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CAPTAIN WILKES’S SEIZURE OF MASON AND SLIDELL.

immediately demand their release, and that our Government- would beobliged to accede to this demand. When Mr. Slidell was leaving the sideof the Trent , he said to his wife, “ Good-bye, my dear, we shall meet in Parisin 60 days.” If I remember aright, he was but 20 days longer in rejoining her.

After the war I had a conversation with Captain Moir, in the presence ofan English chaplain, at St. Thomas. Captain Moir was there in command ofa large steamer running between Liverpool and Aspinwall, and I was in com-mand of the Susquehanna. Captain Moir invited the chaplain and myself tolunch, and after we were relieved from the presence of the waiters, only wethree in the cabin, he then reverted to an interview he had with the BritishAdmiralty on his return to England, whither he had been from St. Thomas.The Admiralty were very much disappointed and displeased with him for nothaving thrown the Trent on our hands, to which he replied (so he said to me)that it never had occurred to him; that, in fact, the officer who boarded theTrent was so civil, and had so closely occupied him in conversation aboutforeign matters, that he had failed to see what afterward was very plain.He recounted the excitement on ’Change over the affair, and expressed theconviction that all England would have demanded speedy redress, had Itaken the Trent. He had seen the reports in print in our newspapers, andhad read my orders to take possession and wondered that I had not.

Although Captain Wilkes and I viewed the seizure of the commissionersfrom different points of view, I cannot close this narrative without sayingthat Wilkes was one of our very best officers, a man of strong will-power,brave and intelligent, and I always entertained the highest respect for hisabilities and worth.

After parting from the Trent, the San Jacintoproceeded to the Florida coast, and thence, byway of the blockading fleet oS Charleston, toFort Monroe. Here report of the seizure wasmade, and the vessel was ordered to New York ,and thence, by order of Secretary Seward, toFort Warren, Boston harbor, where the prison-ers were confined during the diplomatic corre-spondence which followed. The commissionersexpressed their satisfaction at the consideratetreatment which they received, both from Caji-tain Wilkes during the voyage and from ColonelJustin Dimmick, the commander at Fort Warren.

On the 30th of November, Earl Russell, theBritish minister for foreign affairs, having receivedthe news of the seizure through a letter from Com-mander Williams (mentioned above), wrote toLord Lyons, the British minister at Washington,reciting the circumstances and saying in part:

“ Her Majesty’s Government, therefore, trust thatwhen this matter shall have been brought, under theconsideration of the Government of the United States ,that Government will, of its own accord, offer to theBritish Government such redress as alone could sat-isfy the British nation, namely, the liberation of thefour gentlemen and their delivery to your lordship,in order that they may again be placed under British protection, and a suitable apology for the aggressionwhich has been committed.”

On the 3d of December, the French Governmentalso made an informal protest, through its ministerat Washington, M. Mercier.

On the 26th of December, Mr. Seward wrote atlength to LordLyons, reviewing the case, and say-ing that the commissioners would be “cheerfullyliberated.” In the course of the letter Mr. Sewardsaid:

“ If I decide this case in favor of my own Government,I must disavow its most cherished principles, and re-verse and forever abandon its essential policy. Thecountry cannot afford the sacrifice. If I maintain thoseprinciples, and adhere to that policy, I must surrenderthe case itself. It will bo seen, therefore, that thisGovernment could not deny the justice of the claimpresented to us in this respect upon its merits. Weare asked to do the British nation just what we havealways insisted all nations ought to do to us.”

Accordingly, on the 1st of January, 1862, thecommissioners and their secretaries were placedon board the English vessel RinaMo, at Province-town, Mass., which had been designated by LordLyons to receive them. After a voyage of unusualrigor, during which they were compelled by stormsto alter the first plan of going by way of Halifaxand to run to Bermuda , the commissioners arrivedat Southampton , England, on the 29th of Jan-uary.— Editors.