with at Windsor Castle.

There was reason to suspect that an American federal steamer of war of
eight guns, which had lately arrived at Falmouth, and from thence at
Southampton, was intended to intercept the Mail Packet coming home
with the West Indian Mail, in order to take out of her Messrs Mason
and Slidell, the two Envoys from the Southern Confederacy, supposed to
be coming in her.[53]

Viscount Palmerston had on Monday a meeting at the Treasury of the
Chancellor, Doctor Lushington, the three Law Officers,[54] the Duke
of Somerset, Sir George Grey, and Mr Hammond.[55] The result of their
deliberation was that, according to the Law of Nations, as laid down
by Lord Stowell, and practised and enforced by England in the war
with France, the Northern Union being a belligerent is entitled by its
ships of war to stop and search any neutral Merchantmen, and the West
India Packet is such; to search her if there is reasonable suspicion
that she is carrying enemy's despatches, and if such are found on
board to take her to a port of the belligerent, and there to proceed
against her for condemnation. Such being ruled to be the law, the only
thing that could be done was to order the _Phaeton_ frigate to drop
down to Yarmouth Roads from Portsmouth, and to watch the American
steamer, and to see that she did not exercise this belligerent right
within the three-mile limit of British jurisdiction, and this was
done. But Viscount Palmerston sent yesterday for Mr Adams to ask him
about this matter, and to represent to him how unwise it would be to
create irritation in this country merely for the sake of preventing
the landing of Mr Slidell, whose presence here would have no more
effect on the policy of your Majesty with regard to America than the
presence of the three other Southern Deputies who have been here for
many months. Mr Adams assured Viscount Palmerston that the American
steamer had orders not to meddle with any vessel under any foreign
flag; that it came to intercept the _Nashville_, the Confederate ship
in which it was thought the Southern Envoys might be coming; and not
having met with her was going back to the American coast to watch some
Merchantmen supposed to be taking arms to the Southern ports.

Viscount Palmerston heard from a source likely to be well informed
that at the interview between the Emperor and the King of Prussia
at Compiegne, the Emperor, among other things, said to the King that
there were three syst