Synthesized answer
The passages show that the British government was slow and ineffective in enforcing its neutrality against Confederate shipbuilding, even before the *Alabama* left port. Although the law officers advised on June 23, 1862, that the vessel "ought to be detained" if certain particulars were correct [1], and later on July 23 advised there was "sufficient ground for detention" after sworn evidence was obtained [2], the commissioners of customs initially "declined to move" [2]. A critical delay occurred when papers were not returned until July 29 due to the illness of the queen’s advocate, and by then the *Alabama* had already sailed on July 28 [2]. This lack of early enforcement directly allowed the vessel to escape.
This failure escalated tensions because it demonstrated that Britain's stated neutrality was not backed by effective action. The passages note that "there was no serious attempt at pursuit" even when the *Alabama* remained off Anglesey for two days [2]. Consequently, the vessel reached the Azores, received its armament from British ships, and began a "most destructive career" [3]. The United States later alleged this as a "breach of neutrality" for allowing Confederate…
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From the book
tes on the 13th of April 1861. On the 19th of April President Abraham Lincoln declared a blockade of the southern ports. On the 14th of May the British government issued a proclamation of neutrality, by which the Confederates were recognized as belligerents. This example was followed shortly afterwards by France and other nations. The blockade of the southern ports was not at first effective, and blockade-running soon became an active industry. The Confederates established agencies in England for the purchase of arms, which they despatched in ordinary merchant vessels to the Bahamas, whence…
was laid before the law officers, who advised that, if these particulars were correct, the vessel ought to be detained. On the 21st of July sworn evidence, which was supplemented on the 23rd of July, was obtained and laid before the commissioners of customs (who were the proper authorities to enforce the provisions of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819), but they declined to move. On the 23rd of July the same evidence was laid before the law officers, who advised that there was sufficient ground for detention. By some accident, which has never been satisfactorily explained, but was probably…
rpool in two British ships. Captain Semmes there took command of her under a commission from the Confederate government. After a most destructive career she was sunk off Cherbourg by the “Kearsarge” on the 19th of June 1864. On these facts the United States government alleged against Great Britain two grievances, or sets of grievances. The first was the recognition of the Southern States as belligerents and a general manifestation of unfriendliness in other ways. The second was in respect of breaches of neutrality in allowing the “Alabama,” the “Florida” (originally the “Oreto”, the…
← Alabama 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 "Alabama" Arbitration by Montague Hughes Crackanthorpe Alabama River → See also Alabama Claims on Wikipedia ; and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer . 244259 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 — "Alabama" Arbitration Montague Hughes Crackanthorpe “ALABAMA” ARBITRATION. —This is one of those arbitrations on pecuniary claims, made by one state, on behalf of its subjects, against another state, which are referred to in the article Arbitration, International . The case is important, both from a historical and a juridical point of…
rst agreed upon.” After some discussion the British commissioners consented that the three following rules should apply. A neutral government is bound—(1) to use due diligence to prevent the fitting out, arming or equipping within its jurisdiction of any vessel, which it has reasonable ground to believe is intended to cruise or to carry on war against a power with which it is at peace, and also to use like diligence to prevent the departure from its jurisdiction of any vessel intended to cruise or carry on war as above, such vessel having been specially adapted, in whole or in part, within…
More questions about this book
- The text asserts the "Alabama" Arbitration was "important, both from a historical and a juridical point of view, and affords a conspicuous example of the value of arbitration as a means of averting war." If you had to explain this claim to someone unfamiliar with the case, what specific details from the excerpt would you use to illustrate each of these points?
- The British government's proclamation of neutrality recognized the Confederates as belligerents. How might this act, coupled with the ongoing construction of the "Alabama" in a British port, have been perceived as a contradiction by the Union, and what were the potential implications for international law at the time?
- Imagine you are the U.S. consul at Liverpool, Mr. C. F. Adams, attempting to explain the urgency of detaining the "Alabama." How would you articulate the immediate threat and the long-term precedent such inaction could set regarding a neutral nation's responsibilities during wartime?
- The "Alabama" Arbitration is presented as a demonstration of arbitration's value in averting war. What deeper lessons about the enforcement of international law and the balance of national sovereignty versus global stability can be drawn from the events described in this excerpt, and why are these lessons still relevant today?