of outrage and violence, has induced me to issue a commission to inquire into and report upon the organization of trades unions and other associations, whether of workmen or employers, with power to suggest any improvement of the law for their mutual benefit. Application will be made to you for parliamentary powers, which will be necessary to make this inquiry effective. I have directed bills to be laid before you for the extension of the beneficial provisions of the factory acts to other trades specially reported on by the royal commission on the employment of children, and for the better regulation, according to the principle of those acts, of workshops where women and children are largely employed. The condition of the mercantile marine has attracted my serious attention. Complaints are made that the supply of seamen is deficient, and that the provisions for their health and discipline on board ship are imperfect. Measures will be submitted to you with a view to increase the efficiency of this important service. I have observed with satisfaction the relaxations recently introduced into the navigation laws of France. I have expressed to the Emperor of the French my readiness to submit to Parliament a proposal for the extinction, on equitable terms, of the exemptious from local chargés on shipping which are still enjoyed by a limited number of individuals in British ports; and his imperial Majesty has, in anticipation of this step, already admitted British ships to the advantage of the new law. A bill upon this subject will forthwith be laid before you. A bill will also be submitted to you for making better provision for the arrangement of the affairs of railway companies which are unable to meet their engagements. Measures will be submitted to you for improving the management of sick and other poor in the metropolis, and for a redistribution of some of the charges for relief therein. Your attention will also be called to the amendment of the law of bankruptcy, to the consolidation of the courts of probate and divorce and admiralty, and to the means of disposing with greater despatch and frequency of the increasing business in the superior courts of common law and at the assizes. The relations between landlord and tenant in Ireland have engaged my anxious attention, and a bill will be laid before you, which, without interfering with the rights of property, will offer direct encouragement to occupiers of land to improve their holdings and provide a simple mode of obtaining compensation for permanent improvements. I commend to your careful consideration these and other measures which will be brought before you, and I pray that your labors may, under the blessing of Providence, conduce to the prosperity of the country and the happiness of my people. Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. No. 1316.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In regard to the subject of your despatch No. 1910, of the 15th of Jan uary, the case of Charles Underwood O'Connell, now serving out his sentence in Portland prison for complicity with the Fenian conspiracy, I have carefully examined all the papers connected with it that were originally furnished to this legation by the consul at Dublin. These seem to prove very distinctly the offence that was charged upon him, and upon which he was tried and convicted. It can scarcely be doubted that he was the bearer of letters from and to parties deeply engaged in the plot, the contents of which were well known to him at the time of his arrest. They also disclose one fact which seems to be rather embarrassing in any effort to intercede for him. This is, that he nowhere seems to have claimed to be a citizen of the United States; but, on the contrary, he repeatedly declares himself an Irishman, and even boasts of it after the arrest. Nevertheless I propose to present the matter for the consideration of Lord Stanley on the first opportunity, which I shall seek at once. The panic which put an end for the time to any prospect of lenient measures towards the prisoners is rapidly passing away. The Queen's speech announces that no further extension of the extraordinary powers vested in the government by Parliament will be solicited, so that the administration of the law will resume its wonted course in Ireland in a few months. This will tend to simplify our relations with the government on this delicate question of citizenship. I have not yet received a report of a single new case springing from all the late arrests. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, SIR: I have the honor to transmit a copy of the London Times containing a report of the speech of the chancellor of the exchequer in the House of Commons, introducing certain resolutions relating to the enlargement of the suffrage as well as the subsequent debate. The speech was coldly received in the House, and the resolutions appear to meet with little favor either in that body or elsewhere. There are rumors in circulation of much dissatisfaction in the ranks of the ministerial party, and of resignations of some of those now in office. It admits of little doubt that the government remains in only on sufferance; but it is equally clear that the opposition are in no better condition to assume the reins or to carry through a policy. Under these circumstances the most likely issue will be an ultimate dissolution and a very excited election. On the same day of the chancellor's speech a popular demonstration was made in the streets of London, which brought out from 18,000 to 20,000 of the working classes, who marched in great order and quietness from Trafalgar square to the great hall at Islington, a distance of perhaps three miles, where they held a meeting and passed resolutions very much in the manner we do at home. To my great surprise I found in a notice of the programme, in a newspaper of the day before, an announcement that it was the intention to make no demonstration of any kind whilst passing on their way, with the single exception of the house of the minister of the United States. Here they would pay the compliment of a salute to him as the representative of the great republic. On learning this intelligence I was. at first a little fearful lest this might have the effect of placing me in a false position as appearing to be ready to take a side in the domestic politics of a foreign country, but on learning from the secretary of the Trades Union, who called to see me in the morning about it, that the publication of this movement as making a part of the programme had never been contemplated, and that it was the pure result of the uncontrollable desire of numbers of those who were to constitute the procession, I determined to adopt the course of receiving it passively as an act over which I could exercise no control. I asked the secretary to signify to the members my strong sense of the compliment thus marked to my country, at the same time that I felt it to be my duty in no way to depart from the rule which forbids, equally in America and Europe, any foreign envoy from even appearing to intermeddle with the internal questions agitating the nation to which he is accredited. This seemed to be perfectly satisfactory. The procession accordingly passed my house with more or less cheering, some of the bands playing our national air, and here and there the American flag being displayed, without any further demonstration. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. No. 1933.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, February 15, 1857. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 25th of January, No. 1307, which relates to Mr. Dudley as the person named to succeed Mr. Morse in the charge of any unfinished business pertaining to the Treasury Department, and to inform you that proper instructions have been addressed to Mr. Dudley on the subject by this department. I am, sir, your obedient servant, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. No. 1323.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In connection with your despatch No. 1910, of the 15th January, and my No. 1316, of the 6th instant, I have now the honor to report that at my last interview with Lord Stanley I made a representation in behalf of Captain O'Connell. His lordship took a note of the case, and remarked that as all danger from the Fenian organization seemed to be over, it was the desire of the government gradually to get rid of the offenders on lenient terms. I inferred from his language that the prospect of O'Connell's release before a great while would be fair; but since that time the adventure at Chester, combined with the outbreak at Killarney, may so far change the temper of the ministry as to postpone the execution of their intentions. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, SIR: I have the honor to transmit a copy of the London Times of yesterday and of this morning, containing a report of the debate in the House of Commons on the question of the reform in the representation. It is understood here that the programme originally proposed by Mr. D'Israeli embraced a general household suffrage, excepting only those cases in which parties were receiving more or less of public relief, and a plurality of voting by virtue of what have been denominated certain fancy franchises, as described in the chancellor's speech; but this scheme was finally cancelled at the party consultation held at Lord Derby's on Tuesday morning, and the one substituted which he actually announced on that night. The effect of this proceeding has been to destroy all the moral influence of the party. It lies now at the mercy of the opposition, and if it consents to continue in power it can serve only as an instrument to carry out their wishes. The ministerial bill will be brought forward as a matter of form on Tuesday of next week. The ultimate shape which it may take it is now difficult to perceive, but it must obviously undergo considerable modification before it can stand a chance of acceptance. The difficulty of arriving at a practical result remains yet as great as ever, for a settlement of the details always has been the rock upon which each party splits. A dissolution may be necessary before sufficient unanimity can be obtained to attain the end. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. No. 1330.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the Times of yesterday containing a legal opinion given by Sir Robert P. Collier, the late solicitor general, and the same person who was employed in behalf of the United States in the case of the Alabama on the claims of the holders of the rebel loan in this country. If the advancement of any such claim as that indicated could be made a means of opening up the secret history of that extraordinary transaction, it would not be without its uses in estimating the value of the neutrality of Great Britain in the struggle for our national existence. 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, March 1, 1867.] Subjoined is a question of considerable importance in its bearing on the confederate cotton loan, with the opinion thereof of Sir R. P. Collier, the late solicitor general: 66 'QUESTION. "Whether or not merchants and others, on being sued in England by the government of the United States for property or money held by them at the termination of the war belonging to the southern States, may not successfully plead the confederate 7 per cent. cotton bonds as a set-off, to the extent of the amount that each defendant may hold of them. "OPINION. "In the event of the United States government suing in the courts of the country for debts due on property belonging the late confederate government, I am of opinion that defendants, who may be holders of confederate cotton bonds, are entitled to set up a counter claim against the United States government in respect of these bonds. "This counter claim will be founded on the principle, that if the United States government assert in our courts claims accruing to them through their succession to the property and rights of the late confederate government, they are bound by the liabilities of that gov ernment. "Should the United States government bring action of debt, I think that the holders of cotton bonds may plead them as a set-off. Should they proceed for a tortious conversion of property, a technical difficulty will stand in the way of this defence, and it may be necessary to resort to an acquitable plea, or possibly to the protection of a court of equity. "The equitable case of the bondholders will be strengthened by the facts that the United States government have possessed themselves of the cotton set apart as the security for the payment of the bonds. "The form, however, in which the defence I have indicated may be raised will be matter of subsequent consideration when the mode of proceeding adopted by the United States government is known. "TEMPLE, February 28.” "R. P. COLLIER. No. 1332.] Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have to acknowledge the reception from the department of despatch No. 1934, of 18th of February. On Saturday the rumors which had been for some time current of a division of opinion in the cabinet on the question of a reform bill received confirmation by the resignation of three leading members, General Peel, Lord Carnarvon, and Lord Cranbourne. I transmit copies of the Times of yesterday and to-day, containing reports of what was said on Monday and Tuesday evenings upon the subject in the two houses of Parliament. It would appear from this that Lord Derby has already filled the posts thus made vacant, and purposes to go on with a plan of settling this vexed question. What this really is, remains as yet unknown. Enough of it has, however, leaked out to make it more than doubtful whether it will be acceptable to a majority of the Commons. There is, however, so strong a desire in the opposition to leave the initiation of this process in the hands where it now rests, that the bill will not be resisted so long as there is a reasonable chance of using it as the means of carrying out their views. It yet remains to be seen whether known existing differences can be so reconciled, and portions of the respective parties so far fused, as to produce a result which may be identified with the policy of a conservative cabinet, and at the same time accepted as a triumph of the liberal side. It is obvious that so far as the ministerial party is concerned it occupies a position essentially false and transitional; so that whether it succeeds or fails in the establishment of a plan, the result can only inure to the restoration to power of the opposite side. In any event a dissolution of Parliament seems likely soon to happen, the issue of which will certainly mark a new epoch in the government of this kingdom. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. No. 1333.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: In connection with your despatch No. 1921, of the 24th of January, I have the honor to transmit a copy of a note received from Lord Stanley, giving the information desired in regard to the establishment by the British government of light-houses at the entrance of the Caribbean sea, since the year 1859. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. Lord Stanley to Mr. Adams. FOREIGN OFFICE, March 5, 1867. SIR: In a conversation which I had the honor to hold with you on the 8th of February last, you informed me that the United States government were anxious to learn what steps had been taken during the last few years with regard to the establishment of light-houses at the entrance of the Caribbean sea on the coast of the Bahamas. |