Sir F. Bruce to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, July 10, 1865. SIR: I am instructed by Earl Russell to convey to the United States government the thanks of her Majesty's government for the information contained in Mr. Hunter's note of the 27th of May, relative to the steamer under Mexican colors called the Margarita Quintero, and to state that the vessel in question is the notorious Spanish slave steamer Ciceron. There is reason to believe that she has changed her name and flag in order that she may be the better able to carry on the traffic in slaves, in which, for the last two years, she has been engaged. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE. Mr. Seward to Sir F. Bruce. Mr. Seward presents his compliments to Sir Frederick Bruce, and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his note of the 7th instant, enclosing a letter and resolution of the Methodist New Connexion church of Canada, which had been transmitted to Sir Frederick Bruce by his excellency the governor general of that province. Mr. Seward begs that Sir Frederick Bruce will convey, through his excellency the governor general, and William Tindall, esq., their secretary, residing at Aylmer, Canada West, to the respected body from which the friendly and humane expressions in regard to the assassination of the late President of the United States, to the question of slavery, and the relations, past and future, between the two nations, emanate, an assurance that they are gratefully appreciated by the government and people of the United States. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, July 11, 1865. Sir F. Bruce to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, July 12, 1865. SIR: Her Majesty's government have had under their earnest consideration the record of the proceedings of the naval court of inquiry held at Boston in the case of the Night Hawk, a copy of which accompanied the note addressed to Mr. Burnley by the Secretary of State of the United States on the 6th Jan'uary last. I have now the honor, in pursuance of instructions which I have received from her Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, to state to you that her Majesty's government have perused with equal surprise and regret these papers, which, while they in no respect alter the previous impressions of her Majesty's government as to the case of the Night Hawk, or as to the treatment of the British subjects who constituted the crew of that vessel, furnish in themselves serious grounds of complaint, both with respect to the manner in which the naval court of inquiry was conducted, and as to the continued detention in prison, while that inquiry was pending, of the officers of the Night Hawk. The court of inquiry appears to have been ordered by the Secretary of the Navy of the United States "for the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances attending the capture and destruction of the steamer Night Hawk;" and the court was most properly instructed to "direct its particular attention to the treatment of her officers and crew at the time of and subsequent to her capture and destruction." When the inquiry was directed and held, the captain and three officers of the Night Hawk were still detained as prisoners, her crew having been released about a week previously; and the only ground which was or could be alleged for lengthening their imprisonment (originally unjustifiable) was that their evidence would be wanted before the court of inquiry. How, then, was the inquiry conducted? The judge advocate called as witnesses all the officers and some of the crew of the Niphon, whose conduct was the subject of investigation; among the rest Mr. Seaman, the officer in charge of the boarding party, and the person most directly responsible for any wrong which might have been done. It appeared, even on their own evidence, that while the Night Hawk was lying aground, without any signs of armed resistance, some shots were fired into her by the boarding party. Mr. Seaman, in his evidence, acknowledges to have hailed the Night Hawk to know if she would surrender, and to have at the same time fired several rifle shots into and about the wheel-houses. It appeared, further, that a passenger, Dr. Taylor, was wounded by one of those shots, and that Mr. Seaman used personal violence towards the chief engineer, striking him and knocking him down with the but end of a pistol, so that he remained senseless on the deck, and that this latter violence occurred after he (Mr. Seaman) had set the ship on fire. The persons responsible for these occurrences were the only witnesses called upon for explanation concerning them. After they were heard, the judge advocate stated that he "knew of no other person whom it was necessary to summon before the court;" and, "the testimony being finished," the court found in accordance with the version of the facts given by these witnesses, and placed upon those facts the most favorable construction. All this time the officers of the Night Hawk (including the chief engineer, whom Mr. Seaman had knocked down) were kept in prison; their evidence was neither asked nor obtained; they had no opportunity of tendering it, and that detention, for which no justification could be alleged except a bona fide intention to secure and make use of their testimony, resulted in its total suppression. Her Majesty's government, I am directed to state, are convinced that the gov ernment of the United States would never be satisfied with such an inquiry, or admit that the imprisonment of their citizens was justified under such circumstances if the case were their own. Nor can her Majesty's government forget the recent case of James O'Neill, in which, after an ex parte inquiry had resulted in the exculpation of an officer of the United States navy by whom O'Neill had been causelessly wounded, a subsequent inquiry by court-martial, which the justice of the United States government induced them to direct, resulted in the condemnation and dismissal of that officer. Her Majesty's government cannot but hope that the government of the United States will acknowledge that the course actually followed in the present instance is not that which the Secretary of the Navy of the United States intended when he directed the inquiry to be instituted, and that, upon further consideration or further examination, some satisfaction may yet be given to her Majesty's government in the case of the Night Hawk. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., Sc., &c. FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE. Mr. Seward to Sir F. Bruce. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 12th instant, in which, under instructions received from her Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, you present the views of your government in regard to the proceedings of the naval court of inquiry, held at Boston, in the case of the Night-Hawk. In reply, I have the honor to state that the subject will receive proper consideration. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Hon. SIR FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE, &c., &c., &c. Sir F. Bruce to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, July 25, 1865. SIR: The chargé d'affaires of Hayti has requested her Majesty's government to concur in guaranteeing the neutrality of the peninsula of Samana, a step in which he appears to think the government of the United States might not be disinclined to concur. Before replying, her Majesty's government are anxious to ascertain the views entertained by the government of the United States of the above proposal, and I shall be glad if you can, without inconvenience, enable me to communicate the desired information. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. Sir F. Bruce to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, July 26, 1865. Sir Frederick Bruce presents his compliments to Mr. Seward, and begs to enclose a copy of a resolution* passed by the grand division of the Order of the Sons of Temperance of the province of Canada, wherein they offer congratulations on the successful termination of the civil war in this country, and at the same time express their sympathy with the national bereavement. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington. Mr. Seward to Sir F. Bruce. Mr. Seward presents his compliments to Sir Frederick Bruce, and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his note of yesterday, enclosing a copy of a resolution of the grand division of the Sons of Temperance of Canada, congratulating the United States on the successful termination of the civil war, and expressing their sympathy with them in their national bereavement. Mr. Seward begs Sir Frederick Bruce to accept for himself, and to convey to the respected body adverted to, the thanks of this government for this manifestation of their friendship. Sir F. Bruce to Mr. Seward. BRITISH LEGATION, Washington, D. C., July 31, 1865. Sir Frederick Bruce presents his compliments to Mr. Seward, and begs to forward to him herewith, for presentation to the government of the United States, the resolutions* passed by the grand division of the Sons of Temperance of Montreal, Canada East, expressive of their feelings upon the death of the late President of the United States. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington. Mr. Hunter to Sir F. Bruce. The Acting Secretary of State presents his compliments to Sir Frederick Bruce, and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his note of the 31st ultimo, and addressed to Mr. Seward, transmitting, for presentation to the government of the United States, the resolutions passed by the grand division of the Sons of Temperance of Montreal, Canada East, expressive of their feelings upon the assassination of the late President Lincoln. The Acting Secretary of State begs Sir Frederick Bruce to convey to that body the high appreciation entertained by the government and people of the United States for these manifestations of sympathy and good will. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, August 2, 1865. Sir F. Bruce to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, August 7, 1865. SIR: It has been reported to her Majesty's government that the captain of the United States corvette St. Mary has forcibly removed from on board a British merchant ship a seaman who had deserted from his ship. I am directed to inquire whether you are in possession of any information of this occurrence which I can communicate to my government. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE. Mr. Seward to Sir F. Bruce. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. Washington, August 7, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 7th instant, in which you ask whether this department is in possession of any information regarding the alleged forcible removal, by the captain of the United States corvette St. Mary's, of a seaman from on board a British merchant vessel, who it is stated had deserted from the St. Mary's. In reply, I have the honor to acquaint you that, attention having previously been called to the sub *See Appendix, separate volume. ject by the United States minister in Peru, inquiry in regard to it was made of the Secretary of the Navy, a copy of whose answer is herewith enclosed. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Hon. SIR FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE, &c., &c., &c., Mr. Welles to Mr. Hunter. NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, August 3, 1865. SIR: I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 26th instant, enclosing a copy of a despatch from the United States minister in Peru "relative to the forcible abduction, by Commodore Colvocoresses, of the United States sloop-of-war St. Mary's," of a deserter from his vessel, from the English ship Star of Hope. The department has no hesitation in disapproving the conduct of Commodore Colvocoresses in the matter referred to, and I enclose herewith a copy of a letter addressed to that officer on the subject. Although the department deems the course pursued by Commodore Colvocoresses in a high degree censurable, there does not appear to be an entire absence of palliating circumstances in the case. It is evident, beyond question, that the man was an American citizen and a deserter from a United States ship-of-war; that the master of the merchant vessel was determined to harbor and employ the deserter, knowing him to be such; that the British vice-consul, Mr. Dartnell, after ascertaining the facts of the case, readily assented to his surrender, but was unable to enforce this decision; and that Commodore Colvocoresses, not being well versed in public law, was thus naturally led to infer that in doing himself what the vice-consul would promptly have done for him had he possessed the necessary power, he committed nothing more than a nominal aggression. Neither of them appears to have had sufficient capacity to comprehend that, in the manner of arriving at substantial justice in this case, an important principle was overlooked; a principle which this government has so often, in other days, had occasion most strenuously to contend for, and would still be among the last to disregard. Very respectfully, &c., Hon. WILLIAM HUNTER, GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy. Acting Secretary of State. Mr. Welles to Commodore Colvocoresses. NAVY DEPARTMENT, July 31, 1865. SIR: The department has received your communication of the 10th and 29th ultimo, in relation to the forcible removal by you of a seaman from a British merchant vessel at the Chincha Islands. A letter on the same subject has also been received from the Department of State submitting, for the consideration of this department, a copy of a despatch from the United States minister at Lima. Your course in the matter referred to is disapproved. The want of intelligence and judg ment which you have manifested has placed the department in the unpleasant position of being constrained to disavow your proceedings, and tender such apology for them as the facts of the case furnish, and which it is hoped will be received as satisfactory. An officer occupying your position in the service should be better informed and educated, and better versed in the history of his country than to be required to be taught now the meaning of the word "impressment." You should have known that while this government has always and at all hazards exacted the respect due to its flag abroad, it has always as faithfully respected the flag of every other nation, weak or powerful; and it can no more countenance your forcible intrusion on board the merchant vessel of a friendly nation than it could submit quietly to a similar proceeding on the part of a foreign naval commander with regard to an American vessel. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy. Commanding United States ship St. Mary's. Commander GEO. M. COLVOCORESSES, |