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Les diagrammes suivants iSiustrant la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 .^^ ■^^^•■■''f'* "'"' LETTER TO THE RIGHT HONOUABLE WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE, M.P., BY THE HOlN. JOSEPH HOWJbi, BBINQ A REVIEW OF THE DEBATE ON THE FOREIGN ENLISTMENT BILL, AND t^ ; OUR RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES. LONDON: JAMES RIDGWAY, PICCADILLY. 1856. %•• A L E T T E R, ETC. ETC. Silt, I HAVE read with some care the debate on the Foreign Enlistment Question, which occurred in tho House of Commons on tlie motion of G. H. Moore, on the 1st of July last. Those who have read the speeches delivered by members of Opposi- tion on that occasion will not question my right to review them, — whoever has read yours will not be surprised at my addressing* this letter to you. Presumino- on the advantag-e wdiich fine talents and elevated station confer, you ventured in that speech to take unwarrantable liberties with a stran- o-er's name and reputation : to speak, in his absence, of a British American g-entleman, Avhose only offence was obedience to his Sovereig'n and zeal for the honour of his country, in terms of sarcasm and reproach which, I slu 11 presently shew, were unde- served from any Eng-lishman, and least of all from the Hon. Member for Oxford. The Crown Officers of Eng-land having" pro- nounced my acts, so far as they have been (piestioned , in connection with those of other lUitisii hiacUon- 4 arics, h'O'ul niicl jiistifia))lo ; Iler Majosty's Ministers linviii<>' tal\('ti (lie responsibility of those acts ; and rarlianient; by a decisive majority of 198, having* sustained thein, I do not consider that I am under any oblin-ation to defend myself. But it may he of advantage to the (^Hicen's service to inquire how far J\Ir. Gladstone was justified in arraig-ning* the con- duct of otlieers employed by the Government of which he had been a meni))er, even if, in carrying" out his })olicy, they had committed errors in judg- ment : liow far he was justified as a man of honour, in turniug- evidence ag'ainst his late colleag'ues, and denouncing* the inevitable results of a policy which he himself advised. It may be also of some conse- quence to shew to Members of Parliament, disposed at times to presume too mucli upon their privilegfe, and the subtlety of their dialectics, that there is a public opinion beyond the walls, and that Colonial gentlemen are not without tlie spirit necessary for self-defence, and even retahation. The war with Russia was declared by the Govern- ment of Lord Aberdeen, under whom you held the ottice of Chancellor of the Exchequer. That you uere responsible for all the disasters and misery which made Eng'lishmen in every part of the Em- j)ire hang* their heads with shame, during* the first year of that war, j'ou will not venture to deny. Parliament must have considered that j'ou and your immediate friends were peculiarly responsible, be- cause they drove you from office, and entrusted to 5 st share the blame. The Lieutenant-Governor of jXova Scotia, v\hose conduct you have denounced, had for weeks no other authority for his proc(,'eding'S. Mr. Wilkins, who issued the handbill which you ventured to criticise, had no other. Mr. Howe did everything of which you complain in virtue of a mission that originated in that despatch. Had we all, with the best intentions, erred in judgment or done our work unskilfully, is there a man in Eng'land who will not concede our rig"ht to a fair construc- tion and g-enerous defence, at the hands of Mr. Gladstone ? Is there a gentleman in the British empire who will permit a retiring Minister to escajie I I ,'i i 1 I from the responsibility of the policy he advised — the uinchinery he constructed — the fig'ents he employed ? Had I " recruited," " enlisted," or " hired and re- tained" President Pierce himself, Mr. Gladstone could not have escaped from his share of the res])on- sibilitv of that act. If he could, ^vhat Colonial gentleman would ever volunteer to serve his Sove- reign, or regard a despatch from a British Minister as anything" but a trap for the unwary ? When shewn Mr. Herbert's despatch, and asked to con- ceive and carry out the policy it embodied, who that knows me will believe that I would have moved a Ijand in the business, had I not known that every member of that Administration was bound to support and defend me — had I supposed for an instant that the very Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Govern- ment I was about to serve, could at any time, for personal or party purposes, or even for the mere dis- play of intellectual adroitness, pervert all log-ic, and become my critic and accuser? The rules of our service, fortunately for myself, I did not misconceive. The g-enerous construction anticipated from the Government and from Parliament has been accorded. Mr. Gladstone has thought })roper to form the excep- tion to the rule, but, I think, in view of the facts which I have stated, he will be somewhat puzzled to justify his conduct before any assemblage of British gentlemen in any part of the empire. But, it may be said, that though Mr. Gladstone voted for the Foreio'ii Enlistment Bill he miglit not 8 Imvvo known whern tlio Uncruits were to conic from : timt tlioug'h he was a Member of the Cabinet when Sir (in8j)nr(l Ia' l\Tarehant was instructed to open a Depot at Iliilifax, to conimnnicate with Mr. CramptiMi, and to carry out the j)rovisi<)n8 of that act, he had not the nliglitest conception that the Foreiii'n Lei»ion to be raised were to come from tlie United States. Should sucli an excuse be oll'ered, let me ask the fond admirer (and I admit that he has many) of the Mend)er for Oxford, who seeks to throw around him tlie sliiehl of his ino'enuity, to answer these questions : Was the Forei<:;"n Enlist- ment IJill a measure of such mere routine that it "wouhl be likely to pass throun-h the Cabinet unob- served by the acute Chancellor of the rLxchcfpier/ Was it not rather a Bill of some novelty in these modern times— of gTcat importance —hkely to be questioned and canvassed at every stag'e of its pas- sagfe throug'h the House of Commons, where Mr. Gladstone sat ? Was it not precisely the measure that should have been sifted in ever}- clause, and Aveig'hed in all its bearings by every gentleman re- quired to advocate and defend it ? If the measure itself, then, was one demanding from ev(»ry Cabhiet Mhiister, the sharpest scrutiny, let me ask, w hether, of all men who sat in that (Jabinet, Mr. Cladstone was not the least likely to let such a measure pass without thoroughly comprehending- the policy on which it was framed, and the modes by which it w as to be made effective ? That the whole subject i i -7 wn8 rpspii('ti — tliiit the ('()Mntri<'S from wliicli forci;^'!! troops wj'ru to come — tli(» mcdiods to he emj>loy<'(l- th'.* oh'stii- clos to h(3 riicoiiiitcrcd, iiiid the d('<;'ro(' of hiicccss to ho uiiti('i)>!it<'d - tunned the stiijilo of JOvociitive (h^- lilxM'ution prior to tho ndo[)tioii, mid (hiring* tho passn;^"(»j of that niciisiire thi'ou«;li tin; two Houses of l*iirli:ini(Mi(, 1 am sure that you, Sir, will not att'ues of the dano-ers ? Did you cpiote the jVeu- trality Laws? Did you ol)ject, remonstrate, or resi{^'n ? You did neither. Yon sanction^nl that despatch, and permitted <»'entlemen with feelino-s as elevated, and hands as clean, as are those of Mr. Gladstone, to be implicated in his policy, and com- promised by his instructions. Let me contrast our relative positions up to this moment. You were responsible for the war— for tin; disasters which decimated our army, and ren- dered the Forei'loriou9 privilojife of g'ottiiio- to our depots, nnd sliariii<>' in the luxuries of the Crimea astliey were presented to tlie iniao-ination in 1855. The Representative of a g'reat Univer- sity should square his conduct by invincible log'ic Let rne hang- these propositions, which I am pre- pared to maintain before all the world, upon your Colleg'e g-ates : That if Mr. Gladstone's law be sound, in respect to the payment of passag'e money, his Foreign En- listment Bill and the instructions sent by Lord Aber- deen's Government to British America, were mere waste paper -, because every British recruit, having" but five miles to travel, has his expenses paid and g-ets his beer into the barg-ain. That, whether sound or not, his exposition of Law should have been sent with his instructions, and not reserved till the officers emjdoyed had acted on the only construction which aftbrded a chance of success for his polic}'. Assuming- your arg-ument to be sound, these are the inevitable conclusions to which it leads. But, being- bound to construe doubtful laws hi favour of my own Government, I did not hesitate to act by anticipation on Judg-e Kane's excellent interpreta- tion of the law. I could verv easily have covered the offence, if offence it was, by bring-ing- the matter w-ithin the requirements of your refined distinction — taking* care that passag-es were paid oidy by mer- chants and well disposed British subjects, or by 10 Aiiicrican citizens, unconnected with our Goverh- nieiit. Lut of what use are such subtle distinctions ? We had a rig-lit to pay the passag'es, or we had not. If we had, there was no harm done. If we had not, your law, and your Foreign Enlistment policy were mere deception. I acted upon my own construction, and was prepared to test the question in the United States Courts. My clerk, who was arrested, did test it, and was honourably acquitted ; Judg'e Kane'o opinion, which covered every act of mine up to that period, having- been elicited on the trial. But you refer to the curious fact that Judge Kane g-ave two opinions. Strange to say, he did. But surely Mr. Crampton, Sir Gaspard LeMarchant, and everybody else, were justified in acting throug-h- out the summer upon the only judicial decision upon this vital point of policy to which publicity had been g'iven. How were those officers to blame if Judge Kane qualified or reversed, in September, the judg- ment which he gave in May ? Unless you can prove, which I defy any man to do, that, after the delivery of that judgment in September, a single passage was paid, or any act done in a spirit of hos- tility to the American Government or its laws. But you complain that the Government of the United States was not informed of all the proceed- ings of British agents in that country. Mr. Crampton has given a general answer to this objec- tion, satisfactory to her ^Majesty's Government. I have no answer to give, but I have a question to 17 ask, which it Ixjhoves Mr. Ghidstone to answer. Why did Mr. Herhert's despatch, sent out hy Lord Aberdeen's Government, of which you were a member, and which was the foundation and warrant for all our proceeding's, contain no injunction to candour and explicitness towards the American authorities ? If that despatch was marked " Confi- dential" who is to blame that it was not published — communicated or exposed ? Was Sir Gaspard Le Marchant or Mr. Crampton instructed, in that despatch, to communicate with Mr. Marcy or Pre- sident Pierce ? Read it and satisfy . yourself, and then vainly endeavour to satisfy our fellow country- men of your rig'ht to complain that officers, re- strained by your instructions in 1855, are amenable to censure in 1 850, for maintaining- the reserve which, by your own act, you enjoined. You acknowledg-e that you are responsible for opening" the Depot in Halifax, but complain that any ag'ency was employed in the United States. But my argument is, that, without such ag'ency — with- out the co-operation of Mr. Crampton A\ith Sir Gaspard Le Marchant — your Foreig'u Enlistment Bill, upon this continent, was mere waste paper; and I fearlessly appeal to the documents communi- cated with Mr. Herbert's despatch, to prove that more was contemplated ; and that you, at least in the same deg'ree as the ministers and officers you have as- sailed, are directly responsible for the consequences of all the proceedhig's inspired by that despatch. B 18 You assume that the American Goverrment Tvei'o '' deceived" ai)d " deluded," because wliile Mr. Crampton frankly connnunicated what he was doing-, hi disavowed what he was not. What we were all endeavouring" to do was to carry out the policy and instructions of Lord Al)erdeen's Government in sub- ordination to the laws of the United States. If you thought that this was impracticable, why did you pass your Bill— forward your instructions — or send anybody on such a fool's errand ? But it is plain that 3^ou did not think so. You took credit for the Bill as a Member of the Government, and now wish to take credit for the failure of your own experiment, as a Member of Opposition ! How was the policy, deliberately adopted by your Government, to be tested, but by actual experiment? We applied this test, and g^ave it a fair trial. If it failed, you, who originated an impracticable scheme, are to blame — not we, who did our best to make it effective. If Mr. Crampton " sailed as near the wind as he could," it was because Mr. Gladstone embarked him in a boat with so little ballast ; " piloting" him off," like Tom Moore's Cupid, and " then bidding* him o'ood-bve :" there beiii"- this slight distinction be- tween Love and Mr. Gladstone, that the former never tried to scuttle the boat when it had g'ot upon a lee shore. You alHrm that the ^^ American Courts and Go- vernment" should be held as qualified to interpret their own laws, but lose sight of the fact that they i 10 (lifferetl as to the inter|)i'etatioii throno-hout the en- tire period, when it can be shewn that a dollar was paid for anybody's passag-e by Mr. Crampcon. Throug'hout tl)e aprino* of IS-)-), tliere wa^^ a doubt upon tliis point. I acted upon that doubt, and raised tlie question. In May, the point was decided by Judge Kane in our favour, and I defy anybody to for 'ove that Mr. Crampton paid money account of the recruiting* service till after that de- cision was piddished, or subsequent to its reversal. He took the law, then, from " the Courts" — acting* upon their decision, whether for or ag*ainst his policy. The Government, it is true, adhered to a dift'erent interpretation, but surely Mr. Gladstone would not set much value upon a leg-al opinion given by a Cabinet Minister, in opposition to one delivered by a Judg-e in Westminster Hall. Nor would he venture to reproach an English g-entleman who had acted upon a Judicial decision, subsequently qualified or reversed. But perhaps you are not aware that American law3'ers still contest the validit}^ of Judg'e Kane's last opinion, as restrictive of the rig'hts of American citizens — hostile to the privileg*e of loco- motion, and to the genius of American Institutions. Let me invite your attention to what has been said upon this point, recently, b}' an American jurist : — I quote from " Remarks on the English Enlist- ment Question, by R. W. Russell," Barrister, of New York : — " The neutrality laws, as they will be henceforth B 2 iinddrstood mid noted ii])on, espncinlly in reforenoo to Central Aniorican siHliira, merely forbid enlist- ments and liirin<^\s in the United States. Anybody may open an intelli<^-ence ofiiee— may pay the pas- sage ot"emi|4Tants may issue handbills, publish ad- vertisements, and make speeches in favour of emi- gratioUj for the purpose of enlisting' in foreio-n service. As observcnl by ^Ir. Marcy, in his recent correspondence on Nicarag-uan affairs, any number of j)ersons may g"o out of the United States to be- come soldiers in a foreig-n country, provided that there be no organized expedition from hence. "If this Government had not sympathized with Russia, there would have been no interference with the attempt to obtain volunteers for the British army, and that attempt would have been eminently successful. " With all due submission, it appears plain to my mind, tluit individuals in this country have a perfect right to render material aid and assistance to any nation at war with another, or to any people strug*- g-ling- for independence. Not only may articles be ])ublished in the newsjmpers, calculated to persuade or induce those who sympathise with one of the bel- ligerents to g'o to his assistance, but subscriptions may be collected to defray their expenses ; articles contraband of war may, at the risk of the individuals, be sent ; loans may be negociated, and everything- short of the acts which the laws of Cong'ress now prohibit within the jurisdiction of the United States, n niio- IllOW tites, may be done without fiflbrding' any just cause of complaint to a fbreig'ii nation. " I do not believe that the franiers of the Act of'Con- g'ress ever intended to prevent any nu«n, or nund)er of nien, from fnrnishing- money or other assistance to parties de.sirous of going" abroad to join in military ex[)editions, providf^d they are not carried on from the territory or jurisdiction of the United States. The ])arties supplying' the funds may reasonably expect that those who received the money or other assist- ance will carry out their expressed intentions ; but thei'e is no violation of the law if it be left entirely to them to determine whether afterwards they will g'o or not. Hut, however this may be, it is quite clear the admission of the British Government as to the instructions g'iven as above to its ag'ents does not warrant the l^resident's conclusion, it being* evi- dent that the true intention of Cong-ress wns merely to prevent ' recruiting" within the United States/ and that there iras no (Ics'ujti or intention to prohibit citizens or residents from (joing abroad for the ])ur- pose of enlisting in any foreig'u service, and conse- quently no intention to make criminal the act of assisting them in the exercise of their undoubted rig'ht to leave this country for that purpose. "But the undeniable fact is, that any American citizen or resident of the United States has a rijj' ht to g"o abroad, and enlist himself as a soldier in a foreig'u service. And it is an irresistible conclusion, that it is allowable to present to the public the rea- fiOTis wliirh may be calculated to influence them in inakin{^' u]) tlieir minds on the question whether th<'y will assist either of the bidlij^'erents. This is an im- portant right w Inch the citizens of a republic should not relinquish or allow to be impainMl. ^' It may be asserted, without fenr of contradic- tion, that so far from the spirit of the act bc'iiuj as 7'('prescnted by 3fr. Cvshing, not half a dozen votes could have been obtohwd in Congress in the year 1704 or the year 1818, or at any time since, in su])port of a bill couched in that spirit." You refer to my lett<>r to Mr. Smolenski. Jlut "wliat are the facts of this case? Mr. Smolenski had g'one to Halifax of his own accord, to oiler his sword and his services to the British (Jovernment. 1 ne\(;r saw or heard of liim till he called on me, at theTre- mont House, as I was returning- Ijome through Boston. He re])resented to me that there were in the United States a larg-e body of Polish oflicers and men, anxious to join the allied armies and iig-ht ag'ainst the enemies of their beloved country — that he possessed their confidence — that they would follow him voluntarily, without any breach of law, or offence to the authorities of the United States, to Nova Scotia, if assured that, when there, they would be embodied into a Polish regiment, under ofHcerg enjoying* their confidence, and speaking* their lan- g*uag*e. I g-ave him this assurance in writing-, taking- care to stipulate that the regiment should be " raised in Halifax." AVhere the men were to come from I 23 inn HI • th«!y 11 iin- hould rudic- ng as votes \ year ice, in But ki hud swoi'd [ np\(!r le Tre- i rough •ore in oflicers d iioht —that follow iw, or iteSj to would officers ir lan- takiiig* raised from I I 1 neither knew nor cured. On my return -liomo, hav- i"*^ reason to apprehend that an iinpr<)p<'r use mig'ht be made of this l(;tt(!r, it was formallv eane<'ll«'d and w ith(h"a\Mi. 'JMiat an improjxM* use was miulo of it 1 have little (hiubt, tlu^ three imi»ortant words wliich ^•uanh.d it from any j)retext for enlisting* men on American soil, having*, as I afterwards learned from a Boston paper, heen erased. JNfr. Smolenski may have " persuaded " men to come to Halifax, but he certainly represented to me that they would come without persuasion : and, in g'iving' him an assurance of tlie honourable treatment that they might exj)ect there, if they did, I certainly never dreamed that I was violating* any law, human or divine. But even if I had any doubts, with your 1* oreig*n Enlistment Bill, and Mr. Sidney Herbert's Despatch on one side of mc, and Mr. Smolenski's mag*nificent pro- mises on the other, you must admit, even il' I erred, that you are g*reatly to bhmie, and that the tempta- tion to serve my country could hardly be resisted by any body thinking* less of himself than of the exi- g'encies of the public service. "Sli|)pery" I may be, but I am above the meanness of doing* what I am ashamed of, or disavowing* what I did. You express your regret that " a cordial under- standing* with America lias not been preserved " bv the Government of Lord Palmerstoii. But will you have the g-oodness to inform us how this g*ood un- derstanding* is to be preserved, and how an achiev - ment is to be accomplished, \\\\\d\ certainly has 24 baffled the skill and ingenuity of almost every Ad- ministration that I can remember, including* that very remarkable one, of which jou were the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer— I mean of course the Go- vernment of Lord Aberdeen. This " good understanding with the United States," is a favourite hallucination in the mother country. A sort of dissolving view of peace and concord, out of which bullying and bad language ever come, and through the primrose paths of which, rifles and bowie knives are poked at us whenever we feel most assured of harmony and affection. I regret this state of feeling, but the fact will not be denied, because the people of the United States are trained S3^stematica% to hate and to despise the English. In 1850, I had occasion to address a letter to Earl Grey, the object of which was, to call the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the T*e- sources and requirements of the ]North American provinces, and to inculcate the sound policy of Great Britain strengthening herself by all legitimate means, on that side of the boundary where she was most beloved. Let me call your attention to a single extract from that letter : " I am aware, my Lord, that it is the fashion in certain quarters to speak of the fraternal feeHngs which, henceforward, are to mutuallj^ animate the populations of Great Britain and the United States. I wish I could credit the reality of their existence ; but I must believe the evidence of my own senses. I 'I 25 it :*5 " A few years ag-o, I spent the 4tli of July at Albany. The ceremonies of the da}^ were imposing*. In one of the larg-est public halls of tiie city, an immense body of persons were assembled. Eng-lish, Irish, and Scotch persons wei'e neither few nor far between. In the presence of that breathless audience, the old bill of indictment against England, the Declaration of Independence, was read, and, at every clause, each young* American knit his brows, and every Baton hung- his head with shame. Then followed the oration of the day, in which every nation, eminent for arts, or arms, or civilization, received its meed of praise, but England. She was held up as the universal oppressor and scourg-e of the whole earth, whose passag*e down the stream of tiniF was marked b^^ blood and usurpation, whose certain wreck, amidst the troubled waves, was but the inevitable retribution attendant on a course so ruthless. As the orator closed, the young* Ameri- cans knit their brows again ; and the recent emi- g-rants, I fear, carried away by the spirit of the scene, cast aside their allegiance to the land of their fathers, " Had this scene, my Lord, occurred in a sing-le town, it would have made but a slig-ht impression ; but on that very day it was acted, with more or less of skill or exag-g-eration, in every town and villag-e of the Repub'iC. It has been repeated on ever3^4th of July since. It will be repeated every j^ear to the end of time. And so long- as that ceremony 26 turns upon Eng'land, every twelve months, the con- centrated hatred of Repubhcan America, it cannot be a question of indifference whether the emig-rants who desire to leave the mother countr}' should settle withhi or beyond the boundaries of the Empire." When this letter was published, a good many well-meaning" people reg'arded my views of the state of feeling" in Republican America, Avith about as much indifference as they used to reg-ard the speeches of the Duke of Welling'ton, when, a few years ag"o, his Grace endeavoured to make Eng-land understand that she was unprepared for a g*reat war. A g-reat deal of nonsense was talked and written between 1850 and 1855, about mother and daug'hter's reci- procal feeling"s of attachment and respect. We used to hear Manchester rhetoricians winding" up very windy orations upon the subject of universal peace, with the assurance that if the despots of Europe would not be quiet, if they would not take note of Peace Conferences, and beat their swords into ploughshares, then Eng-land and America, the two most free, enlig-htened, and friendly nations on the face of the earth, would combine their fleets and armies, and g-o into the last " holy war," in defence of freedom and civilization ! Down to the very moment when, in 18«55, the real state of feeling* in the United States became too painfully apparent to be long"er questioned or disguised, this vision of fraternal love flitted before your eyes in the mother country. If I have read the correspondence accurately, there is evidence to shew that Mr. Buclianan favoured this delusion and led Lord Clarendon to believe that, in the event of Russia breaking- the peace, Eng-land mig'ht count on the sympathy of the United States. If he did, the sin of an^^ deception practised ag-ainst his Government thereafter should sit lig'htly upon the conscience of any Eng-lishman. There are not five well-informed men in Republican America who did not know at that moment that the sympathy was all the other way. There is not one sag-acioua observer of the United States, and of the peculiar elements of their social and political org-anization, who is not well assured that England can never count upon their friendship, or upon the free play of natural instincts and sympathies, that (however amiable it may be to attribute) have been trampled out by two wars, or weeded out by a long* course of cultivation. If we were to believe in Mr. Gladstone, we should believe that all the bad feeling", unseemly bullying", and official discourtesy which have been recently exhibited in the United States, are to be attributed to Lord Clarendon and Mr. Crampton. But what was the state of feeling- in the United States long- before any attempt was made to draw volunteers from that country. What was it, in J 812, vn hen Republican America fell upon the flank of England, while her fleets and armies were engaged in the great struggle with Bonaparte ? '28 What was it in 1838, when Governor Fairfield's mihtia hovered upon our frontiers because Great Britain hesitated to yield to years of diplomatic menace, and newspaper bluster, that valuable ter- ritor}" which split the Provinces of Canada and New Brunswick nearly in two ? What Avas it from 1837 to 184<0, when swarms of sympathising'fillibusteros, with arms and ammunition, * and even cannon, taken from the public arsenals of the United States, invaded the frontiers of Canada, and slew, within our borders, more men than we ever drew out of the Republic under your Foreio-n Enlistment Bill? Where were the Neutrality Laws, the District Attornies, the Marshals, in those days ? Powerless, because the sympathies of the country were against Eng-land. Unrestrained by laws, human, or divine, armed ruffians marched out of the United States in military array to shed our blood and violate our soil, as Walker and his armed bands have marched into Nicarng-ua, while you have been debating* about your rig'ht to publish a hand- bill, or to open a depot upon your own soil. What was it, when your first movement of re- sistance to Russian ag-g-ression in 1854, was met by Soule's blustering- at Paris and Madrid, and by Bu- chanan's famous Cong-ress at Ostend ? Sir, if you search the Diplomatic records, you will find that every American Administration, for thirt}- years, has had its theme for jarring* disputa- tion with Eng'land, and that the formula has been 29 ever the some. No Stutosmnn prospers in the United Stntes who is even suspected of sincere at- tachment to the mother country. No opportunity has ever heen lost of taking* her at disadvantage. The United States joined the French in 1812, be- cause thev were at war with England ; in heart and soul, if not with arms, they joined the Russians in 1854 and 1855, for the same reason, before a sing-le recruit was drawn across their border. It is true that, Avhile the long'-cherished desire to secure the North American fisheries was ungratified, pretty speeches were made by Republican Diploma- tists, and assurances of cordial sympathy were g-iven. But, no sooner was the Elgin treaty sig'ned, than, as if to assure Russia and her European aUies that their transatlantic friends mig-ht still be relied on, the Cyane was despatched to Central America, and Grey Town was burnt to the ground. These curious ma- nifestations of fine feeling' occurred in Lord Aber- deen's time, when Mr. Gladstone was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a very long- time before any of the g-entlemen at whose door you would la}'- the bad feeling' which notoriously exists, had g'iven the slig'htest pretext for that assumption. If anything" were wanted to g'ive point to my argu- ment — to illustrate the true state of feeling in the United States — to shew how systematically public men seek for grounds of irritation and strife with England, the conduct of the person in the yellow waistcoat and black stock, who carried rudeness and 30 meniice to the foot of the Throne, at the very moment that o-reat concessions, in a spirit of peace, were beinjy made by the Government and Parliament of Eng*- land— would be sufficient. That person will never want a professorship while he lives ; the buff waist- coat will be transmitted as a sacred relic to his pos- terity ; and I should not be very much surprised to see him elevated to the Presidential Chair ! If I have accurately g'uag"ed the real state of feel- ing* in the United States, it is the clear duty of British statesmen so to organize and wield the mighty resources of this great empire as to be ever independent of their friendship, and prepared for their hostility. Depend upon it there is little to be gained by truckling to menace, by sacrificing friends to foes — by lending* to the eneni}^, on all occasions, the resources of political opposition — by disgusting* those upon whose friendship England may rely, that those who systematically oppose her interests and disparage her good name, may triumph in argument or war. The course which her Majesty^s Govern- ment took, on the late trying occasior., contrasts most favourably with that of the opposition. Amidst the difficulties in which they were involved in carry- ing out the Foreig'n Enlistment Bill, bequeathed to to Lord Palmerston by Lord Aberdeen, it was con- servative and yet dignified in the highest degree. No British subject could complain of it. Our cri- lah . 1 law requires that a man must back to the wall, aii * '^earmuch menace and contumely before human 31 blood be shed. If this be the rule, where but a siiiole human life is at stake, how much more where hundreds of thousands of lives, and millions of pro- perty, may be sacrificed, is a wise statesman or a Christian g-entleman bound to bear and forbear — to exhaust every pacific resource — to reason down every pug-nacious impulse, that the peace between g"reat nations may be preserved. This has been done, and I rejoice at it. If peace could only have been preserved by the sacrifice of every g-entleman engag'ed in the Foreig'n Enlistment business, I should still have rejoiced. The Civil service of the Crown has its dangers as well as its distinctions. If we had died in the effort to send aid to our countrymen in the Crimea, there would have been but four or five Englishmen the less, and surely we should not complain if a g'reat peace were purchased at a sacri- fice so inconsiderable in comparison to the casualties of a g'reat war. But nobody has been, and nobody will be sacrificed. Every day's discussion will but elevate the character of the ofKcers so rudely dis- missed by the Government of the United States in every British community. Sooner or later the Go- vernment of their country will do them ample justice* For myself, you may judg-e, from the tone of this letter, hov^ little I apprehend from the action of public opinion, even when to some extent forestalled by the perverse ing-enuity of Mr. Gladstone. Looking" to the future, however, I am not by any means prepared to relinquish the right and the S2 policy to open depots for enlistinciit at all conve- nient points alono' the North American frontier, and to use all le<>'itiniate means, during" or pre})aratory to any future war, thereby to recruit our armies- What I would much prefer is a comprehensive and g'eneral measure, based upon the oblig'ation of every British subject to defend the Empire and recruit its armies during* war. But, if the present system is to continue, we should g'ather wisdom from our recent experience as to the modus operandi^ but should be- ware how we yield our right to recruit upon our frontiers, for these among* other reasons : — The settled population of the United States— the Farmers and Artizans — those who have anything* to live on or to enjoy, are no more fond of g'oing* abroad to fight than are the same class in the mo- ther country, or anywhere else. The Bounty Lands, which the Government offers, in addition to its mone}' Bounty, tempt a g*ood many of these to volunteer. If a man can win a farm of IGO acres in a short fora}', or b}' a campaig-n or two, he will embark in war as he would in any other speculation. But the staple of the United States armies and Filibustering* expeditions, is drawn from a dif- ferent source. On an averag'e, a quarter of a mil- lion of emig'rants flow into that country from Europe every year. A fair proportion of these become at once fastened upon the soil or are employed in the workshops, and are thenceforward as immovable as the resident population. A g'reat man}-, however, ) 3;3 do not g'et employment so soon ns tliey c.vpected, or as is generally believed. These float about from city to city, the number being- swelled by emigration ns ra])idly as it is decreased by the demands upon this mass of surplus labour. There is another larg-e class of emig-rants who have seen service in foreiii'n countries — who have been soldiers by profession, and who prefer that of arms to any other. These people have no peculiar attachment to the United States, or any disinclination to serve any other Government. Out of these two classes, the armies and marauding- expeditions of the United States are largely recruited. The}^ drew from these two classes (I state the fact on the authority of an officer who served with them) more than half of the troops that conquered Mexico. The}', no doubt, drew larg-ely upon the same classes in the last war on the Cana- dian frontier. General Sutherland and the filibus- teros who occupied Navy Island, counted upon the same resource when they Hung- their impudent pro- clamations (rather more formidable than the Provin- cial Secretary's Handbill) broadcast over America. Now, if a war were to take place between England and the United States to-morrow, we should have to fig'ht a larg-e portion of these two floating- and unattached classes, if we were so simple as to yield our rig-ht to open our frontier depots and attract them to our standard. The British statesman who does this will be untrue to the interests of Eng'land. It will cost us a great deal more to kill these people c. 34 thnii to recruit them. Those of them who nre not lor lis will he aj^'uiiist us. Every man we g'et will count two, hecause he will neutralize another who remains hehind. Let us he careful, then, while we are adjustiiio- points of neutrality, or pohits of war, with ])eople from whose friendship we have nothing- to expect, not to surrender rights which we clearly possess, or oiu* power to circumscribe or counter- check the means of mischief which we know from experience will be unscrupulously employed. I pass over the speech of Mr. Milner Gibson, be- cause it contained nothing* personally offensive, and because that gentleman, and others who conscien- tiously opposed the War and the Foreign Enlistment Bill, were responsible for no part of the polic}"" they condemned, and were entitled, on such a question as that under discussion, to the independent expression of their opinions. Mr. Moore's oration amused me a good deal. There is a blatant and noisy knot of politicians in Ireland, who are ever ready to patronize and de- fend England's enemies — who are never so happy as when she is snubbed — who only speak upon foreign policy to prove that Great Britain has received or g-iven an insult. I will not assert that Mr. Moore belong's to this school, for I am not familiar with his antecedents, but his speech would be quite intel- ligible if he did. When he tells us that the people of the United h^tates are " governed by the same institutions, swayed by the same motives, and in- 35 8})ire(l by the sftine ^Tout inHtinrts us oursnlves," I confess my inability to nndei'stund biin. It' our in- stitutions are the stinie I cannot discover tlie difler- ence between an Orang-e Lodg-e and a White Boy Association. If we are swayed by tlio " same mo- tives," it is very strang-e that we rarely agree about anything- of im])ortance, particularly if an advan- tag'e is to be g'ained by a dift'erence of opinion. Our " gToat instincts" lead us to obey a Sovereign whom we love, theirs to denounce our social and political idolatry. Our '^ g-reat instincts" lead us to abolish slavery, theirs oblig'e them to maintain it even at the cost of freedom of speech — the liberty of teaching* — of female purity — and of ci\il war. Our " g-reat instincts" promi)ted us to oppose Bonaparte in 1812, and Nicholas in 1854, because, on both occasions, we apprehended dang'er to freedom and civilization. Theirs insti'ucted them to sympathize with the t\\o Despots, not from any love thoy bore to either, but because both were bent on trampling' out our " in- stincts" and destroying" the British Empire. Mr. Moore's brig'ht vision of England fulHUing' her '^ destiny," to be " loved and honoured by that g-reat community of nations," I sincerely trust may be realized ; but, I should be much more hopeful of the g'ood time to come, if some of those who have a nearer \'w\v of the charms and virtues of our mother country, were a little more ardent in their admiration. The sincerity of a worshipper may be doubted who is always finding' fault with the god- C'2 \\r Jess lio in'ofcsspsto lulorc — whoso hn|)))ic8tox|u»(li<'nt for irciilliii;^' tli<' dcxotional feolinj^'s of rrhipsed or iuditll'nMit worf^liippors, is tlirowiiij^* dirty water on the shrino. I nin (jiiito sum of this, thnt tlie rrndiost iiicjiiis thiit Mr. Mooro can adopt, if nnihitions of tlie hixiu'v of tar and hvathcrs, will bo for him to go into the I'nitod States, and proclaim to the Re- publicans that Great Britain is "the centre of their civilization - the fountain of their ins])iration, and the standard of wliat every nation oui^'ht to be in principle, policy and conduct." To review Mr. Moore's sj)eecli, as I have done yours, would cost me little pains, but the result would be scarcely worth the cost. Let me take a sing'le example of the profound nonsense with which this g'entleman vainly soug'ht to mislead the House of Commons. lie complained that " Strobel, a German thief^ and a man of infamous character, was allowed to carry on correspondence with the Queen's representative ;" and somebod}- cried " Hear, hear." But, let me ask, was not Mr. John Sad- lier, a thief and a man of infamous character, — a villain of proportions so diabolical that poor Stro- bel is a mere ])etit larceny creature, in coijf»arison with him? Yet, did not Mr. Sadlier si I in the House of Commons — kiss the Queen's liand, and preside over Banks and Bailwaj^ Companies, before his real character was discovered ? AVas he not a Member of the Irish Brig-ade? Did not Mr. G. H. Moore dine, and sup, and fraternize Avith him, 37 b«*foro he was proved a "tliief, niid u umii of iiitU- inous eharaeter"/ If so, what ni»Iit has he to cot:!- plain of Mr. Cranipton's treatment of Strohcl, while that person's chnraeter stood fair, unless lu^ ean shew that, after it was g'one, tlie Minister employed him in any capaeity, or courted dislionour by his companionsliip? Had the House of Commons suf- fered Sadlier to sit in their midst wlien Ids infamy was known — had the Queen conf'reat de- licacy and importance. Conscious that I have done my duty to my 8overei<^'n with fidelity and discre- tion, I cannot afford to have liberties taken with liiv c'ood name, even bv a i>'entleman whose talents I admire, and whose character 1 admit to be ami- able. Our princijdos of administration are the safe- o'uards and securities of every officer who serves the Queen. It is our duty as it is our interest to jj-'uard them from violation, as we do our rules of Parlia- ment, and the princij)les of our Common Law. Of no less imp(irtance is it that British Americans should feel that those rules can never be strained, even by a. meud)er of Parliament^ for his own advantag'e, and to the disoaraa'ement of o-entlemen, whether British or Colonial, who, in her hour of need, have done their best to serve our common country. Nor is it of less importance that British States- men should weig'h well the experience g-athered dur- ing- the recent war, of the real state of feelino- on the two sides of the American frontier. Self-dece}>- tion, hereafter, will be a blunder worse tl.an a cnme. A\ ith a fleet at sea such as the world never saw, and a well disci})lined army, we can afford to be magnanimous. But let us never forg-et that had 80 war lasted a few years long'er — had disaster over- taken that fleet and army, the llepubHcans would have given us significant proofs of their friendship, as they did in 1812. Gloom and sorrow settled over the whole United States when Sebastopol fell, while every city in British America blazed with bon- fires and illuminations. I state the facts without fear of contradiction. Let the Statesmen of Great Britain, then, while cultivating- peace Avith all the world, reg-ard it as a princi])le of settled policy, to be independent of the friendship or the enmity of the United States. Time may chang-e the currents of adverse feeling-. Commerce mav so streno-then our relations as to make war between the two coun- tries impossible. But, in the mear^time, British sub- jects on both sides of the Atlantic should look at the realities of their position with stern self-reliance. Let them not ig-nore the experience of all history — the sharp lessons of the })ast. Let them be just to all nations, but just also to each other, and never in the vain endeavour to conciliate their enemies, sacri- fice their friends. I have the honour to be. Sir, Your obedient servant, JOSEPH PIOWE. Halifax, Nova Scotia, :m\\ July, 1856. 40 APPEISDIX. I. TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STA lES. New York, AprH '■), 185,0. Friends and Ni-:iGiinouKs: — The newspapers in some of the Atlantic cities of the United States have of late teemed with articles having reference to British Recruiting in this country, in which it has hcen throughout assumed that her Britannic Majesty's agents were doing something which they had not a right to do, and in violation of your laws. It is due to the Government and People of the United States, and to all the parties concerned, that this matter should be fairly understood. It is due to those who may desire to take service under the British Crown that they should understand it. A few brief explanations may, therefore, be useful at the present moment. The British Parliament passed, a few months ago, what is called the Foreign Enlistment Act. By this Act her Majesty's Government was empowered to raise, either in England or elsewhei*e, a Foreign Legion, to serve with the British Army abroad, under the same rules and regula- tions : the officers and men to be entitled to the same pay and allowances as those received by British troops. Parliament, I presume, had a right to pass this law, and the Uueen to give her assent to it. British Ministers have the same right to act upon it which the American Secre- tary of State had to draw into the army which conquered Mexico, English, Irish, and Scotchmen, Frenchmen, Poles, and Hungariansr. A few weeks ago, his Excellency the Lieutenant-Go- vernor of Nova Scotia, Sir John Gaspajd Le Marchant, was duly empowered to raise, in Halifax, the capital of the Province which he governs, regiments to be incorporated into the French Legion. Sir Gaspard is himself a soldier, the son of that General Le Marchant who won the battle of Salamanca by the splendid cavalry charge which Napier so spiritedly records. Sir Gaspard has seen nuich service. 41 and is the old companion-in-arms of General Sir Dc Lacy Evans, under whom he served as Adjutant General in Sp.iin. Instructions, based on an Act of Parliament, and to be executed within the limits of British territory, it is quite apparent that Sir Gaspard was bound to carry out. He did so, in no furtive or disguised manner, but in that straightforward and manly style which best comports with his character and that of the Government which he repre- sents. He issued a public notification of the nature of his instructions and intentions, expressed in the follow- ing terms : — MEN WANTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE. Provincial Secretary's Offict;, IluliJ'ax, Nova Scotia, March 16, 1855. The Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia having been empowered to embody a FOREIGN LEGION, and to raise British Regiments for service in the Provinces or abroad, Notice is hereby given, that able-bodied men, be- tween the ages of 19 and 40, on applying at the Depot at Halifax, will receive a bounty of i.'6 stealing, equal to 30 dollars, and, on being enrolled, will receive 8 dollars per month, with the clothing, quarters, and other advantages to which British Soldiers are entitled. Preference will be given to men who have already seen service. The period of ' oli^tment will be for three or five years, at the option of ti • ii'itish Government. Officers who h ive rved will be eligible for Commis- sions. Gentlemen \^uo wish to come into the Province, will please lodge their names, rank, date of service, &c., at this office. Persons who serve in the Foreign Legion will, on the expiration of their term, be entitled to a free passage to America, or to the country of their birth. Pensions or gratuities, for distinguished services in the field, will be f on. Nova Scoii.i: and other Shipmasters who may bruig 42 Jnto tills Province poor men, willing to serve her Majesty, will be entitled to receive the cost of a passage for each man shipped from Philadelphia, New York, or Boston. By Command, LEWIS M. Vs'lhKm^, Provincial Secy. Now I think it will pnzzle the most ardent enemy of Great Britain, the most jealous stickler for the honour and peaceful relations of this country, to find fault with any- thing done by the British Government, or by the Lieu- tenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. So far, it will be j)erccivcd that neither have done any thing which it was not right to do, or any act beyond the boundaries of the British Empire When advertisements are ])ublished in this country for rc«.i -or the American Army, who questions the right of y^ officers to issue them ? Who complains if they find their way all over the world ? Who stops to inquire to what nation the Recruits belong ? Who attempts to prevent persons wanting to enlist from leaving the British Islands or Provinces, or France, or Germany, to come here for that purpose? Who would think of preventing poor men, without arms, neither enlisted or enrolled, but intending to take service abroad, from leaving Manchester for Liverpool, or Liver- pool or Glasgow for the United States ? I quite admit that it would be another matter, if any attempt were made to organize and arm men in the British Dominions for ship- ment abroad, or for aggression or intrusion on a friendly Power. That would not be permitted in England, and I trust it never will be permitted again by the people of this country, although men, fully armed and organized, have sometimes most unaccountably been thrown across the frontier, without producing half the excitement in the United States that has been caused by the appearance of a single British American gentleman at a fashionable hotel in New York. So far I trust that I have made it very i)lain that no violations of the laws of this country have been committed by Her Majesty's Government, or by the Lieutenftnt- Governor of Nova Scotia. Their acts have been legal, and constitutional, and in strict accordance with the friendly relations which subsist between two great nations, that can 48 attbrd to respect cficli other, and each other's laws, whatever tlieir by-gone (UtTerences may have been. But there is another explanation, which I ought to give, in all fairness. When it is given, I trust that the American Peo|)le, and their Authorities, general and local, will per- ceive how little there is to complain of, and how unreason- able and ungenerous has been the clamour raised upon this subject. A number of letters had been sent in to the Imperial and Provincial Authorities, from British officers, from Foreign officers, and from other gentlemen residing in this country, who either had seen or were desirous of seeing service. Some of these gentlemen not only stated their own desire to join a Foreign Legion, but expressed the opinion that great numbers of persons, fond of the excitement of mili- tary life, or thrown out of employment by the depressed state of commercial affairs in this country, would follow their example. These voluntary offers of service neither the British Government nor Sir (laspard Le Marchant invited. They were made by people living in this country, who supposed that their swords were their own, and that they had a right to go out of the United States as freely as they came Into them ; who were under the impression that, even before the passage of the Reciprocity Treaty, they might have gone into the British Provinces to enlist with no more violation of the laws of this country than if they had gone to get a wife, to buy a barrel of mackerel, or a cargo of potatoes. If these impressions were natural on their parts, what more natural than that the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia should select a person, in whom he had confidence, to come into the United States to ascertain whether these offers of service were made in good faith; whether the parties were gentlemen of good character, of capacity, and experience ; and whether there was any foundation for their belief that a large number of the unemployed classes here were disposed to join the British army ? Surely His Ex- cellency had a right to do this, and the person so selected had a right to come. Let us hope that he has discharged his very delicate duties with the common sense and dis- cretion of a gentleman. It must be confessed, however, that the duties were 44 delicate. The person to whom tiny were confided thought that he was doing nothing very heinous. He lived in an open and public manner — saw any body who called to see him — and explained frankly to such officers and other gentlemen as had made tenders of their services, that Sir Gaspard Lc Marchant was now empowered to accejjt them upon their being renewed to him ivithin the boundaries of his own Province. Nor did he disguise the expression of his im])licit belief that any number of able bodied men would be enrolled in Nova Scotia, in the terms of the ad- vertisement signed by the Provincial Secretary, that any Merchants sending, or Shipmasters taking, Steerage Pas- sengers to Halifax^ might rely implicitly on the honour and good faith of the British Government, If a gentleman from North xVmerioa can not say and do all this in the United States, then what can he say and do ? All this, I presume, was done and said. If any thing more was done and said, in ignorance or in violation of the laws of the United States, I am not going to defend it. What I suspect, however, is — that a good deal has been done and said by unauthorized persons having more zeal than discretion ; by rascals sent to defeat the object ; by spies and informers — treated, as all such persons should be treated — with perfect unreserve. But let us look at this matter from another point of view. The profession of arms is an honorable profession, and has, since the earliest ages, presented to the young and active irresistible attractions. Again, the veteran soldier is rarely, after a certain period, content with any other mode of life. Shall it be said, then, that Republican iVmerica will deny to her own sons the right, if so disposed, to see a little of the world, and to win distinction in the civilized armies of Europe ? Shall it be said that when an old soldier drifts, by the accidents of life, or with the storms of revolution, within the charmed circle of this republic, he must never serve even his own country again ? That " who enters here must shut out hope" — must give up ambition, allegiance, country, the pride of race, the noblest feelings of our nature ? God forbid ' Would you deny to a Frenchman the privilege of joining the gallant band who in the Crimea are illustrating the gaiety and valour of his nation ? Would you restrain a Pole or a Hungarian from lifting his sword against the 4o Northern Despot whose iron hand jjrostratcd the Hberties of his country ? A2:ain I say, God forbid! I think more highly of the American character. I have more reUancc upon the elasticity and freedom of your institutions. On the causes of the present war I do not wish to dwell — nor on its management, which we may assume to have been defective. But look at the mngnificont battle of Alma — at the splendid charge of the Scotch Greys and Ennis- killcn Dragoons at Balaklava, who scattered the hordes of Russian cavalry like chaff before the wind. Look at the fight of Inkermann, where eight thousand noble fellows held their groimd for half a day against an army of sixty thousand. Now, shall it be said that an Englishman who wishes to leave this country, to fill a vacant place among the Coldstream Guards, and keep up the reputation of that distinguished corps, who crossed their bayonets with the enemy eleven times in one battle, shall not go ? Suppose that an Irishman sees a vacant saddle in the Enniskillens, and thinks that he might as well fill it for the rest of his life, with good pay and rations, as to be sweeping the streets of New York — shall he not go ? Suppose that a Scotchman, dreaming of that thin line of Highland war- riors, who won the admiration of the world at Balaklava, dreams also that he might, if he had the chance, swell the ranks of that fine regiment, and perhaps emulate the ex- ample of their leader. Sir Colin Campbell, himself a poor widow's son — shall he not go? Shall not a British Ameri- can, if he desires to do so, cross the frontier into his own province, or take passage in one of his own vessels, without being called upon to declare whether he does not intend to enUst when he gets home ? But above all — shall French, or German, or Holsteiri gentlemen — shall the gentlemen of Hungary and Poland, thrown out of their true positions by the convulsions of Europe, be condemned for ever to teach music, or fencing, or dancing, for a livelihood, when honorable service is offered to them in the [)rofessions to which they were bred — when their rank as officers, and the social distinctions to which they have been accustomed, are again within their reach ? Shall these gentlemen not be free to go into Nova Scotia, if so disposed ? And if they do, and many of them have gone, who can prevent their countrymen, who have fought under their banners, and have confidence in their leaderships, from following their cxamj)le? 46 Surely, surely, it has not to this — that the United come States arc to he converted into a j^reat eei-])ot, that lets everybody in and nohody out. That a ring fence is to be made round Uncle Sam's farm, so contrived that though all the produce of the farm can go abroad, the labourers can not. All this is too ridicidous to be supposed possible, and yet some ])eople are sanguine enough to hope that it will turn out to be true. I do not believe it ; 1 have too high an oi)inion of the intelligence and common-sense of the American j)eople — too much reliance upon the free spirit which pervades their institutions, to believe this possible. Let the question be fairly stated in any drawing-room in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, and every American lady would say — " Let them go !' State it fairly to the Democracy of any large city of the Union, in their wildest moment of excite- ment, and the people would say, " Let them go." Put the question to any gallant regiment of riflemen in Kentucky or Tennessee, and I much mistake the characters of the men if the answer would not be — " Let them go !" 1 have the honour to be, with great respect, Your obedient servant, A Burnsii Ameutcan. n. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune. Sir, — I have taken very little notice of a great deal of nonsense which has appeared in the American papers, in reference to the benevolent efforts made by England to find honourable service and good pay and clothing, for the European population who, we are told on ail hands, are such a burden to this Republic. With your permission, I will correct one or two trifling mistakes. In the Times of yesterday, we are t(»ld in a general enu- meration of the enormities committed by that barbarous people called the English, '' that the Nova Scotian authori- " ties went so far as to erect barracks for tl\c accommodation '" of the recruits expected to be obtained in the States." Well, suppose they did. Have we not a right to build 47 3(1 l-ts )C Ian }lc, it the > , , keir barracks with our own money, on our own soil? Novii Scotia does not bclonjj; to the United States, if Cuba does, and your title to that I presume is nearly as good as David's was to Uriah the Ilittitc's wife. lUit there is not a particle of foundation for the assertion. The whole number of trooj)s at Halifax, recruits and all, does not, perha[)s, exceed 800 men. We have barrack .iccommodations, without any new buildings, for 1000. It is true that new barracks of brick and stone are being built, and, when completed, will supersede the old wooden ones. But these were commenced several years before the Russian War was thought of, and cannot be finished before 1858. — If the recruits have no other shelter than the new barracks would aflbrd, they had better hang round the Atlantic cities — sweep the streets, live in soup kitchens, and be called uncivil names. In another number of the same j)aper, it was stated, about a fortnight since, that the gentleman who came here from Nova Scotia had " vamosed," by which I suppose the writer meant he had run away. This was another trifling mistake. The gentleman was then in the city. You per- ceive by the date of this that he is here now. He has only been absent for a few days occasionally, when business or pleasure called him away, and when here, has walked the streets by day and night, openly, as he supposed he had a right to do. But still there was something to make a story of. He had removed from a public hotel where he was open to the intrusion of Russian spies, police runners, and persons sent to entrap him, a^d had taken [)rivatc lodgings, from which such [)eo])le were more easily excluded. Surely this was no offence. Thousands of gentlemen, I presume, do the same every day, without attracting obser- vation, or having their movements misrepresented in the newspapers. 1 noticed in IVie Herald a piece of testimony said to have been given before the United States Commissioners at Philadelphia, by a person named t'ohnert, living in this city. This })erson states that he was sent for by Sir Joseph Howe to Delmonico's Hotel, and that the said Sir Joseph then and there tempted him to enlist recruits. Now, in the first place, let me explain that ]NTr. Howe is not a baronet. He has no claim to the title which this witness gives him. But, of course, if it would be a nice thing to 48 convict nil Kiif^lish gentleman of a iniatlcnicanour, to have np a baronet wonlcl give more luxnry to the transaction. In my conntry, and I snpposc the same form is used here, witness(!S are sworn to tell " the whole truth." Mr. Cohnert, very iniintentionally of course, omits this very important fact, that he was sent for to Delmonico's simply because, months before, he had liimsclf written to an officer of tlic Government in Nova Scotia, offering to fur- nish men, if men were rc()uired. As to the letter, which he says he obtained for his friend, h^t him ])ublish it in the newspapers, and then everybody will see that it was only a letter of introduction, obtained, no doubt, under the assu- rance that the j)erson brought to the writer of it was an officer and a gentleman, going into Nova Scotia of his own free will. With these few explanations I am content that you and your readers should form your own opinions. I do not desire to say one word excej)t in defence of my own friends and Government, or 1 might point to the two Recruiting Otffces open in this City — to the two Filibustering Expeditions openly organizing here, and which seem to have escaped the notice of the authorities, who paid such marked attention to the gentleman at Delmonico's Hotel, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, A Bhitisii American. New York, April 27, 1855. III. To James C. Van Dike, Esq. Attorney/ for the United States for the Eastern District oj Pennsylvania. No. I. Sir, — I have read, with some disgust, and infinite amusement, the droll proceedings, which, under your auspices, have disfigured the United States District Court at Philadelphia for some months past. As you and your precious witnesses have thought proper to mix my name up with those proceedings, without the slightest regard to 40 truth or decency, I mean to summon you before another tribunal, where your official garb will invest you with no advantage — where your spies aiul police ruimers are power- less for evil — where scoundrels caiujot fabricate with impunity, or the mob render it hazardous to attempt a bold and honest defence. Before the civilized wDrld, the centres of which arc London and Paris, and not Philadelphia, whatever you may think, I ventme to sunnnon you, Mr. District At- torney Van Dike: before the statesmen, jurists, and humorists, whose decisions form the public law of the universe, and whose dehcate satire even '* a Philadelphia Lawyer" may be made to feel. You have ridden, for some months, on the top of your commission : wdiile professing to vindicate Law, you liave been the mere tool of the Executive: standing forward as the ostensible prosecutor of j)artics whom you had arrested, you have, acting upon their fears or their cuj)idity, en- deavoured to slander, if you could not convict, gentlemen who were not formally before the Court. I have read the records of criminal procedure in many countries, and ex- cept at that period described by Curran, when, in Irelatul, wretches were " thrown into prison to rot," before they were " dug up to be witnesses," I cannot recall to mind any parallel case to set beside those which I am fibout to deseribc. Some ^our or five months ago, your myrmidons walked into my hotel in New York, arrested and carried to Philadelphia a young gentleman named liucknall, whose only oflence was, that he was temporarily in my service ; occasionally j)aid money, delivered a few letters and parcels, and fancied that he was doing various lawful acts in a country professing to be free. Mr. liucknall was held to bail. He was browbeaten and bullied. Matter dangcro\is to the !?tate, or rather to the United States, was sought to be extracted from him. He knew more thtui any other of the persons you have paraded of my acts and proceedings. lie told all he knew. He was kept for weeks iliuicing attendanee on your Court. Jt was hoped that starvation would break his spirit, and ap- prehension beguile him into falsehood. As the man pre- served his integrity, and could iu)t be Vandiked, he was at last fully ac(|uitted, .ludge Kane tleeiding, at the time, two very inportant points : r>() Ist. — Thnt nny imm mij^lit linvf'illy pay tho pnRs«}z:(!S of persons jjoiii^j; voluntarily nnd ponrefnlly out of the United States, even tlum;j;h such persons uctuiillv intended to enlist, when they f^ot into NovQ-Scotin ; juuI, 2nil.— That the Printed Handbills, issued by the I'ro- vineial Sceretary, Mr. W'ilkins, in Novu-Seotia, that otlicer had a ri England than that which you had previously described. I would have given a trifle to have seen you, standing on tiptoe and winning the smile of the Court, the ap])roval of the jury, and the applause of the audience, all thorouglily Russian to the backbone, by proclaiming that the strongholds of despotism, which the free and equal admire so much, could " not be taken." That you ex- hibited " all the contortions of the Sybil" I have not a doubt, but it is fortunate for the cause of freedom that you lacked " the insj)iration." Thirteen days before you uttered this mendacious speech Sebastopol had fallen — the Allied flags at the very moment of its utterance waved over the smoking ruins — your friends, the Russians, in deep " hiuniliation," had fled over the Harbour, where lay engulphed more men of war, destroyed in a single year, than your Great Republic ever owned. Seven days after your elaborate attempt to damage my chr.ractcr, I landed in my own Province, and heard the first glad shout of joy and triumph at the victory, which has since rolled over every town and city and hamlet of British America. How many i^houts have we heard from across the border? Where are the Anglo-Saxons of Peim- sylvania? Who saw them toss up their hats ? Where the Celts of New York, for whose independence the French shed their blood in the times of old? God help the " Red, White, and Blue" if its defenders had no better backers than those for whom their forefathers fought. But let that pass, I must come back to that precious embodiment of the national sentiment, Mr. Attorney Van Dike. Having shewn you to be a poor Lawyer and a worse Prophet, I think 1 shall have very little trouble in convict- ing you of an utter want of veracity. I have already shewn 53 you misrepresenting the causes of the war, and hazarding absurd predictions. Let mc take a single vain-glorious boast as a specimen of your general authenticity ; " In this free and Republican country, the home or- dained by Providence for the oppressed of all nations." This is your inaccurate description of the United States. Now I freely admit that the Continent of America was made by Providence : its vast proportions — its noble rivers — its exhaustless fertility, were given to the human race by the Creator, if man would permit his fellow-man to enjoy in peace the mercies intended for us all ; but I think that it would be hard to implicate Providence in the barbarous in&,titutions and politics by which that portion of its sur- face that you most admire is at this time strangely dis- figured. I refer you to your countrywoman, Mrs. Stowe, for an account of tiie securities and delights which await the African races within your " free and llepublican country." You consider it a crime for a Novascotian to pay the pas- sage of a German from Philadelphia to Halifax, and then to find him honourable employment in Her Majesty's service; yet you think it no crime when a British-born subject of the Queen of England, if he happens to be black, is seized in a Republican Port and thrown into prison, un- til the departure of the vessel in which he ventures to take a peep at your refuge for the oppressed — your " free and Republican country." When you can show that a single American citizen, or any foreigner, entitled to the protec- tion of your laws, has been seized by force and imprisoned in a British Port, you will indeed have a grievance. — While your own country is disgraced by [)ractices so bar- barous, so utterly subversive of all national rights and of all commercial intercourse, pray do not make our gorges rise with your eternal bragging about humanity and freedom. What was the condition of the foreign population, as they are called, with whose allegiance I am accused of tampering last spring? Thousands of those men w^ere sweeping the streets of the Atlantic cities — living in soup kitchens, or were supported by public charity. Their gaunt frames and haggard faces were everywhere grouped around the wharves and thoroughfares. They had lost in the preceding winter, from sheer distress, nearly as many as the British armv lost from the same causes in the 54 Crimea. What shall 1 say of the mortality of the pre- ceding summer ? Who shall describe the horrors of Charleston, of Chicago, of New Orleans, of Mobile ? Is it not notorious that more Irishmen have died in a single summer in one city of your paradise of fools than have fallen in the four great battles of the Crimea since the war began ? I did not attempt to recruit the dead, whatever I may have donp to rescue the living from starvation — but of this I am quite assured, that you, and such as you, would rather that every foreigner in your country should grace the dead cart or sweep the streets, than wear the uniform of a nation of which you are too meanly jealous ever to harbour a generous impression. But, let me inquire whether there was any thing in the social immunities, or political standing, of these poor foreigners, to render it so unhallowed a pursuit to tempt them into the British Army ? How stood the Irish Ca- tholic, for instance? He had done his best, God knows, to conciliate the Van Dikes and other early squatters upon the great plantation. He had befouled the nest in which he was fledged sufficiently to ensure him a welcome in that to which he flow. lie had howled at the Saxon till he was hoarse, and, following one fool or charlatan after another, had ended by getting the Saxons in the New World rather more unanimous in the work of tyranny and oppression than they had been in the old. Wlicn I entered the United States last sjn'ing the Know Nothing organization was spreading from State to State. The Irish Catholics were proscribed everywhere. Their religion was con- demned by the public sentiment from IMaine to South Carolina — their political privileges were being rapidly cur- tailed by IcLiislation — their chapels and convents had been burnt — tl'.eir priests insulted — their volunteer com[)anies disbanded; and scarcely a night passed without some bloody encounter, in which, however Paddy might lay about him with his shillelah, or deal death for death with more fatal weapons, he was in the end beaten down by sheer force of numbers or force of law, and made to feel that his Brother Jonathan was at least quite as bad as his Brother John I5ull — and in leaving green Erin for your 'MVee and Republican coiuiti-y," lie had but got out of the frying pan into the fire. 55 re- of Is 'ar English and Scotchmen were rather better treated. They were only accustomed to hear the civilization of Russia preferred to their owr every day of the week, and to have their Country and their Institutions formally abused every Fourth of July. Otherwise they were not badly off, and yet worse than they thought, because they were under the imi)ression that they might go and fight the battles of their country, if so disposed, without the risk of imprisonment for harbouring so i^lonious a design. Poor fellows, they are undeceived. I'hey have now discovered, that while an American Minister can stir up the subjects of a Foreign State to which he is accredited to mutiny and civil war, a British Minister dare not pay the passage of a poor Eng- lishman, who desires to leave the United States in peace, to sustain abroad the honour of the Flag under which he was born at home. How was it with the Germans ? Hated only a little less than the Irish. Wherever they were but a handful they were tolerated, — where they were a minority, they were voted down and despised. Where they dared to assert an equality, they had to fight for their lives and their votes. The battle that lasted for three days in the streets of Cin- cinnati, between the Germans and Native Americans, was only the outburst of that smouldering rivalry and hati*ed which existed last spring, and yet exists, wherever the Ger- mans, who have fled to this refuge for " the oppressed of all Nations," dare to act as though their souls, their swords, or their votes were their own. Poles, Hungarians, and Italians, were harboured it i true. But, when these men were fighting for freedom in their native lands— many of them for " Republican Insti- tutions,'' what sympathy or aid did they ever receive from the Van Dikes and other Republicans of the West ? Did you draw a sword or fire a shot in their defence ? Not one. But when their nationalities were trodden down by the iron heel of the oppressor — when their hopes of liberty were crushed — when they sought, in expatriation, a refuge for their families, they fondly believed that when the hour arrived for a possible combination against the despot and the spoiler, if they had not the s.ymj)athy ami the aid of the pretenders to freedom to whom they had lied for refuge, at least they would be permitted to return to Europe, and fight under the banner of the Allies for the positions which they 50 had lost. When they discovered that Jlcpublican Atiie- rija was thoroughly Russian — that the Republicans of the West only cherished sympathy for the Despot of the North, and that to leave the United States with the "intent" to a\'enge their national wrongs, and display their love of liberty, was a crime, they must indeed have felt most keenly " the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." 'fhe Frenchman must have deeply pondered the huge proportions of trans-atlantic ingratitude. " Our fleets and armies," he would probably say, "fought to establish the independence of this country, and now, when the fleets and armies of France are fighting for the independence of nations similarly op- pressed, I am forbidden to draw my sword for my own country, by the very people for whose freedom the blood and treasure of France were profusely shed." To ascertain the temper and feelings of this foreign po- pulation I was sent into the United States last spring. My mission was honourable as it was lawful. I discharged its delicate duties with due respect lor your laws. Surrounded, as I soon was, by Russian spies and Police-runners — by zealous District Attornies and their unscrupulous Agents — by mean wretches, ready to profit by serving or selling those who employed them, I traversed your country and walked your streets, for two months. Had you ventured to arrest me, I should have defended myself openly in your Courts, I never did an act, wrote a Hue, or uttered a sentiment, which I cannot now defend before all the world. Thousands of Foreigners would have flocked to the Standard of England had they have been permitted peace- fully to leave the country. The Neutrality Laws, fairly administered, would have interposed no obstacle. The real • obstacles to be encountered were the Russian feeling of the country — the jealous hatred of England — the daring viola- tions of all law, of common decency and hospitality — the complications created by scoundrels, suborned und cm- ployed by such zealous partisans as Mr. Attorney Van Dike. Having surveyed the whole field — studied the aspects of scciety and weighed the bearings of the Neutrality Laws, I returned to my country, not conscious of having given oflfence, and quite prepared to defend myself against all the Lawyers in Philadelphia. If I have not commenced tin good work before, it is because I have been absent 57 Europe since the 8th ot' June. That I sliall do it to yoin' entircsatisl'actiou I iiavc not a doubt, b»it as I have no desire that this letter should grow to the length of a Presi- dent's Message, i must for the present subscribe myself, Your obedient servant, Joseph Howe. IV. To James C. Van Dike, Esq., Atlorunj for the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. No. 2. Sir, — If I have accurately described the position and feelings of the foreign population^ resident in the United States, nobody will be much surprised that a great number of them voluntarily offered their services to the British Minister at Washington — to the Consuls in seaport towns — and to the Governors of the British Provinces, the moment that the Foreign Enlistment Bill was introduced into Parliament. I deny that any unfair attem]jt was made, by any of those officers, to tamper with these people. Courtesy is with us a national obligjition ; and, to receive people civilly and answer their letters, does not, in the estimation of our Sovereign, lower those who represent her at home or abroad. When, therefore, even such persons as Mr. Hert-z or Max Strobel called upon Mr. Crampton, and offered their services, pray what was he to do, except hear what they had to say and write them civil notes, such as those Avhich you have paraded in Court as important public documents ? I have said that the movement on the jiart of the fo- reigners to obtain service in the British Army was volun- tary. Not a witness have you been able to pi'oduce that could assert that Mr. Crampton or any body else, sought or solicited him to quit the United States. Hertz and Strobel went to Mr. Crampton — the former two or three times. They pressed — they importuned His Excellency to employ them ; and to accept of the services of the thou- sands, who, the former at least, represented as ready and willing to go voluntarily and lawfully out of the country, o8 the moment that they were informed to what Depot on British territory they might repair. That Mr. Crampton heaid what these men had to say I will not deny — that he put them oft' from time to time they both admit. That he hired or enlisted either of them, or gave them any authority to hire or enlist others, up to the day of my arrival in the United States, is untrue. That during the two months that I was in that country, II is Excellency compromised himself or his Government by any act or expression which could be fairly construed into an infraction of the Neutrality Laws, or disrespect to the Government to which he was accredited, I flatly deny. From the 7th of March, when I landed at Boston, to the 8th of May, when I returned to Halifax, every act done in reference to the Foreign Legion within the United States was done by me — and every dollar expended was paid by my orders. Mr. Crampton never saw the handbill issued by the Provincial Secretary in Halifax till I sent it to him from New York. I acted entirely upon my own respon- sibility — the only aid received from Mr. Crampton being a list of the persons who had expressed to him their anxiety to serve the Queen, and a legal opinion upon the con- struction of the Neutrality Laws, which I was enjoined most carefully to rer^pect. It is but justice to the British Consuls to say, that what- ever they might surmise from what they heard or saw in the papers, or from the little that I chose to tell them, they were as profoundly ignorant of my movements, proceedings, and designs, as Mr. Attorney Van Dike himself. Whatever may have been done or said by any of these gentlemen after I left the United States, (and with anything which occurred there after the 8th of May, I had no concern), I pledge my honour that not one of them, with my knowledge or in any connexion with me, did an act which any citizen of the United States might not have done without a viola- tion of law. That a Foreign Enlistment Act had been passed in England — that a Depot for the enlistment of men for a Foreign Legion hud been opened at Halifax — that I had been sent into the United States to ascertain whether any number of men might be expected from thence ; and to afford to those who had offered or might offer their services such facilities for reaching that Depot as were compatible 59 Ion with law and order, and the amicable relations of the two countries, all these gentlemen knew, or might have known. That every one of them, and nobody more sincerely than Mr. Crampton himself, wished me good speed, we may fairly assume. But I deny that I did any thing that I had not a right to do ; and even if 1 did, I am ([uite prepared to acquit those gentlemen of any share in the offence, un- less common courtesy to a countryman and a stranger can be construed into an infraction of national law. So far as I am concerned, 1 am free to confess, that if I could have taken five Uegiinents out of Tartarus, to back the gallant fellows, who, at the time, had crowded the heroism of the Iliad into a single year, I would have done it. But let me come now to the evidence that you have pro- duced, not to convict the people you were trying, but to make political ca[)ital for your Government, by defaming gentlemen who were not on trial, and v.ho, not being in Court, had no chance to defend themselves. That you, knowing the real history of the transactions which these people have coloured and distorted, can have lent yourself to a discreditable conspiracy, it is hard to believe. But if you are not their accomplice, you must be their dupe, and I regret that one can only prove your morality intact at the expense of your intellect and penetration. Take a single illustration. You produce upon the stand a witness named Burgthal, for whom you had to swear an interpreter, as he " could not speak English." This person, who acknowledges himself an Austrian, and a friend of Hertz and Strobel, and who also confesses, like all the others, that he went to Mr. Crampton to offer his services, gets up a scene or two with me. A. Tlif'ii I caino to Philadelpliia in the b^g-inuinp;' of March, and saw Strobel here ; I also iniule tht; acquaintance of .Mr. Hertz ; about the loth or 12th of March, Mr. Howe came here and visited me. Q. Did iMr. Howe call on you of his own accord ? A. He looked forme and Visited me of his own accord, having' lieard from Mr. l{uml)erp: that I was here. Q. State the conversation between I\lr. Howe and you T A. He made the same proposition. He stated that he had officers here, in Baltimore, in New York, in Chica-,^o, and in dilferent parts of the country. — He then told me that he would obtain for me a commission ; that he had authority from JNlr. Cram])ton so to do ; I refused the oiler, i;avin<>- other employment here at the time. After- wards Mr. Howe vuited me with two or three otlier p:entlemen, and invited me to Jones's Hotel. I went to him, and dined with liim 00 and tlicflc other g'ontlonifin. I inforinod liim at dinner of my opinion in relation tn this rocniitinf^ businoas, that it had been forbiddon in the United States. He showed nie two phicards, one in German and the other in Kng'lisli, and also a journey eard and ticket, and told uie that he did not tliink he oould be laid hold of in the matter. Mr. Heniak.— He said that he felt certain that nothing- could be done to him ? A. That nothinc: could be done against him in the United States. He also requested me, if I. came to New York, to visit hnu at Del- monico'a Hotel. I went there, but did not meddle any further in the matter, nor <^o to see him. Of this redoubtiible ^vit^css 1 have not the slightest recollection. I wrote down the names, rank and history, of every Foreign Oflicer who presented liitnself to me. I cannot find the name of liurgtlial in the list. If I ever saw such a person, any conversation between him and me was simi)ly impossible, as he "could not speak English," and I cannot speak five words of German. The story is made out of whole cloth. I never mentioned Mr. Crampton's name to this person, or to any other, as sanctioning my proceedings, while in the United States. I never called upon any person in company with " two or three other gentlemen" — invited such a party to dine, or held any such conversation. As to the placards, I never saw any but the official ones, issued with the Provincial Secretary's name to them, and these were never in Philadelphia till they were sent on by Bucknall, long after I had returned to New York. I never had " an officer" in Baltimore, or even a correspondent there. Nor had I, at this time, even spoken to a soul in New York on the subject of the Foreign Le- gion. I never saw Chicago, or had any agent or corres- pondent in that city. I dined at the Table d'llote at Jones's, and those who know me will know how very im- probable it is that I should hold such a conversation as this with an entire stranger, through an interpreter, in presence of at least fifty ladies and gentlemen, and the waiters by whom they were attended. But all these witnesses have been summoned to make out, if possible, a case against Mr. Crampton. Now I have evidence to prove the delicacy and legality of that gentleman's conduct and designs at this period, worth " a cloud of witnesses" such as you have conjured up. I pro- duce it without the possibility of any concert with Ilis Excellency, whom I have not seen for months, because I 01 m ■in lid 111 Ibe ?s. !l- he kt know thnt it will be weighed in the Court to wliich I np- ]){'al against the ox ])artc proceedings at Pliiladelphia. Mr. Bnrgthal fixes the (late of our joint iiitVaction of your Ncu- traUty hiws on or about the " lOth or 12th of March." On the 11th of March I received a letter from Mr. Cramp- ton Mhich 1 give verbatim. Let the world at large jiulgc whether the writer of it was at the time conspiring with me to violate the Neutrality laws of the United States. Wasliinj^ton, Miirch 11, 1855. My dear Sill, — T enclose for your information and guidance in the matter in which you are engaged, an opinion which, at my request, has been drawn u[) by an eminent American Lawyer, in regard to the bearing of the Neutrality laws of the United States upon the subject. This gentle- man is also very well accpiainted Avith the practical opera- tion of the law in this country, influenced as it always is, more or less, by the prevalent feelings of the day, and the action of the press. I have entire confidence in the cor- rectness of his views. You will perceive that what can be done in the U. S. either by agents of H. M. Government directly, or by American citizens or residents, is restricted within very narrow limits ; and thiit great caution will be required to avoid even the least appearance of employing any device for eluding the law. 1 have entire confidence in your prudence and discretion in this respect, but I would beg of you to inculcate the utmost circumspection upon all those with whom you may have to communicate upon this important subject ; and to explain to them clearly the true bearing of the case. I am, my dear Sir, Yours truly, J, F. CUAMPTON. I come now to your other auxiliaries, among whom the most prominent is your friend Hertz. On a list of j)erson3 who had been boring Mr. Cramptou with their apphca- tions, I found the names of Captain Homberg and Mr. IL Hertz. Both of these persons, it will be borne in mind, had offered to serve Her INIajesty before 1 went into the United States. I called upon them both. Captain Rom- berg I at once saw was too old for active service, but though poor, appeared to be a respectable man. Hertz was not, and never had been a soldier. He was simply a Jew Crimp 08 of great pretensions. Bustling, active, bonstt'ul, and men- dacious. Judas Iscariot, in his younger days, niiglit have been just such n person. My very first impression of him Avas, that he wouhl not oidy sell his Savioui" for thirty j)leces of silver, but the; President of the United States and Mr. Crampton both, for half the nu)ney. I explained to him tliat 1 had called uj)on hiui in eonse{|uenee of his ap- plieation- lie professed great zeal for Her Majesty's ser- vice — great disgust at the people and institutions of the United States, and entire readiness to iind any number of foreigners who would go voluntarily, peacefully, and law- fully, into Nova Scotia. 1 explaiiud to Mr. Hertz, as 1 did to everybody else, that I had no power or right to issue commissions in the United States, or to " enlist" a single man in that country. That no man could be enlisted into the British army, except with certain formalities, at the Depot to which he must repair. That, as the law expressly forbad me to * ' hire or retain" any person to enter her Majesty's service, men must go voluntarily, if they went at all. That T thought there could be no objection to paying the passages of these people, but if there was, I would only consent to do that upon British ground. To all this Air. Hertz replied, with great volubility — that thousands of old soldiers were ready and willing to go — that he had studied and understood the laws, that, if we agreed as to price to be paid in Nova Scotia for passages, he would undertake to land 1000 men there — that his resources were quite equal to the whole operation, and that he was willing to leave the question of any remuneration for services he might render o})en till alter he had per- formed his promise. Though distrusting the man from the moment I saw him, for nature had set a mark upon him not to be mistaken, I desired him to put his proposition in writing. The document is now beside me and speaks for itself. He was to land in Nova Scotia 1000 men, and for every man who there volunteered and CHlisted, a tixed sum was to be paid for passage money, when so landed. I agreed to hand over to him 300 dollars, which he re- presented might be necessary to relieve the families of some poor officers, who would probably go on and offer their ser- vices to Sir Gaspard Le Marchant at Halifax. This was the simple arrangeiaent with Mr. Hertz, out of 6[\ IC III ly 1(1 lo which he has inanufarturcd move lies than he over oflfcred to get volunteers. On my part, there was no desij^n to viohite the Neutrality Laws; aud if Mr. Hertz, alter my cautions and frank explanation, did violate them, he iiad sought th(! service, and had only himself to hiaine. The whole of Hertz's long account of tiu; mode in which he endeavoured to get Mr. Mathew mixed uj) with this transaction is a fahrieation. That " I went to my writing desk, and took ."JOO dollars," which he declined to receive, is untrue. The receipt which lie has inchuled in his con- fession, is a forgery. The facts are these. I had no money in my "desk" or in Philadelphia, except a few dollars in my ])urse to pay travelling expenses. Hertz handed me his proposal on the afternoon of the l.ith of March, as the date v/ill prove. Now I can prove, by the books of a merchant of the highest respectability in Philadelphia, who bought my draft, that it was not until the morning of the 14th that 1000 dollars were placed to my credit, and 300 dollars drawn. The receipt which Hertz has forged runs thus : " Received, Philadelphia, Mth March, 1855, of Mr. B. Mathew, T'hrcc hundred Dollars, on account of the Hon. Mr. Howe.^' The original Receipt, which is now beside me, is in these terms : " Received of Hon. Mr. Howe, Three hundred Dollars, on account of expenses. " Philadelphia, March 14, 1855. " H. Hertz." This money was put under cover to Mr. Mathew, with ^ simple request that he would pay it to Mr. Hertz, and tak^ a recei[)t. i\Ir. M. knew no more of my business arrange" mcnts with]\Ir. Hertz than President Pierce did. He was never present at any convei'sation with that person, and neither he nor any Consul in the United States was ever compromised by any act of mine, or could, if he was put upon his oath, accurately describe a single transaction in which I was engaged. It will be seen that, by the terms of his own proposal, Hertz was to be j)aid no more money except on the arrival of his volunteers in Halifax, and their enlistment there. Hardly had I left Philadelphia for New York when I was fairly bombarded with letters and telegraphic messages 04 from liim, nrginfj; inc to send him inonoy. I also licnrtl from Mr. Mullu-w, and from my Anient at IMiilaiU-Iphia that thiy had hoiii importuned by liim to pay luonty on my account. I at once saw that the cstimaU; which I had formed of the man, on first view, was accurate, and 1 was (juite sure that his game was to compromise Mr. Mathcw, Mr. Winsor, and myself, and then phiy his cards accord- in};ly. I at once wrote to both tliose f^cntlemeii rccpiestinf^ them to i)ay notliinj; to Hertz on my account, and went back to Phihulelphia to see what he meant, lit; came to me, at Jones's, and I then found that he had got 100 dolhirs from Mr. l^ucknall, 100 doUars from Mr. Winsor, and 50 doUars from Mr. Mathcw, and, on further iuipjiry, found that he was utterly without credit or resources, and had an evil reputation. I called his attention to the departure from the terms of his proposal — to the fact that he had ad- vertised a "Recruiting Ollicc" in a (Jorman Ncwsp/apcr in violation of my instructions, and had sought to com[)ro- mise gentlemen who were not responsible for my proceed- ings. At first he was very high, and attcm[)ted to extort money by menace. T set him at defiance, lie left the room and the hotel, but when he found that I was deter- mined, returned and resumed his protestations and pro- mises. From that day to this I have never spoken to him, or answered his letters or t('legraj)hs. When he was arrested, he sent me first a threatening letter, in which he '^ could not even name the amount of money" he would retjuire to hold his tongue and endure his sufferings. To this I never replied. Some time after he sent me a whining message to say that for ^'200 he could " satisfy the Dis- trict Attorney" and sto}) proceedings. I sent him the money through the Barkeej)er at Jon(!s's, I believe. You and he, Mr. Van Dike, may enlighten the ])ublic as to what became of it. If you received it, 1 suppose that the Russians bid higher. l( you did not, perhaps you may arrive at the conclusion that a witness who would exhibit even a District Attorney as open to bribery and corruption would not hesitate to slander such persons as Mr. Cramp- ton, Mr. Mathew, or myself. I thought the joke was worth the money, but was certainly surjmsed to see no mention of this trifling incident in the " Confession." Let me give two more specimens of the unblushing ef- 06 fVoiitcry and falsehood of rliis fellow, Hertz: "I met Mr. Howe,'' he says, "on laiulitin- jiom the steaiiier, he greeted me very kindly, hut said he had no time to see me, and stepped on Ix.ard the steamer for Ko'-land." It is true tl'dt I met him, hut just as true that when he came up to nic and held out his haml, 1 looked at him with some slight expression of the contempt I felt, passed him without speaking to him, and instantly sent a message to the Lieu- teiumt-Cfovernor, advising His FAcellency to hold no eoiii- numieation with Hertz, hut to s,t him at defiance. Take another specimen. When he applied to Sir Oas- pard for money, he says he was told that Mr. Howe "had used ^120,000 in his recruiting husiness, and inasnmch as he had rendered no accomit of it yet, he coidd not tell how my account stood." Now what are the facts? That only .JpSOOO ever passed through my hands, for the whole of which an aceount, with vouchers^ was rendered on the 8th of May last. I might cull, from this man's evidence, twenty falsehoods just as gross. And are such jjcrsons as this to slander away the characte'r of oHicers high in the conlidence of »heir Sovereign and of society, to interrupt diplomatic re- lations, and to disturb the {jublic i)cace? Of Mr. Max Strobel, of my own knowledge, I know almost nothing, hut judging hy what 1 liave seen of the evidence of Mr. Hertz, anil of other worthies of the same class, iVIr. Stroln I's friends and associates, I may be jjcr- mitted to doubt, which I cc;rtainlv do, the material features of his narrative. That Mr. C'rampton permitted JJepots to be opened along the Canadian frontier, for such volun- teers as chose to come over from the United States ; that he authorized persons to make the existence and the posi- tion of those Depots known — that he may have siini-tioncd the payment of the travelling ex[jenaes of persons coming over to Canada to offer their services to his Sovereign, may be true. If Jmlge Kane's law is st)und, His iOxcelleney had a right to do all this, iiut that he took such a i)ersou as Mr. Max Strobel to his bosom — thought alotul in his presence, and committed all the extravagances laid to his charge, really does require u stretch of credidity, on the part of those who kr.ow anything «)f His Kxct.'llency, of which I am quite incapable. 1 am much more inclined to believe the report nuide by E CO the officers of the Provinciul Government. That Mr. Stro- bel was dismissed the service here, prefr'vring to take his discharge, and £30, rather than stand an investigation into charges preferred against him by his brother otHcers of the gravest cliaractcr. Of poor Perkins, another of your Defendants, if not tools, what shall I say .' A mad En.'rlishman, rushing about the streets, telling everybody that he was a Corres- pondent of the London Times, and in communicatiou with great Lords in Knglanc^ — ^that he was controlling the local press — that he had been to Mr. Crampton about raising recruits, who had sent him to Mr. Marcy — would, any where else but in Philadelphia, have been n subject for laughter or commiseration. The jury, perceiving that he was as mad as a March hare, acquitted him ; and I really wish that in your case, Mr. Attorney Yau Pike, I could let you down as easily — could charge upon the weakness of your intellect what I am reluctant to attri- bute to professional depravity. You have not the slightest idea how much you would rise in everybody's estimation by proving yourself a fool, and especially in that of Your obedient servant, Joseph Howe. Halifax, Nov. C, 1855. V. To John Arthur Roebuck, Esq., BI.P. Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 24, 1866. Sir, — ISIy attention has been called to a speech, made by yon in the House of Commons on the 15th of February, and reported in the Loudon Papers. This speech, con- ceived In an atrabilious spirit, and remarkabu' for nothing but ill-nature, contains, besides undeserved attacks upon the Ministers who were present, the most ungenerous and unjust assaults upon gentlenien who were not there to de- fend ihemselvcs. I quote from the Report before me this passage : " I want to know distinctly what were the instructions given to Mr. Cramjiton. It may ho said that he was told not to hreak thtj law, hut 1 want to know whether he was told to enlist men in the United States, because to tell a niuu not to break the law and in the 67 fO- lion [ers [not ling rcs- >^ext brefttli to tell him to do somethinp" by which the law will be broken, is nii'i:atory. It is a farce — an idle direcHon, not worthy of any man who pretends to be a man of sense and honour. Mr« Crampton knew tlie law, as is proved by his own written statements; he knew that to do certain acts was to break tlio law, and lie laid plans l»y which he fancied that law could be snfely broken. He was aided in tlii by two hi^j^h functionaries — Sir Gaspard Le Marchant and Sir Eduiund Head, as well as by Sir Joseph Howe, a gentleman of some celelirity in Nova Scotia. Sir Joseph Howe wiis scut to the tbiited States ; hy his intervention people were employed to break the law of the States, and hij his hands they were paid for so doinp. After spend inn <'f'i»ti 10(),U()<) dollars he got tof/eflier ^OO men, wheit he imjiht have had the same number of thousands for half the money. I may be asked what {"ood I expect to derive from tbis motion. {Ministerial cheers.) I perfectly well understand that cheer. I know whence it proceeds and what it means, and my answer is, that I wish to obtain from the Noble Lord a distinct answer to this (juestion — was Mr. Crampton instructed, not simply not to break the law, but not to do deeds by which the law would be broken f " I have rarely seen, in the same number of lines, more ignorance, or reckless mis-statement, displayed before a de- liberative Assembly. John Arthur Roebuck may think himself privileged to take such liberties with the absent, but he shall take no such liberties with me. I have seen him too often, have measured too accurately the breadth of his understanding and the vagaries of his intellect, to permit him to go uncorrected, when lie gives himself such licence. The speech to which I refer, Sir, should not have gone un- contradicted an instant had I shared the privilege which you enjoy. Your melo-drauiatic style should not long have given currency to nonsense, and the six hundred English gentlemen, before whom you attempted to damage my re- j)utation, should have judged the value of your accusations on the instant, and wouM, or I am much mistaken, have stamped them with their indignant reprobation. Not being a member of Parliament my pen is m.y only resource, but the Press of England, thank God, is open to us all. In the first place I must ask you to take back the title which, without peimissiou of her Maj(!sty, you have con- ferred upon me. I am not a Knight or a Baronet. The name I wear, will pass currenc in British America without the prefix. At all events I do not value an honorary dis- tinction, attached to it by a gentleman, to give point to slanders, calcidated, if not intended, to make the name itself a reproach. My own countrymen, who know me best, have elevated me, step by step, to tlic high/>st positions 6S and honours in their gift. My Sovereign, if she ever dia" covers tliat I have done, and perhaps am capable of doing *'the State some service/' may gratify them by some mark of Royal favour; but, in the meantime, I vahie as lightly honorary distinctions conferred without warrant, as I do Parliamentary attacks which have no foundation. You assert that I spent about .^100,000! Now I de- clare, in the ])resence of all England, that you have made a misstatement so gross that I am astonished at your audacious inaccuracy. But ^J^SOOO were ever entrusted to my care, or passed through my hands — about .£1600 sterling. Ninety -two thousand Dollars are certainly an overcharge of which any gentleman pretending to speak evil of the absent ought to be ashamed. That more money was expended in the service I do not deny, and that those Avho spent it can account fof it to the satisfaction of her Majesty's Government, I have not a doubt ; but I do deny your right to charge upon me such an expenditure, and to mislead the House of Commons by a train of reasoning founded upon so palpable a blunder. But " 200 men," you say, were " got together." Surely you do not hazard such statements as this upon the Northern Circuit, or on the floor of Parliament. AVhat are the facts ? G25 men were " enlisted" in Nova Scotia, not in the United States, though many of tliem passed through that country. Of these 10 joined the 7(>th Regi- ment, and 18 deserted. 597 etlective men — clothed, trained, and officered — ready, in fact, to take the field, were sent to England. I wish, from the bottom of my soul, there had been ten times the ninnbcr. But, at the moment that these men were raised, fhei/ zvcre wanted at auy price. Had they cost $^^0 each, which you assert, the wonder W'ould not have been great, as the horrors and perils of the war had been so paraded by your Committee, that, for a time, the service was not very popular. I have read some- where that a British Soldier costs, before he is fit to take the field £100 sterling. If so, those who sent you Soldiers in a time of peril, at the cost of J!'500, should not be severely blamed. But, did they cost this sum ? No — not a third of it. I have a statement before me, of the entire expense of enlisting, clothing, subsisting and drilling 597 men, in- cluding the cost of transportation until they reached the shores of England. It amounts to but £33 per man, less 69 by more than ♦,wo-thircls, than the sum named by the accu- rate member for Sheliield. IIavint>; disposed of your financial mis-statements, let me now demand u})on what authoril/ you have ventured to assert that " by my intervention people were employed to break the law of the United States, aiul that by my hands they were paid for so doing." I deny tlie accusa- tion. I plead, before the peo[)lc of Eiij^land — Not Giulty. I demand the proof, and, if ever I see l^iUgland ajrain, will call upon you to produce it before your own constituents, or acknowledf^'c the injiistice of the accusation. I was sent into the United States in the spring of 1855, not to violate the law, but to ascertain the value of certain representations made by parties in that country, that thousands of men wished to come lawfully, f)eacefully, and without any infringement of law, or olfence to the authori- ties, into the British Provinces, there to enlist in the service of the Queen. That duty — one of some hazard and delicacy — I performed : and I challenge you, if not in the presence of Parliament, before the erii[)ire of which wc are citizens, to prove against me one illegal act, done or instigated in the United States, during the two months that I spent in that country. It is true that the District Attorney laid before the Grand Jury of New Yorlc, a Bill of Indictment against me for a misdemeanor. Nt)body who knows the state of feeling in the city at the time, or the devotion of that func- tionary to the interests of Russia, will doubt his anxiety to sustain it — but he could not. It is true that a clerk in my employment, was arropted and tried at Philadelphia — but he was honourably acquitted, the Judge deciding that no violation of law had been committed. What right have you then to assuui^i that I, or any person over whom 1 had legitimate control, violated the laws of the United States ? In British Courts of Justice you were taught to presume the innocence of persons, arraigned with all the formalities of law, until their guilt was pruved. You reverse the rule. You assume the guilt of a British gentleman, who, for two months, walked the streets in the midst of his enemies, and the enemies of his country, and whom they dared not try ; and of another, who when tried, was honourably acquitted. The only extenuation that I can discover for such folly or injustice, is to su))posr tiiat the wretched Philadelphia 70 pamphlet, containing the trial of one Henry Hertz and Emanuel C. Perkins, has mislead you. Had you known that four months ago, in public letters addressed to the prosecuting officer, which have never yet been answered, I had exposed that poor conspiracy, shewing Perkins to have been insane and Hertz unworthy of credit, I cannot believe that you would have made the speech of which I have so much reason to complain. Your attack on Sir Gas])ard Le Marchant is even more unjust than your attack on me. That officer never left the Province of which he was the Governor, or did an act beyond his legitimate jurisdiction. He opened a depot for recruits in Halifax, on British soil — under our national flag. When Foreign officers came to him and offered their services or the services of their countrymen, they w ere informed of the terms upon which they would be em- j)loyed and their followers enlisted. The only document which he sent into the United States, was an official pub- lic notice that men would be enlisted on certain terms at Halifax. Judge Kane decided that it was no violation of law to circulate this notice in the United States. If his law be sound, then I challenge you to shc.v one act done by Sir Gaspard Le Marchant that justifies the coarse lan- guage applied to him. As rcspcctb the Governor-General, I can only say that I do not believe your allegations. If Sir Edmund Head erred at all, in this matter, it was on the side of extreme caution lest offence should be given. Mr. Crampton has been abused unsparingly in the United States. He might, however culpable, it appears to me, be spared in the British Senate until his defence is complete, and until the peculiar difficulties and delicacy of his posi- tion are rightly understood. In a letter which I addressed to the District Attorney of Philadelphia, on the 6th of No- vember, the conduct of Mr. Crampton, so far as it had come under my observation, was successfully vindicated. Read a single extract : ♦'But all these witnesses liave been summoned to make out, if pos- sible, a case aj^ainst Mr. Crampton. Now I liave evidence to prove the delicacy and leg'ality of that u'cntleman's conduct and designs at this period, worth " a cloud of witnesses" such as you have con- jured up. I produce it without tlie possibility of any concert with His Excellenry, whom I have not seen for months, because I know that it will be weighed in the Court to which I appeal against the ex jxirte proceedings at Philadelphia. Mr. Burgthal fixes the date of our joint infraction of your Neutrality laws on or about the " 10th 71 or 12th of IVIarcli." On the llth of March I received a letter from Mr. ('rainiitoii, which I give verbatim. Let the world at large jud}^e whether the writer of it was at the time conspiring with me to vio- late the Neutrality lawa of the United States. Wash'uitjton, March 1 1, 1856. Mv PRAn Sin, I enclose, for your information and guidance in the matter in which you are engaged, an opinion which, at my request, has been drawn up by an eminriit American Lawyer, in regard to the bearing of the Neufrality laws of the Uniit.'d States, upon the siibject. This gentleman is also very well acquainted with the practical operation of the law in this countrj', influenced as it always is, more or leas, by the prevalent feelings of the day, and the action of the press. I have entire'conhdcnce in the correctness of his views. You will per- ceive that what can be done in the U. S., either by agents of H. M. Government directly, or by American citizens or residents, is re- stricted within very narrow limits ; and that grci-xt caution will be re- quired to avoid even the least appearance of employing any device for eluding the law. 1 have entire contidonce in your prudence and discretion in this respect, but I would beg of you to inculcate the utmost circumspection u{)on all those with whom you may have to