Speech of Mr. Cobden, on the Foreign Enlistment Act, in the House of Commons, Friday, April 24th, 1863

by Richard Cobden

Excerpt from Speech of Mr. Cobden, on the Foreign Enlistment Act, in the House of Commons, Friday, April 24th, 1863

Because, if in the crowd of steamers now found for the first time carrying on trade in the West Indian waters, Â though no steamers were required for that commerce a few years ago, when we had to pay a year for a line of steam-packets for the conveyance of our letters, Â if in the crowd of those vessels, eager to violate the blockade, the innocent should suffer with the guilty, Mr. Adams has per haps so far rendered a service, by showing that his Government are entitled to some forbearance if one or two innocent vessels should be subject to deten tion by their cruisers. (no, no.) I am not going into the subject of the blockade now. I promise that I will deal with that question separately another time, and I shall be just as ready to meet your arguments on English grounds then as I am on the question now before us.

33 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2015

About the author

Richard Cobden
father of Ellen Melicent Cobden and Jane Cobden Unwin