Note Footnote 54: — Chapter XXVII · (continued 2)

Viscount Palmerston had on Monday a meeting at the Treasury of the Chancellor, Doctor Lushington, the three Law Officers,54 the Duke of Somerset, Sir George Grey, and Mr Hammond.55 The result of their deliberation was that, according to the Law of Nations, as laid down by Lord Stowell, and practised and enforced by England in the war with France, the Northern Union being a belligerent is entitled by its ships of war to stop and search any neutral Merchantmen, and the West India Packet is such; to search her if there is reasonable suspicion that she is carrying enemy's despatches, and if such are found on board to take her to a port of the belligerent, and there to proceed against her for condemnation. Such being ruled to be the law, the only thing that could be done was to order the Phaeton frigate to drop down to Yarmouth Roads from Portsmouth, and to watch the American steamer, and to see that she did not exercise this belligerent right within the three-mile limit of British jurisdiction, and this was done. But Viscount Palmerston sent yesterday for Mr Adams to ask him about this matter, and to represent to him how unwise it would be to create irritation in this country merely for the sake of preventing the landing of Mr Slidell, whose presence here would have no more effect on the policy of your Majesty with regard to America than the presence of the three other Southern Deputies who have been here for many months. Mr Adams assured Viscount Palmerston that the American steamer had orders not to meddle with any vessel under any foreign flag; that it came to intercept the Nashville, the Confederate ship in which it was thought the Southern Envoys might be coming; and not having met with her was going back to the American coast to watch some Merchantmen supposed to be taking arms to the Southern ports.