l to Lady Minto_

PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 9, 1863

Parliament is coming to an end, most people being tired of talking
and everybody of listening.... Lord Chelmsford says in honour of
the House of Lords: "The Commons have a great deal to do and they
don't do it--the Lords have nothing to do and they do it."

In 1863 relations between England and America were again strained. English
vessels were perpetually running the blockade to bring cotton to England
and goods to the Southern ports--a risky but highly profitable business.
They were often captured by Northern cruisers and forfeited. There were
complaints on our side that the Federal courts were not always careful to
distinguish in their decisions between cases of deliberate blockade-running
and legitimate trading with ports beyond the Southern frontier. The North,
besides blockade-running, had a further cause of complaint. The
Confederates were getting cruisers built for them in neutral ports. The
most famous case of the kind was that of the _Alabama_, which was
built in the Mersey. The English Government had information of its
destination, but failed to prevent it sailing--a failure which eventually
cost us an indemnity of L3,000,000. The speech referred to in the following
letter was made in the midst of these troubles. It was a defence of
England's good faith in the matter of the _Alabama_ and an assertion
that Americans should be left to settle their own difficulties without
European mediation. At this time the French Government and a strong party
in England were in favour of European intervention. By securing the
independence of the South, they hoped to diminish the power of the United
States in the future. Such an idea could only be entertained while the
struggle between North and South seemed evenly balanced. The next year
showed the hopelessness of such a project and vindicated the wisdom of the
English Government in having refused to attempt to divide America into two
independent Powers.

_Mr. William Vernon Harcourt (later Sir William) to Lady
Russell_

_September_ 28, 1863

I hope you will excuse my taking the liberty to write you a line of
admiration and satisfaction at Lord Russell's speech at Meiklour
[in Scotland], which I have just read. I take so deep and lively an
interest in the great American question and all that concerns it
that I looked forward to the authorized exposition of English
p