crates, cases, and barrels believed to contain arms and ammunition of all kinds ordinarily used in carrying on war. This cargo is nominally entered as destined to Havana, in the island of Cuba, but her armament and cargo are of such a nature as to render it morally certain that the merchants who claim to be the owners can have no intention of dispatching her on any errand of mercy or of peace. I am informed that this vessel will sail in a day or two. I therefore feel under the highest obligation to submit the information I have obtained as the ground for an application for a prompt and effective investigation of the truth of the allegations while there is time. Not doubting the earnest disposition of Her Majesty's government faithfully to adhere to the principles of neutrality to which it has pledged itself, I ask, on the part of the United States, for no more than a simple enforcement of the law, in case it shall appear that evil-minded persons are seeking to set it at naught. I pray, &c., (Signed) CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. On the same 15th August Earl Russell informed Mr. Adams (as the fact was) that he had lost no time in communicating on the subject with the proper department of the government. Inquiries were immediately directed to be made on the spot, and it was found, as the result of such inquiries, that there was no reason to believe that the [33] vessel *was intended for warlike use. Earl Russel, on the 22d August, 1861, wrote to Mr. Adams as follows: Earl Russell to Mr. Adams. FOREIGN OFFICE, August 22, 1861. SIR: I acquainted you in my letter of the 15th instant that I had lost no time in communicating with the proper department of Her Majesty's government respecting the steam-vessel fitting out at Hartlepool, which you believed was about to be dispatched with a view of making war against the people of the United States. I have now the honor to state to you that the result of the inquiries into this case having been submitted to the proper law-officer of the Crown, her Majesty's government have been advised that there is not sufficient evidence to warrant any interference with the clearance or the sailing of the vessel. The seventh section of the foreign enlistment act, 59 Geo. III, cap. 69, applies to the equipment of a vessel for the purpose of being employed in the service of a foreign state as a transport or cruiser, but has no reference to the mere nature of the cargo on board, and there is at present no proved intention that the vessel itself is to be employed for a warlike purpose. The persons engaged in the venture must take the consequences which, according to the law of nations, may happen to ensue during transit, owing to a portion of the eargo. loaded by them being contraband of war. I am, &c., (Signed) RUSSELL. The Bermuda was doubtless intended for blockade-running, for which purpose alone she was employed. She sailed from Liverpool with cargo for Savannah, and succeeded in entering that port and returning thence to Liverpool. On her second voyage she was captured by a United States ship, and was condemned as prize. The vessels to which Mr. Adams next called the attention of Her Majesty's government were the Oreto, or Florida, and the Alabama, originally known as "No. 290." The facts which are within the knowl edge of Her Britannic Majesty's government, relating to the preparation, departure, and subsequent history of these two vessels, are fully stated in Parts V and VI of this case. THE HECTOR. In November, 1862, Mr. Adams made inquiry of Earl Russell respecting a vessel then in course of construction at Glasgow, which subsequently became Her Majesty's ship Hector. He was informed in answer Appendix, vol. ii, p. 138. H. Ex. 282- -4 Declaration of the acting assistant surveyor of customs, Liverpool.' I have been in the service of the customs nearly twenty-seven years. I entered the service as a tide-waiter. Yesterday morning (Sunday) the surveyor, Mr. Morgan, called at my house (for it was my turn off duty) about 7.30, and asked me if I knew where the Georgiana was lying. I told him she had gone into the river on Saturday, and was then lying in the Mersey, opposite the watch-house. I then accompanied him toward the boarding station at the Prince's Dock Pier-head. As we were going down we met the captain, Davidson. He said he was going to the ship. Mr. Morgan then desired ine to go to the ship in the river, while he turned back with the captain to see his papers. I went on board the Georgiana at about 9.30 a. m. She was about half a mile off the the great landing-stage. I went on board and had the hatches removed in order to examine the cargo. She was not above half full. She appeared to have a quantity of tea and bale goods on board; also, oil, tallow, and provisions, which I saw. There was no objection made to my going into any part of the vessel. I have seen the vessel several times before, both while she lay in the Sandon docks and in the graving-dock. She is an ordinary iron screw-steamer, i. e., not built stronger than the ordinary merchantvessel. She is brig-rigged, and not fore and aft. She has no port-holes, and no places fitted for mounting guns. It is impossible that she could have port-holes without a total change in the bulwarks, there being no support to sustain the recoil of the guns. There were eighteen or nineteen iron plates on board, lying on the top of the cargo; they were of the same thickness as the hull of the vessel-that is, the ordinary thickness for merchant-vessels. I am satisfied, from the construction, general fitting, and adaptations of the ship, that she is in no way fitted for a privateer. I specially noticed the vessel after she came to the port, and on her arrival made several inquiries about her, and so satisfied was I then, and still am, that she was not intended for warlike purposes, that I did not consider myself called upon to make any report concerning her. (Signed) J. WEBB. Signed and declared before me, at the custom-house, Liverpool, this 19th day of January, 1863. (Signed) S. PRICE EDWARDS, Collector. A letter was also sent by the secretary of state for the home department to the mayor of Liverpool, requesting that inquiry should be made by the police respecting the vessel. Inquiry thus made confirmed the reports of the officers of customs, that she was not fitted or intended for war. She was a vessel constructed with a view to speed for the purpose of running the blockade, slightly and hastily built. Two port-holes had been pierced in her on each side; these, it was stated, might be used to enable her to carry guns for her own protection, as many merchant-vessels do, but were intended (as the ship-builder's foreman, who superintended the piercing of them believed) chiefly for the escape of water, of which, from her great speed, she would ship large quantities in a heavy sea.2 All the information thus obtained was transmitted at once to Mr. Adams. The Georgiana sailed from Liverpool on the 21st January, 1863, with a general cargo for Nassau, and thence for Charleston, as a blockaderunner. In attempting to enter Charleston harbor she was chased and fired upon by the blockading vessels, and was run aground and wrecked." THE PHANTOM. On the 27th March, 1863, Earl Russell received from Mr. Adams the subjoined note and inclosure. Mr. Adams to Earl Russell. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, London, March 26, 1863. MY LORD: I have the honor to transmit, for your information, the copy of an extract of a letter received by the from Mr. Dudley, the consul at Liverpool, giving Appendix, vol. ii, p. 152. 2 Ibid., pp. 154, 155, 156. 4 Ibid., p. 167. [35] some particulars of hostile outfits making* at that place. in correction of a statement therein contained, that Mr. formed me that the Southerner has not yet reached Liverpool. however, of its ultimate destination. I pray, &c., (Signed) It is proper to add, Dudley has to-day inThere is little doubt, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. [Inclosure.] Mr. Dudley to Mr. Adams. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, Liverpool, March 24, 1863. SIR: On Saturday last Mr. William C. Miller & Son launched from their yard, in Liverpool, an iron screw-steamer, called the Phantom, built for Fraser, Trenholm & Co. This vessel is large and to have great speed. The contract is not less than seventeen nautical miles per hour. Her engines are being made by Fawcett, Preston & Co. She has three port-holes on each side. Captain Bullock, Captain Tessier, Mr. Prioleau, the leading members of the firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Co., Mr. Thomas, of the firm of Fawcett, Preston & Co., and others were present at the launch. She is intended for the South, either as a privateer or blockade-runner; there is no doubt about this, I think. She will turn up a privateer. Her draught of water will be light, and with her powerful engines her speed will be very fast. When afloat she will be a most dangerous craft to our commerce, if armed with two or three guns. I have on several occasions referred to the steamer built at Stockton for Fraser, Trenholm & Co., called the Southerner. This vessel came here yesterday either to coal or else to fit out as a privateer. There is no doubt about this vessel. I suppose it will be impossible for me to obtain legal evidence against these two vessels, and nothing short of this will satisfy this Government. I am, &c., (Signed) THOMAS H. DUDLEY. The receipt of this note was immediately acknowledged by Earl Russell, and Mr. Adams was informed that the proper departments of Her Majesty's government would be requested to make immediate inquiries on the subject. On the same 27th March, 1863, Earl Russell sent copies of the said note and inclosure to the proper departments, with a request that instant inquiry should be made, and on the following day he wrote to Mr. Adams as follows: Earl Russell to Mr. Adams. FOREIGN OFFICE, March 28, 1863. SIR: With reference to my letter of yesterday's date, I have the honor to inform you that I have received from the Home Office a copy of a letter which has been addressed to the Mayor of Liverpool respecting the two vessels, Phantom and Southerner, stated by the United Consul at that port to be fitting out for the service of the so-styled Confederate States. In that letter the mayor of Liverpool is instructed to make immediate inquiries as to these vessels, or whichever of them is now at Liverpool, and to ascertain whether there is any reason to believe that they or either of them are or is being equipped, furnished, fitted out, or armed with the intent to commit hostilities against the United States Government; and, if so, to report whether any evidence on oath can be procared in order to proceedings being taken under the foreign enlistment act. I have accordingly the honor to suggest that, as the United States consul at Liverpool has stated in his letter to you that there is no doubt with respect to the vessel named the Southerner, you should instruct that officer to furnish the mayor of Liverpool with the information on which his belief is founded. I have, &c. (Signed) RUSSELL. The officers of customs at Liverpool made prompt and careful inquiry into the matters alleged by Mr. Adams, and inquiry was also made under the direction of the mayor of Liverpool, and the result of such inquiries was, on the 3d April, 1863, communicated by Earl Russell to Mr. Adams in the following note:2 Earl Russell to Mr. Adams. FOREIGN OFFICE, April 3, 1863. SIR: Since the date of my letter of the 27th ultimo, I have received from the board of the treasury a report made by the commissioners of customs, under date of the 31st ultimo, and from the secretary of state for the home department a report from the mayor of Liverpool, bearing the same date, containing the result of inquiries made by them in regard to the vessels Phantom and Southerner, denounced by you in your letter of the 26th ultimo as intended for the naval service of the so-called Confederate States. It appears from the first of these reports that the Phantom was built at the yard of Mr. W. C. Miller, and is now in the Clarence graving-dock. Her length is 193 feet; her breadth, 22 feet; her depth, 12 feet; her gross tonnage, 321; and her probable register tonnage, 160. From the considerable space appropriated to her engines, and from her model, there seems to be no doubt a high rate of speed will be obtained; and from her light [37] draught of water she is well adapted * for running the blockade ; but as she has steel plates only half an inch thick, and as the angle-irons which compose the deck beams are only five by three and a half inches thick, and as, moreover, she has no ports except for water-way, (three in all,) and a hurricane-house on deck, the surveyor of customs considers that she is not intended to carry guns, and that she is not fit for a privateer. The mayor of Liverpool reports that the Phantom was launched on the 21st of March from the yard of Messrs. Miller & Co., and that her engines are being made and fitted by Messrs. Fawcett, Preston & Co., of Liverpool; that she is in an unfinished state, and not expected to proceed to sea under a fortnight or three weeks. No distinct information could be obtained as to what she is intended for, but a strong impression exists that she is destined for the purpose of running the blockade. The Southerner has not yet arrived at Liverpool. A strict watch will be kept as regards both vessels. I have, &c., (Signed) RUSSELL. On the 7th April, 1863, Earl Russell received from Mr. Adams the following note: 1 Mr. Adams to Earl Russell. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, MY LORD: I have the honor to acknowledge the reception of notes from your lordship, dated the 27th and 31st of March, and two on the 3d of April, in reply to certain representations of mine concerning vessels believed to be in preparation at Liverpool, for the carrying on of hostilities at sea, against the commerce of the United States. It is a source of great satisfaction to me to recognize the readiness which Her Majesty's government has thus manifested to make the investigations desired, as well as to receive the assurances of its determination to maintain a close observation of future movements of an unusual character, that justify suspicious of any evil intent. I pray, &c., (Signed) CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Mr. Adams subsequently (viz, on the 16th, 19th, and 23d May, 1863) 2 sent to Earl Russell copies of several sworn depositions made by a detective police officer at Liverpool who had been employed to watch the ship-building yards, and by other persons. These depositions tended to show that the building and fitting of the Phantom was superintended by persons in the employ of Messrs. Fawcett, Preston & Co., a firm of iron-founders and engineers carryingon a very extensive business at Liverpool, (a member of which firm was the registered owner of the vessel.) It also appeared from the depositions that a Captain Bullock (to whom reference will be made hereafter) took part in superintending the work; and it was further sworn by two of the deponents (who were police-constables) that the vessel was entirely cased in steel plates; that she had three port-holes on each side, with steel-plate 1 Appendix, vəl. ii, p. 171. 2 Ibid., pp. 171, 173, 176. shutters; that she had very little room for cargo; and that she appeared to them to be built for war purposes. Immediately on the receipt of these depositions, further inquiries were directed by Her Majesty's government, and were prosecuted accordingly, and the result of them was, on the 27th May, 1863, communicated by Earl Russell to Mr. Adams in the following note:1 Earl Russell to Mr. Adams. FOREIGN OFFICE, May 27, 1-63. SIR: I had the honor, in my note of the 3d ultimo, to communicate to you the result of the inquiries which have been instituted by Her Majesty's government, on the receipt of your letter of the 26th of March, in which you denounced the Phantom steamer as being in course of construction at Liverpool as a vessel of war for the service of the so-styled Confederate States. The evidence which I was then able to lay before you seemed to show that you had been misinformed in this respect; but as the depositions inclosed in your letters of the 16th, 19th, and 23d instant appeared to call for further inquiry, Her Majesty's government did not lose a moment in causing such further inquiry to be made, and I now proceed to communicate to you the result. 1st. With regard to the allegation that the Phantom has port-holes, the collector at Liverpool has obtained from the surveyor a report, from which it appears that, though the Phantom has ports on deck, it is evident from their size and situation that they are intended for the escape of water, and not for guns, which the strength of the deck is not sufficient to carry; moreover, the permanent fittings on deck would interfere with the working of guns. The surveyor adds that, in his opinion, the Phantom is intended for mercantile pursuits, but whether of a lawful character or for running the blockade there is no evidence to show. 2dly. The commissioners of customs, since the date of my last letter, have caused a strict watch to be kept upon the Phantom, but nothing has transpired worthy of special notice, and the several papers in regard to this vessel, including the depositions forwarded by you, having been submitted to the legal adviser of that board, he has reported that there is no evidence to warrant the slightest interference with her. Indeed it is stated that during a recent interview between that officer and Mr. Squarey, [3] the solicitor to the United States consul at Liverpool, Mr. Squarey admitted *that there was no case against the Phantom, and that the recoil of a heavy gun would shake her to pieces. I have, &c., (Signed) RUSSELL. In a subsequent note to Mr. Adams, dated 30th May, 1863, referring to the same subject, Earl Russell wrote as follows:2 The surveyor further observes that it is difficult for any one at all familiar with the construction and fittings of vessels intended for warlike purposes to account for the supposition that the Phantom is destined for such a service, her hull being of the most fragile character that can be conceived for a sea-going vessel, her steel-plates being but a quarter of an inch thick, and her iron frame of the same proportion. The Phantom sailed on the 10th June, 1863, from Liverpool for Nassau, and is believed to have been employed as a blockade-runner. She was never used for war. THE SOUTHERNER. On the 3d June, 1863, Mr. Adams addressed to Earl Russell the following note respecting a vessel called the Southerner, alleged to be fitting out at Stockton-on-Tees: 3 Mr. Adams to Earl Russell. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, MY LORD: I have the honor to submit to your consideration copies of two depositions relating to a vessel which has been fitting out at Stockton-on-Tees, for some Appendix, vol. ii, p. 177. * Ibid, p. 179. 3 Ibid., p. 187. |