No. 188.] Mr. Perry to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Madrid, April 21, 1865. SIR: Your despatch No. 76, of March 15, has reached me at a time when I find it a little difficult to get the attention of this government. My despatch of the 11th instant informed you of what scenes Madrid is now the theatre. The sudden death of a cabinet minister, the usual seclusion of the holy week, capped by the serious illness of Mr. Benavides, minister of state, have prevented me from seeing that minister upon the subject of your instruction. In this state of things I have sought the Duke of Valencia at his private residence, and stating that I found myself practically without a minister of state with whom to treat, opened the matter of withdrawal by Spain from her policy declared in 1861, and from the concession of belligerent rights to rebel cruisers, urging the same reasons before reported as used by me in conferences with Mr. Benavides. I also took the liberty of reading to the Duke a part of your instruction. He seemed to be penetrated with a conviction of the justice and reasonableness of what was asked, and begged me to put the request into the form of a note addressed to the minister of state, and let him know when I sent it. I immediately wrote the note, dated 18th instant, addressed to the minister of state, and sent it under cover to the Duke of Valencia. When I called again to-day he was very much occupied and, I did not send in my name, but shall hope to see him to-morrow. Meantime Mr. Benavides, who was very much affected by the death of his old friend Alcala Galiano, late minister of public instruction, has a severe attack of acute rheumatism, (as it is described,) and his friends have carried him away out of Madrid to day to some thermal sulphuric baths in Aragon. I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, sir, your obedient servant, HORATIO J. PERRY. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington. Mr. Perry to Mr. Seward. No. 189.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I beg to enclose copies of Mr. Beravides notes to me of February 12th and April 5th, on the subject of the recent visit of the Stonewall iron-clad pirate at Ferrol, which papers will complete the series of documents on this subject. A good many consular letters, advices, &c., not considered material to your full understanding of this subject, and to its history in the archives of the Department of State, remain on file in this legation. With date April 14th, at Teneriffe, our consul, Mr. Dabney, informed me that the Stonewall had called at that port and remained 24 hours, having made the run from Lisbon in three days; that she received 130 tons of coal, and sailed again on the 1st instant, and Mr. Dabney infers from what was understood to have been said by some of her officers that she started for Bermuda. She only carries coals for five days steaming, so that she will be obliged to depend upon her sails to make the voyage. As soon as this information reached me last evening I sent you a telegram in the following words: "Iron-clad Stonewall sailed April 1st from Teneriffe, supposed for Bermuda." But I may be allowed to hope that the same news may have been anticipated to you through some other channel, as Mr. Dabney had an opportunity to communicate with Mr. Adams at London about a week earlier than he could with Madrid. With the highest respect, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington. HORATIO J. PERRY. [Translation.] EPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to inform you that, according to the report given by the captain general of the department of Ferrol to the minister of marine, the Stonewall left that port on the 24th of March last, at half past ten o'clock in the morning, accompanied by her Majesty's frigate Conception. At noon, the frigate being within the following limits-Cape Prior north 53 east, Corunna light south 32 east, and the Stonewall about one mile ahead, about west-northwest of the meridian-the Conception stopped her engine, lowered and raised her ensign with a cannon shot to signify to the confederate vessel the extent of the jurisdictional zone, and then steamed back slowly to the mouth of the port of Ferrol, where she remained to watch the movements of the Stonewall, which vessel came back about two p. m., hoisting Spanish colors at the foretop, as a signal for communication. The commander of the Conception says: "They sent the mate to me to ask permission to return to the entrance of the harbor and communicate with shore. I refused permission, and said as they had repaired damages and gone out without new accidents, they could continue on their course. The boat went back, but soon returned, insisting on the demand. I again refused, and added, it was an abuse of hospitality. I afterwards steamed a little north or meridian, and finding the Stonewall nine or ten miles north, at four o'clock I returned to this port, (Ferrol,) where I anchored at half past four." In communicating to you these details, as another proof of the desire of the government of the Queen, my lady, to comply strictly with the duties of neutrality imposed by the royal decree, and to preserve and cultivate the good relations existing between Spain and the United States, I repeat the assurance of my distinguished consideration. The UNITED STATES CHARGÉ D'AFFAires. A. BENAVIDES. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. SIR: I have received your two notes of the 5th and 9th instant, in which, after informing me of the arrival of the iron-clad steamer Stonewall, with three guns, 300 horse-power, and 79 men, at the port of Ferrol, you request the government of her Majesty the Queen not to permit the said vessel to repair, nor to take coal and provisions, only enough to last her while in this port. In the present case the government of her Majesty must adhere to the decree of the 17th of June, 1861, the object of which was to prevent Spaniards from interfering in the struggle now going on in the United States, as all private interest is stimulated by the hope of gain. It was to be feared they would take part on either side. In consequence of this the government of her Majesty has ordered instructions to be given to the captain general of the department of Ferrol not to permit other than necessary repairs to the steamer Stonewall, to be determined by the commander of engineers, so as to make her seaworthy, but not to improve or increase her sea-fitness or military efficacy. In reference to your remarks about the arrival of the Stonewall at Ferrol, I must say she came with papers in due form, without the least indication that she wished to take on articles contraband of war; whereas examinations of her damages show she put in under stress, for certain safety. This being the case, the government of her Majesty could not disregard the voice of humanity in perfect harmony with the laws of neutrality, and does not think they are violated by allowing a vessel only the repairs strictly necessary to navigate without endangering the lives of the crew. I hope you will be satisfied with these lawful reasons for the resolution in regard to the Stonewall, and will accept the assurances of my most distinguished consideration. The UNITED STATES CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES. A. BENAVIDES. Mr. Perry to Mr. Seward. [Extract.] No. 190.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Madrid, April 21, 1865. SIR: The news of the battle in which Lee's army was defeated before Petersburg, and the subsequent entrance of our forces into Richmond, was received here, at first, with incredulity, on the 13th instant. I had, however, a telegram from our consul at Queenstown, and immediately ordered the flag of the Union to be displayed from the balcony of the legation, in the principal street of this capital, and posted a telegram in the messenger's room, which was then reproduced by all the evening papers. I also addressed a circular by telegraph to the consuls and consular agents in the following cities: Barcelona, Valencia, Alicant, Carthagena, Malaga, Algeciras, (Gibraltar,) Cadiz, Seville, Vigo, Corunna, Ferrol, Santander, and Bilbao, repeating in substance the telegram from Queenstown, as follows: "Richmond taken-Lee's army annihilated-the rebellion ended-praise God! Display the flag of the Union for three days over that consulate. PERRY." The responses I have received from every quarter, some by telegram, some by letter, are heart-stirring. I sent a copy of the Queenstown telegram, confidentially, to the Duke of Valencia, in a private note, also to Mr. Benavides. It was the hour when Alcalá Galiano was being publicly buried with the highest funeral honors known to such occasions in Spain. As soon as the duke returned from that ceremony he replied in the note of which I enclose a translation. The president of the council of state, the Marquis of Vilenna, formerly prime minister and president of the senate, has also called on me, expressing his sincere congratulations. General Prim, Marquis of Castillejos, was among the first to call and make known his joy. General O'Donnell, Duke of Tetuan, who has just lost a brother, and, according to social custom here, makes no visits out of his own house, sought me, nevertheless, in the senate and offered his felicitations. The president of the senate, the Marquis of Duero, was among the first to compliment me upon the occasion. Mr. Banuelos, sub-secretary of state, has manifested sincere satisfaction. Mr. Benavides has been impeded by illness. But they who are really and truly glad, and whose joy is visible in every feature, are the people. Sad as is their appearance in the streets of Madrid, since the events of the 10th instant, their faces light up as they gaze on the flag of the republic, and learn its meaning to-day, with an expression which no words of mine can transmit to that department, and which, nevertheless, it would be well if the department could understand. An address to the President which I have just received from Elche (the city of the palms) is a reflex of the same light I saw on the faces of this brave people as they passed and repassed under the great flag on the 16th instant, never stopping to gather into a crowd nor make any demonstration. I beg this paper may be placed in the hands of the President, and you will find one paragraph translated, there not being time to do the whole. * * * * * The "Comercio" of Barcelona appears in gala dress and devotes an entire page to the shout of victory! An address to the President numerously signed is being prepared, and will be sent directly from that city. The appearance of our national colors just at the present juncture of affairs in Madrid has been rendered the more notable because they have not been seen before since 1861, when, by your order, I took charge of this legation. The three days they have floated now amply repay me for all the sacrifices which here, as well as at home, the faithful have patiently endured. I beg to congratulate you and kiss the native soil on which this great battle of humanity has been fought and won. God's holy name be praised! With sentiments of the highest respect, sir, your obedient servant. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington. [Translation.] APRIL 15, 1865. MY MUCH-ESTEEMED FRIEND: I have just received your welcome note of to-day, and thank you, not only for giving me the news, but because you consider that it is satisfactory to me. In effect, I have had a great pleasure in receiving it and in the result of the events which it communicates; and as I cannot do otherwise than rejoice at every triumph of the principles of government and of justice in all countries, I congratulate you upon that which has been obtained in yours, repeating myself your most affectionate friend and faithful servant, Q. B. S. M., Mr. HORATIO J. PERRY. THE DUKE OF VALENCIA. Translation of part of an address to President Lincoln by the citizens of Eclhe, in Spain. Now, when unfortunate Spain is plunged in a frightful reaction; now when the enemies of liberty among ourselves occupy the places of power, and regain one by one those difficult conquests which were made in the turmoil of a devastating civil war which has thus become unproductive for the cause of the people; now, when the great orators of liberty find the path to the rostrum blocked; now that science groans under blows dealt in the face of most worthy men; now that the press is muzzled violently; now that again are repeated among us scenes only witnessed when a foreign soldiery dishonored our soil and spat in the face of the honest and brave Spanish people: now, it is highly consolatory for us who have faith and hope in the future, and who do not doubt the justice of God, to see that liberty does not succumb, that progress goes on and makes its daily journey, and that to our lot it has fallen to see the destruction of barbarian slavery, and that it is a people democratically governed which has carried to its close the greatest enterprise in history. The people and the army which have made such sacrifices in so just a cause have merited well of humanity. And the President of the republic, called by Providence to guide so great a people in moments decisive and supreme, will live always in the memory of coming generations, who shall bless his name so long as justice lives upon the earth. No. 93.] Mr. Hunter to Mr. Perry. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, April 22, 1865. SIR: Your despatches, No. 180 of the 26th ultimo and Nos. 181 and 182, both dated the 1st instant, have been received, and have been submitted for perusal to the Secretary of the Navy. Your energetic proceedings relative to the rebel ram Stonewall, during her stay at Ferrol, are approved. I am, sir, your obedient servant, HORATIO J. PERRY, Esq., &c., &c., Madrid. No. 193.] W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary. Mr. Perry to Mr. Seward. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: Thank God we are permitted still to address you. A telegram from Queenstown informs me at this moment "that Mr. Seward and his son are likely to recover." It is a relief from the suspense which has kept my hand bound since the evening of the 26th, when Mr. Adams's telegram informed me of the tragedy in Washington. Pray accept for yourself, dear sir, the expression of my horror and my grief at the foul crime of which you have been the victim; and say also to the As sistant Secretary of State that I associate myself with him in sympathy for all his sufferings. The death of President Lincoln by the hand of an assassin at the moment when the great work with which his name is indissolubly connected for all time touched the term of success, when the greatest insurrection known in history, striking for human slavery and at the life of the republic, succumbs at last to the valor of our democratic armies, and the persistent virtue of our people, led by the President of their own choice twice elected, and set up before friends and foes as their executive; the death of this Chief Magistrate, elevated by force of great events to a place in history not less than that of every other human name which the annals of the race record, and filling that broad place worthily, occurring at such a moment and in such a way, has sent a shock of horror through Europe. The Spanish people have been thunderstruck. I have heard ordinary men, ignorant that an American was listening, offer to lose a right hand if only this news might not be true. Men were rushing into this office until one o'clock at night, unwilling to believe, unable to control the emotion this news had stirred, and an unfeigned grief got the better of all form and etiquette in the manifestation of the sympathy of this generous-hearted people for the loss of President Lincoln. Your name, sir, was also on every lip, but men hoped against hope, and God has permitted this yearning of the universal heart of men to plead for you. I felt it would be be so; I cannot tell you how or why, but in spite of the desolating sweep of the first telegrams, something stirred within me with the consciousness that Mr. Seward still lived and would live. Heavy as the pall of grief closed over the loss of Lincoln, we have refused to mourn for you, and now we know that your work was not yet finished. How should it be, if it is now precisely, when the military triumph is gained, and the political and diplomatic questions, generated by the war, are up for settlement, that the sage counsel, the long-experienced and the steady hand of William H. Seward is needed in America and relied upon in Europe? We mourn for our President. But after all let an American speak, for whom the 3,000 miles of distance which separate him from the turmoil and distraction of that scene serve, perhaps something as the lapse of time will serve to his countrymen at home, to enable him to see events in their general form and purport as they will stand in history. The triumph of the American democracy in saving the second great republic, attacked by a slaveholding oligarchy, stands parallel in the world's record with the triumph of the Roman democracy when they destroyed the first great republic, attacking that slaveholding oligarchy. Abraham Lincoln and Julius Cæsar are names which henceforth personify the throes of men for liberty in two supreme epochs of history, which can be compared only the one with the other. An emperor was the result of the efforts of the Roman democracy, as it has since been of other people. A citizen President, equally triumphant over the slaveholding patrician element, but himself obedient to law, is the result of our peoples' virtue and his own. The singular parity of incident which closed the career of these two men, when the triumph was assured, will grave eternally on the memory of the generations the contrast of the result established, the immense advance of humanity since Cæsar fell. God's instrument in a work which makes his name immortal, Lincoln died at a glorious moment; success was assured, and if he had been ambitious he |