to consign a supposed offender to a term of imprisonment, in order that the man may not be inconvenienced by a trial. "International law would be a nullity if every commander of a man-of-war were to constitute himself in the first instance a plenary judge, and condemn as contraband whatever he might like to seize on." A most flagrant insult has been offered to England's flag, and the position she has taken was inevitable. She has endured enough from Young America of late; but this she cannot, will not endure. John Bull can put up" with the Yankee well enough, so long as he will play on his own ground, and not make his sport an annoyance to others. When it comes to throwing stones, he must be taught better. He must restore the Commissioners, and apologize for his irregularity; or learn from experience how dangerous it is to tread upon the lion's tail.-T. W. C.

The Northern Government of America, not having recognized the Southerners as belligerents, but only as rebels, cannot lawfully stop and search a neutral ship on the high seas.-R. R.

If the steamer San Jacinto had a right with respect to the Trent, she had also a duty. Her duty was to take the British vessel into an American port, and there to try her fairly in the court of international justice, called the Prize Court.-R. H.

The Trent was not, as far as we know, carrying contraband despatches; and she was carrying persons whose character exempted them from the operation of hostilities. The despatches which are contraband are communications from a belligerent to another part of its own kingdom, or to an ally, with respect to naval or military operations or political affairs. The despatches (if any) on board the Trent were not of this nature, and on this ground the vessel would have escaped condemnation in the Prize Courts.-H. R.

Messrs. Mason and Slidell were seized when going from a neutral port to a neutral country. The right of

1862.

search cannot be exercised throughout an illimited circumscription.-E. M.

If the gentlemen seized are invested with an official character, they are ambassadors, and in this quality their persons are inviolable;* this everybody admits. If they are invested with no official character, by what sign could they be recognized ? By their despatches? But none were found on the envoys.-W.

The seizure of Messrs. Mason and Slidell was not justifiable.

1. The right of search can only be claimed by any nation at war with a distinct belligerent. Messrs. Mason and Slidell were envoys of the Confederate States. The Federals declare that they are not at war with the Confederates; they are only suppressing a domestic rebellion; nor do they acknowledge them as belligerents. Therefore they have no right to seize envoys of a State with whom they are not at war.

2. The right to search a "neutral" is granted that the searcher may ascertain that the vessel is not furnishing either of the belligerent parties with warlike stores, or articles directly auxiliary to warlike purposes, such articles being deemed contraband of war. No such suspicion was alleged against the Trent, therefore her seizure was not justifiable.

3. Hautefeuille, an eminent French jurist, says that "despatches may be carried from any one neutral port to another neutral port." This the Trent was doing. American jurists follow in the same track; therefore, the ship was not breaking any international law concerning belligerent parties.

4. No officer of a man-of-war has, by the law of nations, any right to constitute himself sole judge of what persons he will accuse and seize for treason. He may carry the suspected ship into port, and await the decision of a prize board. This Captain Wilkes did not do, therefore the seizure was unjustifiable.

* "Legatos nomen quod semper fuisset sanctum inviolatumque apud omnes nationes."-Julius Cæsar.

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5. It is contrary to the law of nations for a seizure to be made of an unarmed and defenceless vessel; and illegal to seize merchantmen, or ships carrying mails, unless supposed to carry contraband of war, which was not alleged as the cause of the seizure of the Trent. 6. The Federal Government were well aware of the presence of Messrs. Slidell and Mason at Havanna, and aware also that they intended to leave for England by the Trent. There is a Federal agent at Havanna, and he gave no intimation to the captain of the Trent, previous to sailing, that his Government were averse to the departure of Messrs. Mason and Slidell by that vessel; therefore, on this point, the seizure was not justifiable.-R. S.

Every ship bearing the British flag may be considered an extension of the British territories; and every person on board of such a ship is amenable to British laws, and entitled to the protection of the British Government. When, therefore, an officer of a belligerent power, with whom the British Govern.. ment is on amicable terms, carries forcibly from the deck of a British ship certain of her passengers, it can be accounted nothing less than an act of piracy, and piracy being contrary to all justice, the seizure of Messrs. Mason and Slidell was unjustifiable.-S. G.

Whether the action was justifiable or not, we think may be ascertained if we examine the plea set forth in its justification. Mr. Clay, and other Americans, say that Messrs. Mason and Slidell were rebels, and informal representatives of rebels. Such being the case, they were simply passengers on board, or at the utmost were only refugees under the protection of a neutral State; and as such, there cannot be any excuse for their capture. But the defenders of the" seizure," to justify the affair, affect to treat the gentlemen as belligerents on the high seas. Now both these positions cannot be right; they are contradictory, and destroy each other. Neither in law nor in logic can a man avail himself of contradictory premises

or principles. If the defenders of Captain Wilkes maintain that the gentlemen were ambassadors, and, of course, subject to the laws of war, they must also acknowledge that the Confederates are not rebels, but a power acting under the laws applicable to belligerents. This they do not do; therefore, the act of Captain Wilkes was unjustifiable. But, suppose Messrs. Mason and Slidell to be ambassadors, and the Southern States to be a belligerent power, Are the gentlemen "contraband of war"? and if so, was the "seizure" made in accordance with international law? It appears that Sir William Scott lays down the axiom that the smallest despatch is contraband of war; but there were no despatches found in Messrs. Mason and Slidell's trunks. It has been argued, that if despatches are contraband, how much more so must be the bearers of them? But as no despatches were found, these gentlemen could not be the "bearers" of them, and so they could not be "contraband." Again, Lord Stowell has been quoted by Mr. Everett, to show that you may stop your enemy's ambassador upon his passage. But the Federals do not recognize these gentlemen as ambassadors," and Lord Stowell limits the right of capture to cases where a "character of hostility exists." But no character of hostility" existed in the Trent, sailing from one neutral port to another. But Lord Stowell distinctly implies that a neutral ship, sailing from one neutral port to another with ambassadors, or passengers, is decidedly free from all interference. But, suppose all these suppositions granted, still the "seizure" was unjustifiable, as it was the duty of Captain Wilkes to have taken the vessel as a prize, and to have had the affair adjudicated before a proper tribunal. However we consider this momentous question, we find no plea for its justification; but, from whatever point we look at it, we see enough to show the folly and weakness of the act, and the duty of America to make ample amends for it.-THEOPHYLACT.

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December 15th.

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QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS.

192. I observe, in your Literary Notices"-always containing matters of interest that Thomas H. Dyer is to supply a new History of Modern Europe." As this appears to me to be a name new to literature, you would oblige by any notice of his life, writings, or antecedents. The work, if well executed, would be invaluable. - A READER.

193. What is a good method of studying composition, so as to be able, at any time, to sit down and write an article upon any subject? Although I have the thoughts, when I desire to write, I am in want of words to convey my meaning.-G. P. M.

194. In a "conversation between Mr. Cowley and Mr. Milton, touching the great civil war," contained in Lord Macaulay's "Miscellaneous Writings," vol. i., page 107, the following passage occurs, viz.:-" Of old time it was well and nobly said, by one of our kings, that an Englishman ought to be free as his thoughts." Is this mot real or fic

titious? and if the former, what king made use of it?-MOSES PRIMROSE.

195. Who is it that calls Bacon's "Novum Organum" "the noblest and most useful of all the works of the human reason"? I recently met with the words in inverted commas, and supposing them to be a quotation, am anxious to know by whom that work is so stamped-LOGICUS.

196. I believe you have a great number of readers in the "Grey Metropolis of the North"- Edinburgh. Perhaps some one of your readers there would kindly favour me with some of the facts connected with the life, doctrines, and method of the successor of Sir Wm. Hamilton.-QUERENS.

197. I notice the two words "reason" and "reasoning," both employed by some authors: are they not synonymous? If not, what is the difference in their meaning, and in their use?-LOGICUS.

198. Will you kindly insert these questions in the "Inquirer "?-1. Who was the "celebrated" Mrs. Glass? and how did she give rise to the saying,

"First catch your hare, and then cook it"? 2. Is Sir W. Scott's "History of Scotland" considered a reliable one?EBOR.

199. Can you, or any of your able contributors, inform me of a work containing medel letters, or private correspondence, by eminent writers, by which a person might acquire a good style of letter-writing, or say how so desirable an object might be attained? Also what course would be advisable in "preparing" an essay for debate.-S. S.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.

145. Proclamation by Henry III.— The text of the proclamation or charter of Henry III., of date 1258, calling his first parliament, is published in the edition of "Rymer's Fœdera," issued (1816) by the Records' Commission, as copied from the Patent Rolls in the Tower of London. Another copy, slightly different, is given in old English, with an interlinear translation into our modern speech, in Henry's "History of Great Britain," vol. iv. Appendix.-— S. N.

147. The Lindsays.-Although a clansman of the Lindsays, and somewhat related to the writer of "The Lives of the Lindsays," who was born in 1812, and is considerably my senior, I am obliged to confess I have neither purchased nor read the book referred to. If written as it ought to be,-with its tales of regal marriages, strange tournaments, court intrigues, and singular vicissitudes of fortune, its lives of poets, warriors, statesmen,-it should be a fertile crib for romanticists. story of my own immediate ancestry has already formed the theme of a wellthumbed circulating library novel. Lord Lindsay is a nobleman of travel and culture. His "Letters on Egypt, Edom, and the Holy Land," 1838; "The Theory and Evidence of Christianity," 1841; "Sketches of the History of Christian Art," 1847, &c., are all well written, and have now a place in literature. His new book, on "Scepticism

The

and the Church of England," is highly "The spoken of by competent critics. Crawford Peerage Case"-for which we notice a new claimant has just appeared-has, however, been such an age-long strife, that I have abstained from reading the "Lives of the Lindsays" from sheer fear of its effects. Should a clansman desire to read the book, he should borrow, not buy it, for then there would be a possibility of preventing himself from becoming homo unius libri.- I am, a— - LINDSAYCRAWFORD.

152. The Use of Words.-Those words which "W." quotes, are now merely euphonically different. Formerly they were intensitive in their signification, and implied a less and a greater degree. They are now, however, employed indifferently, except in so far as the one harmonizes more with the succeeding word than the other;"among" and "while" usually preceding consonantal sounds; amongst" and "whilst," vowel ones; "till" and " until" following them.-JOSEPH.

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153. Pennillion Singing. One of your correspondents, in a recent number of your valuable Magazine, asks for explanation as to the peculiar singing of North Wales, called “Pennillion Singing." Seeing none of your Welsh contributors disposed to afford the inquirer the necessary information, the following is at your service :-This peculiar, unique, and effective mode of singing must be very ancient, and probably derives its origin from the domestic bards of old, who used to play the harp, and sing verses with it, composed extemporary, in praise of their noble masters; and where more than one minstrel was retained in a family, or where several met to celebrate any fortunate event, it was usual with them to answer each other in stanzas; and this is the case at the present time with the poets in Wales. To sing Pennillion with the Welsh harp is not so easily accomplished as may be imagined; the singer is obliged to follow the harper, who may change the tune, or perform

variations ad libitum, whilst the vocalist must keep time, and end precisely with the strain. The singer does not commence with the harper, but takes the strain up at the second, then a fourth bar, as best suits the pennill he intends to sing; and this is constantly done by persons who are totally unacquainted with music. Those are considered the best singers who can adapt stanzas of various metres to one melody, and who are acquainted with the twenty-four measures according to the bardic laws and rules of composition. Pen. nillion singing is confined to North Wales, and was indeed scarcely known in South Wales until the revival of the Eisteddfodau.-GWYNEDDON.

176. Life [and other] Insurances. -To reply adequately to the question put by G. H., would require an essay, and that would be needlessly to repeat what has already been done, and what G. H. should have known was done in the British Controversialist already, by your able contributor "L'Ouvrier," in vol. v. pp. 347-351, and 428 -430. An excellent paper, though less practical than that referred to, appeared in the North British Review for November, 1849, which may be commended. The principles of in-. surance may be applied to any purpose, and those of life being learned, all other forms may be easily comprehended. The great thing, however, is, in this, as in so many other cases, not so much to know as to practise.JEREMY.

178. Mapping.-A very good little “Manual of Map-making and Mechanical Geography," by Alexr. Jamieson, LL.D., was published in 1853, by Messrs. Fullarton, London, at 3s.; and a section of "The Manual of Geographical Science" treats of this subject, under the title, "Chartography." It is published by J. W. Parker and Son, London, 10s. 6d. Several "Mapbooks for Beginners" have been issued by various publishers, but these are, for the most part, mere copy-books of mapping, and contain no definite in

structions on the subject. Messrs. Walton and Maberly, Simpkin and Marshall, Longman and Co., Stanford, &c., have issued such series.-R. M. A.

184. How to teach History.-A good article on this topic appeared in the Museum, No. 1, from the pen of J. G. FITCH, M.A.,—a name which will tell its quality to a pupil teacher, if he is inclined to study.-R. M. A.

185. The best book on Phrenology is Combe's, purchasable at any stationer's: it is an excellent treatise, written by a man who possessed great industry and acuteness. I safely recommend it, knowing its value from having studied it thoroughly.—A POOR ASPIRANT.

Combe's "System of Phrenology" is a standard work on the subject of which it treats. Fowler and Wells' "Self-Instructor in Phrenology" is very good, and more modern than Combe's. It is published by Tweedie, Strand, London. 2s.-MIST.

192. I observe, by reference to the literary journals, that two volumes of T. H. Dyer's "History of Modern Europe have been issued, and that they take their commencement from the Fall of Constantinople, and go on till the Peace of Westphalia. Two more volumes are to follow. The author, I find, is not an untried hand; nor is his historic capacity undetermined. In 1850, he published "The Life of John Calvin, compiled from authentic sources, and particularly from his correspondence." Upon this work he was engaged a long time, and for the materials of it he read diligently. It is carefully and judiciously put together, written with almost judicial impartiality, attention to historic dates, and an uncompromising love of truth; but it is somewhat cold and studentistic. He has been also a contributor to Dr. Smith's Series of Dictionaries; notably, of the article "Rome" in the one on Greek and Roman Geography. He has resided abroad, and is understood to have laboured long and honestly at his work, which, however, we have not yet seen.-N. L.