armaments in Europe, and yet they at the same time pursue a system that aggravates and prolongs war in America, and forces upon the United States a policy of military preparation incongruous with their history and uncongenial with their natural disposition.

SIR: Since I wrote you last, the apprehended war on the Dano-German question has broken out, and appears to have ended almost as soon as begun. It is feared that injustice will be done to Denmark in the settlement that will follow the invasion of Schleswig. Prussia and Austria have a troublesome popular ferment to appease, and it would seem that it must be allayed at the expense of Denmark. Here in Europe all sympathies are with the Danes. The active movements of the small German powers since the late military successes of Austria and Prussia, to prevent the latter from thwarting their desires in the settlement of the question, forebode further difficulties; and among the contingencies of the future a revolutionary contest in Germany itself still holds a prominent place.

We are still without a minister of foreign affairs. I have not received a copy of the diplomatic correspondence of 1863.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State, Washington.

JAMES S. PIKE.

No. 142.]

Mr. Seward to Mr. Pike.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, February 15, 1864.

SIR: Your despatch of January 27, No. 121, has been received. The President was promptly made acquainted with the kindly sentiments and good wishes of the King of Holland, which you communicated to me in your No. 118, and they were accepted with sincere satisfaction.

Laborious efforts have been made from time to time, chiefly by British statesmen, to prove that the concession of a belligerent naval character by their government to the insurgents in this country was right, and even that it was necessary. The United States have never conceded either the justice or the necessity of that proceeding, but, on the contrary, they declared at first, and have ever since maintained, that it was as ungenerous and unfriendly as it was exceptional. Having been followed by the concurrence of the other maritime powers, as it is understood in some cases upon considerations of prudence, and in others upon the suggestions of sympathy with Great Britain, that important measure has secured to none of the maritime powers any real advantage, while it has deeply affected the United States. Steadily adhering to the prudent policy which their exposed condition suggested, they are at last surmounting what other states have insisted upon regarding as fatal dangers. But, as they feel more assured of coming out of the revolutionary storm, the people of this coun

try become more and more keenly sensible of the injuries which they received from friendly hands during their peril. European statesmen, on the other hand, are beginning to consider what will be the form and measure of the atonement that the United States will claim at the hands of states which unnecessarily and unkindly have lent aid and sympathies to the insurgents.

It is to be expected, of course, that the United States, after passing the present crisis, will seek to maintain the position they have hitherto held in the commonwealth of nations, and to improve the resources with which Providence has blessed them. But it is no secret that the President thinks justice and magnanimity are safer and surer guides for a republic than jealousy and aggression. It is, moreover, hardly to be expected of any people that they will be content to practice these virtues towards other nations which persevere in injurious and wantonly offensive courses. Desirous, therefore, that when our domestic war shall cease, the natural controversies that grew out of it may also be brought to an end, I have been authorized, whenever circumstances seemed propitious, to invite the maritime powers to re-examine their attitude and to resume their original relations towards the United States. I know how hard it is for a state to retrace an erroneous course so long as it can be followed without immediate peril; and therefore I am not surprised or discouraged with the failure that has thus far attended the appeals which we have made not more earnestly in the present interest of our national cause than in the ultimate interest of universal peace and harmony. But if we are right in our belief that the American Union is coming safely and purified out of the fire through which, for its early acceptance of human bondage as a political element in its organization, it was doomed to pass, then it is clear that the maritime powers would do wisely in promptly receding from the position which, in a moment of precipitancy, they unwisely adopted in regard to the insurrection. If the United States survive the struggle, all of the maritime powers must, sooner or later, revise their attitude of which we complain. The power that first perceives and performs this duty will be distinguished, and will reap the rewards of wisdom and virtue.

I am obliged to confess that it is not now expected that the treaty in regard to negro emigration will be ratified. The American people have advanced to a new position in regard to slavery and the African class since the President, in obedience to their prevailing wishes, accepted the policy of colonization. Now not only their free labor but their military service also is appreciated and accepted.

The views of our finances taken by our friends in Holland are neither unjust nor unexpected. They are accepted by the Secretary of the Treasury, and, I believe, by Congress. I think I can promise that the increased taxation necessary for sustaining the public credit will be wisely imposed by the legislature and cheerfully borne by the people.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

JAMES S. PIKE, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Con

rate

act

No. 224.]

Mr. Pike to Mr. Seward.

[Extracts.]

UNITED STATES LEGATION,

The Hague, March 9, 1864.

SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 15th of February, No. 142.

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The Jews have taken to buying our bonds largely, as they get them at a

and

to

De

rate which pays them near 10 per cent. for their money. I am told the transactions at Amsterdam amount to near two millions weekly.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

At this distance from the theatre of action we do not attempt a solution of the political problem in Europe, but it surprises us to see how slow the statesmen of that continent are in finding that their labors upon it are not at all rendered lighter by the injurious policy they are practicing in regard to

American affairs.

The campaign in the west is opening with a gratifying display of steadiness and energy. The elections which have recently occurred in Louisiana, in New Hampshire, and especially in New York, indicate that the impulsive movement of April, 1861, has ripened at last into enlightened and irrevocable resolution to maintain the integrity of the Union, and to place our political system on broad and sure foundations. It is not under such circumstances that we are likely to be disturbed by rumors of dangers of interference by foreign powers.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

SIR: We have at last a minister of foreign affairs in Mr. J. Cremers, of Gronengen, the centre of liberal politics in this kingdom.

This appointment does not involve any change in the policy of the present ministry, of which Mr. Thorbecke is still the head; and as the ministry has already taken its ground on the question of granting belligerent rights to the insurgents, and argued out a reply to the suggestion that it would be well for them to review their position, I suppose it is useless at this time to ask a reconsideration of their views.

I am addressed again by Mr. Marx, our new consul at Amsterdam, who, it seems, is still in that city, in regard to his commission and exequatur, but I have still to reply to him that I have not yet received the duplicate commission for which he waits.

I indulge in no review of the political situation of Europe, feeling that it would be perhaps alike uninteresting and superfluous. Ever since England and France broke up on the question of a congress at Paris, affairs have been in a more than usually unsettled condition. France continues to hold an attitude of reserve, and appears to enjoy the embarrassments of England in failing to make anything out of her active negotiations between Germany and Denmark.

People talk about the danger of the war spreading, but I confess my inability to see any solid foundation for such a fear. There is nobody to spread it but France, and she is just now as much isolated as England. In the event of war, on any existing issue, she would be pretty sure to have all three of the other great continental powers opposed to her; and I believe the discord between this power and England to be now so great, that they would not pull together in any hostile policy.

The situation, therefore, with all its uncertainties, I think is, in the main, peace between the leading powers.

So far as we are concerned, I see nothing that bears upon our interests, either for or against, in the present or prospective action of any European government. They all wait, if without hostility, yet without sympathy, to see what will come of the contest in which we are engaged.

This government receives with regret the intimation that the treaty with regard to emigration to Surinam, lately negotiated here, is not likely to be ratified. Surinam wants labor, and the colonial department is anxious to have the credit of making a treaty that looks to the obtaining of it. I have no doubt, however, of the good policy on our part of rejecting the treaty.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, &c., &c., &c.

JAMES S. PIKE.

Mr. Pike to Mr. Seward.
[Extracts.]

No. 128.]

UNITED STATES LEGATION,

The Hague, April 6, 1864.

SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of March 11, No. 145.

It now seems probable that a means of solving the Dano-German question will be found in the course of the spring.

The King of Holland is, at this moment, making his brief visit to Amsterdam, where he has a very rarely used palace. The Queen has been in Wurtemburg for some weeks, drawn thither by the illness of her father the King.

JAMES S. PIKE.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State, Washington.

Mr. Pike to Mr. Seward.

[Extracts.]

No. 129.]

UNITED STATES LEGATION,

The Hague, April 20, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 5th instant, No. 146.

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The London conference on the Dano-German question will have great difficulties to overcome, as you are aware, but it is presumed that it can hardly fail

to restore peace. A favorite plan of settlement seems to be the union of the north half of Schleswig with Denmark as an integral part of the kingdom; the remainder to go with Holstein into the German Confederation, under the King of Denmark as its duke.

Our new minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Cremers, is thus far very successful in his office, though never before in public life.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

The

The Hague, April 27, 1864. SIR: The quieting tenor of the Senate action on the Mexican question has restored the equilibrium on the stock exchange, and our securities rebounded yesterday to just the same extent they fell last week. The general tendency of prices is, however, downward, and has been so for some time past. slow progress of the war accounts, in the main, for this decline; but besides the general reason, there is another. The pushing of numerous new paper banks into existence during such a convulsion as rages in America, is regarded with great distrust by Dutch financiers, and it is believed will complicate still further our already overburdened and embarrassed finances. Instead of more banking machines, these conservative people insist that we have too many already. They say we have a plethora of paper money, and that this is our difficulty and danger. They ask, "Why add to the list of paper money banks, which cannot resume specie payments when the storm is over? The country will be deluged by the issues of the new banks, and their influence on the question of resumption will be pernicious and tend to prolong the period of disaster." They admit that if the machinery was necessary to enable the government to place their loans, or to furnish a circulating medium, they could understand why the new banks should be created. But as they are evidently needed for neither purpose, the object of calling into existence such a potent element of expansion and speculation is beyond their comprehension.

There is only one point of view in which this policy is regarded with complacency. It is that the general deluge of paper likely to inundate the channels of circulation through their operations will, by discrediting all banks, throw the country all the sooner back upon a specie currency. They do not overlook the fact that the abundance of the precious metals now fast filling the world may render this transaction comparatively easy, and thus be unattended by the convulsions which such radical changes have hitherto produced.

But any way the opinion reigns that the new banks will only make a bad matter worse, and that when the end comes they will be able to lighten nobody's load, but will be just as deep in the mud as everybody else will be in the mire. Whereas, if the creation of a national bank, or a chain of banks, based mainly on government securities, were deferred until the government circulation had to be funded with a view to a resumption of specie payments, they might be made efficient agents for this purpose.

It is thus that distrust is increased by considerations lying outside the general course of affairs. I think you will agree with me that much weight