their own inferences, and it cannot be difficult | our fathers, and to protect us from those who for any one to arrive at a correct conclusion as threaten our homes with fire and sword, our to the character and ultimate purpose of that domestic circles with ruthless lust, our fathers' encampment. No government in the world graves with the invaders' feet, and our altars would be entitled to respect, that would tole- with infidel desecration: rate for a moment such openly treasonable preparations. "Resolved by the Congress of the Confederate States, That the President be requested to issue his Proclamation, appointing a day of fasting and prayer, in the observance of which all shall be invited to join, who recognize our depend "It is but simple justice, however, that I should state the fact that there were many good and loyal men in the camp, who were in no manner responsible for its treasonable char-ence upon God, and who desire the happiness and security of that people whose God is the Lord.'" acter. "Disclaiming, as I do, all desire or intention to interfere in any way with the prerogatives of the State of Missouri or with the functions of its executive or other authorities, yet I regard it as my plain path of duty to express to the people in respectful, but at the same time decided language, that, within the field and scope of my command and authority, the 'supreme law of the land must and shall be maintained, and no subterfuges, whether in the forms of legislative acts or otherwise, can be permitted to harass or oppress the good and law-abiding people of Missouri. I shall exert my authority to protect their persons and property from violations of every kind, and I shall deem it my duty to suppress all unlawful combinations of men, whether formed under pretext of military organizations or otherwise. "WM. S. HARNEY, Brigadier-General -St. Louis Republican, May 14. Doc. 163. THE CONFEDERATE FAST. In the open session of the Confederate Congress, May 14, several resolutions of interest were offered and adopted. The first of these is a resolution presented by Mr. T. R. R. Cobb, of Georgia, in reference to a general day of Fasting and Prayer. As the sentiments and intent of the resolutions are good, I shall give them to your readers entire, as follows: "The dependence of nations, as of individuals, upon an overruling Providence, at all times, we fully recognize; but when perils surround, and national existence is threatened, it peculiarly becomes a people to manifest their submission to the will and guidance of the Omnipotent Ruler of the universe. If the cause be righteous and the quarrel just, we may confidently rely on Him who reigneth alike over the armies of earth and the hosts of heaven. At the same time, we recognize our duty to appeal humbly to Him who hath said: 'I will be inquired of my people.' To the end, therefore, that the whole people of these Confederate States may, in union and with one accord, approach the Throne of the Most High, to invoke his blessing upon us in our defensive struggle for the right of self-government, and the enjoyment of the liberty He vouchsafed to It is hardly necessary to say that the preamble and resolution were unanimously adopted. -Charleston Courier, May 18. Doc. 164. EAST BALTIMORE RESOLUTIONS, with fidelity and faith, believing that our rights Resolved, That we will still cling to the Union can be better maintained and protected in the Union than out of it, and in pursuance of the above sentiment we do hereby solemnly pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honors in defence of the same. Resolved, That the State of Maryland is part and parcel of the Federal Government, and that the said Federal Government has a right to all roads leading through our State; and it is furthermore our duty to protect and assist them in their transit to the National Capital, (in obedience to the call of the President,) which is now threatened by domestic traitors. Resolved, That the chairman appoint a committee of five, whose duty it shall be to enroll the Union men of East Baltimore, and to make such other arrangements as they may deem necessary for the preservation of our State, honor, and our duty as loyal citizens of the Union. -National Intelligencer, May 17. Doc. 165. GEN. BUTLER'S PROCLAMATION. DEPARTMENT OF ANNAPOLIS, FEDERAL HILL, BALTIMORE, May 14, 1861. A DETACHMENT of the forces of the Federal Government under my command have occupied the city of Baltimore for the purpose, among other things, of enforcing respect and obedience to the laws, as well of the State-if requested thereto by the civil authorities-as of the United States laws, which are being violated within its limits by some malignant and traitorous men, and in order to testify the acceptance by the Federal Government of the fact that the city and all the well-intentioned portion of its inhabitants are loyal to the Union and the Constitution, and are to be so regarded and treated by all. To the end, therefore, that all misunderstanding of the purpose of the Government may be prevented, and to set at rest all unfounded, false, and seditious rumors; to relieve all apprehensions, if any are felt, by the welldisposed portion of the community, and to make it thoroughly understood by all traitors, their aiders and abettors, that rebellious acts must cease; I hereby, by the authority vested in me as commander of the department of Annapolis, of which Baltimore forms a part, do now command and make known that no loyal and welldisposed citizen will be disturbed in his lawful Occupation or business, that private property will not be interfered with by the men under my command, or allowed to be interfered with by others, except in so far as it may be used to afford aid and comfort to those in rebellion against the Government, whether here or elsewhere; all of which property, munitions of war, and that fitted to aid and support the rebellion, will be seized and held subject to confiscation, and, therefore, all manufacturers of arms and munitions of war are hereby requested to report to me forthwith, so that the lawfulness of their occupation may be known and understood, and all misconstruction of their doings be avoided. No transportation from the city to the rebels of articles fitted to aid and sup-herent respect and love of order, the commandport troops in the field will be permitted, and the fact of such transportation, after the publication of this proclamation, will be taken and received as proof of illegal intention on the part of the consignors, and will render the goods liable to seizure and confiscation. The ordinary operations of the corporate government of the city of Baltimore and of the civil authorities will not be interfered with, but, on the contrary, will be aided by all the power at the command of the General, upon proper call being made, and all such authorities are cordially invited to cooperate with the General in command to carry out the purposes set forth in the proclamation, so that the city of Baltimore may be shown to the country to be, what she is in fact, patriotic and loyal to the Union, the Constitution, and the laws. The Government being ready to receive all such stores and supplies, arrangements will be made to contract for them immediately, and the owners and manufacturers of such articles of equipment and clothing, and munitions of war and provisions, are desired to keep themselves in communication with the Commissary-General, in order that their workshops may be employed for loyal purposes, and the artisans of the city resume and carry on their profitable occupations. The acting Assistant-Quartermaster and Commissary of Subsistence of the United States here stationed, has been instructed to proceed and furnish, at fair prices, 40,000 rations for the use of the army of the United States, and further supplies will be drawn from the city to the full extent of its capacity, if the patriotic and loyal men choose so to furnish supplies. All assemblages, except the ordinary police, of armed bodies of men, other than those regularly organized and commissioned by the State of Maryland, and acting under the orders of the Governor thereof, for drill and other purposes, are forbidden within the department. All officers of the militia of Maryland, having command within the limits of the department, are requested to report through their officers forthwith to the General in command, so that he may be able to know and distinguish the regularly commissioned and loyal troops of Maryland from armed bodies who may claim to be such. No flag, banner, ensign, or device of the socalled Confederate States or any of them will be permitted to be raised or shown in this department, and the exhibition of either of them by evil-disposed persons will be deemed, and taken to be evidence of a design to afford aid and comfort to the enemies of the country. To make it the more apparent that the Government of the United States by far more relies upon the loyalty, patriotism, and zeal of the good citizens of Baltimore and vicinity than upon any exhibition of force calculated to intimidate them into that obedience to the laws which the Government doubts not will be paid from in ing General has brought to the city with him, of the many thousand troops in the immediate neighborhood, which might be at once concentrated here, scarcely more than an ordinary guard, and until it fails him, he will continue to rely upon that loyalty and patriotism of the citizens of Maryland, which have never yet been found wanting to the Government in time of need. The General in command desires to greet and treat in this part of his department all the citizens thereof as friends and brothers, having a common purpose, a common loyalty, and a common country. Any infractions of the laws by the troops under his command, or any disorderly, unsoldierlike conduct, or any interference with private property, he desires to have immediately reported to him, and pledges himself that if any soldier so far forgets himself as to break those laws that he has sworn to defend and enforce, he shall be most rigorously punished. The General believes that if the suggestions and requests contained in this proclamation are faithfully carried out by the cooperation of all good and Union-loving citizens, and peace and quiet, and certainty of future peace and quiet are thus restored, business will resume its accustomed channels, trade take the place of dulness and inactivity, efficient labor displace idleness, and Baltimore will be in fact what she is entitled to be, in the front rank of the commercial cities of the nation. Given at Baltimore, the day and year herein first above written. BENJ. F. BUTLER, Brig.-General Com. Department of Annapolis. E. G. PARKER, Lieut.-Col., Aide-de-Camp. Gen. Butler's proclamation was scattered in extras by the thousands. Everybody on the streets and in the hotels seemed to have it. The assurance contained in it that the troops were not in their midst to interrupt the business of the city, but to protect the people, preserve the peace, and sustain the laws, gave general satisfaction. -N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, May 15. Doc. 166. GOV. HICKS' PROCLAMATION. Whereas, The President of the United States, by his proclamation of 15th April, 1861, has called upon me, the Governor of Maryland, for four regiments of infantry or riflemen to serve for a period of three months, the said requisition being made in the spirit and in pursuance of the law, and Whereas, To the said requisition has been added the written assurance of the Secretary of War, that said four regiments shall be detailed to serve within the limits of the State of Maryland, or for the defence of the Capital of the United States and not to serve beyond the limits aforesaid; Now, therefore, I, Thomas Holliday Hicks, Governor of Maryland, do, by this my proclamation, call upon loyal citizens of Maryland to volunteer their services to the extent of four regiments, as aforesaid, to serve during a period of three months within the limits of Maryland, or for the defence of the capital of the United States, to be subject under the conditions aforesaid, to the orders of the Commander-in-chief of the army of the United States. Given under my hand and the great seal of the State of Maryland, at the city Frederick, this fourteenth day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. THOS. H. HICKS. -N. Y. Times, May 16. styling themselves "the Confederate States of America; " And whereas we, being at peace with the Government of the United States, have declared our Royal determination to maintain a strict and impartial neutrality in the contest between the said contending parties; "We, therefore, have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue this our Royal Proclamation: And we do hereby strictly charge and command all our loving subjects to observe a strict neutrality in and during the aforesaid hostilities, and to abstain from violating or contravening either the laws and statutes of the realm in this behalf, or the law of nations in relation thereto, as they will answer to the contrary at their peril. And whereas, in and by a certain statute made and passed in the fifty-ninth year of His Majesty King George III., entitled "an act to prevent the enlisting or engagement of His Majesty's subjects to serve in a foreign service, and the fitting out or equipping, in His Majesty's dominions, vessels for warlike purposes, without His Majesty's license," it is, among other things, declared and enacted as follows: "That if any natural born subject of His Majesty, his heirs and successors, without the leave or license of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, for that purpose first had and obtained, under the sign manual of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, or signified by Order in Council, or by proclamation of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, shall take or accept, or shall agree to take or accept, any military commission, or shall otherwise enter into the military service as a commissioned or non-commissioned officer, or shall enlist or enter himself to enlist, or shall agree to enlist or to enter himself to serve as a soldier, or to be employed, or shall serve in any warlike or military operation in the service of, or for, or under, or in aid of any foreign Prince, State, Potentate, Colony, Province, or part of any Province or people, or of any person or Colonel, Daniel Tyler, Norwich; Lieut.-Col- persons, exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in or over any foreign onel, George S. Burnham, Hartford; Major, country, colony, province, or part of any provJohn L. Chatfield, Waterbury; Adjutant, The-ince or people, either as an officer or soldier, or odore C. Bacon, New Haven; Quartermaster, Justin Hodge, Harkhamsted; Surgeon, C. P. Stearns, Hartford; Surgeon's Mate, Frederick Dibble, New Haven; Sergeant-Major, J. L. Spalding, Norwich; Quartermaster Sergeant, J. V. B. Williams, Preston. Doc. 167. SECOND CONNECTICUT REGIMENT. -National Intelligencer, May 17. Doc. 168. BY THE QUEEN-A PROCLAMATION. VICTORIA R. Whereas, We are happily at peace with all Sovereigns, Powers, and States; And whereas hostilities have unhappily commenced between the Government of the United States of America and certain States in any other military capacity; or if any natural born subject of His Majesty shall, without such leave or license as aforesaid, accept, or agree to take or accept, any commission, warrant or appointment, as an officer, or shall enlist or enter himself, or shall agree to enlist or enter himself, to serve as a sailor or marine, or to be employed or engaged, or shall serve in and on board any ship or vessel of war, or in and on board any ship or vessel used or fitted out, or equipped, or intended to be used for any warlike purpose, in the service of, or for, or under, or in aid of any foreign power, prince, State, potentate, colony, province, or part of any province or people, or of any person or persons exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in or over any foreign country, colony, province, or part of any province or people; or, if any natural born subject of His Majesty shall, without such leave and license as aforesaid, engage, contract, or agree to go, or shall go, to any foreign State, country, colony, province, or part of any province, or to any place beyond the seas, with an intent or in order to enlist or enter himself to serve, or with intent to serve, in any warlike or military operation whatever, whether by land or by sea, in the service of, or for, or under, or in aid of any foreign prince, State, potentate, colony, province, or part of any province or people, or in the service of, or for, or under, or in aid of any person or persons exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in or over any foreign country, colony, province, or part of any province, or people, either as an officer or a soldier, or in any other military capacity, or an officer or sailor, or marine in any such ship or vessel as aforesaid, although no enlisting money, or pay, or reward shall have been or shall be in any or either of the cases aforesaid actually paid to or received by him, or by any person to or for his use or benefit; or if any person whatever, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or any part of His Majesty's dominions elsewhere, or in any country, colony, settlement, island or place belonging to or subject to His Majesty, shall hire, retain, engage, or procure, or shall attempt or endeavor to hire, retain, engage, or procure any person or persons whatever to enlist, or enter, or engage to enlist, or to serve or to be employed in any such service or employment as aforesaid, as an officer, soldier, sailor or marine, either in land or sea service, for or under or in aid of any foreign prince, State, potentate, colony, province, or part of any province or people, or for, or under, or in aid of any person or persons exercising or assuming to exercise any powers of government as aforesaid, or to go or to agree to go or embark from any part of His Majesty's dominions, for the purpose or with intent to be enlisted, entered, engaged or employed as aforesaid, whether any enlisting money, pay or reward shall have been or shall be actually given or received, or not; in any or either of such cases every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon being convicted thereof, upon any information or indictment, shall be punishable by fine and imprisonment, or either of them, at the discretion of the Court before which such offender shall be convicted." And it is in and by the said act further enacted: the equipping, furnishing, fitting out, or arming of any ship or vessel, with intent or in order that such ship or vessel shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince, State, or potentate, or of any foreign colony, province, or part of any province or people, or of any person or persons, exercising or assuming to exercise any powers of government in or over any foreign State, colony, province, or part of any province or people, as a transport or store ship, or with intent to cruise or commit hostilities against any prince, State, or potentate, or against the subjects or citizens of any prince, State, or potentate, or against the persons exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in any colony, province, or part of any prov ince or country, or against the inhabitants of any foreign colony, province, or part of any province or country, with whom His Majesty shall not then be at war; or shall, within the United Kingdom, or any of His Majesty's dominions, or in any settlement, colony, territory, island, or place belonging or subject to His Majesty, issue or deliver any cominission for any ship or vessel to the intent that such ship or vessel shall be employed as aforesaid, every such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall upon conviction thereof, upon any information or indictment, be punished by fine and imprisonment, or either of them, at the discretion of the Court in which such offender shall be convicted; and every such ship or vessel, with the tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all the materials, arms, ammunition and stores which may belong to or be on board of any such ship or vessel, shall be forfeited; and it shall be lawful for any officer of His Majesty's Customs or Excise, or any officer of His Majesty's navy, who is by law empowered to make seizures, for any for feiture incurred under any of the laws of Customs or Excise, or the laws of trade and navigation, to seize such ships and vessels aforesaid, and in such places and in such manner in which the officers of His Majesty's Customs or Excise and the officers of His Majesty's navy are empowered respectively to make seizures under the laws of Customs and Excise, or under the laws of trade and navigation; and that every ship and vessel, with the tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all the materials, arms, ammunition, and stores which may belong to or be on board of such ship or vessel, may be prosecuted and condemned in the like manner, and in such courts as ships or vessels may be prosecuted and condemned for any breach of the laws made for the protection of the revenues of Customs and Excise, or of the laws of trade and navigation." And it is in and by the said act further "That if any person, within any part of the United Kingdom or in any part of His Majesty's dominions beyond the seas, shall without the leave and license of His Majesty, for that pur-enacted: pose first had and obtained as aforesaid, equip, furnish, fit out, or arm, or attempt or endeavor to equip, furnish, fit out, or arm, or procure to be equipped, furnished, fitted out, or armed, or shall knowingly aid, assist, or be concerned in "That if any person in any part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or in any part of His Majesty's dominions beyond the seas, without leave and license of His Majesty, for that purpose first had and obtained as afore said, shall, by adding to the number of the guns contending parties; or by carrying officers, of such vessel, or by changing those on board soldiers, despatches, arms, military stores or for other guns, or by the addition of any equip- materials, or any article or articles considered ment for war, increase or augment, or procure and deemed to be contraband of war according to be increased or augmented, or shall be know-to the law of modern usage of nations, for the ingly concerned in increasing or augmenting use or service of either of the said contending the warlike force of any ship or vessel of war parties, all persons so offending will incur and or cruiser, or other armed vessel, which at the be liable to the several penalties and penal contime of her arrival in any part of the United sequences by the said statute, or by the law of Kingdom, or any of His Majesty's dominions, nations, in that behalf imposed or denounced. was a ship of war, cruiser, or armed vessel in the service of any foreign prince, State, or potentate, or of any person or persons exercising or assuming to exercise any powers of government in or over any colony, province, or part of any province or people belonging to the subjects of any such prince, State, or potentate, or to the inhabitants of any colony, province, or part of any province or country under the control of any person or persons so exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government, every such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon being convicted thereof, upon any information or indictment, be punished by fine and imprisonment, or either of them, at the discretion of the Court before which such offender shall be convicted." Now, in order that none of our subjects may unwarily render themselves liable to the penalties imposed by the said statute, we do hereby strictly command, that no person or persons whatsoever do commit any act, matter or thing whatsoever, contrary to the provisions of the said statute, upon pain of the several penalties by the said statute imposed, and of our high displeasure. And we do hereby further warn all our loving subjects, and all persons whatsoever entitled to our protection, that if any of them shall presume, in contempt of this Royal Proclamation, and of our high displeasure, to do any acts in derogation of their duty as subjects of a neutral sovereign, in the said contest, or in violation or contravention of the law of nations in that behalf-as, for example and more especially, by entering into the military service of either of the said contending parties as commissioned or non-commissioned officers or soldiers; or by serving as officers, sailors, or marines on board any ship or vessel of war or transport of or in the service of either of the said contending parties; or by serving as officers, sailors, or marines ⚫ on board any privateer bearing letters of marque of or from either of the said contending parties; or by engaging to go or going to any place beyond the seas with intent to enlist or engage in any such service, or by procuring or attempting to procure within Her Majesty's dominions, at home or abroad, others to do so; or by fit ting out, arming or equipping any ship or vessel to be employed as a ship-of-war, or privateer, or transport, by either of the said contending parties; or by breaking, or endeavoring to break, any blockade lawfully and actually established by or on behalf of either of the said And we do hereby declare that all our subjects and persons entitled to our protection who may misconduct themselves in the premises will do so at their peril and of their own wrong, and that they will in nowise obtain any protection from us against any liability or penal consequences, but will, on the contrary, incur our high displeasure by such misconduct. Given at our Court at the White Lodge, Richmond Park, this 13th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1861, and in the 24th year of our reign. GOD save the QUEEN. -London Gazette, May 14. DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. In the House of Lords, on the 16th ult., the Earl of Ellenborough said he wished to put a question to his noble friend the Lord President, on the subject of Her Majesty's recent procla mation. It seemed to him to be of essential importance that the proclamation which instructed Her Majesty's subjects how they were to conduct themselves with regard to the unfortunate war which now existed in America, should be so clear and unambiguous, that it should not be necessary for a man to consult his lawyer how it should be interpreted, or if he did consult his lawyer, that the lawyer should have the means of giving a clear answer, which as things now stood, he did not think he had. As to the law of England, the proclamation was clear enough, but it was different with regard to that part which treated of the law of nations. A great deal of doubt existed as to the meaning of the proclamation on that point. Her Majesty's subjects were "warned not to break or endeavor to break any blockade lawfully and actually established by either of the belligerent parties." Now, he wanted to know in what sense they were to understand the expression, lawfully and actually established. They were at present under an obligation to adhere to the Maritime law agreed to by the Plenipotentiaries at the Congress of Paris, which declared that, "in order to be binding, a blockade must be an effectual blockade" that was to say, that it should be maintained by a force sufficient to prevent access to the enemy's coasts. If these words were to be understood in their strict literal signification, a blockade was a thing almost physically impossible, because no nation in the world possessed a fleet large enough for this purpose. It must, therefore, be capable of receiving some explanation. Blockades were carried on by ships at sea, and by ships under |