* amount of £444,850, a sum equivalent, when the value of exchange is considered, to $5,925,402 of our currency. * An agent, Mr. Norman S. Walker, was lately dispatched with $2,030,000 in bonds of the Confederate States. The instructions to Mr. Walker direct him to return to Bermuda, after the disposition of the bonds in England, and after conference with Major Huse. He is to remain there as a resident disbursing agent, and is, in conjunction with Mr. S. G. Porter, charged with the transfers of the cargo of the Harriet Pinkney,' now there, and other ships hereafter to arrive, to the ports of the Confederate States. A large part of the cargoes have been landed at Nassau, and thence transmitted to the ports of the Confederate States in fast steamers. Their destination has lately been changed to Bermuda, where several most valuable cargoes are now awaiting transportation. It appears to me to be the appropriate duty of the Navy Depart- [239] ment to assist in the running in of these cargoes; but if the burden of it is to be borae entirely by the War Department, it is highly important that light-draught steamers should be purchased, and used solely for the transportation of cargoes from Bermuda." * Base changed to Bermuda. This change to Bermuda had been recommended by Huse in the previous August. The reason given was that "the port of Nassau had become dangerous;" and he had appointed as agent there" Mr. S. G. Porter, a gentleman highly recommended by Commander J. D. Bullock." Gorgas inquired of the insurgent Secretary of War whether Huse's appointment of Porter should be approved, and the reply is to be found in the above extract. Walker went there before January 1, 1863,3 and on the 9th day of February, 1863, it was reported that Bermuda was a good depot for the purpose, and that the insurgent authorities "had then three steamers running there."+ Having thus shown that the branch of the insurgent War Department established in Great Britain had, during the years 1861 and 1862, purchased arms, ammunition, and supplies to the amount of about nine millions of dollars, and that the branch of their Treasury [240] established at Liverpool had during the same time paid on account of these purchases over three millions of dollars, and that vessels either belonging to or chartered by the insurgent authorities were occupied as transports, (in violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819,) in carrying this large quantity of war material from British ports to the insurgents, and in bringing back cotton, the property of the insurgent authorities, to be used in making payments therefor, it is now necessary to see what the branch of their Navy Department, under the direction of Bullock, was engaged in during the same period. The United States are not able to trace these transactions with the minuteness with which they have been able to narrate the doings of Huse and Heyliger. The correspondence of those who assumed to direct the naval affairs of the insurgents has not come into the possession of the United States, as did the confidential correspondence of other agents heretofore cited. Bullock's operations, however, were on so large a scale that it will not be difficult to follow him. In doing this the United States will confine themselves to general statements, reserv. ing the particulars for the remarks that will be made upon the career of each cruiser. 1 Huse to Gorgas, 4th August, 1862, Vol. VI, page 93. 3 Gorgas to Huse, 1st January, 1863, Vol. VI, page 107. ▲ Gorgas to Huse, 9th February, 1863, Vol. VI, page 111. Bullock, as has been said, established himself in Liverpool in [241] the summer of 1861. The United States Consul re- What was done at ports him on the 20th of September as "residing in Liverpool by Bullock. private lodgings in Liverpool," and as being "chiefly in communication with Fraser, Trenholm & Co., whose office he visits daily." Prioleau, one of the firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Co., says that he occupied for a year after his arrival a room in their office.1 It is probable that as early as October, 1861, he had made the contracts for the two gun-boats which were afterward known as the Florida and the Alabama. The drawings of the Alabama were sigued by the Lairds, who built her, on the 9th of October, 1861. The United States have no means for determining the date when the contract was made with Fawcett, Preston & Co., for the Florida. Their Consul at Liverpool has stated that on his arrival at the consulate in November, 1861, his attention was called by the acting consul to this vessel, then called the Oreto, and to the Alabama. It is clear, therefore, that the work was advanced at that time.2 Prioleau also testifies that he introduced Bullock to Fawcett, Preston & Co., for the purpose of making the contract for the Florida.3 By the 4th of February, 1862, the Florida was so nearly completed that the Consul at Liverpool wrote, "She is now tak [242] ing in her coal, and appearances indicate that she The Florida. will leave here the latter part of the week without her armament.” Her gun-carriages were soon taken on board, in pieces, some in a rough state, and were put in the hcld, and a day or two later she received her provisions, and the crew was shipped. The steamer Bahama preceded her by a few days with her armament, but reached Nassau after her. When the Florida sailed she took a crew of fifty-two men and some guns, and was in every respect a man-of-war except that her armament was not in place. It was conclusively shown at Nassau that she might have been fitted for battle in twenty-four hours after leaving the dock in the Mersey." The vessel in that condition was consigned by Bullock to Heyliger." The connection of Bullock with the vessel from the beginning is established by this act, as well as by the evidence of Prioleau. The conneetion of Fraser, Trenholm & Co. is shown by the admission of Priolean, and by the fact that a member of that firm accompanied her on her trial trip and on her departure. Mr. Adams called the attention of Earl Russell to the charac[243] ter and destination of this vessel on *the 29th of February, and again on the 25th of March, 1861. Her Majesty's Government had ample time to ascertain her character and to detain her. They did go through the form of an examination which, seen in the light of subsequent events, reads like a farce.9 The work on the Alabama progressed more slowly than that on the Florida, possibly because it was a larger vessel. She was launched on the 15th of May, and made her trial trip on the The Alabama 12th of June.10 "The money for her was advanced by Fraser, Trenholm 1 Vol. VI, page 185. 2 Dudley to Edwards, Vol. III, page 17. 3 Dudley to Seward, Vol. VI, page 186. 4 Dudley to Seward, Vol. II, page 593. 5 Report of Board of Customs, Vol. II, page 605. 6 Captain Hickley's affidavit, Vol. VI, page 263. Heyliger to Randolph, 2d May, 1862, Vol. VI, page 76. 8 Dudley to Edwards, Vol. III, page 17. 9 Vol. II, pages 595 and 604. 10 Dudley to Seward, Vol. III, page 1. & Co." Captain Bullock was "all the time in communication with Fawcett, Preston & Co., who fitted out the Oreto, and with the Lairds, who were fitting out this vessel," and went "almost daily on board the gun-boat, and seemed to be recognized as in authority." It was even said in Liverpool that he was to command her.2 Mr. Adams, on the 23d of June, invited Earl Russell's attention to this vessel, and an examination was ordered. The examiners reported to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury that it was "most apparent that she is intended for a ship of war," and that "the description of her in the communication of the United States Consul is *most cor- [244] rect, with the exception that her engines are not constructed on the oscillatory principle."3 The evidence of the criminal character of the vessel became so overwhelming that Her Majesty's Government was at length induced to give an order for her detention. Before the order reached Liverpool she had escaped. She ran down to Moelfra Bay, on the coast of the Isle of Anglesey, and there took on board twenty or thirty men from the tug Hercules, with the knowledge of the British officials at Liverpool. She then sailed to the Azores, where she was met by the Agrippina from London and the Bahama from Liverpool. These vessels brought her officers, her armaments, and her coal. The transshipments were made, and then the British ensign was hauled down, and the insurgent flag hoisted. It is not deemed necessary to examine further, in this connection, the evidence showing the palpable character of this vessel, especially as Lord Russell, in the course of the discussion which ensued, admitted that it is undoubtedly true that the Alabama was partly fitted out in a British port." That evidence will be discussed more at length in its appropriate place. For the present, the United States only aim 4 to satisfy the Tribunal that, flagrant *as was the violation of neu- [245] trality in the case of the Alabama, it was but a part of the great scheme which was set on foot when Huse, Bullock, and Fraser, Trenholm & Co., combined together in Liverpool. The Sumter at Gibralter. The operations of Captain Bullock were manifest about this time in quite another quarter of the globe. The insurgent steamer Sumter put into Gibraltar in January, 1862, out of coal, and not being able immediately to obtain any was obliged to remain there until United States men-of-war arrived in those waters. Deeming it impossible to escape she was then offered for sale, and when the sellers came to make title, the officer in charge produced "a power of attorney from a certain Bullock, who styles himself senior naval officer in Europe." Great Britain, in spite of the protests of the United States officials, permitted a sale to take place, and it is not improbable that, if the sale was bona fide, the money went to the insurgent agents to swell the fund for the payment of the Alabama and the Florida, then in the Mersey. The Florida at Nassua. funds. When the Florida reached Nassau, it was again found necessary to depend upon the Liverpool combination for The insurgent Secretary of the Navy making application to [246] 1 Dudley to Edwards, Vol. III, page 18. Dudley to Adams, Vol. III, page 6. 3 Report of Board of Customs, Vol. III, page 7. Earl Russell to Mr. Adams, 29th September, 1864, Vol. III, page 299. 5 Sprague to Adams, 9th December, 1862, Vol. II, page 507. 6 Sprague to Freeling, Vol. II, page 511. 7 Sprague to Adams, Vol. II, page 515. their Secretary of the Treasury for fifty thousand dollars, to fit out and equip the C. S. Steamer "Manassas," [Florida,] "now at Nassau," was answered that "the Department had funds in England," and that he could have "a bill of exchange on England for the amount required." Mallory accepted the suggestion, and requested Memminger to"transmit to Nassau, through Messrs. J. Fraser & Co., of Charleston, a bill of exchange in favor of Lieutenant John N. Maffitt, for fifty thousand dollars, ($50,000,) or its equivalent in pounds," which was done. The construction and dispatch of these vessels were by no means all that was planned in Liverpool during that year. On the 21st day of August, 1862, Mallory, the insurgent Secretary clads. of the Navy, wrote Mr. Jefferson Davis: "A contract has been made for the construction abroad and delivery of six iron-clad steam-vessels of war, upon plans and specifications prepared by this department, which, with the outfits to be furnished, together with six complete extra engines and boilers, are estimated to cost about $3,500,000.”4 The estimates an Contracts for constructing six iron nexed to this letter are to the same amount. Thus it appears [247] that, before the 1st of January, 1863, Bullock had dispatched from Great Britain two formidable cruisers, the Alabama and the Florida, to prey upon the commerce of the United States, had sold another cruiser at Gibraltar, and had possibly turned the proceeds into the Treasury of the insurgents, at the office of Fraser, Trenholm & Co., and had, by himself or through another agent, made some sort of a contract for the construction of six iron-clads; and that Fraser, Trenholm & Co. had provided the funds for these vessels, and also for what was necessary in order to complete the fitting out of the Florida at Nassau. Before proceeding further in this history, it is better to pause to take note of two other acts of the Colonial Author- Trinidad. ities, which, so far as known, were not censured by Great Britain. The first of these was the hospitality extended to the Sumter in Trinidad, in August, 1861. She was allowed to remain five days in port, and to "supply herself with coals and other necessary outfits." The second case was the reception of the Florida at Nassau, in 1863. The Florida steamed into Nassau on the morning of the 26th of January, in that year. What took place is thus described by an insurgent writer: "This The Sumter at The Florida at seems to be our principal port of entry, and the Nassau. [248] amount of money *we throw into the hands of the Nassauites probably influences their sentiments in our favor. We took on board coal and provisions to last us for several months." Mr. Adams repre facts to Earl Russell. This history has now arrived at the time when the United States were in a position to confirm to Great Britain all, and more than all, that Mr. Adams had represented to Earl Russell as to sents the foregoing the course of the insurgents in Liverpool, and to place in the hands of Her Majesty's Government the thread for the discovery of all the violations of British sovereignty, and of all the injuries to the United States perpetrated on British soil, which have been set forth in this paper. On the 19th of January, 1863, Mr. Seward transmitted to Mr. Adams "a copy of some treasonable correspondence of the insurgents at Richmond, with their agents abroad, which throws a flood of Mallory to Memminger, 26th May, 1862, Vol. VI, page 84. * Memminger to Mallory, 27th May, 1862, Vol. VI, 85. * Mallory to Memminger, 27th May, 1862, Vol. VI, page 85. 4 Vol. VI, page 96. See also, on the same point, Mallory to Mason, 30th October, 1862, Vol. I, page 573. Bernard to Seward, Vol. II, page 485. 6 Journal of Confederate Steamer Florida, Vol. VI, page 335. light upon the naval preparations they are making in Great Britain." On the 9th day of February, 1863, Mr. Adams inclosed this correspond ence to Earl Russell, with a note in which he said-what could be said without the least exaggeration-"These papers go to show a deliberate attempt to establish within the limits of this Kingdom a system of action in direct hostility to the Government of the *United States. [249] This plan embraces not only the building and fitting out of several ships of war under the direction of agents especially commissioned for the purpose, but the preparation of a series of measures under the same auspices for the obtaining from Her Majesty's subjects the pecuniary means essential to the execution of those hostile projects. Taken as a whole, these papers serve most conclusively to show that no respect whatever has been paid in her own realm by these parties to the neutrality declared by Her Majesty at the outset of these hostilities; and that, so far as may be in their power, they are bent on making her Kingdom subservient to their purpose of conducting hostilities against a nation with which she is at peace." cines to get. Lord Russell delayed his answer to this communication exactly one Lord Rassell de month. On the 9th day of March, 1863, he made a reply, the substance of which was that Her Majesty's Government would not examine into the truth of Mr. Seward's and Mr. Adams's allegations, because, even if they were true, the papers which had been submitted by Mr. Adams went "merely to show that the agents of the socalled Confederate States resident in this country [Great Britain] have received instructions from their own Government *to en- [250] deavor to raise money on securities of that Government in England, and to enter into contracts for the purchase of munitions of war, and for the building of iron-clad vessels; but there is no proof in these papers that the agents referred to have as yet brought themselves within the reach of any criminal law of the United Kingdom.” 3 In order fully to comprehend the force of this answer, it is necessary to ask the Tribunal to pause, for the purpose of inquiring Foreign Enlistment into what had taken place between the two Governments as to alleged defects in the Foreign Enlistment Act, and as to the necessity of amending it so as to give the Government greater powers. Inefficiency of the Act. "3 It was found when the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819 came to be put into operation, under the direction of a Government inspired by unfriendly feelings toward the United States, that there were practical and multiplying difficulties in the way of using it so as to prevent the departure of the cruisers. Earl Russell, as early as March, 1862, in reply to an earnest representation made by Mr. Adams under instructions, said that "the duty of nations in amity with each other is not to suffer their good faith to be violated by evil-disposed persons within their borders, merely from the inefficiency of their prohibitory policy." *Within a few months after this the Alabama escaped from the [251] port of Liverpool, and never returned. The openness and the audacity with which this was done seemed at one time to induce the British Cabinet to entertain the idea of amending the Foreign Enlistment Act. On the 19th day of December, 1862, Lord Russell, in reply to what Seward to Adams, Vol I, page 546. 2 Adams to Russell, Vol. I, page 562. 4 Adams to Russell, Vol. I, page 30. |