In explanation of the refusal it should be said that when England declared in favor of granting the South belligerent rights, orders were issued that “required every ship-of-war or privateer of either belligerent which should enter British waters to depart within twenty-four hours afterwards, except in case of stress of weather, or of her requiring provisions, or things necessary for the subsistence of her crew, or repairs. In either of these cases she was to put to sea as soon after the expiration of the twenty-four hours as possible, taking in no supplies beyond what might be necessary for immediate use, and no more coal than would carry her to the nearest port of her own country, or some nearer destination. Nor, after coaling once in British waters, was she to be suffered to coal again within three months unless by special permission.” These orders were very annoying to the North, because when made, the Confederates had not a single ship of any kind afloat. It was simply excluding United States warships from what had once been friendly ports. On the other hand, the determination that no prizes should be sold in British ports was a hardship upon the South, because it prevented the Southern cruisers, that were eventually sent afloat, disposing of their prizes. Because of it the South did not sell a single prize, for the other nations followed England’s lead in this matter. But, on the whole, it must be said that while England’s attitude toward the cruisers of the two belligerents was, by the letter of the law, that of strict neutrality, the operation of this neutrality was a much greater hardship to the North than to the South, considered as national governments. The crews of the Confederate cruisers failed to get any prize money, but they could “sink, burn, and destroy _ad lib_.” They were about as great a menace to American commerce as if they had been getting prize money. There is now no disputing the oft-repeated assertion that England managed to maintain a neutrality that should help the South and hurt the North as much as was possible without causing open war with the United States. Having failed to get his prizes sold in Cuba, because Spain had followed England in refusing to allow such sales in her ports, Semmes took another prize, the _Abby Bradford_, to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, hoping to find a market there. He says of this attempt: