Omission by the British Government to act under such circumstances, was nothing less than toleration of the abuses complained of. It was, in short, an implied permission to continue the unlawful practices.

16. Great Britain not only neglected during the whole war to take any measures by which any of the offending vessels of the insurgents would be excluded from the hospitalities of her ports, and their agents prevented from using her territory for facilitating their belligerent operations, but she in effect refused so to do She did not even send remonstrances to the government of the insurgents, or to any of its agents residing and conducting its affairs within her own jurisdiction.

On the 4th of September, 1862, Mr. Adams, in a communication to Earl Russell, called attention to the fact that the Agrippina, the barque which had taken a part of the armament to the Alabama, was preparing to take out another cargo of coal to her, and asked that something might be done which would prevent the accomplishment of this object (Brit. App., vol. i, p. 209). This communication, in due course of business, was referred to the Commissioners of Customs, who, on the 25th of the same month, reported « There would be great « difficulty in ascertaining the intention of any

parties making such a shipment, and we do « not apprehend that our officers would have any power of interfering with it, were the « coals cleared outwards for some foreign port « in compliance with the law » (Brit. App., vol. i, p. 213). Thus the matter ended.

If there was no power in the officers of the customs to interfere with the shipment of the coals, there certainly was ample power in the Government to prohibit any offending belligerent vessel from coming into the ports of Great Britain to receive them. That, if it would not have stopped the offending vessels entirely, might to some extent have embarrassed their operations.

Again on the 7th of December, 1863, Mr. Adams submitted to Earl Russell evidence of the existence of a regular office in the port of Liverpool for the enlistment and payment of British subjects, for the purpose of carrying on war against the Government and people of the United States (Brit. App., vol. i, p. 428). This communication was by referred Earl Russell to the Law Officers of the Crown, who, on the 12th of the same month, reported: « We have <<< to observe that the facts disclosed in the de<< positions furnish additional grounds to those << already existing, for strong remonstrance to << the Confederate Government on account of << the systematic violation of our neutrality

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their agents in this country » (Brit. App., vol. i, p. 440). There is no evidence tending to prove that any such remonstrance was then sent. In fact, the first action of that kind which appears in the proof, was taken on the 13th day of February, 1865, less than sixty days before the close of the war.

17. The conduct of Great Britain from the commencement was such as to encourage the insurgents, rather than discourage them, as to the use of her ports and waters for necessary repairs and for obtaining provisions and coal.

The Alabama first appeared in a British port, at Jamaica, on the 20th of January, 1863, nearly six months after her escape from Liverpool, and after a lapse of much more time than was sufficient to notify the most distant colonies, of the offence which had been committed by her, and of any restrictions which the Government at home had seen fit to place upon her use of the hospitalities of ports of the Kingdom. No such notice was ever given, nor was any such restriction ever ordered.

The Alabama went to Jamaica for the reason that in an engagement with the Hatteras, a United States naval vessel, she had received such injuries as to make extensive repairs necessary. This engagement took place only twenty-five miles from a home port, but instead of attempt

ing to enter it, and make her repairs there, she sailed more than fifteen-hundred miles to reach this port of Great Britain. In doing this she had sailed far enough, and spent time enough, to have enabled her to reach any of the ports of the insurgents; but the blockade prevented her entering them, and she was compelled to rely upon the hospitalities of neutral waters. At Jamaica, she was permitted without objection to make her repairs, and to take in such coal and other supplies as she required for her cruise. She was treated, Commodore Dunlop said, as any United States man-of-war would have been treated by him.

On the 25th of the same month (January, 1863), the Florida appeared at Nassau short of coal, although she was only ten days from a home port. She was permitted to supply herself with coal and other necessaries. On the 24th of the next month, she again appeared at Barbadoes, bound for distant waters, » but she was in distress, and unless permitted to repair, the captain said he would be compelled to land his men and strip his ship, Notwithstanding her past offences, permission to repair and take on supplies was granted.

These were the first visits of any of the offending cruisers to British waters. They were substantially their first visits to any ports of a neutral nation. The Florida stopped for a short

time at Havana, on her way from Mobile to Nassau, and the Alabama was for a few hours at Martinique. But at neither of these places did they take on any coal, or make any repairs.

Thus the nation, whose authority and dignity had been so grossly offended in the construction and outfit of these vessels, was the first to grant them neutral hospitalities. From that time her ports were never closed to any insurgent vessel of war; and permission to coal, provision and repair was never refused.

It is said in the British Counter-Case, p. 118, that, during the course of the war, ten insurgent cruisers visited British ports. The total number of their visits was twenty-five, eleven of which were made for the purpose of effecting repairs. Coal was taken at sixteen of these visits. The total amount of coal taken was twenty-eight hundred tons.

The number of visits made by these cruisers to all the ports of all other neutral nations during the war did not exceed twenty. So it appears that the hospitalities extended by Great Britain in this form to the insurgents, were greater than those of all the world beside; and yet more serious offences had been committed against her than any other neutral nation.

They required repairs at about one-half their visits, and coal at about two-thirds.