§ MR. SEYMOUR FITZGERALDsaid, he wished to ask, Whether the Government have received and will lay on the table the Papers connected with the case of the Margaret and Jessie?
§ MR. LAYARDsaid, in reply, that the Government had received from the Governor of the Bahamas an account which tallied pretty well with the facts stated in the public press with regard to the Margaret and Jessie—namely the deposition of the commander of that vessel. At the same time, the Government had heard from Washington, that on a similar account having appeared in the American papers, Mr. Seward immediately wrote to Lord Lyons a note stating, that he had received from the commander of the Rhode Island, a vessel of war, an account of the same transaction, and that officer denied having fired into the Margaret and Jessie when within British waters. Mr. Seward stated that inquiries would be made, and that if it turned out that the vessel had been fired at in British waters, the most ample redress would be afforded.