commerce. 23 of sale to sell her in any port I pleased; so I've broken my contract with you, but I've a steamer alongside to take you home." Then he introduced Captain Corbett as the person he had sold the ship to, and who came forward to address the men, but they grumbled out something about what pay they were to have. The defendant went to speak to them as to the money they were to get for their disappointment. Then Captain Waddel began to speak, and pulling out a paper said it was a commission from the confederate government, and that he wanted men and would give £15 bounty and £7 a month as wages. He added that he was not going to fight, if he could possibly avoid it, but only to cruise upon American Witness said he did not hear the defendant say anything to induce or incite the men to enlist in the Sea King or Shenandoah. Witness said that Captain Waddell pressed him very much to stay, and he told the defendant so, and asked his advice as to what he should do, and whether he should go or stay; and the defendant said, "Well, please yourself; I won't influence you one way or the other." And afterwards, when one or two of the men wanted to go from the Laurel to the Shenandoah, the defendant refused to let them have the boat to go. Finally, the witness declared that though he was constantly in the cabin he saw no "bucket of gold," and he never saw there the man Allen, one of the Crown witnesses, who had said he was there and saw the "bucket of gold." He must have " bled on it," he said, "if there was any such thing there." tum On cross-examination, he admitted that he saw a bag of gold on the table. He was under the purser, he said, but denied that the purser gave him orders, though he asked him questions. The SOLICITOR GENERAL. Pray, when did you first know the ship was to be a confederate vessel? . WITNESS said he did not know. Even when told it was sold, he did not know it. He did not know it until he saw the cases of shot and shell coming from the Laurel. He knew there was such a cargo, for "every one was talking of it." He had thought, he said, when be shipped that he was going to Bombay. The two captains were close together when the conversation with the men was going on. It was elicited that this witness, Hensman, Elliott, (A laugh.) and the defendant had come home together, and had talked about this matter a little, although (the witness said) he did not think much about it, as he knew it was all over. He admitted that the witness Hensman had been at his house sometimes, and was there on Sunday, and he admitted saying that he "hoped the case would go on all right." He said he had known him for years, and gone several voyages with him. The next witness was one Allcott, who said he was a native of Charleston, United States, and had seen the Alabama. He embarked on board the Laurel in October at Liverpool, and sailed to Madeira, his passage being taken to Nassau. (A laugh.) At Madeira he saw the Shenandoah, and most of the men and officers went on board of her. Next morning the men were mustered, and he stood near the defendant, and heard what he said. The defendant had a paper in his hand, and addressed the men as follows: "Men: When we left London we left on a voyage to Bombay; but, on leaving England, I held a power of attorney to sell my ship when and where I could get my price. I have sold the ship to this gentleman (pointing to Captain Waddell.) The voyage is broken, and if you men sign clear of me I'll give you two months' pay, in addition to what you have had in London. If not, there is a passage provided for you in the steamer alongside." One of the men was almost mutinous, and said he wanted his three months down; that he had joined the ship, and that he would fight like damnation. (Laughter.) This man was Ellison, the first witness for the Crown yesterday. Then Captain Waddell came forward and said: "Men, I've a word or two to say to you. You are doubtless aware that there is war be(A laugh.) I hold a commission from the presitween the northern and southern States. dent of the southern States as lieutenant. I have bought this ship, and am going to put Eer into commission for fifteen months. I want men, and will give you £15 bounty and two months' pay. I am going to cruise against the American commerce-to sink, burn, and destroy. I am not going to fight; but if we are driven into a corner you may depend upon it we'll fight our way out." (A laugh.) The men refused to go in the ship, however. Witness said he did not hear the defendant say anything to induce the men to stay. He himself staid, as he was then a southerner. Cross-examined by the SOLICITOR GENERAL: You shipped for Nassau, you say. How came you to find yourself at Madeira? WITNESS. That was secrecy on the part of our commander. Q. When did you first know there was to be a vessel to meet you? A. When we signalled her next morning. Q. Did you know the cargo on board? A. No; it was no concern of ours. Q. Do you mean to say you did not know what was your destination? A. I knew that we were to run the blockade; that is, in the Laurel. Q. When did you know so many of your men were to go on board the Shenandoah? A. Not until 10 minutes before we went. Q. You knew Captain Waddel was on board? A. Yes; I knew he was a confederate officer. The witness stated that the purser spoken of, who gave the name of Forester, but whose real name was Whitter, became first lieutenant on the Shenandoah. He admited that he DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. had been on board the Alabama, and that he was "picked up The next witness was one Crauford, who had been gunner's mate on board the Laurel, and was picked up at Liverpool. He thought she was bound for Nassau, he said, and had no idea of meeting any other ship until they reached the Desertas. He declared that he had gone on board the Shenandoah and had not heard the defendant say anything to induce the men to enlist, though he heard the American captain speak to the men. He himself staid in the Shenandoah. This witness was not cross-examined. The next witness was a man named Griffiths, who said he was a native of the southern States, and he was on board the Laurel, and went into the Shenandoah and heard the defendant address the men and say that he had sold the ship to Captain Waddell (who stood by) and got his price. Captain Waddell said, "This vessel belongs to the Confederate States. We are at war with the northerners, and those who like to join can do so," and then he spoke about bounty, &c. But the defendant said nothing to induce the men to enlist. Being asked to state more particularly what defendant said, he stated that he began by saying, "Men, I signed articles with you for Bombay, but I've sold the ship," &c. He did not say anything as to wages or bounty on board the Shenandoah, nor about going in pursuit of American commerce. The next witness, a man named Marshall, said he was a native of the southern States, and shipped in the Laurel at Liverpool. He thought she was going to Nassau, and had no idea that she was to meet another vessel at Madeira. He had been on board the Shenandoah when the defendant spoke to the men, and said that he had signed articles for Bombay, but that as the voyage was broken he had no further control over the men, and that he had sold the ship to Captain Waddell. Some of the men asked what they were to do, and the defendant said, "Well, there is a steamer alongside, if you want to go home; if not, sign clear of me, and you shall have two months' wages." One of the men said he would not take two months, and would have three months down. (This man was so described that it seemed he was Ellison.) The defendant said when he got home if the law required six months he would pay it. Then Captain Waddell came forward to address the men. The defendant said nothing to induce the men to stay. The witness said he had gone in the Shenandoah himself. The SOLICITOR GENERAL. Well, you've had rather an exciting time of it since then, eh? You've done a good deal of business, haven't you? You can hardly recollect exactly what was said a year ago? Witness said he did not know, perhaps not "to a word." There was a great deal of confusion at the time. The SOLICITOR GENERAL. When was your attention first drawn to the matter? You have had a good many things to attend to, you know, since these things occurred. When was your recollection first refreshed about it? Witness said at Melbourne, in February, when he saw Captain Corbett's case in the papers-the examination before the magistrates. He said he had "talked it over" since then with Captain Corbett and Mr. Allcott. The next witness was a man named Hall, who shipped on board the Laurel, and had gone on board the Shenandoah and heard the captain (the defendant) say he had shipped the men for Bombay, but had a bill of sale to sell the ship when he could, and then Captain Waddell said he was going to cruise against northern commerce, but Captain Corbett said nothing to induce the men to join. Mr. Brown, a master-stevedore, one who had "stored" the ship (the Sea King) on this voyage, said he saw nothing unusual in a ship bound for the East Indies going out without cargo. In cross-examination it appeared that the vessel had 700 or 800 tons of coal, which was pretty well as much as she could carry. This, however, he said, was not at all unusual. Nor was it unusual to send a vessel out with a power of sale. This closed the case for the defence. It was now nearly 5 o'clock, and the trial was about to be adjourned, when the foreman of the jury, after a brief conference with his fellows, intimated that they should like to know what was the principal question, as they thought they were agreed upon it in favor of the defendant. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. The first question, gentlemen, is, whether you believe the statement that Captain Corbett, when he announced that he had sold the vessel, said anything to induce the men to join. Upon that there is a conflict of evidence, and it is for you to make up you minds upon it. The SOLICITOR GENERAL said there was the question as to what was proved to have passed between Captain Corbett and the witness Allen in the cabin. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. No doubt. But if the jury don't believe one part of the story, probably they would not believe the rest. That is, if they think the Crown witnesses were mistaken, and have been putting into the mouth of Captain Corbett what was really said by Captain Waddell, probably they would think so of the whole. The foreman intimated that this was the view he had intended to convey, and they presumed that their opinion upon that point would decide the others. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. Suppose you thought that Captain Corbett did use the language ascribed to him, then other questions would arise, and points of law upon them. But the first question, no doubt, is, whether the language described was really used by Captain Corbett. The Foreman. That is, at the Desertas ? The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. The act of Parliament makes it an offence to induce or attempt to induce a British subject to enlist if it is in the Queen's dominions. But the Desertas are clearly not a place within her Majesty's dominions. A British ship, however, (in my opinion,) for this purpose clearly is so. And there would be a question (supposing you were satisfied that the words were used by the defendant) whether this was, at the time, a British vessel. And then would come the further and more important question whether Captain Corbett, the defendant, when engaging these men at Liverpool, did so with a purpose beyond that of having the ship navigated to a place where she should be given up, and with the intention of the men being induced to enlist in the service. These questions, however, would not arise unless you should believe that Captain Corbett did use the languge ascribed to him. That is certainly entirely for you. But it is a case of such importance that perhaps it would be better that you should not form a decided opinion upon it until you have heard the solicitor general, unless, indeed, your opinion upon it is so strong that it cannot be shaken. The SOLICITOR GENERAL said he certainly desired to address the jury. The jury appeared to hesitate. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. It is desirable that every possible consideration should be given to the case; and I am sure that you will give it your best and fullest consideration. The jury, upon this appeal, consulted together and said that such being his lordship's opinion (and it was also their own) they were ready to hear the solicitor general. The case was then adjourned. No. 1101.] Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, London, December 1, 1865. SIR: The slip herewith transmitted is of little importance in itself. It came to me in an envelope without any name. But I think it advisable that you should be put in possession of it as a clue to certain movements of intriguing and desperate people on this side. The ephemeral newspaper from which it is taken is just set up, and is supposed to be the organ of some of the remnant of the directors of the deceased Index, who are still animated with a hope of stirring up the embers of strife between the two countries. It is alleged that Mr. George Saunders is here, making some use or other of the Fenian agita tion as one, and of the Mexican question as another engine to bring about a combination between England and France, for vague purposes, perhaps scarcely shaped in the minds of the intriguers themselves. I cannot perceives the smallest indication of any disposition in the press generally to give sanction or currency to their ideas. I have the honor, to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. CANADA IN ARMS. Will England fight for Canada? If not, Canada will not fight for herself. And yet the colony has never been so loyal nor so prosperous as at the present moment. But she cannot defend herself from the warlike and aggressive power that lies a thousand miles along her borders. And is war imminent, then, between Canada and the United States? Most assuredly it is, and not only imminent, but the colonial troops are under arms along the borders, and, while we write, the blood of hostile neighbors may already have mingled with the tide of the St. Lawrence. We have been slow to believe in the disposition of the United States, all scarified with the wounds of civil strife, to pick a quarrel with any foreign power; and even now we will exonerate the government at Washington from any deliberate design of war. But governments, however pacifically inclined, oftener drift with the tide than successfully resist it. We begin sincerely to doubt if it is in the combined power of President Johnson and Earl Russell to prevent a conflict between the United States and the Canadian forces. They have permitted Fenianism to live too long, to grow too large, and to go too far. It is the openly avowed purpose of the Fenians to take Canada, and nothing but the forces of the United States troops can prevent it; and few of these can be made to fight against their "Irish fellow-citizens," especially since the fraternizing of the democratic party with the Fenian Brotherhood. There is a very general feeling in America that the late lamented Palmerston represented the pluck of England; and they do not believe that the ministry of Earl Russell, to quote their own words, more forcible thun elegant, can be "kicked into a war with the United States." The policy of England as well as her interest is peace. Commerce is the life of the British empire. She makes the goods and does the carrying for all the world. Her national debt, incurred by war, is already as much as her people can bear. Another ounce would break the patient camel's back. England, they say, will not go to war for Canada, already more of a burden than a support to the home government. And thus the Fenian programme is arranged. With the conquest of Canada, a provisional government will be set up, letters of marque issued against the commerce of Great Britain, a Yankee fleet let loose upon the seas, and the cost and the consequences who can calculate? And what has England to do in this perilous emergency? Call a meeting of Parliament without delay, to deliberate upon the situation; and if the present ministry is not master of it, let one be got together that is. No matter of what party, or what shade of politics, England's hour has come, when she needs her best man at the wheel, her keenest eye on the lookout, and her pluckiest captain on the deck. It cannot be denied that the animus of the masses in the United States-both north and south-is deeply and bitterly hostile to England, independent of the Fenian element. The cold "neutrality" attitude assumed by the government during the war satisfied neither party in the great contest; while both have become irate over their respective grievances. The recent publication, by authority of the powers at Washington, of the names of confederate bondholders and blockade-runners, could have no other object or effect than to inflame the masses of the north; while the people of the south are growing sicker and sicker of the merely mercenary and commercial sympathy" which the southern cause received among the traders of Liverpool and London. The moment the confederacy collapsed and its exchequer was exhausted, English "sympathizers" made haste to ignore a cause which could yield them no more gains; and in some cases even southern representatives, so much courted when the prospect was hopeful, and the golden streams abundant, were treated only as defeated, and, therefore, "disreputable rebels. Such is human nature-such is the law of self-interest that rules the world, especially the world of traders. England must not be deluded by the rose-water speeches of money-men, who have just been feasted and feted in the United States, and who saw in the sumptuous banquet-halls of railway speculators only a set of velvet-tongued toadies and flatterers who gently stroke the beard of the British lion with the softest plume of the American eagle. The most popular man in America to-day is the man who declares war against England; and, much as we deprecate war, and love to sing and to listen to the sweet lullaby of peace, yet we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that the muttering clouds now lowering in the west are heavily and fearfully charged with the red lightning of war. The only way to avert it is by the joint action of England and France, presenting a bold front, and insisting upon a congress for the settlement of all international difficulties.-Cosmopolitan, December 2. Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. No. 1104.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In accordance with the desire expressed in your despatch No. 1579, of the 4th of November, I presented a copy of the same to Lord Clarendon, who freely expressed his approbation of it, after which I concluded to give it publicity through the press. It accordingly appeared simultaneously in all the London morning papers of Saturday last, the 2d instant. I transmit a copy of the Times of that day, and likewise a copy of the same paper of the 5th, con taining a leader on the subject. The tone of this is conciliatory until towards the close, when allusions are made of an ambiguous character. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. From the Times, December 5, 1865. There are few Englishmen of any feeling who would not have a host of once vivid impressions revived by the sight of Mr. Seward's despatch to the American minister in our Saturday's columns. It is only seven months since we heard the news of a crime which grows in magnitude and in horror as we drift away from it down the swift stream of time. The intervening period has not been uneventful or unexciting. We too, like the Americans, have lost the political chief of our government, and quietly accepted the next in authority. The United States themselves have been pacified, reorganized, and reunited, with a rapidity and ease that command our admiration. Our own immense empire has never failed to produce, somewhere or other, objects of anxious or agreeable interest. At home we are dividing our time between domestic economies and organic reconstruction. Our hands are never idle, but we can still feel the shock of the frightful tragedy which only in the spring of this year threw into the background every lesser or older misery, and might atone for any number of errors. It so happened that Abraham Lincoln, by the progress of or the amendment of truth, had righted himself in English esteem, and then stood as well in our regards as any foreign potentate could ever hope to stand. We admired the man, and were beginning to like him, seeing in him the able and kind-hearted administrator of the greatest work of social peacemaking the world had yet seen. So we felt his murder as we should have done that of a leading British statesman at the hands of a political fanatic. There was more, indeed, in his case than there would ever be in this country, unless we could suppose half the realm making head against the other half for several years. There was the grand ceremony of a national reconciliation to be performed, and, as Heaven would have it, there lay bleeding before us the victim to consecrate it. Other victims were intended, and the assassins so far succeeded that one, the foremost statesman on the federal side, and the man with whom we had most to do, had to endure for months a living martyrdom. The strong will, the active intellect, and the ready tongue lay trembling between life and death when the most difficult stage of his great task had only just begun. We could not but be deeply impressed with a catastrophe that appealed to the chief qualities of our race, and the national sympathy burst out at a thousand openings, wherever many or few had been wont to come together and make a common utterance. It was the same elsewhere. So mail after mail took across the Atlantic such piles of condolence as had probably never before been evoked by any national bereavement. Answer could hardly be expected, for the man to answer was himself a dying man, for the time as helpless as his chief. So we were all content to wait; and now, after seven months, we find that we can revert to that crisis with undiminished horror at the deed, and larger and more certain knowledge of its place in the work of American reconstruction. The American Secretary of State has done all that could be done under the circumstances. Any attempt to produce a form of words specially appropriate to every address and every community would have been only a ridiculous effort of literary clerkship. Even in this Country people are little aware of the pressure of work in the principal departments on an extraordinary crisis or in a busy season. At Washington there was a war to be brought to an end, a great empire to be rebuilt, and a good many questions with other countries to be settled, if possible, to the satisfaction alike of the American and of the foreigner. Mr. Seward, who has recovered slowly from his terrible succession of injuries, has only just been able to speak for himself and his government. The British public will not have failed to notice the modesty with which the Secretary alludes to the cause of this delay. His department was indeed crippled when he lay, as many thought, on his death-bed, with wound upon wound; for that was "the peculiar calamity" which then impaired the efficiency of the American foreign office. That a government simply constructed for the transaction of necessary affairs in the ordinary course of public business should have been able to do its share in the work of the war was itself a wonder to this country. But when a new calamity involved new "obligations"-the calamity a partial massacre of the government, and the "obligations" the duty of answering condolences-the worst foe of republican institutions could not but do justice to the government which went on at all under such circumstances. We all saw, and duly appreciated, that there was not the least symptom of failure or collapse. Everything went on as usual, as far as met the eye. Our own difficulties, indeed, are so different in kind that it is not easy to make a just and intelligible comparison; but after witnessing the confusion apt to take place in other States upon the sudden withdrawing or the disabling of those at the head of critical affairs, we seemed to recognize a character like our own in a |