The Tribune says: Our London correspondence contains some precise information on a point of importance, which has as yet attracted little or no attention. The news in a nutshell is this: at this moment there is a fleet of six rebel war steamers in Chinese waters. These vessels were fitted out in England by Sherod Osborne, an English naval captain. The crews were recruited among the officers and men of her Britannic Majesty's Navy. They were under contract to the Chinese Government, but when they reached China a disagreement arose between Osborne and the Chinese authorities, and the vessels were not delivered but thrown on the market and sold at auction- Osborne, officers, crew, guns and all -to Jeff Davis. It is intimated, not unnaturally, that Osborne had some slight expectation of reaching this result when he left England. Funds for the purpose are said to have been provided in part by the sale of the rebel ram in the Clyde. There are now but few American ships in East Indian waters, and it is thought that these, being thus thrown in company with rebel pirates, may be destroyed previous to an attack being made on San Francisco. In order to show their respect for British neutrality, the British crews take an oath of naturalization as citizens of the Confederacy when the flag changes. If, therefore, San Francisco should happen to be burned and plundered, John Bull washes his hands of all responsibility.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Rebel Steamers in Chinese Waters (1864)
Source: The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu: March 19, 1864.
The Tribune says: Our London correspondence contains some precise information on a point of importance, which has as yet attracted little or no attention. The news in a nutshell is this: at this moment there is a fleet of six rebel war steamers in Chinese waters. These vessels were fitted out in England by Sherod Osborne, an English naval captain. The crews were recruited among the officers and men of her Britannic Majesty's Navy. They were under contract to the Chinese Government, but when they reached China a disagreement arose between Osborne and the Chinese authorities, and the vessels were not delivered but thrown on the market and sold at auction- Osborne, officers, crew, guns and all -to Jeff Davis. It is intimated, not unnaturally, that Osborne had some slight expectation of reaching this result when he left England. Funds for the purpose are said to have been provided in part by the sale of the rebel ram in the Clyde. There are now but few American ships in East Indian waters, and it is thought that these, being thus thrown in company with rebel pirates, may be destroyed previous to an attack being made on San Francisco. In order to show their respect for British neutrality, the British crews take an oath of naturalization as citizens of the Confederacy when the flag changes. If, therefore, San Francisco should happen to be burned and plundered, John Bull washes his hands of all responsibility.
The Tribune says: Our London correspondence contains some precise information on a point of importance, which has as yet attracted little or no attention. The news in a nutshell is this: at this moment there is a fleet of six rebel war steamers in Chinese waters. These vessels were fitted out in England by Sherod Osborne, an English naval captain. The crews were recruited among the officers and men of her Britannic Majesty's Navy. They were under contract to the Chinese Government, but when they reached China a disagreement arose between Osborne and the Chinese authorities, and the vessels were not delivered but thrown on the market and sold at auction- Osborne, officers, crew, guns and all -to Jeff Davis. It is intimated, not unnaturally, that Osborne had some slight expectation of reaching this result when he left England. Funds for the purpose are said to have been provided in part by the sale of the rebel ram in the Clyde. There are now but few American ships in East Indian waters, and it is thought that these, being thus thrown in company with rebel pirates, may be destroyed previous to an attack being made on San Francisco. In order to show their respect for British neutrality, the British crews take an oath of naturalization as citizens of the Confederacy when the flag changes. If, therefore, San Francisco should happen to be burned and plundered, John Bull washes his hands of all responsibility.
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