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 
warlike use of the Confederates. Miller & Sons 
falsely pretended that she was being built for the 
Italian Government by arrangement with Messrs. 
Thomas & Brothers of Liverpool and Palermo, one of 
whom expressly and fraudulently confirmed the false 
representation of Miller & Sons. The British Gov- 
ernment, although repeatedly warned of the dlegal 
character of this vessel by the diplomatic and con. 
sular authorities of the United States, shut its eyes 
to the transparent falsehood and fraud of Miller & 
Sons and of Thomas, and took no proper and sufii- 
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 
