No. 98.] Mr. Bigelow to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: On my return to Paris this morning I found a communication from his excellency the minister of foreign affairs, of which enclosure No. 1 is a copy and No. 2 a translation. It is in reply to a communication which I left with his excellency on the 12th instant, a copy of which was transmitted to you in my despatch No. 91. I have only time to-day to say, that the policy of the French government as here defined, in reference to a withdrawal of the imperial declaration of September, 1861, is substantially the same as that recently proclaimed in Parliament by Earl Russell and Lord Palmerston. It also notifies me that (following the example of England) the minister of marine has repealed the restrictions upon the sojourn of the vessels-of-war in French ports. I am disposed to dispute the competence of the French government to make any distinct renunciation of the right of search, a condition precedent to a withdrawal of the belligerent privileges conceded to the rebels in 1861, on the ground that if those privileges are withdrawn on our application, we are responsible to them just as much as they are to us for any future abuse of the power to search neutral vessels. By now asking them to treat us no longer as belligerents, we voluntarily come under all the obligations of non-belligerents, just as upon their own theory by becoming de facto belligerents, and without any declaration of war, we as well as our enemies at once became entitled from neutrals to all the privileges and incurred all the penalties of belligerents. M. Drouyn de Lhuys admits the war is ended. He has then no more authority to exact from us a renunciation of the right to search neutral ships than he would have to exact a renunciation of our right to go to war again if we should ever fancy we had provocation. I labor under the disadvantage of not knowing what view Mr. Adams has taken of the late declaration of the British government, and I shall take a few days to reflect before determining what, if any, answer should be made before hearing from you. I am, sir, with great respect, your very obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, JOHN BIGELOW. Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c. [Enclosure No. 2.-Translation of No. 1.] Mr. Drougn de Lhuys to Mr. Bigelow. PARIS, May 20, 1865. SIR: I have received the note which you did me the honor to address to me on the 10th of this month. Referring to the decisive events which have passed in the United States, and which have 'completed the defeat of the southern Confederate States, you ask if the declaration of neutrality of the 10th of June, 1861, has not ceased to effect the useful purposes that it might have in view, now that the insurrectionary government has no seat or settled existence; that its armies are broken and dispersed; that it has no longer a single port open to it on the seas, and that its flag no longer floats but over a few vessels built in foreign ports, and wandering without any possible refuge about the ports of their country. You ask, at the same time, if the period is not arrived when it would be an unfriendly act on the part of France to refuse to the United States navy the hospitality which the French navy has always found in the ports of the Union, and if the insurgents have not lost every right to the privileges of belligerents recognized by the imperial government. In the first place, sir, I presume it is understood that the conduct pursued by the Emperor's government from the beginning of the conflict cannot be regarded as in any way dictated by an unfriendly feeling towards the United States, although you state, in the communication to which I have the honor to reply, that you are unwilling to discuss the necessity or the propriety of our declaration of 1861. I do not the less feel it my duty again to affirm, that the Emperor's government could not have acted otherwise than it has done; that it was at once its duty and its right to recognize in the imposing and regularly organized forces which entered upon the struggle in the heart of the American Union, all the characteristics which constitute belligerents, and to proclaim its neutrality from that time. There could be neither hesitation nor controversy as to the line of conduct to be pursued. Facts forced themselves upon all with sovereign authority, and the government of the United States itself-I may recall it to its honor-did not misunderstand it, for it has observed towards its adversaries, in carrying on the war, the usages which prevail in hostilities between independent nations. But, in our opinion, the measures taken by us in consequence of a state of war, manifest and declared, ought not to be continued when the situation which had rendered them obligatory has ceased to exist. Now everything shows that the time is at hand when the federal government will be able to depart from the attitude which the necessities of war still impose upon it. As soon as we are informed that it relinquishes the right of search and capture in respect of neutral ships there will no longer be any question of belligerency in respect to the United States for us to consider, and we shall hasten to acknowledge it. We shall be happy immediately to suppress all the restrictions which a state of war has imported into our relations, and especially to offer in our ports the most cordial and perfect hospitality to the ships of a nation which we have long been accustomed to treat as a friend. I am happy to be able to announce to you that in the present state of things his Majesty's government from this day no longer considers it necessary to retain the regulation limiting to twenty-four hours the stay which the ships-of-war of the United States were authorized to make in our ports; consequently, the minister of the navy has just revoked it. Receive the assurances of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be, sir, your very humble and very obedient servant, Monsieur BIGELOW, DROUYN DE LHUYS. Minister of the United States at Paris. No. 99.] Mr. Bigelow to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF the United STATES, SIR: On my return from England, this morning, I found a communication from his excellency the minister of foreign affairs, of which enclosure No. 1 is a copy and No. 2 is a translation. I have only time to say that this communication is in reply to my note to his excellency, accompanying copies of the proclamations referred to in your despatch No. 112. I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, JOHN BIGELOW. Secretary of State, Washington. [Enclosure No. 2.-Translation of No. 1.] Monsieur Drouyn de Lhuys to Mr. Bigelow. PARIS, May 19, 1865. SIR: You have been good enough to communicate to me officially various proclamations issued by President Lincoln in the course of the last month. These documents call for some observations on my part, which I have the honor to submit to you. The ships of the United States, says Mr. Lincoln, have been subjected in certain countries to a regime restricting them from immunities and privileges which were assured to them by treaties, custom, and international law, while the ships of those same countries have continued to enjoy the same privileges and immunities previously enjoyed by them in the ports of the United States. This difference must henceforth cease, and foreign ships-of-war will be treated in the ports of the United States in the same way as are the federal ships in the ports of those countries. As far as we are concerned, the treatment applied to federal ships-of-war, and to which it is intended to submit ours, is that which is prescribed by the obligations of neutrality with respect to belligerents, the object being to protect the dignity and responsibility of neutrals. Federal belligerent ships cannot now remain in our ports more than 24 hours, unless under certain unavoidable circumstances; they cannot sell their prizes there, nor provide themselves with arms and ammunition; they can only procure whatever is necessary for the subsistence of their crews and the safe navigation of the ship. In case of the simultaneous presence in a French port of ships-of-war, cruisers, or merchant ships, of the two belligerents, an interval of 24 hours at least is to elapse between the departure of the ships of one of the belligerents and the subsequent departure of the ships of the other. Such are the regulations consecrated by the almost universal custom of all nations, and which we have observed in the present war. Now, by what assimilation are these regulations to be applied to our flag? We are not at war with any one; we take no prizes, therefore, into the ports of the United States; nor do we go there to obtain means of aggression against an enemy, nor to seek the opportunity of a collision. Where, then, are the reasons which would justify this pretended reciprocity of treatment in situations so dissimilar? I do not dispute, however, sir, that the results of the late military operations have considerably modified the situation of the two belligerent parties; but I must observe that the federal government itself furnishes proof that the state of war still exists, and falls into a kind of contradiction if, while demanding of neutrals the abandonment of the conditions of neutrality, it persist in exercising against their ships the right of search and capture—a right which it claims solely from its quality of belligerent. Receive the assurances of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be, sir, your very humble and very obedient servant, Monsieur BIGelow, Minister of the United States at Paris. DROUYN DE LHUYS. No. 156.] Mr. Hunter to Mr. Bigelow. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, May 29, 1865. SIR: Your despatch of the 12th instant, No. 92, and its accompanying copy of a note which you addressed to Mr. Drouyn de Lhuys upon the subject of the President's proclamations, which were transmitted to you with my instruction, No. 112, has been received and is approved. I am, sir, your obedient servant, JOHN BIGELOW, Esq., &c., &c., &c. W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary. No. 157.] Mr. Hunter to Mr. Bigelow. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 'Washington, May 30, 1865. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 10th instant, No. 90, transmitting a copy of your correspondence with a number of of citizens of the United States, residing in France, in regard to the assassination of President Lincoln and to the attempts upon the lives of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of State. In reply, I have to inform you that the correspondence is highly approved. I am, sir, your obedient servant, JOHN BIGELOW, Esq., &c., &c., &c. W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary. No. 109.] Mr. Bigelow to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: Among the manifold testimonials of sympathy elicited by the assassi nation of our late President some have seemed worthy of being transmitted to Washington to be read and, perhaps, placed among the archives of the government; others have other destinations, for reaching which the facilities of the State Department are more or less requisite. I transmit them in a body, trusting that you will give them, respectively, their proper direction. I have divided them into three categories: the first category consists of eleven letters addressed to Mrs. Lincoln; the second category consists of twenty-nine communications from masonic lodges, three addressed to President Johnson, eighteen to the United States minister at Paris, and eight to American lodges; the third category consists of four letters and addresses to heads of the government and of twenty-eight to the United States minister at Paris-making in all seventy-two enclosures. Though these form but a small proportion, numerically, of the testimonials of sympathy which have been already addressed to me by the people of France, and a still smaller proportion of those yet to be expected, they will suffice to show not only how profoundly the nation was shocked by the dreadful crime which terminated President Lincoln's earthly career, but how deep a hold he had taken upon the respect and affections of the French people. It is difficult to exaggerate the enthusiasm which his name inspires among the masses of Europe at this moment-an enthusiasm before which the ruling classes, however little disposed to waste compliments upon anything tainted with republicanism, are obliged to incline. I think it is generally conceded that the death of no man has ever occurred that awakened such prompt and universal sympathy at once among his own country people and among foreign nations. There can be no better evidence that the world is advancing in civilization than this unprecedented and spontaneous homage to the virtues of Mr. Lincoln. It shows that the moral standard of nations has been greatly exalted within the memory of living men. It does not deserve to be reckoned among the secondary achievements of our people during the last four years to have furnished the world with such a striking demonstration of this gratifying truth. I am, sir, with great respect, your very obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. [For enclosures see Appendix, separate volume.] [Enclosures to despatch No. 109.] FIRST CATEGORY. Letters addressed to Mrs. Lincoln. No. 1, L'Alliance Religieuse Universelle; 2, Souverain Chapitre des Amis Triomphants, à l'Orient de Paris; 3, the students of the faculty of Protestant theology of Montauban; 4, translation of letter from the conference of French pastors held in Paris April 27, 1865; 5, Madame Sempé and two other ladies; 6, Escarré and twenty others; 7, Ode of M. Descottes; 8, the pastors of the Drôme and Ardèche; 9, the hatters of the house of Didé, of Nimes; 10, sealed letter; 11, Ein Deutsch Amerikaner, in memoriam. [The above enclosures forwarded to Mrs. Lincoln.] SECOND CATEGORY. From Freemason Lodges, addressed to the United States minister at Paris. 1, St. John's Lodge, Amis de la Vérité; 2, Chapter Lodge, les Amis Triomphants; 3, Chapter Lodge, Clémente Amitié; 4, Scotch Lodge, Elus de St. Etienne; 5, Chapter Lodge, Mars et les Arts; 6, Scotch Lodge, No. 146, La Ligne Droite; 7, Chapter Lodge, les Amis de la Patrie; 8, Chapter Lodge, l'Avenir; 9, Scotch Lodge, No. 88, la Prèvoyance; 10, St. John Lodge, No. 147, du Héros de l'Humanité; 11, Supreme Lodge, Scotch rite; 12, St. John Lodge, St. John of Jerusalem; 13, St. John Lodge, Tolerance et Progrès: 14, Lodge de Henry IV; 15, Lodge Le Berceau d'Henry IV of Pau; 16, Lodge L'Ecole de la Morale of Libourne; 17, St. John Lodge, La Persévérance. Letters to lodges. 1, La Renaissance par les Emules d'Hiram to the Grand Lodge of New York; 2, La Renaissance par les Emules d'Hiram to the Grand Lodge of Illinois; 3, La Renaissance par les Emules d'Hiram to the Grand Lodge of New York, colored; 4, Les Amis de l'Ordre to the Grand Lodge of New York; 5, Le Temple des Familles to the Freemasons of the United States; 6, Le Temple des Familles to the colored lodge of New York; 7, The Scotch Lodge, No. 176, L'Espérance Savoysienne to the Grand Lodge of New York, No. 17; 8, L'Alliance Fraternelle to the Grand Lodge of New York. Letters to President Johnson. 1, St. John Lodge, Orion, of Gaillac, Tarn; 2, Scotch Lodge, No. 146, La Ligne Droite; 3, Chapter Lodge, de la Bonne Foì. THIRD CATEGORY. Miscellaneous letters and addresses to the President and others. 1, Abraham Lincoln in memoriam, by Ein Deutsch-Amerikaner; 2, letter, sealed, to Presi dent Johnson; 3, address of the Evangelical Alliance of Lyons; 4, sealed letter to Mr. Seward. Letters to United States minister at Paris. 1, Alfred Monod, avocat au conseil d'Etat; 2, La Jeunesse Francaise, a deputation; 3, inhabitants of Boyan; 4, Colonel Count Faubert, of Haité; 5, students of the School of Medicine; 6, Franco-American Colonists; 7, Louis and Casimir, Dìdè of Nismes, manufacturers; 8, Courier du Dimanche; 9, chargé d'affaires of Persia; 10, citizens of Guingamp, presented by M. Edward Laboulaye; 11, Oscar de Lafayette; 12, verses by Auguste Lalure; 13, Mr. Drouyn de Lhuys, minister of foreign affairs; 14, Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte; 15, Edward Laboulaye; 16, committee for obtaining a canal by the Isthmus of Darien; 17, address of the Democrats of Tours; 18, Latin poem, by F. B.; 19, Union Nationale du Comme et de l'Industrie; 20, Paul Thouzery, accompanying a poem; 21, members of the Protestant church of Montauban and Toulouse, and of the London Abolition Society; 22, address from people of Strasbourg; 23, F. Campadelli, with poem; 24, inhabitants of Vierzon; 25, address from Americans at Pau; 26, letter from the conterence of French pastors; 27, letter from Rev. Barthe, president of the consistory of Pons; 28, L'Alliance Religieuse Universelle. No. 110.] Mr. Bigelow to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Paris, May 31, 1865. SIR: I have pleasure in transmitting to you an elaborate article which has just appeared from the pen of the Count de Montalembert, of the institute, on the recent triumph of the United States over her enemies. It appears in the Revue Correspondent. The position which the Count de Montalembert has occupied for some years, not only as one of the most eloquent living writers of France, but as one of the most cherished lay champions of the Latin church, gives a political significance to this article which does not ordinarily attach to contributions to the periodical press. * * * I am, sir, with great respect, your very obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c. |