other, laughed with buffoonish good-nature, nor seemed a whit
less than the very best of friends. 'If General--will proceed with his
argument!' said the Umpire, gravely, by way of what writers call
parenthesis. 'Then, to the point of this case: now, ye see, the law on
our side of the water aint a bit like it is here, on this; 'specially
with cases of this kind. This is the case of a vessel with niggers on
board, bound from one part of the United States to t'other, but driven
by what sailors call stress of weather into a British port called
Bermuda, where the natives (report says they are not very
enlightened), not having the fear of God before their eyes, nor
understanding the constitution of the United States, nor comprehending
the principle by which certain democratic States in the free American
Union make good property of such things as men, did regardless of the
laws of those States, insult the sovereign flag, which was alike the
protection of property and citizen, no matter in what part of the
world it floated, and set all the niggers free! After consuming an
hour in arguments of this stamp, the General claimed to have made out
his case, inasmuch as the niggers being property to the laws of the
States to which they belonged, and the flag of the United States being
absolute in its character of a protection,--no matter under what local
jurisdiction,--the claim against England for compensation was as just
an one as ever man could present for man; did she withhold payment, it
must be at her peril.'

"His legal brother now rose, a good-natured smile playing over his
sharp face. Before commencing, he would say he wished his learned
brother had taken a more dispassionate view of the case, and laid down
a basis of broader principles. Much of the difficulty in settling the
many claims that had been presented for adjudication arose from the
fact of his learned brother laying down rules to suit his own case,
which he would not admit when applied against him. Further, he had not
the most faint idea of the nigger question being dragged before this
tribunal for adjudication. He had hoped that that question might be
left for settlement on the soil of America, where those best
acquainted with the evil could most readily find a remedy. But if it
were true that the flag was inviolable, and that such was held as law,
and regarded in good faith by the federal government of the United
States, how came it that certain States in the fede