No. 282.] Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, March 5, 1863. SIR: I have the honor to enclose you herewith a translation of a communication received from the foreign office, and which relates to matter contained in your despatch No. 227, of September 30th last. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON. His Excellency WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c. [Translation] PARIS, January 30, 1863. Monsieur the minister of the United States, by order of his government, communicated to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, in the month of November last, a despatch from the Secretary of State, of Washington, relative to the facilities. which foreign governments might, under the present circumstances, find for recruiting for their colonies willing workmen amongst the great number of blacks who reside in a state of liberty upon the federal territory. The minister of foreign affairs of the Emperor has been obliged, before thinking of following up the overtures which were addressed to him upon this occasion, to demand of the legation of his Majesty at Washington certain indispensable information upon different points of detail connected with this question. Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, consequently, is not able to give to Mr. Dayton the answer which he has expressed the desire of obtaining so long as this expected information shall not be transmitted by Mr. Mercier, and he can only confine himself, therefore, for the present, to making known to him this circum stance. No. 285.] Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, March 11, 1863. SIR: I enclose you, by the present steamer, an English copy of the translation of the speech of M. Billault, "minister sans portefeuille," on the French invasion of Mexico, delivered in the corps législatif on the 7th of February last. This speech has, doubtless, been translated and published in England at the instance of the French government. M. Billault is, as you know, one of the most eloquent debaters in France, and on the floor of the Chambers acts, in this matter of Mexico, as the mouthpiece of the gov ernment. The Moniteur, of this morning, says that a copy of this speech has been laid on the desk of each of the members of the British Parliament. Two copies have been furnished to me, one, at least, of which was, doubtless, intended for my government. You will draw your own inferences from this course of proceeding on the part of this government. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c. WILLIAM L. DAYTON. No. 286.] Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, March 13, 1863. SIR: From information, received through different sources, I am inclined to believe that arrangements have been made with the house of Erlanger & Co., Frankfort, for a loan to the confederates of £3,000,000, to be secured by a pledge of cotton to an extent vastly disproportionate to the amount of the loan. This house of Erlanger is a German Jew house, having its principal place of business at Frankfort, with branches or agencies at other points, one of which is here. This branch, I learn, is in charge of the son of the head of the house at Frankfort. I am informed by Mr. Murphy, our consul general at Frankfort, that it is said there that the cotton which is to be hypothecated is to be collected in the interior of the country, or, if possible, placed in the hands of the French consul at Richmond. If the latter should be done it would be in the hope, as he truly says, of dragging the French government into a recognition of the affair, and making its protection a kind of security for the loan. * I have been somewhat doubtful whether it would be wise, at present, to speak of these reports to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, though, if a favorable opportunity occur, I shall do so. If the loan should be made, it would probably be made in the name of the German house, and not quoted on the French bourse. I understand that no loan can be quoted there without the authority of this government. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c. WILLIAM L. DAYTON. Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. No. 315.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, March 14, 1863. SIR: Your despatch of February 26, No. 279, has been received, and I have read with deep interest the paper which accompanies it. The appeal of the Protestant clergy of France to their religious brethren of Great Britain on the subject of the civil war of the United States is so vigorous and just as to deserve the thanks of the whole American people. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 319.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, March 16, 1863. SIR: I have to thank you for your despatch, No. 277, of the 26th ultimo, relative to my despatch to you of the 6th of last month, on the subject of French mediation in our affairs, and to inform you that it is approved. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. [Extract.] No. 287.] PARIS, March 20, 1863. SIR: Your despatches Nos. 308, 309, and 310 have been received. I refer to despatch No. 304, in reference to the law authorizing the Presi dent to issue letters of marque and reprisal, only for the purpose of saying that I have made to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys the explanations therein directed. I did this as a matter of precaution only. As a general rule, it is wisest, I think, to wait for complaints before explanations are volunteered; but I have found by experience that Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys sometimes acts upon supposed facts without notice to me in advance, and therefore, where I am charged with explanations to be made at discretion, feel it safest to make them at once. I informed Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys in the same interview that you had written to me that I must "give no credit to rumors of alienation between Mr. Mercier and our government," and I read to him, likewise, the kind remarks made by you in despatch No. 309 in reference to the relations between France and the United States. With all this he expressed his gratification, and said that Mr. Mercier had likewise informed him that the personal relations between you and himself were entirely kind. This explanation was the more necessary from the fact that the European journals have generally seized upon the alleged contradictions in your and his correspondence for the purpose of fomenting unpleasant feelings. If the journals of the United States could only be made to understand how much mischief they do to us abroad by exaggerating and harping upon these things, I am sure they would exercise more caution. PARIS, March 20, 1863. No. 289.] SIR: The within slip, cut from the London Daily News, will give you all further information as to the £3,000,000 "seven per cent. cotton loan" about to be negotiated in Europe. The chances for speculation, the sympathy for the south, and the belief in its ultimate success, will probably procure this loan to be taken. The allegation is that Erlanger & Co., Frankfort, Germany, are the principal takers; but the reliance, without doubt, is mainly upon Liverpool, London, and Manchester. The son of Erlanger in Paris is counted upon to get off portions of the loan here. I am your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, * * WM. L. DAYTON. Secretary of State, &c. [From The Daily News.] MONEY MARKET. TUESDAY EVENING. The amount of business in the stock market to-day has again been very limited, apart from the completion of the fortnightly settlement in shares and foreign stocks. Speculation is checked by the uncertainty attaching to the Polish question, or diverted to the Italian and confederate loans and other new securities. The funds declined per cent. this morning, but afterwards recovered, and closed at yesterday's prices. English railway stocks were rather heavy. As regards foreign stocks, the movements were for the most part confined to an improvement in Turkish consolidés and a decline in Greek. It appears that the prospectus of the confederate government loan is to be issued to-morrow, through Messrs. John Henry Schröder & Co., of this city, the expected formal ratification and powers from the confederate government having arrived this day. The loan is to consist of £3,000,000 of seven per cent. bonds, to be offered at 90 per cent. It will be specially designated a "seven per cent. cotton loan;" and one of its peculiar features is that the bonds are to be exchangeable against cotton, the latter being taken at the fixed price of 6d. per pound. This arrangement is of course designed by way of attraction to the speculative appetite, for supposing it were possible to get the cotton away, and sell it at Liverpool at 12d. per pound, (which is less than half the present price,) the holder of a bond which has cost £90 might get from £180 to £200. In every respect, therefore, this is a very remarkable operation. The confederate government have agreed that the cotton shall be free from any additional export duties that may hereafter be imposed; and it is urged on behalf of the loan that the cotton hypothecated must be the first to reach the European market, inasmuch as the confederate government will possess a monopoly of the means of transport to the coast. As a matter of course, the security of the bondholders will depend entirely upon the ability of the South to maintain its independence. THE FRENCH PROTESTANT CHURCH AND MR. DAVIS'S CONFEDERACY. Six hundred and eighty-nine Protestant French ministers have signed an address, dated March 13, and attested by the reverend pastors Grand Pierre, G. Monod, Louis Rognon, Louis Pulsford, Fred. Monod, Eug. Bersier, to ministers of the gospel in this country, calling upon them, by the memory of British philanthropy and British religion, to exert themselves, that the influence of this country may be exerted, for the liberation of the slave. They say: "No more revolting spectacle has ever been set before the civilized world than a confederacy, consisting mainly of Protestants, forming itself and demanding independence, in the nineteenth century of the Christian era, with a professed design of maintaining and propagating slavery-a confederacy which lays down as the corner-stone of its constitution the system of slavery as it exists at present in the southern States-a system which may be defined briefly as the right to treat man like cattle, and to commit adultery and murder with impunity. Setting aside all political considerations, can any Christian heart fail to be stirred to indignation at hearing the chief of that confederacy answering a decree of emancipation by an implied threat of extermination? The triumph of such a cause would put back the progress of Christian civilization and of humanity a whole century. It would make angels weep in heaven, and demons rejoice in hell. It would enable the friends of the slave trade and of slavery in all lands to hold up their heads, ever ready, as they are, to reappear at the first signal in Asia, in Africa, and even in the great cities of Europe. It would give a fatal blow to the work of evangelical missions. And what a frightful responsi bility would rest on the church which should remain the silent spectator of such a triumph! If there is a peaceable means of hastening the end of the war, and of rendering its issue such as is desired by all the friends of humanity, is it not that the sincere Christians of Europe should give to the cause of emancipation a powerful testimony, which would leave to those who fight for the right of oppressing the slaves no hope of ever seeing those Christians give them the hand of fellowship? Ministers and pastors of all the evangelical denominations of England, Scotland, and Ireland, it is here we need your assistance. Take the lead, and let us call forth a great and peaceful manifestation of sympathy for the colored race so long oppressed and debased by Christian nations. Let us thus discourage the partisans of slavery. Let us strengthen and encourage those who wish to abolish it, at the same time disposing them to listen to our suggestions. It is in free England that such manifestations can be powerful. What may we not hope for if throughout Great Britain the voice of all the ministers of the crucified Saviour, and in France-our voice echoing theirs-pray and plead that soon there may no longer be in the United States a colored man that is not free and equal with the whites? May God grant it, and may his blessing rest alike on Great Britain and the United States, in Christ, the true liberator!" Since the 13th instant the number of signatures of French pastors has been increased to seven hundred and eighty-nine. No. 290.] Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. PARIS, March 21, 1863. SIR: Will you be so good as to advise me what are the existing regulations in the United States as to the purchase of cotton, &c., by neutrals, the character of payment and facilities of exportation allowed by our government? I had supposed that New Orleans, Port Royal, and Memphis were open for the exportation of cotton by all persons, and that purchasers could make payment in specie. The correspondence lately printed by the British government would seem to indicate that this is not so; that the Treasury Department has imposed restrictions and limitations which render the opening of those ports to a great extent illusory. Will you be pleased to say what is the exact condition of things on this subject? I am, sir, your obedient servant, SIR: Your despatch of March 6, No. 283, has been received. Reports of communications between emissaries of the insurrection and foreign courts no longer produce great excitement here. The nation seems to have fully apprehended the crisis, and resolved to meet it. The tone of |