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on this continent, she can most effectually contribute to their restoration by manifesting her wishes for the success of this government in suppressing the insurrection as speedily as possible.

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams.

No. 97.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 25, 1861.

SIR: Your despatch of September 6, No. 38, has been received. Our naval force is rapidly increasing, and the command of it has recently been reorganized. We are preparing for some vigorous demonstrations on the coast, to begin in about ten days; and I trust, therefore, that we shall be able to defeat on this side the enterprises of the insurgents which we have been unable to prevent on the other..

I am, sir, respectfully, your.obedient servant,

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.

[Extract.]

No. 50.]

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LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, September 28, 1861.

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SIR: During my stay at Abergeldie I alluded to instructions received at the moment of my leaving London, in your despatch, No. 84, of the 10th of September, directing me to make a complaint of the authorities at Trinidad for their mode of reception of the insurgent privateer, the Sumter. I read to him the copy of the letter of Mr. Bernard, which was enclosed. But I contented myself with only mentioning the subject, as I said I supposed I should be obliged to present the case hereafter, in a more formal way, in writing.

His lordship expressed a wish that I should take that course. The matter had already come before the colonial office, and it had been referred to the law officers of the crown, to report what was the action proper to be taken

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I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

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Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.

No. 52.]

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward,

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, September 28, 1861.

SIR: I am much gratified to perceive, by the terms of your despatch, No. 83, dated the 7th of this month, a substantial ratification of the position taken by me in regard to Lord Russell's note of the 19th of August, and to the declaration which he proposed to append to the convention concerning neutral rights. I find in it, too, a general coincidence in the argument presented by me in my reply to his lordship on the 23d of August, a copy of which could not have reached the department down to the latest dates yet received. There are some views offered, however, in my note, which are not touched upon in that despatch. I am, therefore, not as yet fully certain whether, as a whole, it has met with the approbation of the President. For this reason I decided not to hold communication on the subject with Lord Russell, during the time of my late stay under his roof, but rather to wait until after the arrival of the next despatches from the department, which will probably bring a final review of the negotiation, as it appears, after an examination of all the papers that belong to it. I shall then be in a position to judge of the propriety of any further action which it may be advisable to pursue. His lordship informed me, on my taking leave of him, that he expected to return to London by the 14th of next month, after which I anticipate no delay, like the late one, in the transaction of important business.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State, Washington.

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.

[Extract.]

No. 53.]

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, October 4, 1861.

SIR: I have to acknowledge the reception of despatches from the department, numbered from 85 to 89, both inclusive.

The despatch, No. 85, dated the 10th of September, like its immediate predecessor, No. 84, of the same date, though received here a week earlier, relates to cases of violation of neutrality in the British islands in the West Indies. I have now the honor to forward copies of two notes addressed by me to Lord Russell, one of the 30th of September, and the other of the following day, touching these questions.

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I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

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CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.

Mr. Adams to Earl Russell.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, September 30, 1861.

The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States, regrets to be obliged to inform the right honorable Earl Russell, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, that he has been instructed by the President of the United States to prefer a complaint against the authorities of the island of Trinidad for a violation of her Majesty's proclamation of neutrality, by giving aid and encouragement to the insurgents of the United States. It appears by an extract from a letter received at the Department of State from a gentleman believed to be worthy of credit, a resident of Trinidad, Mr. Francis Bernard, a copy of which is submitted herewith, that a steam vessel, known as an armed insurgent privateer, called the Sumter, was received on the 30th of July last at that port, and was permitted to remain for six days, during which time she was not only furnished with all necessary supplies for the continuance of her cruise, under the sanction of the attorney general, but that her Majesty's flag was actually hoisted on the government flag-staff in acknowledgment of her arrival.

The undersigned has been directed by his government to bring this extraordinary proceeding to the attention of Lord Russell, and, in case it shall not be satisfactorily explained, to ask for the adoption of such measures as shall insure, on the part of the authorities of the island, the prevention of all occurrences of the kind during the continuance of the difficulties in America.

The undersigned deems it proper to add, in explanation of the absence of any official representation from Trinidad to substantiate the present complaint, that there was no consul of the United States there at the time of the arrival of the vessel. The undersigned had the honor, a few days since, to apprise Lord Russell of the fact that this deficiency had been since supplied, by preferring an application for her Majesty's exequator for a new consul, who is already on his way to occupy his post.

The undersigned begs to renew to Earl Russell the assurances of his highest consideration.

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

The Right Hon. EARL RUSSELL, &c., &c., &c.

Mr. Adams to Earl Russell.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, October 1, 1861.

MY LORD: It is with much regret that I find myself receiving, at every fresh arrival from the United States, instructions from my government to make representations to your lordship concerning alleged violations of her Majesty's proclamation of neutrality, committed by British subjects through the channel of the colonies situated near the United States. I have the honor now to submit to your lordship's consideration the copy of an intercepted letter from a person named John P. Baldwin, living at Richmond, in Virginia, in the service of the insurgents, addressed to Henry Adderley, esquire, of Nassau, New Providence. It appears by this letter that Nassau has been made, to some extent, an entrepot for the transmission of articles Ex. Doc. 1-11

contraband of war from Great Britain to the ports held by the insurgents. It would be a great source of satisfaction to the government of the United States to learn that her Majesty's government felt itself clothed with the necessary power to prevent the exportation of such contraband from the colonies for the use of the insurgents, and that it would furnish the necessary instructions to the local authorities to attain that end.

I pray your lordship to accept the assurances of the highest consideration, with which I have the honor to be your lordship's most obedient servant, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

The Right Hon. EARL RUSSELL, &c., &c., &c.

No. 58.]

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
London, October 11, 1861.

SIR: I have the honor to enclose a copy of Lord Russell's note to me of the 4th instant, in reply to my representation of the conduct of the authorities of the island of Trinidad, made under instructions from the department. It will appear from this that the governor of Trinidad, by hoisting the British flag on the government flag-staff, probably desired to signify to the officers of the Sumter, on their arrival, the neutral character of the island, but that he in the meantime forgot that the act is susceptible of a very different construction in the popular mind.

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The undersigned, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, has had the honor to receive a complaint from Mr. Adams, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States at this court, against the authorities of the island of Trinidad for a violation of her Majesty's proclamation of neutrality, by giving aid and encouragement to the insurgents of the United States.

It appears, from the accounts received at the colonial office and at the admiralty, that a vessel bearing a secession flag entered the port of Trinidad on the 30th of July last.

Captain Hillyar, of her Majesty's ship "Cadmus," having sent a boat to ascertain her nationality, the commanding officer showed a commission signed by Mr. Jefferson Davis, calling himself the President of the so-styled Confederate States.

The "Sumter," which was the vessel in question, was allowed to stay six days at Trinidad, and to supply herself with coals and provisions, and the attorney general of the island perceived no illegality in these proceedings.

The law officers of the crown have reported that the conduct of the governor was in conformity to her Majesty's proclamation.

No mention is made by the governor of his hoisting the British flag on the government flag-staff; and if he did so, it was probably in order to show the national character of the island, and not in acknowledgment of the arrival of the "Sumter."

There does not appear, therefore, any reason to believe that her Majesty's proclamation of neutrality has been violated by the governor of Trinidad, or by the commanding officer of her Majesty's ship "Cadmus."

The undersigned requests Mr. Adams to accept the assurance of his highest consideration.

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

RUSSELL.

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams.

No. 108.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 22, 1861.

SIR: The receipt of your despatch of the 14th of September (No. 44) has been already acknowledged.

It was accompanied by Earl Russell's reply to the note which, in execution of my instructions, you addressed to him on the subject of the detention of a bearer of despatches sent by Robert Bunch, her Majesty's consul at Charleston, and the substitution by me of another person to convey his consular bag to Great Britain.

Earl Russell says, in his note, that if it had been true (as we apprehended) that Mr. Bunch had inserted into his official bag and covered with his official seal the correspondence of the enemies of this government in the United States, he would have been guilty of a grave breach of his duty towards his own government and that of the United States. Earl Russell says also, that on the opening of the bag at the foreign office (in London) no ground for that suspicion was revealed.

These declarations, made with unquestioned candor and freedom, are entirely satisfactory upon the main point involved in your note. It is therefore a pleasant duty for me to instruct you to reply to Earl Russell that this government regrets the interruption of the passage of the consular despatches, which has occurred in consequence of a mistaken suspicion that the agent who transmitted them was abusing the confidence of the two governments. I sincerely hope that no serious inconvenience resulted from the delay.

Earl Russell, after making the explanations which I have quoted, proceeds to remark that her Majesty's government was advised that the suspicion of the conveyance by post of letters from British subjects between the northern States and the southern States was in contravention of the treaty on this subject contracted between the two governments; that her Majesty's government had been, nevertheless, unwilling to press this view on the United States; but that this stoppage of the post has occasioned great inconvenience to individuals. His lordship then submits a copy of a note which Mr. Bunch had written to the under secretary of state, showing the mode in which he had endeavored to palliate the evil by enclosing private letters in his official bag. His lordship then dismisses the subject, saying that he shall address any further communication he may have to make thereon, to Lord Lyons. Mr. Bunch, in his note, states that he encloses in the bag, to the under secretary's address, certain letters which are intended for the post, and that they are principally letters of servants, governesses, &c., British subjects,

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