to show the state of hostilities in the apprehension of the civilized powers of the worlf as existing between the so - called Confederate States of America and the United States of America. It is to be found on page 304 of Upton. The date is the 14th of May the district attorney tells me. Then I offer in evidence simply as proof of the facts I have just mentioned and other facts connected with the subject Twiss' Law of Nations, the London edition, published in the present year.

Judge CADWALADER. Would you not prefer reading that as authority in the course of the argument?

Mr. WHARTON. We offer it as historical evidence of a state of facts existing in this country. Yours honors will see how it bears on the case as part of its general complexion showing the manner in which the state of things in this country is viewed by other nations. On pages 56 and 57 of Twiss' work - I am now merely making an offer and describind what the offer is - will be found an historical statement of the occurrences in this country and the dates of the different secession ordinances of the States and of the Constitution of the so - called Confederate States. The provisions of these ordinances and this constitution are historically mentioned and treated in this book and the facts or the alluded to as existing facts in the histori of the world.

Judge GRIEG. You may offer that book as the best evidence you can tget of the dates of certain proclamations and certain ordinances of these men but we cannot receive as authority his opinion of the facts or the opinion of people in Europe who do not care a fig about the matter.

Mr. ASHTON. If I remember Twiss' book aright it announces the facts that certain secession ordinances were passed at certain times.

Judge GRIEG. We all know the fact that they were passed.

Mr. WHARTON. The secession ordinance of South Carolina is dated December 20, 1860. Then the Constitution of the so - called Confederate States of America for their Provisional Government is dated February 8, 1861. Then I offer this book as proof of the fact which perhaps could only be proved historically in some such way that Mr. Jefferson Davis, whose proclamation I have put in evidence, was unaugurated as President of the so - called Southern Confederate on the 18th of February, 1861, prior to the date of the proclamation that I have given in evidence. I think the locality was Montgomery, Ala.

Mr. KELLEY. We agree that that book and the Rebellion Record may fix the date of the various secession ordinances.

Mr. HARRISON. If your honors please, there are sundry proclamation which wee issued by the Southern Confederate after its formation and some which were issued by the various States composing that Confederacy from time to time which I desire to offer. If your honors insist on our giving you a note of these documents regularly we must ask a little time in order to enable us to ransack this record and furnish the dates. It is proper for me to state that that would have been done and I would not stand here now offering this evidence in this wholesale manner but that I was under the impression that this record would be considered in evidence, to be taken up and referred to and commented on by counsel on both sides im part or in whole as might be deemed necessary.

Judge CADWALADER. But you do not now ask to put it on that footing. You ask to put it in as evidence. It is very likely that if nothing had been said on the subject, the counsel on both sides might have referred to this matter of public notoriery and conceded all that