which were expected to seek rendezvous among their secluded harbors. Unusual vigilance and activity have been adopted, besides other precautions, which promise the best results. I understand that the governor of the island of Terceira (Azores) has so construed the instructions which he received as to forbid the coaling of any steamer designing to violate our blockade, and that he requires a bond to be given, before allowing coals to be furnished at all, that the ships receiving the supply will not run the blockade. While this fair and friendly spirit is maintained our relations should be drawn into a closer intimacy, and I shall seek every proper occasion to manifest a becoming appreciation of such considerate and commendable conduct. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, JAMES E. HARVEY. Secretary of State. No. 262.] Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. [Extract.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: His Majesty's government has commenced a system of military works and lines for the protection of Lisbon, based upon plans which are understood to have been sketched out by the late Duke of Wellington during his memora ble peninsular campaign. Their completion will involve a cost of several millions of dollars, which is no inconsiderable sum for a small kingdom where the current expenses exceed the regular revenues, and frequent loans are required to offset constantly augmenting deficits. Portugal is at peace with all the world, and has every reason and interest to preserve that condition, for aside from the civil conflicts which destroyed a former prosperity, her territory was made the theatre of war between great rival powers which contended for supremacy or for control on this part of the peninsula. These large works have doubtless been undertaken to provide means of defence against dangers which are indirectly threatened by the disturbed state of Europe, and from the apprehension that, sooner or later, the war which now rages on the far north may by a sudden turn of events be extended to, or by chance burst upon, this remote southern region. No. 264.] Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: The enclosed extracts from an official letter addressed to me by Commander Preble, of the United States steamer St. Louis, will explain themselves. Private letters, of four days later date, inform me that the rebel cruiser Florida left Funchal clandestinely on the night of the 29th of February, and was seen the next day in the neighborhood of the island, when the St. Louis put to sea. It is to be presumed, as the rebel did not desire an engagement, that he took advantage of his steam-power to escape. It appears, from the statement of Commander Preble, that the Florida entered Funchal bay on the 28th of February, after a cruise of eighteen days from Brest, short of coal, water, bread, &c., and that a concerted arrangement had been made with an English merchant named Blandy to furnish her with one hundred and ten tons of coal. At first the governor of the island would not permit any coal to be supplied, but after various conferences he agreed to allow twenty tons to be taken on board, and the Florida left Funchal with that limited provision, probably to seek a more hospitable port. I take it for granted, if a question were to be raised on this subject, which cannot now be done for the want of official and precise information, that the governor will claim to justify his action in the premises upon the ground that the case was included in the category provided for by the royal proclamation of July 29, 1861, which excepts from the rule therein prescribed "cases of overruling necessity, (force majeure,) in which, according to the laws of nations, hospitality is indispensable." In any event, I shall esteem it to be my duty to state the facts to the minister of foreign affairs at the first opportunity which may be offered for that purpose. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, JAMES E. HARVEY. Secretary of State. UNITED STATES SLOOP-OF-WAR ST. LOUIS, Funchal Roads, Madeira, February 29, 1864. SIR: The rebel steamer Florida, Morris commander, arrived here on the night before the last, reporting as eighteen days from Brest, and requiring supplies of coals, water, bread, &c. Mr. Blandy, an English merchant, had engaged to furnish 110 tons of coals, but the governor forbade her being supplied with either coals or provisions. Last night there was an attempt to coal her clandestinely, which I ascertained and reported to Mr. Bayman, acting consul. We had a long interview with the governor and stopped it; two boats were loaded and are now afloat, watched by police boats. Mr. Bayman writes me this morning that the governor, acting on old instructions-not the recent ones- -had decided to give the Florida sixty tons of coals, since reduced to twenty, but I am not sure that he will adhere to this. * * * The rebel commander says his mission is to destroy our commerce, not to fight, and that he cannot afford to risk the chances of injury to his machinery. I have, therefore, little hopes of bringing her to action with my canvas wings, though I shall follow her to sea, if practicable, and try. He will probably go to sea in the morning calms, before the land breeze sets in. If not allowed to coal here I think he will go to Teneriffe, where the Georgia was coaled last October, and where I hope he may fall in with the Sacramento. We left her at Fayal, to sail as soon as coaled, and she would probably be detained at Santa Cruz to overhaul her engines. The rebels were offering $50 advance yesterday for additions to the crew. * * Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. JAMES E. HARVEY, GEORGE HENRY PREBLE, United States Minister Resident, Lisbon, Portugal. No. 267.] Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: A paragraph appeared in one of the principal papers to-day of which the following is a translation: "According to the Aurora dos Açores of the 5th of March an English schooner coming from the island of St. Mary's reports that a vessel was set on fire by a steamer presumed to be the Florida, or Alabama, and supposed to be the same which, on the 1st instant, passed within sight of the harbor." I fear it will turn out that the corsair Florida, which left Funchal on the night of the 29th February, has been renewing her depredations, and that at least one other victim has been added to the number of American ships which have been destroyed by this and other piratical cruisers. Unless energetic measures be adopted there is too much reason to believe that the catalogue will be soon and largely augmented. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, I transmit also a circumstantial account of the presence and departure of the rebel cruiser Florida at Madeira, and the attending circumstances which Mr. Bayman was instructed to prepare, in order that it might be laid before the President. It throws no additional light upon the case, as it has already been submitted to the notice of the department, except the fact that the commander of the Florida was consistent in his vocation when he resorted to deception in order to attain his object. And although he succeeded in a very fractional degree, this experience will not much avail him or his criminal confederates hereafter. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, JAMES E. HARVEY. Secretary of State. Mr. Bayman to Mr. Harvey. CONSULATE OF the United STATES, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 14th instant, and beg to express my thanks for the appointment therein forwarded. I return the paper expressing the oath taken at the British consulate this day. I was informed by Commander Preble, United States steamer St. Louis, of the arrival of the rebel steamer Florida on Sunday morning, the 28th ultimo. I then called on the governor; he said that the Florida would be ordered to leave DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. within twenty-four hours, and would not be allowed to take any coal; that any change in his then determination would be at once communicated to me. About eight o'clock that night I was informed that coal was ready in boats to go off to the Florida; on my way to ascertain this I met a messenger from the governor requesting my presence; I went to the castle, and was then told by the governor that the commander of the Florida, one Morris, stated that he had only seven tons of coal on board, barely enough for cooking purposes, and that to take the vessel to another port he required 110 tons, also bread and water. The governor suggested that some one should go on board to verify this statement. Morris declined, and I have reason to believe, from subsequent information, that instead of seven tons there were seventy-five tons of coal on board. The governor, taking the statement made by Morris on honor, proposed to give him sixty tons of coal, water and bread, ordering the Florida to leave the next day, asking my acquiesence, (d'accord.) My reply was that I could not agree to the supply of one ton of coal under any circumstances; that the Florida could sail out of port as readily as any other ship. With regard to water and bread, I begged to remark that the United States government had, from the outset of the domestic troubles, followed a most humane, generous policy in their efforts to crush the most unprovoked rebellion known in the history of the world, offering a marked contrast to the savage ferocity that had characterized the conduct of the rebels. Mindful of this, I would not object to the supply of bread, though in strict justice even these ought to be denied to men roaming over the ocean solely to destroy unarmed vessels. Subsequently the governor decided to allow the Florida to receive twenty tons of coal, notwithstanding my objections. The foregoing contains the main points of our conversation. I quite believe that the governor was anxious to send the Florida away without more aid than he considered necessary to enable the vessel to depart. The alleged attempt to coal the Florida clandestinely cannot be proved; three boats were loaded with about twenty-one tons of coal, moored to a buoy, waitI saw the boats ing leave to be sent alongside the Florida-so say the owners. so moored, and know that no coal went off till leave was granted, and then only the twenty tons. The Florida anchored east of the St. Louis; got away during the night of the 29th February; it was very dark, and the wind blowing hard from the west. The St. Louis left on the morning of the 1st March. The Julia and Constance, steamers, well-known blockade runners, are in port in a leaky condition, awaiting orders. I have the honor to remain, sir, your obedient servant, His Excellency JAMES E. HARvey, ROBERT BAYMAN, United States Consul ad interim. United States Minister Resident at Lisbon. Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. No. 269.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 129, and to express my acknowledgments for the courteous and complimentary terms in which you have conveyed the "President's approval and commendation" of my conduct in the matter of the apprehended equipment of certain rebel cruisers in Portuguese ports. Your suggestion of a reconsideration of the policy of his Most Faithful Majesty's government in regard to our unhappy strife involves various difficulties which deserve to be well considered before moving in that direction. The first duty to which I addressed myself, after entering upon this mission, was to procure a proclamation prohibiting the insurgents from bringing prizes into Portuguese ports, or using them for hostile purposes against the commerce and interests of the United States. Although that proclamation was issued soon after the leading and several of the minor powers had conceded belligerent rights to the insurgents, and although Portugal, from her ancient alliances, her necessities, and her traditions, has been accustomed to regard such examples as almost obligatory upon her own action, that document stopped far short of the length to which the others had gone. It is true that the proclamation was not in all respects what I desired it should be in terms, but it is certainly more friendly in fact, more liberal in substance, and more becoming in form, than that of any other government, as will be readily seen by instituting a comparison. Neither the moral nor the material influence of Portugal has been thrown into the scale before the world to lift up a revolutionary party to the rights and dignity of a belligerent power, and no restriction of any kind has been imposed upon our ships-of-war. On the contrary, they have been welcomed by the authorities of this kingdom everywhere with respect and good feeling, and recently, upon an important occasion, in a manner that deserves our cordial recognition. To the extent of good dispositions and of limited resources we have had all the advantage of the effective influence of this government, even when it was pressed hard from without, when suffering much for the loss of an accustomed commerce within, and, I may add, whilst a fabricated and selfish European opinion was brought to bear strongly against our cause and country. It is my foremost desire, as it is my greatest ambition, in the position which I now occupy, that Portugal should not give even the slight sanction of a nominal neutrality to the enemies of free institutions, who, in this enlightened century, have inaugurated the most terrible of civil wars, with its horrid train of blood and carnage, to plant more deeply the foundations of a despotic oligarchy, to overthrow the noblest work of human wisdom in the way of free government, and to arrest the progress of a mighty social development, because it threatened their too long continued political ascendency. You may be quite sure that no effort will be spared on my part to attain that object whenever a fitting opportunity may be presented, but I shall regard any agitation of the subject, at this particular time, not only inopportune, but rather calculated to defeat than to aid the purpose. There are varions reasons for this opinion, with which it is unnecessary to trouble the department now. Suspicious cruisers are hovering about this and the neighboring coasts, and all my present efforts are required for the protection of our exposed commerce. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, JAMES E. HARVEY. Secretary of State. No. 270.] Mr. Harvey to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: The accompanying letter from the United States consul at Fayal has just been received, and the facts which he mentions have been confirmed by other information. Letters and telegrams from different sources and |