ALABAMA CLAIMS. 115 



tors, with a dissenting opinion from the British Ar 

 bitrator. 



The Florida, it will be remembered, was a steam 

 gun-boat, built at Liverpool by Miller & Sons, on( 

 contract with the Confederate agent Bullock, for the J 

 warlike use of the Confederates. Miller & Sons 

 falsely pretended that she was being built for the 

 Italian Government by arrangement with Messrs. 

 Thomas &amp;lt;fc Brothers of Liverpool and Palermo, one of j 

 whom expressly and fraudulently confirmed the false ; 

 representation of Miller & Sons. The British Gov 

 ernment, although repeatedly warned of the illegal 

 character of this vessel by the diplomatic and con 

 sular authorities of the L nited States, shut its eyes 

 to the transparent falsehood and fraud of Miller & 

 Sons and of Thomas, and took no proper and suffi 

 cient measures to investigate her character and to 

 prevent the violation of the laws of the kingdom. 

 She sailed from Liverpool without obstruction, cleared | 

 by the name of Oreto, unarmed, it is true, but ac 

 companied by another vessel containing her arma 

 ment, called the Bahama. 



The Oreto next makes her appearance at Nassau, 

 where she proceeded further to equip and arm as a 

 man-of-war. The naval authorities at Nassau were 

 unanimous in denouncing her illegal character, but 

 the civil authorities, perverted by their sympathies, 

 could with difficulty be persuaded to act against her. 

 When they did act, she was acquitted by the local 

 Admiralty Court, in the teeth of the facts and the 

 law, either corruptly, or with inexplicable ignorance 



