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KIDNAPPING IN THE NORTHERN…

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KIDNAPPING IN THE NORTHERN STATES OF I AMERICA. Our Correspondent G. G." from Beaumaris. seems a very difficult gentleman, indeed, to convince, and we are not very sure if the task does not amount to an im- possibility for although we are not always disposed to pin our faith, implicity, to the truth of an Old saying," we really think there is a good deal of credit to be at- tached to that which affirms that— A man convinced against his will, Is of the same opinion still." It is very evident that "G G.s," sympathies and proclivities are with the North and if his skill, like General Grant, in warfare be not very con- spicuous, his tenacity and bull-dog obstinacy are. He would have the world to believe and the Welsh people, we presume, particulary that what is termed" Kidnapping is not practised in New York, nor in any other part of the North-at least not with the connivance and knowledge of the Federal authorities. Probably, if hard-pressed, he would deny that Yankee agents are abroad in England, Ireland, and Germany to engage "Young able bodied" men to proceed to America or that crimps infest all the cities of the sea board of the North, and drug men by hundreds until they are unconscious, and who awake to find themselves soldiers in the morning. Some persons are not over delicate as to facts, when the facts tend to disprove a favourite hypothesis, and for ought we know our correspondent may be of this clasa. The gist, however, of his last communication is to shew that whether kidnapping be practised in the North to any great extent, or not, the Yankee authorities, not only do not connive at it, but they expressly forbid it. How he came to possess this exclusive bit of knowledge it is for biin to shew, and not for us to surmise. He may be in the secret employ of the Washington authorities for ought we know to the contrary but we plain people on this side of the Atlantic have not much faith either in Yankee morality or veracity, nor have they given us much cause for such faith. For" the sake therefore "of those who feel concerned in the emigration to America," or rather for the sake of the poorer classes who personally intend emigrating to that war-scourged country, we shall copy an extract from a letter written by Lord Lyons to Earl Russell, and dated May 3rd, 1864. After prolonged and fruitless efforts with Mr. Seward to get any redress in gross and outrageous cases of kidnapping, aud in which there could not be the sha- dow of a doubt on the point, his Lordship writes as fol- lows to our Foreign Minister.— 44 M v Lor< I, The number of British subjects n ha are now serv- ing in the United States' army and navy is very consi- derable aud complaints are constantly made to me of the practices by which the enlistment of many of them has beeu effected. I may say, indeed, that the most laborious and most painful aud unsatisfactory part of the duties which have devolved upon this Legation, since the breaking out of this civil war, is connected with these complaints. No pains have been spared by Her Majesty's Consuls and myself in investigating them, and every effort has been made by us to obtain redress for those which have appeared to be well-founded. In but few ease*, however, have our efforts produced any satis- factory results. In point of form, there is little to complain of. The remonstrances addressed by me to the Secretary of State are duly acknowledged and transmitted to the War or Navy Department. The Department orders all investi- gation. The recruiting agent, or the officers contradict the statements made by the complainants, and affirm that the enlistments were voluntary, lawful, and correct in all particulars. I do my best to elicit truth, and to obtain evidence. A controversial correspondence be. tween the United States' Government and me ensues. From the nature of the case, there can seldom be any evidence, except that of the recruiting officers on one side, and the men enlisted on the other and commonly the United States' Government gives credence by prefer- ence to their own officers and retain) the recruits in its service." Possibly G. G." will not believe Lord Lyons, but Bet him down as a mere partizan-a friend to slavery and the rebels; but in any case his statements goto show that" no less a personage than Lord Lyons and numer. one British Consuls" have no more chance of obtaining redress for those persons who are said to be kidnapped than the nnfortunate persons themselves, for the United States Government prefer believing the Kidnappers themselves to those who are kidnapped. We say it is possible that our correspondent will not credit our Ambassador at Washington, but will rather abide by the famous document which he makes such a snroee about. However this may be, it is clear that our own Government does, as proved by the steps they have very properly taken to warn emigrants of their danger, and how to guard and protect themselves against it. Had" G. G," read the late debate in the House of Coramons on the subject' he would have found that whether he believe or not in the complicity of the Federal Government, the majority of the Commons did ao, and it was upon that belief that the Government took ection. regards General Dix, all we have to say is that his protests and his enel-getlc action in imprisoning two or three of the most conspicuous kidnapping scoundrels, mm against the. Pedual authoritiu, did him infinite cre- dit, and reflects highly upon his character as a soldier and a gentleman but we ere afraid the example is a solitary one and what perhaps is more to be regretted it, that it was only in favour of naiitt born American s, >• that he interfered, and not on behalf of alien Emigrants. How is our conscientious correspondent to glois over this ittt, «r to extract capital out of it r

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