210 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
controversy. Thomas Hughes, then a member of Parliament, 
became so concerned that he wrote to Field as follows: 
House of Commons, 
London, March 1, 1872. 
Dear Mr. Field,—As I hear, with regret, that you are detained 
here by illness, I take the liberty, as an old acquaintance, of asking 
whether you cannot do something in your compulsory leisure to 
help our countries in this untoward business as to the case. 
If you, who are so well known here, believe your government 
to be in the right, and that they never did waive, or meant to 
waive, the claim for indirect damages, and if you will make this 
statement publicly here, in any manner you please, it would cer- 
tainly go far to induce me, and I think most of the other public 
men who were strong Unionists during your civil war, to advocate 
the submission of the whole case as it stands to the Geneva board. 
On the other hand, if you cannot do this, I really think we may 
ask for your testimony on the other side. 
If you do not see your way to taking any action in the matter, 
pray excuse this note, for which my apology must be that this is 
no time for any of us who are likely to get a hearing to keep 
silence. 
I am always yours very truly, 
‘Thomas Hughes. 
To this Field replied courteously and enclosed a copy of 
the letter that he had sent to Colfax a week earlier. ‘The 
letter to Colfax seemed so apposite to Hughes that he had it 
printed in the Times. John Bright, who was also much con- 
cerned with the turn of events, wrote to Field at this time, as 
follows: 
“This trouble about the treaty is very unfortunate. I think your 
letter admirable, and I hope it will do good in the States, where, 
I presume, it will be published. I confess I am greatly surprised at 
the ‘case’ to be submitted to the Geneva tribunal. There is too 
much of what we call ‘attorneyship’ in it, and too little of ‘states- 
manship.’ It is rather like a passionate speech than a thoughtful 
state document. And what a folly to offer to a tribunal claims 
which cannot be proved. No facts and no figures can show that 
the war was prolonged by the mischief of the pirate ships; and 
