On Thursday night Mr. Peacock led an assault on the
Govern- ment in the interest of the Confederates. A mess had been made . in the case of the Tuscaloosa at the Cape of Good Hope. The Tuscaloosa, formerly the Conrad, was a prize of the Alabama's laden with wool. With the wool still on board, a couple of little guns were put upon her and she was christened the Tuscaloosa, and thus supposed to be transformed into a ship of war of the Con- federate navy, and as such admitted into English waters in Simon's Bay through the mistake of the Attorney-General of the Cape. It is obvious that the Queen's proclamation against admitting the prizes taken by either belligerent into her ports must not be so completely set at naught as it would be if any jugglery of this sort were to be permitted. The blunder having been made, how- ever, it was made much worse by a seizure of the Tuscaloosa on her subsequent visit to our waters after instructions had been received correcting the erroneous law of the Cape Attorney-General from home. After leading her commander to believe that her status as a vessel of war was admitted, it was clearly a breach of faith to seize her as a prize which the Alabama was bringing into our waters in violation of the Queen's proclamation ; and, when this blunder was heard of, the authorities at home ordered her release. The debate arose on the abetract question whether a prize brought against the Order in Council into a neutral port could properly be taken possession of by the neutral Power, and handed over to the private owner from whom the belligerent had originally taken her. Sir Roundell Palmer argued very ably that this is a course perfectly open to a neutral whose laws have been infringed, and in spite of a very able speech from Sir Hugh Cairns the House took his view, Mr. Peacock's resolution being rejected by 219 to 185.
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