Captain Forsyth, of the Valorous, also made inquiries of the captain of
the Alabama and of the Port Captain, and made known the result to me.
And upon all these statements I came to the conclusion that the vessels
were not less than four miles distant from land; and on the 8th I
communicated to the United States Consul that the capture could not, in
my opinion, be held to be illegal by reason of the place at which it was
effected.
In his reply of the 10th, the Consul endeavoured to show how
indefensible my decision must be, if, in these days of improved
artillery, I rested it on the fact of the vessels having been only three
miles from land. This passage is, I think, of considerable importance,
as involving an indirect admission that they were not within three miles
at the time of capture. And I hope your Grace will concur in my view
that it was not my duty to go beyond what I found to be the distance
clearly established by past decisions under international law.
An important question has arisen in connection with the Alabama, on
which it is very desirable that I should, as soon as practicable, be
made acquainted with the views of Her Majesty's Government. Captain
Semmes had mentioned after his arrival in port, that he had left outside
one of his prizes previously taken, the Tuscaloosa, which he had
equipped and fitted as a tender, and had ordered to meet him in Simon's
Bay, as she also stood in need of supplies.
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