Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons.
My Lord: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 26th instant, accompanied by a copy of a despatch in which Commander Thrupp, of her Majesty’s ship Desperate, has reported to Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne the firing of a shot across the bows of that ship by the United States ship Memphis, on the 26th of February last, and by a copy of a despatch to you from the vice-admiral, in which he points out that this is the third instance in which a shot has been fired across the bows of her Majesty’s ships by United States cruisers. You at the same time express your acknowledgments for the friendly assistance which Commander Thrupp received from Captain Turner, the commanding officer of the United States squadron off Charleston.
In reply I have the honor to state, that, commending the liberal spirit manifested by Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne and by Commander Thrupp on the occasion now under consideration, I have referred the papers to the Secretary of the Navy, with a suggestion that the subject to which they relate should receive his serious consideration.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship’s obedient servant
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c., &c., &c.