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the most respectable people, against whom he thinks he has cause of complaint, language the most extraordinary; his first words are almost always, "I will hang you," or "I will send you to Fort Jackson." He seeks means to fall back on occurrences which have happened during the war, and especially in running the blockade, and in imposing arbitrary fines under threat of being sent to Fort Jackson.

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Some time since a vessel, which on two occasions had run the blockade-the Wittemore, formerly the Fox-was taken on the coast, and a bag of letters was found on board; they have been opened, and all commercial papers found taken away, and use has been made of them to draw from various mercantile houses sums more or less considerable. A Spanish house had to pay $9,500; another house was condemned to pay $12,000, that is to say, the amount of a bill of sales of cotton effected at the Havana. This house is managed by French citizens, Messrs. Cahuzae, at Havana and Paris. It seems to me very plain that this is an arbitrary act of the worst sort, for martial law is thus applied retroactively to cases which have no connexion with it and which would, at the most, be within the province of an admiralty court.

A young German has been brought before General Butler, who presented a draft found in one of the letters, of about $600, which Messrs. Mumm, of Rheims, had sent him to be cashed. The general threatened him with Fort Jackson if during the afternoon he should not have paid the amount, and it was only on the earnest representations of the consul of Hamburg that he gave up the matter, saying to Mr. Schroeder, the German in question, that he had other complaints against him, and if they should be proved he would hang him. In fine, yesterday he made Mr. Cavas come before him, a very respectable and rich Greek merchant. Their conference was about as follows: "You have sugar on hand?" "Yes, general." "How have you bought it?" "With my means, and my drafts on the house Zizinia & Rally, (French,) of London." "Have not you paid for this sugar with gold which you have brought from Havana and sold at 100 per cent. premium?" "No, sir; I don't do such things." "In fine, I make much account of understanding the character of this transaction, and as soon as you can you must give me proof of what you state." Here, then, is a house well known, having large transactions, which will, without doubt, be forced to show its mercantile books for investigation by experts sworn by the military commander of the United States troops. Measures of this sort are suspended over the heads of all, and certainly not taken to re-establish confidence or inspire the residents with it and encourage them to send their produce to the city. So, as I have already said, the over-excitement, instead of being calmed through the country around, is still increasing, and already at this moment it is in question in part of Louisiana to sacrifice even the sugar, a product truly indigenous. The absence of all unionist feeling throughout the general mass of the popu lation springs from all these facts. There may be, and there in truth is, some weariness amongst a part, and an able administration, a moderate application in form and substance of the necessities of war, might improve it into the recall of some minds. I question if there can be any success through the application in this enlightened country, accustomed to a liberty which borders on license of a regime and a despotism unknown to the world.

I have had nothing personally to complain of with General Butler, who is always very agreeable when I have relations with him; but I cannot admit that in a country whose existence is based upon absolute liberty and a written Constitution, martial law should be the absence of all law, and even of all regularity, and permit all the prescriptions of the Constitution to be set aside. A great number of coffee houses, of bar rooms, billiard rooms, are kept at New Orleans for strangers-French, Spanish, Italian, &c.-under licenses, costing each year $150, part going to the city, part to the State, and payable by forces of special laws. These licenses are issued in the month of January. General

Butler has just decided that new licenses must be taken out, to the profit of the United States, without doubt, and $150 paid in gold, or city bills, or treasury notes. I at once addressed a remonstrance to him, grounding myself on the absence of any law authorizing such an impost, and upon the impossibility of paying it, &c., in the shape exacted. The general sent me a verbal answer that the law martial gave him the right to establish it. I call the attention of the minister of the Emperor at Washington to this question, which interests a great number of Frenchmen. Another Frenchman, Mr. F. Barriere, has been sentenced to a fine of $100 for not having opened his shop. In fine, others of our countrymen have suffered various damages, of which I will send a recapitulation to your excellency.

To come to the question, which is the principal purpose of this despatch, that about cotton, it follows, as I said above, from all the information I have collected, that in Louisiana, as in Mississippi and Alabama, all the cotton is destined to the flames on the approach of the federal troops. It is gathered everywhere in enormous piles, and committers everywhere exist who take on themselves the task of destroying it at a given moment, with or without the will of the owners, for there are many sufficiently honest not to wish to do the patriotic at the expense of their creditors. I must state, at the same time, that the cultivators of the soil (habitants) have devoted more than two-thirds of their lands to the production of alimentary crops; and that, according to what is said by persons who have been all through the State of Mississippi, and that portion of Louisiana watered by Red river, not half a crop has been prepared for the coming year, which will be further lessened by floods. In fact, all the low lands of Louisiana, above the Red river and the State of Mississippi, are now under water.

In every aspect, then, the future is very sad; refusal to send to the city, and preparations for burning the cotton of the present crop, and almost certainty of an altogether insufficient crop next year, and, as a consequence, the probable ruin of the country and incalculable losses to our manufacturers and misery to our workmen.

The remedy of the present can only be sought in a general and prompt pacification. As for indicating any for the future, that is still more difficult, for the planting season is in the months of March and April, and it is more than doubtful that replanting could be attempted at a time so advanced in the year.

Please accept the homage of respect with which I have the honor to be, Mr. Minister, your excellency's very humble and most obedient servant,

His Excellency Mr. THOUVENEL,

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paris.

C. MEJAN.

Memorandum of conversation between Mr. Mercier and Mr. Seward.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, May 31, 1862.

Mr. Mercier called upon Mr. Seward informally, to speak of some irritation among the consuls at New Orleans, resulting from irregularities and severities reported to have been practiced by Major General Butler towards them on the occasion of his taking military possession of that city. Mr. Mercier said that he had not called now to present any complaint on the part of the French consul, and explanations which had been already made by General Butler perhaps would relieve him of any necessity for doing so.

Mr. Seward said that he had seen newspaper reports of the occurrences at

New Orleans, but as yet had received nothing official, either from any representative of any foreign government or from the War Department. But he had had no hesitation about interposing in the matter at once.

Yesterday, after a brief conversation with Lord Lyons, when the subject was first brought to his notice, he had procured orders from the Secretary of War to Major General Butler, directing him to refrain from practicing any severities or strictness of doubtful right towards any consul or subject of any foreign power; which orders had been already transmitted.

To-day it had been decided to devolve the civil government of New Orleans upon a provisional military governor, who would proceed with the utmost despatch to New Orleans and relieve General Butler of civil administration there. Mr. Seward said that he had already appointed a commissioner for the State Department, of distinguished ability and character, to proceed to New Orleans as speedily as possible, and inquire and take evidence of the transactions which have occurred there, in which any complaint of violation of consular rights, privileges, and courtesies has arisen under the administration of General Butler, to redress any such clear violation which he may ascertain to have occurred, by making restitution, and in every other case to make full report to the Secretary of State for his decision thereupon.

Mr. F. W. Seward to Mr. Mercier.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, June 12, 1862.

SIR: Referring to the letter from a Frenchman at New York to the consul general of France there, relating to wines being considered by the custom-house authorities at that place as contraband of war, which you some days since left at this department, I now have the honor to enclose to you, for your information, the copy of a communication of the 6th instant from the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom the matter was referred, from which it appears that wines, as they do not properly come under the head of ardent spirits, are permitted to be shipped.

I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your obedient servant, F. W. SEWARD, Acting Secretary.

Mr. HENRY MERCIER, &c., Sc., Sr.

Mr. Chase to Mr. Seward.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, June 6, 1862.

SIR: I have received your letter of the 22d ultimo, stating that a letter from a Frenchman at New York to the consul general of France at that port has been left at your department by Mr. Mercier, which represents that the writer had been informed by the custom-house authorities that wines were considered as contraband of war, and asking for information in regard to the matter.

I have the honor to transmit herewith, for your information, a copy of the instructions addressed to collectors, with reference to clearances to the ports newly opened by the proclamation of the President, by which you will perceive that

"ardent spirits" are declared contraband of war, and their shipment prohibited; but wines, not coming properly under this head, are permitted to be shipped. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury.

Secretary of State.

[CIRCULAR.]

Mr. Chase to collectors of customs.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, May 23, 1862.

SIR: In pursuance of the provisions of the proclamation of the President, modifying the blockade of the ports of Beaufort, Port Royal, and New Orleans, and of the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury relating to trade with those ports, no articles contraband of war will be permitted to enter at either of said ports, and you will accordingly refuse clearance to vessels bound for those ports, or either of them, with any such articles on board.

Until further instructed, you will regard as contraband of war the following articles, viz: cannons, mortars, fire-arms, pistols, bombs, grenades, firelocks, flints,, matches, powder, saltpetre, balls, bullets, pikes, swords, sulphur, helmets or boarding-caps, sword-belts, saddles and bridles, (always excepting the quantity of the said articles which may be necessary for the defence of the ship and of those who compose the crew,) cartridge-bag material, percussion and other caps, clothing adapted for uniforms, rosin, sail-cloth of all kinds, hemp and cordage, masts, ship timber, tar and pitch, ardent, spirits, military persons in the service of the enemy, despatches of the enemy, and articles of like character with those specially enumerated. You will also refuse clearances to all vessels which, whatever the ostensible destination, are believed by you, on satisfactory grounds, to be intended for ports or places in possession or under control of insurgents against the United States, or that there is imminent danger that the goods, wares, or merchandise, of whatever description, laden on such vessels, will fall into the possession or under the control of such insurgents; and in all cases where, in your judgment, there is ground for apprehension that any goods, wares, or merchandise, shipped at your port, will be used, in any way, for the aid of the insurgents or the insurrection, you will require substantial security to be given that such goods, wares, or merchandise, shall not be transported to any place under insurrectionary control, and shall not, in any way, be used to give aid or comfort to such insurgents.

You will be especially careful upon application for clearances to require bonds, with sufficient sureties, conditioned for fulfilling faithfully all the conditions imposed by law or departmental regulations, from shippers of the following articles to the ports opened, or to any other ports from which they may easily be, and are probably intended to be, re-shipped in aid of the existing insurrection, namely: liquors of all kinds other than ardent spirits, coals, iron, lead, copper, tin, brass, telegraphic instruments, wire, porous cups, platina, sulphuric acid, zinc, and all other telegraphic materials, marine engines, screw propellers, paddle-wheels, cylinders, cranks, shafts, boilers, tubes for boilers, fire-bars, and every article or other component part of an engine or boiler, or any article whatever which is, can or

may become applicable for the manufacture of marine machinery, or for the armor of vessels.

I am, very respectfully,

S. P. CHASE,

Secretary of the Treasury.

HIRAM BARNEY, Esq.,

Collector, &c., New York.

The foregoing circular letter has been sent to collectors of the customs for their information and guidance.

Mr. Mercier to Mr. Seward.-(July 31, 1862.)

[Translation.]

Memorandum.

The consul of France at New Orleans, acting in conformity with the French ordinances on the subject, has received, at recent times, a certain number of deposits of specie made with him by French subjects. He could not fail, in conformity always with such ordinances, to exhaust, before receiving said deposits, all possible means of information for attaining the fullest and most circumstantial knowledge about the character and origin of these deposits. Those means being exhausted, he would be exposed to severe rebuke from his government by declining to receive those deposits in his chancery, which would have been equivalent to refusal of protection to them, and, in effect, the exceptional circumstances in which New Orleans is at present temporarily placed sufficiently explain why some Frenchmen ought to wish to place their valuables in a sure deposit, and under the protection of the flag of their country.

Mr. Mejan has been called before General Butler, who has interrogated him on the subject of these deposits. Without denying their existence, he has refused to give any details in respect of them, because he did not recognize what right General Butler could have to interrogate him, and because, in complying with his request, he would have been faithless to the trust which his countrymen had placed in him, and would place himself in contravention of the precise terms of the consular convention of 1853; those especially of article 3, according to which the papers in the consular chanceries cannot in any case be searched. General Butler then told him that, if he would not give his word of honor not to allow any deposit of any importance to be taken away, he would send a guard to watch the consulate.

In this dilemma Mr. Mejan, desiring to continue to act in the most conciliatory spirit, but forgetting that he was subscribing to an obligation which he had no right to assume, and thereby placing himself in a most delicate position towards his countrymen, whose funds he had no power to detain when they should come to demand them again, gave this word of honor.

Mr. Mejan has, in a later communication, expressed to General Butler his regret at having pledged his word. It is of consequence that he should be promptly relieved, and Mr. Reverdy Johnson could receive, in this particular, instructions from the government of the United States, and end in a spirit of conciliation an incidental matter from which very serious difficulties might result to the consul of France in relations with his countrymen, and entanglements to be regretted with the authorities at New Orleans.

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