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With regard to the arguments of Mr. Webster quoted by Commodore Abbot, it appears to me that however ingeniously they may be repeated, they will not bear the construction which the Commodore and his advisers seek to put upon them, or that they by any means recognize the total exclusion of British authority over foreign predatory men in British waters.
I should perhaps draw attention to the fact that neither Commander Minz, Captain In Chief, nor Mr. Cowell, nor Mr. Keenan, have made the slightest reference to the opinion of the great Authorities on International Law, while the first named Officer avers that the Treaties between the two Countries do not bear on the point, and consequently admit that the right of full jurisdiction in her territory has never been conceded by Great Britain.
The letter of the Acting Money General, which forms an enclosure to my letter to Commodore Abbot, seems to me conclusive as to the incorrectness of the information furnished to the Commodore as to the nature of the interview of Messrs. Bridges and Keenan with His Excellency Mr. McLane.
The other enclosure, Mr. May's letter to the Colonial Secretary, with Mr. Grange's statement, is, in my judgment, complete refutation of the charge against the Vice Authorities.