mined upon the line of action which I am now about to report to your Chap. VIII. Lordship.

"Our attention was first directed to the suggestion contained in your Lordship's despatch that, as it would be inexpedient for us to go to Richmond, our negotiation might, probably, be advantageously conducted through Mr. Pickens, the Governor of South Carolina, with whom you naturally supposed that we were in frequent communication. But, notwithstanding our earnest desire to meet in every way the wishes of our chiefs, we were forced to the conclusion that it would be inexpedient to approach him, for several reasons, amongst which it may suffice to mention his absence from Charleston. He has been for some weeks past on

his plantation in the interior of the State.

"But we were so far fortunate as to secure the valuable services of an agent in the person of Mr. who is well known to your Lordship, and whose position seemed admirably to adapt him for the duties which he was so obliging as to undertake.

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Mr. left for Richmond on the 20th July. Arriving on the 22nd, he found that the President was with the army, whither Mr. followed him; but meeting him half-way between Richmond and Manassas, returned with him to the capital on the 23rd. On the next day Mr. had an interview with his Excellency, and communicated to him the mission with which he was charged. Mr. Davis expressed no unwillingness to entertain the matter, although he signified his regret that it should not have been more formally brought before him, as it seemed to him that if the Declaration which it was sought to obtain from the Government of the Confederate States was of sufficient importance to require the overture now made to him, it was of equal consequence that it should be made in a more regular manner.

"His Excellency, as we understand, at once summoned a meeting of the Cabinet, and the matter was placed in the hands of the Secretary of State, Mr. Hunter, who has been appointed in the place of Mr. Toombs. It was soon determined that Congress should be invited to issue a series of Resolutions, by which the second, third, and fourth Articles of the Declaration of the Treaty of Paris should be accepted by the Confederate States. These Resolutions were passed on the 13th instant, approved on the same day by the President, and I have the honour to inclose herewith to your Lordship the copy of them which has been sent to Mr. — by the Secretary of State, to be delivered to M. de Belligny and myself. "Your Lordship will observe that, by these Resolutions, the Confederate States accept the second, third, and fourth Articles of the Declaration of Paris, but by their Resolution declare, with reference to the first Article, that they maintain the right of privateering as it has been long established by the practice and recognized by the Law of Nations.' With respect to this Resolution, I beg to remark that the wishes of Her Majesty's Government would seem to have been fully met, for as no proposal was made that the Confederate Government should abolish privateering, it could not be expected that they would do so of

Chap. VIII. their own accord, particularly as it is the arm upon which they most rely for the injury of the extended commerce of their enemy. But the Secretary of State has placed in the hands of Mr. -, for communication to us, the inclosed copy of the instructions issued for the guidance of privateers, and appeals to them, as well as to the character of the Government, for a proof of their determination that the privateers shall conform themselves to the ordinary practices sanctioned by the Law of Nations. We think that we may rely on the assurances thus given, supported, as they are, by the language of the Resolution

!

"The fact is, that the President and the Government are a good deal annoyed at the refusal of France, England, and other nations to allow prizes to be condemned in their ports, which they consider as somewhat of a departure from a strict neutrality, and which they still hope may be reconsidered as the contest advances. They also confidently expect that the same anxiety for the mitigation of the evil consequences of the present war, which has rendered the accession of the Confederate States to the Declaration of Paris a matter of interest to France and England, will induce other nations to insist upon the rigorous fulfilment by the United States of the principle contained in the fourth Article, viz., the effectiveness of the blockade instituted by that Power.

"The negotiation having thus been brought to a close, the President expressed to Mr. his hope that the existence of those extended relations of commercial intercourse which had rendered the application now made to him by the Governments of France and England a necessity in the view of those nations, would materially contribute to hasten a formal recognition of the new Confederacy, which was disposed, on its part, to show its full appreciation of a cordial and friendly understanding between itself and the other nations of the earth, with which it was prepared to enter into association on terms of equality.

"It only remains for me to express my hope that the manner in which this negotiation has been conducted may meet with the approval of your Lordship and of Her Majesty's Government. In common with my French colleague, I am fully sensible of the obligations under which we are to Mr. who has carried out what, we conceived to be the

views of our respective Governments."

(Inclosure.)

"Resolution touching certain Points of Maritime Law, and defining the position of the Confederate States in respect thereto.

"Whereas the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey, in a Conference held at Paris on the 16th of April, 1856, made certain declarations concerning maritime law, to serve as uniform rules for their guidance in all cases arising out of the principles thus proclaimed;

"And whereas, it being desirable not only to attain certainty and

uniformity, as far as may be practicable, in maritime law, but also to Chap. VIII. maintain whatever is just and proper in the established usages of nations, the Confederate States of America deem it important to declare the principles by which they will be governed in their intercourse with the rest of mankind: Now, therefore, be it

"Resolved by the Congress of the Confederate States of America :— "1st. That we maintain the right of privateering, as it has been long established by the practice, and recognized by the Law, of Nations.

"2nd. That the neutral flag covers enemy's goods, with the exception of contraband of war.

“3rd. That neutral goods, with the exception of contraband of war, are not liable to capture under enemy's flag.

"4th. That blockades, in order to be binding, must be effectual; that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy.

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Signed by the President of Congress, on the 13th August, and approved same day by the President of the Confederate States of America."

This transaction gave so much offence to the Government of the United States as to lead to the revocation of Mr. Bunch's exequatur. Several charges were made against him; but they were ultimately reduced to the allegation that he had knowingly violated a law, made during the troubled period of the French Revolution, which "forbids any person, not specially appointed, or duly authorized or recognized, by the President, from counselling, advising, aiding, or assisting in any political correspondence with the Government of any foreign State, with an intent to influence the measures of any foreign Government, or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of their Government." The foreign Government which Mr. Bunch was accused of "advising or assisting in relation to disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of their Government," was that of Great Britain. Lord Russell pointed out that Mr. Bunch had, in reality,

1 Mr. Adams to Earl Russell, 21st November, 1861.

Chap. VIII. done nothing of the kind, and had offended neither against the letter nor against the spirit of the law; but he did not dispute the President's right to withdraw the exequatur, whether on sufficient or on insufficient grounds. Mr. Bunch continued to reside at Charleston.

CHAPTER IX.

Case of the Trent.-Seizure of the Confederate Commissioners by the Captain of the San Jacinto.-Instructions to Lord Lyons.— Expressions of Opinion by several European Powers.-Release of the Commissioners.-Observations.

THE controversies, such as they are, to which this war gave rise, turn for the most part on the application of familiar principles as to which British and American jurists had previously no difference of opinion. But an incident occurred in November 1861 which was to some extent new, became the subject of lively discussion, elicited expressions of opinion from several European Powers, and is not without value as a precedent. It created at the time some excitement in England; and left behind, I fear, some lingering sensations of annoyance and resentment in America.

The three persons whom the Confederate Government had appointed in March to proceed as its agents to Europe, had failed both in London and in Paris to obtain any official recognition for their Government or themselves. Lord Russell had received them on the footing of private gentlemen and listened to what they had to say, but had avoided correspondence, and remained immovable in his refusal to enter into any official communication. At the French Court they had been equally unsuccessful. Disappointed, but not disconcerted, at this failure, Mr. Davis determined to try the effect of a second and more formal mission. Mr. James Mason, a Virginian of historic name and great personal mark, who had been Chairman of the