510 INTERNATIONAL LAW 



William Allan, M. P., and his published reminiscences of the same. 

 Sir William, by birth a Scotchman, lived for years in the United 

 States, but returned to his native country and was later captured by 

 a United States cruiser in Savannah Harbor while serving as chief 

 engineer on a vessel engaged in running the blockade. He was held 

 in prison for six weeks, until he bribed a sentry to take a letter to 

 Lord Lyons, British Minister at Washington, and was then released 

 on parole. 1 



Unfortunately, I have been unable to find Sir William's published 

 reminiscences. Neither is the State Department nor the Navy 

 Department able to refer me to the facts in the case, nor has the 

 incident been observed in a very extended examination of the printed 

 volumes containing the history of the Federal and Confederate 

 navies. However, Sir Walter quotes to me a letter from Sir Wil- 

 liam, written just before the latter's death in December last: " The 

 United States authorities did imprison men taken in blockade-run- 

 ning. Our vessel (Diamond) was taken to Washington. We were 

 turned over from the naval to the military authorities there, . . . 

 marched to the provost marshal's quarters. Answered our names 

 there, then our commitments to the old Capitol Prison were made 

 out." There they were " quartered with prisoners and had hard 

 usage." Eventually he was paroled out and given a written " pa- 

 role " describing him as a prisoner of state, which parole he retained 

 through life. 



It must be freely admitted that owing to unfamiliarity with inter- 

 national law and to the suspension, as a war measure, of the writ 

 of habeas corpus, so that our courts could not intervene, numbers of 

 cases like the above seem to have occurred. That the situation was 

 complicated by the fact that it was a matter of constant controversy, 

 first, as to the neutrality of the ships, often claimed to be Confed- 

 erate ships and onl> colorably sailing under a neutral flag; secondly, 

 as to the nationality of the members of the crew, who were largely 

 British, speaking the same language with the people of the United 

 States, and who had often, like Sir William, lived for years in the 

 United States. The rule excepting from imprisonment applies only 

 to neutrals upon a neutral ship, and not to belligerents, or subjects, 

 or to those operating a vessel of the belligerent government. 



So the commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard wrote Acting 

 Rear-Admiral Lee March 31, 1863: " I have disposed of the crews 

 of the captured vessels foreigners sent on shore, and citizens of the 

 United States confined." 2 



March 24 in the same vear, Captain Boggs of the Sacramento, 

 one of the blockading ships off Wilmington, wrote to the rear-ad- 



1 The Daily Chronicle, London, December 29, 1903. 



2 Official liec. U. S. and Confed. Navies, series i, vol. vm, p. 643. 



