Gross 1862. purchase of cotton which I had the honour to inclose in my despatch of the 3rd No. 630. instant, General Sherman, who commands at Memphis, had issued orders of an britannien, 8. August exactly contrary nature in the latter town. Upon reading these orders, as contained in the inclosed extract from the,,New York Tribune" of the 6th instant, I went to show them to Mr. Seward. He said they could only relate to the internal cotton trade, as the Federal Government had not yet succeeded in opening the Mississippi, owing to the resistance still met with at Vicksburg, but admitted that, if not impeded, some cotton might find its way to Buffalo and other places, and thence to Europe. He then took the extract from me with the intention of discussing the matter with Mr. Secretary Chase, to whom his advice would be to let cotton come out in whatever way it could. Such contradictory declarations as those of General Butler and General Sherman may well produce doubts on the minds of the Southern planters as to whether their cotton will be confiscated or not, when it is brought under the jurisdiction of the Federal authorities. I have, &c. To Earl Russell, London. W. Stuart. Extract from the,, New York Tribune" of August 6, 1862. General Sherman has issued the following orders to the Quartermaster's 1. To permit no money, gold, silver, or Treasury notes, to pass into the hands of Secessionists or Union men for cotton, corn or other produce. 2. To seize all cotton that may be purchased after this date, and consign the same North for sale, the proceeds to be held subject to the claim of the owners. 3. Any merchant or trader disbursing money for the above-named articles, after being informed of this Order, will be arrested and tried by the Military Commission for aiding the enemy. 4. Citizens may procure cotton if they get it by giving obligations to pay for it at the end of the war, or at the pleasure of the Government; or if they deposit the value of it with the Quartermaster, to be held in trust for the benefit of the owner. No. 631. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Min. d. Ausw. a. d. kön. Geschäftsträger in Washing. ton. Butlers Proclamation betr. Sir, Foreign Office, August 21, 1862. Gross britannien, Referring to your despatch of the 3rd instant, you will state to No. 631. Mr. Seward that Her Majesty's Government are glad to find that he approves of General Butler's Proclamation or Order with regard to the export of cotton. 21. August, 1862. Gross No. 631. The United States' Government cannot certainly be made responsible for any britannien, obstacles placed by the Confederates on the export of cotton from territory in 21. August 1862. their possession. ¶ I am, &c. To Mr. Stuart, Washington. Russell. No. 632. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Ausw. No. 632. Geschäftsträger in Washington a. d königl. Min. des - Verschiedene Verfügungen der Regierung der Verein. Staaten zur Verhütung der Auswanderung Militärpflichtiger betr. My Lord, Washington, August 12, (received August 24) 1862. In pursuance of the,,vigorous policy" which is now britannien, thought necessary for the successful prosecution of the war, orders, as herewith 12. August 1862. inclosed, were issued by the War Department on the 8th instant, forbidding citizens liable to be drafted into the militia to leave the United States for a foreign country, enjoining the arrest of any person liable to draft, who shall absent himself from his country or State before such draft is made, suspending the writ of habeas corpus in respect to all prisoners so arrested, or arrested for disloyal practices; and also enjoining the arrest of any person engaged by act, speech, or writing in discouraging enlistments, and the trial of such persons before a Military Commission. A notice is further given by the State Department that until the requisitions of the War Department on the several States for their quotas shall have been complied with, no passports will be issued for any male citizen of the United States liable to be drafted. On the same afternoon, and before the above orders can have become generally known, they were enforced with great severity, and hundreds of travellers were arrested, on the trains going to New York, at Baltimore, and I believe also at Philadelphia. Many of these were British subjects who intended to sail for Europe on the following day. Mr. Acting Consul Edwards will, no doubt, have reported to your Lordship the distressing scenes which occurred in New York on Saturday before the steamers for Europe were permitted to start. Upon his telegraphing to me the state of affairs there, I went to Mr. Seward to request that British subjects, and those who had taken their places before the orders were issued, might not be detained. He agreed to instruct the Provost Marshal not to detain alien passengers, but would make no further concession. I have not yet learnt Mr. Edwards in what manner his difficulties were eventually solved. Whatever may be the amount of private dismay and inconvenience occasioned by the above orders, they have been received by the Press with the usual approbation given to arbitrary acts during this war. The inclosed supplementary instruction, which is published this morning, modifies in some important respects the strict execution of the order in regard to internal travelling. I have, &c. To Earl Russell, London. W. Stuart. Anlage 1. War Department, Washington, August 8, 1862. Order to Prevent Evasion of Military Duty, and for Suppression of Disloyal Practices. 1862. 1. By direction of the President of the United States it is hereby No. 632 (1.) Vereinigte ordered that until further order no citizen liable to be drafted into the Militia Staaten, 8. August shall be allowed to go to a foreign country, and all Marshals, Deputy-Marshals, and military officers of the United States are directed, and all police authorities, especially at the ports of the United States on the seaboard and on the frontier, are requested to see that this order is faithfully carried into effect. And they are hereby authorized and directed to arrest and detain any person or persons about to depart from the United States in violation of this order, and report to Major L. C. Turner, Judge Advocate, at Washington City, for further instruction respecting the person or persons so arrested or detained. 2. Any person liable to draft, who shall absent himself from his Country or State before such draft is made, will be arrested by any Provost Marshal, or other United States' or State officer, wherever he may be found within the jurisdiction of the United States, and conveyed to the nearest military post or depôt, and placed on military duty for the term of the draft, and the expenses of his own arrest and conveyance to such post or depôt, and also the sum of five dollars, as a reward to the officer who shall make such arrest, shall be deducted from his pay. 3. The writ of habeas corpus is hereby suspended in respect to all prisoners so arrested and detained, and in respect to all persons arrested for disloyal practices. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. Anlage 2. War Department, Washington, August 8, 1862. Vereinigte 8. August 1862. Ordered, 1. That all United States' Marshals and Superintents and No. 632 (2.) Chiefs of Police of any town, city, or district, be and they are hereby authorized Staaten, and directed to arrest and imprison any person or persons who may be engaged, by act, speech, or writing, in discouraging volunteer enlistments, or in any way giving aid and comfort to the enemy, or in any other disloyal practice against the United States. 2. That immediate report be made to Major L. C. Turner, Judge Advocate, in order that such persons may be tried before a Military Commission. 3. The expenses of such arrest and imprisonment will be certified to the Chief Clerk of the War Department for settlement and payment. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. Anlage 3. Department of State, Washington, August 8, 1862. No. 632 (3.) Notice is hereby given that until the requisitions of the War DepartVereinigte Staaten, ment on the several States for quotas of their Militia shall have been complied 8. August 1862. with, no passports will be issued from this Department for any male citizen of the United States liable to be drafted into that branch of the service. William H. Seward. No. 632 (4.) Anlage 4. War Department, Washington, August 11, 1862. To Military Commandants, Provost Marshals, United States' Marshals, Staaten, and Police Officers. 11. August 1862. You will receive herewith an order of the War Department to prevent the evasion of military duty, and for the suppression of disloyal parties, dated the 8th of August, 1862. ¶ This order, to be efficient, is necessarily very comprehensive in its terms, and its proper execution requires the exercise of sound judgment and discretion in the officers to whom its enforcement is entrusted, and to guard you in its execution the following instructions are to be observed: 1. The order comprises two classes of persons, viz., those who are about leaving the United States to evade military duty, and those who for the same purpose leave their own State. Leaving the United States until the military draft is perfected is absolutely prohibited, but it was not the intention of the order to interfere with the transit from State to State of any persons but those who desire to evade military duty. Whenever you have reason to believe that the purpose is to evade military duty, the order will authorize the detention of any person leaving his own State, county, or military district. 2. Any person detained may be released on giving bonds to the United States, with sufficient security, in the sum of 1,000 dollars, conditional for the performance of military duty, if he should be drafted, or the providing a proper substitute. 3. Immediate report is to be made to the office of all persons detained, with the cause of their detention. 4. You will exercise the power of arrest and detention with continued forbearance, so as to avoid giving annoyance or trouble to any person excepting those who are seeking to evade the performance of their duty to their country. 5. The Governors of the respective States are authorized to give passes and permits to their own citizens desiring to leave the State without intent to evade military duty. By order of the Secretary of War. L. C. Turner, Judge Advocate. No. 633. GROSSBRITANNIEN. - Geschäftsträger in Washington a. d. kön. Min. d. Ausw. Der Beschluss der Regierung der Verein. Staaten, vorläufig keine Caperbriefe auszugeben. Washington, August 16, (received August 30) 1862. Gross 16. August 1862. (Extract.) I had an interview this morning with Mr. Seward, when, No. 633. as instructed by your Lordship in your despatch of the 2nd instant, I represented britannien, to him the danger of disputes which would probably ensue, should the United States' Government carry into effect the intention, which Mr. Adams had announced to your Lordship, of issuing letters of marque with a view of checking depredations on United States' commerce by cruizers of the so-styled Confederate States. Mr. Seward answered that in consequence of the late friendly act of Her Majesty's Government, or of the British authorities at Nassau, in seizing the steam-ship,,Oreto," and in the expectation that Her Majesty's Government would pursue the same course with regard to other vessels which were fitting out in British ports for a similar purpose, a recourse to letters of marque would not for the present be resorted to, although he could not assure me that such a measure might not hereafter be found necessary. ¶ He also alluded to the case of the other steamer *) which had lately escaped from Liverpool, and I explained to him that, in that case, as well as in that of the,,Oreto," Her Majesty's Government had done all which they legally could do, and that they would do the same in future, whenever proofs could be furnished that vessels were being equipped in British ports in violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act, or of the Queen's Proclamation of neutrality. After some conversation, on his side upon the difficulty of producing proofs in such cases, and on mine upon the impossibility of acting on mere suspicions, Mr. Seward gave me the assurance that the idea of letters of marque was at any rate suspended for the present; and he added that he hoped that the great additions which are being made to the United States' navy would soon be sufficiently completed to render the measure altogether unnecessary. To Earl Russell, London. No. 634. W. Stuart. GROSSBRITANNIEN. — Min. d. Ausw. a. d. kön. Geschäftsträgerin Washing- ton. Foreign Office, September 1, 1862. No. 634. Sir, order of which a copy is inclosed in your despatch of the 8th instant, issued by General Sherman from Memphis on the 30th ultimo. That order is in direct opposition to the declarations of General Butler, and cannot fail to discourage Her Majesty's Government have read with much regret the britannien, *) The,,Alabama.“ 1. Sept. 1862. |