This despatch, making it appear that England and
France were in close harmony and that Lyons and Mercier were having a
difficult time at Washington was printed, later, in the Parliamentary
Papers. It was received by Russell on August 5, and in spite of the
reassurances of Lyons' private letter (naturally not for printing)
presumably received in the same mail with the official despatch, it
furnished the basis of his "strong" instruction of August 8.
At Washington also there were indications of an effort to prepare a good
case for the British public and Parliament. July 23, so Lyons wrote
privately, Seward had prevented the issue of the "Southern Ports"
Proclamation[523], and on the next day he was shown by Seward,
confidentially, an instruction to Adams and other Ministers abroad in
which was maintained the right to close the ports by proclamation, but
stating the Government's decision not to exercise the right. Lyons
believed this was the end of the matter[524]. Yet on August 12, he
presented himself formally at the Department of State and stated that he
had instructions to declare that "Her Majesty's Government would
consider a decree closing the ports of the South actually in possession
of the insurgent or Confederate States as null and void, and that they
would not submit to measures taken on the high seas in pursuance of such
decree.
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