when you hear the evidence, you will see that the government had no choice, but that it was their imperative duty to submit this case to the consideration of a jury. Gentlemen, I will first call your attention to the provisions of the statute, and then I will endeavor to make a short but succinct statement of the facts of the case. The learned solicitor general then cited the statute at length, beginning with its title and preamble, and then the various provisions as above set forth. These he commented upon as he read them. He observed that the legis lature had undoubtedly used a great number of words, and it might be a question whether the multiplicity of words tended rather to elucidate or to obscure the meaning. But, at all events, it is abundantly obvious that it was intended to prohibit the mischief against which the act was directed, as appears by its title and preamble-that is, any of the Queen's subjects being engaged in military service or warlike operations under any foreign state or power. Now, gentlemen, I will state-not argue-the view which the Crown take upon the construction of the statute. Their view is shortly this: that any equipment of a vessel with the prohibited intent is the offence created by the statute; that is, in other words, that it is not necessary that the equipment should be itself of a warlike character, but that if any person equips or aids in the equipment of a vessel by providing her with sails or rigging, or motive power, engines, or boilers; in fact, if he assists in any equipment whatever, he is guilty of an offence under the statute, provided always that it be proved that any equipment which he was a party to was made with the intent that the vessel should be enabled to cruise and commit hostilities against some country at amity with our Queen. That, gentlemen, is the view which the Crown takes of this statute. Now, gentlemen, upon the breaking out of the war a proclamation was issued by the Queen, in which it was declared that her subjects, upon pain of her displeasure, were not to infringe the provisions of the statute. Gentlemen, with that proclamation every subject of her Majesty must be presumed to have been acquainted, but certainly no officer of the Queen could pretend to be ignorant of it. And now, gentlemen, I will proceed to a short statement of the facts. In 1857 there was a screw gunboat built for the Crown, called the Victor. She carried six guns, was about 350 horse-power, and her tonnage was about 500 tons. She was employed for some time in the navy, but being found not very available for the government service, the admiralty accepted an offer from Messrs. Gordon, Coleman & Co., shipowners in London, to sell her to them. The offer was accepted in November last year, and she was sold for £9,000. On the 6th of November Messrs. Coleman were registered as the owners of the vessel, although it would appear by subsequent statements of Mr. Rumble that Messrs. Coleman were not the real owners, and that the real owner was a Mr. Zachary Pearson. The vessel was delivered to the purchasers on the 10th of November. Before she was delivered the warlike fittings were taken out, and she was sold without masts, or sails, or rigging. After slight repairs she was delivered to the purchasers, and taken out of the dock-yard and anchored in the Thames. That was on the 10th of November, and a new name, that of the Scylla was then given to her. It was given out that she was destined for a voyage to China. Preparations for a voyage were proceeded with rapidly The parts of her most defective were the boilers. A number of men were put to work upon them. They were supplied with fresh tubes, and rapid preparations were being made to send her to sea, the men being engaged ostensibly for the purpose of going to China. Now, gentle men-and this part of the case can be placed beyond all doubt-she was purchased and equipped, not for the China trade, but to become a vessel of war in the confederate service. The equipment, however, proceeded up to the 24th of November, a date to which your particular attention will be called. On that day the parties interested in her appear to have received some intelligence which changed their plans, for in the evening of that day, instead of proceeding with the equipment, she was suddenly, in the night, taken out of the Thames to sea, and subsequently was taken to Calais. No sooner was the vessel out at sea than the mask was cast off, and all disguise thrown away. The name was changed to the Rappahannock; a confederate captain came on board of her at Calais, who said he had been mate of the Alabama, and took possession of her as captain; a fresh flag, the confederate flag, was hoisted; the officers appeared in uniform; there was no disguise; the character of the vessel was openly discussed; it was given out that she was a man-of-war; the crew were called on deck; they were "mustered," and required to sign what they called "articles of war"—that is, articles for service; they were offered £8 a month and £10 bounty, and prospects of prize money were held out, and the captain said, "I shall fight for my country and for glory, and you will fight for fame." Some pressure was put upon them at that time; they were in a foreign country, without the means of returning home, and many of them were, unhappily, induced to enlist. The preparations for equipment, which had been interrupted, were proceeded with a number of boiler-makers were sent for from England, and many of them were induced to leave their employment in the dock-yard without leave, and when they returned they were discharged as having been absent without leave. Attempts were made to enlist more men; a large store of coals was taken in; but at this point the French government stepped in. The French government, not choosing their ports to be made the scene of hostile operations, interposed and prevented any further equipment of the vessel, and, by the short and summary process of mooring a man-of-war across her bows, prevented her going out of port, and she has been kept a prisoner in the harbor ever since. Such, gentlemen, is a short outline of the history of this vessel-first, the government gunboat Victor, next the merchant ship the Scylla, bound for China, and then the confederate war steamer the Rap

pahannock. Now, probably, there never was heard of a more audacious attempt on the part of a belligerent to violate neutral sovereignty and neutral territory. I will now, gentlemen, inform you what part Mr. Rumble, the defendant, took in these matters, and I regret to inform you that, according to the evidence, he took an active part, if not the principal part, in the equipment of the vessel and procuring for her a crew. The evidence, if it bears out the instructions I have received, will, I think, leave no doubt whatever in your minds that he knew perfectly well from the beginning the true character and destination of the ship. He was frequently, indeed almost daily, on board the vessel superintending her equipment; and you will bear in mind that she had ceased to belong to the government, and they had nothing to do with her. She was ostensibly a merchant vessel belonging to a private firm, and Mr. Rumble, as inspector of floating machinery, had nothing to do with her. Still, he was there almost every day, giving directions upon the subject of her equipment. He procured boiler-makers and set them to work, and gave them directions what they should do to the boilers. He ordered new tubes to be put in; he gave directions with respect to the rigging and the other equipments. The vessel was masted with the aid of Captain Hall, of her Majesty's ship the Cumberland, a ship which had apparatus for masting vessels, and the use of which was applied for to assist in masting her; and I understand that Captain Hall, wishing to try the new apparatus for the purpose, consented to allow it to be used. But inasmuch as the government have no reason to suppose that he knew of the destination of the vessel at that time, they have not thought fit to lay any blame upon him, though they were not at the time aware that this had been done. Well, Mr. Rumble was constantly on board, superin tending the equipment of the vessel, which proceeded up to a certain point, and then it was interrupted. But, further, he took an active part in manning the vessel. He was held out as the person to whom men seeking employment on the vessel should apply; they applied to him, and he received their applications; he himself engaged men in different capacities, and agreed with them as to the amount of wages they were to receive; when they went to sea he paid them their wages for some weeks, held out inducements to many of them to join the vessel, and said that he would, when they were at sea, take care that the portion of their wages they did not want should be transmitted to their wives. He paid the passage of several men from Woolwich to Sheerness when they went to join the vessel. And I am informed that on the afternoon of the 24th of November, when the vessel left the river, he was on board as late as 5 o'clock in the evening, when preparations for departure were going on. He was down in the cabin with the real owner, Mr. Pearson, and the persons then in command; several of the crew were brought into the cabin, and then Mr. Rumble endeavored to induce them to enlist for a long voyage. He failed as to some; some of them refused to sign the articles, but some were induced to do so "for a trial trip," as it was said-“a trial trip." Mr. Rumble was then present while the articles were being signed, endeavoring to induce the men to enlist. Now, gentlemen, as to the enlistment, one point of law for which the crown contends is this-it arose at the late assizes in the case of the "Queen vs. Jones," which was tried before the lord chief justice, (and which we reported towards the end of last term,) viz: that if he was a party to the procuring of these men to serve on board a confederate vessel of war he is guilty of an offence, on whatever pretence the men were engaged; whether it was that they were to go to China or on a trial trip," if the men were actually engaged and employed, and if he procured them to be employed in that service, he is guilty of an offence against this act; and it is not the less such an offence because a fraud was practiced on the Now, gentlemen, it will be proper that I should state the evidence which bears upon this question. There will be no doubt that he, from the beginning, knew the character and destination of the vessel; at all events that he knew it before he went to Calais. I will call before you several of the men, who will tell you what he said, and one or two of the men he endeavored to induce to sign by representations of this kind: "You will not only have pay, but perquisites beyond the pay;" and to one of the men he said, "If you cruise on board that ship and you live to return, you will not want to work any more during your life.' I shall show you from one witness-I believe a highly respectable witness, whom Mr. Rumble endeavored to engage, but did not succeed in engaging-that on Mr. Rumble asking him to be second engineer, and the man saying that he had not sufficient clothes, Mr. Rumble said, "Clothes don't signify, for when you get on board uniforms will be provideda gray uniform; there is plenty of cloth on board, and we will make it up into uniforms for the crew." Now, if you believe that, there can be no question as to Mr. Rumble knowing the destination of the vessel. What was the mate of a vessel in the China trade to do with gray uniforms? Mr. Rumble appeared to know all that was going on in the vessel, and told the men that the captain would join when she was at Calais-a promise which was fulfilled, for there the late mate of the Alabama came on board as captain. But the case does not stop here. The vessel went away from the river on the 24th of November, and three or four days afterwards, I think on the 28th, Mr. Rumble himself went to Calais, and went in the same boat with a number of boiler-makers, who were going from some dock-yards to assist in the completion of the equipment of the vessel. And I am informed that Mr. Rumble was on board the vessel when the scene I have described took place, and that he was on board, if not on deck, at the time the captain summoned the crew and engaged them for the service, and he was, I am informed, in the cabin when some of the men received the bounty for their enlistment. But the case does not stop even there. Mr. Rumble returned, and one

men.

One

or two particulars occurred to which I must call attention. At all events, when he returned he knew the character of the vessel. Indeed, he had known it before, according to his own account, for he referred to a statement in the newspapers as to the hoisting of the confederate flag at Calais. So he knew of that fact, and if, as I presume will be set up by my learned friends, his counsel, he was imposed upon and deceived, and did not know that the ship was more than a mere merchant ship before she left the river, what would be his feelings upon hearing that a gross fraud had been practiced upon him, and that he, a Queen's officer, had been practiced upon and deluded into assisting in fitting out a belligerent vessel? would suppose that he would have shown indignation, and that at all events he would have insisted upon washing his hands of the whole affair. But I am informed that after, by his own showing, he knew that this was a vessel of war, on a man applying to him for employment on the vessel he said, "I will speak to the confederate agent about you, and procure you employment." And further, I am informed that upon his return to Dover from Calais, when he had been on board the vessel, meeting with one of the boiler-makers who had been employed on the vessel, but had returned, Mr. Rumble used every kind of persuasion to induce him to go back to her. Gentlemen, this is an outline of the facts which, as I am instructed, I shall be able to prove. I have purposely made it only an outline, for it will be better that you should hear the details from the witnesses themselves. Gentlemen, probably the witnesses called on the part of the Crown will, many of them, be the subject of severe crossexamination, and remarks may be made upon their testimony, perhaps deserving of your attention. You will observe that, from the nature of the case, these are the only witnesses the Crown could possibly call before you. As to two or three of them, I think it proper to say that they have written a letter to Mr. Rumble exonerating him from all share in the transaction. That will be a very proper topic for cross-examination, and if it is resorted to, there will be an explanation. It would not be proper for me to enter fully into the circumstances by which it may be explained; but I am informed that Mr. Rumble got them brought into a private room, and administered to them what he called an oath, that the statements made in the depositions were not true. You will see by-and-by whether or not this is the truth. Now then, gentlemen, that is the case against Mr. Rumble. I do not impute to him that he has been actuated by base or mercenary motives, that he is a paid agent of the confederate government, or has proposed to himself any pecuniary advantage or emolument for his part of the transaction. I am willing to suppose that he has been led away by sympathy with the confederate cause, which in some persons amounts to enthusiasm, into a temporary forgetfulness of his duties. Far be it from me to impute it to any man as a blame, stiil less as a crime, that he feels a sympathy with either of the belligerents. We must all have our sympathies. Thought in this country is free, and expression also is free; but no man is free to act in contravention of the law; and I am sure you will agree with me that if every subject of the Queen is bound to obey the law and the Queen's proclamation, that obligation is much stronger upon those who bear the Queen's commission.

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. We have nothing to do with that. It may be matter for consideration for the court at another stage of the case, (if it should reach that stage,) but we have nothing to do with it now.

The SOLICITOR GENERAL. Quite so. Gentlemen, I am glad to see that my learned friend, Mr. Bovill, appears on behalf of this gentleman, and will, I am sure, exercise to the utmost his great abilities in order to secure, by every fair and honorable means, the acquittal of his client. If he shall succeed in satisfying you that the statements of the witnesses are not true, or, if true, that they can be explained, consistently with the innocence of Mr. Rumble, I shall be satisfied, and I am sure you will agree with me. But if the facts shall be substantially established as I have stated them, then I am satisfied that as the Crown has done its duty in instituting this prosecution, you will faithfully and fearlessly perform yours by vindicating the law of the country.

Captain Wise, captain-superintendent of Sheerness dock-yard, was then called and examined by Mr. Lush, Q. C. He gave the particulars of the vessel, and stated that when the ship was sold her warlike equipments were taken out of her, and she was sold and delivered without masts, stores, or engines, boilers, or machinery. An application by the purchasers for the stores was refused, and she was sold without fixtures. Messrs. Coleman, merchants, were the purchasers. The defendant, Mr. Rumble, had nothing to do with her connected with his duties.

Now, first, did you, the captain-superintendent, allow her to be docked after she was purchased?

Certainly not; it was before the purchase was completed.

The witness was pressed as to whether, after the purchase, Messrs. Coleman did not apply

the admiralty to have the ship docked. He said there was such an application, and it was referred to the dock authorities, and she was docked on the 8th of October.

Mr. BOVILL. That is exactly what I wanted to know. The ship, then, was, after the purchase, and at the request of the purchaser, docked at the dock-yard?

WITNESS. Yes; under orders from the admiralty.

Mr. BOVILL. With your sanction, as captain-superintendent?

The witness stated that it was before the purchase was completed. He was pressed as to this, and desired to refer to the papers. The witness then produced the purchaser's written requisition, dated 17th of September, 1863: "We beg you will give permission to place in the dry-dock the vessel we have purchased from the admiralty, for the purpose of examining her, with a view to taking her away under steam, it being done at our expense." The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. That shows it was after the purchase.

The witness stated, that upon this there was an order to dock the ship, though it could not be done at once. The witness then read the answer, dated 27th of September: "My lords approve of the Victor, purchased by Messrs. Coleman, being docked on the 10th of October, for the purpose of inspecting her bottom, at the purchasers' expense." The witness then went on to state, that on the 8th of October "the government officials" took the ship out of the Medway and put her into the dry-dock at Sheerness, and examined her. It was all, he said, "done by the government." He did not know, he said, if any one was there on the part of the owners, but it was done at their expense. During the time she was there no repairs were done, except repairing an accident, &c., but she was thoroughly examined. On the 13th of October she was taken out of dock into the basin, and on the 2d of November out into the river, and there her masts were put into her. Nothing was done until after the 12th of November, after she was given up. It was on the 10th of November she was given up, and after that the owners sent down the masts.

Mr. BOVILL. Were they not put into her by Captain Hall, captain of the Steam Reserve, and with the aid of a government ship-the Cumberland?

Yes.

Mr. BOVILL. Was her rigging put up by riggers belonging to the dock-yard?

I believe it was; but after working hours. I had no control over them after those hours. Mr. BOVILL. Was she at the government moorings?

Yes; as she had no anchor, the owners asked that she might be made fast to a government buov.

Mr. BOVILL. And she was taken out by a government tug?

Yes.

Mr. BOVILI. And remained at the government moorings until she was given up?

WITNESS. I believe, after she had her masts in her, she lay at her own anchors.

Mr. BOVILL. Well, I suppose it was well known to every one that she was lying there being fitted out?

It could be no secret, as she was lying there.

Mr. BOVILL. And it was understood she was going to China?

Yes: we so understood.

And you rendered every assistance?

Yes.

And made no objection to the men working on her after working hours?

No; it is not unusual when a ship has been sold to render every assistance to her.

Mr. BOVILL. And the inspector of machinery afloat might be disposed to do so, eh?
Yes; he might.

Mr. Rumble is an officer who has been twenty years in the service of the Crown?
Yes; he has.

And he would be entitled to a pension, or his widow?

Yes; according to the rules of the service.

Well, the vessel lay there known to every one-the officers and the public?

Yes. [The witness said she lay in the river from the 2d till the 24th of November.]

Mr. BOVILL. Now, just tell me this-you have not been able to keep federal spies out of the dock-yard, eh?

Well, there have been men mixed up with these matters.

And some have been dismissed, have they not?

None have been dismissed; one man asked for his discharge.

Well, there have been federal spies, I believe?

Spies on both sides.

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. What do you mean by federal spies?

WITNESS. Why, my lord, there were men who were gaining information about this vessel. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. It is very remote from the present matter.

Mr. BOVILL elicited that one man named Warne had got his discharge on this account, and wanted to pursue the subject further; but

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said it was irrelevant, and he would not permit it.

The next witness was the man Firth, who was examined by Mr. Hannen. He said he had been a breaker-up of ships at the dock, and he stated that in the autumn of last year he had been engaged to work upon the ship by a Mr. Ferguson, who said he was chief en

gineer. I was to meet a Mr. Carr before going on board. No one was with Carr then. I, Cole, and Hurford were together. We were to meet Rumble in the dock-yard at Sheerness, Carr said while going down in the train. We went to the dock-yard at about 11 a. m. to the Steam Reserve office and met Rumble about half-past 1. Rumble was coming through the dock-yard gate. Carr went and spoke to Rumble. We went towards the water side, and Rumble sung out and told Carr to go down to the dock-yard pier, and take a boat and go off to see the Scylla, and he would be off as soon as we. We went on board. Rumble was on board before us. On board Rumble spoke to Carr. I didn't hear what he said. We were then put to work. Carr was second engineer on board the Scylla. Carr ordered me to go down, and told me to look after the stores. I was engaged upon her till she sailed, and afterwards. Rumble paid the first week's wages. He paid me on board the ship. He then told me he would allow us a guinea a week while we stopped there. Then I asked him where she was going. He told me he didn't know where she was going to, but if I went away in the ship and lived to come home again I shouldn't have to work any longer. Then he said he would like to go me halves. That's all that passed with me.

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE. How long did you continue there?

WITNESS. Three weeks, and one or two days at Sheerness. Rumble came on board often-sometimes twice a day, and other days oftener. He was taken ill, but until he was taken ill he came on board every day. He told me if I wanted anything on board I was to let him know. I applied to him for several things; they were for the use of the shipshovels, tools, rakes, &c., and a cask of oil: He put them down in his pocket-book, and they were sent on board next morning. This went on till the time of the vessel going away. I went away with the vessel between 9 and 10 on a Tuesday night. On that night I did not see Mr. Rumble on board. I saw him on board that afternoon before we went away, just as we were going to dinner. Mr. Ferguson called us into the cabin. Mr. Rumble was there. They called me into the cabin, and Rumble asked me if I was going to sign the ship's articles. I told him yes. Rumble offered me six pounds a month, and I asked him for eight pounds. Mr. Rumble said, "Here's one of the owners," pointing to Mr. Pearson, "and he can't afford to give more than six pounds." Mr. Pearson then told me he wou d give me eight pounds. Mr. Rumble asked me how I'd like to have the wages. I told him I wanted to handle my own money. He asked me if I couldn't trust him to send it home to my wife. I told him I had nothing but what I stood upright in. No more passed. I didn't sign the articles. Then he told me to go out of the cabin and send my mates in. I did. That night we went off. I was in the engine-room, on the platform. That was my place.

By the LORD CHIEF JUSTICE:

Afterwards we agreed with Mr. Ramsay for fourteen days. We went to Calais. I didn't know where I was going, nor when she was going to start. On Saturday they said she would go on Wednesday, and she went on Tuesday. We sighted Calais about 4 in the afternoon. Mr. Ramsay commanded the vessel to Calais. We dodged about off Calais all night. Went in next day. A flag was hoisted outside the harbor. It was white, with a union jack at the top corner, a red stripe down the middle, and thirteen stars. [Paper handed to witness.] This is like it, but it ought to have a red stripe down the middle. I was told that it was the confederate flag. I remained three or four days on board at Calais. I didn't like to go in her when I saw the flag. Another captain came, Captain Campbell, and we were called aft and told he was the captain. He was then in plain clothes. He asked us to go in her, and some of us said "Yes" and some said "No." He told us she was a confederate man-of-war, and he would like to have us all go in her. I wouldn't go. I did not see Rumble on board while at Calais, nor at Calais. The captain addressed us the day after our arrival at Calais. The next day he came on board in uniform-a gray suit. Mr. Rumble paid our expenses on the first occasion from Woolwich to Sheerness.

Cross-examined by Mr. BOVILL:

Mr. Ferguson engaged me, and he had engaged Carr as engineer. Ferguson was a friend of mine. I had been to sea with him before. I never conversed with Rumble about going on board the ship. I knew Carr before Hurford. Cole was with us. I knew Cole before. I then worked on board the Caledonian in Victoria docks. She was a government ship. No repairs were going on on the Scylla when we went there. Only the cook and Mr. Ramsay were on board, and Mr. Rumble. There was nothing being done at the time. Carr told us what to do. It was to work at the engine and boiler. Boiler-makers came on board and worked. The tubes were very bad. While we were at the buoy nothing was done but knocking about the boiler. I am now employed at breaking up ships at New-yard, Mr. Castle's.

Mr. BOVILL. Have you within three months received anything but your wages?

Only twelve shillings and six pence a week. I believe it comes from Rochester-I think from Essell, Kuight, and Arnold. They give me that to keep me from going to sea. I have been receiving it for five or six weeks past.

The SOLICITOR GENERAL. I may state that several have received this to prevent them from going away. We could not retain seafaring witnesses otherwise.