the attorney general a solemn declaration of J. B. Lydserff (No. 44) in relation to the sale of prize chronometers in this port by the officers of said vessel, and protesting against the vessel being allowed to leave this port with said persons on board, a copy of which (No. 45) is herewith inclosed. On the evening of the 17th of February Andrew Forbes came to the consulate with the information that several persons were then on the wharf ready to go on board a vessel to join the Sea King-Shenandoah beyond the jurisdiction of this port; that one of said persons, named James Evans, had told him. Deeming the information important, and that no time was to be lost, I, in company with Mr. S. P. Lord, who was then in the consulate, took said Forbes with us to the Crown law-officers to lodge the information, and was met by the Crown solicitor coming out. Upon my application to take the information, he in an offensive manner positively declined, saying he wanted his dinner; that there were plenty of magistrates in town; that it was none of his business. He informed me that the attorney general and minister of justice were in Parliament then in session. I then proceeded to the detective police office, and there was informed that if the affidavit of the man was taken before a county magistrate they would execute his warrant. I then went to Parliament House and called out Mr. Higinbotham, the attorney general, who said that if I would go to Mr. Sturt he would take the affidavit. I then went with witness to Mr. Sturt, more than a mile off, who declined to take it, and said the water police were the proper authorities to act. The water police are at Williamstown, across the bay, and about four miles from Mr. Sturt's. I then took the testimony which is No. 46 at my office, and dispatched it by Mr. Lord to the attorney general, and started with the witness to Williamstown; when the witness found he had to go among his acquaintances he was afraid of bodily harm, and refused to proceed. During the night several persons endeavored to find me to give information of the shipment of men for said vessel. One Robbins, a master stevedore, found me at 11 o'clock p. m., and informed me that boat-loads of men with their luggage were leaving the wharf at Sandridge, and going directly on board said vessel, and that the ordinary police-boats were not to be seen in the bay. I informed said Robbins that Mr. Sturt, police magistrate, told me the water police were the proper persons to lodge any information with, and that he, as a good subject, was bound to inform them of any violation of law that came under his notice, which he promised to do. On the morning of the 18th of February, at about 7 o'clock a. m., the said Shenandoah left her anchorage and proceeded to sea unmolested. I forwarded to the governor the affidavit of said Forbes, (No. 46,) inclosed in a dispatch a copy of which is annexed, (No. 47.) On this day I received a reply from the private secretary, dated the 17th of February, relating to the supply of coal, a copy of which (No. 48) is herewith inclosed. I learned that the Shenandoah was inquiring for a pilot acquainted with the Australian waters, and I dispatched to the vice-consul at Hobart Town information to that effect, a copy of which is herewith inclosed, (No. 49.) On the 18th of February the aforesaid Mr. Robbins called at the consulate and informed me that six boat-loads of men left the wharfs with their luggage during the previous night, and that they were taken on board said vessel through the propeller's hoist-hole. When asked to give his affidavit, he said, as the officials would take no notice, he would only injure his business by so doing, and he declined. He stated that about 70 men went on board of said vessel on the night of the 17th February, and that some of them took and used his boat to go in. Captain Sears, of the American bark Mustang, was on the wharf watching, who informs me that he saw several boat-loads of men with luggage go to said vessel while lying in the bay, and that he also saw Robbins go to the police. [588] *On the 20th I received a dispatch from the private secretary of the governor, dated same day, in answer to my dispatch of the 15th February, a copy of which (No. 50) is herewith inclosed. On the 20th I requested, in writing, Mr. S. P. Lord to give me an account of my interview with the Crown solicitor referred to above. I inclose herewith a copy of said request, (No. 51,) as well as his answer thereto, (No. 52.) On the 22d I received a dispatch from the private secretary's office, dated 21st Febrnary, in reply to my complaint of the 18th February alluded to above, a copy of which is herewith inclosed, (No. 53.) In recapitulating the above, I leave the documents to speak for themselves, con vinced that they will meet with the interpretation they deserve. It will be for you to consider whether the Sea King-Shenandoah was heartily and illegally recognized as a war-vessel of a belligerent power, coming as she did armed from one British port to another, with the marks of her identity still upon her, and allowed to depart again to renew her depredations on the commerce of a power friendly to Great Britain. It will be for you to consider whether the shipment of arms and ammunition in Liverpool on board the Laurel to be put on board the Sea King on the high seas, as borne out by the affidavits of Silvester and Jackson, is in accordance with international law and treaty obligations and Her Majesty's neutrality proclamation. The department will not fail to perceive that with the sworn testimony of four persons before the authorities here to the effect that some ten or twenty persons were shipped in this harbor on board said vessel, and were rationed from her stores, and a part of them at least on duty on board in uniform, said vessel was nevertheless allowed to depart. The attention of the department is especially called to the interview alluded to above at page 9 with the Crown law-officers, to the effect that if the said ship was found violating the neutrality proclamation in this port, they would take immediate action against her. A dispatch from the Crown law-officers above referred to (No. 31) alludes to supporting a charge against certain persons and officers of the Shenandoah. The police examinations took place as stated on the 16th and 17th February instant, at which three men were committed for trial; and yet at the very time these commitments were being made, the officers who thus violated the neutrality of this port were on board the ship within a mile of the said court, unmolested, and the ship was allowed to take in the additional quantity of coal mentioned hereinbefore. A printed report of the investigations of the persons referred to, cut from the Melbourne Argus, is herewith inclosed, (No. 54.) These commitments do not seem to have stimulated the authorities to vigilance in regard to the said ship; otherwise, boat-loads of men could not have joined her on the night of the 17th-18th instant, as stated above, and confirmed by the extracts taken from the three Melbourne daily papers of the 20th instant, herewith inclosed, and numbered 55. What motives may have prompted the authorities, with evidence in their possession as to the shipment of large numbers of persons on board said vessel, substantiated by the capture and commitment of some escaping from said ship, to allow the said vessel to continue to enjoy the privileges of neutrality in coaling, provisioning, and departure with the affidavits and information lodged and not fully satisfied, I am at a loss to conceive. Was it not shown and proved that the neutrality was violated? And yet she was allowed her own way unmolested, thus enabling her to renew her violations of neutrality on a larger scale. There are eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, and I fear that this port is endowed with such a proportion of them as may be required to suit the occasion. For in what other way can my unsuccessful attempts to obtain the assistance of the authorities on the evening of the 17th instant be explained. The immunities I enjoyed on this occasion as United States consul were of a peculiar nature; instead of being assisted by the authorities I was only baffled, and taught how certain proceedings could not be instituted. I send by this mail a file of the Melbourne Argus, Age, and Herald, the three daily papers of this city, during the time of the stay of the "Shenandoah" in this port, a careful examination of which will be necessary to obtain a complete view of what transpired in this place in relation to said ship and her officers. I also send the Melbourne pictorial papers, giving a picture of said vessel and some of the scenes on board of her. I herewith inclose (No. 62) extracts cut from said papers in support of some of my statements, which I deem essential to be read in connection with this dispatch, for fear the papers sent by mail may not arrive in time, among which will be found the corre spondence between the officials here with the officers of said vessel. I also forwarded to the governor of the colony affidavits of Edward P. Nichols, [589] *second mate of late bark Delphine, (No. 59;) of E. T. Lingo, steward on board late bark Delphine, (No. 60 ;) and of Mary Lingo, (No. 61,) stewardess on late Delphine. I close by informing the Department that James Francis Maguire, late United States consul here, as far as I could see and learn, acted as consul for the vessel and ber officers. I have, &c., (Signed) WM. BLANCHARD. [Inclosure 3 in No. 32.] Mr. Blanchard to Mr. Adams. MELBOURNE, January 26, 1865. SIR: The mail to Europe being about to leave, I hasten to inform you that a confederate steamer named Shenandoah has made her appearance in this port this morning. I beg to inclose extracts of papers. that Some prisoners on board, who are now being liberated, give the following details respecting her: She was the original Sea King; sailed from London on the 8th October, 1864, and received ammunition from a ship named Laurel at sea. Part of the name Sea King is still visible, and I shall obtain of these particular letters a photograph. She is represented to have been built at Glasgow, and water-buckets, spoons, forks, &c., are marked Sea King. She is a wooden ship with iron frame, but not plated. Her armament is eight guns, viz: 8-inch shell guns, two on each side, unrifled, weight about 2 tons 15 cwt.; guns bear number 11,522, 11,524, 11,525; these guns are not breech-loaders; two rifled guns, about 4-inch bore, one on each side; 2 ordinary 12-pounders, the original ship's guns. She has the appearance of an ordinary merchant ship, with a long full poop, a large bright wheel-house, oval sky-lights on the poop. She has one telescope funnel. The mizzen topmast and topgallant staysail both hoist from the mainmast head. She is wire-rigged. The officers declare it would not be safe to fire a broadside. It is the general impression that she is not a formidable vessel, She is leaky, and requires two hours pumping out. The crew consists of 79 all told. I have, &c., (Signed) WM. BLANCHARD. [Copy of the above also sent to the United States consul at Hong-Kong.] I, the undersigned, William Green Nichols, of Searsport, United States, formerly captain of bark Delphine, of Bangor, Maine, United States, do hereby solemnly declare on oath: That said bark was of 105 tons register. Protest of master of Delphine. That on the 12th October, 1864, she sailed from Gravesend, England, under my command, with a crew of fifteen, and two passengers, (wife and child.) The said bark was bound for Akyab, with cargo of machinery, and that until the 29th That on said 29th December last, latitude south 39° 30', longitude" east 69°, That immediately after the gun was fired the confederate flag was hoisted on said steamer, and on my ship Delphine being boarded, I was taken with my mate and ship's papers on board said steamer called Shenandoah. That on examining said papers the captain of aforesaid steamer, James J. Waddell, declared the ship under my command as a prize, granted me permission to remove the wardrobe of myself and family, (consisting of wife and child,) but allowed me to take nothing else. [590]* That the crew were allowed the same privileges, with the exception of their beds. That I, my wife and child, were taken on board said steamer as prisoners, but paroled, whereas such part of crew as would not join the steamer were put in irons. The above-named ship Delphine was then ransacked and set on fire by crew of said steamer. That I declared to the captain of said steamer the value of ship Delphine as being about £3,500 sterling. The outfit, loss of freight, and wages, which amount to about £3,000, were not included in above amount. That immediately on being taken on board I was paroled, and on 23d instant a new parole was demanded from me in order to enable me to be released on reaching land. That to-day, the 26th January, 1865, I was released in Hobson's Bay, under parole, which enjoins upon me not to give any information which might tend to the injury of the said steamer, or to the detriment of the so-called confederate cause. That not for want of loyalty to the United States, but in consequence of wishing not to violate said parole, I decline divulging anything as to her armament, &c. That the knives, forks, spoons, &c., in use of the said steamer, bore the mark Sea King, and I heard the captain say that she was formerly the Sea King; that he, with officers, took charge of her at Madeira, or the Isle of Deserta, and sailed with an origi nal crew of seventeen men. (Signed) MELBOURNE, January 26, 1865. WM. G. NICHOLS, Late Master Bark Delphine, Bangor. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 26th day of January, 1865. (Signed) WM. BLANCHARD, Consul. When making the statement to the value of the ship I thought that on account of having British property on board he might bond the ship and let her go, and I wished to have the bond as small as possible; not that I consider the amount above the value of the ship, neither do I include my private property on board, nor the property of the officers and crew. (Signed) WM. G. NICHOLS, Late Master Delphine. WM. BLANCHARD, United States Consul. [Inclosure 5 in No. 32.] Mr. Francis to Mr. Blanchard. tween governor and consul. CUSTOM-HOUSE, Melbourne, January 25, 1865. SIR: I am desired by his excellency the governor to inform you that an application has been made to land certain prisoners from the confederate steamer Correspondence be. Shenandoah, now in this port, and I am to request that you will be good enough to inform me, for the information of Sir Charles Darling, whether you are willing to undertake to receive and provide for, on behalf of the government which you represent, the prisoners above referred to. I am to request the favor of an early reply to this communication. I have, &c., (Signed) JAS. G. FRANCIS, Commissioner of Trade and Customs. [Inclosure 6 in No. 32.] Mr. Blanchard to Governor Sir C. Darling. CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Melbourne, January 26, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a dispatch from the honorable the commissioner of trade and customs, dated to-day, and, in reply, beg leave to acquaint your excellency that previous to its reaching me, at half-past 3 o'clock had made provision for the master, crew, and passengers, already landed, of the United States bark Delphine, (the persons presumed to be referred to in said dispatch,) burned at sea by a piratical vessel called the Shenandoah, ex-Sea King. m., I I avail myself of this opportunity to call upon your excellency to cause the [591] said * Shenandoah, alias Sea King, to be seized for piratical acts, she not coming within Her Majesty's neutrality proclamation, never having entered a port the so-called Confederate States of America, for the purpose of naturalization, and consequently not entitled to belligerent rights. The table service, plate, &c., on board said vessel, bear the marks Sea King, and the captain should bring evidence to entitle him to belligerent rights. I therefore protest against aid or comfort being extended to said piratical vessel in any of the ports of this colony. I have, &c., (Signed) WILLIAM BLANCHARD. [Inclosure 7 in No. 32.] Mr. Blanchard to Governor Sir C. Darling. CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Melbourne, January 27, 1865. SIR: The undersigned, consul of the United States of America at the port of Melbourne, begs most respectfully to call the attention of your excellency to the armed cruiser, referred to in his note of yesterday, now at anchor in Hobson's Bay, and reported to be a vessel of the so-styled Confederate States of America. It must be evident to your excellency that notoriously all the presumption of fact and law are against the probabilities of the legal character of the vessel in question, and it is not necessary for the undersigued to more than suggest to your excellency the ease with which any lawless rover of the seas may assume any character designed to effect his purposes. When in this case the actual circumstances are duly considered, having reference, on the one hand, to the present condition of the so-called Confederate States of America, and, on the other, to the frequent violations in Her Majesty's ports of the laws of neutrality, especially of the well-known facts proclaimed respecting this very vessel before her arrival, there would scarcely seem to remain a doubt as to her real character here, for the first time appearing in her new pretended nationality, coming from no where, bringing in no prizes, destroying, without adjudication and without necessity, all property seized, regardless of ownership, leaving inhumanly, and against the law of nations, large numbers of captives upon a desert island, having, in all parts of her, and in the remains of half-erased letters, numberless indicia of her genuine nationality, the undersigned will not doubt that, not only in the interest of justice and the safety of universal commerce upon the seas, but also in vindication of the honor and dignity of Her Majesty's government, (too long contemptuously disregarded by those who, seeking asylum under it, only abuse an honorable hospitality to violate its laws and insult its sovereignty,) your excellency will give so much weight, and no more, to a "bit of bunting" and " a shred of gold lace" as they deserve; that your excellency will well assure yourself that those presumptuously lawless men, audaciously entering this port upon pretenses of necessity, (always so easily made,) but really that information may be got and new enterprises hence successfully executed, be really what they claim, and truly entitled to the immunities secured to belligerents; that the commissions (if any) exhibited be genuine; the bearers thereof the persons authorized to bear them; their documents (if any) showing the characters of the vessels worthy of credence; and the acts committed, such as ought to receive the favorable countenance of a great and magnanimous power. In fine, whether the crew and vessel are lawfully entitled to the privileges accorded under the laws and by virtue of Her Majesty's proclamation to a real belligerent, or whether, on the contrary, the crew be not amenable to punishment and the vessel to seizure. And never doubting the anxious desire of your excellency to maintain a strict nentrality, the undersigned feels assured that he will not be misunderstood, nor his conduct be deemed too officious, when the peculiar facts of this present case are duly considered. Now, for the first time, action by this government, in the nature of a precedent, is to be established respecting the status to be accorded to a vessel here first appearing and claiming a warlike character suddenly, without notice, under circumstances of the gravest suspicion. The undersigned will be pardoned if the gravity of the case, in his opinion, make him feel it to be his duty to urge upon your excellency the greatest caution that not upon mere assertion of so-called officers, but after the severest scrutiny, it should be determined if this vessel and crew are entitled to the rights of belligerents, or whether the vessel should not be detained until the facts can be duly investigated. [592] *Wherefore the undersigned, relying upon the vigilance of your excellency in a case of so much and so pressing importance, protests against the said vessel called the Shenandoah, alias Sea King, her so-styled officers and crew; that from evidence already taken by him, as well as from facts patent and notorious to all, the legal presumptions are, in this case, against any just claims to the rights of belligerent; and that, in the instance of justice, commerce, the community of nations, and impartial observance of Her Majesty's proclamation of neutrality and of imperial law, this importaut right, here now under new and peculiar circumstances, in the case of this vessel, first sought to be established, be most rigidly examined, lest, under flimsy pretenses of necessity, the ports and coasts of Her Majesty's dominions be unguardedly thrown open to afford lawless and unauthorized marauders cover, and bases for new and piratical enterprises against the citizens of a friendly power, their lives and property; and not only so, enterprises fraught with danger to the interests of Her Majesty's subjects, and in direct encouragement of the most audacious violations of the laws of humanity and of nations, lest finally new claims and additional and serious complications unfor |