1858. June 8.—I ought to mark this day with a white stone, for, after great anxiety and labour, with varying hopes and fears for more than a week, I have succeeded in effecting an arrangement with Lord Malmesbury,—
1, that our construction of the law of nations, denying the right of visit and search in time of peace, is adopted; 2, that the aggressive acts complained of are, if true, wholly disavowed; 3, that a mode of verifying a flag hoisted by a merchantman shall be ascertained by negotiation alone; and, 4, that the practice of search be at once discontinued under peremptory orders. The concessions are complete; so much so that I should be unable to realize their having been obtained, but for the “Minute” made in writing at my request by the Earl himself.
