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VOL. LXI HALEIGH WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 0,1861. N044 i it f Sixi-Wzkly, (single eopj,) 4 00 Wuxir, z w Pa) able ievariably ia i4noc. ItAIEICH. y. C. . FATURDAT MOratUNd, NOV. 1, 1S1. TUB STATE COStraTIOS. la a fortnight (rem ibis time, ( the 15ti int.,) tbe State Convention will re-assemble I it tbe Capitol.' Sicca iu reoesa was taken, 1 ust nioroentoui events bara transpired. ttoce then, tbe Utile of Boll Rua, Manaa iik Uill, Lexiagton, Canefaxa Ferry, Cleat Moantain end Leesburg, bate beea fbeght, and tbe result of each oonflict baa Uea tbe crowning of ibe SoAtbern anna aitb tbe laurels of a splendid victory. Aa aa off set to those aioal and repeated aucoeetea of tor anas, tbe Yankee eaa only point to tbe capture of UaUeras, aad tbe trilling affair of Kkb Mountain. When tbe Contention left br e were bat begiooing the experiment of maintaining oar independence aa a Nation. Wbea it retorna it will almost fiod it aa ac complished faet. Sioea the receai wis takes, too, Co Tern or I John W. Kliia baa paid tbe debt of Nature, and beea called from tbe acene of bia patri oiio labor to a bettet world, leaving tbe du tU a of bia o5ee to be diac barged bj the Jlon erable Speaker of the 8euatc. Tbeee events, we hope aad presume, will call the attention of the Convention to that anomaly in our Statu Constitution which coun tenances and, ia fact, provides that ia a cer tain contingency there may be a eombioatiao cf executive and legislative powera that the Speaker of the Senate ahall be, at one and the same time, GorernoT of tbe Stale. This provision of tbe Constitution we apprehend to be ia direct conflict wiih the prineiplea of republican representative government, and should be aubetitoted by a clause providing for the eleetioa of aXieuteoant OoTeraor, without salary, aatil Ue contingency shall arise which will impose apon bice the dis charge of the do lie of tbe Guber natorial ffiee. W believe that paUio opinion in ibe Stat demands this, or some equivalent reined for the defect ia the pre aeat Coaatitatioa. What other eubjeete will ooeupy the at teotioa of tbe Contention, we do aot presume totamise. Itiaia the main compoaed of as shle nd-plnolio mea as eaa be found ia any Slate, aad w trust with confidence to it wisdom for the proper disposition of any "" question pertaining to North Carolina wel fare and honor which may arise. THE MILITIA OF NEW HANOVER 4 BRUNSWICK COUNTIES. We are reqoestJ by Ga. Anderson, comman ds of Coast Defence a, to Ut that be baa called on ua civil authorities ol toe eDove coonu tot the MmUinr or toe militia oi crnnswic it at Smith villa; and of New Hanover at Wil mington, without delay. Etery maa U reques ..i . .k mA imanilloo as thV caa procure and eome quick. Wilmington Jotr- nmt. SDeculatiBF oa the contingency of an at tack upoa Wilmingtoa by the Yankee, tbe Journal make some sensible remaru oa me policy to be pursued ia relation to tbe Rail road. It aaya the effect of destroying the Railroad would be to isolato ail that section of the State, and cut it off from succor, while the Yankees would hare an oatlet by the tea- It therefore advisee that a little of the roll in? stock- a eoesible should be kept at Wil mington, and thai arrangement be made to take no saeh corlions of the track as may be deemed necessary to arrest the progress of the Yankee, and deposit the rail ta some convenient alee in the interior, to taai tney U may be relaid, and thus keep the Road under the control of its manager. MOKE YA5KEB PBIOJIEIt9 SET TO THE SOUTH. T bmdred and tea of the Yankee pris oners takea at the battle of Leeaburg were carried through this plaoe yesterday morning oa their wav to winter oar t era ia Columbia. Amrag them we're two boy, greatly aader is.. it which .that ahoald Have Deen ex posed to the rigora of a campaign, ar the has .,.1. of the battle field. There are aome fire Vnn-a mora of the Yankee taken at Leea- borr still ia Richmond. And yet, the Yaa- ke account represent their total ioa at u Utile, if killed aad priaooers, at x Aua if the Yankee. were as expert at fightiog aa they ara at lying, they could con- qaeT the world ia arm. . - COSGBEiWIOWAI. FLECTIOJJ IN THE SECOND REUIJIBNT. Information ha reached this city that at th ..Winn ta tbe 2nd Becunent f. t. oi anteers, staUoned near Norfolk, Arrington rmd m. LaaTT majority OTcr Mesars. Yen- alle and Turner. The toto for Mr. Gooch is not giren. Gm. Bragr. eommaadar of the ' CoafaderaU tortm at Psoaacola, was oa a TWlto atomic a lb aitb alt. TUB TKUE POLICY. The following viewe of the Hob. J. Per kins, Jr a member of Coagresa from Louis iana, ia a letter to a friend, which ha found it way to the press, indicate the true policy of the South in it intercourse with the North when peace ahall be "restored. The South must niTer resume with the North that trade whioh made tbe Yankee strong, arrogant and boastful. There is scarcely anything which the South has heretofore purchased from tbe North that cannot be obtained on bet'erUrmj.both as to price and quality, from European marketa. Kvpeao dealers are in the main honest, and commercial honor in Europe is highly valued and sedulously cher ished. With the Yankees the precise reverse is the case. If a Yankee can impose a spa rious article upoa a customer, he congratu latea himself oa hi "eaten ess,", andrraUr to rest with the consciousness of having done a good day 'a work. As to "commercial hon or, such words are not to be found in the Yankee vocabulary. The policy, tben is to cave tbena to themselves ; to hare, if we can help it, no dealings with them, and let them practice their thieving arts upon each other : -Politic! Intiependeoce, without commercial independence, will be an abstraction. For aome roiada it ia difficult to realize the fact, that in at taining an independent nationality, we are to es tablUb. at tbe same time, a distinct iodi vidualitr. Our 'domestic and foreign policy must not and cannot be, in the nature of circumstances, a mere imitation of that oi tbe old bovernment.' Our true interest requires a closer alliance, through commercial treaties, with European nations than wilh rival nation at our aide, tor me, 1 desire in the future none but the most restricted and ne cessary intercourse with the people of the M orlb- era Slates. ve sill ainer ironi mem in me char acter of our institutions, in our moral or de, in tbe habits aad feeling of our people, and instead of assimilation, I would encourage not an antag onistic, but an entirely distinct and different de velopment of national character. To this end, should Eneland and France recognize our inde pendence, I would think it wise to duenmminate for a limited penoOj alter toe lerminauou oi toe war. in favor of their vessels and manufactured articles. I would not surrender the right, under a commercial treaty, to impose auch dutiea aa we plraae upon foreign importations ; but should con aider it rotors of eeJf-respect to agree with Eng land or France, in consideration or their expos ing themselves to a war with the United States bv raisins- the present blockade, to tai, for a lim ited period after the termination of the war, arti cles of Northern manufacture or imports in North ern veaseU, 10 or even 20 per cent. eigDer man similar goods of European manufacture. For the last twenty years lbs Northern States bave lived upon the resources of the South. We bave paid an annual tribute of millions in support of their fisheries, thus building up for tbem tne marine hiehnow infests our coasta. Br a system ot navigation laws, we bave permitted them to beg gar our own maritime ports in building up the great cities f the North. Added to this, under a sentiment of national pride, we bave fostered tbeir manufactures at the ezpenae oi ail ouer nations. "Under tbeee circumstances, a discrimination against tbem to tbe eit-nt of 10 or 20 per cent would be, in effect, only placing tbem on an equality with other nations. They live immedi ately along our border ; they understand tbe character of our wan ta; our people are in the babitof purchasing from tbem; our mercnanu have Mways bad credit with them; our foreign importations bave alwsjs been made through hm and bv azencies.in their midst they bave credit abroad which we have not yet secured. Should peace be established to-morrow, with, out the creation of aome auch legislative barriers aa I bare indicated, old channels or traae wouia revive, agents of Northern manuiaciurers wouia infest our cities, cheap and inferior article of Northern manufacture would preclude the intro duction of the superior, substantial European ar ticle, and at once and forever prostrate those in cipient manufactures, which are now, under the impulse oi patriotism ana tne puouewBn, k' lJ,s inc no in every part of the South. Not can we be properly coargea wiia vmaicuTo jwhuj wo legulati-io I propose, thir first action in the MnntiromerT Conirreas waa to aend Commission ers to treat with the Northern State in the most liberal and friendly spirit. Our tomm.-ionrri were contemptuously refused an audience. Our next action waa to aend similar Commissioners to v.,wn n.tions.- Should the politeness wuu which these representatives have been listened to ripen into cordial sympathy and then into actual recognition pf oar existence as an independent nalioo, I do not think it would be unwise in us to respond to their friendly disposition by the tormation of treaties or me cusrscwr u cated." ..-rrr . J. m Antm In mir (VUinlrV '. and we serve (Jod and our country both, when a m ta - - a J ft we strengthen me nanos oi its aimo. aV.i'. m. -.-Iliant arsAArh vouflV ladv. and it's ' v.1- - dkLi Hnrava Khoe. with an ear- . - ...;. til ttmrnm Aftitn tnld the MSIor '.bt the women of thla country bad as honest thoughts about tola nere war, ana was as wu iv. -m-n . ami mnmM ot them, perhaps, a Utile warmer. They could be pitted against the . 1 . f . V . .Ink. in hMP. women oi any par oi uio 4uwm 6,"w ing and forbearing both, when it ia for the good of the country.- Hon Shoe Bobiiuon. The compliment paid by honest and brave Flora Shoe to the women or WO u eminently applicable to their Southern female descen dant of the present day. in tne struggle now rain for liberty, the women of the South are most nobly holding ap the hands of it defendera. Although their ex forbids tbeir appearance in battle, they in innumer- able ways provide for the beaitn ana eomiort of our soldier on the battle field, and many a Yankee is made to atagger or bite tbe dust m. a . bv a blow from an arm nerved witn tne con aciousaea that woman's smiles will welcome the return of the victor from the battle field, or her tears bewail hi death upon it. CANDIDATES FOB CONGRESS.. Messrs. Arrington, Gooch and Turner, candidate for Congress in this District, ad dressed the people of Raleigh, at the Court House, oa Wednesday evening. James G. Burr bss been chosen Cashier of tbe Bank of Cape Fear, at Wilmington, to an me va caney occasioned by the death of -Henry B. Sav age. --Vj , . '.. HUNG.. .., , ' Ji In eomformity with the sentenoe passed upon him at the late term of the Superior rjourFof this County, hhan, the slave of Thomas Ferrell, was hung on yesterday at the Rock Quarry, near this City, his offence being the burning of Hayes Store in this County. While under the gallows he made a full con fession of his crime, stating that he alcoa waa guilty of the arson. About 2000 per sons, 'we hear, er joyed tbe luxury of seeing a human being choked to death, and among them we ate sorry to saj, was no inconsid erable number of white women. i i n DISTJilCT CONVENTION. At a meeting of the delegates of the Ninth Vsougressiuuai xutiric, uciu iu iuo iwnuvii Wilkeaborough, N. C, on the 22d of Octo-j ber, 1SG1, for the purpose of nominating xl candidate to represent the citizens of said District in the Congress of the Confederate States of America, "and also to nominate a candidate for District Elector for President and Vioe President, and candidates for Elec tors for the State at large, Hon. Burgess 8. 0 either was nominated as the candidate for Congress, and Tod R. Caldwell, Esq., as the Presidential Elector for the District. We are sincerely glad to find the following paragraph in the Petersburg Ex press of Wednesday : Arrival or the Uok. R. K. AIkade. It gives us great pleasure to announce, upon unques tionable authority, that the Hon. K. K. Meade, late U. S. Minister to Brazil, has arrived safely in a Southern port lie will no doubt be aiongft us in a fow days. Where's Lincoln's blockade ? "ON THE EVB OF STAHTLING EVENTS." . i- Richmond has been for some time "on the eve of startling events.' We should say that it was about time that next day had eome. Tim NEWS, IN II KIEF. North Carolina has expended for war purposes the sum of $2,044,522 96. Hon. Wm. C. Rives publishes a letter in the Lvnchbure Krqinian, declining any further use of his name as a candidate for a seat in the Con federate Congress. When Gen. Lovoll arrived in New Orleans, by his own request, be was not saluted. He said : Gentlemen, keep your powder dry. and spend it on the enemjM" Samuel H. Boyd, Esq., of Rockingham, bas been elected to the House of Commons, to fill tiie vacancy occasioned by Ibe resignation of Capt Thomas Slade, now in the army. Gen. Van-Djrn has been made the recipient of a sucerb war -steed, magnificently caparisoned, as an evidence of the admiration and gratitude of the people of Texas. Miss Florence Nightingale, the soldiers friend, is so seriously ill as to preclude all hope of her recovery. Tbe Boston Commercial Bulletin reports seven failures and auspensions in Boston, five in New York, four in Philadelphia and twenty-five in other places a total of forty-one for the past week. A duel occurred in New Orleans, on WeJn - dsv last, between two white women, in which one of the combatanta was severely injured. They fought with bowie-knives. SL John's College, located at Annapolis, Md., a venerable institution of learning, has been sus pended. We see that the Governors of Obio and Indi ana bave issued addresses to the women of tbeir States, appealing to them to furnish blankets and clothine for the volunteers. Tbe Federal Gov ernment has advised them of their inability to furnish any more blankets, the supply at the North being entirely exhausted. THE DEPARTURE. "OF OUR MINISTERS, JO. JtOOlKj. D.LtJ.XJ.Ei.LiJJ u juaoun. Tha New Orleana Delia bas the following in relation to the departure of Messrs. Slidell and Mason, Confederate Stale Ministers to France and Eneland: Our Ministers, John Slidell and James M. Ma ton, with tbeir secretaries and families, started from Charleston on last Friday for Europe, hav ing experienced no difficulty inevading the block- aderS in a IS Steaiuor. UJinw nawuisina um.v, n MMTird to the denarture oi these eenllemen. which were not exactly correct, and b . ... i ... r t some doubt naa oeen eifrawu as vj iu They did not go in th Naahville, aa stated in a Petersburg paper, and it ia not a matter of much interest bow they got off ; but that they did depart, and that they were not pursued by the enemy's ships, and that they are now far beyond their reach, may be surmised by our readers as certain ties. iaVauiiiwi dell) is en rout tor bia port, and will, without doubt, arrive at x aria uj yieeuu N. O. Bed Mr. Yakckt. Hon. W. h. Yancey bas writ ten a letter from London to the editor of tbe Montromery Advertiser, saying that if elected by the Legislature as Confederate Senator from Alabama, he would serve in that capacity. His lttr concludes as follows : If I cannot finish my mission here, or shall not, be honorably recaiiea oeiore me m umurj, shall ask tbe President to recall me. T came here reluctantly, at bis request at great personal and pecuniary sacrifice which I cannot continue ion 1 .v. it.i inn as thecountrv has so manv able men who can supply the vacancy to be made by my retirement. . , Promotioms. We learn that Col. Louis T. Wigfall, of Texas, baa been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of the Provisional Army, Brigadier General Bon htm, commanding tbe Soutb Carolina loroes in uie arm; v- v. - KHimnlml trt the 'rank of Maior mac, uas van" ! . " , " , -... General, and it U sUled that Col. Kershaw will be mad a Brigadier uenerai. j NEWS FROM THE SOUTH. i ' ' I PRISOXKRS kxcuakoed: The Memphis Appeal, of the 24th instant, has the following : .7 I We learn by passengers from Columbus.tbat sn exchange of prisoners took place at that point on Wednesday lasv A Federal boat, under a flag of truce, came down from Cairo, and after anchor ing tin the middle of the river, as visit ed by the J Confederate officers, j - when an exchange waa proposed by Ibe Federalists, which - was acceded to by Generals Polk and Pillow, upon the apparently uneqnar terms of permitting the unconditional release of sixteen Federal prisoners for the extension of a like favor to throe Confederate soldiers, who bad been so unfortunate as to fall into tbe hands of the enemy. The interview is said to bave been an agreeable one, the Federal boat having been courteously (?) escorted without our lines by one ol our own ves sels., I . ' ' - A HAPPY RKPLY. . ' From ihe Memphis Appeal, of the 25th, we copy the following: . j An incidont is related as having occurred -be tween the officials engagod in the exchang of prisoners at Col um dim, tho other day. Aft-r tha preliminaries were arranged, a repast was: partaken or, uurioir wtnen one ot tne r eaerai officers, rising, proposed "The memory of George Washington." Ihe company instantly rose.wnen Gen. Polk responded," "The memory of George Washington, the. nrst rebel." Tbe toast, our In formant says, was drunk in ominous silence by the Federal officers wbo wre present. 1 Ibe story is too good not to be true, or to be lost, i AN ATROCIOUS OUTRAGE. We copy the fotlowine from the Memphis (Tenn.) Appeal, of the 25th : ' We have announced that an attempt was made to burn tho railroad bridge, a short distance this siJe ot Clarksville, last week. The Jeffersoniait irives information of another outrage, .by wnicn on Saturday night last, atrain of twenty-five car?, containing soldiers, was thrown on the iracu near Buud s Creek, and ta snort time mice a large log was placed on the track. The villains who com- mitsuch outrages a-fthis should be ferrettod out and brought to summary punishment. i SERIOUS ACCIDENT, j Tho Plnrb-avtHn fTnn. Jetferitontan. 8&VS that w-. - w -- - I r an accident occurred in that place, a few days since, at the funeral of Capt. Beaumont, which for a short time produced some confusion and no little alsrm. A musket, in the bands of Mr. Joshua Rico, bursted, and without doing any seri ous iniurv. U dieted some quite painful wounds about the liead of Dr. Acree. Mr. Rice's hands were also somewhat injured. ' HON. W. A. LAKE. Th; Mnilamtn IrIaIt killej in a duel a few t 1 j Java tt"o. bad more than twenty years ben a member ot unrisiunurcn, -episcopalian, in v K..r Th vnat.rv muAi resolutions exDressive vt. A J t I of reret at his loss. One of them reads as M- lows: "That deploring tne aeatu 01 nir. ..unite, aad regarding it as a personal calamity that has befallen each one of us, we deem the occasion an appropriate one to express our solemn condem i;aii nT tht rcuia at honor to whose false teach ings our lamented friend fall a sacrifice." COMMENDABLE PURPOSE A CONFEDERATE GENE RAL. ' A woman residing in Memphis, whose husband s n:iY J .. .. is a volunteer m.ixen. riuow cumiuauu, tojn- 1. .,.it him t.t she had not received any asais- rm tha itv Authorities, and added thttt he did know how herself and children could get along, ine contents 01 iud mwr ui5 "-" Gen. Pillow, he addressed a le-.terto the Memphis press in which he states that unless Ihe families of tbe volunteers under him are property taken care of, he will release all such as bave families de pendent upon tbem. COTTON LEATINO THE COAST. Tho Mnnimmnrv Mail is informed that four steamers are running from Columbus, Ga., to Ap- alacbicola, Dringing an tne coivou..riui ma yvui to the interior landings. There are about 8,000 bales at Apalachicola. HON. C. J. JAULKNEU. The Berry ville (Va.) Conservator says : w iparn that Hon. A. R. Boteler bas been en deavoring to secure the release of Hon. C. J. Faulkner from his incarceration at Fort Lafayette and that negotiations are now being made that are likely to result in nis restoration w uis laiuujr .... ana irienas. . EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. ii The Northern press continue to urge an, exi change of prisoners. The New York World pate the subject in the following forcible manner : On no subject connected with the rebellion is public sentiment more decided than in urging Ihe Government to take immediate measures for an exchange of prisoners. We are ! receiving evi dence of general concurrence in our positions from private sources, as well as through, the pub lic press, to an extont which indicates extreme disappointment at the non-accomplishment of the object. The tardiness of tbe Administration in this matter, however it may be justified, ia incom prehensible to the multitudes who are either rush ing to arms or sustaining those who are in arms for the national defence. j rtna nf tha latatt manifestations of the public ientimentreach.es us from prominent men in Michigan, including some of tne most honored names of the Peninsula. Such an expression from such estimable sources deserves more than ordi nary consideration. The general sense of right is quickened in these remonstrances by particular sympathy for the gallant Col. Wilcox and other Michigan volunteers, yet groaning in the comfort less prisons of the South. "When will this ques tion be settled ?" they emphatically inquire uTiwu hnnArnA thnnsand volunteers now in the field desire to know, as tbeir friends desire to know, what shall be their fate in case of capture by toe enemy 1 wuetDBrioutiuuira iiuuiisuumcui in rebel dungeons, or honorable exchange, af fording opportunity for future service to their .-.- ?" i . While repudiating the idea that such exchange would be an "implied recognition -of the rebel Confederacy,' they assert that even granting this position, wnicn mey ao not, me overuu.em uw .i.ori- aanxfinnAd nthnr acts of eauai significance. They refer, for examples out of many such acts, to the terms of capitulation at Fort Sumter to the sending and receiving flags of trw to the exchange of prisoners by the opposing Generals in Missouri to the course of General Butler in receiving, and that of the Government in treating, the Hatteras garrison as prisoners of war and to the recognition of Kentucky "neutrality" be tween our Government and the Southern Con federacy. 'Will it be practicable," they ask, "to hang as traitors the two thousand prisoners we now have, with all the multitudes we shall have?". "Will it be expedient to retain all we capture? Or shall we adopt the battle cry of 'no prisoners,' and thus settle the question, leaving the rebels to retaliate by hanging or shooting our volunteers like dogs T" If not this, then let us have a fair and prompt exchange. Let tbe great evil no lon ger continue. "In the name of heaven," tboy ex claim, "let us promptly have a rule of action an open, known rule by which our volunteering thousands may know what to expect, rather than continue the present silence end inaction on a subject which affects millions beide those now in or enlisting for the battlefield." ; "England, in the war of tbe Revolution, took the position toward us that our Government how takes toward tbe Southern rebels refusing to ex change prisoners--but soon abandoned 'it; and exchanges afterward became freque.jt. But did not England all the while, with true British per tinacity and valour, continue her endeavours to subdue us T Had she succeeded and crushed us in our national infancy, our Michigan friends in quire, 'would the f tct of having exchanged pris oners with us have altered the fact of England's su(2s.s, or made us a nation despite of that ruc ceslT If we crush out the rebels, as we mean to do, the exchange of prisoners will not make the rebels Confederacy a nation ; and, it we do not crush tbem, they will become a nation whether ws exchange prisoners or not. " - We deem it due, alike to the subject and to the estimable citizens who have addressed themselves to us, .that their com plaints and their hopes shall! bave, aS we now give them, free utterance. The Boston Courier says the following petition is being circulated and signed in that State r "To the President and Cabinet of the United States: We, the undersigned, citizens of Massa chusetts, respectfully pray that the Government take some immediate measures to procure the ex change or release from imprisonment of those sol diers of tho Federal army now held as prisoners of war by Ihe rebels." The Yankees will be compelled to knock under on tbe prisoner question. It would have Been belter for them to start right ; but experience is teaching them properly. i diplomatic correspondence be tween -secretary seward ani lordlyons.- ! The following correspondence between Lord Lyons, representing the Government of Her Bri tanic Mnjesly near the Government of the United States, and Mr. Secretary Seward, representing Lincoln's Kingdom, touching the military arrests of two British subjects on the ground of thtsir al leged complicity in the existing rebellion of the Southern States; against the Constitution'and au thority of the Federal Government, as unjustly administered by Abe Lincoln, cannot fait to be road with interest: . I fjord Lyons to Mr. Seward. j Washington, Oct. 14, 1861. Sir: Her Majesty's Government were much concerned to find that two British (subjects, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Rabmi ig, bad bedn subjected to arbitrary arrest; and although they had learnt from a telegraphic dispatch from; me that Mr. Patrick had been released, they could not but re gard the matter as one requiring their very serU ous consideration. . "';!'- Her Msjesty's Government perceive that when British subjects, as well as American citizens, are arrested, they are immediately transferred to a military prison, and that the military authorities refuse to payjpbedience to a writ pf habeas corpus. Her Majesty's Government conceive that this practice is directly opposed to the maxim of the Constitution of the United States, 'Hnat no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property with out due process of law." " - Her Majesty's Government are willing,; how ever, to make every allowance fof the hard ne cessities of a time of internal trouble;. and they would not have been surprised if the ordinary se curities of personal liberty bad feen temporarily suspended,' nor would ' they have complained if British subjects falling under suspicion had suffer ed from the consequences of thai suspicion., But it does not appear that Congrees ha3 sanc tioned in this respect any departure from the due course of law ; and it isin these circumstances that the Law Officers of the Crown have advised her Majesty's Government lhatthe arbitrary arrests of British, subject are illegal. So far as appears lojher Majesty's Go verb ment, the Secretary of State of the United States exer cises, upon the upon the reports of spies and infor mers, the power ot depriving British subjects of their liberty, of retaining them in prison.lor liber ating them, by his own will and 'pleasure. Her Majesty's Government cannot but regard this despotic and arbitrary power as inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, at va riance with the treaties of amity subsisting between the two nations, and as tending to prevent the re sort of British subjects to the United States for purposes of trade and industry. Her Majesty's Government have therefore felt bound to instruct me to remonstrate against such irregular proceedings, and to say that, in their opinion, the authority of Congress is necessary in order to justify the arbitrary arrest and imprison ment of British subjectA J have the honor to be, eir, with the highest consideration, your most obedient humble servant, j . LYONS. To the Hon. William H. SewSrd, &c Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons, Department? op State, j Washington, Oct- 14, 1861. My Lord: I have the honor to acknowlede vour lordship's noteof the present date. Here follows a minute recapitulation ef the po sitions assumed by Lord Lyons which being almost word for word the letter of the British Minister, e deem it unnecessary to publish it. The facts in regard to tbe twe persons named in your note are as follows: Communications from the regular police of the country to the Executive at Washington showed that disloyal persons in the State of Alabama were conducting treasonable, correspondence with Con federates, British subjects, and American citizens, in Europe, aimed at the overthrow of the Federal Union by armed forces actually in the field and besieging the Capital of the United States. A por tion of this correspondence, which was intercepted, was addressed to the firm of Smith & Patrick, bro kers, long established and doing business in the city of New York. It appeared that this firm had a branch at Mobile, that the partner, Smith, is a disloyal citizen of the United States, and that he was in Europe when the -treasonable papers were sent from Mobile, addressed through the bouse of Smith & Patrick, in New York. On receiving this information Wm. Patrick was arrested and committed into custody at Fort Lafayette by an order ofthe Secretary of Warof the United States, addressed to the police of the city of New York. These proceedings took place on the 28th of Au gust last. - ' ' . , . Representations were thereupon made to the Secretary of State by friends on the part of Mr. Patrick to the effect that notwithstanding his as sociations be was personally loyal to thia Govern ment, and that he was ignorant of the treasonable nature of the correspondence ; which was being carried on through the mercantile house of which he was a member. Directions were thereupon giver by the Secretary of S ate te a proper agent to inquire into the correctness of the facta thus presented, and ihis inquiry resulted in the estab lishment of their truth. Mr. William Patrick was thereupon promptly released from custody by direction of the Secretary of State-'This release occurred on the 13th day of September last. On theseeond day of September the Superinten dent of Police in tbe city of New York informed the Secretary of State, by telegraph, that he had under arrest J. C. Kahming.Jwhofaad just arrived from ! Nassau, where be bad attempted to in duce the owners of tbe scbr. "Arctic" to take cannon to Wilmington, in North . Carolina, . for the use of Ihe rebels, and inquired what he should do with the prisoner.' J. C. Rahming was there- upon, committed into military custody at Fort Lafayette, under a mandate from the Secretary of Stale. This commitment was made on the day of September. " On the 1 Tth tf that month this' prisoner, after due inquiry, was released from custody on his executing a bond in tbe penalty of $2,500, with a condition that he should thereafter bear true allegiance to tbe United Sta' as, and do no act hostile or injurious to then) while remain ing under their protection. J- -. C!, 1 have to regret that,! after so long an official intercourse between the Governments of tbe.Uni ted States and Great Britain, it should be nece sary now to inform ber Msjesty's Ministers tbat all executive proceedings, whether of the Secreta ry of Warr of the Secretary f State, are, unless disavowed or revoked by the President, proceed ings of tbe President of the United States. s-i r. . t . v. veriainijr it is iiuit utvnrsrjr tu uwiunci iu tun British GoTornment now that an insurrection, at tended by ' civil and even social war, was exist ing in the United Stales when tbe proceedings which I have thus related took place. Bui it does seem necessary to ttate for the' information of tha. Government tbat Congress is by tbe Con stitution invested with ho executive power or re-' snonsibility whatever, and, on th contrary, tbat tne jrrreiuent oi tne u iniou outus) is, ivy me con stitution and laws, invested with the whole exec utive power of the Government, . and charged with the supremo direction of all municipal or ministerial civil agents, as' well as of the whole land and naval forces of the Union, and that, in vested wilh those ample powers, he is charged by the Constitution and laws with the absolute duty of suppressing, insurrection as well as of prevent ing ind repelling invasion; and. that' for these purposes he constitutionally exercises tbe right of sustnding the writ of habeas corpus whenever ana wheresoever and in whauuever xtent. the public safety, endangered by treason or invasion in arms, in bis judgment ' requires. Tbe proceedings of which the British Govern ment complain were taken upon information eon veyed to tbe President by legal police authorities of the country, and they were not instituted until after he bad suspended the great writ of freedom in just the extent that in view ofthe perils ofthe Slate be deemed necessary. . For the exercise of that discretion he, as welt as his advisers, among whom are the Secretary of War and tbe Secre tary of State, is responsible by law before the higheetjudicial tribunal ofthe Republic, and amen able also to the judgment of his countrymen, and the enlightened opinion of the civilized world. A candid admission contained in your letter re lieves me of any necessity for showing that the two persons named therein were neither known nor supposed to be British subjects when the pro ceedings occurred, and that irf every case subjects of her Majesty residing in the United S'ates, and under their protection, are treated during the present troubles in the same manner, and with no grpater or less rigor, than American citizens, k The military prison which was used for the . temporary detention of the suspected parties is a fort constructed and garrisoned tor the public de fence. The military officer charged with their custody has declined to pay obedience to the writ of habeas corpus, but the refusal,, was made in obedience to an express direction of the President, in tbeexercise of his functions as Commander-in-Chief of all the land and naval forces of the United Stated. Although it is not very impor tant, it certainly is not entirely irrelevant to add, that, so far as I am informed, no writ of habeas corpus was attempted to be served, or wis even sued out or applied for in behalf of either of tbe , persons named ; although in a case not dissimilar the writ of habeas corpus was issued out in favor of another British subject, and was disobeyed by direction of tho President. The British Government have candidly con ceded, in tbe remonstrance before me, tbat even in this country, so remarkable for so long an en joyment by its people of the highest immunities of personal freedom, war, and especially civil war, cannot be conducted exclusively in the forms and with the dilatory remedies provided by municipal laws, which are adequate to the preservation of public order in a time of peace. Treason always ' operates, if possible, by surprise, and prudence and humanity, therefore,: equally require that violence concocted in secret shall be prevented, if practicable, by unusual and vigorous precaution. Iam fully aware ot;the inconveniences which result from the practice of such precaution, em barrassing communities in social life, and affect ing, perhaps, trade and intercourse with foreign nations. 1 , But the American people, after having tried in every way to avert civil war, have accepted it at last as a stern necessity. . The chief interest, while it lasts, is not the enjoyments of society, or the profits of trade, but tbe saving of national life. That life saved, ail the other blessings which attend it will speedily return, with greater assu rance of continuance than ever oefore. The safety of tbe whole people has become, in the pre- sent emergency, the supreme law, and so long as the danger shall exist, all classes of society equal ly, tbe denizen and the citizen, cheerfully ac quiesce in the measures which that law prescribes. This Government does not question the learn inc of the leeal advisers of tbe British Crown, or justice of the deference which her Majesty pays to them. Nevertheless tbe British Government will hardly expect -that the Presi dent will accept their explanations of the Consti tution of the United States, espcially when the Constitution, thus expounded, would leave upon him the sole executive responsibility of suppress ing the existing insurrection, while it would transfer to Congress the most material and indis pensable power to be employed for that purpose. Moreover, these explanations find no real support in the letter, much less in the spirit, of the Constitu tion itself. He must be allowed, therefore, to pre fer and be governed by tbe view of our organic national law which, while it will enable him to execute bis great trust with complete success, re ceives the sanction of tbe highest authorities of our own country, and ia sustained by the general consent of the people, for whom alone .that Con stitution was established, f ! I avail myself of this opportunity to offer to Jour lordship a renewed assurance of my very igh consideration. - " ' ; " ' WILLIAM H. SEWABD. The Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c. , . The Lati Gen. GBATS0N-Gen Grayson , who died in Tallahasse, on the 2 1st of October, bad but recently been appointed to tbe command of ' the Confederate forces in Florida, k His re mains were sent to New Orleans for interment. ' ' 1 . ' a TvpmMT nr tttc WAR.-oTwobrotners.one living in Portsmouth, N. H., the other in New Orleans, owned, four ships, j Tbe Southern brother hoisted on two of the ships the Confederate flag, and the vessels were captured by the United States Ns,vy. The Northern brother hoisted on two of the ships the Stars and Stripes, and those vessels were captured by the Southern privateers. -j JOIOT lxlTJNDER'S , ,i RALEIGH, N. C Monuments Tombs, Headstones. Marble Mantels and Furniture. . JfORK JURNISHEIT AND PUT UP. Design furnished for Moavmeats if required. t MmQr&rt by snail paoataally attaaded to. asked aad Warraatad. ' I aaaplS wly
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 6, 1861, edition 1
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