§ THE EARL OF DERBYSeeing the noble Earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs in his place, I take this opportunity of asking him the Question of which I have privately given him notice, and in regard to which I have furnished him with all the information I have received on the subject, except that contained in a private letter from the brother of the gentleman concerned, and which I shall, forward lo the noble Earl. If I should fall into any 3 mistake as to the facts the noble Earl will be able to correct me. I am informed that a gentleman of the name of Levey, a British subject, and a merchant at Montreal, recently arrived in Boston by Her Majesty's packet ship Asia. Immediately after her arrival in the harbour she was boarded by a United States marshal who, without any warrant or process whatever, took Mr. Levey into custody. Having been removed on shore, this gentleman telegraphed to a Mr. Myers, a relative, long resident in New York, acquainting him of the circumstance of his sudden arrest; and Mr. Myers subsequently met him in custody of the United States marshal. Mr. Levey was then informed— this was Thursday, the 26th of last month —that he should be brought before the Commissary General for the purpose of examination, but he was still kept uninformed of the charge against him. His papers were taken from him, and he was detained in the prison of New York for a period of ten days, without having been informed of the charge that was against him. At the expiration of that time his papers were restored to him, and he was liberated without the slightest explanation or apology, and up to the present moment he has no idea whatever who his accusers were or of the reason of his arrest. So far from this gentleman having furnished any grounds for suspicion against him by the United States Government, I am informed that the predilections of this Montreal merchant have been always in favour of the Federal Government: whether they are so still, after the treatment which he has received, I cannot pretend to say; but Mr. Levey was, at all events, a gentleman against whom not the slightest charge has ever been brought, and yet upon his arrival in the harbour of Boston he was arrested and confined in a prison for ten days, and then ordered to quit his prison without offer of the slightest reparation or apology. I understand that representations have been made on his behalf to Her Majesty's representative at Washington. I wish to ask the noble Earl whether Her Majesty's Government have been informed of these facts, and, if so, whether the noble Earl has taken any steps to procure reparation or an apology, if they have not been already offered spontaneously by the Government of Washington? Although the inhabitants of the Northern States, in the prosecution of the unhappy and destructive war 4 which is now raging in America, might be willing to sacrifice their own liberties, and subject themselves to a despotic rule, I think that we have a right to insist that our fellow-subjects, when travelling upon their own peaceable and lawful business in the United States, shall not be subjected to such illegal and unconstitutional proceedings as those to which I have called attention — that they shall have the protection of the law, and that such loyal and respectable merchants as Mr. Levey shall not be exposed to the humiliation of arrest and the pain of imprisonment—not to speak of the serious loss which a detention for a period of ten days must necessarily impose upon a merchant travelling about in the ordinary prosecution of his business. I do not mean to say that in the present instance any very serious loss has been sustained; but I think it is a case deserving of the attention of Her Majesty's Government, because if such cases are allowed to pass by unnoticed and disregarded, it is impossible to say to what extent these outrages on British subjects may be perpetrated by the Federal Government.
§ EARL RUSSELLsaid, that in the latest despatches from Lord Lyons there was no reference to the case of Mr. Levey. It was very probable that by the next despatches some account of it might be received. When such cases as the imprisonment of British subjects did occur—as they unfortunately did very frequently — Lord Lyons always called the attention of the United States Government to them and required an explanation. In case it appeared that Lord Lyons' attention had not been directed to the case, he would write to him and bring it under his notice.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYI cannot help regretting to hear that such cases as the one I have mentioned are of common occurrence in the United States, inns-much as they certainly have never been communicated to Parliament. The case in question occurred on the 26th of May, and the final release of the gentleman took place on the 6th of June. Having called the noble Earl's attention to this particular case, it only remains for me to express a hope that he will not lose sight of it; but, if the facts as I have stated be correct, that he will seek for an apology and reparation.
§ EARL RUSSELLWhen I said that these cases are of frequent occurrence, I 5 mean that cases of imprisonment are of frequent occurrence. They are not always without reason; for when explanations are required and given, it generally appears that the United States Government have had some reason to believe that the persons imprisoned were engaged in affording assistance to their enemies.
THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDEasked whether any information had been received from our representative in the United States respecting a somewhat similar outrage committed upon some British subjects found on board the mail packet Scotia? The Scotia was boarded by the Custom House officers at Boston or New York, who searched the passengers' luggage and carried off a number of papers.
§ EARL RUSSELLsaid, that as his noble Friend had given him no notice of the question, he could not give him any information on the subject. His noble Friend, however, would remember that the American Government had not agreed with us as to the immunity to be conceded to mail packet ships.