or partiality, she was received in a port of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, and in a port within the United Kingdom.

After having been disarmed, dismantled, and sold in a British port, the Georgia was captured at sea by a United States cruiser, as having been a ship of the Confederate States, and incapable of being transferred, during the war, to a British subject. Her Britannic Majesty's government, while it saw no reason to doubt that the sale had been bona fide, did not dispute the right of the United States to capture the vessel for the purpose of submitting the validity of the transfer to the judgment of a prize-court.

During the cruise of the Georgia, which lasted (as stated above) about nine months, exclusive of the period of her stay in the harbor of Cherbourg, no serious endeavor to intercept or capture her appears to have been made on the part of the Government of the United States. Her Britannic Majesty's government cannot admit that, in respect of the Georgia, it is justly chargeable with any failure of international duty, for which Great Britain owes reparation to the United States.

[136]

*PART VIII.

STATEMENT OF FACTS RELATIVE TO THE SHENANDOAH.

PART Shenandoah.

On the 12th November, 1864, Earl Russell received from Her Britannic VIIL-The Majesty's consul at Teneriffe a report dated the 30th October, 1864, from which it appeared that a vessel bearing the name of the Sea King, from London, had shortly before that date arrived in the vicinity of the Madeira Islands; that she had there received on board guns and a small number of men from a British steamer called the Laurel; had been taken possession of by a person claiming to be her commanding officer in the name of the Confederate States, and had hoisted the confederate flag. This report was as follows:1

Consul Grattan to Earl Russell.

TENERIFFE, October 30, 1864.

MY LORD: I have the honor to inform your lordship that the British steam-vessel Laurel, (47819,) of the port of Glasgow, bound from Liverpool to Nassau, arrived here on the 21st instant for the purpose of coaling.

The master, J. F. Ramsay, on presenting himself at this office, stated that he wished to land forty-three passengers, who were to proceed to England by the next Liverpool steamer, and that these persons were the master and crew of the British steamer Sea King, (official No. 48547,) of London, which vessel had been wrecked off the Desertas. The Laurel continued her voyage on the 22d instant. The master, on getting up steam, and not before, landed the above-mentioned seamen.

The master of the Sea King, P. S. Corbett, did not call at this office, as is usual in such cases, either for the purpose of making a protest or to claim assistance. Therefore, on the 25th instant, I sent to desire his attendance, and demanded the certificate of registry of his vessel, in pursuance of instructions contained in No. 13 Paragraph of the Board of Trade Instructions. On handing in his certificate he informed me that his vessel had not been wrecked, but that she had been sold in London, and delivered to her owners on the high seas; and that himself and his crew had landed here for the purpose of returning to England as passengers in the West Coast of Africa mail-steamer, due at this port on the 31st instant.

The discrepancy between the statements of the two masters led me to seek for further information respecting this matter, and the substance of the declaration I have obtained from George Kelly, Edward Everall, John Ellison, (Royal Naval Volunteers, 18536,) and John Hircus, all seamen belonging to the crew of the steam-vessel Sea King, is as follows:

"The Laurel sailed from Liverpool bound to Nassau with 24 supposed officers and 17 seamen, besides her own crew, 45 to 60 shells, about five tons of gunpowder, and various other munitions of war; she proceeded to Madeira, where she took about 300 tons of coal. The Sea King sailed from London on the 7th instant, and also proceeded to the offing of Funchal Roads. Both vessels then steamed to a place off the Desertas, where the sea was smooth, and the officers and men, arms, and munitions of war were transshipped from the Laurel to the Sea King on the 20th instant. The cases of arms were at once opened and the seamen armed themselves with cutlasses and revolvers. One of the officers then took command of the vessel in the name of the government of the so-called Confederate States of America. Some of the crew of the Laurel joined the Sea King; the remainder of her intended crew are to be sent out from England."

The 42 seamen now here, in charge of the former master of the Sea King, awaiting a passage to England, refused to join the confederate vessel, though as much as £17 per man was offered to them as bounty.

In consequence of having become aware that a serious offense against British law has been committed on board a British ship, I have thought it my duty to take the depositions, upon oath, of four of the seamen of the Sea King, which I have the honor to forward to the Board of Trade, according to instructions.

These depositions, in my opinion, contain evidence sufficient to substantiate a charge against the master, P. S. Corbett, of an infringement of the foreign-enlistment act; I therefore, pursuant to paragraph 127 of the Consular Instructions, deem it proper to send the offender in safe custody to England, in order that cognizance of the offense may be taken,

I am satisfied that the 42 seamen now here are about to proceed to England by the West Coast of Africa mail-steamer, which leaves this port for England on this day. I have, &c.,

(Signed)

HENRY C. GRATTAN.

Inclosed in the above report were depositions on oath made by [137] several seamen, of whom two belonged to the Royal Naval Reserve, and all had refused to take service on board of the Sea King when she was declared to be a confederate ship of war; and also a statement signed by the master of the Sea King.

These depositions were as follows:1

Deposition of John Ellison, R. N. V., 18536.

I signed as quartermaster in the Sea King on or about the 8th of October, 1861; proceeded to sea; after several days we came off Madeira; on the same night a steamer went into the port of Madeira; on the following morning the Sea King went into the bay, and signalized to the steamers that were lying there, and after two hours the Laurel came out to sea, and signalized to the Sea King, and was answered by hoisting No. 3 pendant, which I hoisted myself. I was ordered by one of the passengers to hoist this pendant; the captain was on the poop at the time, and, turning round, said to me these words, “Who ordered that pendant to be hoisted? Haul it down immediately;" which I did. After this flag was hauled down-about three-quarters of an hour afterward-the Laurel anchored off what I believe to be the Desertas; the Sea King anchored within about 30 yards of her. The captain of the Laurel was on the forecastle; our captain said, "I will come alongside of you directly," and he did so. In the mean time the men were erecting tackles, rigging purchases to the port main yard-arın, and preventer lifts and rolling tackle ready. After this, commenced to take in large. heavy cases from the Laurel, I think four or five, by means of other purchases. Small cases and casks of powder were taken in forward; all lights ordered to be put out. These orders were given by some of the passengers of the Laurel, who had embarked on board the Sea King, and not by our captain. One of these passengers told us that he was the captain, and had charge of the ship, and ordered our captain to hoist the confederate flag, which was done. Shortly after, our captain gave orders for all hands to lay aft; when the men were aft, our captain came out of the saloon with our articles in his hand, and said, “Well, men, I have sold the ship." Immediately, the captain that had charge came out alongside of him. Captain Corbett said to us, "This gentleman is offering £4 for able seamen." I was standing close to the captain at the time, and I said to him, "I agreed with you in London to go to Bombay, which I have my naval certificate to prove." I told him, "You have broken your agreement; why are we not proceeding to Bombay?" He said, "Well, men, I cannot help it ;" and, buttoning up his coat, he said, "Follow me, (and ran to the gangway;) I am off." I said, "Let him go; this is the ship we have earned our money in, and ought to have it out of." After he had gone, one of the passengers said to me, "Why cannot you go in this ship? It is good money." I said "I had never earned a shilling in America in my life, and therefore I did Bot wish to tight for it; that England was my country, and I was not ashamed to own it." He said, "Why?" I said, “ You do not know where I belong to; do you see this on my cap?" I had the naval reserve cap on at the time. "If I were to desert from this you could not place any confidence in me; you may try, but it is of no use, I have got the wrong heart in me for this, so you have no need to try me any more." I said to Captain Corbett, "I stop in the ship till I get my money down on the capstanhead." He said, "Men, I have no money to pay you." I said, "You have sold the ship; what have you done with the money?" He said, "I have no money to pay you here;" he said I talked too much. I said, "I will see you when I get to England." The other royal naval volunteer on board the Sea King told me that Captain Corbett had offered him between £15 and £20 bounty, and about £10 per month, as near as I can recollect; he refused this, and in about half an hour all the nien

Appendix, vol. i, p. 478.

went, without being paid, on board the Laurel. The Laurel went to reconnoiter a ship, which hove in sight, and came back and signalized that she was a Hamburg vessel. The Laurel laid off about an hour and a half, trying to persuade us to join the Sea King, Captain Corbett doing his uttermost to this end. When he found it no use they hoisted the boats and proceeded to Teneriffe, where we arrived on 20th, at night, and were not allowed to land until the 22d. When the steam was up, ready to depart. the chief officer came forward to the men of the Sea King and said, "If anybody asks you where you came from, say you are castaway seamen, and tell the consul the same. if required."

(Signed)

JOHN ELLISON.

This deposition was made before me, and read over to the deponent.

HENRY C. GRATTAN, Consul.

Deposition of John Allen, R. N. V., 950.

I shipped in the Sea King for a voyage to Bombay and China; voyage not to exceed two years. After we got clear of the Channel we stopped the steam and proceeded under double-reefed topsails, dodging along for about three days, as far as I recol leet, looking for something. We then made sail and carried on until we came to the island of Madeira, ran in past it at night, then rounded the vessel to, and stood out again till 4 the next morning; then got steam up and stood in for the harbor again. When we got abreast of the harbor we hoisted our number, which was answered by the Laurel steamboat lying at anchor. Directly altered the ship's head outward, and stood away from the harbor. Then we were followed by the Laurel steamer, which got under way directly we signalized her; then we laxed our steam until she came up to us; she then signalized to us when she was going. Immediately we set full steam on and made all sail. We ran for about two hours and a half, when the steamer rounded an island, and we followed her, taking in all sail; and going up under easy steam, brought the ship to an anchor in 17 fathoms. A boat from the little steamer came alongside of us, with the captain in her, and told our captain that he would be alongside of him in a few minutes. Then we commenced to secure our mait [138] yard and get a pendant from the mast-head, and got the tackle hooked on all ready for taking some heavy weight on board. Then the Laurel came alongside us, and we commenced slinging the cases until about 9 o'clock, likewise cases of powder, which was carried to the after cabin and stowed away; likewise large cases of shell and shot; also cases of rifles, and a great many cases of clothing. About 9 o'clock we went to our suppers. Went to work again about half past 9, and continued working till about 2 in the morning taking in kegs of powder; all lights ordered to be put out. They gave us a glass of grog and let us go to bed about 2 o'clock next morning. We were not asked to turn to work. After breakfast the hands were all to come aft. When we were all mustered aft, Captain Corbett waited for the person who proved to be the captain, and took charge of the ship. Then he addressed us in this imanner: "Men, I have sold the ship; you who like to stop in her, you will get very good wages, and I will give you two months' pay." The men refused to do so. The new captain spoke to the men and told them he would give them two months' advance. £7 per month, and £10 bounty if any of them would join him. The third engineer and two or three of the firemen joined him. The new captain came to me while I was on the poop, it being my watch, and tried all he could to persuade me to go with him: offered me £14 a month to go as gunner's mate, which I told him plainly I dare not do, as I belonged to the English navy already, and I dare not go into any other. When they found they could not persuade me, they went to Captain Corbett to try if he could not advise me to do so. As I came off the poop, as all hands were standing round the cabin-door to see the captain, the captain, Captain Corbett, came out of the cabin and called me in, and told me I was very foolish to lose such a good chance ! told him I would not go for double the amount. He said when he went home he would not report me, nor let it be known where I was, if I would go, and I thanked him, and told him I would go home and report myself, and walked out of the cabin. The cap tain came on deck and the men asked him to give them three months' wages before they would leave the ship, which he refused to do. He said, there is the steamboat. and you can come along with me. He told us he would take us to England and discharge us, and if the law would allow us anything, he would give it to us. Seeing it was no use hanging on any longer, we put our things on board the steamboat and waited for the captain; as soon as he came on board the steamer shoved off, got her steam up. and at this time a sail hove in sight, and the captain lowered his boat and went of board the Sea King. Again pulled back as quick as he could, and put to sea, till le made out what the vessel was, and then stood back for the Sea King again to let her know it was all right. We hovered off and on till about 5 or 6 in the evening, as the captain could not get any of us to join. Some of the little steamer's hands went.

Turned away and made our passage towards Teneriffe. On arriving there were not allowed to land until the Laurel was ready for sea with her steam up. The above has been read over to me, and is correct and true.

I signed as ordinary seaman in the Sea King, on or about the 8th of October; sailed from London, suppose to be going on a voyage to Bombay, &c.. voyage not to exceed two years. When the vessel left there were two persons on board not belonging to the crew; one of these persons went ashore at Deal, the other proceeded on the voyage with us. About ten days after leaving London we hove to before the island of Madeira, after having been dodging about all night. We signaled to some vessel inside the harbor, and soon after a steamer came out; we accompanied her to an islaud about 50 miles from Madeira. As soon as we had let go our anchor the other vessel came alongside of us, and we began to transship guns and ammunition into the Sea King. We worked till late, and when we had done the mate came into the forecastle and told us that the Sea King was sold to the confederate government for a privateer, and if we liked to join we should get £4 108. a month, two months' wages from the Sea King, two months' advance from the Shenandoah, (the name given to the Sea King,) and £10 bounty. The next morning, after we had finished the transshipment, Captain Corbett called the hands aft and corroborated the mate's statement, further saying that if we did not like to join he would give us two months' wages and pay our passage to England. We would not agree to this, so he said we must go in the steamer alongside, and we said we would settle it when we got to England. The new captain of the Sea King then offered us £6 per month and £15 bounty; then afterward raised his offers to £7 per month and £16 bounty, but only two lads joined. We then took our cloths on board the Laurel, and we left the Shenandoah in the evening; she hoisted the confederate flag. The passenger who went out with us was the first lieutenant. We arrived at Teneriffe next Thursday, and landed the Saturday following, and have since been living at the captain's expense, waiting for the mail-boat to take us home.

The above has been read over to me, and is correct and true.

The Sea King sailed from London on the above voyage; as soon as she got clear of the Channel the steam was taken off, and some of the sails put her under easy canvas. We said, “There is something strange, or the captain would be more anxious to proceed on his voyage." We had one passenger on board who was afterward said to be the first lieutenant. The sail-maker was making a few hammocks for some of the men

forward, and this passenger give him orders to make twelve; from this we [139] supposed this person was not a passenger. On Monday night or afternoon

He

came off Madeira and dodged off and on until Tuesday morning, then the captain gave orders to the engineer to put on full steam till he got outside the town. hoisted signals; they were answered by a steamboat that was lying in-shore; then we kept off again for a couple of hours. The steamer which signalized us came out, and both steamers hoisted signals. We made all steam and sail toward the lee of an island; we anchored there, and the other steamer came alongside of us. The boatswain ordered us to secure the mainyard with a topsail sheet, and to put tackles for taking in three tons weight. We took in some heavy cases, and also four cases of shot and shell, which we knew to be such, as some tumbled about the decks. There were some gun-carriages in cases and some without; the cases containing the gun-carriages were partly open. Several bales of clothing and beds were transshipped. The captain came to us, and told us he had sold the ship; that the captain who now had the ship would give ns £4 108. a month, and £10 bounty, and he himself would give us two months' wages if we would join the ship. He then raised his terms to £6 and £7, £16 bounty. We refused to go in her. One engineer, a boy, and an ordinary seaman stopped, I believe. The captain told us to go on board the Laurel; that he would pay our passage home. We went on board. We received no wages. We dodged off and