In pointing out to my attention the gravity of this matter, which you recommend in a manner altogether special to my examination, you express the regret that my department had not thought proper to come to an understanding with that of the foreign affairs before answering the requests of Mr. Arman, who had obtained from the marine the authorization to provide his vessels with twelve cannon of 30 As to that which concerns the authorization solicited by Mr. Arman, and which was necessary to him by the terms of the ordinance of the 12th July, 1847, I did not believe I ought to refuse it in consequence of the declaration of the constructor, who gave me the assurance, as, moreover, his correspondence with my department proves, that the vessels in construction in his work yards were destined to do service in the China seas and the Pacific-between China, Japan, and San Francisco. I could not, upon such a declaration, and knowing, besides, that the vessels of commerce which navigate the parts in question ought always to be furnished with certain armament, in view of the numerous pirates which infest them, I could not, I say, answer negatively to the request of Mr. Arman, nor refuse Mr. Voruz the faculty of manufacturing the cannon destined to form this armament. This last authorization was the consequence of that given to the constructor to provide his vessels with artillery. In granting to Mr. Voruz the permission to procure at Reuil the elucidations necessary to the manufacture of his cannon, I followed that which has always been done by my department in analogous circumstances, commerce only exceptionally giving itself to a manufacture which, in France, is almost never executed but by the state. As to the regrets expressed by your excellency that the department of foreign affairs has not previously been consulted, I will cause you to remark that it was a question of arms to be caused to be manufactured by private industry, and not of material of war appertaining to the state, and delivered by the magazines of the state. This difference will not escape your excellency, and I would not have failed to come to an understanding with you if there had been asked of my department arms of the marine. Upon the whole, my department has only conformed in this circumstance to its precedents It could only trust to the declaration of Messrs. Arman & Voruz, and it could not be responsible for the unlawful operations which might be undertaken I am going, however, to call forth from Messrs. Arman & Voruz explanations upon the facts of which you have spoken to me, and you may rest assured, M. and dear colleague, that the department of the marine will continue, as it has done up to the present day, to do everything which shall be necessary according to the wish of the Emperor, and conformably to the declaration of his government, in order that the most strict neutrality be observed in that which concerns the war which desolates America at this moment, &c. No. 415.] CHASSELOUP LAUBAT. Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 20, 1863. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 6th instant, (No. 357,) relative to the movements of the steamer Southerner, which will be submitted to the Secretary of the Navy. 1 am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. No. 416.] Department OF STATE, Washington, October 21, 1863. SIR: Mr. Bigelow, the United States consul at Paris, has transmitted to the department, with a despatch of the 29th ultimo. further important papers relative to the iron-clads in the course of construction in France for the insurgents. It is presumed that he has also communicated the papers to you, and that you have made such further representations upon the subject to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys as may have been required. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., Sr., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 365.] Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, October 21, 1863. SIR: On the 19th instant I received a note from Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys requesting to see me on the next day (yesterday) in reference to certain matters of business. I, of course, attended at the foreign office at the time named. He then informed me that it had been reported to him that the United States steamship Kearsarge, Captain Winslow, now in the port of Brest, kept her steam constantly up with the view, as supposed, of instantly following and catching, if possible, the Florida upon her leaving that port; and that France, having resolved to treat this vessel as a regularly commissioned ship-of-war, could not and would not permit this to be done. He said that the rule which requires that the vessel first leaving shall have twenty-four hours the start must be applied. To avoid the difficulty which he said must inevitably follow a disregard of this rule by Captain Winslow, he requested me to communicate to him the determination of this government, and apprize him of the necessity of complying with the rule. Inasmuch as nothing was to be gained by inviting the application of force, and increased difficulties might follow that course, I have communicated to Captain Winslow the letter of which I herewith send you a copy. Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys furthermore informed me that this government, after much conference, (and, I think, some hesitation,) had concluded not to issue an order prohibiting an accession to the crew of the Florida while in port, inasmuch as such accession was necessary to her navigation. They had made inquiries, it would seem, and said they had ascertained that the seventy or seventy-five men discharged after she came into Brest were discharged because the period for which they had shipped had expired. He said, furthermore, that it was reported to him that the Kearsarge had likewise applied for some sailors and a pilot in that port, as well as for coal and leave to make repairs, all of which had been, and would be, if more were needed, cheerfully granted. I told him I was quite confident the Kearsarge had made no attempt to ship a crew there, and that as respects a pilot, that stood on ground peculiar to itself, and had no reference to the general principle. The determination which has been reached by the French authorities to allow the shipment of a crew, or so large a portion of one, on board of the Florida while lying in their port, is, I think, wrong, even supposing the vessel a regularly commissioned ship of-war. I told Mr. Dronyn de l'Huys that, looking at it as a mere lawyer and clear of prejudices, which my official position might create, I thought this determination an error. He said, however, that in the conference they had reached that conclusion unanimously, although a majority of the ministry considering the question were lawyers. It may happen, however, that the decision will have no practical effect, as my last information from England makes it doubtful if the rebel agents there can get the men. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM L. DAYTON. PARIS, October 21, 1863. SIR: The French minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, informs me that it is reported to him that you keep steam constantly on your vessel in the port of Brest with the view, as supposed, to instantly follow the Florida out of the roadstead, if she leaves before you, and seize her if possible. He informs me, furthermore, that, the French government having resolved to treat the Florida as a regular ship-of-war, this proceeding on your part cannot be permitted; that the rule which, under such circumstances, gives twenty-four hours start to the vessel first leaving port will be applied. He has requested me, with a view to avoid an unpleasant difficulty, to apprize you of this determination of the French government, and to request you to comply with the above rule. As nothing is to be gained by compelling this government to exercise force in applying this rule, you will, I trust, submit as a matter of necessity to the requirements. I am further informed that this government does not consider itself bound to prohibit an accession to the crew of the Florida while lying in the port of Brest, provided such accession does not increase the number beyond that which they brought into port. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Captain WINSLOW, No. 366.] United States Steamship Kearsarge. WILLIAM L. DAYTON. Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, October 21, 1863. SIR: In conversation with Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, on yesterday, he informed me that you had revoked an order recently given to allow the exportation from Virginia of some tobacco belonging to the French government; that this revocation had been made because, if the concession were made to France, England, perhaps, would, as you supposed, apply for the like favors, which might embarrass you. Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys said they had gone to the trouble of getting the assent of the British government to this act, and the promise on its part never to set up the concession as a precedent, and they hoped you would yet, as a favor, permit the export, though it was one of those matters which you would grant or withhold at your pleasure. But he wished me to let you know that they attached to the concession a certain importance; that tobacco being a government monopoly in France, it was necessary to their finances that the supply from our country be kept up. He hoped you would yet permit the tobacco to come out. I asked him if it had been bought before the war, or if it had already been paid for, which circumstances, I thought, might influence your action on the question, but he professed himself to be ignorant on both these points. I shall be happy if you can, without sacrifice, grant this favor. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM L. DAYTON. P. S. Since writing the above I have been again spoken to by one of the subordinate officials of this government in reference to the tobacco question. He speaks of the importance attached to this matter, especially by the minister of finance, and says that this tobacco was bought before the war, and has been already paid for by government. If this be so, it would seem to me there could be little objection under the circumstances to permitting its export. D. No. 367. Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, October 22, 1863. SIR: Your despatches Nos. 409 and 410 have been duly received. No. 409 refers more especially to the evidence received at your department in reference to the war steamers now being built at Bordeaux and Nantes for the rebels of the south, and you express the hope that I will "lose no time unnecessarily in bringing the transaction to the notice of Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, and asking for the effectual interposition of the government to prevent the departure of the hostile expedition." My despatches, especially that dated September 22, last, and received by you doubtless after the writing of your despatch above referred to, will satisfy you that no time whatever has been lost; my application to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys was immediate, before even copies of the papers were ready for him. And I am bound to say that his general answer, that they would maintain their neutrality, was equally prompt. I have already informed you that I told Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys this question was of so much importance that I was not content it should rest merely on my memory and report of conversations between us; that I had requested him to put his answer in writing, and to apply it not to general principles merely, but to the specific case-to the question of what would be done in respect to these vessels. He as constantly held to me the same language, to wit, that the building and arming of these vessels was a breach of neutrality which the government of France would not tolerate. In our last conversation (Tuesday, the 20th instant,) he said that he and the minister of marine had agreed upon their course of action as to this matter; that the minister of marine would withdraw, (and I think he said he had already withdrawn,) as I had requested, the authorization to arm these vessels, and that he (Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys) had already made the minute or rough draft of a note to the proper department, which would be completed and sent the next day, requiring that his (the foreign) department should be properly notified and advised with before any of these vessels should be permitted to leave port. He said that these vessels could not, and would not, be permitted to leave port without the usual papers properly authenticated. He has promised me copies of the order of the minister of marine, withdrawing the authorization, and of his own note, in time for the mail of to-day. If they shall be received in season, they will be hereunto attached. He informs me that Mr. Arman, member of the corps legislatif, and Mr. Voruz, either a present or ex-member of that body, the parties contracting for these vessels and the armament, deny all knowledge of the existence of any such papers as we have submitted to the government, and yet continue to say that these vessels are for the China seas, and ultimate sale, if possible, to the government of China or Japan. They profess, I understand, to be quite indignant at the charges against them. I have myself no doubt of the genuineness of the papers; and Mr. Bigelow has been advising (with my assent) with Mr. Berryer, (the distinguished lawyer, and now an opposition member of the corps legislatif,) as to the propriety of prosecuting these parties in a French court of law, with a view to making an example of them, and in the hope of deterring others from like offences. The building and arming of these vessels for the rebels is, I think, a clear violation of certain penal enactments, but whether we can prosecute successfully or not I do not know. It has to be done through the intervention of the French procureur general. What would you advise in reference to this matter? No. 417.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 23, 1863. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the reception of your despatch of the 9th instant, (No. 361,) which brings me the views expressed by Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys concerning the situation in Mexico. Various considerations have induced the President to avoid taking any part in the speculative debates bearing on that situation which have been carried on in the capitals of Europe as well as in those of America. A determination to err on the side of strict neutrality, if we err at all, in a war which is carried on between two nations, with which the United States are maintaining relations of amity and friendship, was prominent among the considerations to which I have thus referred. The United States, nevertheless, when invited by France or Mexico, cannot omit to express themselves with perfect frankness upon new incidents, as they occur, in the progress of that war. Mr. Dronyn de l'Huys now speaks of an election which he expects to be held in Mexico, and to result in the choice of his Imperial Highness the Prince Maximilian of Austria to be Emperor of Mexico. We learn from other sources that the prince has declared his willingness to accept an imperial throne in Mexico on three conditions, namely: first, that he shall be called to it by the universal suffrage of the Mexican nation; secondly, that he shall receive indispensable guarantees for the integrity and independence of the proposed empire; and thirdly, that the head of his family, the Emperor of Austria, shall acquiesce. Referring to these facts, Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys intimates that an early acknowledgment of the proposed empire by the United States would be convenient to France, by relieving her, sooner than might be possible under other circumstances, from her troublesome complications in Mexico. Happily the French government has not been left uninformed that, in the opinion of the United States, the permanent establishment of a foreign and monarchical government in Mexico will be found neither easy nor desirable. You will inform Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys that this opinion remains unchanged. On the other hand, the United States cannot anticipate the action of the people of Mexico, nor have they the least purpose or desire to interfere with their proceedings, or control or interfere with their free choice, or disturb them in the enjoyment of whatever institutions of government they may, in the exercise of an absolute freedom, establish. It is proper, also, that Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys should be informed that the United States continue to regard Mexico as the theatre of a war which has not yet ended in the subversion of the government long existing there, with which the United States remain in the relation of peace and sincere friendship; and that, for this reason, the United States are not now at liberty to consider the question of recognizing a government which, in the further chances of war, may come into its place. The United States, consistently with their principles, can do no otherwise than leave the destinies of Mexico in the keeping of her own people, and recognize their sovereignty and independence in whatever form they themselves shall choose that this govereignty and independence shall be manifested. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. |