Executive Mansion,
Washington, July 25, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of
the Navy,
SIR,
Certain matters
have come to my notice, and considered by me, which induce me to believe that
it will conduce to the public interest for you to add to the general
instructions given to our Naval Commanders, in relation to contraband trade,
propositions substantially as follows, to wit: —
1st. “You will
avoid the reality, and as far as possible, the appearance of using any neutral
port to watch neutral vessels and then to dart out and seize them on their
departure.”
Note — “Complaint
has been made that this has been practised at the Port of St. Thomas, which
practice, if it exist, is disapproved and must cease.”
2d. “You will not
in any case detain the crew of a captured neutral vessel, or any other subject
of a neutral power on board such vessel as prisoners of war or otherwise,
except the small number necessary as witnesses in the prize court.”
Note — “The
practice here forbidden is also charged to exist, which, if true, is
disapproved and must cease.”
My dear Sir, it is
not intended to be insinuated that you have been remiss in the performance of
the arduous and responsible duties of your Department, which I take pleasure in
affirming has, in your hands, been conducted with admirable success. Yet while
your subordinates are, almost of necessity, brought into angry collision with
the subjects of foreign States, the representatives of those States and
yourself do not come into immediate contact for the purpose of keeping the
peace, in spite of such collisions. At that point there is an ultimate and
heavy responsibility upon me. What I propose is in strict accordance with
international law, and is therefore unobjectionable; while if it do no other
good, it will contribute to sustain a considerable portion of the present
British Ministry in their places, who, if displaced, are sure to be replaced by
others more unfavorable to us.
Your Obd't Serv't
Abraham Lincoln.
SOURCE: Gideon
Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and
Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30, 1864, p. 451-2
