Mr. Hunter to Mr. de Geofroy. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, April 29. 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 22d instant, transmitting three copies of resolutions adopted by French residents of the city of New York, at a meeting held on the 18th instant, and presided over by the consul general of France, expressive of their indignation and sorrow at the assassination of President Lincoln and the attempts to take the lives of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of State. I shall find much satisfaction in causing the copies of these humane and characteristic resolutions of your generous countrymen to be disposed of in the manner indicated in your note. Accept, sir, a renewed assurance of my very high consideration. W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary. Mr. L. DE GEOFROY, &c., &c., &c. Mr. Hunter to Mr. de Geofroy. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, April 29, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 26th instant, transmitting a letter of condolence addressed to Mrs. Lincoln by French residents of Philadelphia, and a copy of their just and friendly resolutions adopted at a meeting of the French Society of Beneficence, held on the 22d instant, expressing the sentiments and sympathies inspired by the recent atrocities committed against the late President and the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of State. I have the honor to inform you, in reply, that your request in regard to the disposition of these papers shall be complied with. On behalf of the government of the United States, I must beg you to convey to Mr. Destonet, the president of the society, an expression of its grateful sense of the spirit manifested in their proceedings. Accept, sir, a renewed assurance of my high consideration. W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary. Mr. L. DE GEOFROY, &c., &c., &x. M. Montholon to Mr. Hunter. [Translation.] LEGATION OF France to the United States, New York, June 4, 1865. SIR: A despatch dated 19th of May, which I received this instant from his excellency M. Drouyn de Lhuys, informs me that the Emperor's government has revoked the regulation which limited to twenty-four hours the period of sojourn of vessels-of-war of the Union in the ports of France. I hasten to bring this decision to your knowledge, begging you to communicate it to his excellency the President of the United States. Accept, sir, I pray you, the assurance of my high consideration. Hon. WILLIAM HUNTER; Acting Secretary of State, Washington. MONTHOLON. Mr. Seward to M. Montholon. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, June 15, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 4th instant, informing this department of the revocation by the government of France of the regulations limiting the stoppage of United States vessels-of-war in the ports of France to twenty-four hours. In reply I have the honor to state that in compliance with your request, this decision has been made known to the President of the United States. Accept, sir, the renewed assurance of my very high consideration. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. The MARQUIS DE MONTHOLON, &c., &c., &c. M. Montholon to Mr. Hunter. [Translation.] LEGATION OF FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES, Washington, June 24, 1865. SIR: The Swiss government addressed to that of his Majesty, at the close of last year, a communication relative to a project consisting in authorizing Swiss citizens, owners of ships, to carry at sea the federal flag-that is to say, to create a Swiss navy-and has suggested his excellency M. Drouyn de Lhuys to let it know whether the government of the Emperor would be willing to 1st. Admit to its ports Swiss vessels, expressly authorized by the federal council to carry the Helvetic flag. 2d. To assure to them the like legal position as to vessels of other nations. 3d. To grant to Swiss established in the respectives states to build and freight Swiss vessels. At first view no objection seemed to present itself to the project of the federal council, the open sea being free, and therefore access to it open to all; however, like myself, you, sir, will, without doubt, be of opinion that the geographic situation of Switzerland, which does not bound on the sea at any point, might give rise in practice to certain difficulties, about which there is subject for previous consideration. International law has, in fact, imposed on all navies, in view of maritime police, and especially of nationality, regulations and duties, the first guarantee of which is found in the port of registry. We must, then, at once question whether a country which has not any port of registry could, for want of this port d'attaché condition, offer equivalent guarantees, or such as other powers should be contented with. On the other hand, how could the right of jurisdiction of Switzerland over crimes and offences committed on board its ships be exercised, either on the high seas or within the territorial waters of another state, since the Helvetic confederation is almost without means for the direct arrest of the guilty? In fine, would not the recognition of this new flag be of a nature, in view of commercial relations, to give rise to difficulties, either in times of peace or of war? Such are the main points on which the government of his Majesty, without pronouncing its decision, would attach importance to learning the manner of viewing it of the different maritime powers, and has charged me to sound in this respect the disposition of the government of the United States. It is, I think, superfluous to add, that if the questions put by the Helvetic government to that of the Emperor raised in the opinion of the cabinet of Wash ington other objections than those which I have had the honor to communicate to you, I will be obliged to you to impart them to me, and I will hasten to transmit them to his excellency M. Drouyn de Lhuys. Accept, sir, the assurances of my most distinguished consideration. Hon. WILLIAM HUNTER, MONTHOLON. Acting Secretary. Mr. Seward to M. Montholon. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 24th ultimo, relative to a communication addressed by the Swiss government to that of his Imperial Majesty upon the subject of the creation of a Swiss navy, and at the same time informing me that the government of France, before pronouncing its decision, have desired to obtain the views of the various maritime powers with regard thereto, and that for this purpose you are charged to ascertain the views of this government upon the subject. In reply I have the honor to state that a similar communication to this government has been made and reported by the government of Switzerland; but that, in consequence of the war, in which we have so long been engaged in suppressing domestic insurrection, the consideration of the subject has been postponed until a period more favorable for it. I beg you to assure Mr. Drouyn de Lhuys that the gravity of the question, and the courtesy of the imperial government towards the United States in regard to its solution, are highly appreciated. Accept, sir, the renewed assurances of my high consideration. The MARQUIS DE MONTHOLON, Sr., Sr., Sr. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 62.] RUSSIA. Mr. Clay to Mr. Seward. [Extract.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, St. Petersburg, Russia, November 14, 1864. SIR: In obedience to your directions I read to Prince Gortchacow your despatch, and gave him your two printed reports in reference to the intercontinental telegraph. I also introduced to him Hiram Sibley and P. McD. Collins, esquires, and asked an audience for the same gentlemen of his Majesty the Emperor. And on yesterday, at the palace of Tzarshoe Leto, his Imperial Majesty received them with especial courtesy, and promised them his cordial co-operation in this great enterprise. All the persons who are connected with this line, in the administration, have been consulted, and seemed well disposed to give our countrymen all the aid in their power towards the perfection of the charter, the rectification of the route, and all other facilities in its structure. As our American friends are very anxious to have a branch of their continental line running into the populous and wealthy country of China, I shall ask of this government at once to aid us, through their minister in China, to procure a charter there. Should this course meet your views, you can interest our minister, the Hon. A. Burlingame, to co-operate with the Russian authorities in this matter. The Russian Fur Company seem friendly and anxious to co-operate with our friends in carrying on their work, and seem to have also all confidence in their SIR: Your despatch No. 688 (circular) is received, for which I thank you. I have this morning telegraphic news of the re-election of A. Lincoln as President. I feel that our country is now secure of the future; that slavery will be abolished, the Union restored, and that we will henceforth take our true position in the world as the leaders in all liberalism in fact, as we have heretofore been in theory. * * * C. M. CLAY. * No. 64.] Mr. Clay to Mr. Seward. [Extracts.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, St. Petersburg, Russia, November 22, 1864. SIR To-day his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine, who has just returned from abroad, sent his aide de-camp to invite me to make him an informal visit. I was received in the most cordial manner and without any ceremony. He said he desired to thank me for the good understanding which existed between the Emperor and the United States, which was owing to my good offices and friendship, and he desired also in person to return, through me, his grateful appreciation of the cordial reception of the Russian fleet in America. I replied that the debt of gratitude was from us to his Imperial Majesty; * * * * that our people fully appreciated this fact; and though we could not rival Europe, perhaps, in the magnificence of our public fêtes, we trusted that we had not been wanting in heart. He spoke again of how much their officers were gratified; complimented our navy-said Russia had imitated us and built ten monitors; that they performed well, and would be effective for defence and offence against all the nations bordering on the Baltic. He gave it as his opinion that the monitors, by increase of bulk, might be successful as sea-going vessels; but that caution was to be used, and experience should determine. Ha complimented also the gallantry of our naval officers, and especially Commodore Farragut. He then asked me about our affairs. I told him that Mr. Lincoln was re-elected, and that I thought it would discourage the south, and hasten and make sure the restoration of the Union; that the exhaustion of the south was proven by the fact that the arming of the slaves was freely spoken of; that this was equivalent to a threat to blow up the ship rather than surrender. He said that the blacks were treated with more equality there than in free States, and it did not seem so certain that they would abandon their masters. I replied that the southern regard for the negro and social equality with the blacks was only apparent; that slaves could sit with the families of masters and be indulged in some privileges which were denied them in the north, but that the poor white of the south was more intolerant of slave or negro association than even the northerners; that human nature was about the same, and blacks could hardly be supposed so foolish as to fight against their liberators to retain their wives and children in slavery. The grand duke then expressed his fears that a "reconstruction" of hostile States after conquest would add no strength to our nation. This idea of difficulty I told him was altogether English and European; that those interested in slaves could not be more than one and a half million at the most liberal count; that all the rest, white and black, were in interest opposed to slavery; and that we had only to break down the tyranny of the rebel masters, and then we found no difficulty in showing the masses their true interests; that as a matter of fact the reconstructed States were more loyal than many free States, for they had felt the evils of slavery and secession more. At these views the grand duke seemed much gratified, as they evidently were new to him, and he seemed pleased that our future strength would not be impaired by the rebellion, for the English view prevails all over Europe that we shall be permanently injured by the war even if the Union is restored, as our great resources are not known. His Imperial Highness thanked me for the brochure account of my reception by the Russian fleet, which I had sent him; and once more wishing that our |