shall also have £1 per month extra." The captain told us her name was to be the Virginia, and this was the name mentioned in the articles which we were required to sign. They had the confederate flag on board at the time laid down on the floor of the cabin, but it was not hoisted. The articles were for three years, or during the war with the United States. During the night, while we were discharging the cargo from one vessel to the other, we were at anchor very close into the land; not more than half a mile from the land, opposite a magazine which lies a quarter of a mile from Ushant light. We went to this place, or very near there, every night. After reading the articles, the men who refused to sign asked about their wages. They were told that Captain Hitchcock would settle this after we arrived at Liverpool. I saw Mr. Hitchcock yesterday at Jones & Co.'s office, No. 28 Chapel street, Liverpool. This house of Jones & Co. acted as agents for shipping the men. One of their clerks was at the steamer which took us around from Liverpool to Greenock. They signed all the shipping notes; at least, they were all made payable there at Jones & Co.'s offices, and they have paid them since. They paid me my shipping note yesterday at their office in Liverpool. There were ten sailors lately belonging to the British navy from Portsmouth, who came out in the Alar, but refused to join the vessel. They received £2 apiece from Captain Hitchcock not to say anything about the matter. This was paid them while we were returning to Plymouth. Mr. Jones, one of the firm in Chapel street, Liverpool, who came out to us in the Alar, was present at the time when the money was paid, and ordered Captain Hitchcock to pay it to the men. Mr. Jones seeemed to [take] charge of everything. The report was that she, the Virginia, was to go to Madeira. She had not more than five days' coal when we left her. She is an iron vessel, very slightly built, with a full poop as far as the after scuttle-hole to fireroom and top-gallant forecastle. Three masts, square rigged forward; fore and aft, main and mizzen. She has one funnel between the fore and main mast; a house over engine-room, with a donkey-engine in it. The Alar is a British steamer hailing from London. When she came out to meet the Japan, or Virginia as she is called, she sailed from Newhaven. (Signed) Sworn before me at Liverpool this 14th day of April, 1863. (Signed) EDWARD THOMPSON. J. PEARSON, Deposition of Thomas Mahon. Thomas Mahon, residing at No. 8 Court, Gore Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, being sworn, says: I am a native of Liverpool, and am a laborer. On or about the 27th day of March last past, hearing that a steamer was wanting men for Singapore, I went to the Sailors' Home in Liverpool, and was introduced to a man as the captain. I don't remember his name at present; I believe it is Hitchcock. He is in Liverpool now. He told me he was captain of the Japan. He said he wanted firemen and trimmers, and the next day, the 27th, I went with him to the shipping-office, and there signed articles for steamer Japan for Singapore, or any intermediate port, for two years. Captain Hitchcock engaged me, and witnessed my signing. I was to have £3 10s. per month. About fifty men in all signed in the same way. When we had signed, we were told to take our clothes to Jones & Co.'s, No. 28 Chapel street, and would then receive an advance note for a month's pay. I took my clothes there, and received a note for £3 10s., payable ten days after the ship sailed from Greenock. At Jones & Co.'s we were told by the Captain Hitchcock to meet at the Glasgow boat at 5 o'clock on Monday afternoon at the dock. We went as ordered, and our clothes were brought down, and our fares were paid by a clerk from Jones & Co. We sailed the same evening in the Heron, about fifty in all. We arrived at Greenock about 3 or 4 the next afternoon, and a tug came alongside and took us off the Heron and put us on board the screw-steamer Japan, lying in the river opposite Greenock. Captain Hitchcock came off in the tug and took us on board. He went on board with us; he gave us our orders. I had shipped as coal-trimmer, and believed she was an English steamer, and going to Singapore. She had then the English ensign flying. Captain Hitchcock remained on board and exercised command. We remained at Greenock till Wednesday. On Thursday, about 6 in the morning, when we got under weigh, the pilot said we were going on a trial trip. On the Wednesday night the revenue officers came on board, after the stores came on board, and put seals on the stores. The stores came off in a steamer and a lighter. They consisted of large quantities of spirits, clothing, blankets, beds, knives and forks, tins, and the like. I did not see any other government officers visit the ship. We sailed out, I believe, on the Thursday morning, as we supposed on the trial trip, and steered toward sea. In the afternoon we returned to the light-house down the Clyde and stopped, but did not anchor. A tug came to us there with some more men and provisions from Greenock, and as soon as we had taken them on board we started down again and steered right to sea. The pilot left us next morning off Castletown, Isle of Man. Captain Hitchcock had command of the vessel. About two days after we made land, as I was told, on the coast of France, and we kept beating about there for several days. We wondered why, but did not ascertain the reason. On Monday, the 6th, an English screw-steamer, the Alar, of London, came to us and spoke us. We were so near the coast of France that a shot could be fired ashore. Captain Hitchcock told the Alar to go under the island. The Alar soon after made a signal as if she was broke down, and the Japan took her in tow. We towed her awhile and the hawser broke. She then steamed away herself, and we soon after spoke a French pilot-boat and we took a pilot on board, as did also the Alar. The Alar sailed away into a small bay and we followed, and came to an anchor near the shore, no further off than I could have thrown a stone. The Alar then made fast alongside, and that night a very large case of guns and a quantity of ammunition in small cases were taken on board the Japan from the Alar. The next morning both vessels sailed [127] out and we went out to sea, and the Alar into another bay. In the afternoon we joined the Alar in the other bay, and took on board the rest of her cargo, consisting of guns and ammunition. Men in the mean time were engaged making the fittings for the guus. The same afternoon a tall man they called Lamont or Dupont came on board from the Alar and took charge of the Japan. He came on deck in uniform and called all the men aft. He told us she was no more to be called the Japan, but the Virginia, confederate war-steamer. He produced articles; and reading them to the effect that there would be discipline same as the Alabama or any other under the confederate flag, he said he was going to burn and destroy all North American vessels, and told us we should have £10 bounty to sign for three years under the confederate flag. One of the men asked about prize-money, and he said we should have the same as the Alabama; that any man who had a family could have half-pay. Eight of us went into the cabin to see what he would do with us if we would not ship. He said Mr. Jones would pay our fare through to Liverpool, and anything else that we required when we came ashore. Mr. Jones was sitting at the table where they were paying the bounty and signing the articles, and said it would be all right. We and a number of others, in all about twenty-four, refused to join, and the same night we were taken to the Alar and both vessels left the bay. The next morning the Alar took the pilot from the Japan and landed him and her own about where we had picked them up. I was below when she took the pilot off, and did not see the Japan after leaving her in the bay. I heard the order given to hoist the confederate flag. Captain Hitchcock, Mr. Jones, and the chief and second mates came from her with us. We were landed at Plymouth on Saturday morning, and received from Captain Hitchcock a sovereign each to pay our way to Liverpool, and the same day came in to Liverpool in the steamer. (Signed) Sworn the 14th day of April, 1863, before me. (Signed) THOMAS MAHON. WM. RATHBONE, A Magistrate for the County of Lancaster. Mr. Adams also inclosed the two lists mentioned in his note. In the "list of officers and men," the only officers mentioned were the master, first mate, second mate, store-keeper, and boatswain. All of these, except the boatswain, were stated to have returned in the Alar, together with many others of the original crew of the Japan. On the same 16th April, 1863, Earl Russell received from Her Britannie Majesty's consul at Brest a report, dated the 13th April, which was as follows:1 Consul Sir A. Perrier to Earl Russell. BREST, April 13, 1863. MY LORD: I have the honor to report to your lordship that I have received the following letter from Conquet: "CONQUET, April 10, 1863. "SIR: I have the honor to inform you that on the 7th of this month two English vessels, a brig and a steam schooner, were seen in the Fromveur, (a passage between Ushant and the mainland,) with a signal for a pilot. Piton and Marec, pilots of Molene, went on board. The names given to them were, Japan of Liverpool, for the brig, and Alar of London, for the schooner, which was bound from Emzie to Liverpool with a general cargo. This vessel having sprung a leak, had requested the brig to stay by antil all danger was over. After beating about all day they anchored in Bertheaume Bay, about 6 in the evening, where they tried to transship part of the cargo from the Appendix, vol. i, p. 416. schooner to the brig, but a heavy surf prevented their doing so. The pilots offered to bring the vessels into Brest, which was refused. Next morning, the 8th, they got under weigh at about 6 in the morning, went through Conquet Channel, and anchored in Stiff Bay, under Ushant, where the transshipment was effected that evening. They then sailed for Liverpool.” I called upon the vice-admiral, commander-in-chief, to know if he had received any account of this affair from Conquet. He replied that he had not yet received the official report, but that he had been informed of all that I had stated, and also that the schooner had struck on a rock in Stiff Bay, and that the cries of her crew had been heard at the light-house on Ushant. Suspecting that this transshipment might be of war contraband goods for America, he has demanded a full report from the commissary of marine at Conquet, and will communicate it to me. I have, &c., ANTHY. PERRIER. A somewhat more detailed statement of the incidents described in the foregoing report has been recently furnished to Her Majesty's government by Her Majesty's consul at Brest. This statement is as follows: Consul Clipperton to Earl Granrille. BREST, September 9, 1871. MY LORD: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a dispatch from the Foreign Office marked separate, and dated 31st August last, instructing me to [128] report to your lordship all the information I * can obtain respecting the equip ment of the confederate cruiser Georgia, then known as the Japan or Virginia, off Morlaix, and the visit of that vessel to Brest between the 4th and 9th of April, 1863, and to forward with my report a small map or chart of the coast, explanatory of the proceedings which took place within or contiguous to the limits of French jurisdic tion. In reply, I beg most respectfully to inform your lordship that at Morlaix nothing is known of the confederate cruiser Georgia, either under the name of Japan or Virginia, but the matter appears to have transpired near to Conquet, marked (A) on the accompanying chart, and was as follows: On the 9th April morning, 1863, two English vessels, a brig and a steam-schooner, were seen in the Fromveur Channel between Ushant and the mainland, (B,) making signals for a pilot. Two pilots of Molène, named Piton and Marec, went on board. They were told that the vessels were the brig Japan of Liverpool, and schooner Alar of London, bound for Liverpool, with a general cargo. The Alar was represented to have sprung a leak, and had requested the brig to stand by her to render assistance if required. At about 6 in the evening of the same day the two vessels anchored in Bertheaume Bay, (C,) and efforts were made unsuccessfully, owing to a heavy surf, to transship part of the cargo from the schooner to the brig. The pilots proposed to take the vessels into Brest, but were refused. The two vessels got under way at 6 a. m. of the following day, the 8th, passed through the Conquet Channel, and anchored in Stiff Bay, (D,) under Ushant, where the transshipment was effected, and that same evening they sailed for Liverpool. The official reports made to the admiral of the port at Brest by the French naval agent at Ushant, and the custom-house officer at Conquet, state that the schooner was sighted before the brig, and that both were seen hovering about for two or three days; they were both seen close alongside of each other, the schooner apparently discharging, or trying to discharge, cargo into the brig. After anchoring in Stiff Bay the transshipment was actively carried on until between 7 and 8 in the evening, at about which hour the brig went to sea. At about 10 o'clock of the same night cries and noise of putting out boats were heard at the light-house, as if proceeding from the schooner. It is supposed that the schooner foundered, and that the boats went out to sea, as nothing further was ever heard of either vessel or crew. I beg further to inform your lordship that two steam-vessels were constructed and partly fitted out at Nantes, during the war in America, for the Confederate States. On my return to my post I shall be in a position to forward all the information connected with them, should your lordship consider it expedient for me to do so. I have, &c., ROBT. CHAS. CLIPPERTON. The places called Conquet and Bertheaume Bay, and mentioned in the two preceding reports, are on the coast of France, in the depart Appendix, vol. i, p. 416. ment of Finistère. The Baie du Stiff, or Stiff Bay, is on the coast of the French island of Ouessant, or Ushant. From the statements contained in the preceding depositions and reports, it appears that the vessel afterward called the Georgia sailed from Greenock under the name of the Japan, as a merchant-vessel, on a trading voyage to the East Indies, and that until she arrived off the coast of France her crew were not aware that this was not her true character and destination; that she was armed for war in French waters; and that she there took on board her commander and officers, who then and there enlisted a crew. With reference to Mr. Adams's note of the 15th April, 1863, the following letter was on the 21st April addressed to him by Earl Russell: Earl Russell to Mr. Adams.1 FOREIGN OFFICE, April 21, 1863. SIR: I stated to you in my letter of the 16th instant, that your letter of the previous day, respecting the case of the Japan, otherwise the Virginia, had been referred to the proper departments of Her Majesty's government, but I will not delay informing you that Her Majesty's government have received from the authorities at Glasgow and at Greenock reports, from which it appears that that vessel was constantly visited while she was in course of construction, and that the surveys seemed to show that she was intended for commercial purposes, and that her frame-work and plating were of the ordinary sizes for vessels of her class. She was entered on the 31st ultimo, as for Point de Galle and Hong Kong, with a crew of forty-eight men. She shipped on the 1st instant the bonded stores stated in the margin, and she cleared on the same day in ballast for Point de Galle and Hong Kong. Her Majesty's government are further informed that the Japan left the anchorage early on the morning of the 2d instant, with the ostensible purpose of trying her engines, intending to return, having on board several joiners, who were fitting up her cabins. These men, who are said to have been employed at a later time in fitting up a magazine, were subsequently landed on some part of the coast lower down the Clyde. The custom-house officer who visited the Japan on the evening of the 1st instant to see that her stores were correct, reports that he saw nothing on board which [129] could lead him to suspect that she was intended for war purposes. Her Majesty's government are further informed that she was not heavily sparred, and that she could not spread more canvas than an ordinary merchant-steamer. I am. &c., (Signed) RUSSELL. On the question whether persons who had joined the vessel, or who had induced others to join her, could be prosecuted as offenders against British law, the law-officers, on the 30th April, 1863, advised as follows:3 In our opinion it is not competent to Her Majesty's government at present to take any steps in the matter to which Mr. Adams's dispatch of the 15th April refers. So far as relates to British seamen who have accepted the proposal made to them in French waters to engage in the belligerent service of the Confederate States, we think that they have offended against the 2d section of the foreign-enlistment act, and will be liable to be proceeded against for a misdemeanor if they should be found within British jurisdiction; the first part of that section (which applies to the persons entering into such engagements) being in the form of an absolute prohibition, applicable generally to British subjects, without reference to the place where the act prohibited may be done. But, inasmuch as these seamen are not at present within British jurisdiction, no steps can now be taken for their prosecution. With respect to the seamen who have returned to this country, it seems clear that their condnet has been laudable, and not criminal. They were induced, by false and fraudulent representations, to enter into engagements at Liverpool for a perfectly law Appendix, vol. i, p. 418. One hundred and fifteen gallons spirits, 32 gallons wine, 244 pounds tea, 159 pounds coffee, 212 pounds tobacco, 10 pounds cigars, 18 ewt. 3 quarters 2 pounds of sugar, 2 ewt. 2 quarters pounds molasses, 2 ewt. 1 quarter 5 pounds raisins, 1 cwt. 1 quarter pounds currants. 'Appendix, vol. i, p. 419. ful voyage, and afterward, when apprised of the deception which had been practiced upon them, and invited to enter an engagement of a different character, they refused to do so. With respect to Captain Hitchcock, and any other persons who may have been instrumental in inducing the crew of the Japan to take service in her before her departure from this country, it is clear that (howsoever censurable their conduct may have been) they did nothing contrary to the foreign-enlistment act; for it was not until the ship was in French waters that any proposal appears to have been made to any of the men to enter into the belligerent service of the confederate government, and the latter part of the 1st section of the foreign-enlistment act (which applies to the case of persons" hiring, retaining, engaging, or procuring" others to enter into the belligerent service of a foreign state) is expressly limited to acts done with the territorial jurisdiction of the British Crown. On the 8th July, 1863, Earl Russell received from Mr. Adams a note, in which, referring to the Georgia, and stating (as the fact was) that his former representations concerning that vessel had unhappily been made too late for Her Majesty's government to interpose effectively, he called Earl Russell's attention to the circumstance that she had been, and until recently was, registered in the name of a British subject. The portion of the note in which reference was made to this matter was as follows: Mr. Adams to Earl Russell.1 [Extract.] JULY 7, 1863. It is with great regret that I feel myself once more compelled to call your lordship's attention to the circumstances attending the outfit of the steamer called the Japan. It now appears that that vessel was, at the time of her escape, and has continued until very lately to be, the property of a British subject residing in Liverpool. That person is Thomas Bold, a member of the commercial house of Jones & Co. I have information which leads me to believe that only within a few days has Mr. Bold notified the collector of customs at Liverpool of his sale of this vessel to foreign owners, and requested the register to be canceled. That act was not completed until the 23d of June last. It would appear from these facts, should they prove to be true, that this vessel has remained the property of a British subject during a considerable time in which she has been engaged in committing extensive ravages upon the commerce of a nation with which Her Majesty is at peace. The fact of the outfit of that vessel for hostile purposes has already occupied the attention of your lordship, in consequence of former representations, unhappily made too late for effective interposition. But the cir cumstances of the retention of the ownership by a British subject for so long a period after she was known to be engaged in hostilities against the United States, is of too grave a character to justify me in omitting to call your lordship's particular attention to it, in advance of the possibility of receiving instructions respecting it. On inquiry it appeared that the certificate of registry of the steamer Japan, which had on the 20th March been issued to Bold by the collector of customs at Liverpool, had on the 23d June, 1863, been delivered up by Bold to the collector, with the following letter:2 [130] * Mr. Bold to Mr. Edwards. LIVERPOOL, June 23, 1863. SIR: I beg to hand you the certificate of registry of the screw-steamer Japan, official No. 45568, port No. 93, as I have conveyed the vessel to an alien. I am, &c., THOMAS BOLD. The circumstance that Bold's name had, on his own declaration, been entered on the register-book as the owner of the vessel, and had continued to be so registered till the 23d June, did not render him responsible for acts done during the interval by the persons who had the actual possession and control of her, unless it could be proved that he was himself a party to such acts, of which there was no evidence. Nor could he have been * Ibid., p. 421. 1 Appendix, vol. i, p. 419. |