the confederate government, to act against the United States, under a commission from Mr. Jefferson Davis. Three of the crew are, I believe, engineers; and there are also some firemen on board. 8. Captain Butcher and another gentleman have been on board the ship almost every day. It is reported on board the ship that Captain Butcher is to be the sailing-master, and that the other gentleman, whose name I believe is Bullock, is to be the fighting captain. 9. To the best of my information and belief, the above-mentioned vessel, which I have heard is to be called the Florida, is being equipped and fitted out in order that she may be employed in the service of the confederate government in America, to cruise and to commit hostilities against the Government and people of the United States of America. (Signed) WILLIAM PASSMORE. Sworn before me at the custom-house, Liverpool, this 21st day of July, 1862. (Signed) S. PRICE EDWARDS, Collector, 2. I, John de Costa, of No. 8 Waterloo Road, Liverpool, shipping-master, make oath and say as follows: 1. I know, and have for several months known, by sight, Captain Bullock, who is very generally known in Liverpool as an agent or commissioner of the Confederate States in America. [88] *2. In the month of March last I saw the screw-steamer Annie Childs, which had run the blockade from Charleston, enter the river Mersey. She came up the Mersey with the confederate flag flying at her peak; and I saw the Oreto, a new gun-boat which had been recently built by Messrs. W. C. Miller & Sons, and which was then lying at anchor in the river off Egremont, dip her colors three times in acknowledgment of the Annie Childs, which vessel returned the compliment, and a boat was immediately afterward dispatched from the Annie Childs to the Oreto, with several persons on board, besides the men who were at the oars. 3. On the 22d day of March last I was on the north landing stage between 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning; I saw the said Captain Bullock go on board a tender, which afterward took him off to the said gun-boat Oreto, which was then lying in the Sloyne. Just before he got on board the tender he shook hands with a gentleman who was with him, and said to him, "This day six weeks you will get a letter from me from Charleston," or words to that effect. 4. On the same day, between 11 and 12 o'clock, as well as I can remember, I saw the Oreto go to sea. She came well in on the Liverpool side of the river, and from the Princess Pier head, where I was standing, I distinctly saw the said Captain Bullock on board her, with a person who had been previously pointed out to me by a fireman who came to Liverpool in the Annie Childs as a Charleston pilot, who had come over in the Annie Childs with Captain Bullock to take the gun-boat ont. (Signed) JOHN DE COSTA. Sworn before me at the custom-house, Liverpool, this 21st day of July, 1862. (Signed) S. PRICE EDWARDS, Collector. I, Allen Stanley Clare, of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, articled clerk, make oath and say as follows: 1. On the 21st day of July, now instant, I examined the book at the Birkenhead dockmaster's office, at Birkenhead, containing a list of all vessels which enter the Birkenhead docks; and I found in such book an entry of a vessel described as No. 290, and from the entries in the said book, in reference to such vessel, it appears that she is a screw steamer, and that her registered tonnage is 500 tons, and that Matthew J. Butcher is her master. (Signed) ALLEN S. CLARE. Sworn before me, at the custom-house, Liverpool, this 21st day of July, 1862. (Signed) S. PRICE EDWARDS, Collector. 4. We, Henry Wilding, of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, gentleman, and Matthew Maguire, of Liverpool, aforesaid, agent, make oath and say as follows: 1. I, the said Matthew Maguire, for myself, say that on the 15th day of July, now instant, I took Richard Brogan, whom I know to be an apprentice working in the shipbuilding yard of Messrs. Laird & Co., at Birkenhead, to the above-named deponent. Henry Wilding, at his residence at New Brighton. 2. And I, the said Henry Wilding, for myself, say as follows: I am the vice-consul of the United States of North America at Liverpool. 3. On the 15th day of July, now instant, I saw the said Richard Brogan and examined him in reference to a gun-boat which I had heard was being built by the said Messrs. Laird & Co. for the so-called confederate government, and the said Richard Brogan then informed me that the said vessel was built to carry four guns on each side and four swivel guns; that Captain Bullock had at one time, when the vessel was in progress, come to the yard almost every day to select the timber to be used for the vessel. That the said Captain Bullock was to be the captain of the said vessel; and that the said Captain Bullock had asked the said Richard Brogan to go as carpenter's mate in the said vessel for three years, which the said Richard Brogan had declined to do, because Mr. Laird, who was present at the time, would not guarantee his wages. That the said vessel was to carry 120 men, and that 30 able seamen were already engaged for her. That the petty officers for the said vessel were to be engaged for three years, and the seamen for five months. That the said vessel was then at the end of the new warehouses in the Birkenhead dock, and that it was understood she was to take her guns on board at Messrs. Laird & Co.'s shed, further up the dock; and that it was generally understood by the men in Messrs. Laird & Co.'s yard that the said vessel was being built for the confederate government. 4. The vessel above mentioned is the same which is now known as No. 290, and I verily believe that the said vessel is in fact intended to be used as a privateer or vessel of war, under a commission from the so-called confederate government, against the United States Government. (Signed) H. WILDING. MATTHEW MAGUIRE. Sworn before me at the custon-house, Liverpool, this 21st day of July, 1862. (Signed) S. PRICE EDWARDS, Collector. 5. I, Thomas Haines Dudley, of No. 3 Wellesley Terrace, Prince's Park, in the borough of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, esq., being one of the people called Quakers, affirm and say as follows: [89] *I am the consul of the United States of North America for the port of Liverpool and its dependencies. 2. In the month of July, in the year 1861, information was sent by the United States Government to the United States consul at Liverpool, that a Mr. James D. Bullock, of Savannah, in the State of Georgia, who was formerly the master of an American steamer called the Cahawba, was reported to have left the United States for England, taking with him a credit for a large sum of money, to be employed in fitting out privateers, and also several commissions issued by the Southern Confederate States for such privateers, and in the month of August, in the year 1861, information was sent by the United States Government to the United States consulate at Liverpool that the said Captain Bullock was then residing near Liverpool and acting as the agent of the said Confederate States in Liverpool and London. 3. In accordance with instructions received from the Government of the United States, steps have been taken to obtain information as to the proceedings and movements of the said James D. Bullock, and I have ascertained the following circumstances, all of which I verily believe to be true, viz, that the said James D. Bullock is in constant communication with parties in Liverpool who are known to be connected with and acting for the parties who have assumed the government of the Confederate States. That the said James D. Bullock, after remaining for some time in England, left the country, and after an absence of several weeks, returned to Liverpool in the month of March last, from Charleston, in the State of South Carolina, one of the seceded States, in a screw-steamer then called the Annie Childs, which had broken the blockade of the port of Charleston then and now maintained by the United States Navy, and which vessel, the Annie Childs, carried the flag of the Confederate States as she came up the Mersey. That shortly after the arrival of the said James D. Bullock at Liverpool in the Annie Childs, as above mentioned, he again sailed from Liverpool in a new gunboat called the Oreto, built at Liverpool, by Messrs. W. C. Miller & Sons, ship-builders, and completed in the early part of the present year, and which gun-boat, the Oreto, though she cleared from Liverpool for Palermo and Jamaica, in reality never went to those places, but proceeded to Nassau, New Providence, to take on board guns and arms with a view to her being used as a privateer or vessel of war under a commission from the so-called confederate government against the Government of the United States, and which said vessel, the Oreto, is stated to have been lately seized at Nassau by the commander of Her Majesty's ship Greyhound. That the said James D. Bullock has since returned again to Liverpool, and that before he left Liverpool, and since he returned, be has taken an active part in superintending the building, equipment, and fitting out of another steam gun-boat, known as No. 290, which has lately been launched by Messrs. Laird & Co. of Birkenhead, and which is now lying, as I am informed and believe, ready for sea in the Birkenhead docks, with a large quantity of provisions and stores and thirty men on board. That the said James D. Bullock is going out in the said gun-boat No. 290, which is nominally commanded by one Matthew S. Butcher, who, I am informed, is well acquainted with the navigation of the American coast, having formerly been engaged in the coasting trade between New York, Charleston, and Nassau. 4. From the circumstances which have come to my knowledge I verily believe that the said gun-boat No. 290 is being equipped and fitted out as a privateer or vessel of war to serve under a commission to be issued by the government of the so-called Confederate States, and that the said vessel will be employed in the service of the said Confederate States to cruise and commit hostilities against the Government and people of the United States of North America. (Signed) THOMAS H. DUDLEY. Affirmed and taken before me at the custom-house, Liverpool, this 21st day of July, 1862. S. PRICE EDWARDS, (Signed) 6. Collector. I, Matthew Maguire, of Liverpool, agent, make oath, and say as follows: 1. I know Captain J. D. Bullock, who is commonly reputed to be the agent or commissioner of the Confederate States of America at Liverpool. 2. I have seen the said J. D. Bullock several times at the yard of Messrs. Laird & Co. at Birkenhead, where a gun-boat known as No. 290 has lately been built, while the building of the said vessel has been going on.. 3. On the 2d day of July now instant, I saw the said J. D. Bullock on board the said vessel in Messrs. Laird & Co.'s yard; he appeared to be giving orders to the workmen who were employed about such vessel. (Signed) MATTHEW MAGUIRE. Sworn before me at the custom-house, Liverpool, this 21st day of July, 1862. Collector. The above depositions were referred, as soon as they were received, to the assistant solicitor and solicitor of customs, who on the same day reported as follows: [90] * Reports of the assistant solicitor and solicitor of customs, referred to in the preceding letter. In my opinion there is not sufficient evidence in this case to justify the detention of the vessel, under the 59th George III, c. 69. The only affidavit that professes to give anything like positive evidence is that of the seaman Passmore; but, assuming all he states to be true, what occurred between the reputed master (Butcher) and himself would not warrant a detention under section 6, nor support an information for the penalty under that section. Nor do I think, however probable it may seem that the vessel is fitted out for the military operations mentioned, that sufficient evidence has been adduced to entitle the applicants to the interference of the collector of customs at Liverpool. The only justifiable grounds of seizure under section 7 of the act would be the production of such evidence of the fact as would support an indictment for the misdemeanor under that section. (Sigued) CUSTOMS, July 22, 1862. J. O'DOWD. I entirely concur with Mr. O'Dowd in the opinion that there is not sufficient evidence to warrant the seizure or detention of the ship by the officers of customs. There appears to be some evidence of enlistment of individuals, and if that were sufficient to satisfy a court, they would be liable to pecuniary penalties, for security of which, if recovered, the customs might detain the ship until those penalties were satisfied, or good bail given; but there is not evidence enough of enlistment to call upon the customs to prosecute. The United States consul or any other person may do so at their own risk, if they see fit. (Signed) JULY 22, 1862. F.-J. HAMEL. 'Appendix, vol. i, p. 192. In accordance with these reports the commissioners of customs, on the same 22d July, 1862, wrote to the collector as follows:1 The commissioners of customs to the collector of customs, Liverpool. LONDON, July 22, 1862. SIR: Having considered your report of the 21st instant, stating with reference to previous correspondence which has taken place on the subject of a gun-boat which is being fitted out by Messrs. Laird, of Birkenhead, that the United States consul, accompanied by his solicitor, has attended at the custom-house with certain witnesses, whose affidavits you have taken and have submitted for our consideration, and has requested that the vessel may be seized, under the provisions of the foreign-enlistment act, upon the ground that the evidence adduced affords proof that she is being nitted out for the government of the Confederate States of America We acquaint you that we have communicated with our solicitor on the subject, who has advised us that the evidence submitted is not sufficient to justify any steps being taken against the vessel under either the sixth or seventh sections of act 59 George III, c. 69, and you are to govern yourself accordingly. The solicitor has, however, stated that if there should be sufficient evidence to satisfy a court of enlistment of individuals, they would be liable to pecuniary penalties, for security of which, if recovered, this department might detain the ship until those penalties are satisfied, or good bail given; but there is not sufficient evidence to require the customs to prosecute; it is, however, competent for the United States consul, or any other person to do so at their own risk, if they see fit. (Signed) T. F. FREMANTLE. On the same day, the papers were transmitted by order of the commissioners of customs to the treasury, with a covering letter, which was as follows:2 Mr. Gardner to Mr. Hamilton. CUSTOM-HOUSE, July 22, 1862. SIR: With reference to the report of this board of the 1st instant, respecting a vessel fitting out at Liverpool, which it is stated is intended to be used as a privateer by the so-called Confederate States of America am to I am directed to state that the board have this day received a report from their collector at Liverpool, inclosing affidavits which have been made before him with a view to the detention of the vessel; and in transmitting to you, by desire of the board, the accompanying copy of the collector's report, with the affidavits referred to, state that the board having communicated with their solicitor, are advised that the evidence is not sufficient to justify any steps being taken against the vessel under either the sixth or seventh section of the act 59 George III, c. 69, and they have apprised the collector at Liverpool accordingly, informing him at the same time that the solicitor has also stated that if there should be sufficient evidence to satisfy a court of the enlistment of individuals, they would be liable to pecuniary penalties, for security of which, if recovered, the customs might detain the ship until those penalties are satisfied, or good bail given; but that there is not evidence enough of enlistment to call upon the customs to prosecute, although the United States consul, or any other person, may do so at their own risk, if they see fit. [91] *I am, however, to submit, should the lords commissioners of Her Majesty's treasury have any doubt upon the subject, whether it may not be advisable that the opinion of the law officers of the Crown should be taken. I am, &c., J. G. GARDNER. The secretary to the treasury, on receiving the papers, sent them immediately to Mr. Layard, one of the under-secretaries of state for the foreign department, with an unofficial letter, which was as follows: 2 Mr. Hamilton to Mr. Layard. TREASURY, July 22, 1862. MY DEAR MR. LAYARD: As the communication may be considered pressing, I send it to you unofficially to save time. Perhaps you will ascertain from Lord Russell whether Appendix, vol. i, p. 192. * Ibid., p. 188. it is his wish that we should take the opinion of the law-officers as to the case of this vessel. It is stated that she is nearly ready for sea. Sincerely yours, GEO. A. HAMILTON. The papers thus sent were received at the Foreign Office on the 23d July, 1862, and were, on the same day, referred to the law-officers of the Crown, with the following letter: 1 1 Mr. Layard to the law-officers of the Crown. [Immediate.] FOREIGN OFFICE, July 23, 1862. GENTLEMEN: With reference to your report of the 30th ultimo, I am directed by Earl Russell to transmit to you the accompanying papers, which have been received by the board of treasury from the commissioners of customs, containing further information respecting the vessel alleged to be fitting out at Liverpool for the service of the socalled Confederate States; and I am to request that you will take the same into your consideration, and favor Lord Russell at your earliest convenience with your opinion thereupon. The former papers on this subject are inclosed for reference if required. I am, &c., A. H. LAYARD. It will have been seen from the above statement that the evidence laid by Mr. Dudley before the collector of customs at Liverpool on the 21st July was on the same day sent to London, on the following day (the 22d) referred to the official advisers of the customs department and reported on by them, and on the 23d referred to the law-officers of the Crown. Of the six depositions one only (that of Passmore) contained any evidence which was at once material to the question and legally ad missible. To rely on evidence of this kind proceeding from a single witness, without more corroboration or without inquiry into his antecedents, would, according to English judicial experience, have been very unsafe in a case of this nature. Of the contents of the five others the greater part was merely hearsay and not admissible as evidence; and they furnish grounds of suspicion, but not sufficient grounds for belief. Copies of the depositions were also, on the 22d, sent by Mr. Adams to Earl Russell, with the following note: 1 Mr. Adams to Earl Russell. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, MY LORD: I have the honor to transmit copies of six depositions taken at Liverpool, tending to establish the character aud destination of the vessel to which I called your lordship's attention in my note of the 23d of June last. The originals of these papers have already been submitted to the collector of the customs at that port, in accordance with the suggestions made in your lordship's note to me of the 4th of July, as the basis of an application to him to act under the powers conferred by the enlistment act. But I feel it to be my duty further to communicate the facts as there alleged to Her Majesty's government, and to request that such further proceedings may be had as may carry into full effect the determination which I doubt not it ever entertains to prevent, by all lawful means, the fitting out of hostile expeditions against the Government of a country with which it is at peace. I avail, &c., (Signed) [92] CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. On the 23d July two additional depositions were sent by Mr. A. T. Squarey, of Liverpool, a solicitor employed by Mr. Dudley, to the board of customs, with the following letter: 2 1 Appendix, vol. i, p. 193. 2 Ibid., p. 194. |