only paid as much
attention, as much honor, to a live American citizen as we do to a dead
Cincinnati hog!” I called Mr. Frelinghuysen’s attention to the terms of this
resolution, and to the language used in debate upon it, but he said he had
no knowledge of any such resolution as I had now alluded to, and which I
showed to him, nor could he tell me what was likely to be the ultimate fate
of it. I remarked to Mr. Frelinghuysen that, although not much importance
need be attached to such language as that used by Mr. Robinson, still the
wording of the resolution was calculated to produce a bad effect, and might
cause unnecessary irritation.
Mr. Frelinghuysen said he would make inquiries as to what had taken place in
the committee respecting the resolution.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure in No. 21.]
[Extract from the National Republican of
January 24, 1882.]
Mr. Robinson, of New York, took the floor to discuss the resolution. He
related how, some months ago, he had met the late English minister, and
how that gentleman had stated to him that some American hogs of bad
character had been taken over to England for consumption. The wires
under the Atlantic had flashed the news of outrages that were about to
be perpetrated upon the dead Ohio hog. At the same time, American
citizens, who bad fought upon the battle-fields of the Union, whose
blood had given additional redness to the Stripes and brightened the
glory of the Stars, were thrown into prison without any crime being
alleged against them, were tried as felons, and were without any
opportunity to get their cases before the Government or the people of
the United States. He (Mr. Robinson) had been led to exclaim: “Oh, that
we only paid as much attention, as much honor, to a live American
citizen as we do a dead Cincinnati hog!” But so it was. The State
Department would not call up the cases of those citizens and have them
examined. There were five American citizens now confined in British
bastiles. They had been seized, brought before a jury, tried, and
acquitted; but immediately afterward the suspension of the habeas corpus had been brought to bear, they had
been rearrested, and were now languishing in prison. He had endeavored
to get the cases of these moaning, sickened, dying American citizens
before this House, but until the present time had been unable to do so.
He was going to move an amendment to the report, and was going to take
higher ground than was there taken. Not only had the United States a
right to interfere in behalf of American citizens in British prisons,
but it had the right, and it was its duty, to demand the release of the
members of Parliament elected by the people of Great Britain, and whom
the British Government had imprisoned. “A gentleman here,” continued Mr.
Robinson, “shakes his head. I will shake his heart.”
Mr. Robinson then quoted from a speech delivered by Lord John Russell in
favor
[Page 250]
of the British
Government interfering to compel the release by the Tuscan Government of
certain of its own subjects. Russian despotism hid its head, Turkish
tyranny paled into insignificance and grew pygmyish in comparison with
the great wrong and tyranny and despotism that had been inflicted on
some of the people of Great Britain.
At this point the matter went over until Tuesday, when it will come up as
unfinished business.
