ition was
taken[355]." The sealed bag was sent unopened to be handed by Adams to
Russell with an enquiry whether in fact it contained any papers on the
alleged "negotiation" with the South.

Bunch had issued to Mure a paper which the latter regarded as a
passport, as did the United States. This also was made matter of
complaint by Adams, when on September 3 the affair was presented to
Russell. America complained of Bunch on several counts, the three
principal ones being (1) that he had apparently conducted a negotiation
with the Confederacy, (2) that he had issued a passport, not
countersigned by the Secretary of State as required by the United States
rules respecting foreign consuls, (3) that he had permitted the person
to whom this passport was issued to carry letters from the enemies of
the United States to their agents abroad. On these grounds the British
Government was requested to remove Bunch from his office. On first
learning of Mure's arrest Lyons expressed the firm belief that Bunch's
conduct had been perfectly proper and that the sealed bag would be found
to contain nothing supporting the suspicion of the American
Government[356]. The language used by Lyons was such as to provide an
excellent defence in published despatches, and it was later so used. But
privately neither Lyons nor Russell were wholly convinced of the
correctness of Bunch's actions. Bunch had heard of Mure's arrest on
August 18, and at once protested that no passport had been given, but
merely a "Certificate to the effect that he [Mure] was a British
Merchant residing in Charleston" on his way to England, and that he was
carrying official despatches to the Foreign Office[357]. In fact Mure
had long since taken out American citizenship papers, and the
distinction between passport and certificate seems an evasion.
Officially Lyons could report "it is clear that Mr. Robert Mure, in
taking charge of the letters which have been seized, abused Mr. Bunch's
confidence, for Mr. Bunch had positive instructions from me not to
forward himself any letters alluding to military or political events,
excepting letters to or from British officials[358]." This made good
reading when put in the published Parliamentary Papers. But in reality
the sending of private letters by messenger also carrying an official
pouch was no novelty. Bunch had explained to Lyons on June 23 that this
was his practice on the ground that "there is really no way left for the
merchants