the contrary, was at the beginning attended with new causes of uneasiness. He had received complaints from his consul in behalf of British subjects in new Orleans of harsh proceedings by General Butler. He had not had time fully to digest them, but he called to see that if the Secretary of State would not think it worth while to have the military authorities at New Orleans cautioned against exercising any doubtful severities which would produce irritation, and aggravate what had already happened. Lord Lyons, especially, said that it had been reported to him that a British subject had been sent to Fort Jackson, which is understood to be a very unhealthy place at this season, and he trusted the military authorities would be requested not to expose the health of such prisoners to unnecessary risks. Mr. Seward replied that he cordially appreciated the value of Lord Lyons's suggestions, and that he would submit to the Secretary of War the expediency of giving instructions to General Butler of the character suggested, and he felt authorized to say at once that they would be adopted. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, May 30, 1862. Mr. Edwards to Lord Lyons. NEW YORK, May 30, 1862. MY LORD: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your lordship's despatch (No. 47) of the 26th instant, (which was not received by me until the 28th,) concerning a report communicated to your lordship by the governor of the Bahama islands, to the effect that the custom-house authorities here had taken measures to impede or prevent the shipment of ordinary supplies to Nassau, and instructing ine to ascertain and report to your lordship whether there be any foundation for such a report. In reply, I have the honor to inform your lordship that the customs authorities at this port, acting, as I am informed, in compliance with instructions received at different times from the Secretary of the Treasury, have upon several occasions thrown serious impediments in the way of shipments of coal and ordinary merchandise to Nassau, and in some cases where the goods were already embarked and even cleared at the custom-house have refused to permit the vessel to go to sea until such goods have been relanded. One of the officials has shown me a copy of an order issued from the Treasury Department, dated the 10th of April, in which shipments of coal are prohibited to any ports or places north of Cape Saint Roque (the easterly point of South America, and west of the fifteenth degree of longitude east,) where there is reason to suspect that it may be intended for the use of the socalled confederate government or ships. This prohibition, as your lordship will perceive, embraces all the British North American colonies, British West Indies, Bermuda, and the British possessions upon the north coast of South America. I inquired of the officer having the superintendence of the clearance bureau whether it was intended that this order should be strictly enforced, and he assured me that such was the collector's intention. He cited, as a case in point, an application which had just been made to him for permission to send a quantity of coal to Canada, by way of the Hudson river and lakes, which had been refused. A British merchant here, largely interested in the trade of the North American colonies and West Indies, informs me that he has made repeated applications to the custom-house to be allowed to export coal, some of which was to be tendered for the use of her Majesty's vessels upon the West Indies station, at the same time offering to enter into bonds that it should be landed in foreign ports, but that his applications have all been rejected. I have the honor to enclose, for your lordship's information, printed slips, cut from a daily paper, containing instructions issued by Mr. Secretary Chase to the collector of this port. Your lordship will see by the latter that the collector has very great discretionary powers lodged with him; these powers, I regret to say, have been extensively used to the annoyance and injury of British trade. In one case where a quantity of dry goods, consisting of plain and printed cotton fabrics, had been shipped upon a British vessel for Nassau, the shippers were obliged by the custom-house to reland the wares in question before permission for the vessel to proceed to sea could be obtained. In another, a number of packages of shoes were prohibited from exportation. In a more recent case, where an order had been received from some merchants at Nassau to ship a quantity of drugs, consisting of sulphate of quinine, cantharides and acids, only a portion of the order was permitted to be exported. At one time strong exception was taken by the custom-house officials to the (as they alleged) extraordinary quantity of flour and provisions shipped here for the British West Indies, but I am not aware that it amounted to actual prohibition. Much inconvenience has been, and continues to be, experienced by British merchants here from the manner in which the instructions issued by the Treasury Department have been enforced; articles of ordinary export being at times prohibited, while wares which could only be of service to a belligerent have been allowed to pass unquestioned. I have, &c., &c., LORD LYONS. P. EDWARDS, Acting Consul. Lord Lyons to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, June 12, 1862. SIR: Representations have been made to her Majesty's government in behalf of British subjects, now prisoners of war in this country, who allege that they were, when captured by the United States forces, serving against their will in the ranks of the enemy. Her Majesty's government, have in consequence, directed me to ask of you that the cases of any such British subjects, taken prisoners of war, as may have been forced against their will into the service of the enemy of the United States, may be inquired into fairly and dealt with leniently. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. LYONS. Mr. F. W. Seward to Lord Lyons. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, MY LORD: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 12th instant, touching the cases of British subjects, prisoners of war, who may have been forced against their will into the service of the enemy of the United States, and to inform you that I have invited the attention of the Secretary of War to the matter. I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your lordship the assurance of my high consideration. F. W. SEWARD, Acting Secretary. Right Hon. LORD LYONS, &c., &c., &c. Mr. Seward to Mr. Stuart. DEPARTMENT of State, SIR: As you are doubtless aware, Lord Lyons, a short time since, left at this department the copy of a letter of the 30th ultimo, addressed to himself by P. Edwards, esq., her Britannic Majesty's acting consul at New York, relative to certain restrictions upon exports, especially coal, to Nassau and other British possessions, which was referred to the Secretary of the Treasury for information on the subject. I now have the honor to enclose to you a transcript of that officer's reply.. I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurance of my high consideration. Hon. WILLIAM STUART, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Chase to Mr. Seward. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, June 14, 1862. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 5th instant, covering a letter addressed to Lord Lyons by the acting British consul at New York, upon the subject of certain restrictions upon exports, especially coal, to Nassau and other British possessions. In compliance with your request, I return the communication of the consul, and also a copy of the report thereon made to me by the collector of New York, to whom this despatch was sent for this purpose. The restrictions on coal have been enforced by collectors under my instructions of 18th April last, alike upon domestic and foreign shipping clearing to ports north of Cape St. Roque, on the eastern coast of South America and west of the 15th degree of longitude east. It will be my pleasure to remove all restrictions to trade when the present necessity, which has made them imperative, shall cease. The despatch of the acting consul is returned. With great respect, Hon. W. H. SEWARD, S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury. Secretary of State. CUSTOM-HOUSE, NEW YORK, Collector's Office, June 12, 1862. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, which has just been received, transmitting a copy of a communication from the acting British consul residing at New York to Lord Lyons, complaining of restrictions upon exports to Nassau and other British provinces; and, in reply, have to state that, in the exercise of the discretion devolved upon me, as an officer of the government of a sovereign people, I have prohibited the shipment of coals, and dry goods, and shoes, and quinine, and other drugs, and tin ware, and munitions of war, and sundry other articles, to Nassau and the West Indies and other foreign ports, when I had reason to suspect that they were intended, by individual enterprise, or the special contracts of British subjects, to directly. contribute to the welfare of the enemies of the United States. In respect to the closing paragraph of the acting consul's letter, in which it is stated that "articles of ordinary export [were] at times prohibited, while wares which could only be of service to a belligerent have been allowed to pass unquestioned," I have to say that we have no data in our possession to refer to for these facts. His letter is returned. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury. HIRAM BARNEY, Collector. Mr. Seward to Mr. Stuart. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, June 23, 1862. SIR: I have read with care the papers which you left with me at the instance of Peter Goolrick, of Fredericksburg, in the State of Virginia. He alleges that in June, 1853, G. P. R. James, then her Britannic Majesty's consul for Virginia, appointed him vice-consul for the port of Fredericksburg and district of Tappahannock, and that he has been continued in that port ever since. He further alleges that, on the third day of May last, one James Gemmill, a British subject, deposited with him one thousand barrels of flour, and authorized him to sell it at ten dollars per barrel, or hold it for a higher price. Mr. Goolrick complains that soon after the national forces occupied Fredericksburg their soldiers came to his office and demanded his British flag; that on that occasion he prevailed with them to let the flag remain. He alleges, however, that on the 2d of June i stant General Reynolds, then military governor at Fredericksburg, took possession of the one thousand barrels of flour; that he, Goolrick, protested in writing; that a few days afterwards General Doubleday was appointed military governor, and that either he, or some of his officers in his name, with a file of soldiers, forced themselves into his office and dwelling; were extremely rude to Mr. Goolrick and his wife; searched his premises and examined papers, and took some papers away; that they searched his kitchen, stable, and cow-barn, and examined his servants, separate and apart, to ascertain if fire-arms were concealed in his premises, but there were none found; that on this occasion they carried off his British flag from over his office, and placed a United States flag in its place, and placed a sentinel before the door of his dwelling-house, with instructions to permit nothing to pass out; that he adds that he has closed his office and suspended his business as vice-consul, and that her Majesty's subjects in this place require the aid of a British consul. Fredericksburg is a comparatively obscure inland river port, is only fiftysix miles from Washington, and sixty-six miles from Richmond, and both of these places are accessible from Fredericksburg by railroad. It is hardly conceivable that a vice-consul should be needful there in ordinary times; but certainly this government could not be expected to guarantee forever consular privileges in time of war to agents whose consular character is entirely unknown to them. It is necessary also for the preservation of a good understanding between the two countries, and it is the right of this government to have official notice whenever any British subject, however authorized by his own government, sets up such a vice-consulate in any port of the United States. Mr. Goolrick's papers, which you left with me, show that he was appointed a vice-consul, by her Majesty's consul general for Virginia, at the time lie mentions, and that succeeding incumbents of the consular office there occasionally corresponded with him as such. But he makes no pretension that this government has ever had any notice that he held such a trust. I am left to infer by him, and by yourself, as I am also directly informed, that he is a citizen of the United States, owing allegiance to this government. Mr. Goolrick is represented to me to be a traitorous citizen of the United States, and the proceedings against him were taken for that reason. The fact that he held a vice-consular authority, even if it was true, would not entitle him to appeal to British authority for redress against any proceedings of our gov ernment not affecting the authority of her Majesty's government or the rights or interests of British subjects. As soon as my attention was directed to this case, I inquired in this department and ascertained not only that no notice of his designation or pretension to be vice-consul had ever been received at this office, but that, in my absence from the department, the military officer in chief command at Fredericksburg had called and inquired for the purpose of ascer taining the truth of his pretensions to such a character, and had been told by the chief clerk that the pretence was certainly false, because no communication of his having been assigned to such a place had ever been received by this gov ernment. It is manifest that the military authorities acted in the matter complained of upon the assumption that Mr. Goolrick's representations were untrue, fraudulent, and made with treasonable intent on his part against the United States. It certainly is very questionable whether, under these circumstances, he has any claim on his government, or that government has any claim for executive interposition in the matter. But the President is not disposed to stand upon technicalities, or to refine closely upon consular rights and privileges where the interest of governments or subjects of foreign powers here are concerned. Justice shall in all such cases be done, and all rights created by treaty or the law of nations shall be respected. The British flag in question, if it be true that it has been taken from Mr. Goolrick, will be at once returned to his possession. He does not report that any archives of the consulate or other official papers were taken from him. If any such were taken they will be at once returned to him. You may consider the subject and determine whether it is so important to the interests of the British government and British subjects that a vice-consulate be wanted at Fredericksburg. If you think it is, you may appoint then any British subject you may name, or any loyal American citizen. If you find it inconvenient to make such an appointment, and think it important that Mr. Goolrick act for the present as vice-consul, he will, on my receiving an inti mation to that effect from you, be authorized to act, for the present, if the military authorities shall deem it consistent with the public safety that he be left at liberty, and, with the reservation also that, on examining all the facts, this government, if it find him an improper person, will ask for his removal. A commission will be appointed by this department to inquire into the whereabouts of the one thousand barrels of flour which Mr. Goolrick says were taken from his protection. If they shall be found to have been the property of any British subject, lawfully held, and not being used or intended to be used for purposes treasonable against this government, they will be returned, or, if that is impossi ble, compensation shall be made for them. Having incidentally learned that Mr. Goolrick had been arrested and is now here on his parole, directions have been given for his release from that obligation in order that he may return to Fredericksburg. I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurance of my high consideration. Hon. WILLIAM STUART, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. |