Kate, his brothers John and Morgan, and hopes the latter two boys study to improve their minds in their leisure hours. He is quite well. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Mr. TITUS SCULLIN, GEORGE CLIFTON. (Care of Miss O'Connell, Lake House, Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.) Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. No. 1921.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 24, 1867. SIR: With an instruction to your predecessor, Mr. Dallas, No. 203, of the 10th of October, 1859, the department transmitted a copy of a communication from certain respectable ship-owners and others of New York, with reference to the deficiency of light-houses at the northeastern entrance of the Caribbean sea, bounded on both sides by islands of the Bahama group, which are in possession of Great Britain. Mr. Dallas lost no time in making a representation in regard to it to the British government. It appears, however, that the matter is not mentioned in the correspondence on file here subsequently to his despatch No. 230, of the 16th of December, 1859, with which he enclosed a copy of a note of Earl Russell to him of the 13th of December, stating that they were awaiting the report of their engineer in the Bahamas. It is presumed that the report must have long since been received. You will consequently make inquiries of the Foreign Office as to the determination in the matter. Ship-owners whose vessels ply between New York and Aspinwall are particularly interested in having the light-houses erected, and the President, in a memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, of the 3d instant, is asked to renew the application to the British government. I am, sir, your obedient servant, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 1306] Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF the United States, SIR: I have to acknowledge the reception of despatches from the department numbered from 1902 to 1905, inclusive, and of a printed circular of the 5th instant, in regard to the duties on French vessels. A volume containing the correspondence between Lord Russell and myself, touching the cases of the Alabama and Shenandoah, has been issued from the press this week. It appears to have been compiled by his lordship apparently for the purpose of sustaining himself against the growing impression in this kingdom that his treatment of the subject was not wholly satisfactory. The most material omission seems to be that of your despatch No. 1612, of the 30th of November, 1865, which I read to Lord Clarendon, the insertion of which would seem to be called for by that of his lordship's answer to it through Sir Frederick Bruce. With the exception of the appendix, and two or three notes of reference to it, there is no appearance of any wish to bias the reader's judgment of the simple text. Deeming it possible that this volume might be of use to you, I have the honor to transmit three copies herewith. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. No. 1307] Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In accordance with the suggestions made in your despatch No. 1903, of the 4th instant, and under the authority given by the letter of the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, which accompanied it, I have named Mr. Dudley as the person to take charge of the unfinished business pertaining to the authorization of Mr. Morse, which has been now revoked. There are some reasons which would have weighed on my mind against this selection had I been able, among the few American residents in this kingdom, to think of a person thoroughly suited for the duty. These have no reference, however, either to the competency or the fidelity of the nominee. They are rather connected with the personal relations of the various parties concerned who have been brought, heretofore, more or less either into rivalry or conflict with each other during and since the war. Whatever difficulties might be apprehended from this cause, will, I think, be removed by the presence of the agent specially appointed to superintend this business when he shall appear. I shall not communicate this proceeding to Mr. Dudley, presuming that the appointment will be made directly from the Treasury Department. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, SIR: I have the honor to transmit a copy of the Times of this morning announcing the fact of the final surrender of the steamer Beatrice, alias the Rappahannock, by the default of the defendants in the suits. I had reason to believe that after the decision of the judge the other day requiring a more particular detail of the accounts than was given in the first answer, this would be the result. The general observations connected with the Times' leader on this subject all tend to prove that the obstructions to a settlement of some kind are disappearing. It is, however, perhaps to be feared that the present ministry will not stand long enough to mature any arrangement that may be devised. There are many reasons why they can act with more freedom than any cabinet formed out of the materials of the other party, which is more or less committed to the policy of Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell. Nevertheless, I feel quite confident that the tendency of public opinion will be to overbear all these obstacles in the long run. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. [From the London Times, January 25, 1867.] The case of the "Beatrice," alias the Rappahanock, alias the Scylla, alias the Victor, has at last been terminated in the court of admiralty. The very mention of these names carries us back two years to the trial of Mr. Rumble, the government inspector of machinery at Sheerness, for procuring the enlistment of seamen for this very ship. The prosecution of Mr. Rumble, however, commenced in June, 1864, and his alleged offence was committed before the end of 1863; so that it is above three years since the circumstances occurred upon which the United States government have just obtained a judgment by default with costs. These circumstances may be stated in a few words. The Beatrice, under her maiden name of Victor, originally belonged to our own navy, and was purchased of the admiralty by Mr. L. Pearson, on behalf of Messrs. Gordon, Coleman & Co., for £9,900 in the year 1863. She then became the Scylla and was partially fitted out, ostensibly for the China trade, at Sheerness, with the assistance of government workmen. Before this operation was complete she was suddenly transported to Calais by some mysterious agency which has never been fully explained, changing her name to the Rappahannock on the voyage and hoisting the confederate flag. At Calais some of the English artisans who happened to be on board were induced to enter the confederate service, and the equipment of the Rappahannock was carried on briskly, until the French government interfered and laid an embargo upon her. If we remember right, she was afterwards resold for mercantile purposes, but to whom or even by whom we cannot undertake to say, nor is it of much importance, for the object seems to have been, from beginning to end, to keep her real ownership a secret. However, at the end of the war she was claimed by the United States on the ground that she had been the lawful property of the confederate government. The claim was resisted, we presume, on the ground that she was not actually transferred to the confederate agents, but as the case never came on for hearing, the facts which might have been pleaded by the nominal defendants can only be conjectured. Not till the last moment, when all the technical means of delay had been exhausted and an argument on the merits was inevitable, did they withdraw all opposition, and abandon a counter-suit for the value of certain articles which they alleged to have been supplied by themselves to the American government. We cannot hesitate to charac terize this proceeding, whoever may be responsible for it, as discreditable in the extreme. When a litigant instructs counsel to make no defence, after standing upon his assumed rights for 18 months, and entailing infinite trouble and expense upon his adversary, we can only attribute his conduct to one motive. It is a gross abuse of our legal procedure, for which the payment of costs is but an inadequate penalty. It would have been more satisfactory if Mr. Brett, who appeared for the parties concerned in disputing the claim, had given some explanation of the dilatory course pursued by his clients. As it was, but for the emphatic disclaimer of Dr. Twiss, who represented the United States, the public would have been left to infer that some compromise dishonorable to that government had been made between the two sides. A rumor to this effect actually got abroad, and as rumors generally originate in quarters where there is most to be gained by fabricating them, we can easily imagine how it was first put into circulation. This incident is the more to be regretted because, of all the cases which arose out of breaches of our foreign enlistment act during the late war, that of the Rappahannock was perhaps the most suspicious. Not only were British merchants of respectable position directly implicated in a wilful if not fraudulent evasion of our neutrality laws, but a government official had taken an active part in enlisting the crew, and had urged them to re-enlist after the destination of the vessel was openly avowed. The whole transaction was such that as a nation we had reason to be ashamed of it, without the addition of this sequel. Of course, legal rights are legal rights, and our government was powerless to make over the Rappahannock to the United States until the suits in the admiralty court should be concluded; at the same time we cannot feel surprised if a government and people, already smarting under a sense of injury, should be impatient of every vexatious delay in obtaining that which is their due. It is gratifying to know, on the other hand, that a conciliatory spirit prevails in America on the general question of neutral obligations in time of war. Our Washington correspondent informs us that General Banks's measure of last session is strongly repudiated in the House of Representatives itself, and anticipates that a pamphlet just published on "the Past and Future of American Neutrality" will have a considerable effect in promoting moderate counsels. Mr. Bemis, the author of this pamphlet, is a lawyer of Massachusetts, and he writes with the object of enlightening his countrymen on the real tendency of Banks's scheme. He maintains that nothing could be more fatal than its adoption to the permanent interests of America, and defends our own legislation against many of the charges ignorantly fixed upon it. He even contends that our English foreign enlistment act is more high-toned and comprehensive" than the American, though he severely blames Lord Russell for his timidity in enforcing it. While he represents the settlement of the Alabama claims as an essential preliminary to any amendment of the neutrality laws by mutual consent, he boldly advocates the adherence of the United States to just principles, sanctioned by precedents and traditions coeval with the republic, even in the event of our refusing to do them justice. This last contingency, as we need hardly repeat, is one which it is superfluous to contemplate. There is not only a disposition, but a growing determination, in this country to put this important branch of law on a sound basis for the future, whatever sacrifices it may involve. It is easy, no doubt, to stigmatize any such compliance as cowardly subservience to the demands of America, just as General Banks accuses the United States of passing their first act against foreign enlistment to please England. The truth, however, as every one knows, is that a controversy about our alleged liability could not be dispassionately conducted dur ing the war. Mr. Adams took ground too high to be maintained with success. Lord Russell fell back on a position only tenable in a court of law. The time has come when these matters can be discussed in the past tense-a great advantage in many delicate negotiations. Of the ultimate result we entertain very little doubt. That Great Britain will be held legally responsible in damages for the depredations of the Alabama by any competent arbitrator is very improbable; that she will be recommended, in equity and honor, to make some compensation for what her government might possibly have prevented, is almost certain. Public opinion could accept this solution of the difficulty with perfect satisfaction, and support every reasonable enactment which might put an effectual stop to the equipment of Rappahannocks or facilitate their prompt confiscation. No. 1309.] Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In regard to the subject of your despatch No. 1905, of the 11th instant, and the letter enclosed with it, I have only to observe that it appears from the statements made in the newspapers that Mr. Meany was charged before one of the police magistrates of London, on the 31st of July, 1862, with an attempt to obtain money under false pretences. And although discharged it was not until after that date that he appears to have emigrated to America. Hence it must be presumed that he cannot be a naturalized citizen of the United States. Mr. Meany was arrested in the streets of London and taken to Ireland, on the ground of complicity with the designs of Mr. Stephens and his associates in that country and the United States. So far as the details of his examination have been reported in the newspapers, the evidence adduced to prove the charge seemed singularly weak. I will communicate further with Mr. West, the acting consul at Dublin, on the subject, and report to you at a future time whether anything can be done to relieve him. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. No. 1315.] Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have to acknowledge the reception of despatches from the department, numbered from 1910 to 1924 inclusive, and likewise a box containing a gold watch intended for Captain Furney. Parliament was opened yesterday in form by the Queen, and her speech was read, a copy of which is herewith transmitted. I also have the honor to send a copy of the London Times, containing a report of the speeches made in both houses on the address. The most interesting topic to us is of course that of the relations between the two countries. On this point the remarks of Lord Russell and of the first minister of the Crown are the most material. It is plain that the former acquiesces in having that done through another which he had managed to preclude any possibility of his doing with any grace himself. Hence it may be assumed that there is now only one opinion in Great Britain as to the propriety of bringing the whole matter to some peaceful issue. I heartily congratulate you upon this result. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM. H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. Her Majesty's most gracious speech to both houses of Parliament on Tuesday, February 5, 1867. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN: In again recurring to your advice and assistance, I am happy to inform you that my relations with foreign powers are on a friendly and satisfactory footing. I hope that the termination of the war in which Prussia, Austria, and Italy have been engaged may lead to the establishment of a durable peace in Europe. I have suggested to the government of the United States a mode by which questions pending between the two countries, arising out of the late civil war, may receive amicable solution, and which, if met, as I trust it will be, in a corresponding spirit, will remove all grounds of possible misunderstanding and promote relations of cordial friendship. The war between Spain and the republics of Chili and Peru still continues, the good offices of my government, in conjunction with that of the Emperor of the French, having failed to effect a reconciliation. If, either by agreement between the parties themselves or by the mediation of any other friendly power, peace shall be restored, the object which I have had in view will equally be attained. Discontent prevailing in some provinces of the Turkish empire has broken out in actual insurrection in Crete. In common with my allies, the Emperor of the French and the Emperor of Russia, I have abstained from any interference in these internal disturbances, but our joint efforts have been directed to bringing about improved relations between the Porte and its Christian subjects not inconsistent with the sovereign rights of the Sultan. The protracted negotiations which arose out of the acceptance by Prince Charles of Hohenzollern of the government of the Danubian principalities have been happily terminated by an arrangement to which the Porte has given its ready adhesion, and which has been sanctioned by the concurrence of all the powers, signataries of the treaty of 1856. Resolutions in favor of a more intimate union of the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have been passed by their several legislatures, and delegates duly authorized and representing all classes of colonial party and opinion have concurred in the conditions upon which such an union may be best effected. In accordance with their wishes, a bill will be submitted to you which by the consolidation of colonial interests and resources will give strength to the several provinces as members of the same empire and animated by feelings of loyalty to the same sovereign. I have heard with deep sorrow that the calamity of famine has pressed heavily on my subjects in some parts of India. Instructions were issued to my government in that country to make the utmost exertions to mitigate the distress which prevailed during the autumn of last year. The blessing of an abundant harvest has since that time materially improved the condition of the suffering districts. The pressing efforts and unscrupulous assertions of treasonable conspirators abroad have during the last autumn excited the hopes of some disaffected persons in Ireland, and the apprehensions of the loyal population; but the firm yet temperate exercise of the powers intrusted to the executive, and the hostility manifested against the conspiracy by men of all classes and creeds, have greatly tended to restore public confidence, and have rendered hopeless any attempt to disturb the general tranquillity. I trust that you may consequently be enabled to dispense with the continuance of any exceptional legislation for that part of my dominions. I acknowledge, with deep thankfulness to Almighty God, the great decrease that has taken place in the cholera and in the pestilence which has attacked our cattle; but the continued prevalence of the latter in some foreign countries, and its occasional reappearance in this, will still render necessary some special measures of precaution, and I trust that the visitation of the former will lead to increased attention to those sanitary measures which experience has shown to be the best preventive. Estimating as of the highest importance an adequate supply of pure and wholesome water, I have directed the issue of a commission to inquire into the best means of permanently securing such a supply for the metropolis, and for the principal towns in densely peopled districts of the kingdom. Gentlemen of the House of Commons, I have directed the estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you. They have been prepared with a due regard to economy and to the requirements of the public service. You will, I am assured, give your ready assent to a moderate expenditure calculated to improve the condition of my soldiers, and to lay the foundation of an efficient army of reserve. My lords and gentlemen, your attention will again be called to the state of the representation of the people in Parliament; and I trust that your deliberations, conducted in a spirit of moderation and mutual forbearance, may lead to the adoption of measures which, without unduly disturbing the balance of political power, shall freely extend the elective franchise. The frequent occurrence of disagreements between employers of labor and their workmen,. causing much private suffering and public loss, and occasionally leading as is alleged to acts |