52 DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. Mr. Green to Mr. Barclay. SAVANNAH, Georgia, January 16, 1865. SIR: The seizure of the stocks of cotton in this place may now be said to be completed, by the presence of Mr. Collector Draper, of New York, to whom General Sherman is transferring the property. In a written application to the officers named in enclosed "special notice," I stated that as the cotton held by and belonging to me was of the crops of 1860-61, the bales were in many cases in need of repair and re-marking, the planters' brands having become indistinct, and I asked permission to make the repairs and marks. The reply was that I might put what repairs on the bales I pleased, prior to shipment, but that no re-marking or putting private marks on the bales would be permitted. His excellency Lord Lyons has already been asked by the British members of the Chamber of Commerce of this city to apply to the United States government to stay the shipment of cotton being British property. If this cannot be done, will you solicit his excellency to request on behalf of British subjects 1. That they may be allowed to put private marks on their cotton prior to shipment by the Treasury Department. 2. That receipts in original and duplicate may be given to British owners, reciting1. The private marks of the cotton. 1. The number of bales and description of the cotton, whether upland or sea island; and, 1. The name of the vessel by which the cotton is taken away. His lordship's early attention to this may avert very great losses, and in some instances ruin, to British subjects in Georgia. I am, &c., ANTHONY BARCLAY, Esq., Depositary of the papers of the British consulate. CHARLES GREEN. Unable to obtain the advantage of Mr. Barclay's attention to this communication to-day, and the necessity for prompt action being imminent, Mr. Green takes the liberty of forwarding to Lord Lyons himself. The mails only go to New York weekly. Special Notice. OFFICE CHIEF QUARTERMASTER Depot, Savannah, Georgia, January 6, 1865. All persons having cotton in their possession now stored in this city are hereby notified to call at this office forthwith and register the same, stating the amount, where stored, and by whom owned. By order of Brigadier General L. C. Easton, chief quartermaster. GEORGE B. CADWALLADER, Captain and Assistant Quartermaster, Chief Quartermaster Depot. Mr. Burnley to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, January 24, 1865. SIR With reference to my note of the 28th December last, informing you that the Mary had been seized in the port of Nassau by orders of the lieutenant governor, for an infringement of the British foreign enlistment act, I have now the honor to enclose copy of a despatch which I have received from Mr. Rawson, acquainting me with the action taken with regard to the solicitor general of this colony, who it appears had been retained and was acting for the defendants in the matter. The course pursued by the lieutenant governor seems to me to have been an eminently wise and sensible one, as showing a proper appreciation as to how English law should be administered, coupled with a friendliness of expression towards the government of this country which it gives me much pleasure to communicate to you. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, J. HUME BURNLEY. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. Mr. Rawson to Mr. Burnley. [Extract.] 53 GOVERNMENT HOUSE, Nassau, January 14, 1865. SIR: I deem it advisable that you should be made acquainted with the fact, that in consequence of my having become aware that Mr. Solicitor General Burnside had been retained and was acting for the defendants in the matter of the steamer Mary, seized by my orders in this port, of which you have already received notice, I immediately required that gentleman to resign his brief or his office. 2. Mr. Burnside pleaded his right to act against the Crown, under a general license which he possesses in all cases in which the attorney general does not require his services. But I informed him that this was not a case contemplated in his general license; that although his services were not required to assist in the prosecution, it was not fitting that he should appear against the Crown, and the United States government, which is interested in the due enforcement of the foreign enlistment act in this case, would learn with surprise, and might complain with reason, that while one law officer was enforcing the provisions of the act, another was engaged in opposition to him, and it would be difficult to convince them that this was not with the consent or approval of this government. 3. Mr. Burnside, in consequence, elected to resign his office. Mr. Seward to Mr. Burnley. DEPARTMENT of State, Washington, January 24, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 23d instant, which relates to claims of British subjects upon cotton seized by the military forces of the United States at Savannah. In that communication you inform me that ten thousand bales of the cotton referred to are affected by these claims. That these ten thousand bales seem to have been purchased during the years 1860 and 1861, and to have been intended to be shipped to England upon the reopening of commerce. Upon these statements you ask that the cotton in question may be left in Savannah, that you may have leave to send an agent to that garrison who would be deputed to place himself in correspondence with any authorized agent of this government, in order that it may be clearly and satisfactorily provided that such cotton belongs to bona fide neutral British merchants. You add a protest against any acts which in the hurry of military preparations may tend to obliterate or invalidate any just claims upon the captured property. I have the honor to reply that due consideration has been given to this representation, and that it does not appear to this government that there exists any sufficient reason for departing in this instance from the course which this government pursues, in securing property in the insurrectionary districts, and ascertaining and liquidating any claims of lawful owners thereupon, by judicial investigation. This government does not think that there is any good reason to apprehend that any act will be done in the hurry of military operations which would tend to obliterate or invalidate any just claims upon the captured property which may exist and which the executive department of this government is not authorized to prejudge. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your obedient servant, J. HUME BURNLEY, Esq., &c., sx., sx. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Seward to Mr. Burnley. DEPARTMENT of State, Washington, January 25, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 20th instant, which is accompanied by a copy of a despatch from the lieutenant gov 54 DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. ernor of New Brunswick on the subject of the recent passport regulations of this government. With regard to the inconveniences to which persons residing in the provinces are subjected, as mentioned by Mr. Gordon, I have the honor to state, in reply, that the disadvantages arising from the observance of the regulations referred to result from the limitation of the number of United States consuls in the British provinces, which was insisted upon by her Britannic Majesty's government, and I regret to add that the inconvenience does not admit of remedy by the government of the United States. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. J. HUME BURNLEY, Esq., &c., &c., &c. Mr. Seward to Mr. Burnley. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 25, 1865. SIR: Referring to my note to Lord Lyons of the 20th of December, 1863, requesting through his lordship that, in virtue of the provisions of the treaty stipulations on the subject, her Majesty's government would issue the necessary warrant for the delivery of John C. Braine, H. A. Parr, John Parker Locke, David Collins, George Robinson, John Wade, and others, charged with the commission of piracy and murder in the American steamer Chesapeake, I have now the honor to state that information has been received at this department from the consul of the United States at St. John's to the effect that, upon the discharge of the parties arraigned under the charge of piracy committed on board of the beforenamed Chesapeake, new warrants were issued by Justice Parker for the apprehension of all the offenders known to have been concerned in the transaction; that these warrants were not, and, perhaps, could not have been, served at the time, by reason of the escape of the criminals to parts unknown. It having recently come to the consul's knowledge that four or five of these fugitives had returned within the jurisdiction of New Brunswick, he has notified the high sheriff, in whose hands these warrants now are, of the fact. It is hoped that every facility may be afforded by the provisional authorities for their apprehension and commitment; and I now have the honor to request, through you, sir, that upon the apprehension and commitment of the said fugitives, or any of them, within the province of New Brunswick or elsewhere, within the jurisdiction of her Britannic Majesty, her Majesty's proper authorities will be pleased to issue the necessary warrant for the delivery of the said fugitives to any person duly authorized by the government of the United States to receive them, in order that they may be brought back to the United States for trial. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. J. HUME BURNLEY, Esq., &c., &c., &c. Mr. Burnley to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, January 25, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your note of the 23d instant, and inform you that a copy of it shall be communicated to the proper authorities. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. J. HUME BURNLEY. DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 55 Mr. Burnley to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, January 25, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your note of the 21st January, relative to the alleged intentions on the part of enemies of the United States, now said to be lurking in Canada, to make a predatory incursion on certain points on United States territory. I have transmitted a copy of that note to his excellency the governor general of Canada. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &:. J. HUME BURNLEY. Mr. Burnley to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, January 26, 1865. SIR: With reference to your note of the 7th October last, stating that the claims of Miller and Fisher (two British subjects illegally imprisoned in the State of Michigan) to compensation for their illegal arrest and detention would be taken into consideration by the United States government, I have the honor to transmit to you a copy of a despatch and, in original, its enclosure, which I have received from his excellency the governor general of Canada, in which Miller's claim is put forward. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. J. HUME BURNLEY. Viscount Monck to Mr. Burnley. QUEBEC, January 18, 1865. SIR: With reference to the cases of Miller and Fisher, who were illegally imprisoned at Detroit last May, and whose claims to compensation Mr. Seward informed you in his note of the 7th October, 1864, would be taken into consideration when they were definitely presented, I have the honor to transmit to you a paper setting forth the amount of Miller's claim, which I beg that you will be so good as to lay before the Secretary of State of the United States. It should be borne in mind, in deciding upon the compensation due to Miller, that though Mr. Seward, on the 7th October, pronounced his detention to be illegal, he was not released till the 6th December. The delay was owing, I was informed, to a question arising as to whether the proper person to grant the warrant of deliverance in the case was the governor or the attorney general of the State of Michigan. If this is correct, Miller's imprisonment was unnecessarily prolonged for nearly two months after its injustice had been acknowledged, and I think that this fact should weigh strongly in procuring a liberal consideration of his claims by the government of the United States. I have, &c., J. HUME BURNLEY, Esq., &c., &c., &c. The government of the United States to Thomas J. Miller, Dr. MONCK. For compensation for being taken by violence-he being a British subject-from Sandwich, in the county of Essex, in the province of Canada, by United States officials, on May 1, 56 DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 1864, and afterwards committed to the common jail, in the city of Detroit, and there detained until delivered by the warrant of his excellency Governor Blair, of Michigan, on December 6, 1864 1. For loss of earnings during the period of seven calendar months and six days, from date of arrest to date of release, at $50, Halifax currency, per month.... $360 00 2. For expenses incurred during confinement in jail, $250 in United States currency, equivalent to, in Halifax currency.. 120 00 500 00 3. For indemnity for loss of health and strength, by reason of close confinement in jail for the above period..... Total, in Canadian currency........... 980 00 THOMAS J. MILLER. Mr. Burnley to Mr. Seward. WASHINGTON, January 26, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy of the speech of his excellency the governor general on the opening of the session of the Canadian Parliament. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c. J. HUME BURNLEY. [Extracts from the Canada Gazette of January 19, 1865.] This day, at three o'clock p. m., his excellency the governor general proceeded in state to the chamber of the legislative council in the Parliament building. The members of the legislative council being assembled, his excellency was pleased to command the attendance of the legislative assembly, and that house being present, his excellency was pleased to open the third session of the eighth Parliament of the province of Canada with the following speech from the throne: Outrages have been committed on the commerce and territory of the United States of America by persons who, after the perpetration of these acts, have sought refuge on Canadian soil. In order to prevent the organization of any such enterprises within this province, and also to enable me to discharge in an effective manner my duties towards a neighboring power on terms of friendship with her Majesty, I have seen fit to oganize a system of detective police on the frontier line of the United States, and with the same design I have called out for permanent duty a portion of the volunteer force of the province. Similar considerations have suggested the propriety of arming the executive government with stronger powers than it now possesses for dealing with persons who, while availing themselves of the right of asylum which has always been allowed on British soil to political refugees from all foreign countries, may be unmindful of the implied obligations which, by their residence among us, they contract to obey our laws and to respect the declared policy of our sovereign. A bill framed for this purpose will be laid before you, and I ask for it your early consideration. I am happy to be able to inform you of the zeal and alacrity displayed by the members of the volunteer force when called upon to turn out for active service. |