that those who are receiving in our port the aid and assistance which they claim as a "It will be apparent to you that the execution of the warrant is necessary, in order "In this view you are appealed to, to reconsider your determination, and pending further information from you, which you are requested to make with as little delay as possible, the permission granted you to repair and take in supplies is suspended, and Her Majesty's subjects have been duly warned accordingly. "J. J. Waddell, Esq., "Lieutenant Commanding, Confederate States' steamer Shenandoah.' 15. 6 "Sir, "Confederate States' steamer 'Shenandoah,' February 14, 1865. "I am in the receipt of your letter of this date, in which you inform me that you have been directed by his Excellency the Governor to state that it has been reported to the Government that I have refused to allow the execution on board the Shenandoah' of a warrant issued upon sworn information, according to law, alleging that a British subject is on board this vessel who has entered the service of the Confederate States, in violation of the British statute known as the Foreign Enlistment Act; and that it is not consistent with the British law to accept any contrary relation of facts, whatever respect be due to the person from whom it proceeds, as sufficient to justify the non-execution of such warrant.' I am then appealed to 'to reconsider my determination,' and the letter concludes by informing me that, 'pending a further intimation from me,' the permission granted to repair and take supplies is suspended. "I have to inform his Excellency the Governor that the execution of the warrant was not refused, as no such person as the one therein specified was on board, but permission to 'search' this ship was refused. According to all the laws of nations, the deck of a vessel of war is considered to represent the majesty of the country whose flag she flies, and she is free from all executions except for crimes actually committed on shore, when a demand must be made for the delivery of such person, and the execution of the warrant performed by the police of the ship. Our shipping articles have been shown to the Superintendent of Police. All strangers have been sent out of the ship, and two commissioned officers were ordered to search if any such have been left on board. They have reported to me that, after making a thorough search, they can find no person on board except those who entered this port as part of the complement of men. "I, therefore, as commander of the ship, representing my Government in British waters, have to inform his Excellency that there are no persons on board this ship except those whose names are on my shipping articles, and that no one has been enlisted in the service of the Confederate States since my arrival in this port, nor have I in any way violated the neutrality of the port. "And I, in the name of the Government of the Confederate States of America, hereby enter my solemn protest against any obstruction which may cause the detention of this ship in this port. "I have, &c. (Signed) "JAS. J. WADDELL, "To the Hon. Jas. G. Francis, "Lieutenant Commanding, Confederate States' Navy. "Commissioner of Trade and Customs, Melbourne." 16. "Telegram from Mr. Standish, Chief Commissioner of Victorian Police, to Mr. Bearer, Police Inspector, stationed at Williamstown. "I have to direct that you communicate with Mr. Chambers, the lessee of the patent slip, that the Governor in Council has given directions that he and all other British subjects in this Colony at once desist from rendering any aid or assistance, or perform any work in respect to the said classed Confederate ship Shenandoah,' or in launching the same. You will at once proceed with the whole of the police at your disposal to the patent slip and prevent, at all risks, the launch of the said ship. Superintendent Lyttleton and fifty men, also fifty of the military, proceed at once to Williamstown, telegraphing anything that may occur direct to me. "Tuesday, February 14, 1865. 17. (Signed) "F. C. STANDISH." "To the Hon. the Commissioner of Trade and Customs. "Sir, 66 Confederate States' steamer' Shenandoah,' February 15, 1865. "I am informed by the manager of the slip upon which the Confederate States' steamer Shenandoah' now rests that the slip has been seized by authority from his Excellency the Governor to prevent the launching of the Confederate States' steamer 'Shenandoah,' which of necessity is a seizure of the vessel under my command. I therefore respectfully beg to be informed if this seizure is known to his Excellency the Governor, and if it meets his approval. "Sir, "Custom-House, Melbourne, February 15, 1865. "In acknowledging your letters of yesterday's date, and also in reply to your communication of this morning, I am instructed by his Excellency the Governor to inform you that the lessee of the patent slip having reported that the safety of the ship 'Shenandoah' may be endangered by her present position on the slip, the suspension of permission to British subjects to assist in launching the ship is withdrawn, while the further matters referred to in your letters are under consideration, and will be replied to with as little delay as possible. "I have, &c. (Signed) "JAS. G. FRANCIS. "J. J. Waddell, Esq., "Lieutenant Commanding, Confederate States' steamer 'Shenandoah.'" 19. "Sir, "Custom-House, Melbourne, February 15, 1865. "I am directed by his Excellency the Governor to further acknowledge your communications of the 14th and 15th instant, in which, alleging that the vessel under your command had been seized, you ask whether the seizure is known to his Excellency the Governor, and if it meets his approval. "I am to inform you in reply that this Government has not directed or authorized the seizure of the Shenandoah.' "The instructions to the police were to see that none of Her Majesty's subjects in this colony rendered any aid or assistance to or performed any work in respect of your vessel during the period of the suspension of the permission which was granted to you to repair and take in supplies, pending your reply to my letter of yesterday's date in regard to a British subject being on board your vessel, and having entered the service of the Confederate States in violation of the British statute known as the Foreign Enlistment Act, and of the instructions issued by the Governor for the maintenance of neutrality by Her Majesty's subjects. "In addition to evidence previously in possession of this Government, it has been reported by the police that about 10 o'clock last night four men, who had been in concealment on board the Shenandoah,' left the ship, and were arrested immediately after so leaving by the water police. 6 vessel "It appears from the statements of these men that they were on board your both on Monday and Tuesday the 13th and 14th instant, when their presence was denied by the commanding officer in charge, and by yourself subsequently, when you declared that there were no persons on board this ship except those whose names are on our shipping articles.' This assertion must necessarily have been made by you without having ascertained for yourself by a search that such men were not on board, while at the time you refused permission to the officer charged with the execution of the warrant to carry it into effect.. "Referring to that portion of your communication of the 14th instant, in which you inform his Excellency the Governor that the execution of the warrant was not refused, as no such person as the one therein specified was on board,' I am in a positionto state that one of the four men previously alluded to is ascertained to be the person named in the warrant. 66 "I am also to observe that, while at the moment of the despatch of your letter it may be true that these men were not on board the Shenandoah,' it is beyond question that they were on board at the time it was indited, your letter having been despatched at five minutes before 10 o'clock. "It thus appears plain, as a matter of fact, that the Foreign Enlistment Act was in course of being evaded. 6 "Nevertheless, as the only person for whose arrest a warrant was issued has been secured, and as you are now in a position to say, as commanding officer of the ship, and in behalf of your Government, whose faith is pledged by the assurance, that there are no persons on board this ship except those whose names are on our Shipping Articles, and that no one has been enlisted in the service of the Confederate States since my arrival in this port,' his Excellency the Governor has been pleased to revoke the directions issued yesterday, suspending permission to British subjects to aid and assist you in effecting the necessary repairs and taking in supplies. 66 "I am to add, it is expected you will exercise every dispatch, so as to ensure your departure by the day named in your first letter of yesterday, viz,, Sunday next. "I have, &c. 66 (Signed) "JAS. G. FRANCIS. "J. J. Waddell, Esq., "Lieutenant Commanding, Confederate States' steamer 'Shenandoah.' 20. "To the Hon. the Commissioner of Trade and Customs. 66 6 "Confederate States' steamer Shenandoah,' Hobson's Bay, February 16, 1865. "Sir, "I am in receipt of your communication of yesterday's date, and desire to convey through you to his Excellency the Governor my appreciation and thanks for his observance of the rights of belligerents, and further to assure his Excellency the Governor that every dispatch is being made by me to get the "Shenandoah" to sea at the earliest possible moment. "The four men alluded to in your communication are no part of this vessel's complement of men; they were detected on board by the ship's police after all strangers were reported out of the vessel, and they were ordered and seen out of the vessel by the ship's police immediately on their discovery, which was after my letter had been dispatched informing his Excellency the Governor that there were no such persons on board. These men were here without my knowledge, and I have no doubt can be properly called stowaways, and such they would have remained but for the vigilance of the ship's police, inasmuch as they were detected after the third search, but in no way can I be accused, in truth, of being cognisant of an evasion of the Foreign Enlistment Act. "In conclusion, Sir, allow me to inform you that I consider the tone of your letter remarkably disrespectful and insulting to the Government I have the honour to represent, and that I shall take an early opportunity of forwarding it to the Richmond Government. "Very respectfully, (Signed) JAS. J. WADDELL, "Lieutenant Commanding, Confederate States' Navy." This closes the correspondence between Captain Waddell and the Government. But the following letter was despatched to Mr. Higinbotham : 21. "To the Hon. the Attorney-General. "Sir, "Confederate States' steamer Shenandoah,' Hobson's Bay, February 14, 1865. "Be pleased to inform me if the Crown claims the sea to be British waters three miles from the Port Phillip Head lights, or from a straight line drawn from Point Lonsdale and Schanck." Captain Waddell states that a reply written and signed by a clerk, was brought to him by a messenger, of whom he knew nothing, till a gentleman on board explained who he was. The document simply stated that no reasons for the communieation of the information had been given. Captain Waddell handed the "reply" back to the messenger with the simple answer that it was not what he wanted, and that it had better be taken back with his compliments. From the "Age" of February 16, 1865. In the Legislative Council yesterday, the President being absent through illness, Dr. Wilkie, the Chairman of Committees, took the chair at a quarter past 4 o'clock. Mr. Fellows asked the Commissioner of Public Works, without notice, what steps had been taken by the Government with reference to an attempt to execute a magistrate's warrant on board the "Shenandoah." Mr. Hervey explained that a warrant had been granted upon information of certain persons having been shipped on board the "Shenandoah" contrary to the laws of neutrality, and that a police officer had been despatched with the warrant to search the ship. He was denied permission to execute the warrant, and the Government determined to suspend the privileges which had been granted to the commander of the "Shenandoah" on his entering the port. Four persons who had been shipped in contravention of the neutrality laws had been captured by the police in attempting to escape, and were now in custody. The commander of the "Shenandoah" having stated, upon his honour as an officer and a gentleman, that, the ship having been cleared of strangers, there was now no person on board who was not there when the ship entered the port, the Government had granted a resumption of the privileges they had suspended, upon leave being refused to search the ship. On the motion of Mr. Fraser, twelve months leave of absence from the 1st of March was granted to the Hon. T. T. A' Beckett. The Land Act Amendment Bill was further considered in Committee, Mr. James Henry acting as Chairman. The Bill was reported to the House, and the adoption of the report made on order of the day for Tuesday next. The House adjourned at seven minutes past 5 o'clock, until Tuesday the 21st instant. PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA.-LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The clerk annnounced at a quarter past 4 o'clock that he had received a note from the President to the effect that he was prevented by illness from attending the sittings of the Council that afternoon. Dr. Wilkie, the Chairman of Committees, accordingly took the President's chair, and read the usual form of prayer. THE SEIZURE OF THE "SHENANDOAH." Mr. Fellows rose to ask the Commissioner of Public Works, without notice, whether the Government had received any information with reference to an attempt to execute a magistrate's warrant on board the "Shenandoah," now on the patent slip at Williamstown, and if so, what steps they had taken in the matter. He apprehended, as far as the law of the matter went, that if any foreign merchant-vessel visited these ports, she owed a temporary allegiance to the laws of this country, and was subject of course to the jurisdiction of the Colonial Courts. An implied consent was given to a ship of war or armed vessel belonging to another country to enter these ports, and there was also an implied consent on the part of the Power giving permission to enter the port, that a vessel of that character should not be subject to any jurisdiction of the Courts of that Power. This being the case, he wished to know what action the Government had taken. in the matter. He might remind the honourable member with reference to the protection foreign vessels were entitled to claim, that it had been decided in the Court of Admiralty that a merchant-vessel leaving a country and returning under commission from a foreign Power, and being brought before the Court by her former owners, the latter were not in a position to recover, because the ship was owned by a foreign Power. Mr. Hervey wished to know if he was desired to answer the whole question at once without notice. Mr. Fellows Merely whether the Government have taken any steps to execute the warrant. Mr. Hervey then stated that the Government had received notification of an infor The mation having been laid before the police bench at Williamstown to the effect that a certain individual had been shipped on board the "Shenandoah" contrary to the neutrality laws of this country in regard to the Confederate and Federal States of America. commander of the "Shenandoah" on entering these waters had sought the protection of the Colonial Government, and certain facilities for repairs and obtaining of supplies, such as a neutral Power was justified in giving, had been granted at his request. He was informed that it was the intention of the Government to observe strict neutrality, and he gave that pledge which would be expected from any person in his position that he would strictly observe the laws of neutrality. Complaints, however, were made of a number of British seamen having joined the ship since she entered these waters, and proceedings were taken upon several depositions which had been made with regard to British subjects being on board the vessel. An officer of the police was sent with a warrant on Monday to arrest a man sworn to be in the ship. The commander of the vessel was not on board at the time, and the chief officer declined to permit the warrant to be executed until the captain returned. On Tuesday the same officer of police was despatched with a warrant, and the captain refused to allow it to be enforced. In all similar cases when a warrant was sent on board a foreign vessel, it was usual for the authority to be recognized, and if the officer of police in whose possession it was was not asked to exercise it, it was executed by the police of the vessel, there being ship-police on every vessel of war. In this case there was a positive refusal to permit the warrant to be executed at all. Numerous affidavits having been made that many persons had been induced to ship on board the "Shenandoah," the Government determined to suspend the privileges granted to the commander on condition of his observing the neutral laws, and in order that this direction should be properly carried out without violence, a body of police was sent down to Williamstown to see that none of Her Majesty's subjects infringed the order which had been issued on the subject. A communication was sent to the commander explaining to him the circumstances under which the privileges previously granted him had been suspended. The police, under instructions to carry out the order, remained near the vessel all night, and about 10 o'clock they observed several persons attempting to escape from the "Shenandoah" by means of a swift waterman's boat. The water-police pursued and captured the boat, which contained four persons, who proved in each instance to be men who had joined the "Shenandoah" since her arrival in these waters. Three were British subjects and one was not, but still it was necessary that the fourth individual should have obtained permission before shipping. A letter the captain of the "Shenandoah" wrote in answer to the communication of the Government distinctly stated that when the officer of police visited his ship he had no individual on board who was not there when the vessel entered Victorian waters, but it was now known that several men who shipped in Hobson's Bay had escaped in addition to the four who were captured. The captain of the "Shenandoah " then wrote to say that, having cleared the ship of strangers, he was enabled to say on his honour as an officer and a gentleman, that there was no person on board (as he had ascertained by the inspection of two commissioned officers appointed for the purpose) who was not there when the vessel came into port. Upon this statement, made on the strength of the ship having been cleared of strangers, the Government had to-day authorized the resumption of the privileges formerly granted to the commander of the "Shenandoah," reserving to itself, however, the decision upon certain points which would all be made public when the measures which would be passed on the subject were brought forward. Mr. Hull asked if the violation of the laws of neutrality would be followed up by any further proceedings. Mr. Hervey replied that the men in custody were to be brought before the Williamstown bench on the following morning. Mr. Fellows Under what authority was the permission for carrying out repairs suspended? Mr. Hervey: Upon the authority of the representative of Her Majesty, of course. From the same Paper. THE "SHENANDOAH."-Mr. Mc Culloch, in reply to a question by Mr. O'Shanassy, made a lengthened statement, which will be found in another column, as to the steps that had been taken by the Government with respect to the "Shenandoah." In reply to Mr. O'Shanassy, Mr. Mc Culloch stated that it would be unadvisable to lay on the table of the house the correspondence between the Government and the Commauder of the Confederate war-ship "Shenandoah" at the present time. He, however, explained the action taken by the Government relative to the breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act said to have been committed. |