Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 39.djvu/174

 162 Southern Historical Society Papers.

As to the manner in which Mr. Adams marshalls his "arrays," and the positions assigned to members of the Cabinet, we are inclined to think that he has not only been led to ov^erlook the inflnence of the Crown, but he has given his picture a setting Avhich needs to be toned down to be recognized by some of those who were on the spot and most familiar with the trend of events.

Of course we must assume that in the correspondence be- tween the members of the Cabinet in the fall of 1862, brief ex- tracts of which Air. Adams has given us, he has not been mis- led as to the authenticity of the documents referred to. or in the force of the expressions used as afifected by the context, but they are in some respects at variance with the belief gen- erally accepted as to the position occupied by Earl Russell. Among those on the spot and one of the most intelligent and reliable observers of events, was Captain James D. Bullock, the Naval representative of the Confederate States, who contracted for the construction of vessels for the Confederacy, and some years after the war published a book in two goodly volumes, entitled "Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe." The success of Captain Bullock's projects depended upon his being posted at all times upon the disposition of the British Cabinet and particularly the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and this of course involved the relations between the latter and Mr. Seward, and he records his impressions of the attitude of the Cabinet towards the South, and especially of Lord Russell, as follows :

'T shall not be guiltv of the indiscretion of classifying the Cabinet by name, but I may say that it was a common belief among the representatives of the Confederate States that two members of the ministry at least were very favorable to the South, and that still another would have been disposed to give some support to certain members of the House of Commons •who wished to bring in a motion for the recognition of the Government at Richmond, if he had not been impressed with the belief that the separation of the States was final and that