Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Third Session of the Fortieth Congress
Mr. Seward to Mr. Moran
Sir: I inclose a certificate of the naturalization, and of the honorable discharge from the United States army, of Lieutenant Colonel William G. Halpin, and two affidavits contradicting testimony supposed by the deponents (it is believed erroneously) to have been given on Colonel Halpin’s trial, of his personal participation in an attack by so-called Fenians upon the barracks at Stepaside, near Dublin. You will avail yourself of these documents whenever you have an opportunity of using your good offices with her Majesty’s government for the release of Colonel Halpin or the mitigation of the sentence he is now suffering.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Benjamin Moran, Esq., &c., &c., &c.
Mr. Halpin to Mr. Seward
Sir: I would respectfully beg to call your attention to the case of my brother, Lieutenant Colonel William G. Halpin, late United States army—sometimes styled “General” Halpin—lately tried in Ireland by the British government on a charge of “treason-felony,” convicted and sentenced to penal servitude for a long term of years.
I also beg to inclose herewith transcripts of my brother’s declarations of intentions, made in the year 1847, as well as his subsequent certificate of naturalization obtained in the year 1852, together with his discharge (original) from the army of the United States about the close of the war. And also two affidavits, from Messrs. Anderson and Breslin, formerly of Dublin, totally disproving the presence of my brother at the place where a certain overt act was alleged to have been committed, and of which it was proven—falsely proven, it now appears—my brother was the perpetator or director, and for which he is now unjustly suffering all the mild treatment of a British convict prison.
For the past 21 years my brother has been a resident of this city, and for 16 of those years has been a naturalized citizen of these United States; having on his arrival in this country gone through the solemn ceremonial of “abjuring and renouncing forever all allegiance to every foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.” And having subsequently occupied a respectable position in this community, where he followed his profession of civil engineer until the outbreak of the rebellion, when he gave up a lucrative business, together with all the endearments of home, family, and friends, and joined the army. He subsequently raised a company of volunteers, of which he was commissioned captain, and offered his life and services in the cause of his adopted country, in order to aid in saving her from destruction, as well as carrying out in good faith the terms of his oath of allegiance, the price of his position as a citizen of a then great nation. How he served his adopted country during the four years of her dreadful tribulation may, in part, be judged by the rank he held at the termination of the war when mustered out of the United States service. Subsequently my poor brother, in order to recruit his shattered health after a long campaign, visited his native land, Ireland, and while on shipboard off Cork, in the act of returning home to this country, was seized upon, thrown into prison, and tried on a charge of “treason-felony.”
I need hardly say to you, sir, how facile it is for England in such cases, with the aid of partisan judges, packed juries, and subsidized perjured informers, to procure convictions. In vain did my brother protest against the proceedings. In vain did he plead and proclaim his American citizenship. And, I regret to say, equally in vain did he seek the aid of the American consul, Mr. West, at Dublin. Suffice it to say that, not having been allowed proper facilities for his defense, his conviction was secured, and he is now undergoing the sentence passed upon him of 15 years’ penal servitude in a British convict prison.
If the solemn ceremonial of naturalization, with a probation of five years’ residence, through which every foreigner must pass, upon his arrival in this country, before he can consider himself an American citizen, confers no other or more valuable privileges than the permission to vote at elections or the honor (?) of shouldering a musket in the hour of the country’s danger, the candidate for citizenship should, at least, be apprised of the only benefits (?) attached to the position he seeks, ere he divests himself, as far as he can, of his original allegiance. Allegiance, though owing, perhaps, to a despot, who may be exacting in his demands upon the fealty of those whom he claims as subjects, will, nevertheless, protect them with his flag at any cost and at almost any sacrifice.
Perhaps I cannot at this moment cite you to an instance in history, either past or present, more striking in this regard than the course which the British nation—of whose conduct in relation to my brother and other American citizens I would now complain—pursued in the late Abyssinian war. We see her embarking a large army, at an enormous expense, to a distant quarter of the globe to encounter not only a formidable enemy, but a climate almost fatal to her soldiers. And for what? Simply to rescue from captivity some half a dozen persons who, if not absolutely culprits, were, at least, frail meddling fanatics, who transgressed not only the laws of the country, but outraged the liberties extended to them as privileged visitors. But they were British subjects; they felt that they were injured; they claimed the protection of their own flag, and the world now knows that that claim was not made in vain. Shall an American citizen, a name hitherto honored and respected abroad, be less favored or less entitled to the protecting influence of his country’s flag?
I cannot, I will not, believe, sir, that this great country will tacitly permit any nation to treat her citizens, and consequently herself, with outrage or insult.
The confusion occasioned by factious political contentions at home may, for a time, distract the attention of the best government from vital national matters in this relation [Page 325] , in which the honor of the nation and the rights and liberties of her citizens are at stake. But is it too much to expect, sir, that these matters will not be permitted to remain in abeyance, and that now, when this confusion and distraction has, in a measure, passed away, that the honor of this republic will be maintained? That its covenants with its adopted citizens, who may have endured so much for their adopted country as my brother has, may be kept in good faith, and not disregarded, and that the American nation will not suffer itself to be insulted in the person of its most humble citizen, by any nation in the world, whether that citizen be native-born or naturalized?
May I beg to request, sir, that you will place the inclosed documents, affidavits, and statement of facts in relation to my brother’s case, before the President, that so it may be brought under the notice of the congressional Committee on Foreign Relations for such action as may be deemed proper in the premises; and that when used, they (the originals) may be returned to me, lest, perhaps, in other times—if my poor brother should live to return to this his adopted country—they may prove useful—when an American citizen shall be protected and respected abroad—when a certificate of naturalization will be worth more than the paper upon which it is written, and something other than a sure and certain passport to a British dungeon.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient, humble servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, United States.
[Untitled]
City and County of New York, 88:
Niall Breslin, of the city and county of New York, recently confined in Kilmainham and Mountjoy prisons, in the city of Dublin, Ireland, being duly sworn, deposes and says, “That he knows William G. Halpin, now a convict undergoing a sentence of 15 years’ penal servitude in an English prison; that he knew the said Halpin in the city of Dublin during his visit to Ireland in 1867; that he was present at his trial in Dublin in the said year on a charge of ‘treason-felony,’ on which charge he was convicted; that the only overt act relied on and proven by the prosecution against the said Halpin on the said trial was, that he was present at an alleged attack on a certain police barracks at a place called ‘Stepaside,’ in the county of Dublin, Ireland, on the night of the 5th day of March, 1867; that he knows of his own knowledge that the said William G. Halpin was not at the said place (Stepaside) on the day or night above named, but was with this deponent in Dublin at the time of the alleged attack on said police barrack; that he believes that on proof of this charge, by false testimony, the said Halpin was convicted of said alleged overt act, and is now undergoing the sentence of 15 years’ penal servitude; that the said Halpin, in company with this deponent, did, in the city of Liverpool, in England, on or about the 1st day of July, 1867, engage passages for New York in the steamship City of Paris; that the said Halpin and this deponent did proceed on the voyage in said steamship, from Liverpool, on the 3d day of July, 1867; and that on the 4th day of July, in said year, when said steamship put into Queenstown, Cork harbor, for mails and passengers, the said Halpin and this deponent were then and there arrested, taken on shore, conveyed to Dublin, and confined in Kilmainham prison; that the said Halpin did not get permission to take his trunks or personal luggage on shore with him, and was thereby prevented from having access to his American naturalization papers, passports, or other documents necessary for his defense, and did not subsequently recover them; that on the trial of the said Halpin, in Dublin, a certain letter was produced, signed ——— Dunlap, which was falsely proven by the prosecution to have been found on his person, but which this deponent solemnly swears was found in his own (this deponent’s) carpetbag, and not on the person or among the effects of the said Halpin; that this deponent was called as a witness by the said Halpin on his trial, and did so testify as above stated
“That this deponent was kept in close confinement in said Kilmainham and Mount-joy prisons for about 10 months, and was then, on the 29th day of April, 1868, and without trial, placed on board the steamship City of Antwerp, at Cork, and conveyed to New York, where I now reside.”
[Untitled]
City and County of New York, 88:
Michael Anderson, of the city and county of New York, formerly of the city of Dublin, Ireland, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
That he knows William G. Halpin, now a convict undergoing a sentence of 15 years’ penal servitude in an English convict prison; that he knew the said Halpin during [Page 326] his visit to Dublin in the year 1867; that he remembers the night of the 5th day of March in the said year 1867, when it was alleged that an attack was made by a body of “Fenians” on a certain police barracks at a place called Stepaside, in the county of Dublin; that he has been informed and believes that on the trial of said Halpin in Dublin, it was proven by the prosecution that the said Halpin was present at and directed the said alleged attack on said police barracks at Stepaside, which is said to have constituled an overt act of “treason-felony,” and of which the said Halpin was convicted and is now undergoing sentence of penal servitude in England. And this deponent does solemnly swear and declare that of his own knowledge the said Halpin was not at Stepaside on the day or night of the 5th of March, 1867, as above named, when said alleged attack on the police barrack was said to have been made, but was in the company of this deponent and some other friends in Dublin. And this deponent further says, that he was in the city of New York at the time of the trial of said Halpin in Dublin, and therefore could not testify to such fact as above stated, as he certainly would have offered to do had he been in Dublin during the trial of said Halpin; that about the month of April, 1867, this deponent emigrated from Ireland to the United States, and now resides in the city of New York.
Declaration of intention.
United States of America, State of Ohio, Hamilton County, 88:
Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, clerk of the court of common pleas within and for the county of Hamilton aforesaid, William G. Halpin, a native of Ireland, aged about twenty-eight years, bearing allegiance to the Queen of England, who emigrated from Liverpool on the 28th day of August, 1847, and arrived at New York on the 28th day of October, 1847, and who intends to reside within the jurisdiction and under the government of the United States, to wit, Cincinnati, Ohio; and makes report of himself for naturalization, and declares on oath that it is his bona fide intention to become a citizen of the United States, of America and to forever renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state, and sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
A. D. Diserens, Deputy.
[Untitled]
United States of America,
State of Ohio, Hamilton County, 88
Be it remembered, that on the 13th day of November, in the term of November, 1852, of the court of common pleas, holden within the county of Hamilton aforesaid, personally came William G. Halpin, a native of Ireland, and produced a certificate under seal, that on the 10th day of April, A. D. 1850, he declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States of America, before the clerk of the court of common pleas of Hamilton county, Ohio, agreeably to the act of Congress in such case made and provided, and proved his residence and character by the oath of Andrew McKeown, and being admitted to citizenship by this court, took the oath to support the Constitution of the United States of America; and that he then did absolutely and entirely forever renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
This is therefore to certify that the said William G. Halpin, having complied with the laws of the United States in such case made and provided, was therefore admitted a [Page 327] citizen of the United States, as appears from the journal of said court. (Criminal Minutes, vol. 2, page 304.)
A. D. Diserens, Deputy.
Copy of W. G. Halpin’s army discharge.
To all whom it may concern:
Know ye, that William G. Halpin, a lieutenant colonel, company —, 15th regiment of Kentucky infantry volunteers, who was enrolled on the 9th day of February, 1864, to serve three years or during the war, is hereby discharged from the service of the United States this 14th day of January, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky, by reason of expiration of term of service, (no objection to his being re-enlisted is known to exist,) Said William G. Halpin was born in Meath, in the state of Ireland; is forty years of age, five feet seven inches high, florid complexion, gray eyes, dark hair, and is by occupation when enrolled a civil engineer.
A true copy.