A SERIES OF LETTERS
VFRONI
LONDON.








A SERIES OF LETTERS
FROM
LONDON
WRITTEN
DURING  THE  YEARS 1856,'57,'58,'59, AND'60.
BY
GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS,
THEN MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE BRITISH COURT.
"Point de fiel permet beaucoup de franchise."-GuIzoT, HMm.
EDITED  BY HIS DAUGHTER JULIA.
TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
1869.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO..
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania.




PREFACE.
THERE were many incidents connected with the post
of American Minister in London, from 1856 to 1861,
which may be usefully, and perhaps not disagreeably,
recalled from the oblivion into which they must otherwise hasten. To do this, no departure from the reticence
lastingly exacted by diplomatic function is necessary.
A book, in which the scenes and conversations of Paris
at the outbreak of the Revolution of 1848 are portrayed
by a British diplomat and peer, was doubtfiully received,
because this reserve was in a measure relaxed. The
example should be followed with watchful self-restraint.
As a general rule, -Despatches addressed by a public
agent to his government, on the business of that government, pass out of his control and merge into the mass of
executive archives, to be thenceforward reached under a
responsible authorization only. Exceptions nevertheless
will occur to every mind: —as when mooted topics,
ceasing to agitate, have subsided into History; or when
they involve no question of State policy and are purely
personal.
The series of letters addressed to Mr. William  L.
Marcy and Mr. Lewis Cass-although those gentlemen
were Secretaries of State, in succession-partook, however, neither in design nor fact, of official character.
They were essentially private letters: —uniformly so
termed, regarded, and treated. Very probably, an exaggerated estimate of their merit as such, has been
(v)




vi                  PREFACE.
caused by the complimentary language with which their
continuance was constantly urged.
The purpose of these volumes will be seen with more
distinctness than it can be described. Their bearings
are various. As constituting, in the aggregate, a running commentary upon events during five years, they
take the undisguised aspect of a familiar journal. While
the personal opinions of the author upon every subject
springing into notice are perhaps decidedly perceptible,
yet nothing savoring of dissertation, treatise, or argument, political or social, was indulged, save in one or
two instances.  Although touching, occasionally and
obscurely, on matters behind the screen of diplomacy,
the letters to the Secretaries of State were wholly apart
from the official correspondence of the envoy, maintained
in at least three hundred and thirty numbered despatches.
They were meant to be by-the-by: —to convey friendly
and informal hints: to help the conclusions of purblic
functionaries by widening the sphere of facts and observations: and to relieve dry and onerous labors with short
and sketchy allusions. How far this design succeeded, it
is impossible to judge better than by the encouragement
to persevere often and warmly expressed.
There is one light in which this publication particularly recommends itself to the writer:-that is, as an
authentic report to' his fellow-citizens (altogether
divested of the multitudinous communications on file in
the Department of State) indicating, with sufficient distinctness, his whole course of action, sentiment, and
thought, from week to week, and year after year, while
filling the United States mission to the British Court.
G. M.D.




LIST OF LETTERS, VOL. I.
Aberdeen, Lord, 48.                 Kennedy, Mr., 158.
Bache, Mrs., 195.                   King, Judge, 130.
Bates, Mr., 228.                    Kneass, Mr., 154.
Beechey, Admiral, 28.               Lee, Col., 104.
Binney, Rev. Dr., 97.               Marcoleta, Mons., 113.
Brown, Mr. W., 64.                  Marcy, Mr., 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21,
Bulwer, Sir H., 49.                   252 30, 34, 38, 45, 48, 50, 51, 55,
Campbell, Lord, 175.                  57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, 71,
Cass, General, 148, 153, 155, 156,   76, 80,,82, 83, 85, 89, 90, 92, 94,
159, 161, 163, 167, 168, 170, 173,   95, 96, 98, 100, 105, 107, 110, 111,
177, 178, 180, 182, 186, 188, 190,   112, 114, 117, 120, 121, 124, 125,
193, 194, 197, 199, 201, 206, 207,   131, 132, 134, 139, 141.
210, 212, 215, 217, 220, 221, 223, Markoe, Mr., 151, 165, 219, 245.
226, 232, 234, 235, 236, 240, 242, Mason, Mr. J. M., 185, 216, 239.
243, 246, 247, 249, 251, 255, 258, Mason, Mr. J. Y., 40, 43, 115.
259, 260, 262.                    Middleton, Mr., 88.
Childs, Mr., 103.                   Miles, Mr., 108.
Clarendon, Lord, 135, 142, 143, 154, Morgan, Lady, 163.
186, 202.                         Morris, Mr. M., 53.
Cust, Sir Edward, 54.               Murray, Col., 160, 257.
Dixon, Mr. H., 146.                 McCulloch, Mr. J. R., 254.
Dixon, Mr., 45.                     O'Sullivan, Mr., 129.
Donoughniore, Lord, 78.             Ousely, Sir W. G., 215.
Ducachet, Dr., 147.                 Overstone, Lord, 253.
Edge, Mrs., 225.                    Oxford, Bishop of, 42.
Edwards, Mr., 102.                  Page, Col., 73.
Ellesmere, Lord, 88, 95.            Perezel, Col., 47.
Evans, Mr. John, 61.                Pierce, General, 139.
Everett, Mr., 100, 192.             Saward, Mr., 192.
Gales, Mrs., 179.                   Shaw, Dr., 174.
Gilpin, Mr., 77, 93, 136, 229.      Shelburne, Lord, 111.
Hammond, Mr., 260.                  Squier, Mr. E. G., 43.
Hutchinson, Mr., 39, 128, 145, 172. Thayer, Mr., 176.
Jones, G. W., 75.                   Thomson, Mr. Pishey, 164.
Jones, Judge Joel, 33, 67.          Woodward, Judge, 212.
Kane, Judge, 41, 104, 176.          Wolff, Mr., 144.
(vii)




LIST OF LETTERS, VOL. II.
Alexander, Prof., 98.              Henriere, M. de la, 125.
Bache, Mrs., 97.                    Ingersoll, Mr. C. J., 208.
Bache, Prof., 153.                 Jones, Senator G. W., 149.
Cass, General, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, Knott, Mr., 83, 85, 102.
15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, Lewis, Sir G. C., 183.
30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 43, 45, Lindsay, Mr., 10.
47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 61, Lytton, Sir E. B., 100.
62, 64, 70, 72, 74, 75, 81, 83, 87, Malmesbury, Lord, 33.
88, 89, 92, 93, 95, 98, 100, 103,105, Markoe, Mr., 54, 79, 127, 194, 222,
106, 109, 110, 112, 116, 120, 126,   223.
128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 140, 142, Milnes, Monckton, M.P., 141.
144, 148, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, Murray, Col., 86, 147.
163, 167, 1l69, 171, 172, 174, 177, McHenry, Mr., 118.
179, 181, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, Napier, Lord, 162.
191, 192, 193, 195, 196, 198, 201, Owen, Prof., 102.
203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 210, 211, Pickens, Mr., 114, 175.
213, 214, 215, 217, 219,,220.     Pierce, Gen., 77.
Coryell, Mr., 107.                  Reed, Mr., 166.
Denison, Speaker, 67.               Saward, Mr., 31, 33.
Dickens, Mr. A., 139.               Schoolcraft, Mrs., 168.
Diller, Mr., 124.                   Seward, Mr., 225.
Dixon, Mr:, 223.                    Sickles, Mr., 86.
Everett, Mr., 138, 178.             Stafford, Lady, 119.
Fair, Mr., 63.                      Toucey, Mr., 66.
Gilpin, Mr., 60, 150.               Tucker, Mr., 113.
Hardinge, Lady, 200.                Winthrop, Mr., 91.
(viii)




LETTERS FROM LONDON.
No. 1, —TO MR. MARCY.
NEW YORK, February 29, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 26th was received
about the same time that I suppose you got mine.
I ought to have made this acknowledgment at once, but
it was lost sight of in the distractions of departure. We
quit here on board the Atlantic, punctually at 12 tomorrow.
I must confess that when reading the correspondence
at the department, I was slightly surprised to notice with
what little account the conversational suggestion as to an
arbitration had been regarded. No doubt it was so made
as to leave no impression that it was meant as a serious
proposal; our minister would otherwise have formally
submitted it for decision. Lord Clarendon was bound to
give it directness and distinctness, or to abstain afterwards
from saying that the offer had been made at all.
I cannot say whether it would be wholly safe to refer
the construction of the Treaty to any " State or Power"
in Europe; but if it be a case for reference, and it can be
esteemed so only because of the moral weight of hn offer
of that sort, then I think we should be safer in relying
upon the judgment and independence of an individual of
recognized political ability, experience, and integrity.
There are such men even in these modern times. Recollecting his Life of Washington, his Portrait at the Patent
Office, and his general estimate of our government, I
should feel no apprehension that his British attachments
would blind the sagacity or warp the honesty of Mr.
Guizot. I put him as an instance only; there are others.
My numbered despatches will of course be always offiVOL. i.-2                                ( 9 )




10                TO MR. MARCY.
cial; and as to other communications, I shall leave them
to be classed as public or private, as your good discretion
may determine.
I am very truly and respectfully yrs.
G. M. DALLAS.
No. 2.-TO MiR. MAROY.
LONDON, March 28, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —The arrival here of the America, after a
detention of several days beyond her proper time, and the
sight of boundless fields of ice, through which, by filling
and backing, she made her way with' difficulty, have
thrown a pall over the last hopes for the Pacific. This
unfortunate ship excited so much interest that I ventured
to write a private note to Lord Palmerston about her.
The admirals of the Admiralty had all giyen her up;, and
discountenanced the idea of sending a government steamer
in search; and being told that nothing would avail unless
the Premier could be induced to act, I, very impudently,
invoked Jhis co-operation in a purpose of general humanity, and sent my billet-by an American merchant, to explain the plan of exploration. My messenger returned
perfectly enchanted with the prompt and decisive manner
in which my note had been received and acted upon.
Lord P. wrote notes to the admirals, and an order immediately issued to the commanders of two steamers, Tartarus and Despatch, to proceed in search forthwith, and
according to the programme matured. So much for a
first step in diplomatic audacity.
Our travelling military commissioners, Messrs. Delafield, Mordecai, and McClellan, took pot-luck with me
yesterday, in the house to which I have just removed nmy
family and the legation. They are not talkative men;
but I thought I could discern that they are going home
full freighted with a large mass of useful information.
If ever you issue another decree for reform in the
diplomatic service, pray devise some mode by which a
minister may be relieved from the deluge and distraction
of visitors. If the department would assume the respon



TO MR. MARCY.                 11
sibility, and not quarrel with the consequences, he would
be able to do twice the usual amount of business by
closing his doors three days in the week.
I am drawn to my last ten minutes before the Bag is
closed.
Truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 3.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, March 30, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Times of this morning announces
that orders have been issued to the officers at the outposts
and the Tower to hold themselves in readiness for firing
salutes on receiving to-day from the department news of
peace being made: and one of the correspondents says
that Lord Clarendon will probably be in his seat in the
House of Lords on next Tuesday, and may then communicate the incidents of the conferences at Paris.
I received yesterday your "confidential and unofficial"
letter of the 14th instant. The very day before it reached
me I had a visit from Sir Henry Bulwer, who, I could
not help thinking, came to discharge himself of certain
reflections on the treaty, of which he was one of two
fathers. He very soon entered upon that subject, first,
however, with a preface that he was in no manner connected with the government, and that our conversation
was, of course, "as between gentlemen." He had read
Mr. Clayton's speech, and really there was very little difference between their impressions. I told him that whatever might be the views of others, the fathers of the
bantling were bound to unite in defending it against mutilation, if not destruction, by opposite constructions. He
remarked how difficult it was, in framing such an instrument, to choose language which would admit of a single
construction only; that Mr. Clayton and he had conceived
themselves particularly safe in employing the words of
Mr. Abbot Lawrence in his communication to Lord Palmerston, accepted and affirmed by Lord Palmlerston's
answer. He went on to say that so far as respected the
Bay Islands, the question appeared to him primarily to




12                TO MR. MARCY.
be, whether at the time of ratifying the treaty, they were
dependencies of the Belize; and as to that, he observed,
with what appeared to me some significance, their subsequent formal colonization rather indicated the sense of
the British government that they were not. The protectorate was really recognized by the treaty, and only restricted in its possible modes of exercise; fortification and
dominion were excluded. I interrupted him by asking
how then was the protectorate to be exercised? He paused
an instant; thought there were modes of exercising it not
prohibited by the treaty; but added that he did not wish
to argue the matter, as argument was too apt to make
those engaged in it obstinate in their respective views.
The Protectorate was a point of honor. Yes, said I, a
most attenuated point: you reduced it to a semblance or
a shadow, a thing under which, without violating the clear
terms, intention, and scope of the treaty, you could do
nothing effective, and then you tell us that you hold to it
as a point of honor! But it is quite as possible to disembarrass yourselves of this fanciful point of honor as of anything else. A trustee must act with honor as long as he
holds the trust; but he can with perfect honor withdraw
from and transfer the trust to another; and how cheaply
and under how many guarantees this could be done with
the Mosquito savages!
Sir Henry recurred to the Belize, and seemed to regard
the matters of which we complained in that quarter as
topics between England and the adjacent States, Mexico
or Guatemala, rather than with us. Such an idea, I said,
seemed to me to render the treaty with the United States,
so far as the Belize was concerned, quite nugatory; it left
England at liberty to extend her progress as far as she
liked, without authorizing an interference of any sort by
the United States.
This conversation, which I consider private, was protracted for some time. I have endeavored to sketch it
faithfully, as you may deem it of moment to know the
general theories of Sir Henry Bulwer respecting the conflict over his own treaty. He left me under very agreeable impressions of his intelligence, and more than half
inclined to think that he rather leans to our interpretation
than to the adverse one. You are much better acquainted,
probably, with Sir Henry than I am, and can appreciate




TO MR. MARCY.                  13
what he says more correctly. His reputation here is that
of a man of ability, but prone to indirection.
Our officers were repulsed by Marshal Vaillant in Paris
in a manner alike singular and rude. If it had not been
ascertained by them to be the effect of personal eccentricity and brusquerie, we might draw from it a warning.
They wanted to visit certain military establishments.
"No! you can't be permitted; we don't like you enough."
They wanted some drawings, which they specified: " No!
we have a quarrel with you; we are going to fight you;
good-by, till we meet to exchange cannon-balls:" and
so they were dismissed. We must not be caught napping,
though I can as yet discern no proof of a belligerent plan.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 4.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, April 4, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-In a letter received from the bankers,
after giving me a memorandum of the credit opened in
my favor by the government on account of salary, they
go on to say, " we beg to add that we have received no
advice respecting the allowance for contingent expenses."
This, I presume, is the result of a casual oversight; but
as it precludes my checking on them for contingent expenses, and will embarrass the despatch agent and the
messenger of the legation, pray have it put right as early
as possible.
By a letter from the Foreign Office of April 1, I was
apprised that the Queen, who returned to town the day
before, would grant me an audience at Buckingham Palace, on Friday, the 4th, at 1 o'clock, to deliver my credentials. Her Majesty has been entertaining for the last
two weeks, at Windsor, the King of the Belgians.
Yesterday, in the House of Commons, Mr. Cobden
asked Lord Palmerston whether he had yet fulfilled the
promise of producing the correspondence between this
country and ours. The reply was that the correspondence
was still in the Foreign Office, which had recently been
severely pressed, but that he expected to lay it on the




14                TO MR. MARCY.
table in two or three days. Our own pamphlets, transmitted by you, have been inl some demand, and have enlightened not a few.
Every day gives birth to some fresh conjecture as to the
terms of the Treaty of Peace. Lord Clarendon is either
extremely cautious, or dissatisfied with what he has been
obliged to sign;- he will neither come home, as was anticipated, and explain a little in the House of Lords, nor
will he open his mouth at a dinner in Paris to support
Walewski's praise of the Treaty, although that praise was
pronounced with unusual solemnity. The Conservatives,
and opposition generally, are ready to pounce upon the
instrument as soon as it appears.
* * * I have just returned from Buckingham Palace, having delivered to the Queen my credential. Her
Majesty asked about the health of the President, about
my former visits to this country, and so on. She is not
handsome, but her expression of face and her manner are
engaging, and very soon put her visitors at ease. I was
also presented to Prince Albert, who stood by the Queen
on her left. While in the Picture Gallery, I made the
acquaintance of Lord Lansdowne, Sir George Grey, Earl
of Harrowby, Count Coloredo (the Austrian Minister, recalled to be sent to Rome), Mr. Vernon Smith, of the Cabinet, and many others, who, I am happy to tell you, were
in no wise repelled from the American Minister by his
plain suit of black, but, on the contrary, made his time,
while waiting her Majesty's readiness, pass very pleasantly. My coat, which I am bold to say was as -well
made and of as good cloth as any in the Palace (except
perhaps Prince Albert's!), came from the shop of a tailor
in Philadelphia, Sixth above Arch, of the name of Kelly!
The truth appears to be that our common sense is gradually getting the better of traditional fooleries, in honest
reality, greatly improving social intercourse. Sir,
a son of the minister we had in the United States, and
who seems quite attached to our country, confessed,
though himself an assistant of Sir Edward Cust, the
Master of Ceremonies, that these idle points of court etiquette were gradually wearing out.
I have neither had matter nor time for a formal despatch,
and must beg you to be content with this unceremonious
letter.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.




TO MR. MARCY.                 15
No. 5.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, April 7, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-My effort is to let you have something
from me, be it ever so small and indifferent, by every
regular steamer. I would have prepared a formal despatch
to-day, though there is nothing to tell that will not keep
for a few days; but that, suddenly, the Queen has laid her
commands upon me, and I must eat my dinner at the
Palace.
And pray, Mr. Secretary, what is your minister to do
or say if he be placed at the royal table alongside of Soulouque's representative, whose fine ebony our friend, Mr.
Mason, has estimated at $1000?
Political parties here are squaring off for a regular setto, on two subjects, the Treaty of Peace and the Relations
with America. On the former, the public dissatisftction
is growing every day; shoulders are shrugged, and a sense
of disappointment and humiliation expressed in all quarters, to such an extent, indeed, that I doubt whether an
illumination can be safely ventured. On the second topic,
Mr. Gladstone has broken ground in the I-ouse of Commons with considerable animation; —so much so as to
cause Lord Palmerston to lose his temper, a thing he
very rarely does, and to occasion quite a general surprise.
He would seem, though not yet very decidedly, to be resolved on standing by Mr. Crampton, and to regard his
omission to communicate to you for two months the letter of Lord Clarendon, offering to arbitrate the Central
American difficulties, as of no importance, because the
offer had been repeatedly made to Mr. Buchanan, and
communicated by him to you long before. A vague impression prevails that tupon these two questions united,
the ministry will go by the board, and that Mr. Gladstone, certainly the only fully competent man presenting
himself, will, in the new combination, take the place now
filled by Lord Palmerston.
I wish our well-wishers here, who are becoming loud
and more numerous hourly, could be spared, for a time at
least, the shock they will certainly receive on the President's declining to arbitrate. There is a moral weight in




16                TO MR. MARCY.
an offer of that sort which nothing but a perfect knowledge and correct appreciation of the matter in controversy
can entirely repel, and it is absolutely amazing how few
among our best friends understand the subject even superficially! For my own part, I anl against arbitration, as
involving something that savors of concession, and I am
convinced that if we calmly but firmly, and especially
with quiet and steady preparation for the worst, hold on
to the obviously just construction we have given the
treaty, this government will give way, indirectly, perhaps, by proposing to nullify the treaty and begin again,
or directly by removing in some such fashion as Mr.
Squier's project, all possible motive to persevere in their
misinterpretation. We have distinctly and ably, in the
face of the world, taken our position on both the matters
in difference; it is entirely too late to change that position,
or even to seem to hesitate about it. Lord Palmerston
must be looked coolly in the eye, so that he may gather
from our composure as well as from our words, the conviction that he can expect no substantial change in us. Still,
a short postponement of the President's final determination on the question of umpirage, would give to many in
both houses of Parliament, now that the ball is opened,
an opportunity to inform themselves accurately, and so
to avoid being shocked by the refusal when it comes.
I was somewhat struck by a remark which was made
to me by a gentleman, rather high in office, at a soiree
on Saturday last. In the course of conversation I had
ventured to say that what surprised me was, that a man so
personally good-tempered and courteous as the Premier,
could use such words and evince such bitter feelings as he
sometimes did towards the United States.'"Perhaps,"
was observed, " it may not be his fault." " How so?" I inmmediately asked; " and whose fault can it be?" "Well,"
was the reply, " I think it all originates with Clarendon!"
This may be an effusion of personal grudge against the
Earl, worthy of very little reliance; and yet we sometimes
get a peep behind the curtain by casual remarks of this
sort.
Mr. C., just returned from Paris, tells me that Mr. Buchanan proceeds home by the Arago on the 9th instant,
-the vessel which takes this note.
I cannot forbear repeating to you my anxiety that you




TO MR. MARCY.                 17
should not permit any importunity to persuade you to remove our consul at Leeds. He is, as a public officer, firstrate.
Majors Delafield and Mordecai, and Captain McClellan,
have not yet obtained the visiting permits for the several
military offices which Lord Palmerston promised me a
week ago. I hope he has not been thwarted by the respective Boards, and that the papers will be forthcoming
soon.
There is to be a grand naval review off Portsmouth, the
chart and programme of which will accompany this letter.
It was prepared and presented to me by Captain John
Washington, of the Hydrographical Office. At this moment the exhibition is fixed for the 17th of April-a day
which I cannot give to it-but Captain Washington tells
me that the naval officers wish it postponed for a week,
and that the Queen may probably so command;-and if
so, I will endeavor to be a witness. Captain Benham, of
our Coast Survey, may, as an engineer, deem it important that he also should be present.
The scientific gentleman whom I have just mentioned,
Captain Washington, has told me of the discovery of a
process by which the place at which a submarine cable,
sunk in the sea for telegraphic purposes, breaks, can be
immediately ascertained. At the point either of beginning or ending, the spot is determined in a very novel but
certain manner, by time, or intensity in the action of the
fluid. He regards it as of immense importance, in encouraging the laying of submarine cables, but he could give me
no more definite or accurate account of it. It may possibly not be wholly new to the Superintendent of our Coast
Survey.
You must not hesitate to let me know if you think I
waste your time.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 6.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, April 18, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-My despatch has gone by the steamship
on Wednesday last, but I think it probable that this epis



18                     TO MR. MARCY.
tie, by the Persia on to-morrow, will reach you quite as
soon, if not a little earlier.
I regret that Major Delafield and his colleagues could
not give another week to the pursuit of their researches,
as I have latterly received from the Foreign Office notes
which might have facilitated their progress.
If the statements made to me by very many of our leading friends in the House of Commons call be relied upon,
a most determined and formidable assault on the ministry,
in respect to our relations, may be looked for. As far as
I have yet acted, my desire has been to strengthen the
position of our parliamentary advocates by removing all
pretence of a hostile feeling on our part, and putting the
hostility of the ministry on the grounds of some " inexorable state policy," in reference to, their commercial encroachments by the colony of the Bay Islands, or some
"foregone conclusion" as to the enlistment question, quite
inaccessible to reason or manly conciliation. Such you
will see to have been my intimations at the Lord Mayor's
dinner to me of yesterday.* I send you an exact copy of
* The table-address at the Mansion House referred to in the foregoing
letter, was the following:
MY LORD, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN,-The very kind and complimentary language with which his lordship prefaced the last toast, and
the cordial manner in which it has been received by this distinguished
assemblage, are entitled to, and I hope you will accept, the return of my
gratitude. I am, in truth, however, almost bankrupt in thanks; for since
landing in the dominions of your illustrious Queen, as the representative
of the government and people of the United States, I have met nothing
but a series of flattering welcomes and hospitalities. Although perfectly
conscious that these manifestations are not in the remotest degree addressed
to an individual so utterly unentitled to them as myself, but that thev are
profusely lavished as a generous tribute to a nation as whose messenger I
come; still, on its behalf, and with the sensibility which I know it would
unanimously feel, I must beg you, my lord, ladies, and gentlemen, to
receive this expression of profound acknowledgment.
There are some topics on which it would be ill-timed, if not unwise,
more enterprising than safe, to touch on this occasion, and in this presence; indeed, my arrival is so recent that the subjects which would be
most acceptable to you are as yet unknown to me. I dare say, however,
that I can venture, without much hazard (in the provincialism natural
to Western tongue), to guess that the spirit and purpose of a new-comer
are matters of at least partial curiosity. Well, my lord, I am neither
authorized to feel, nor do I feel any desire other than that of giving all
my energies and efforts unreservedly, to the restoration of the most harmonious sentiments and friendly relations between America and England. Animated by such a spirit, and aiming at such a purpose, if I fail,




TO MR. MARCY.                        19
my remarks, for I took care to premeditate carefully, and
rely more upon my memory than upon the extemporaneous afflatus of the occasion. Allow me to analyze briefly.
You will note that1. I ignore all the balderdash about mother country,
kindred, and so forth.  One of to-day's papers, referring
to a short speech made by me at the most republican of
the London clubs, on the evening of the 16th inst., puts
nonsense of this kind very falsely into my mouth.  The
truth is that such terms as "mother,' "daughter," " cousins," etc., are their own familiar ones, and if you refer
to England and America, their version makes it a reference to mother and daughter. I have resolutely, and fiom
principle, eschewed any phrase of the sort.
2. MyI reception has been such as to exact the strong
acknowledgments made; and this was not only due, but
in harmony with my purpose.
3. I designedly forebore expanding on the points of
difference, but asserted that if, with the conciliatory spirit
and purpose I avowed, the government made my mission fail, it would be because they had found out that the
Clayton-Bulwer treaty checked their commercial ambition at a most interesting point, or because Mr. Crampton
and the consuls (who are said to be ready to vindicate
their course by publishing their instructions) were to be
sustained at all hazards.  This was said in terms not as
here stated, but to the intelligent perfectly clear.
4. I introduced a congratulation on the Peace, because
I thought it would quietly and respectfully imply a perfect and cool contempt for the idea that our government
could in the slightest degree be affected in their pursuit
of right by the powerful attitude in which that Peace left
England.
as fail I may, it will be because of some overruling and inexorable policy
of state, or some foregone conclusion not to be undone by manly and
honorable conciliation.
Allow me, my lord, in conclusion, to offer my congratulations to your
lordship, and to all the guests who surround you, on the great event consummated since my arrival-the restoration of peace to Europe. War,
though undoubtedly accompanied by moral benefits or alleviations, is
still, and at best, an evil; and the vast industrial power of the empire,
however for a time gallantly enlisted and ably directed, will find more
genial and fruitful employment in those channels of agricultural, commercial, manufacturing, and mechanical exertion, which have so eminently distinguished her people in their march of improvement.
Renewed acknowledgments, etc.




20               TO MR. MARCY.
The support given to my remarks was very decided.
Lord Stanley (who, as the son of Lord Derby, was called
upon to respond to a toast complimentary to the House of
Peers) did not hesitate to say that that body would echo
my sentiments, and that the man in England who would
venture to assail the institutions and government of the
United States would be regarded as a dangerous public
enemy. Mr. Cardwell (responding for the House of Commons), while all the members present stood up as expressive of their adhesion to his views, went so far as to say
that he " could almost pledge the Commons of England
to sustain the American Minister in the assertion of his
country's international rights against any ministry whatever." An eminent and eloquent clergyman put in the
same sentiment from the Church; and Mr. Roebuck, sitting
bv me at the time, said that I could now see that Lords,
Commons, and Church agreed with the great body of the
British people, and would never submit to quarrel with
America on the pretexts got up: he added, with emphasis,
we fear no power on earth, and I am incapable of hypocrisy-my only wish is that you should know the truth.
Lord Lyndhurst, whose great age has in no respect impaired his powers of mind, is said to be preparing to take
the field for us in the Lords. A trifling, but to me most
agreeable incident, gave countenance to this idea, at the
recent Levee, which I attended as chaperon to three of our
countrymen. I was passing, in the line of diplomats, to
the throne-room, when I felt myself caught by the arm,
and heard the exclamlation: " Welcome, my countryman,
welcome to England!" I turned, saw a very venerable
man in court costume; did not know him, for I had never
seen him before, but thanked him cordially, and hurriedly
passed on. After performing my duty in presenting my
protgqes, I waited close by the Queen to see who the old
gentleman might be; ascertained that he was Lord Lyndhurst, and then, going up to him, renewed my thanks for
his welcome, which he very cordially received.
I forward to you in the Bag to-day an interesting communication from Mr. Mason, received yesterday. I have,
as he requested, carefully read it; and should the emergency to which he refers arise, or be seen approaching, I
shall not fail to advise him promptly. Although my impressions are as yet like his own, there is no knowing




TO MR. MARCY.                  21
what a whim may bring forth, and I think it might be
prudent to instruct the Commodore either to affect, for a
month or two to come, some business with the ships of
his squadron in such of the Mediterranean ports as would
prevent any abrupt attack, or gradually to disperse them
on the lookout. I will write to Mr. Mason this suggestion, and perhaps he will see the expediency of applying
it at once, and until some time has elapsed after the grand
review at Portsmouth on the 23d inst.
By-the-by, the frequency with which I have been advised and almost solicited, by the officers of the government, to attend this naval review, has rather confirmed
my disinclination. It will be a grand and ostentatious
display of British naval power, at which, as an American,
citizen or minister, I shall be reluctant to play the part of
a wondering spectator. I was told that * * * * had said
he would rather have Mr. Dallas attend than all the others
of the diplomatic body; as indicative of something like
this peculiar desire, I send you the copy of a short note
this moment received from the Foreign Office, and I add
a copy of my reply. I do not intend, unless commanded
by a direct invitation from the Queen (which I have feared
might come), to swell the exulting crowd at that demonstration, but shall, of course, abstain gracefully.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 7. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, April 20, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —Lord Aberdeen was kind enough to
pay me a visit this morning; and the result of a long conversation with him is my conviction that, in the course
of two or three days, I shall receive, to be forwarded to
you, the reply of Lord Clarendon to your letter of the
28th of December last, requesting, at its close, the recall
of Mr. Crampton, and the removal of Messrs. Rowcroft,
Barclay, and Matthew.
This reply will be calm and moderate in tone, but definitive in declining to do what you have asked. It will
found its reasoning upon fresh statements and evidence




22                TO MR. MARCY.
furnished bv Mr. Crampton, and affect to be unable, without doing injustice, to determine the question of veracity
on points of fact. Of course, neither Lord Aberdeen, nor
any one else out of the Foreign Office, has exact knowledge of what the facts are upon which Mr. Crampton has
raised, or rather bolstered up, the issue for the relief of
the ministry. It is conceived that, unless by some harsh
and unexpected course of action on the part of our government, a reaction in sentiment shall be suddenly provoked, Lord Palmerston will be unable to sustain himself.
No one will be surprised if Mr. Crampton be dismissed
ultimately; but it may be (as was said to me) that a plausible case of contradictory proof may be the burthen of
Lord C.'s reply, and that many will expect it to be met
before the final blow is struck. Lord Aberdeen is a calm
and judicious man. IHis political position here you perfectly well understand. He would undoubtedly desire to
preserve good relations between the two countries, and is
by no means satisfied that a similar disposition on the part
of the ministry would not, especially at their commencement, have avoided existing difficulties. But he is a loyal,
high-minded statesman, and is obviously not prepared
to prejudge the new testimony sent forward, and of which
he can have no accurate knowledge until it shall be laid
upon the table of the House of Commons, as repeatedly
promised by Lord Palmerston.
Since reading the Globe of the 18th instant, I have been
in very little doubt as to the "foregone conclusion" in
respect to the matter of foreign enlistments, upon which
this government had settled. That newspaper, in my
opinion a reliable representative of cabinet policy, when
commenting upon my address at the Lord Mayor's dinner,
and after many compliments to it and my sentiments,
with an expression of a desire to keep the best relations
with us, yet closed its article with a strong "trust" that
notwithstanding all this, "no considerations, even those
arising from the prospect of war and its calamities, will
ever lead the British nation to deflect one inch from the
path of uprightness and honor."
Considering, then, that the British ministry refuse your
demand, I take it for granted that you will send Mr. Crampton his passports, and that, as soon as your having done
so is officially known here, I shall receive mine. It will,




TO MR. MARCIY                  23
in all probability, be in your power before that to apprise
me at what time you intend acting, and what course the
President would wish me to take on being tendered
"my ticket of leave."  Certainly I will comply with his
and your instructions as far as I can; but my inclination
is, as I think my true representative duty and policy are,
to quit England instantly, and to remain for a limited period either in Paris, orBrussels, or Geneva, until I receive
your final directions. Of course, I cannot do this without
incurring serious and most inconvenient loss: —but this is a
consideration by which you cannot be " deflected one inch
from the path of uprightness and honor;'" and it is only
mentioned as a reason for my adding that 1 presume my
receiving my passports and going on the Continent do
not cancel mny commission as minister, or suspend my
credit with the Barings for salary, until I am recalled by
the President. My functions, although not exercised in
diplomatic intercourse with the government here, are at
the discretion of the President only.
*  *  * I have just received your private letter of the
7th inst., in which you say that, having heard Mr. Crampton had sent to his government an elaborate defence of
his course, you "inferred that the discussion is to be
further protracted. This inference squares with what Lord
Aberdeen seemed to consider as highly expedient: and,
indeed, as the matter of foreign enlistment has taken the
foreground of our differences, and has been managed by
you with so much force and labor, I should regret your
omitting anything by which your powerful argument of
the 28th December can be fortified, so as to repel the new
assault. I would cheerfully take the labor upon myself,
in order to relieve you; but your familiarity with the subj ect will probably make it easy, and the additional evidence
in your hands has not been sent here. Besides, a reasonable delay on our side, for a substantial reason, after the
long delay on theirs, merely on the ground of Lord Clarendon's absence, can only enure to our benefit, by letting
the parliamentary scene of action be fully developed. It
may be that a change of ministry on the Peace question
would save trouble all round.
This peace is very generally regarded as one forced upon
the government, and in truth a botchery and a sham.
Rumor will have it that Louis Napoleon has been too lav



24                TO MR. MARCY.
ish in personal as well as national expenditure, and that
he insisted upon closing a war whose next campaign (not
necessary to preserve the military prestige of France)
might drive himself and his public chest into bankruptcy.
One of the already apparent effects of the peace is the
universal bitterness against England on the Continent,
and the general chorus in praise of France.
The ministry are trying to make capital out of the
Italian question. But nothing will give brightness to the
illumination which has been resolved upon; and to maintain the tranquillity of which, in this discontented and
mortified metropolis, Horse Guards and Life Guards are
deemed necessary. Riot is anticipated; but the affair is too
lifeless to kindle excitement; it will pass off as a mockery.
Some attention is given here to our fermentation preparatory to the coming Presidential election, and I am
frequently asked as to its probable result. Of course, I can
give them nothing better than conjecture; and they regard
it as " quite odd " that, notwithstanding the character of
the new House of Representatives, and the election of a
Black as Speaker, I should be confident of a democratic
success. They do not seem to speculate upon deriving
any advantage from our defeat; indeed, they rather despise the doctrine of " America for the Americans;" and
what they consider the total disappearance of the Whig
party, their old allies, leaves them very suspicious of the
new factions. I think, too, our steady adherence to republican doctrines, accompanied by the constantly augmenting prosperity and power of the country, are visibly
undermining their former prejudices, and letting in upon
their thoughts, their manners, and even their conversation, a great deal more democracy than they themselves
are conscious of. I see this in every rank of society, and
perhaps more among the nobles and titled than in other
classes.
As soon as Lord Clarendon returns to the Foreign Office, Herran says he will open upon him the recession of
the Bay Islands to Honduras, upon Mr. Squier's plan. I
will bear in mind the views of your No. 7. The Earl is
reported to me as decidedly favorable to the scheme; and
it is possible that he may catch at it as the only mode of disentangling this government from the absurd misconstruction he gave to the treaty of 1850.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.




TO MR. MARCY.                  25
No. 8.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, April 25, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —Last evening Lord Palmerston laid
upon the table of the House of Commons the papers relating to our differences. Of what the packet consists I
have not yet ascertained. It can hardly contain the reply
to your letter of 28th December, because up to this hour
that reply has not been sent to this legation. In the
Lords, Lord Clarendon promised the papers early next
week.
I wrote by the Hermann, which steamed from Southampton last Wednesday, a rather lengthy letter to you on
the subject of the expected reply. I was anxious that
you should get my views as early as possible, founded, as
they are, on information perfectly reliable. I presume
you will get that letter either before or about the same
time with this, and will not, therefore, repeat its contents
further than to say that your request for the recall of Mr.
Crampton will be declined upon the basis of fresh statements
and proof furnished by Mr. Crampton, and in a tone vastly
improved from the former envenomed one.
All London is laughing at the ridiculous mishaps which
occurred owing to the mismanagement of the arrangements for the great Naval Review of the day before yesterday. Both Houses of Parliament discussed them for
an hour last night, and a morning journal contains a long
article, full of fun, but considering the whole affair as
somewhat a failure, and as a sort of representation of the
mismanagement of Balaklava. The Peers and Commons,
pompously invited to be near the Queen, were left in the
lurch. Lord Palmerston was twice, in the tumultuous
mn.l1e, turned out of rail-cars by the conductors. Lords
of Council and high Church dignitaries, and Chief Justice Campbell underwent all sorts of annoyances and delays. What became of the Diplomatic body nobody can
tell. A huge steamer ran down a gun-boat. The manceuvring was indistinct and uninteresting, and finally
nothing seems left to comfort the originators of this magnificent turn-out, but the certain facts that the number
of vessels of war was 240, and their aggregate armament
VOL. I. 3




26                TO MR. MARCY.
3002 guns! I am not sorry that I abstained from being
" there to see."
Lord Clarendon reached London on the evening of
Monday, the 21st instant. I received the usual official
notification on the afternoon of the 22d, and on the following morning requested an interview. Late last night
I got his reply, assigning 4 o'clock this afternoon as the
hour, and the Foreign Office as the locus in quo. I am
therefore afraid that I cannot send you by this opportunity my first impressions of her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.  Indeed, as I have
nothing to discuss with him, I shall be lucky if I can get
him to say anything worthy of crossing the Atlantic.
The ministry have lately been several times in the minority in the House of Commons; and some of the newspaper sentinels carefully point to each case as a significant
sign of what is coming. But I cannot yet perceive any
really heavy weights tacked to the heels of the administratioln, but the Peace and the American question. These
are certainly pressing them down more and more every
hour; but the Premier is a man of great adroitness in extremities, and may yet, by sudden movement, twist round
upon his tight rope, and dance off, with Parliament
blinded and in tow, and in another direction. Pray observe
how, in the distribution of the immense land and naval
forces on hand, he is sending a larger force to Canada
than they have ever yet had there; other troops to Bermuda; a most extraordinary supply of many millions of
ball-cartridges, etc., etc. We have in cotton, to be sure,
pretty good bail for the peaceful behavior of this country,
as a general thing; but there are epochs and circumstances in which I should not think that bail sufficient.
I have a strong mistrust of France; but that is Mr. Mason's province, not mine.
Allow me to intimate that in these critical times there
may be some doubt as to the entire security of the arrangements made by the department with the Cunard steamers, reposing more confidence in them than in the Collins
line, by instructing the despatch agent that it is unnecessary to have a special bearer of despatches when the Bag
is sent by a Cunarder. No expense is incurred by these
bearers of despatches; and our travelling countrymen are
always proud to take charge of' and faithfully protect




TO MR. MARCY.                 27
what is meant for you. I don't question the integrity
of the Cunard ofcers, but the public impression may be
the other way; and all on board steamships are not
officers.
You will have read in the newspapers the Treaty of
Peace. The entire document breathes a spirit of tenderness for Russia and indifference to England. Public opinion here has become so pronounced about it, that the
formal illumination preparing by government is universally sneered at, and even in the House of Commons has
been laughed at and ridiculed.
I have just received a communication from Mr. Mason,
dated Paris, the 24th instant. He tells me that he has
embraced niy idea about our Mediterranean squadron
(which I think I sent to you in my letter of the 18th
April), and has written to that effect to Commodore
Breese.
I sometimes wish, for your sake, that I wrote a larger
and bolder hand. I am conscious that eves of a respectable period of life ought not to be severely taxed; but
my habit is inveterate, and I am forced to this tiny chirography, if I write at all.
I have got nothing requiring the solemnity of a despatch.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
P. S.-I have opened this to add that I have had my
interview with Lord C.; that I said I had come, first to
pay my personal respects, and second to enquire within
what reasonable time I might expect, for transmission to
you, the reply to your letter of the 28th December last.
He was, of course, exceedingly pleased to form my acquaintance, and said he would send me a note, perhaps on Monday next, certainly before the next steamer left. This led
me to suppose that there is something coming separate
from the reply.
We talked over the negotiations at Paris. He is certainly not satisfied, but remarked that he had had no wish
to humiliate Russia by the terms of the treaty. More at
another time.




28           TO ADMIRAL BEECHEY.
No. 9.-TO MR. J. Y. MASON.
LONDON, May 2, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-It will be agreeable to you, no doubt,
to know that your despatch to Governor Marcy, respecting the course things took about privateering, was received here just in time to enable me, after hastily reading
it, to seal and put it in the Bag for the steamer Asia tom1orrow.
Governor Marcy, who long ago took into his own management the correspondence on the Enlistment question,
still retains it. We shall probably know nothing on that
subject, beyond what we at present know, for six weeks to
come; and then I do, not, under the existing circumstances, expect a definitive stage to be reached. Possibly
the controversy may drag its slow length along until Congress rises. If our State Department continue firm, Baron
Brunow (to whom I send my cordial and most respectful
remembrances) will, I feel assured, be proved a better
prophet than either Count Walewski or Lord Cowley. I
refer, of course, to the contents of your letter.
Your exceedingly kind invitation to Paris has given us
all much pleasure. The ladies would enjoy nothing better; and the opportunity of one of "the sights" —the
sight of yourself and family-would be sure to compensate them for the annoyances of travelling. But this distracting legation requires incessant watchfulness, especially now that the opening spring induces such shoals of
our countrymen to come abroad; and as to a compulsory
visit, if it occur at all, it will hardly occur until the middle
of summer.
Sincerely yrs.
No. 10, —TO ADMIRAL BEECHEY.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, April 3, 1856.
Mr. Dallas, the American Minister, has the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of Admiral Beechey's note of
to-day, apprising him that the Council of the Royal Geo



TO ADMIRAL BEECHEY.                          29
graphical Society had awarded to Dr. Kane, of the United
States, the Gold Medal of the Society, for the distinguished
conduct and discoveries of that gentleman in the Arctic
regions, and for the great zeal and energy displayed, under
circumstances of great privation and suffering, in the
search for Sir John Franklin.
Mr. Dallas hears of this tribute, alike generous and
just, to the services of his countryman, in the cause of science and humanity, with much sensibility and pride. He
will attend at the Anniversary meeting, on the 26th instant, agreeably to the invitation of the Council, and in
receiving the medal will undertake its safe transmission
to Dr. Kane.*
* When Admiral Beechey, in the presence of the Royal Geographical
Society, handed this Gold Medal to the American Minister, it was acknowledged by the following short address:
MR. PRESIDENT,-On behalf of my fellow-citizen, Dr. Elisha K. Kane,
I receive, with equal pride and pleasure, this testimonial, awarded by
your learned body to his ability and services in that branch of human
knowledge to which you are specially devoted.
His country also, even now engaged in expressing her high sense of
his deserts, will be gratified to learn that her judgment, which might
possibly be ascribed to partiality, has been thus sanctioned.
Young as he yet is, and fairly entitled to cotnt upon many years of
zealous intellectual activity, he can never achieve a prouder recognition,
considered in all its aspects, than this Medal of the Royal Geographical
Society of London.
Dr. Kane, as is personally known to me, entered upon his career of
Arctic exploration under the influence of sentiments which were strengthened rather than shaken by its depicted terrors. In the meldical department of the Navy of the United States, on a remote station, his government scarcely intimated a disposition to join in the search for Sir John
Franklin before he hurried forward to volunteer an enlistment for that
noble purpose. There was a voice upon the breeze that had caught his
ear. An ardent fondness for scientific studies impelled him to a fresh
field of research.  A daring and irrepressible spirit of enterprise cooperated with much experience and peculiar attainments. He went-he
went twice; and, though he vainly offered his own life to rescue another's,
he brought back with him observations, verifications, discoveries, and
delineations worthy to be accepted by the masters of Geographical'science.
If, as I believe was the case, he penetrated to, and actually beheld, the
ice-encircled yet open Sea, whose existence had been predicated of the
periodical northern flight of aquatic birds, of certain currents, and of
other indicia, he may justly feel that the practical solution of an interesting problem has earned the honor of your approbation.
I do not wish, Mr. President, to eulogize my countryman. You are far
more competent than myself to appreciate the exact value of what he
has effected.  Your Council have affixed to his record this, their Great
Seal, and, at your invitation, and with alacrity, I assume the grateful
task of transmitting it safely to his hands.




30                TO MR. MARCY.
No. 11, —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, May 6, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-After the despatch sent you by the
steamer of Saturday, the 3d instant, I have not enough
on hand for another of that formal character by to-morrow s. Perhaps Lord C.'s reply to yours of the 28th December, will be enough for some time to come. I was
surprised at finding it printed in the Times and Post on
the very morning the steamer sailed. You will probably
have received it in that shape.
This reply is more than commonly conciliatory in tone,
and its concluding paragraphs are thought to evince a
sincere desire to avoid a breach. Although it imports a
refusal to recall, it avoids saying so expressly; and it may
be construed as withholding a definitive answer until you
have had an opportunity to consider the denials of the
four honorable gentlemen, with the budget of loose and
wanton affidavits. Of all the acts to which this government has resorted in defence of their officials, I cannot
help regarding the-procuring and publishing such a mass
of gossiping slander as the most disgraceful. To be sure
the letter of Strobel to Mr. Cramrpton, demanding ~100,
and threatening to turn State's evidence if he be not sent
the means to quit the country, is very, very bad, and he
must cease to be relied upon, whatever may have been his
former character. That letter, however, like those of Mr.
Crampton and others, adduced on the trial of Hertz, is
substantive proof in itself; it is incapable of being explained away. Not so the absurd tittle-tattle and hearsay, often three degrees removed, invoked from ignorant
and prejudiced men to destroy the statements of Hertz
and others. This is all garbage with which Lord Clarendon and Mr. Crampton should have disdained to foul their
pens. Still, it will have its intended effect upon the minds
of superficial examiners, and I need not say that these
count as a thousand to one against the reflecting and
analyzing. Hence the expediency of commenting upon
it, and, if within your power, of dispelling it by some
strong testimony, such as that to which you have referred in one of your private letters. Even if you decide




TO MR. MARCY.                  31
to send Mr. C. his passports, I would accompany that
final measure with reasons, incorporating a complete
refutation of these pretences of a Quarter-sessions character, why you regard further correspondence or argument as unnecessary and uncalled for.
There are gentlemen here who take another view of
Lord Clarendon's reply. They represent it as an effort
to persuade you to let him off upon the basis of a generous adherence to public agents misled by zeal in the service of their country; upon the ground that they were not
lawyers, and did not exactly apprehend the legal character of the steps they were taking; upon the unwillingness
to rest a quarrel on evidence derived from sources partially tainted and equivocal; and, more than all, upon
what they regard as an appeal to your magnanimity, not
to persevere after reiterated expressions of regret, and
upon receiving renewed and cordial- assurances of good
will and friendship. If I could take this view I would
certainly and frankly urge you to act upon it, as it must,
I think, be admitted, that your doing so could only be
ascribed to a forbearance in favor of peace. But I cannot so construe the sweeping and merciless and foul attack to which Lord C. has lent his high station and
higher name against the motives, the officers, and the
proceedings of the American government. Our judges
are all under executive or party control; our district attorneys and marshals are all subservient and venal; our
citizens, if witnesses, all corrupt and perjured; and our
juries, grand and petit, unworthy of confidence! Such
is the impression which this extraordinary paper, if not
repelled conclusively, must have upon the general mind
of Europe. I do not, I cannot, believe that Lord C. had
carefully considered the miserable tissue of wanton scandal he was sending you, or the extent to which it necessarily carried him. There it is, however, and you are
forced to deal with it exactly as he has shaped it, and as
the world will understand it. Had it been read to the
assembled representatives of the seven Great Powers, in
the Congress at Paris, it would have been hailed with
smiles as an exposure p;recursive of the downfall of republicanism, and might have formed a protocol, or at
least an annex to a protocol, like the menace against the
free press of Belgium. I wonder whether it may not in




32                TO MR. MARCY.
fact have had the imprimatur of a majority of this great
league of rulers against the rights and liberties of the
ruled?  Orloff is the only one-no, his colleague, Brunow, is another-from whom I should expect resistance to
its adoption. You must excuse this latitude of remark.
I am generally cool, but now and then heated by trifles;
and I know your temperament too well to fear that any
sudden extravagance of mine can possibly mislead you.
I am just now struck with the idea that, if you inclined
to postpone giving the final blow on the enlistment question, your object might be best attained by simply asking
Lord C. if it was intended by her Majesty's government
to superadd to the many unpleasant features of the correspondence, the adoption, as true, of the various imputations grossly made in the affidavits which accompanied his reply, against the integrity and honor of the
judicial and executive officers of the United States? I
think such a. brief interrogatory would let him understand your sense of the proceeding, and would oblige him
to do one of two things, either to say Yes, in which case
you would have a unanimous feeling at home, or to say
No, and that would take from the affidavits all title to
any respect whatever, and leave you free to act upon the
general tone of his reply. If we are to quarrel, let us do
it with the entire approbation of the American people,
and then consequences need not be apprehended.
I returned Baron Brunow's visit to-day, and had a long
conversation with him as private friends. I knew him
intimately when in St. Petersburg in 1838. He is here
only for a short time, to announce the death of Nicholas!
I reproached him for having, at the Conference in Paris,
entered into the English project of abolishing privateers,
although his country had so little interest in the matter,
and he perfectly knew that it was aimed exclusively at
the great defensive weapon of the United States against
British disposition to go to war with us. I observed to
him, see what the result is of having sympathized with
Russia for two years!-we have a fierce contest about
enlistments in violation of our neutrality laws, and at the
verv first occasion Russia throws her weight into the scale'of our adversary, and enables her to claim to be backed
by all Christendom! He made many efforts at excuse,
but said, finally, "IVhat could we do?"  "I'll tell you




TO JUDGE JOEL JONES.                33
what you could and what you ought to have done," said
I. "You light have admitted the general plausibility of
the idea, and expressed a readiness to co-operate in abolishing privateering, provided, in advance of any combined declaration on the subject, the assent of all maritime
nations be obtained. You should have abstained from
an unwillingness to exercise a species of moral coercion
over Powers not represented in your Conference. In that
way, without naming the United States, you would not
have lent yourself to putting them in the wrong."  The
baron was quite overthrown by the suggestion, and
treated it as unanswerable. I think it very likely that
Mr. Stoeckl will be instructed to make all sorts of explanation. In the course of the talk, which was quite protracted, I asked him his opinion about our points of difference with this government. "Don't be worried," he replied, " they will be settled. They may not recall Crampton; but if he be dismissed, they will make light of it, or
their indignation will be mildly expressed and of very
short duration. NTo ministry would last a month, in the
present condition of England, that should quarrel with
the United States. As to a war with you, they dare not
attempt it."  He thinks Count Kreptovitch, a son-in-law
of Nesselrode, will be sent to this Court as ambassador
from the Czar.
I have just got your two private letters of the 20th and
25th April, and cordially thank you for them. You are
somewhat more costive than I am, and therefore every
word is of greater value.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 12.-TO JUDGE JOEL JONES.
LONDON, May 9, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I find private correspondence to be a
luxury very difficult to enjoy at this post. The perpetual
stream of visitors from the United States, the exactions
of Court ceremonials, the endless series of entertainments
and hospitalities, combine, with the necessities of business
and the despatches to Governor Marcy twice a week, te run
me fairly out of all time. I have no objection to the hard



34                TO MR. MARCY.
est work, but I would really delight in an hour or two
occasionally for private and personal intercourse with
such absent friends as you. That I should have been able
to write you but one letter since I came here is a conclusive proof of my slavery. At this moment the mail for
the Liverpool steamer of to-morrow morning is making
up, and I scribble under whip and spur.
I cut the enclosed paragraph from one of the London
newspapers. It is probably coined in the mint of an adversary who had his own purposes in view. As far as it
refers to me, it is without the shadow of foundation. On
its topic, I have no correspondent to whom I could or
would write but yourself. The Committee of which you
are the leading member have that matter in their own
hands, and I do not intend in the remotest manner to
interfere with it.
You perceive that out of the conferences at Paris, and
especially out of the alliance of France and England, has
emerged a more formidable league of sovereign powers
against peoples than has yet beemi witnessed by modern times. The end is not perceptible at first glance; but
I am much mistaken if the principle of rapid decay be
not seated in the very heart of that league, and if its rotten fragments be not shaken to the earth by popular convulsions, and that at no distant day.
Of course I cannot write about my prospects as minister to any one extra mxnia of the State Department. Let
me, however, intimate my opinion that I have gone far
in accomplishing one of two things —putting our country
in the right, if we are obliged to quarrel, or leading men's
minds to a purpose and tone of conciliation. Governor
Marcy has now the world before him, and with Providence as his guide he cannot fail to achieve a great
result.
Always truly and faithfully yrs.
No. 13. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, May 13, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-We have quite a difference of opinion,
in private circles and in the newspapers, whether it be




TO MR. MARCY.                  35
safer to illuminate for the Peace or not to illuminate. The
night assigned is the 29th instant. Many say the mob
will attack the non-illuminated; but others allege the
Peace to be so unpopular that he who ventures on glorification will be in danger. The diplomats, who care only
for the safety of their windows, are puzzled how to act.
One of my colleagues, residing opposite me, is so much
of a courtier that he is bent upon a great blaze; while
another, who adjoins me, looks rather glum and doubtful,
and talks of les lampions with distrustful shakes of the
head. I must own that my inclination is to keep dark,
and leave tomfoolery to the rest of the world; but then,
peace is per se a. good, may certainly be innocently rejoiced over without becoming a party to it, and the smashing of panes of glass by a crowd around one's house, if
to be done at all, is to be preferred as against the spirit of
the police, rather than with their quasi connivance. If
you were accessible by the telegraphic wire, I should, as I
suppose all the European representatives have done with
their courts, ask for instructions, and abide the consequences. That small obstacle, the Atlantic Ocean, shields
you from the necessity of deciding the important point.
Now, although this treatment of the crisis be jest, the
very doubt as to the course safest to be taken speaks
strongly the character of the treaty as respects England.
It has passed the ordeal of Parliament, though with some
hard hits. The abandonment of Schamyl and his Caucasians to their fate, the forbearance toward Nicholaief, the
abolition of privateering, the surrender of established
legal rights of belligerents, the shameless truckling to the
indecent attack upon the freedom of the Belgian press,
and, after all, the little security obtained against Russian
ambition,-although they were not pressed as matters to
justify opposition to the address of the Queen, were, nevertheless, put in, protestando, as items in reserve for future
attacks upon the ministry.
Lord Palmerston, just at this moment, seems to be in
as victorious an attitude as any British premier has ever
held. He has baffled the combination on the surrender
of Kars, has boldly carried the peace through, has vindicated the protocols, even when defying Walewski's effort
"to gag a free press,'" and has dexterously managed to
postpone our American differences to a distant day. In




36                TO MR. MARCY
the mean time, he sides with Sardinta on the Italian question, and stands by Turkey in a separate convention secretly made between her, Austria, France, and England,
much to the offence of Russia. His majorities are large,
and his party is full of exultation. Still, there is that
thorn of America in his side -horet lethalis-and if it do
not bring him to the ground, it will be because you may
come to his relief, or he may suddenly, by the indications
in France, discover the expediency of greater conciliation
in his relations with us. All men of opinions worth anything agree in saying — I should not be surprised to hear
it from  his own lips-that a conflict with the United
States is the only thing he could not stand for six months,
or even half that time. His power is immense, but
that is a rock on which, if he touch, he founders.
I have carefully watched, from day to day, the official
distribution of the recent armada off Portsmouth, and
must confess that I have not been able to detect any such
disposition of the force as would warrant anxiety. If
there be any hostile preparation going on, it is most successfully veiled.  Lord Elgin has a motion in petto respecting the troops recently sent to Canada; but his object,
as I gather from himself, is not so much to complain of
what has been done, as to make an occasion to warn
against going further, so as to arouse our susceptibilities
and jealousies. I feel confident that the result of the experiment tried a year ago, of ordering a squadron abruptly to the West, was not such as will enrcourage its
repetition. The ministry, if set upon quarrelling with us,
and I am yet to perceive any decidedly amicable disposition, will not go to work in that way, but will coolly strive
to put us in the wrong, and make us at least appear to be
aggressive enough to rouse the loyalty and passions of
their people. Lord Elgin's motion will come up soon
after the holidays, say about the 20th instant.
The special instruction to ask for an answer to your
despatch of the 28th December came too late.  I had
mooted the matter with Lord C. as soon as he reached
the Foreign Office from Paris, and his reply will, upon
a fair calculation, be in your hands the day after tomorrow. I hope you may rest, after its perusal, for a week,
and give my letter of last Saturday a chance of conveying a hint or two of some importance.




TO MR. MARCY.                  37
I have nothing worthy to be worked up into a formal
despatch. I send you, however, a parliamentary document of some interest —" Correspondence respecting the
late negotiation with Japan"-recently laid upon the
tables of the two Houses. It shows a neat and exact
imitation of the example set by Commodore Perry.
You introduced to me citizen * * * * of California, and of course he was cordially welcomed. With
a generous ambition, he sought the eye of royalty, and I
presented him at the Levee. By some mistaken movement of her arm, the Queen led him to kneel and kiss
her hand! If you remember him you will smile. Our
democrats make pretty good courtiers, for they are generally men practically of the world.
Politics at home look to be in a fine state of fermentation; the democracy, sanguine as usual, preparing to go
it blind. Rest assured that the adversary's fragnments,
which appear now to be so disjointed and broken, uwill at
the eleventh hour fly together and form a powerful whole.
It is so obviously their only chance that I cannot presume
them silly enough to overlook it. And if we do not, at
Cincinnati, shun the loadstone rock, which seems, at this
distance, to be attracting all kinds of floating craft, and
to be drawing out the bolts and rivets of our party, we
shall sink. And at what period of constitutional history
are we incurring this risk! If the administration are
forced to back down on the great Kansas question, and
they will assuredly be so if gentlemen like Mr.,
and Mr., and Mr.       are to attain their purpose, we shall have a restoration of the ruinous Monroe
doctrine, "the era of good feeling," sapping and subverting
every honest and solid principle of the democratic creed.
It really " behooves you, then, to apply your finest art,"
"ne quid detrimenti capiat respublica!"
I hope you will not fail to write me precisely the wishes
of yourself and the President in regard to my course of
action, should you dismiss Mr. Crampton, and I be dismissed in return. Although public considerations must
not bend for a moment, or to the breadth of a hair, to
considerations of personal convenience, yet, when they
can be perfectly harmonized, attention may justly be paid
to both.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.




38                TO MR. MARCY.
No. 14.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, May 16, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-A great contest, big with the ultimate
disruption of Church and State, has been going on here
for some time, and has, to the surprise of almost everybody, brought Lord Palmerston plump on his knees before the Archbishop of Canterbury. About three weeks
ago, Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner of Works,
Parks, Palaces, and Public Buildings, after obtaining the
sanction of the Premier, ordered some fine military bands
to play for an hour or more in the parks on the afternoons of Sunday. The music attracted immense crowds.
In Regent's Park, close by me, the number assembled,
counted officially at the gates, fell little short of 100,000
men, women, and children, on a single occasion. The
Sabbatarians, scandalized and alarmed, rushed to the
rescue. All the newspapers took sides-some in favor of
amusing the toil-worn populace in so harmless a way,
others decrying it as the prolific source of demoralization
and turbulence. At last the pillars of the Church are
shaken into action. The Archbishop writes to Lord Palmerston. Lord P. sulks, reiterates his liberal opinion
and advice on the matter, and formally abates the music.
A slight apprehension is entertained that the disappointed,
on Sunday next, the day after to-morrow, will show their
spunk and vexation by some outbreaks. No fear of that
at the present epoch. John Bull is as effectually nozzled,
and foot-tied, under the auspices of police, Horse Guards,
and Life Guards, as his majestic representation, the Lion,
in the Zoological Gardens, is caged in iron.
Further reflection upon Lord Clarendon's reply to your
letter of the 28th December last has settled down into a
very general opinion that the President will dismiss Mr.
Crampton as soon as you receive it. This impression is
strengthened by the intercepted correspondence of the
Foreign Office with the Costa Ricans-a correspondence,
to be sure, which we have very little to do with, but which
shows Lord C.'s meddlesome and inimical spirit and policy to be rather worse than had been supposed in relation
to Central America. Had the President recognized the




TO MR. J. P. H..39
existing government in Nicaragua I would have been
disposed to ask his lordship whether these intercepted
letters were genuine, and what he meant by lending arms
against an independent State on the Isthmus. Such a
question would hardly need a reply, and yet his lordship
would be put to his trumps in m-aking a civil and honest
answer. As it is, however, I suppose we can't find fault
with his helping a friendly power to resist a filibuster. I
am not sure that you have not been too scrupulous and
cautious in your policy as to Walker. At all events, I
hope that these meddling manifestations from this quarter may be made the avowed platform of a decisive movement on our part. We should displace this entering
wedge by a quick and well-aimed stroke.
By the time you get this you will be in the midst of
the agitation of the Cincinnati Convention-from which
I wish ourselves a safe deliverance.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 15. —TO MR. J. P. H.
LONDON, May 16, 1856.
MY DEAR H.,-Did I not know your friendship, as well
as your constant engagements, I should take it for granted
that you had finally given me up as one of the lost. Are
you always too busy to write letters?
We have got into a quiet, comfortable house in Portland
Place, and we are gradually introducing ourselves to the
mysteries of London housekeeping. The system is simple enough, as it devolves the whole trouble upon servants, allowed to expend what they think necessary, and
expected to account at the expiration of every week.
Simple, certainly; but as to economy, quite another
thing.
I amn kept hard at work in the legation in a variety of
ways; but never having contracted a distaste for labor, I
get along tolerably well. Phil is indefatigable and always
at hand.
Politics are anything but satisfactory. I found on my
arrival a fixed anti-American set in the ministerial and




40              TO MR. J. Y. MASON.
social classes, and entered upon a determination to break
that down, first, by frankness and conciliation, if they
would answer, if not, then, second, by open defiance.
Our countrymen here tell me that my success has been
complete:-but let us wait a little longer before too confident a conclusion. To go to war with us is an extravagance which I am certain would upset any ministry in
less than six months, if not on the instant; but I doubt
much their disposition to forego their great luxury of
treating us with insult and contumely. Their hospitality
and kindness to me and my family have certainly been
unmeasured; but the region of national relations and
policy is widely separated from that of mere personal intercourse. Should Mr. Crampton be dismissed by Gov.
Marcy I think we may look out for a series of retaliatory
and recriminating acts between the two countries, which
must lead, at no distant day, to the final trial of strength.
When we are driven to that, we must throw the scabbard
away, and tie the hilt to the hand.
The ladies up stairs are all well, and not yet tired, as I
am heartily, of the gaieties of the great London season.
I wish you would bring two or three of your circle over,
and give them a chance while I am here (not long, mark
that!) to see the Court of Queen Victoria, as splendid
now as it ever has been or ever will be. All this magnificence of ceremonial and pretension is fast being undermined, even among the-proudest peers, by our republican
principles accompanied by our wonderful prosperity; and
before any one of your children reaches fifty, it will have
vanished, like the hues of a rainbow, forever. Let them
see it before it fades away.
Many affectionate remembrances to yours.
Ever truly and faithfully.
No. 16.-TO MR. J. Y. MASON.
LONDON, May 24, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have had the enclosed letter by me
for some time, undetermined what direction to give it,
and now it occurs to me that I may enclose it to you, and




TO JUDGE KANE.                 41
beg you to address it for me to wherever the Commodore
may be. I have put on an extra envelope and leave it
unsealed, so that you can perceive its subject is a purely
private enquiry, having no connection with public topics.
The matter on which we have heretofore exchanged
views is not yet sufficiently developed to be decided upon
finally one way or the other. I have been unable, though
always on the watch since the great review of Portsmouth,
to perceive any such naval distribution as would warrant
anxiety. As, however, I have reason to expect, in the
course of the coming three weeks, something definite
from Washington in reference to the Earl of Clarendon's
last communication on the recruitment question (a cormmunication, by-the-by, of a tone so remarkably calm and
conciliatory that it would have had a strong effect towards entire adjustment had not its writer, heedlessly,
and without some disclaimer of official adoption, connected with it a series of wantonly vituperative affidavits),
and therefore think it safest to let things remain as they
are for a month longer.
Always sincerely yrs.
No. 17.-TO JUDGE KANE.
LONDON, May 27, 1856.
MY DEAR JUDGE,-It gave me peculiar pleasure to attend the Royal Geographical Society yesterday. Their
Gold Medal, a very beautifhl piece of art by-the-by, which
I received on behalf of the i)octor, was accompanied by
a handsome notice from the President, Admiral Beechey.
My short reply I have written out for the especial benefit
of my valued friend, Mrs. Kane, and take the liberty to
enclose it. As no important business closes in London
without a dinner, and a series of table-speeches, the
Doctor was toasted, and, as the guardian of his fame for the
nonce, I addressed about 200 philosophers and explorers
with a review of his whole life. He was cheered from
beginning to end. The medal is transmitted in a small
screwed box to the Department of State by my despatch
bag. Let me hear of its safe arrival.
VOL. i.-4




42        TO THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.
I suppose all this should take the appearance of stately
form, but I am bound to fulfil other engagements, and
really must throw myself upon the indulgence of yourself and the Doctor. Mr. Marcy waits for me.
My warm regards to all the family.
Ever truly yrs.
No. 18. —TO THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, May 28, 1856.
MY DEAR LORD,-No one has yet, to my knowledge,
arrived from the United States to whom I could venture
to refer you as a person fully and accurately informed on
the topic of the note I have had the honor to receive
from your Grace to-day. Nor can I hope to meet one so
early as by Friday next.
The comparatively private mode of inflicting capital
punishment has not been long practised, and has probably
not attracted the general and careful attention to which
it is entitled. Opinions as to its effects on the people,
contrasted with the effects of the old public executions,
may not be uniform; but I am disposed to think that
experience is fast dispelling the jealousies and doubts
which were felt when the change was introduced. Of
course this remark refers exclusively to my own country,
and it is not made with the confidence which a thorough
knowledge of facts and a close investigation might inspire.
If I am fortunate enough to meet a fellow-countryman
on whom, in regard to this enquiry, perfect reliance can
be placed, I will hasten to apprise you; or, if it be likely
that your movement may be protracted so long as to
enable me to write home, and receive back the views of
one or two gentlemen whom I have in my eye, I will undertake to do so with great pleasure.
With sincere respect, I am, truly yrs.




TO MR. E. C. SQUIER.             43
No. 19.-TO MR. J. Y. MAS0N.
(Private.)            LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
LONDON, May 31, 1856.
SIR,-Incidents affecting the relations between this
country and the United States are crowding so rapidly
upon us that too much vigilance and precaution cannot
be exercised to ward off or to mitigate the consequences
of an explosion which may possibly happen at any
moment.
You will therefore excuse me for suggesting the expediency of warning the Commander of our Mediterranean
Squadron to be, at this juncture, extremely careful not
to put himself in a situation open to surprise, and to keep
himself and his force ready for any sudden emergency.
The clouds which now threaten may blow over; but as
experience has not taught us to rely upon the plausible
professions of British statesmen, unconfirmed by ascertained facts, I am anxious to put every one on guard.
The detection of the correspondence with Costa Rica, the
intermeddling of Capt. Tarleton with our steamer, the
Orizaba, the reception by the government of the hew
minister, Padre Vigil, from Nicaragua, and the overwhelming denial given by Mr. Clayton to one of Mr.
Crampton's boldest assertions, combined with the daily
expectation of hearing that this latter gentleman has
been dismissed, maintain the public pulse at fever heat,
which may precipitate secret action.
I am, most respectfully, very truly yrs.
No. 20.-TO MR. E. G. SQUIER.
(Private.)                      LONDON, June 1, 1856.
DEAR SIR,-Yoqur letter of the 28th May,'56, did not
reach me until the 30th, after I had seen Mr. Brown, and
requested him to convey to you my sentiments.
I thank you for the clear and full statement you have
given me of your position and views.




44             TO MR. E. G. SQUIER.
It has, no doubt, occurred to you that our government
cannot, especially at this juncture, participate in any
negotiation having for its object a new disposition of
islands over which they can pretend to claiml no right of
sovereignty whatever. The group, headed by Ruatan, is
really part of Honduras, but is occupied and colonized
by Great Britain. The question is, therefore, to be adjusted by those two governments exclusively. If the
latter can be persuaded by Se-nor Herran to do what is
just and restore the islands unconditionally to Honduras,
such a course will be cordially approved by the United
States-first, as a measure of right; second, as a measure
favorable to the independence of their own commerce and
intercourse; and third, as a measure removing practically
one of the leading causes of difficulty with this country.
If, however, the restitution cannot be effected, except
upon terms or stipulations which would divest it of substantial and permanent character, leaving the islands
subject in the remotest degree to English influence or
law, and ready to relapse at a more prosperous moment
into their present colonial dependence, the United States
could not fail to regard it with disfavor-first, as a source
of future quarrel between Honduras and Great Britain;
second, as on the part of the latter only a plausible evasion
of an exciting issue; and third, as legalizing, without substantially disarming, the actual usurpation.
I do not think that the government at Washington
would find anything in the three conditions you have
enumerated at all questionable; but there is something
in your suggestion about admitting the inhabitants to the
enjoyment of special municipal rights which savors of
keeping up the distinction between the English citizens
and the other citizens of Honduras, and so facilitating
the future relapse to which I have adverted. To this the
President would probably seriously object. Perhaps you
have stated it somewhat vaguely; and, indeed, until the
"special municipal rights" are distinctly enumerated, I
do not wish to hazard a positive opinion.
The moment is perhaps unfavorable to action. The
two nations are much excited by the recent events, and
are watching each other with extreme jealousy. It is not
merely impossible for me to leave London for an hour,
but I should fear that my meeting Messrs. Herran and




TO MR. MARCY.                  45
Alvarado just now anywhere would excite suspicions and
impede their progress. In a short time the cloud will
either disappear or burst.
I am very respectfully yrs.
No. 21.-TO MR. D.
LONDON, June 6, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-A watchful solicitude induces me to
send you the enclosed slip from one of the newspapers.
My best regards wait on you and yours. If the Times
and the Post are reliable organs, I shall probably quit
England soon, never to return; an undiscriminating retaliation amounts to an original insult, and will require many
years to be forgotten. It will not surprise me if I should
turn out to be the last minister from the United States to
the British Court, and that will certainly be fame if it be
not honor.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 22.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, June 6, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have nothing worthy of a formal despatch by the steamer of to-morrow.
The report of Captain Tarleton on the affair of the
Orizaba has not yet been received. I shall wait a day or
two longer, and if I do not get from the F. O. by that time
the copy I expect, the case of Captain Tinklepaugh will
be spread out in writing, as it was in conversation, and
definite replies be asked to definite interrogatories.
Lord Palmerston said last evening in the House of
Commons that this government had received indirect information of Mr. Crampton's having been dismissed. This
information, if your letter of the 23d May be, as it of
course must be, accurate, cannot be well founded. No
later intelligence than that of the Atlantic, which reached




46                TO MR. MARCY.
here on the 4th inst., after leaving New'York on the 24th
May, has been received. The recognition of Vigil is fast
passing into the same category of permanent, but incurable, and therefore to be tolerated, causes of reproach to
our government and people as the annexation of Texas,
the displacement of the poor Indians, or the constitutional
rbcognition of Slavery. There is no use in crying over
spilt milk; the thing is done, cannot be undone, can in
fact do no harm, and may as well be forgotten, except so
far as it serves the purpose of an occasional fling at the
mobocracy of America.
If mischief grow at all out of Vigil's reception, rest assured it will be quickened by compost from France. The
rumored Spanish movement against Mexico-a movement which should put General Gadsden and our Home
Squadron on the alert-involves an ulterior purpose of
Louis Napoleon's:- either to send a scion of his imperial
house to the hall of the Montezumas, or to extirpate
Walker, or so to involve Spain and Mexico in war as to
furnish to the former a plausible excuse for transferring
Cuba to England. I am inclined to adopt the last hypothesis. Lord Palmerston, having served the purpose
of Louis Napoleon for some months back, is requiring a
reciprocation, and Spain is the cat's-paw which the Emperor puts in to stir the fire.
My uncertain position is of course not without its inconveniences, and I am now and then tempted to exclude
myself altogether from the world, until the world lets me
know definitely whether I am to be decapitated or let go
without day. The measure of dismissing me, as in pari
delicto with that honorable gentleman, Mr. Crampton,
savors of an undiscriminating vindictiveness which strongly
marks an original insult. Indeed, I am disposed to think
that the dignity of our country will make it necessary so to
regard that measure, if it be resorted to, and that, without
the amplest apology, we ought never to permit an American minister, or diplomatic agent of any sort, even a consul, to shew himself in her Majesty's dominions. My longing for historical fame would certainly be satiated if it
were to turn out that I am to be the last of our ministers
at this Court. As it could not be ascribed to any fault of
mine, and would unerringly indicate the moment at which
the doctrine of delenda est Carthayo began its practical




TO COL. PEREZEL.                47
operation, I should be borne down to future ages identified with the commencement of a great period. Ultimas
Romanorum is better than merely Consul or even Imperator.
The dread of a war with the United States is very general; and the two great interests, manufacturing and mercantile, are beginning to bestir themselves to prevent it if
they can. I do not rely so much upon the parliamentary
movements of the opposition as upon violent agitation in
these interests. The ministerial majority is too great and
too mercenary to be in any danger of defeat, until terrified
by the clamor of the constituencies.  That can scarcely
be brought to bear upon them until after Lord Palmerston has tried their mettle, and forced them, as he has
already once done since I have been here, to stick to him
and brave the storm. My conviction, however, is firmer
than ever, that if he advances any farther on the road to
a quarrel with us, he will suddenly close his administration.
Pray pardon me if I request you to let the President
know that I give my adhesion to his reception of Vigil, as
indeed I believe I did in one of my former letters.
Always very truly yrs.
No. 23.-TO COL. PEREZEL.
LONDON, June 7, 1856.
DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 4th inst., requesting a
passport from this legation for your wife, on a visit to
Hungary, and one for yourself enabling you to accompany
her to France, has been received. The circumstances of
your case are such as awaken my warmest sympathy, and
I sincerely wish it was in my power to send the documents
you so urgently desire. But I am without discretion, and
under explicit instructions from my government on the
subject. You are not a citizen of the United States, and
I am expressly prollibited granting a passport to any but
a citizen. The declaration of your intention to become a
citizen would avail you much while remaining in the
United States, but abroad its efficacy is not recognized. I
entertain no manner of doubt as to your character and




48            TO LORD ABERDEEN.
merits, and would cheerfully rely upon your assurances
of discretion and care;-but I cannot break through a
rule positively prescribed.
Enclosed I return to you the introductory note of Mr.
Sedgwick, and the certificate of Mr. Henry Ward Beecher.
I am very respectfully yrs.
No. 24. —TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, June 10, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —Fortified by the mail of the Asia, I feel
strong hopes of bringing to a close the bickerings of the
two countries.  The sentiment condemnatory of Mr.
Crampton augments in force every day, and is almost as
general in this as in our own country. The programme
of your course has been, in conversation, anticipated by
me, and every reflecting mind accepted it as a desirable
termination to the affair. I do not think the rministry
will make further stand and hazard a war, in defence of
a person now proved so unworthy. If they do, Parliament will drive them from their places.
Should this government, contrary to my present expectations, retaliate the dismissal of Mr. Crampton by
mine, it is probable that I shall immediately quit London with my family, and fix myself within a promptly
accessible distance from our legation at Paris, in rural
and private quarters. You have made no disposition to
relieve me from the necessary expense of this movement,
and, if it has to be made, I shall be driven to borrowing
for the first time in my life: a consequence of no outfit.
My time is up.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 25.-TO LORD ABERDEEN.
LONDON, June 11, 1856.
MY DEAR LORD ABERDEEN,-Agreeably to my promise
I now have to inform you that Mr. Crampton was sent




TO SIR H. BULWER.               49
his passports by the President, and the exequaturs of the
three consuls were recalled; but the reasons for doing
this are set forth in a despatch addressed to me, which I
propose to read in the course of the day to Lord Clarendon. The despatch is in terms and tone of a most conciliatory character; accepts frankly and conclusively the
assurances of Lord Clarendon's last letter, so far as her
Majesty's government is concerned; but expresses an unchanged conviction as to the personal misconduct of Mr.
Crampton and his coadjutors, who have, by disregarding
the instructions sent them, and by continuing, even up to
January last, to act in violation of our laws, and by misrepresenting the conduct of our public functionaries to
the government here, embroiled the two countries, and
made themselves objectionable residents in the United
States. The despatch is accompanied by a mass of fresh
evidence, chiefly from the very witnesses whose affidavits
were appended to Lord Clarendon's communication of
the 30th of April.
My only purpose is to describe the features of the despatch I have received, not to make a single comment.
Should there, in your lordship's opinion, be no indelicacy
in my doing so, it will afford me pleasure to submit the
paper to your own perusal.
With the most cordial respect,
I remain very sincerely yrs.
No. 26.-TO SIR H,. BULWER.
LONDON, June 15, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR HENRY,-Your note from Brighton was
really very agreeable to me as proof of regard, but in no
respect was it at all necessary as explanatory of the circumstance to which it refers. My amiable countryman,
Mr. Peabody, omitted to look at the thing on both sides;
and while he was anxious that the toast should come from
the person most acceptable to me, he forgot that it could
not but be personally embarrassing to you. It would be
a wretched sort of life, this of ours, if such a long-continued and kindly intercourse as yours and Mr. Crampton




50               TO MR. MARCY.
could be coolly sacrificed to a table compliment to another.
Even my comparatively slight acquaintance with him
suggests to me that I shall undergo, when meeting him,
an unpleasant struggle between official decorum and individual feeling.
Pray be assured that I appreciate and sincerely applaud
what you did. I place a much higher value upon the
note you have written me than upon any specimen of
formal eloquence (though aware of your power) with
which you could possibly have addressed Mr. Peabody's
guests.
I am, very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 27.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, June 17, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Hermann leaves Southampton tomorrow, but she has so little repute that I shall do no
more than write this short note by her.
Everything since I communicated your two last despatches to Lord Clarendon has worked to a charm. The
public excitement augmented every hour.  The opposition in Parliament took an attitude not to be mistaken,
and on Friday last, headed by Lord John Russell, opened
their battery. Yesterday Lord John put his questions to
the Premier in a handsome and impressive speech, and
Lord Palmnerston announced formally the determination
of the cabinet, "not to terminate their present amicable
relations with Mr. Dallas." The breakers are avoided;
the legation is in deep water again; the Crampton squall
has passed over, rather clearing the sky than otherwise;
and there is bright promise of a goodly day to-morrow.
No time shall be lost to improve the returning swell of
kindly feeling. It is not impossible that prompt negotiation may put an end to all controversy about the
treaty. If not, and we resort to arbitration, let me know
your preferences and be prepared.
The war, as between the parliamentary parties, will
continue; and Lord Derby has threatened a fierce overhauling of the ministerial conduct in the recruitment




TO MR. MARCY.                 51
business. But this last feat of Lord Palmerston secures
his position.
Our countrymen here are in great exultation, and lavish
upon " Old Marcy" eulogies which my jealousy forbids me
to repeat.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No, 28.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, June 24, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have as yet nothing from the Foreign
Office for a despatch. The replies to your letters on Ceiitral America and recruitment seem to require great care
and elaboration.  Much effort and skill are certainly
necessary to steer through the straits in which the ministry find themselves. The Opposition are resolved to
hold them to their responsibility, and nothing but the
highest exercise of the imperturbable temper, adroitness,
and ability of Lord Palmerston can save them. In my
opinion, however, he will prove himself equal to the task.
What may be the tone and purport of the forthcoming
answers it is impossible to conjecture; but they cannot
incur the extreme hazard of continuing, on either question, the war of words which has already so nearly ruined
them; such a course will inflame their adversaries and
produce a reaction of panic. If they are calm and moderate, no matter how strongly tinctured with self-esteem,
they will pass current, dispel the existing mortification,
and disarm many who only insist upon no further provocation to the United States. A vote in either House in
such a case would probably be in favor of government.
I constantly hear your two despatches praised, and
cannot help thinking that they are producing on the general public an impression of our having been right, and
the ministry wrong from the beginning. Even the newspapers, the Times and the Post, are slowly but obviously
retreating fromn the positions they have heretofore so
audaciously maintained.  My colleagues of the diplomatic corps, who unanimously foretold my dismissal,
chuckle over what they regard as the discomfiture of Pal



52                TO MR. MARCY.
merston, and give me, en passant, an extra smile and
squeeze of the hand. I could entertain and perhaps surprise you with particulars of a similar spirit in other quarters; but there are spheres as to which pen and ink are
indiscreet agents of communication.
Messrs. Herran and Alvarado are now here. The former
asked this morning by note an interview with Lord
Clarendon. They both, with Mr. Squier, called on me
yesterday. We conversed freely, but agreed that, before
going formally into business, it would be prudent on all
sides to await the answers preparing to your despatches,
as some clew to the most politic and promising mode of
proceeding might be derived from them, and we should,
at all events, better understand the dispositions of the
British government. These answers, you must recollect,
will be put, in print, on the tables of the two Houses of
Parliament, as soon as they reach the American Legation. I suppose they will come to me, as Mr. Crampton's
passports came to him, after the steamer of to-morrow has
sailed.
I enclose, as worthy a moment's conference with Mr.
Dobbin, two notes, one from Mr. Hawthorne to me, and
the other from Mr. James Rae to Mr. Hawthorne. The
quadrant of Paul Jones ought certainly to be among other
Revolutionary relics in the Navy Department, and it
would give me pleasure to secure it. Should you gentlemen agree with me, let me be duly authorized to purchase, at a reasonable price, on proof of its identity, and
give orders how to pay.
The Italian question, you will.have noticed, is fast
ripening to the dropping point. One of two things must
take place, and that speedily, or a popular rise will
occur:-either Austria must be allowed to repress with
her iron squadrons, or vast reforms must be inaugurated
under the auspices of Sardinia directly, and of France and
England indirectly. Manin eclipses, at least for the time,
Mazzini (who, by-the-by, meditates retirement in America) in boldness and prudence; and the liberal Whig
Cabinet of St. James are intensely on the qui vive. History, a half century hence, may possibly attribute the
recent forbearance of Lord Palmerston, under an indignity from the United States, to his forecasting preparations in favor of Italian unity.




TO MR. M. M.                  53
Our nomination for the next Presidential term is rather
favorably commented upon here. It is supposed to be
auspicious of external tranquillity. But when I express
the opinion that its success is certain, they treat me with
an incredulous smile, being assured by their wise correspondents and their equally wise newspapers that Mr.
Fillmore's election by the House is far more likely. Nous
verrons.
Our countrymen are prodigious travellers. Every
steamer comes loaded with them, on their way first to
this legation for passports, and then "partout en Europe."
Some have families of eight(!) children with them; others
are spending their "honeymoon;" and wandering bachelors sharp-set for Paris, the Pope, the Pyramids, St. Petersburg, or Persia, are countless. What a sinecure of a
place has the American Minister in London!
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 29,-TO MR. M. M.
LONDON, June 26, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The " contretemps " experienced by me
at the Levee yesterday is inaccurately stated in the
Times of to-day, and I can't think that you would
knowingly sanction a misrepresentation as to myself. I
will brieflv tell you the facts without a comment.
I took with me to the Palace three American gentlemen. One of these is an eminent professor of civil and
military engineering in our Military Academy at West
Point, and has the assimilated rank of major in the army.
He wore his official costume:-a blue dress coat, with buttons of the engineer corps, blue pantaloons, white vest,
black stock, and the common hat.
It was objected, in a manner exceedingly kind and
courteous, that he wore a black cravat, had no chapeau,
and no sword, and could not thus pass the Queen. I
tried once, twice, or thrice to surmount the difficulty by
adverting to the official character of his dress; but the
rule was express, and there was no discretion to relax it.
Pained at the position in which my estimable country



54            TO SIR ED WARD CUST.
man was placed, among strangers, and in a place to which
he was entirely unaccustomed, I unhesitatingly offered to
go home with him, and in this suggestion his companions
joined. We retired. It was impossible to do less, and
we did no more.
Truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 30. —TO SIR EDWARD OUST.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, June 26, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR EDWARD CUST,-It has occurred to me
that you, as the gentleman best knowing the incidents
immediately preceding the opening of the Levee on
Wednesday last, the sudden discovery of the insufficiency
of a particular costume, and the consequent retirement
from the Palace, must be the proper person to whom to
address this short note on that subject.
Allow me then to say to you frankly and unreservedly
that the idea that what then took place can possibly be
attributed to a want of respect to her Majesty, either in
my countryman, Professor Mahan, or in myself, occasions
surprise as well as sincere pain. No sovereign has more
just and more universally recognized claims to affectionate attachment and veneration than your Queen; and I
might hope that avowals of sentiment, in public and in
private, strengthened by an unaffected gratitude for the
generous distinction and kindness with which I have
been honored, ever since my arrival, as the diplomatic
representative of the United States at her Majesty's
Court, would render it impossible, even with those who
do not personally know me, that I should be suspected,
and on an occasion, too, so casual and light; of failing in
the respect so eminently due. I disclaim it, Sir Edward,
with emphasis, on my own part, as wholly foreign to my
nature, and equally foreign to the government and people
of the United States; and I disclaim it as unjust to Professor Mahan, and irreconcilable with the high and honorable character he has long maintained in the service of
his country.
I remain, Sir Edward, always, etc.




TO MR. MARCY.                  55
No. 31.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, July 3, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —I sent you a despatch by the Fulton,
which left Southampton yesterday. Nothing worthy of a
fresh one since.
The effort to make of the affair at the Levee something of importance has entirely failed. I have not recognized it as worthy to interfere with the public interests
and business under my care. It is dying out as another
of the gross exaggerations of the Times, springing from
hostility to the United States.  The pretence that it
originated in an intentional disrespect to the Queen was
promptly exploded. As to the merits of the Master of
Ceremonies' decision against the admissibility of Professor
Mahan's costume, I am disposed to think Sir Edward
Cust, though very polite and courteous, acted erroneously,
and I suspect he has been told so by those to whose
opinions he would be more deferential than to mine. It
was a quasi military official dress, so stated to be by me.
The Professor was not an attache, and was therefore not
bound, by what Sir Edward kept harping on as an agreement between himself and Mr. Buchanan, to add anything
to his full dress uniform. The dress of the members of
the legation is controlled by the understanding-not so
the dress of others, citizens or officers. I have already
presented many, on whose persons not a symptom of the
diplomatic equipment could be traced beyond the chapeau
and sword, and no objection hinted. Even on this very
occasion Sir Edward was willing to pass as unexceptionable the militia dress of an adjutant-general of New
Jersey, which, though certainly showy (especially with
the blue ribbon and gold eagle of the Cincinnati hanging
at a button-hole), and highly- respectable, can scarcely
claim to be on a footing with the national costume prescribed by the President for officers in the national service, ranking by assimilation as majors. I find many
distinguished connoisseurs of the rules of etiquette entertain the opinion that Sir Edward was confused in his




56                    TO MR. MARCY.
notions and made a blunder.* It is perhaps from the
prevalence of this sentiment that it has been thought expedient to invent two utterly unfounded subterfugesfirst, that Lord Clarendon, upon being told what had happened, sent in haste to stop my going away, and to say
that her Majesty would receive the Professor; and,
second, that her Majesty herself had done so. We left
the Palace tranquilly, after shaking hands with Sir Edward Cust, and without the slightest intimation that the
decree of exclusion had been rescinded.
This really frivolous matter has worried me personally
more than I would be willing to admit; but I have been extremely guarded and forbearing to prevent its having any
influence whatever upon the discussions now proceeding
as to Central America. The French newspapers hailed its
first appearance in the Times with delight, and seemed
to gloat on a fresh opportunity of fanning discord between England and the United States. They fired up incontiniently at the effort to advance another step in the
usurpations of democracy! We may yet have a Congress
of sovereigns to teach dress and manners, whose protocols will be accompanied by photographic illustrations of
the only tolerable " shorts," " tights," "vests," " cravats,"
"rapiers," and head-gear!
* I" COUNCIL HALL, SHEFFIELD, July 7, 1856.
"SIR,-I have to acknowledge, on behalf of the Sheffield Foreign Affairs Committee, the receipt of your very courteous note of the 24th ult.
"' The Committee, in reference to the recent circumstance at the Queen's
Levee, further instruct me to say that if your countryman, as is now
represented by a portion of the Press, holds a recognized military rank
in America, and wore his official costume on the occasion in question,
they are of opinion that Sir Edward Cust made an error of judgment in
not admitting him, without reference to the components of that dress.
The Committee conclude this from their knowledge that Turkish, Persian, and other officials have the right of entrance in their peculiar national dresses. They believe that the regulations on which Sir Edward
Cust relied refer only to cases of private individuals, that is, persons not
holding office nor rank, which it is now stated your countryman did.
"The Committee also believe that the misrepresentation which the
Times in the first instance made of the circumstances was designed with
a view to still further complicate the differences between our country
and yours.
" I have the honor to remain, sir, yr. obed. serv.,
" WM. CYPLES, S. S.
"The HON. G. M. DALLAS,
"American Minister, etc."




TO MR. MARCY.                  57
Since my interview with Lord Clarendon on Monday
last, I have twice confeired with Mr. Herran, who has
been received by Lord C., and whose course of action as
to the Bay Islands is alike intelligent and frank. He darefully advises with me at every step, and he assures me that
he confidently expects to get the islands back.  That
point worked through, we ought really not to quarrel.
I send you the whole American debate in the House of
Commons, as reported in the Times. You will recognize
the ability of Mr. Gladstone's speech. Lord Palmerston,
by dropping Clrampton, found it easy to float. I believe
I told you that if assailed by the Opposition upon the bygone recruitment business, he would triumph. The majority was enormous.
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No, 32.-TO MR, MARCY.
LONDON, July 4, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-In the House of Commons last evening, and in answer to a question put by Mr. Baillie, Lord
Palmerston is reported by the newspapers of this mornin g to have said that" Mr. Dallas had received full powers to discuss the Central American question with government." (Advertiser.)
"Mr. Dallas had full powers to discuss with her Majesty's government all the questions which have arisen
with respect to the affairs of Central America, and that
he has powers which Mr. Buchanan had not; as I understood from Mr. Buchanan that he had no instructions
upon these questions." (Post.)
" The government understood that Mr. Dallas had full
powers to discuss with theni the questions connected with
the affairs of Central America, and therefore he had
powers which Mr. Buchanan had not." (Times.)
It is difficult to see precisely what is meant by the language imputed to Lord Palmerston. The shades of differeiice between Mr. Buchanan's powers and mine, if any
exist, are slight. I have laid before the British government, on the 11th June, your despatch of the 24th of
May, the last paragraph of which contains all the powers
VOL. I.-5




58                TO MR. MARCY.
you have given me on the special subject of Central
America, independent of my letter of credence. Certainly these powers are, as Lord P. describes them,fidl
powers to discuss, but how, as such, they differ from those
of Mr. Buchanan, I cannot perceive, except it be as to the
details and conditions of arbitration, and even as to those
I don't know that, had the proposal of arbitration been
regularly made and entertained, Mr. Buchanan's powers
to discuss would not have been precisely as broad as my
own. Perhaps it is on this hinge that Lord Palmerston's
distinction turns. The matter will, of course, engage
Lord Clarendon and myself at our next meeting; for I
cannot, with the frankness I am resolved to pursue, permit any misconception to continue as to the existing extent of my powers.
Suspicion seems, more or less, inseparable from the
diplomatic " role;" and it has struck me that possibly the
heavy ministerial majority of the 2d instant has encouraged
them to take a bolder stand; to recall their readiness to
reopen the Central American discussion; and to put that
on the ground that they understood my powers to be
more full than Mr. Buchanan's, and find they are pretty
much the same. Such a course would undoubtedly be
utterly inconsistent with past professions and explanations, and though I have suspected it as a possibility, I do
not believe it will occur.
Our quondam minister from Nicaragua arrived here
last Sunday. I am told that he is loud in animadversions
upon the conduct of our government, and that he proposes to demand an audience of Lord Clarendon. He
will probably try his hand at mischief; and as there is
certainly no particularly favorable sentiment felt here at
this mornent for the actual state of things in Nicaragua,
he may, to some extent, succeed.
Always very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 33.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, July 8, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your despatches from 16 to 20, both
inclusive, were received in one batch this morning, and




TO MR. MARCY.                  59
will be formally acknowledged hereafter. I have not
now time to do more than will suffice to keep you, by
means of a hasty note, up to the times.
The discussions on Central America continue, and in
an unchanged humor to try our best to effect an arrangement. I think I see land.
My powers were frankly considered. They rest exclusively upon the concluding paragraph of your No. 13.
Unless, however, they are greatly enlarged, and instructions made full, I foresee much delay and embarrassment.
Complaints are coming in upon me on the score of the
inconveniences which spring out of a want of international
regulation about seamen who desert from merchant vessels. I find that the active and repeated efforts of Mr.
Buchanan during last year, to get a consular convention,
embracing this matter, failed, though aided by Lord Clarendon. It may be that the recent incidents have opened
their eyes to the absolute necessity of some provisions on
the subject. If I propose to you to send me authority to
act, it will only be after having ascertained that the prospect of doing something is better now than it was last
year.
Parliament is restive under the heat. They are pushing
on to an early prorogation. If nothing starts up, I think
they will adjourn by the 20th instant.
I got also to-day your " unofficial" of the 16th June  I
have not had a richer treat for a long time. It is the first
symptom you have thrown out, in our correspondence, of
a relaxation in that costiveness which I once charged
upon you. By-the-by, solve me this diplomatic etiquette
of epithets!  Some of your letters are marked "private,"
that I undertand perfectly; some " strictlyprivate," -what's
the difference?  Again, some are headed "unofficial;"
does that imply more than merely personal or private?
Some " confidential," that means-does it not?-" on public
official business, but not for public use." Others are
doubtless shades of difference; but it may be well to say
what my own understanding is, as between myself individually and my records representatively. If you mark
"private," the word "strictly" is supererogatory, and your
missive goes quietly into my pocket; so also as to "unofficial," except that its contents are not esteemed to be
under the injunction of secrecy; but if you merely say




60                TO MR. MARCY.
" confidential," then it goes into the archives as a secret
paper of the legation.
I want to be agreeable at the close of a dull epistle, and
must therefore tell you that everybody here, without an
exception, regards your despatches Nos. 13 and 14 as first
rate specimens of diplomatic ability and skill. General
Scott and Lord Clarendon are in the same category of
vanquished. My cordial respects all round.
Always truly yrs.
No. 34.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, July 11, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-You must not be appalled by the length
of to-day's despatch. I promise not to repeat it often, especially at a season when you are probably (notwithstanding the comfortable coal fire before which I am writing)
perspiring under a sun of 100~ Fahrenheit, at Washington.
Everything here is tranquil. Even the tea-pot tempest
of the Black-tie and Gamboye vest has subsided to the
common level. Parliament is packing up, and will soon
be noncomeatibus in swampo, that is if pheasants and grouse
are tenants of marshes. Nothing remains to keep one
awake but the drowsy hum of the Italian question; and
even that Lord John Russell proposes to put at rest. In
a little while all London will have fallen asleep in the
green lap of rural retirement, and nobody, no! nobody,
be left to keep watch and ward for international safety
and peace but Lord Clarendon and me. Genii of Central America, hover over and protect us! for we mean
well.
We have just had the Guards, returned from the
Crimea, some four thousand lads of 19, in bright red
coats and huge fur caps, pass through the highways and
file in procession before the Queen. One could not help
thinking, as they moved onward, "hardly heavy enough
for effective fight!"
No talk yet, not a whisper, as to sending a successor to
Crampton. Many I know would like the place, notwith



TO MR. JOHN EVA-TS.               61
standing their awe of the American Secretary. There's
Lord Howden-no me gusto! Lord Elgin-capital! The
Duke of Newcastle and his fine daughter-excellent!
Sir Edward B. Lytton-agreed! Mr. Charles Pelham
Villiers, Lord Clarendon's brother-admnirable! Sir William G. Ousely, with his American antecedents et uxorquite acceptable! Give them time to recover from the
galvanic shock of the Cramptonian smasher, and when
they once resolve to let by-gones be by-gones, I shall be
mistaken if your diplomatic corps will not be adorned
and strengthened by an Englishman of higher rank,
greater ability, better temper, and more winning manners, than any our terrible but resistless democracy has
yet welcomed.
The steady stream of American travellers through this
city and onward to every point of the Continent, and
then winding backwards, is a sort of moral Mississippi
or Amazon. There is really a miraculous character about
it. One would imagine that our migratory people, having
reached their Ultima Thule on the golden coast of the
Pacific, were resolved to turn their faces once more to
the rising sun, and trample over Europe to Tartary and
Japan. Only think for a moment of the rushing rapids
that pour into the American Legation, on the arrival of
every steamer, for Passports! Passports! Where to?
Everywhere.
The ministerial white-bait dinner is fixed for the 19th
inst., and therefore prorogation may be looked for by the
25th. Lord John's motion on Italian affairs is for Monday next, the 14th.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 35.-TO MR. JOHN EVANS.
LONDON, July 14, 1856.
SIR,-Your letter of the 12th instant has been received.
Without knowing you, I cannot assume the responsibility of advising you on your project of emigrating to
the United States. It might be that although you possess the means, and the personal qualities, which would




62                TO MR. MARCY.
give promise of success in a new and rising country, yet
your fixed tastes and habits would make you miserable
there. Your safest course is to cross the Atlantic during
this summer, pass by the cities, and speed directly to St.
Louis, in Missouri, or Chicago, in Illinois; stay ten days
or more, look about, and consult the men of business
whom you will find as plentiful as blackberries, see what
pursuit would suit you best, how you can most safely and
profitably invest your ~3000 (which is an ample fund to
start with out there), and then determine for yourself
whether to remain or return. At your age, with your
health, after 20 years of active life in Liverpool, and with
the money at your command, if you scrupulously keep
off the snags and sawyers of politics for five years, I
should deem it quite an exception to the ordinary1 and
natural current of things, if you were not rich, influential, and respected by the time you are fifty.
Respectfully yrs.
No. 36.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, July 15, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have no reason for writing except the
desire for letting you have something, however unimportant, by every good opportunity.
Murray, the publisher of the Quarterly Review, sent me
the June number yesterday. It contains an animated article on Central America, which vindicates the Mosquito
Protectorate, and then surrenders it to some arrangement
like what I sent you, but moving the Indians off in a
body to Canada; it vindicates the English title to Ruatan,
rather as a West India Island than a dependency of the Belize, and then surrenders it to Honduras; and it is willing
to stop the Belize settlement at the Sarstoon, provided
that be a final adjustment. You will see by this article,
though it is crowded with haughty pretension and dogmatic assertion, that public opinion here is fast coming
to the point of amicable arrangement at any sacrifice.
The writer, at the close, mounts the jaded steed of the
Recruitment question, and caracols for Crampton at a
furious rate.




TO MR. MARCY.                 63
Some of the newspapers are anxious about Parliament
adjourning before the definitive settlement of the differences with us. They don't like leaving unchecked in
the hands of Lord Palmerston the power to make war,
and they ask why so much naval force has been sent to
the West Indies. We have got the ministerial assurances, both public and private, on this last point, and we
can get nothing more. As to hurrying a convention
with Lord Clarendon, that is impossible; for I have as
yet no power to propose or reject anything. Without
guide, except as I am able to distil your views from despatches to Mr. Buchanan, I can only listen and suggest.
Our friends in Parliament take it for granted that I am
arumed at all points, and seem every day to enquire how
the matter gets on, under the delusive expectation that I
will hint the signature of a complete arrangement! Lord
Clarendon and I must, I suppose, while away full another
month before we can go seriously to work; nor do I
think there is any harm in our doing so; on the contrary,
it gives me time to see how Mr. Herran gets on with the
Bay Islands, for their devolution is a sine qua non, and
time also to receive any instruction you may think proper
to send about Mr. Alvarado. It is not improbable that
they may persuade themselves to believe that Col. Fremont will be elected in November next; and if they adopt
that notion, they would like to take the chance of the
new admninistration's adopting their interpretation of the
treaty.
I attended the House of Commons last evening to hear
the debate on the Italian question. Lord John Russell
introduced it reasonably well. Lord Palmerston talked
much, but left the matter without a ray of light. Disraeli
went the whole figure of conservatism, and dread of revolution. On the whole, the discussion was flat, unmeaning,
and unproductive. There is a singular stagnation in the
political atmosphere of Europe at the very moment when
ours is all in motion.
I hear, now and then, from our friend at Madrid, Augustus C. Dodge. He last wrote me for a hint as to what
course it would be best for Commodore Breese, who was
at Cadiz, to take. I could only answer that I could perceive now no cause for alarm or misgiving.
Always truly and respectfully yrs.




64               TO MR. MARCY.
No. 37.-TO 0MR, WILLIAM BROWN.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, July 16, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The rumor, which you tell me prevailed
in the House of Commons last evening, that " all our differences are settled," is, I hope, connected with that description of events which are said to cast their shadows
before. It is, however, no better founded now than it
might have been three weeks ago.
We are all deeply sensible of the kindness of yourself
and Mrs. Brown ili proposing to us a visit to Richmond
Hill, and have many thanks to give. Until, however, I
am able to see land on the business so important and interesting to our two countries, which brought me here, I
do not think I shall find an excuse to my anxiety, for leaving London a single day.
I hope to see you before you go.
Always truly yrs.
No. 38.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, July 18, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —The accounts from Spain are full of excitement. They are given in the newspapers in homceopathic doses. Whether this be precautionary design, or
the natural shape of telegraphic news, is not easily determinable. It is said that the insurrection in Madrid has
been completely suppressed-dubitatur. At any rate, it is
buoyant in Saragossa and in Barcelona. There is a drawback in this movement; for I am told that they who have
proclaimed a republic have also pledged themselves, if
successful, to emancipate the slaves in Cuba.
The gentlemen who represent Honduras here are not
as discreet as perhaps they should be. They go into the
newspapers and explain their objects. Lord Clarendon
will be apt, I should fear, to take offence at this exchange
of the Foreign Office for the Press. I have intimated my
opinion both to Mr. Squier and Mr. Herran. It is an imprudent invocation of hostile views.




TO MR. MARCY.                  65
It is whispered that Louis Napoleon has retreated into
the country, owing to his suffering from the attackg of some
severe and serious disease.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 39.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, July 22, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Notwithstanding your letter to him of
the 28th May, 1856, assuring him  that the prosecution
against him should be discontinued, and that orders to
that effect had been issued to the United States Attorney
at Cincinnati, Mr. Rowcroft writes to Lord Clarendon
within a week past that he cannot quit Cincinnati, as he
is still under recognizance to answer, and that the District
Attorney says he has repeatedly written to Washington
upon the subject, but can get no reply. Pray enquire about
this, and have what is right done, letting me know where
the mistake lies.
I have just got back from the Foreign Office in time to
write this, but without anything sufficiently important for
a despatch. His lordship had not had leisure to finish
his sketch of a plan for ending the protectorate; it was
begun, however, and he promised to send it in the course
of the week. He complains of being dreadfully fagged
by the expiring throes of the present session of Parliament. He can't get to bed before five in the morning.
Spain, you see, is in a ferment. Italy will next spring
upwards. Louis Napoleon thinks the opportunity come
to play his great uncle's game with Ferdinand and to find
a throne for the Prince, whose nose the Empress has so
unkindly disjointed.  He has offered to assist Queen
Isabella, which means to devour the kingdom, and extinguish the hazard of a republicanism too near at hand.
Nothing yet heard of Espartero.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.




66                TO MR. MARCY.
No. 40.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, July 25, 1856.
My DEAR SIR,-YOU will perceive by the newspapers
that, two days agfo, a question was addressed to Lord Palmerston, in the House of Commons, by Mr. Milner Gibson,
as to whether her Majesty's government had determined
to send a minister to Washington. Mr. Gibson is a
friend, and a watchful one to boot. The reply of the
Premier was to the effect that the cabinet had come to
no decision, and that it was by no means unusual that
delays should take place in appointing diplomatic representatives. There was neither word nor look to intimate
an indisposition to fill the mission; in fact, the answer
produced the impression that no decision had been come
to, because it was difficult to select the person, rather than
from any other motive. Be that as it may, I have ascertained, from a source entirely unquestionable, that there
are gentlemen in Washington, "distinguished for ability
and position," who amuse themselves by writing letters
to their friends here, intended for exhibition to the ministry, and inculcating in the interest of the American
Party, that the manner in which Mr. Crampton's dismissal was treated by this government has worked advantageously for the democracy, and they strive hard to have
something done which may rekindle the panic, as to the
danger of war, among our mercantile classes.. I asked for
no names, because I was frankly told in advance that
they could not be given. But I characterized the letterwriters, in strong terms, as mischievous partisan intermeddlers, who, for the sake-of carrying their Presidential
candidate, were willing to hazard the peace and interests
of their country. I do not feel entirely at liberty to go
into details. They would surprise you. But you are entitled to know, and I violate no principle of delicacy in
letting you know, the incontestable fact I have stated. If
a, minister to Washington be withheld, though I do not
think one will be withheld beyond a reasonable time, it
will be owing, in my opinion, to the effect produced by
these secret and treacherous letter-writers. It is amazing,
if not almost incredible, that any "distinguished" Amer



TO JUD GE JOEL JONES.               67
ican citizen should not revolt from such a proceeding.
How far, too, it has a tendency to dissuade from the contemplated adjustment of the Central American differences,
or at all events to protract the negotiation, it would be
hard to say. I hope those with whom that business must
be transacted are too sagacious and honorable to permit
themselves to be misled by the wretched zealots of abolitionisn, now playing a game of despair in our canvass;
and yet England has so long and so obstinately deemed
our democratic party her natural and unalterable enemy,
that the force of habit may exert its power.
The coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon has got its parallelno, not quite its parallel, but its servile imitation-in the
conduct of O'Donnell at Madrid. The citizens are butchered by wholesale, and the legislature coolly Cromwellized. France may find a pretext for occupying the Spanish
capital as she occupies Rome. Wherever a popular commotion occurs she may like to occupy. According to all
sound modern doctrine, occupation, whether for one or
seven years, is perfectly consistent with non-intervention.
There is something singularly accommodating in that
word "occupy,"-is there not? The Premier begins to
"scent the tainted gale." (See slip.)
The prorogation is put off till the middle of next week.
To-night, according to a strange and recently established
practice, Mr. Disraeli will review the session, and elaborately set forth the mismanagement, omissions, and commissions of the ministry, during the five legislative months.
He represents, for the occasion, the Opposition; Lord Palmerston will reply. A regular set-to by champions.
As yet we have had sight of summer only in fruits and
flowers. Two or three days of warm sun, no more.
Always truly yrs.
No. 41.-TO JUDGE JOEL JONES.
LONDON, July 25, 1856.
MY DEAR JUDGE,-Warm weather is of slow progress
here. I have yet had no cause to thin the clothing put
on during the extreme cold of January last in Philadel



68            TO JUDGE JOEL JONES.
phia. And yet the newspapers represent you as frying
under 96~ of Fahrenheit!
From this distant stand-point, our politics appear excessively angry, confused, and critical. The Americans
have taken up Fremont upon the principle and in imitation of our nomination in'52. Will it run the same wild
and victorious career? If Providence still favors the
Union, reserving it even in despite of our numerous extravangances and follies, we may succeed. I can see no
reliance but in Providence. We have tried our best, or
worst, to exasperate Providence; let us hope still that the
real and unaltered excellence of our Constitution may
keep her on our side. A great pother is made in these
old fogy regions about the series of violences which accompany the fermentation of our great canvass.  One
governor declares martial law; another administers it,
with a kick, in the State capitol; one member of Congress shoots down a table servant; and another selects
higher game for his bludgeon in the Senate chamber;
civil war has its licensed playground in Kansas; and
droves of foreign fighters are rushing to Nicaragua; belligerents throng to hiss and shout at every public gathering; and rows and riots are-everywhere! Such is the
picture drawn by an European artist. Its features come
to you in detached doses, and are therefore not so striking; crossing the water, they cluster into an intolerable
bouquet.
I have to thank you for your agreeable letters. They
tell me all the political incidents and the social occurrences, of which I should otherwise remain unconscious.
I wish this stagnant part of the world furnished me something to send you in return. By-the-by, Spain has just
opened the revolutionary movement. O'Donnell, mimicking the coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon, has drenched Madrid
with the blood of its citizens, and dispersed the Cortes.
Many think that the train was fired from Plombieres, the
mysterious summer retreat of the French Emperor. Certainly, he has promptly shown his sympathies on behalf
of unconstitutional government. Lord Palmerston, yesterday, in the House of Commons, had the audacity, while
seeming to vindicate, to give him a cool warning. I send
you this remarkable intimation to England's.great ally.
All the Parisian journals will exclaim "Morbleu! Par
exemple!"




TO MR. MARCY.                  69
Parliament has but few days longer to live. The session must have its "oraison funebre."  They have a singular practice of permitting the leader of the Opposition
in the House of Commons, just before the session closes,
to review the ministerial conduct, and to concentrate in a
single philippic all the grounds of accusation and complaint. Mr. Disraeli has given notice that he intends
doing that matter to-night.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 42.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, July 29, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your private letter of the 13th instant
reached me yesterday, and was heartily welcome.
My despatches during this month will have shown you
that Is have been actively "feeling the ground in relation to
Central American questions."  I cannot say that I have
reached bottom yet, although the Morning Advertiser of
Saturday last formally announced that all matters were
settled. I suspect the editor of that paper was anxious to
pour out an amende honorable by extravagant eulogy of myself, and found no excuse for doing so except by inventing
a consummation which he knew would attract attention
and be universally acceptable. It is possible that he may
know more of British Cabinet secrets than I do; and that
a suggestion I once made to Lord C., as to the manner in
which the Gordian knot of our difficulties might be cut,
has been adopted, to wit, —that the Queen should take
the responsibility, and initiative in restoring the Bay
Islands to Honduras. I threw the notion out, certainly
not dreaming that it would stick; but the Advertiser predicts it positively. We shall know at the prorogation today.
Lord C. has sent me, two or three days ago, my proforma scheme of getting out of the Protectorate, modified
and changed according to his views. I would send you
this paper, but he accompanied it with a note, requesting
me to consider it private, as he had not even been yet able
to show it to his colleagues. It contains some things, too,




70                TO MR. MARCY.
the real bearing of which I apprehend he has not sufficiently weighed, and which I hope and believe he will
readily forego. Your despatch, No. 13, had he remembered its contents, would certainly satisfy him that 1 could
do nothing in the nature of recognizing the Mosquitoes as
an independent sovereignty or nation; and that I had it
as little within my competency to overlook the ultimate
eminent domain of Nicaragua, or to complicate the foreign
policy of the United States in a joint protectorate. These
are matters as to which, to be sure, I will carefully fulfil
any instructions you may transmit; but, without instructions, they do not meet my judgment or approval. I am
preparing a reformed sketch; adopting what I can, retaining what he has adopted of my former view, and showing
what I conceive, as at present advised, to be impossible.
My opinion is that we shall ultimately adjust a plan by
which the British obligation of honor may in no respect
be violated in the abandonment of the protectorate; unless, indeed, your promised instructions, which I anxiously
look for, open a new field of discussion, and give my labors
a different direction.
So much has been said in periodicals, in weekly and
daily newspapers, evincing the acceptableness of the proposed restitution of Ruatan to Honduras, that I can
scarcely doubt, after the conversations that I and Mr.
HIerran have separately had with Lord Clarendon, that it
is a point which will be conceded to the spirit of peace.
I would therefore suggest whether, if that be done, especially if done handsomely, it would be becoming in us to
take our position inter apices juris about the Guatemalian
title to the land between the Siburn and Sarstoon? The
truth is, that if trade across the Isthmus once become
fearless, active, and free, the Belize will fast sink into insignificance,-and be abandoned. Commerce will pass it
by contemptuously, and even Hanseaticated San Juan will
flap her wings and.crow over it.
You will see by the note I enclose from Lord C., that
he has got a late letter from Mr. Rowcroft, which entitles
you to dismiss that gentleman's anxiety for a nol. pros.
from your mind.
I have no misgivings about the Presidential canvass.
We must succeed. The adversary has kindly submitted
to as much division as was necessary to secure their weak



TO MR. MARCY.                  71
ness. It is quite plain, too, that, like frightened birds, they
have lit on a twig too fragile to support them. Fremont
is respectable enough per se, but he cannot carry the
weight of a party. Besides, all who reflect must perceive
that our failure would rock the Union to its deepest
foundations, if not snap it in two. I dare say, that like all
other free peoples that have ever existed, ours is destined
to be mad some day; but the hour has not arrived.
Mr. Herran has this instant come and gone. In his
interview at the Foreign Office on Saturday last, Lord C.
said he would draft a treaty restoring the islands, and
only bargaining that Port Royal should be a free port,
except a small duty adequate to pay the police officers of
Honduras. Mr. Herran is not the ablest of men, and may
not be perfectly accurate; but of the main point, the restitution, he is quite certain.
The prorogation just over. The speech adverts to our
negotiations on Central America, and the Queen wishes
them a happy conclusion. That's all; but it is something.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 43.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, August 8, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have not been successful recently in
efforts to continue and ripen the discussion with Lord
Clarendon. Three several days have been fixed for conference during the last week, but each has had to give
way to some peremptory call elsewhere of his lordship.
The Queen last commanded him to Osborne, and, unless
her Majesty release him for to-day, he will fail in his engagement to meet me at the Foreign Office at 3 o'clock.
Mr. Herran has been subject to the same delays; and when
he came to see me yesterday, he appeared worried at not
having received the draft of his convention, promised for
a week ago. Interruption and procrastination are, we all
know, unavoidable incidents of high official station. They
must be borne with due patience by those who have public objects in view. As to myself, I cannot undertake to
be in a hurry, until, 1, Mr. Herran secures the Bay Islands,




72                TO MR. MARCY.
and 2, I am enabled to do something more than discuss,
or theorize, or plan.
It is quite obvious that no single member of the ministry assumes to act, on a matter of moment, without consulting his colleagues. This is necessarily productive of
endless postponement.  Most of the cabinet have left
London since the prorogation of Parliament, and are
wandering in the Provinces. They can confer along the
telegraphic wires, not otherwise. I believe I told you that
Lord C. had requested me to treat as private his sketch of
a scheme to abate the protectorate, because he had not
had an opportunity to show it to his colleagues. That is
an example.
The diplomatic corps is even more scattered than the
cabinet. The French, Austrian, Prussian, Spanish, Turkish, Sardinian, and Hanoverian ministers are all on the
Continent; indeed, I doubt whether there be a single
"chef' except myself in London. It is often impossible
to get a passport vised at any office but mine. Holidays
here are literally holidays all round.
"Order reigns in Spain;" but the stability of O'Donnell
is by no means assured. He must either carry out his
movement to its legitimate results, and let Christina
return in triumph, or he must fall back upon the constitutional party and reinstate the Espartero influence.
WVhen the Pope, Christina, Isabella, and, sub rosa, Louis
Napoleon, are making "a pull all together," at one end
of the rope, O'Donnell can scarcely keep a steady footing
at the other, alone. He will probably yield to the absolutists, and then they will soon get rid of him, or he will
resist, and on the liberal side inaugurate another revolutionary struggle, when the French will intervene decisively. The "prestige" of this country, I consider gone,
fidet, and no party on the Continent thinks her willing and
competent to stand by and protect the cause of liberal
government. She is essentially and practically chained
to the footstool of a usurper more dangerous to the liberties of mankind, because more cunning to employ the
vocabulary and arts of freedom than would be a dozen
Russian Czars. Steam, too, has brought her into such
close proximity with her neighbor, that she dare not oppose him without being, what she knows she never is,
ready to repel a sudden invasion. She does not venture




TO COL. PAGE.                 73
to remonstrate against Pelissier's new title of Duke of Malakoff, but is obliged to witness in silence this unmistakable and indelible claim to the monopoly of the crowning
honor of the Crimean war. Lord Palnlerston, in the heat
of debate, uses loud words now and then, but his followers'
stare in terrified astonishment, and he sinks silently back
again into unavoidable subnlission. Fuit! Fuit!
I have just returned from the F. O., and after two
hours' conference with Lord C., have only time to say
that everything connected with the negotiation wears the
most promising and satisfactory aspect.  Ile told me,
upon being asked how it stood with Mr. Herran, that he
thought that matter of the Bay Islands quite settled; that
he would send for Mr. Herran this afternoon; that he
would draft the convention of restitution without delay;
aiid, indeed, that there was nothing left to be done, except to agree upon some mode of indemnifying the English residents. I enquired whether he had kept steadily
in view to avoid any stipulation for peculiar privileges.
IHe replied that he had.
We have, as to the protectorate, one only remaining
sna/q to get over, or to get round, and that is the condition
of Nicaragua; and we are both to set our wits to work to
remove it if possible.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 44.,-TO COL. PAGE.
LONDON, August 12, 1856.
MY DEAR COLONEL, —YOu must deal with me in mercy.
I have been working hard and unceasingly, so that private correspondence became an almost prohibited indulgence. Mr. Marcy is a tyrannical monopolist, and exacts
all my written ideas. In a little, I shall have finished my
job, and may then take an airing among the friends who
have kept me in mind.
All this part of the world is anticipating, hoping, and
wishing the defeat of our democracy in November. It
must not be. Col. Page, I say, it must not be! It is difficult to tell you how much of human liberty, right, and
VOL. I.-6




74                 TO COL. PAGE.
happiness is at stake; enough to make selfish and personal prejudices, were they a hundredfold multiplied, fly
up and kick the beam. Alas! how much disinterested
virtue the maintenance of a republic demands! but it is
virtue, and is its own glorious reward.
* * * * writes me in a rather desponding tone. He
should bustle more, and work off the megrims. A fling
into a free fight is sure to stiffen the nerves and banish
the blues. If he shirks fighting for himself, let him fight
for what I think in greater peril, the Union. I say this
to every one of the true men to whom I feel at liberty to
address an honest exhortation. To myself individually
it matters little whether the Union be saved or subverted;
my own chapter of politics closed with the dead silence
at the Cincinnati Convention; but it is natural to look
somewhat after the happiness of one's children, and of the
friends of well-organized liberty throughout the world.
I pray and beseech all who care a fig about my opinion,
to struggle for the preservation of the Union against the
"dissolving views" of Eastern and Anglican abolitionists,
until their tongues can no longer wag.
All, aye all, that I came here to do will be successfully accomplished, if indeed it has not been already
achieved, in the course of a week. The two countries,
five months ago, were at that critical stand of mutual and
morbid defiance when a prolonged war might have sprung
from a few more hot words, or the hasty disclarge of a
gun at sea. People watched with suspended breath the
news of every hour. Americans, all over the continent
of Europe; and in particular, Commodore Breese, commanding our Mediterranean squadron, awaited a signal
from this office to hurry home. Well! it all changed in
the lapse of a month or six weeks; and the change has
advanced, step by step, until now, before the entire expiration of five months, they who understand the condition
and tone of international relations, are satisfied that a
sounder basis for mutual harmony and respect has not
existed since the Treaty of'83. I cannot tell you how this
has been brought about. There is the fact. I am, and
always have been, just as ready to fight England as any
man living, upon any adequate and honorable ground.
Still, to have been accessory to the conversion of a ticklish state of reciprocal rage, springing from a mnere ban



TO SENATOR G. W. JONES.            75
dying of diplomatic sentences, into calm and solid goodwill, is destined to close my political life with entire satisfaction to myself. Wait a fortnight, perhaps a month, and
you may then hear the finality.
I want you to do me the favor to call upon Judge Sergeant, and give him the warm assurance of my cobltinued
attachment. He has never recognized my appointment
to this Court, and perhaps it was contrary to his sense of
prudence. Write me often and " lengthily" as you can.
Always sincerely yrs.
No. 45.-TO SENATOR G. W. JONES.
LONDON, August 20, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-It has taken me a little time to find the
books which Judge Tuthill, in his letter to you of the 23d
of June last, expressed a wish that I would apply the three
pounds in my hands to purchasing for him. I now send
you one of those books, "Memoirs illustrative of the History and Antiquities of Norfolk and the City of Norwich,"
and a single number of the reprint going on of the other,
to wit, " The History of the Landed Gentry, with Index,
etc." This last is in fact out of print, and can only be had
by instalments, as it is reprinted in numbers. The "Memoirs" cost ~1. 1. 0. and the " History," at    a number,
will probably run the judge some shillings in my debt.
He need not worry himself about that;-when I am out of
his funds, he shall frankly be apprised of it.
We have kept at peace, and I hope we may continue so.
It is barely possible, however, that the late Congress at
Paris intended their declaration abolishing Privateering
as the groundwork of a coercive movement by a confederacy of European sovereigns against America. If so, have
at ye all, my lads! Governor Marcy's letter to Sartiges
is unanswerably conclusive, and is a fine platform upon
which to fight till doomsday.
Faithfully yrs.




76                TO MR. MARCY.
No. 46.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, August 22, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,- You will perceive by what I send, as
well as by the newspapers generally, that your letter to
Count Sartiges, on the Declaration of the Peace Congress
at Paris abolishing privateering, was not in London fortyeight hours before it appeared with an effective editorial
in the Morning Advertiser. The Times reprinted it the
following day; and it is going the rounds, attracting great
attention, but no attempt at reply. Let us hope that European statesmen will not be so absurd as to attempt a
concerted and combined movement to coerce our adoption
of their absolute phrase "Privateering is abolished!" But
there is no knowing how far their folly may carry them.
In this piece of cunning, as in the case of African Slavery,
they shelter their purpose behind a screen.
I had hoped to send you by this steamer the Central
American Treaty. It is, however, not ready for transmission, though very little more is wanted to complete
the job. It is thrown into form, and makes a longer document than it ought to be. Much space, however, is given
to the details of appointing, qualifying, and instructing
Commissioners for settling boundary, and adjudicating
upon Land Grants.
Mr. IIerran has not yet pocketed his convention about
the Colony of the Bay Islands. No doubt he will have
it in a day or two. The new Free State or Municipality
may be some time in assuming the proper shape, and in
getting fully under way; but it will rapidly assume importance after that, especially if, as will be quite natural,
our enterprising traders squat on Ruatan; and it will be
recognized as under the sovereignty (to be sure the empty
sovereignty) of Honduras. There is a buzz circulating to
the effect that the immense value and importance of these
islands have only just been found out, and that it is well
for us that the contract has been made! I believe the
rumor to be unfounded; but, in twenty years, if all things
go on steadily, they can scarcely fail to rise into an interesting relation with the commercial and political world.
Your private letter of the 4th instant reached me on the




TO MR. GILPIN.                  77
18th, accompanied by six copies of the Sartiges communication, all exceedingly welcome. I regret extremely to
hear of your daughter's illness. Mr. M. has repeatedly
mentioned it as very severe: but I sincerely hope she has
recovered.
You will have noticed that an outbreak in Naples is
daily looked for. The proud and retaliatory manner in
which the king has met the intervention and menaces of
England and France rather raises him in one's estimation,
in spite of his flagitious despotism; but it will advance
the movement of reform by stinging the reformers. The
critical state of affairs in Italy is, perhaps, at the bottom
of this ministry's unusual conciliation towards America.
Spain, like a diseased horse, after kicking out famously
has sunk again into forlorn resignation.
The eyes of all the world of courtiers are just now fixed
upon the Coronation at the Kremlin.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 47. —TO MR. GILPIN.
LONDON, August 19, 1856.
MY DEAR GILPIN,-Your letter of the 21st July reached
me yesterday.
I left your introductories, with my cards, at Mr. G.'s and
Sir C. F.'s. They are distinguished parts of the world,
and, at present, all the world is out of town. In a very
little while, even Lord Clarendon and I will feel at liberty
to take a short trip beyond the range of F. 0. servitude.
I hope to send Mr. Marcy his quietus, that is a thorough
settlement, by the same vessel that carries this. If I do,
all that I expected or undertook will be accomplished. I
am afraid the men who wanted a fight will not readily
forgive me. War, a few months ago, was the favorite
word; it is now never uttered, and with it have gone off
the Bay Islands and the Protectorate, both beyond the
sovereignty of her Majesty. N'importe!- when it is a
man's duty to make peace, he must close his heart to belligerent popularity. Besides, as I have told Col. Page,
the chapter of my political life closed with the dead silence
at the Cincinnati Convention, and I am content to end




78           TO LORD DONO UGHMORE.
with the reputation of having kept two bull-dogs from
tearing each other to pieces.
I shall, one of these " calm summer mornings," indulge
you with an exposition of the outside and the inside treaties, the principles, motives, and difficulties; but just now,
time is too important to me.
Our best remembrances to Mrs. G. and to Mr. Van
Buren, and fo Mrs. Livingston.  We are all well, and enjoying a small coal fire while you are melting under 100~!
Vide Rochefoucauld as to the miseries of one's friends.
Ever faithfully yrs.
August 22, 1856.
I have had a little time to think on your question as to
the cause of the present amicable tone towards us. It is
impossible to answer it upon any but conjectural grounds.
There may be serious anticipations as to the condition of
Italy, and misgivings suggested by the extreme courtship
between France and Russia, but they are insufficiently
developed just yet. Judging from obvious indications, I
am inclined to the belief that Lord Palmerston, at the
moment of pressure upon him two months ago, bought
the parliamentary representatives of the industrial classes
to support his ministry, by pledging himself to change his
whole course of action as regards America. The instant
he performed his part of the contract by retaining me
here, his majority became assured and overwhelming.
This has proved to him on what a rock he plants his ascendency when he conciliates us; and from that day, it
has seemed to be impossible to be too civil. There are,
no doubt, other co-operative causes, causes which made it
easy for him to bend to the policy of the position. I could
advert to some that are singular enough, but the basis of
the whole is, I am almost certain, what I have stated.
My treaty don't go by this occasion. Its formalities
are delayed by official absenteeism.
Always yrs.
No. 48.-TO LORD DONOUGHMORE.
LONDON, August 25, 1856.
MY LORD,-I have your lordship's letter of the 23d
instant.




TO LORD DONO UGHMORE.               79
The distribution of intestate estates, in the United
States, is a subject of State or local, not of national jurisdiction. The government of the Union has nothing to
do with it. They have no right or power whatever to
decide to whom the real or personal assets of a deceased
shall go-they must go where the law of the particular
State in which the deceased resided or in which the
property is found at his death, directs that they shall go.
Every State has its own law of Escheat, and on the demise
of a bastard without children, wife, or will, his property
would legally belong to the State, by whose functionaries,
after inquest and verdict, it would be taken for public
use.
Mr. Marcy's enquiry had for its object, I have no doubt,
the payment to whomsoever might present himself authentically as "the personal representative" of Joseph
Mansford, otherwise called Joseph Carson, and therefore
entitled to receive it, of a balance of wages due to the
deceased as a seaman in the American service; or it may
be that the consul of the United States, at Shanghai,
Robert C. Murphy, Esq., has taken charge of the effects
and money left by Joseph Carson, and has requested Mr.
Marcy to ascertain who are "the personal representatives"
to whom these effects and money may be transmitted.
This latter supposition is the more probable.
What then should Peter Carson do? HIe has legally as
much right to claim the effects and money of the bastard
as his father has, and that is no right at all. But he can
acquire a right by becoming "the personal representative" of the deceased, in other words, by having himself
appointed the administrator to his estate. If by having
reared and educated Joseph, or in any other way, he can
claim to be a creditor of the estate, he is entitled to be preferred as administrator to John Carson. If nothing gives
him a preference, he can still claim the administration,
provided John Carson has not got ahead of him and
already taken out the letters. Mr. Marcy or the consul at
Shanghai would probably pay the money or give the
effects to any one who proved his character as "personal
representative" by presenting a certificate under official
seal and signature of his appointment.
And where and how is Peter Carson to have himself constituted the administrator to Joseph's estate?




80                TO MR. MAR CY.
Where? —The proper place is the city or county in the
United States in which Joseph last resided before he
entered upon his last voyage.
How?-Application must be made to the Register of
Wills, or other proper local officer, the facts stated, the
necessary surety given, etc.
If Peter Carson cannot quit home to attend to this
matter in person, he can authorize some one else as his
attorney in fact to have the thing done; to get the certificate of his appointment as administrator; to forward
that certificate or a duplicate of it to Mr. Marcy, either for
his own action or for transmission to Mr. Murphy at
Shanghai; to receive the effects or money; and, after
paying all expenses and settling all accounts in exoneration of his surety, to remit the residue of the fund to Mr.
Peter Carson.
I believe I have communicated all the information
your lordship desires to possess. Let me, however, add
what my experience in similar cases has taught me to
believe, that in all likelihood Joseph has not left behind
him more than a few months' wages and a sea-chest of
old clothes, the aggregate value of which would not compensate Mr. Peter Carson for one-tenth of the trouble
and expense which he would necessarily incur in their
pursuit.
I shall be happy at all times to hear, upon this or any
other subject, from your lordship.
Very respectfully, your lordship's
Most obedient servant.
No. 49.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, August 26, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The engrossment of the Central American Treaty is going on, and I have no doubt that I shall
be able to send it to you by the Arabia on Saturday next,
the 30th instant.
I had my last discussion on this topic at the F. O.
yesterday. An attentive examination of the phraseology
of the treaty and separate article will shew you that I




TO MR. MARCY.                  81
have kept constantly in mind the principles of your instructions, and where their open recognition does not appear substantively, words are used which create for them
a necessary implication.
Lord C. is bound to escort the Queen on her journey to
Scotland. Her Majesty leaves here the day after to-morrow. She became very sick on her last aquatic excursion,
and now forswears the sea. He has positively promised
to summnon me to sign our concocted instrument in the
course of to-morrow.
I have just had a long, agreeable, and interesting visit
from Count Kreptovitch, the new Russian Minister to this
Court. I knew him at St. Petersburg in the time of my
mission there. IIe is the son-in-law of Nesselrode, whom
he described as in full health and vigor of intellect. He
intimated that he had met with a rather cold reception
here, owing he presumed to his dilatoriness in coming.
IIe told me that the impression on the Continent is that
the Emperor of France labors under some serious disease
which he does not possess the constitutional strength to
throw off;-"And then," he exclaimed, "what, in the
name of Heaven, is to become of France!" He expressed
in very strong terms his admiration of your letter to
Sartiges on privateering; said that as the argument of a
statesman, it was conclusive; and that his opinion was
entirely with you. During the last three years, Count
Kreptovitch has been minister at Brussels, a place that he
regrets leaving.
I intend introducing to you Sir Henry Holland, who
goes out by the Arabia. Ile is, in every respect, a most
estimable as well as eminent person, and withal a court
and nobility physician. He will hardly stop a day at
Washington, if he get there at all. He returns to London
in six or eight weeks. I wish him very much to see the
President, yourself, and General Davis.
London is the depth of dulness and emptiness.
Always faithfully yrs.




82                TO MR. MARCY.
No. 50.,-TO MRE, MAROY.
LONDON, September 9, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 22d August by the
Canada reached me on Sunday the 7th instant, and we
are all much gratified at your telling us of the improved
condition of your daughter.
I notice in our newspapers a number of things said
about the Central American negotiation and about myself personally, which are utterly absurd and without
foundation. The invention about that intelligent Albino,
Mr. Lowe, is one of these, as you have already found.
He is quite too distinguished and respectable a gentleman
to be supposed capable of having connived at his supposititious mission. Then, that nonsense about a letter to
mne from fifty or more members of Parliament: —all trash.
You are entirely right in taking it for granted that
nothing of this sort can be true which is not adverted to
in my despatches or letters.
I am much relieved by the Canada's mail from the
anxiety about our political extravagance, created by that
of the Arago. It would seem almost certain that a congressional arrangement on the Army Bill has been
accomplished.
I went to the great Cutlers' Festival at Sheffield on the
4th instant. You will see the account of it in the newspapers. The report of my remarks, though inaccurate in
one or two places, is as a whole quite good enough to
submit to. Some of the reporters, with Yankee cuteness, interpolate Cuba for Oude, and introduce the phrase
"infinitely more praiseworthy," as applied to Texas and
Cuba annexation! Small artifice! The speeches of the
Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Roebuck are interesting as
matters of political development and degladiation. They
have given rise to numerous newspaper columns. Mr.
Roebuck I found to be, in Sheffield particularly, in the
enjoyment of an immense and boisterous popularity. He
is universally praised for ability and independence; and
yet he had accepted a day or two before a present of
~1000, raised by subscription, headed by Lord Palmerston! Sheffield is ultra-American. On the arrival of
your minister, the church-bells were rung, and the flag




TO MR. MARCY.                  83
of the United States was floated from the public hall, and
from where I took up my quarters. The first aspect
of the town is that of Pittsburg, smoky, dirty, dingy, and
noisy. The suburbs are beautiful, hills richly cultivated
and adorned with handsome villas. I ran through their
principal "works," cutlery, plate, and steel, and found
the crowds of workmen just as ardently fond of us as
their employers.  The distance from London is about
170 miles, which I flew over in four hours and a quarter.
There is some activity shewn to remove the prevailing
impression that the Emperor of the French labors under
serious malady. Mr. B., who is a warm personal friend
of his Majesty, whom he once went bail for when arrested
by the police in this city, adverts to letters from Paris
that deny the story. And yet everything indicates that
there is something in it. Some shrewd folks hint a softening of the brain! So much depends upon maintaining
his prestige just now, that, if he be really ill, we shall be
kept ignorant of it as long as possible. He dances, it is
said, with great animation every night at Biarritz; but
for a month or six weeks there has been an impenetrable
and mysterious cloud about his statesmanship. "MXais,
nous verrons," as your old friend of'98 used to say. At
the reception lately of a recently formed municipal
council, he was "quite odd;" unable to make a rational
address, and suddenly in a trembling fit breaking out
with " Vive l'Empereur!"
Truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 51.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, September 19, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —It is " quite odd" (a fashionable English
comment) that one should be living in London, and yet
have nothing to send to Washington, more than three
thousand five hundred miles off;, in the shape of news
political, social or diplomatic.  Such, however, is my
momentary status; and it is ascribable as much to the
constancy and frequency with which I have written to
you, as to the universal nap the world is taking. I'm




84                TO MR. MARCY.
exhausted, and I suspect your patience is in the like predicament.
The Post said a few days ago that if Russia were not
faithful to the Treaty of Peace, England must bring her
to her senses, and could do so even though unassisted by
another power. So, so, says the Constitutionnel, you begin to
doubt France! be it so. Russia is a great and glorious
nation, her monarch and nobles worthy of all praise!
and as for you, bah! you talk too big! There are occasionally apparent other symptoms which indicate the possibility of our seeing, one of these days, a revival of the
Continental system against "perfidious Albion."
The Coronation at the Kremlin is certainly a very
different display from our inauguration at the Capitol.
The first appeals to the eyes, the second to the ears; so
that if Horace be correct (segnius irritant animos), the Imperial pageant is more permanently impressive than the
Presidential one. I should like to know the effect produced upon our republican representative, Mr. Seymour;
-strongly suspected to have been one of intense fatigue.
And yet, listen you great progressive nineteenth century! there are at least one hundred and fifty millions
of bewitched bipeds called men, who think of nothing,
read of nothing, talk of nothing, gaze on nothing, but the
robes, the jewels, the bows, the holy oil, the illuminations,
the serfs, and squadrons of the Czar! It gave me great
pleasure to hear from our returning consul, Colonel
Reilly, that you had spared Mr. Seymour the ruin of witnessing and partaking this orientally gorgeous display by
assuming his expenses. Lord Clarendon is still in Scotland. Lord Palmerston flits backwards and forwards
every day or two, between Downing Street and St.
Leonards on Sea. The rest of the ministry are everywhere, or nowhere.
I have hinted to Mr. Alvarado, ministerto the United
States from Honduras, that he would act wisely if, now
that the matter is over here, he were to present himself at
Washington, for reception by the Presideat.
Nothing yet about a successor to Mr. Crampton, except, perhaps, the speech of Mr. Baxter who, although
very nearly an opposition member, singled out as eminently fit, Mr. Villiers, Lord Clarendon's brother. He
would undoubtedly do admirably, as I think I have heretofore said.




TO MR. MARCY.                   85
John Frost and the Chartists! A more wretched exhibition, as they passed the legation on their way to Primrose Hill, it would be difficult to depict.  Our massmeetings, in town or township, are coronation crowds in
comparison. When you stir the dregs or sediment of any
European community, the show is saddening. Our almshouses would do better.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 52.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, September 24, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-It is hardly worth while, and yet it is
perhaps best, as a matter of extreme precaution, that I
should send you the two copies of notes that accompany
this, especially as I have scarcely matter wherewith to fill
a page.
You see, this business of passports exacts great vigilance and good humor from your representatives. There
are touchy men even in frocks, who think they ought at
once to be granted whatever they ask, and who misunderstand everything when kindled by a little scrutiny.
Having carelessly neglected to provide or pack up the authentic proofs of character, they are angry with themselves, and snappishly vent themselves on others. The
poor fellow in this case will, I hope, smooth down his indignation, and furnish me with some sort of apology for
giving him the passport, even against the judgment of
the Secretary. If not, and he wants to make a rumpus,
why, you have the means of appreciating him.
The absence from London to which I refer was during
a visit of a few days to Sir E. B. Lytton, at his residence about twenty-seven miles off. He kept me a day
or two longer than I intended, to have me at the agricultural meeting of his county. The newspapers contain,
as usual, reports of what was said and done, at least substantially.*
* DIARY: 1st October, 1856. —' The week before this last was spent by
2Mrs. D., Susan, Philip, and myself at Knebworth, the charming residence




86                     TO MR. MARCY.
Your old cabinet colleague and present diplomatic employe, Mr. J. Y. Mason, is here, and dined with me yesof Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, the novelist, poet, and statesman, in Hertfordshire. A more interesting piece of antiquity (our bedroom and bedstead had been occupied by Queen Elizabeth when preparing to receive
the Spanish Armada) I have not come across: —spacious halls, picture galleries, ancient armor, old oak staircase, and grotesque monsters numberless.
It is seated within and domineers over some thousand acres of park,
woodland, garden, and farm. No wonder this man writes so exquisitely,
on the margin of his own lake, in a retired cottage, and with all the appliances of comfort, silence, and sweet air about him! I found him the
very soul of hospitality, a republican in his philosophy, a polished gentleman, and yet made by domestic trials peculiar, if not somewhat eccentric. He has a son attached to the British legation at the Hague, already
a remarkable writer. He pines over the loss of a beautiful daughter of
15; and his wife, reputed quite impracticably singular, though very talented, won't live near him. He is laboriously intent on high political
fame and position, which, as an MI. P., he cannot fail to reach. He persuaded me to accompany him to his county agricultural dinner in Hitchin,
where they treated me'en ambassadeur,' and I briefly addressed five
hundred farmers. The Hertford Mercury, reporting this banquet, said,
inter alia:
" Mr. Dallas, on rising, was received with a perfect hurricane of applause. When the cheering had subsided, he addressed the assembly as
follows:
" GENTLEMEN,-It is impossible for me to allow the flattering manner in
which you have received the toast so kindly introduced bythe distinguished
gentleman who presides to pass without the expression of my warmest
thanks. A stranger to you all, I deeply feel the hospitality of your welcome; though, in truth, my short experience in England has given me
more than reason enough to expect it. (Cheers.) For the generous allusion
made to the institutions, the progress, and the prospects of my country,
let me also return, in my public as well as in my private character, the
most cordial acknowledgments. (Cheers.) Youthful among nations, and
perhaps, in the estimation of many whom I address, far from faultless,
she has, nevertheless, undeniably achieved in the general cause of civilization, in science, in art, in mechanics, in human elevation and improvemcnt, what may well justify encomiums from such enlightened, discriminating, and candid men. (Cheers.) In no sphere of social action are the
United States better entitled to your esteem than in the very one with
which this banquet is connected. They recognize their agricultural interest-their planters and their farmers-as their predominant interestthe interest that wields the power, originates the wealth, cherishes the
manly freedom, and promotes the happiness of their entire people. (Cheers.)
You can make no advance on that subject which will not meet with their
sympathy and co-operation. In the vast valley of the Mississippi, amid
measureless plains of exhaustless fertility, millions of my countrymen
accept, as the noblest of human pursuits, the cultivation of their own
soil. (Hear, hear.) With them their chief aim and delight is to stock
their farms with cattle of the best breeds; and they hail, as more worthy
of their gratitude and their applause than military exploits and political
victories, every onward step in practical husbandry. (Cheers.) I wish,
gentlemen, I felt competent and at liberty to engage a few moments of
your attention in adverting to American movements similar to your own.




TO MR. MARCY.                       87
terday. I have not seen him since leaving Washington
on the 4th of March, 1849.  His health seems restored,
and his vivacity as quick and agreeable as ever; but he
walks awvkwardly, and forbears the use of his left arm.
We talked politics, home and foreign, until tired out;
and, with the exception of his very exalted admiration
of certain French personages, we chimed in sentiment
pretty harmoniously.  We agree in the belief that the
success of Fremont is an unimaginable visitation of Providence.  He returns to Paris to-morrow, having crossed
the channel only to execute, with the formality required
by Virginia law, a deed of Conveyance before the Lord
Mayor.
It is rumored and understood that a small squadron of
French and English vessels is about anchoring before
Naples. The pretext is to be to protect the persons and
property of their respective subjects as soon as diplomatic
relations are suspended. In reality the purpose is to secure
the Emperor L. Napoleon from the contagion of a violent
outbreak in Italy, by being there as overawing mediators
between King Bomba and his people. The principle of
non-intervention will be actually violated, but ostensibly
avoided.
I suppose our cabinet is about as much dispersed as is
the cabinet here, and that I may not hear the fruits of
consultation as early as I should like; but I still flatter
myself with hope of something by the Persia, due tomorrow.  The condition of affairs in KIansas is, at this
distance, and by the Times, monstrously exaggerated, and
I wait for accurate news impatiently.
Always most respectfully and truly.
They are numerous in every separate State of our confederacy. Impelled,
as here, by the highest intellect and the truest patriotism, their combined
results might be regarded as an offering not wholly unworthy of your
acceptance. (Cheers.) But I cannot venture so far; and,-although I am
really sensible that an interchange of agricultural rep6rts would constitute a powerful bond of national amity and peace, still I shrink, under
the warning of one of your own venerable proverbs, to which my Lord
Hamlet migh tapply his epithet of'somewhat musty,' inculcating the
folly or futility of carrying coals to INewcastle. (Laughter and cheers.)
Gentlemen, I renew and repeat the expression of my thanks, and will
now give you the only good thing which belongs to my address, in the
shape of a sentiment:'All honor and success to the Agricultural Society
of Hertfordshire.' (Loud cheers.)"




88            TO LORD ELLESMERE.
No. 53.-TO MR. MIDDLETON.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, September 27, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your note of the 19th instant would
have had an immediate answer but that it reached me in
the country, whence I have only just returned.
Of course, and I might have supposed without a moment's hesitation, you canll refer any one to me upon the
subject of your proposed publication. It will give me
pleasure, as far as it may be in my power, to inspire those
who do not know you, with the confidence of those who do.
I happened at the receipt of your letter to be among
gentlemen whose works made me sure of their being experienced in regard to London publishers: and, without
adverting to my purpose at all, I took occasion to enquire
as to the best direction. They were unanimous in the
opinion that a volume of about the size of yours, and on
a speculative topic, would run the risk of falling still-born
from the press, if put into the hands of a -City publisher.
I am no judge of the soundness of this opinion, but think
it best to mention it. Mr. Murray, in Albemarle Street,
was greatly preferred. In the present preposterously
confident anticipation in England, that the knell of our
Union has rung in Kansas, you may possibly find it difficult to get any one to give to your subject the zealous introduction. it deserves. It really seems to me that the
political structure and social temperament of our country
are less understood by those who indefatigably claim to
be our kindred than by any other people.
I am truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 54.-TO LORD ELLESMERE.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, September 28, 1856.
MY DEAR LORD ELLESMERE,-Many thanks for your indulgence towards my venturing on an effort to obtain admission at Bridgewater House for a specially recommended
countryman of mine. I knew of your absence, but felt




TO MR. MARCY.                  89
perfectly assured that his was a case which would greatly
extenuate the liberty I took. He is an artist of uncommon merit. Some of his paintings, in their characteristics
resembling those of the Russian Orloffsky, are exceedingly
fine; and he gives every promise of reaching an excellence
equal if not superior to that of his fellow-townsman,
Leslie; for both are from my home, Philadelphia. His
name is Rothermel, and he is travelling for the first time
in eager pursuit of the masterpieces of his art. As he returns from Italy and Germany, for he cannot afford a long
suspension of labor, I will make another attempt at your
Gallery, under the encouragement your kind note has
given.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 55.-TO MIR. MARCY.
LONDON, October 3, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR —The Roman Catholic clergyman, Mr. F.,
of whose angry missive about his passport I inflicted upon
you a copy, cooled upon getting my letter, and very frankly
came to beg pardon for his folly, and to make himself very
agreeable by his vivacity and intelligence., I was not sorry
to hear him say that the F. O., which never recognizes our
naturalization of her Majesty's subjects, gave him a passport immediately as a native Irishman; for it was still impossible for him to adduce a scintilla to warrant my granting one.
You have narrowly escaped a formal despatch by this
occasion; but you shall have it soon, I promise you. Lord
Clarendon has written me a note respecting a Mr. Smith,
our consul recently appointed to Londonderry, whose
wild advertisement for "30,000 laborers" and for the sale
of " millions of acres" in Iowa, seems to have "riled" the
political economy of Downing Street. I have invoked
explanation and defence from our splashing representative,
and hope to tranquillize the "labor market" of her Majesty before any fresh dido is kicked up. You shall enjoy
the entire niuss, solemnly set out, on a future day.
Captain Pendergrast of the Merrimac, and his LieutenVOL. I.-7




90                TO MR. MARCY.
ant, Jones, dined with me yesterday. This noble ship, tell
Mr. Dobbin, is attracting much attention. But (and make
my apologies for venturing the suggestion) why is she to
winter at Brest in preference to Cherbourg?  Every national purpose would seem far more attainable at the latter
than the former. I am extremely anxious to pay her a
very formal visit; for in sober truth, I have " itching ears"
for the booming of American cannon in British waters.
The Captain, however, may be kept in London for a fortnight.
Every sunrise is expected to throw light upon the ministerial policy as to Naples. We are kept in quite an interesting state of suspense. Now we have the fleets in the
Bay, and now we haven't. Now Austria intimates dissent, and now she don't. Then Russia backs up Bomba,
and Prussia, but then again neither does. Some say
Clarendon's dogmatic and pragmatic violence will push
on to another war; but more hint that Lord Palmerston
shews the white feather, and would back out if Louis
Napoleon would let him. The leading men of the Opposition take courage and hope from this intervention, which,
they say, will break down the administration, whether it
be carried out or shabbily withdrawn from. In the meantine, the Ominous and Anonymous bulletins of imperial
illness are still circulating in defiance of every effort to
stop them; his Majesty is coming, but not yet come, to
Paris:-he is in good health, goes to operas, concerts,
baths, and reviews: -"mais, en homme d'etat, il se repose!"
Lord C. has left the Queen, but is visiting about, and
may not get to the F. 0. for a week.
I hope to hear by the next steamer your idea of the
Central American arrangement, and that your daughter
is restored to health.
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 56.,-TO MR. MAROY.
LoNDON, October 10, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Some of the suggested modifications ofthe
projet underwent early discussion, were thought to enter into




TO MR. MARCY.                 91
unnecessary detail, were not regarded as material enough
to insist upon, and at all events were made to yield to the
pressure of an anxiety to get on, before anything should
occur to change the disposition to give up the Bay Islands.
This surrender involved, as it appeared to me, so striking
a triumph to the American cause and argument, that I
was prepared to do, or omit doing, almost anything to
secure its final accomplishmnent:-especially as I knew,
that when once done it could not be undone, and that my
own more direct work with Lord C. was a mere projet ad
referendum. Had there been any serious delay, I now know
that the apprehended mischief would have occurred. I
don't despair of having your improvements incorporated,
but there will be difficulty, grumbling, and procrastination.
That Londonderry consul! Poor fellow! he wants to
make money and therefore made a noise. And the gravity with which disturbance in "the labor market" is predicated of such a puffing bulletin is really worthy of those
circumlocution chambers, the Colonial Department and
the F. 0. A genuine rough and tumble and yelling
hoosier, kicking up his heels amid the solemnities of office
in this region of the globe, necessarily frightens all the
red tapists, and makes every venerable political economist
peer from under his eyebrows and shake ominously his
theorizing noddle! I wish, however, that our wild functionary wrote better English, especially as he seems inclined to enter upon the patriotic labor of lecturing (on
invitation! ahem!) upon America! Give the man a
chance, my Lord C., and don't cut him down for a single
exuberant caper. He is utterly unknown to me, though
hailing from Philadelphia, and of a name belonging to a
most extensive family there and everywhere.
The oscillating funds in Paris keep the mercantile community here in great anxiety. Some of the political quidnuncs, too, see in the Bank panic and its incidents, of an
attempt to force paper and to prevent a premium on silver,
an approaching revolution. The Emperor has at last got
back to Paris, and certainly he'seems already to have
shewn that he has carried with him an unimpaired mind:for he peremptorily objected to the Bank project. Still,
the workmen are beginning to complain, and to press up
to him! Nothing to do, high rents, and bread rising!




92                TO MR. MARCY.
I think the symptoms indicate that the intervention at
Naples will "fizzle" out, and leave the King at liberty to
imprison, starve, and kill, as his fears or whims may dictate. Austria appeals the question to the reconvened
Congress of Paris: that is plausible, will give tinle, will
check Lord Palmerston, will reunite the three absolutist
Emperors and Prussia, and will give Lord Clarendon an
opportunity to explain and back down. The Lazzaroni are
with King Bomba, and the appearance of the fleets in the
beautiful Bay might produce a popular outbreak fatal to
English and French residents.
Strange as it may seem, I wholly forgot, until reminded
a few days ago, that 1 possessed by law the life privilege
of franking!
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 57.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON,' October 14, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Our consular representative at Londonderry may be considered in smooth water again. My
communication to the Foreign Office, of which my last
despatch presented you a copy, appeased the ruffled plumage of the Colonial Department, and the matter drops.
I have, however, taken the liberty to hint to Mr. Smith
that his notices hereafter should be somewhat more measured and guarded.
It is quite extraordinary with what unanimity, and yet
I must confess with what moderation of tone, the success
of Fremont is here wished and expected. What good he
is to do them, one cannot perceive; and, after all, unless
assisted by greater rashness on our own part than can be
reasonably anticipated, he will not be able, in the face of
the Senate, to do his country serious harm.
I shall give myself henceforward and exclusively to
efforts to carry your amendments to the projet, and you
need not expect to be worried by my eye-straining penmanship until I am able to send the perfected treaty, or
despair of it. I sometimes think that you have aimed at
more perfection in the instrument than was practically




TO MR. GILPIN.                93
important or necessary; but your points are undoubtedly
improvements, and shall be pressed " until my eyelids can
no longer wag." My father's favorite inculcation was
"attempt the impossible, and you'll achieve the highly
difficult."  So, here goes!
I see that you and Sir. H. H. have been "nobbing."
Pray, if you have still a chance, hint to him that he is
bound to return horne; for I have not been well for a fortnight, and was obliged to send for another physician.
Naples in nubibus still. The policy of "passivity"-that
is, Louis Napoleon letting England do the job while he
merely looks on, will probably prevail. The coalition of
Russia, Prussia, and Austria to shield Bomba, only exasperates the ministry here to obstinacy and action. Soon,
the ball will have rolled beyond their reach.
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 58.-TO MR. GILPIN.
LONDON, October 17, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Two hours ago, under a Full Power
received a week since only, I put my hand and seal to the
Treaty which, if ratified by the Senate, must close, and
with mutual honor, all strife between the two countries.
Am I to be more applauded by the philosophers of Peace
or reviled by the champions of War? N'importe! I have
done what I conceive to be right, and will accept its consequences, be they what they may.
The upshot is that Great Britain withdraws from her
Colony in the Bay of Honduras, gives up her Protectorate of the Mosquitoes, admits Greytown to be a Free
City under the sovereignty of Nicaragua, pens up her Indian king and his subjects within a narrow and precise
reservation, and promises never to overleap the limits of
the Belize as they were when the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
was made. That will do, won't it? And what is more,
the whole of it is perfectly compatible with the honor and
dignity of this great nation:-for, although the Parisian
scribblers have dubbed me "the wily diplomat," it never
has and never will enter into my own sense of personal




94                TO MR. MARCY.
or public honor to get from political agents a dishonorable concession. That, too, I believe to have been the
ruling principle of Lord Clarendon, of whose fairness and
frankness, as well as ability, I cannot make too full an
admission.
United and best regards to Mrs. G.
Ever sincerely yrs.
No. 59.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, October 17, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The possession and communication of
the Full Power so fortified my position that I was able
to carry your modifications although several had been
resisted before. The effect of having the authority, at all
events in a measure, to decide instead of merely discuss,
is that you prevent the other party from taking the
chances involved in an ad referendum. At least it seemed
to me that the exhibition of the Broad Seal had a most
persuasive effect.
Mr. Buchanan once spoke to Lord Clarendon proposing
a co-operation of the ministers of the two countries in
favoring the union of Buenos Ayres to the Argentine Republic. Lord C. adopted the idea, and advised with the
French government, who also assented. He is anxious
now, in consequence of a letter just received from the
British representative, to act; but he has never heard
whether our government are disposed to carry out the
suggestion. Mr. Peden, it appears, stands very high in
general estimation, and his co-operation is much desired.
Lord C. requested me, informally, to ascertain how the
matter stood at Washington.
In my No. - I sent you certain bills made out against
our government by her Majesty's, and requested attention
to them. Have you forgot them, or are they paid without
my being apprised?
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.




TO LORD ELLESMERE.                 95
No. 60.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, October 24, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —I have your Nos. 34 and 35, which will,
of course, be promptly attended to and acknowledged in
a formal despatch, as soon as there is accumulated enough
matter.
Is it not rather singular and invasive that Mr. Guthrie
should meditate building light-houses on British coasts?
I rather suspect that Lord Clarendon will be puzzled how
to answer the proposition. He has, however, got it fairly
before him, and I hope will treat it less cavalierly than
Spain did our offer to buy Cuba.
By the time you get this, the curtain will be lifted from
the Presidential future. Perhaps, indeed, the result may
ultimately turn upon the electoral vote of California, and
you may be held in suspense for a fortnight. But I hope
that vou will send me a missive as soon as possible, so
that I may have all the time that can be given for putting
my house in order. I am perplexed about prolonging or
renewing the lease of my legation. If Pennsylvania shall
have proved false to her vows, I shall want to hurry up.
As I anticipated, the spirited retorts made by the Sicilian Absolutist, upon the treatment of Irish rebels and
Cayenne convicts, have exasperated the policy of intervention into something like firmness and action. The
embassies are to be withdrawn, and the squadrons to cruise
within hail, though out of the Bay! How tenderly is the
divine right to govern wrong dealt with!
O'Donnell, too, has taken already the direction of my
vaticinations; and now even Narvaez is hardly servile
enough for the reaction! The general impression here
is that a very gloomy convulsion is at hand in Spain.
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 61.-TO LORD ELLESMERE.
LONDON, October 25, 1856.
MY DEAR LORD ELLESMERE,-Mr. Allibone, who is publishing "A Critical Dictionary of English Literature," in




96                TO MR. MARCY.
the city of Philadelphia, has confided to my care, for
transmission to you, a specimen volume of his work, embracing only letters A, B, C. It seems to me admirable
in plan, execution, and getting up, and I am desirous to
hasten its reception by your lordship. Shall I send it to
Bridgewater House, or is there a more direct avenue to
you? It is something in shape between an octavo and
a quarto.
Very sincerely and respectfully yrs.
P. S.-Has your lordship adjudicated the claim of Bacon
to the authorship of Shakespeare's Plays?
No. 62.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, October 28, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The result of the State election in Pennsylvania has just reached us by the Africa. I suppose it
may be regarded as a conclusive proof of the victory that
awaits us this day week. It would seem that the majority can scarcely be less than fifteen, and may be twenty,
thousand. This is a nut which the London and Parisian
editors must find it hard to crack.
Sir H. H. says he was delighted with Mr. Marcy, and
I told him that Mr. Marcy was equally pleased with Sir
Henry. In return for your kind expressions about him,
he begged me not to omit conveying his best respects.
At last a significant step has been taken in the Neapolitan affair. The French and English Legations are withdrawn. The movement is accompanied, however, with
so much hesitation, and with arrangements as to the fleets
so opposite to intervention, that WKing Ferdinand must regard it rather as a triumph than a hurt. The breaking off
of diplomatic intercourse is, after all, a blow not very difficult to bear. According to European sentiment, Bomba
may perhaps not relish being cut by Louis Napoleon and
Victoria; but then, his lair renmains inviolate; he can consult his humor there, and he may smile at the " brutum
fulmen " while he stands between, and arm in arm with,
Russia and Austria. This may not be an actual" fizzle,"




TO REV. DR. BINNEY.              97
but it so much resembles one, that it cannot satisfy any
shade of political party in Parliament. Lord Palmerston
has either lunged at too distant an aim, or has too readily
recoiled. Most persons regard the present position as
neither one thing nor the other-a sham.for France, and
a shame for England.
Talking of a lack of British diplomatic representation
at Naples reminds me that you labor at Washington
under the same deprivation. How do you bear it? Have
any serious inconveniences developed themselves? Or
do you begin to feel that there is a point at which farther
delay would be uncivil?  Not a whisper on the subject
has come to my ears. I believe Lord E. would like it.
I believe the Duke of N. would like it. I believe Mr. V.
would like it. I believe Lord H. would like it. And I
feel convinced that Sir G. 0., who married a daughter of
Gov. Vanness, would like it. And I am persuaded that
either of these gentlemen would make himself quite acceptable. But the acid of Crampton's (I beg pardon,
Sir John Crampton's) dismissal has not yet been neutralized.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 63.-TO REV. DR. BINNEY.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, October 31, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR, —I fulfilled to the strict letter my promise to you about your friend, and have had, for some two
weeks or more, the response in my pigeon holes. I hoped
you might call in from day to day. It requires verbal explanation. When your engagements call you to London,
I shall take pleasure in letting you see the matter in its
real aspect.
Consider Mr. Buchanan elected to the Presidency on
the 4th of November, by the overwhelming defeat he
gave the adversary in Pennsylvania on the 14th inst. In
my judgment, the indication is unerring, and makes doubt
idle.
We all renew our thanks for the kindness and frequency of your invitations, and only regret that a sort of




98                TO MR. MARCY.
American "manifest destiny" has prevented a visit to
you, or Mr. W. Brown, or half a dozen others, whom we
long to burthen with our presence.
Having accomplished to the entire satisfaction of the
American government the adventurous and unpromising
enterprise which brought me to England, namely, a restoration of amicable relations and feelings between the
two countries, on terms honorable to both-a result
which the fairness, frankness, and ability of Lord Clarendon reached directly and promptly-I am ready to resume my niche of obscurity at home, be our new President whom he may. Indeed, I begin to doubt whether I
can consent to prolong my representative residence at a
Court which does not esteem my doing so worth reciprocating. This you may consider democratic pride. Perhaps it is so. We are excessively touchy, I own, at anything construed to imply a slight from an aristocracy
whose principles of personal or political conduct we do
not perfectly understand. In the United States, the humblest citizen would deem it a sacrifice of self-respect to
stop at a house whose owner notoriously declined returning the social compliment. I am only, of course, illustrating the political attitude of the two nations-not referring
to private life-and to explain to you why and how it may
be that my "continuance here may in no measure whatever depend upon the Presidential election." A long
story you will say, in answer to a single phrase.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 64.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, November 4, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Our last accounts of the State election
in Pennsylvania on the 4th of October, have created here
a universal conviction that the democrats must succeed
in the struggle of to-day.  Even the inveterately antiAmerican and anti-slavery newspapers —Times, Post, Advertiser, Globe —are beginning to hedge, and admit that
England can get along without a quarrel, let who may be
President. People are wise who accommodate themselves to a relation they cannot avoid.




TO MR. MARCY.                 99
The great alliance is loosening.  Something on this
score is due to the insinuating diplomacy of Russia,
which began immediately on the meeting of the Peace
Congress in Paris,-something to the under-current of
contemptuous remark in which the French indulge
against the military capacity of their English Crimean
heroes; something to the unavoidable diversity of sentiment and policy as to the Principalities; something to
the manifestly inconsistent attitude of the absolutist of
2d December, with thousands banished and perishing in
Cayenne, towards his disciple Bomba; but more than
either, or perhaps than all of these, will be due to the
Napoleonic warning, given in the Moniteur, to the calumnious British press. Louis Napoleon put his hand, by
this, literally into the lion's mouth, and the lion has been
chafing, chewing, and biting ever since. That which
touches the quick of the imperial sensibilities is the incontestably true charge of fraudulent speculation in the
public funds. Private and personal aberrations may be
imputed by wholesale and be disregarded, because in
these regions of civilization such matters are turned into
mere amusing gossip; but to swindle the masses, and especially " les ouvriers," by tricks in stocks, to become in
office suddenly rich in this way, endangers the throne
even with the army. Siuch an act must not be charged,
if the alliance is to be continued. It is committed, but
it must be concealed and indignantly denied. The spirit
with which the editors confront the imperial scolding is
worthy of all praise. I had cut out for preservation a fine
specimen of this manliness and ability combined; but I
will send it to you with this, as worthy to fill up an idle
moment at your fireside.
London is refilling. Many of my colleagues are back.
Dinners are beginning. But the full tide comes only
with the Court and Parliament in February.
The Merrimac left Southampton three days ago, and
without my being able to visit her. She was most hospitably entertained during all her stay.
I have not a scrap on hand worthy of an official despatch, and I dare say you have not failed to detect that
this scrawl is more marked by a determination to write
something than by a superfluity of matter.
My best compliments to your family.
Very faithfully and respectfully yrs.




100               TO MR. MARCY.
No. 65. —TO MR. EVERETT.
LoNDoN, November 4, 1856.
Mr DEAR SIR, —"The Uses of Astronomy " reached me
yesterday morning; and I read it last night with such real
delight that I cannot restrain the wish to thank you most
warmly for having sent it. Nothing has given me the
same pleasure, since your refusal, as Secretary of State, to
enter into the tripartite guaranty of Cuba to Spain. I
cannot speak of your lecture on Washington, of which
I have heard a great deal, but as yet have met no copy.
You have many ardent as well as distinguished friends
here, who speak with pride of having known you intimately.
Always faithfully and thankfully
Your sincere friend.
No. 66.-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, November 7, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Washington, which quitted Southampton the day before yesterday, and by which I intended
to send letters, was given up at Mr. Miller's suggestion of
her being a laggard in movement, and her mail reserved
for the Niagara of to-morrow. I am, therefore, able to
send you two newspaper cuttings, which you may find
worthy special notice.
Lord Palmerston's speeches at Manchester are in place
of what he might say in the House of Commons, were
Parliament in session. I have invited your eye to certain
passages by marks. They will attract attention. One of
my diplomatic colleagues had with me a short conversation, whose bearings on two points may make it not
wholly unworthy of repetition to you.
C. This is a very strange administration!
D. Why do you think so, Baron?
C. They are not harmonious: —they don't agree among
themselves.




TO MR. MARCY.                 101
D. I can't perceive that: at least they hide their differences fiom the public.
C. Well, I will illustrate. I had, two days ago, a long
interview with Lord Palmerston, in the course of which
I told him I could not understand the policy of the cabinet about the Principalities. He said it was very plain and
very direct. No, I replied, you are for preventing their
union. Certainly, he observed, you are right there. But
why? I remarked; their union would undoubtedly augment their power and prosperity. Perhaps so, said he;
but then, Baron, our wish is to keep them weak and to
increase the powers of Turkey. Mon Dieu! I exclaimed,
that is not the idea of Lord Clarendon, his opinion is different. Very possibly, he replied; if Lord Clarendon
has expressed to you a contrary view, it is his own private
one; it is not that of the ministry. We have always entertained the policy I have avowed. The Principalities.
must remain feeble by being kept apart. In that way only
can they be kept under the influence of Turkey and be a
barrier against Russia. Consolidate their strength, and
the Sultan would soon find them, under the magic of Russian diplomacy, ready to join the Czar in driving him out
of Constantinople. Lord Clarendon has his own notions:
but we have ours.
How odd these contradictory sentiments! and for the
Premier to say Pooh! pooh! to the words of the Minister
of Foreign Affairs!
D. Well, Baron, do you talk again to Lord Clarendon,
and you may discover that he has modified his opinions,
and brought them to harmonize with those of Lord Palmerston.
This; question as to the union of the Danubian Principalities has greater depth and importance in its speculative futurity and in its immediate effects, than may at first
be supposed. It is vastly interesting as bearing upon the
relations hereafter to exist between Russia and the rest
of Europe.  But its present operation in producing a
disagreement on a great principle between France and
England, and tending to end the alliance in angry quarrel, cannot be overrated. The statesmen, politicians; and
press of both countries are already by the ears in relation
to it. It is more fundamental than the disputes about the
Isle of Serpents, or the two Belgrods, or the Finland for



102              TO MR. ED WtARDS.
tifications. There would seem to spring out of it at once,
a new arrangement of European alliances: Great Britain,
Austria, and Turkey antagonistic to France, Russia, and
Prussia. The languor of the movement against Naples is
a premonitory symptom.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 67.-TO MR. EDWARDS.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, November 11, 1856.
I confine myself strictly to your enquiries:
1. The Electors of a President of the United States are,
by an Act of Congress of the 1st of March, 1792, "appointed in each State," and are in number equal to the
number of Senators and Representatives to which each
State is entitled by law.
Except in South Carolina, the appointment by the State
is made through the agency of a popular election, within
34 days preceding the first Wednesday in December.
The election in each State is conducted under State
regulations and officers; its result is certified to the State
Executive; and that State Executive, by proclamation,
makes the result known, and by communication to the
elected.
2. The Electors, thus officially notified, are by law directed to meet wherever the Legislature of the State may
appoint, and give their votes by ballot for a President and
Vice-President, on the first Wednesday of December.
On meeting, they select their own presiding officer;
they sign and seal three certificates of all the votes by them
given; they send one of these certificates, by an officer of
their own choice (generally one of the electors), to the President of the U. S. Senate, one other they transmit to the
same person by the Post Office, and the third they deliver
to the Judge of the United States of the District in which
they meet.
3. On the second Wednesday in.February, both Houses
of Congress assemble in Convention, the President of the
Senate presiding: the certificates transmitted from the
several electoral colleges are opened, the votes counted,
and the persons elected ascertained and declared.




TO MR. CHILDS.                103
4. If, on opening the certificates and counting the votes
it appears that no person has received a majority of the
whole number, then the House of Representatives alone
proceeds immediately to choose by ballot, out of the three
highest in votes on the list, the President:-and in making
this choice, the votes are taken by States, each State having one vote. If the House fail to choose before the 4th
of' March then next following, the Vice-President enters
upon the office, as in the case of the death of the President.
So as to the election of the Vice-President; only, that,
if the certificates of the electoral votes do not shew a majority for any one, the Senate (not the House) choose the
officer, and may choose immediately, without waiting the
result of the proceedings in the House as to the President.
Respectfully yrs.
No. 68.,-TO MR. OHILDS.
LONDON, November 12, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I am extremely obliged to you for your
kind and interesting letters. In this, a sort of exile, they
comfort and cheer me greatly.
Your last spoke of Mr. T. Buchanan Read, and of your
wish that he should paint two portraits for you. I gave
him a strong introductory letter to Lady Franklin, and
enclose her reply.
Dr. Kane has left here, and is perhaps in Paris; but,
continuing quite unwell and feeble, he was undetermined
whether to go to Algeria or Cuba, and I sent him such
letters as I thought might serve him at either place. His
book has given as much delight here as with you. A
thousand congratulations on its merited success.
Very faithfully yrs.




104                 TO COL. L.
No. 69.-TO JUDGE KANE.
LONDON, November 13, 1856.
MY DEAR JUDGE,-I am afraid you have reason to complain of my not writing to let Mrs. Kane know of the
Doctor's arrival here and of the state of his health. The
truth is, I waited from day to day, to see him improve in
strength, and thought more of him than of you.
He soon made up his mind that the climate was unfavorable, and hastened over to France; undetermined
whether to go to Algiers, or to recross the Atlantic and
winter in Cuba. I made him promise me a line from
each resting-place as he proceeded, but have not heard
from him since he left.
Of course, he was received here with open arms. His
book is rapidly circulating and gives delight to every one.
The reviewers and critics will begin their notices as soon
as they have had time to digest it. If they prove to be
what they ought to be, I will use the scissors and send
them. Enclosed is a slip respecting the proceeding of
the Royal Geographical Society at their meeting three
days ago.
We wait on tiptoe, expecting to hear of the Africa, on
Saturday or Sunday, the 15th or 16th, what you did with
the Presidency on the 4th instant. No doubt, however,
is entertained that our noble Party has carried 21 out of
the 31 States.
Present me most warmly to all your family.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 70. —TO  OL. L.
LONDON, November 14, 1856.
MY DEAR COLONEL,-Judge Jones writes me word that
you are suffering under the apprehension of a domestic
deprivation. I sympathize with you too warmly to refrain from writing, though I am generally unwilling to
draw  your thoughts away from  professional business.




TO MR. MARCY.                105
Consolation it would be idle in me to attempt. Such
calamities admit of none. Time, in its action upon a
Christian spirit, administers the only balm. You and
Mrs. L. have been sorely tried, and may have dark days
still to encounter, but I fervently hope you will pass
through them with sentiments of submission, resignation,
and firmness. Such is my sincere prayer.
Since effecting all that my most heated ambition could
desire in this sphere of public service, I have indulged in
meditations somewhat selfish. Such is, perhaps, the unavoidable consequence of too much delusion as to the
direction we seduce ourselves to take by calling it "devotion to one's country." After all, no individual person
is wanted; if he abstain or withdraw, others by wholesale are ready to undertake and to execute any duty. We
are taught this truth by a slow experience, too late to
avoid the pitfalls of buoyant and blind patriotism. Perhaps, indeed, after being taught, the habit of risking
every sacrifice in order to do some supposed service,
would still work on. Is it not wiser and more virtuous
to take care of one's own family and old age, leaving the
general weal to others, unless Providence has placed you
beyond the reach of want? It is easy, and it must be delightful, for a rich man to be patriotic; but when a poor
one becomes absorbed in his country's affairs, he really
naught enriches it, and only paves the way for his own
"Vanity, Vanity, and Vexation!"
We anticipate hearing to-nlorrow, or the day after, the
grand finale of the Presidential chorus of the 4th instant.
We do not doubt, as we ardently pray, that our glorious
Union may be again saved by our glorious democracy.
I remain as ever, my dear Colonel,
Your friend faithfully.
No. 71. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, November 14, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-I don't know how better to dispose of
the accompanying grandiloquent petition from Corfu,
than by sending it for adjudication to you. There may
VOL. I.-8




106               TO MR. MARCY.
possibly be rome reason in what the man says as to our
vessels out there wanting a consulate.
I inadvertently omitted, in my last, calling your attention
to the fact that Lord Palmerston, in his recent speech at
Liverpool, almost entirely gave in to your proposed addition to the anathema against Privateering. He makes
it a mere question of time, and seems to expect the time
to be at hand. We are certainly on the confines of the
Millennium. I enclose my slip.
In the Despatch Bag of to-day I send a somewhat formidable looking document addressed to the care of
Senator A. G. Brown. It should be made to pay toll:that is, I think it an article of such authenticity, clearness, and force, that it should be examined by Mr. Guthrie
before leaving Washington. It is a Paper read by Mr.
J. T. Danson at a meeting of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science on " The Connection of American Slavery with the British Manufacture of Cotton."
Not being in print, I requested a manuscript copy, and it
has been most kindly furnished.  Perhaps Mr. Brown
might feel himself authorized, under the circumstances,
to let the paper be read as it passes on its way to his constituent of Mississippi, Mr. John F. H. Claiborne: —perhaps not, and if not, I must try to get another copy.
Appearances in Paris are getting worse and worse. A
financial panic seems inevitable. The Bank broods over
a suspension of specie payments, and its chief directors
insist upon its necessity. Napoleon remains firm against
the measure. Scarcity, hoarding, high rents, placards,
stock-gambling, and frightful licentiousness will, I think,
soon give him an opportunity to prove the superiority of
his arrangements over those of Louis Philippe to repress
a movement of barricades. He has warily worked in advance, and under pretence of adorning beautiful Paris
with perspective rows and colonnades "long drawn out,"
has opened for his artillery avenues into all the mutinous
districts.  He is beyond the reach of anything but assassination, and that he in a measure defies, for I am told
that metallic underclothing does for him what was done
for Achilles by the water of the Styx; —makes him bulletproof. To be sure, one of these days, the army may desert him, and then, of course, down he goes. But no
symptom of that yet.




TO MR. MARCY.                 107
The last received of our newspapers led me to expect
the "Resolute" at an early day.
King Bomba, after laughing at his sulking and quitting
guests, is getting more gracious, and the "complication"
may be esteemed at an end.
You are all now in the bustle preliminary to a session,
and I ought to be ashamed of this twaddling intrusion.
Always respectfully and truly yrs.
NO. 72.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, November 21, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your despatch No. 37, and private letter,
both of 7th November, have just arrived by the Atlantic.
I am at a loss to fix the precise clause of the Convention in which you think a clerical mistake has been made
in using the word "within" instead of the word "without."
If you allude to the preliminary declaration of Art. 4, you
will on further examination perceive that every inch of
territory outside of the reservation, or "not included within
it," south of the Segovia, is recognized as Nicaragua's. If
you go north of the Segovia, you get into Honduras.
However, I await your promised more formal explanation
of this matter; although unable to see anywhere in the
document a place in which it is possible, without destroying the sense, to substitute "without" for " within."
There has been a rapid series of Cabinet Councils in
Downing Street, and they are still going on. Quidnuncs
speculate in vain on their objects. They may relate to
foreign embroglios; or to projects of domestic reform;
or to changes in their own personnel. There is a talk
about exiling Lord John Russell into the House of Peers.
Several judicial and episcopal vacancies have had to be
filled. After all, I suspect that these fiequent consultations are ascribable to the ticklish position of the alliance
with France rather than to any other single cause.
The first Monday in December will have arrived a
day or two before this reaches you; and as the steamer
Niagara quits Boston on the 3d, I hope you may not have




108               TO MR. MILES.
omitted to direct me to be supplied by her with the Message, and any other documents on hand.
Frauds and murders are the order of the day in these
realms. They throw our wickedness completely in the
shade. It is gravely mooted whether the revolver and
the bowie-knife, those much vilified weapons, ought not
to be carried by every honest and peaceable Englishman
to protect his life.
London is fast refilling from the Counties and the Continent.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 73.-TO MR. MILES.
LONDON, November 25, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your kind letter, which circumstances
prevented my answering sooner, has left a very strong impression upon my mind. Its incidents and sentiments
cannot fail to be always and warmly remembered.
I do not know how long my stay in Europe may be
protracted. Apart from the consciousness that I am not
altogether now my own master, either to quit or to remain, I feel in doubt as to what, in a domestic point of
view, it would be expedient to do. The public objects
which were aimed at in coming are attained; my diplomatic job is finished; and, as I am somewhat insensible to the attractions of an idle post, and perfectly content
with private life, the idea of resuming my Walnut Street
home, not unfrequently becomes persuasive.
The distractions which, at this distance, appeared to
convulse our country, ever since the Presidential nominations, have awakened within me sad and serious anxiety
as to the fate to which we may be destined. This frightful sectionalism, dividing us into North and South, giving
to the former the power of population and of fanatical
fierceness, and to the latter the strength of constitutional
right and of social necessity, presents an aspect of things
which would seem, for the purpose of rescue and safety,
almost to demand the interposition of Providence. How
else is this Red Sea to be traversed? Where is the wis



TO MR. MILES.                  109
dom, where the self-sacrificing patriotism, the broad
honor, and continental nationality of'87 and'89?  I
have never underrated the capacity of the President elect,
and feel assured that the instincts of his high position will
rally for his cabinet the ablest and truest men whose
services he can command:-what I fear is, that no one
will appreciate the imminence of the danger, no one will
disengage himself from the sweeping torrent of the present and strike out boldly for the future, no one will sink
the victory of the day in calm and laborious efforts to
prepare the regeneration of fraternity in 1860. The two
sections must not be permitted to drill their respective
forces for four years, and then confront each other for a
definitive fight: —that would be to risk our existence as a
nation upon an issue of uncertain result:-to such a pass
matters should not be allowed to go:-the whole term of
Mr. Buchanan would be wisely expended in rendering
sectionalism impossible at its expiration.
This subject goes deeper into my feelings owing to my
being in the midst of those who show a profound incapacity to understand the federative structure of our government, and who keenly set on their Press, their Pulpits,
their lecturers, their speakers, their novelists, their poets,
and their historians to produce an overpowering chorus
for the subversion of a Constitution which shelters the
Southern form of African labor from their crusade. Our
Constitutional democracy, if unsectionalized, is our only
means of baffling them.
I am quite curious to know the effects, actual or anticipated, of the new order of things. This curiosity is
not, indeed, confined to myself  Enquiries are constantly made as to the probable course of our new chief
magistrate: and before his inauguration we shall probably have his whole future shadowed out in parliamentary
speeches, editorial leaders, and political dissertations all
over Europe. That great Western Republic is, just now,
a mighty "John Jones" in the eyes of the world.
Remember me to Judge Jones, Phillips, M. C., Col.
Page, Col. Lee, etc., etc.,-indeed, to all whom you know
I value as generous friends. Present me especially to
Mrs. Miles and your boy, also to your brother, and believe me
Faithfully and sincerely yrs.




110               TO MR. MARCY.
No. 74.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, November 23, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-After sending off my last somewhat
hurried note, I resumed my search for your "clerical error" in the Convention, and found it (!), after passing it
over twice, lurking in the tail of a word, and constituting
the well-recognized difference, both physically and politically, of out and in. When once detected, it is so obvious that you can see nothing else: like the cast in a
man's eye. Two queries:-how did so palpable a mistake occur? and how put it right? Your instruction is
faultless and clear: —and the wrong termination must
have been committed by myself in copying from your
original on to a separate paper for the benefit of the final
draftsman of the Convention. Once crept into the text,
it is of that attenuated and subtle character-like a particle of rust upon a needle's point, or of dust upon the
glass of your spectacles, both excessively obstructive and
subversive-which is readily overlooked. As to its remedy: -the finger once upon it, unlike the Irishman's
flea, it cannot escape, and I should presume the Senate's
Committee would, in briefly reporting a verbal amendment, yield to a natural desire of changing out into in.
But be this as it may, I will lose no time in seeing Lord
Clarendon, and in devising such form of rectification as
may be deemed best. Perhaps a joint recognition of the
slip of the pen, with a joint request to scratch out and write
in, prior to final " advice and consent," would put you in
complete command of the complication.
The American ultimatum about Privateering is winning
its way. I must confess that, although the general principle is sound and philanthropic, I do not think we have
yet reached that point of naval power which would justify
our abandoning the great private means of public defence for any consideration whatever: and I am a little
apprehensive that the Paris Congress, if it convene again,
may take you at your offer. Lord Palmerston at Liverpool avowed a decided leaning in that way: and Mr. Cobden is out with a letter to the same effect. As you may
otherwise not see this last promptly, I send you my slip
cut from the Globe of yesterday.




TO LORD SHELB URNE.              111
Our excellent friend the Earl of Ellesmere is laboring
under a fierce and protracted attack of gout.
Suppose you add to the list of those whom I have heretofore reported as probably ambitious of representing the
Queen in the White House " The Man with the White
Hat," now Sir Charles Elliott, Rear Admiral, etc., etc. I
met him at the Premier's last night, and his exceeding
amiability and politeness led me to do, what Dr. Dablancour would not do, i.e. " smell a rat." He was slightly disconcerted when I reminded him, jocosely, of the sobriquet he achieved in the United States. He is the only
candidate, if candidate at all, whose welcome I should
doubt:-and yet he may be in petto for us.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 75.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, November 25, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Austrian minister has requested
me to forward a package addressed to the Imperial and
Royal Legation of Austria at Washington. It is the Extradition Treaty recently executed between the Plenipotentiaries of the two governments, and the time within
which it must be ratified is rapidly running short.
I have just got back from the F. O., where I scratched
out and put in, and then drafted the note to you which I
now send. Not a moment left.
Always respectfully and faithfully yrs.
No. 76.,-TO LORD SHELBURNE.
LONDON, November 29, 1856.
MY DEAR LORD SHELBURNE,-It may be observed that
in the whole Treaty there is but one letter D, and that in
Article 4. Our former missive of authorization to Mr.
Marcy was not susceptible of misapplication, although,
pursuing the erroleous description made by Mr. Marcy




112               TO MR. MARCY.
himself, it referred to No. 3 instead of No. 4. Still, after
your lordship left me, I thought it best that every doubt
upon the subject should be relieved.
I beg you to accept my apologies for the trouble this
inadvertence has occasioned, and my assurance of high
respect.
Very truly your obedient servant.
No. 77.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, December 1, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-The joint request that you would correct
the " clerical error" in the Treaty, was forwarded in much
haste, and very near losing the post, on the 26th November by the Atlantic.
Availing myself of the first leisure moment I re-examined the verbal irregularities, and lo! here is another,
not in the treaty itself; but in our united authorization to
you:-really unimportant, but still fit to be absolutely
righted.
I had carried with me to the F. O. your despatch No.
31, to give to Lord Clarendon ocular demonstration, by
shewing a single sentence, that the "clerical error" had
been mine, not yours:-for your original contained the
word "without" which, for purposes of engrossment, I had
turned into "within."  Well! in drafting the paper to you
to put this word with its proper ultimate, it was necessary
to describe the locus in quo of the mistake in the treaty,
and inevitably and naturally your description in No. 31,
"Art. 4, No. 3, letter D, —"  staring one in the face with
rapid strides"-was adopted.
Now, there exists in the treaty but one Art. 4, and in
that Art. 4 but one letter D:-in truth there is not in the
whole document another letter D:-to misapply the description was therefore impossible; —but the description
is inexact, and the vindication of positive truth is a part
of the duty (is it not?) of every genuine diplomatist.
Hence, you will perceive that the enclosed paper is
simply and strictly a copy or repetition, designed as a substitute, of the one transmitted by the Atlantic, only the




TO MOINS. MARCOLETA.              113
breastwork numeral 3 being made to yield to the pressure
of numeral 4! Fiat justitia!
You will perceive by the newspapers that Parliament,
again prorogued, is to meet on the 3d of February next
"for the despatch of business."  Her Majesty's consideration for posterity will probably prevent her engaging
in the solemnities of the occasion.
I have at last some reason to think that the ministry
meditate sending, early, if not immediately, a representative to Washington. I refrain, however, until something
more definitive and explicit takes place. To me, Mr.
Villiers appears the prominent and "coming man."  He
is not, however, in perfect health, and may shrink from
the effects of an Atlantic voyage.
In conversation with the Prussian minister here, I
could perceive that he had recently had his attention
called by his government to the Abolition of Privateering
question. I explained at large, and he seenled to approve,
the views and final offer of the United States. I let him
have, too, a copy of your letter to Mr. Sartiges. Count
Bernstorff was at St. Petersburg during my mission there
in 1837-39. IHe is a loyal, amiable, and attractive gentleman, inspiring confidence, but slow in exhibiting intelligence. Speaking of mitigating the calamities of war,
by treaty stipulations, or by propounding, as at Paris,
new articles of the laws of nations, he told me that I could
form no idea of the depth of ill will which this government had inspired by its military conduct in the Baltic
and Black Seas, especially at 1Kertch and Odessa. The
sentiment pervaded all Germany, if not all Europe.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 78.-TO MONS. MARCOLETA.
LONDON, December 1, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 25th November has
been received. Having very little faith in the utility of
diplomatic secrecy in a case like the one to which your enquiries are directed, I should probably not hesitate to answer
you fully in conversation. But the whole matter, accom



114               TO MR. MARCY.
plished and I believe entirely approved by the President,
is in the hands of Mr. Marcy, and may be submitted to
the Senate in a few days. I prefer, under these circumstances, to abstain from putting on paper anything upon
the subject. Allow me, however, generally to say that
as far as respects Nicaragua, nothing, if I remember
aright, has been done or proposed which you have not,
heretofore, as her representative, sanctioned.
I entirely agree with your sentiment as to Mr. Marcy.
On my own score, having done the only business that induced me to come here, I am ready, at a hint, or moment's warning, to resume the private life which at my
age is so much more desirable than the most glittering
public employment.
With profound respects to Madame Marcoleta,
I have the honor to be very truly yrs.
No. 79.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, December 5, 1856.
DEAR SIR,-I wrote by the Hermann three days ago,
though it is probable the present steamer will overtake
her.
What I surmised in my note of the 1st instant turns out
to be reality. I met Lord Clarendon at the Brazilian
minister's dinner on the evening of the 2d (his sovereign's
fete day), and in the course of conversation, apart from
other guests, he suddenly referred to some former chitchat we had had, and said, "We shall send a minister to
Washington without delay; —we shan't wait the incoming
of the new administration." I quietly expressed my gratification, but forbore further remark. I received no hint
as to the person. His manner, and other circumstances,
impress upon me the conviction that the choice has been
made, and that her Majesty's representative will be with
you almost as soon as this letter. I perfectly well know,
but deem it inexpedient and unnecessary to put on paper,
the reason for this sudden ministerial decision. It has no
relation whatever to the yet unarrived " Resolute;" none
to the President elect. I hope they will send the right




TO MR. J. Y. MASON.              115
man. Of course, I most scrupulously avoid the indelicacy
and impertinence of intimating a preference.
All your summer visitors from this country, Lowe,
Holland, Delane, etc., have returned, loudly expressing
their delight. The Times, under the influence of the
last, is becoming almost fair and eulogistic. In a little
while, a run to " the States" will supersede, with the rich
and fashionable, the too crowded and vulgar, because
close at hand, salons of Baden-Baden. Yesterday the
Times published the best description of Niagara Falls and
river I have ever read, from their correspondent, Mr.
Filmore.
Very faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 80,-TO dMR. J. Y. MASON.
LONDON, December 8, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 6th reached me this
morning, and I hasten to answer it, though, owing to an
inflamed eye, with the aid of one of my private secretaries.
Mr. Marcy has given me no official instructions upon
the subject. to which you refer. He sent me very early a
copy of his admirable letter to Mr. Sartiges; and I caused
it to be immediately published in the London newspapers,
under a profound conviction that it was vastly too important to be hid under the bushel of diplomacy. In his private letter, he left me at discretion to do this, saying, that
the British government not having addressed ours upon
the subject at all, he did not wish me to open the matter
to either of the Lords Palmerston or Clarendon, but only,
in case I was spoken to about it, to be prepared to state
the President's views. I have carefully conformed to this
idea: and perhaps you will agree with me, now that I
have stated it, that I had better not depart from it.
I had occasion, some week or two ago, in a private letter, to fix Mr. Marcy's attention on the very manly and
liberal language uttered by Lord Palmerston at Liverpool;
and I then ventured slightly to regret the offer of our government, and to fear that it would be accepted by the re



116             TO MR. J. Y. MASON.
assembled Congress at Paris. The qualified abolition of
privateering-that is, the exemption of private property
on the high seas from seizure by public armed vesselsis undoubtedly a great improvement upon the bald and
naked proposition of the Parisian Conference: but I do
not think myself that we have yet attained that point of
national power which renders it expedient to yield the
right of privateering upon any consideration whatever.
If the navies of England and France combined, or the
fleets of England alone, are to be relieved from the necessity of dispersion, in order to convoy and protect their
commerce, there is not a point of our immense coast on
which they could not land any amount of force which they
might deem necessary in order to countenance servile insurrection or separate the States. The danger of such a
thing may be distant, and on our own soil I should hope
we could get the better of any alliance: but I must confess that, until by the vast increase of our national naval
armament we become more equal antagonists in the national duel, I should prefer not to diminish the difficulties
of our invasion. Public belligerent force is our weak
point: —whether it be traceable to the nature of our institutions, or an unguarded policy: —this is perfectly well
known to the statesmen of Europe, and when to this are
added existing sectional animosities, should they conceive
the project, as they may, of assimilating or subordinating
the Western to the Eastern Continent, could anything be
more flattering to their hopes than the fact of our having
voluntarily enabled them to swallow at a single gulp our
comparatively little navy and army?
I beg pardon for sa.ing so much, although I could add
a great deal more. Too much philanthropy is the vice of
the age.  The Absolutists despair of their millennium,
unless they can somehow get the better of American peculiarities.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.




TO MR. MARCY.                 117
No. 81.-TO MR. MARCY,
LONDON, December 12, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Accept my thanks for your private note
of the 24th ult. I can very well realize the business oppression to which you are all now liable, and to which you
especially, in maintaining the reputation achieved within
the last two years, are forced to submit. You must not
suppose me so inconsiderate as to expect punctual replies
to the private letters I write. I am quite satisfied in believing that they tend to keep you familiarly acquainted
with political incidents and prospects, and the general
tone of feeling prevalent here.
The "Resolute" has been in the newspapers for some
days past. Of course, not having heard from you anything upon the subject, I can only speak of her departure
and destination, in ordinary conversation, as they are represented in the American journals recently received. It
is obvious that a disposition exists to regard the restoration of the alleged derelict (though in fact and in law no
derelict at all) as something very extraordinary and handsome. Preparations to receive her are being made by the
scientific sympathizers with her Arctic exploration, and
her officers will, on reaching Portsmouth, find themselves
objects of all sorts of public feasting and welcome.' It is
possible, however, that the continued stay in the country
of the chiefs of the departments at this season of the year,
may deprive the manifestation of its more formal officiality. It is somewhat agreeable (in a way you will understand) that the determination to send a successor to Mr.
Crampton, which I communicated a week ago, was announced before the news of the sailing of the " Resolute"
had reached here, and without any reference to it whatever.
I have felt restrained, by a paragraph in your private
letter of the 4th of August last, from opening to Lord
Clarendon the views of the President on the Abolition of
Privateering. Great Britain has in no respect, directly or
indirectly, imitated the example of the other powers who
constituted the Congress of Paris, in consulting upon this
subject the sentiments of the United States. She has
maintained perseveringly and no doubt intentionally strict




118               TO MR. MARCY.
silence. I am a little at a loss how exactly to regard this:
-but on the whole take it to indicate a consciousness that
the proposition originated with her, and is thought to betray no friendly purpose. Be this, however, as it may,
while she abstains from intercourse in relation to it, I presume I am bound to remain aloof. Circumstances have
given me the impression —I believe I have heretofore referred to some of them-that your amendment will prevail,Jf the Conference reassembles, an event not yet absolutely certain. Quere? —would it be prudent, in advance,
to have the entire programme of change in maritime law
sanctioned by a resolution of the Senate? It is best to
keep in mind that this Parisian Congress has not the character of a permanent body, and may be persuaded to
doubt whether your amendment is not of uncertain result, or deficient in the full and definite constitutional
obligation. Such a doubt might be advantageously played
upon by those who affect to understand the structure of
our government, reasoning with Prussia, Austria, Turkey,
Russia, France, or even Sardinia. I ought to beg pardon
for presumptuously poaching on Mr. Mason's preserve.
Great interest is felt to ascertain what you propose
doing to maintain inviolate the security of the Panama
route. I do not believe that any disposition prevails to
adopt the newspaper slang, and to be uneasy about your
cautionary measures in that quarter. The necessity of
doing something is frankly admitted: —and if what you
do be in the interest of general commerce, you will not
be quarrelled with should you hold a tight rein over that
inefficient, though possibly well meaning, State of Granada.
I send you, more as a curiosity than anything else, a
copy of two memorials addressed to the Congress of the
United States, and which I was requested, in all form, to
transmit to the proper official authorities. It emanates
from a self-constituted Committee at Sheffield, who have
kindly undertaken the managenment of Foreign Affairs
and the control of diplomacy everywhere. The felicitous
ease with which they impute treason to the functionaries
of their own government, and abuse a foreign one, is
quite refreshing. I certainly could not become accessory
to the presentation of any such alien document; and have
therefore left them to seek a hearing through the channel




TO MR. MARCY.                 119
of the post-office, frankly telling them that, according to
prescribed rules, I did not feel at liberty to use the agencies of the Legation in forwarding their papers. This is
a single illustration of very many attempts made to get
countenance and importance by your minister's endorsement. The other day, a political enthusiast in the centre
of Germany wrote me a violent philippic against Mr.
Miller, our Despatch Agent, for not stuffing the bag with
countless pamphlets addressed to all the Legislators and
Governors of the Union, and coolly demanded that I
should instruct Mr. Miller to transmit what he denominated
his " precious discoveries" in political science. Of course,
I answered him with an entire approval of Mr. Miller's
conduct, gilded by the expression of a profound regret
that the statesmen of my country should thus incur the
hazard of remaining ignorant of his "precious discoveries."
Owing to an inflamed eye, I eschew for awhile the use
of spectacles, and have been therefore obliged to employ
the pen of one of my domestic secretaries.
By-the-by, have you noticed that Mr. Consul Matthew
has been appointed to Odessa? Mr. Crampton being
knighted, and Mr. Rowcroft dead, the only one of your
victims remaining undisposed of is Mr. Barclay, in whose
favor invention is fruitlessly racked.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
P. S.-You will see by the enclosed slip just cut from
the Globe newspaper that Mr. Cobden anticipates for your
conditional surrender of privateering, an almost unanimous decision in the House of Commons in its favor. This
is a sincere, and I believe a sound opinion, viewing the
question as an English one. They will gain everything,
first, for the security of their commerce, and, second, in
the concentrative efficacy of their prodigious naval armament. War will not endanger their merchant ships or
their manufactures, and thus, relieved from all care about
these vital interests, they may send their fleets to bully
and thunder where they please. Opposite results may be
drawn from an American view. Losing the right of privateering, in other words, of assailing the vital interests of
our adversary, our means of aggression are nil. Our navy
must be docked; and we must be content with whatever




120               TO MR. MARCY.
terms the adversary in this national duel may prescribe
for a peace, if indeed a peace would ever be desirable or
attainable. You see, I have my misgivings on your great
measure of change in the rights of nations at war. If our
navy approached anywhere near to the power of the one
displayed off Portsmouth last spring, I should be quite
willing to let it take its chance in defending our coast:but as it now is, and as I am afraid, by an unwise economy,
it may be long kept, it is impossible to say at how many
points of landing along our coast, a war would rapidly become one of invasion. However, you have no doubt considered all these matters with your accustomed sagacity,
and your policy must be made to triumph.
G. M. ID.
No. 82. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, December 16, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Our steamers are rather disappointing
us. The America which left Liverpool on the 6th December, and the Hermann which left Southampton three days
before, have both been forced back by damage from tempestuous weather. I had mails in each: but I presume
they will reach you by other vessels.
The arrival of the " Resolute" has created quite a sensation. Capt. Hartstene came to London on the afternoon
of Saturday the 13th instant, and I at once prepared a
communication, agreeably to your No. 36, to ascertain
from Lord Clarendon, whether we might be allowed to
restore the vessel to the British navy. This went to the
F. 0. on Sunday morning. Hartstene dined with me
that evening: and at about 9 o'clock, while yet at table,
I received a telegraphic express from our consul at Portsmouth, requesting me to apprise Capt. Hartstene that the
Queen had intimated an intention to visit the Resolute on
Tuesday morning, and to beg his return to the ship. Of
course, the Captain started back to Portsmouth early yesterday morning, and by this time, her Majesty has graciously welcomed her new and gallant guests. At the
time I wrote to Lord Clarendon the official letter I have
mentioned, I also sent a private note requesting an inter



TO MR. MARCY.                121
view in the course of yesterday, asking leave to bring
Capt. Hartstene with me. He was out of town, and only
received my communications late in the day at his country residence; sending me an answer on Monday that he
would meet me and Capt. Hartstene at the F. 0. to-day
at 3 P.M. My object is, should I find that this government intend to accept the Resolute, of which no doubt is
entertained, to have some understanding as to the preferred manner of having her formally made over to Sir
Charles Wood's Board of Admiralty. Perhaps I may have
time to add to this letter a short account of to-day's interview.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
P. S.-Just back from F. O. His lordship had the answer to my letter tendering the Resolute lying before him
unsigned, and said he would send it in the course of the
evening. He is also to put me without delay in communication with the Admiralty, though he believes Sir
Charles to be out of town.
Lord C. specially requested me to repeat to you what
he had said at the Brazilian minister's dinner about sending you a British minister. His manner intimated some
difficulty in choosing out of a number of candidates. But
the cabinet were upon it, and would lose no time.
G. M.D.
No. 83. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, December 26, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Putting myself in the Confessional, I
should be inclined to think that I was bound to acknowledge having too hastily "acquiesced" in the return of
Captain Hartstene and his associates on board of a British
steamer. No matter, however:-second thoughts have
prevailed: —satisfying reasons have been assigned for the
change of mind: and these gallant objects of a boundless
hospitality will speed their way back (as now intended by
the Commander) by the packet which leaves Southampton on Wednesday next, the 31st instant. What, in the
mean time, will be done with them, on the score of comVOL. I.-9




122               TO MR. MARCY
pliments, deputations, feasts, testimonials, photographs,
and newspaper eulogies, it is impossible to conjecture.
The enthusiasm does not yet seem to ebb, and it may take
a fresh start. Lord C. writes me a private note, saying
that her Majesty's government desire to present to Capt.
Hartstene a Sword of Honor; and that the Queen had
said to him (Lord'C.) that she was much pleased with
the Captain! The restoration of the Resolute has certainly been the happiest act of comity to a friendly power
ever devised. The feeling it has excited would seem
exaggerated:-yet there it is, eager, universal, and loud.
I am told (though not by our officers) that some of those
who left her in the ice shew mortification, and look askance at the restorers:-but they are few, and avoid attracting notice. The Washington, the steamer from Southampton, is a slow vessel, and our men may therefore have
a long, cold, and disagreeable voyage. Capt. II. will of
course hurry to Washington, and give Mr. Dobbin a full
narrative.
The quarrel about the insurrectionists of Neufchatel is
rapidly reaching the war point. Prussia is openly and
ostentatiously arming. Switzerland, with admirable composure, exhibits the unshaken resolution of conscious right.
Her spirit is up, and her people seem unanimous. The
Absolutists may deem it expedient to stop the matter in
some way or other, because to allow the general peace to
be broken merely to gratify a king's personal pride, or
to assert a shadowy suzerainete, don't suit modern notions,
and might disturb all the elements of democracy. England just now appears inclined towards the Swiss: —but,
in my opinion, she will join Napoleon in mediating, upon
some plan which may ostensibly save the honor of both
disputants and keep things quiet. The sturdy land of
Tell will, by the force of circumstances, her position, the
justice of her cause, the dread of subterranean fires, and the
cool and manly attitude she has taken, come off the victor, or I shall be much mistaken. The thrones of Europe
are all equally affected by the epidemic of a holy horror
of agitation: —even the great spider in the centre of the
web keeps a steady eye on popular commotion and has
misgiving fits.
I should find it difficult to convey to you a correct idea
of the effect produced on this side of the water by your




TO MR. MARCY.                123
departmental reports of the 1st December. Of these, the
most impressive and appreciable is the Treasury. They,
somehow or other, insinuate themselves almost everywhere, and are more read than is generally supposed.
Some men receive them with frank delight:-but the prevailing feeling which they produce is of a different character, resembling that which we owned in the United States
when the assault upon the Malakoff and Redan proved
successful: —we could not deny the magnificence of the
feat, but we did not relish it, and would have preferred
its failure. Precisely so with the undeniable achievements, the wonderful prosperity and substantial power of
our political system: —they can't be disputed, have even
the eulogy of words, but they inwardly provoke dislike.
No one can say when the Paris Congress will reassemble. Its day has been sliding along through December,
without settling yet. The talk is for the 29th instant: but I
perceive causes for floating doubts still: and it would not
astonish me if events postponed the matter until spring.
Have you noticed that the ministerial press, unable since
Lord Palmerston's Liverpool speech to make open fight
against your offered amendment to the Abolition of privateering, are contriving modes of avoiding it? They say,
it is vague in its terms, that you are insincere, that the
President's message attributes to the European programme
what it never meant, and so on. Now all this appears to
me as merely preliminary to intriguing the Congress into
a doubt as to whether the subject might not be wisely postponed to some indefinite future day. No doubt, however,
you have armed my colleague of Paris with all the means
and powers necessary to surmount these captious pretexts.
The East India Company's war with Persia has become
a fixed fact, and of course involves, without regard to Parliament or People, the whole of the British Empire. What
with this last movement, the quarrel with Naples, the
growling with Russia, the stir about Switzerland, the jealousy as to France, and the approach of the session of Parliament, Lord Palmerston would seem to have his hands
full.
Faithfully and respectfully yrs.




124               TO MR. MARCY.
No, 84.-TO MR. MARCY.
LoNDON, December 30, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,-Owing to the slow sailing of the Washington, I would decline writing by her and wait for the
America on Saturday next, but as Captain Hartstene and
his crew return to the United States on board of her, I
wish the same vessel to carry a notice to you.
Although I will trouble you with a despatch by the
steamer of the 3d January, 1857, there are a few topics
worth adverting to in advance.
1. Mr. Villiers has, by the advice of his physician, after
deliberating for a fortnight, refused the American mission.
It is now at the disposition of a Scotch Peer, whose name
I am not free to mention, who is distinguished in the
diplomatic line for great intelligence, winning deportment,
and ultra liberalism of opinion, who is about forty years
of age, and was Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg
with Sir Hamilton Seymour before the recent war.
2. The minister from Greece, Mr. Tricoupi, with whom
I am on sociable and kind terms, begged me two days
ago, in consequence of instructions he had received, to ask
whether it would not be agreeable to our government to
change the officer who represents it at Athens from a
CommercialAgent to a Consul. His reason for urging this
is the real desire felt to draw closer the ties of intercourse
between the United States and Greece. Nothing of negotiation or public attention can, by etiquette and usage, be
extended to a commercial agent, even though the King
and Court would wish to make an exception in favor of
the American.
While on this subject, I take occasion to send you a
newspaper published at Athens, Le Moniteur Grec, of the
9th of December instant.  It contains Mr. Ranjabe's
much celebrated delineation of the present social and political condition of Greece —which, if well translated,
might be allowed to grace the columns of the Union.
3. The Sword of Honor designed by this government
for Commander Hartstene will, I have reason to believe,
be given this direction:-Lord C. will transmit it to me,
accompanied by a letter of compliment, requesting that
I would forward it to the American Executive, to be




TO MR. MARCY.                 125
handed, if compatible with law, to the gallant officer who
has won the Queen's heart. Of course, I will do with it
most cheerfully and promptly whatever the Earl may suggest, and I hope the Commander may find Congress disposed to let him wear his badge of courtesy.
4. Mr. Miller has brought to me, on deposit, a quartosized paper envelope, with the "Department of State"
earmark on the north-east corner, and addressed to "J.
A. Barnard, Esq., London and Port Stanley Railway
Company, Secretary's Department, London." Both the
man and the Company are, as the polished Parisian would
say, introuvable, or, as the classical Floridian would call it,
non-comeatibus in swampo; for I dare say it is some scheme
which vanished in the making. Pray tell me what I am
to do with it.
5. Your letter of the 12th December, whether " private,"
" strictly private," " confidential," or public, don't exactly
appear, has reached me. It tells me that I should receive
with it, what I have not received, to wit, a Cipher for our
Minister Resident at Berne; and it omits to tell me that I
would receive what I did, namely, a bulkish packet for the
Austrian legation here, which I presume may be the ratified Extradition Treaty transmitted to you through me
some month or two ago. I have delivered the bulkish
packet, but feel anxious and discomposed about the Cipher.
It may amuse you for a vacant half hour to look over
the slip I cut from the Globe of last evening on Maritime
War. You are aware that this newspaper never contains
an article repugnant to ministerial views.  This is the
second of the same sort —the first I sent hastily over to Mr.
Mason. They lead me to suspect that the Premier, notwithstanding his Liverpool speech, will give your amendment a go-bye.
Always truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 85.-TO MR. MARCY.
LoNDON, January 6, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Very severe storms have occurred at
sea, and disasters are being constantly reported.  The




126              TO MR. MARCY.
coasts, it would seem, on both sides of the Atlantic, are
strewed with wrecks. I feel some anxiety about the
America, which left Liverpool on last Saturday, theq 3d,
and must have been that very night in a perfect tempest.
She bore to you my Nos. 35 & 36. Winter voyages are
rather to be avoided.
Can anything, however, in the shape of physical violence,
be as shocking as the bombardment of Canton? Talk of
Greytown after that! The massacre of the innocents was
comparatively heroic. Poor, harmless, unarmed, ignorant,
and unconscious creatures, men, women, and children, by
tens of thousands, butchered with shot, shell, and fire, to
avenge a disclaimed insult to a fraudulent flag!
There would seem to be accumulating a heavy score
against the ministry, for Parliament to force to settlement. The public sense is greatly shocked by Admiral
Seymour's infliction, and it may be that the administration will disavow. Yet, there is the amateur Persian
war: and the milk and water Neapolitan fizzle: and the
fast and loose game about the Treaty of Paris: and the
relaxation in the Gallo-Anglican ties: and the alliance
with Austria: and the lack of sympathy for Switzerland:
and the shabby trick about the Income Tax: and the Premier's off-hand blunder in meddling with the Southampton election: and so on, and so on. Then the Opposition
are said to be secretly organizing under fresh leaders,
Gladstone and Graham, and to be fatally bent on mischief. Still and nevertheless, to my calm and disinterested eye, Lord Palmerston steadily consolidates his
power, and becomes more popular and more necessary
every hour. He and his colleagues are strong, too, in
their harmonious unanimity.
Statistical philosophers have suggested as one of their
deductions that assassinations are epidemical. First, the
King of Naples attempted: —now the good Archbishop
of Paris slain at the very altar: —who next? and how
many? Some self-exalted William Tell may be moodily
prowling about the streets of Berlin; or, if the path of
the disease be religious, why may not the Pope fall as
well as his representative? Crimes in England are countless and frightful: but their incentive is not piety nor
liberty; it is money, nothing but money.
I gave you some idea of Lord Napier, who is coming




TO MR. MARCY.                 127
over to you as minister; but in the Times of this morning
is an article which on his subject you may as well read,
and which I therefore cut out and ellclose. The sole
ground of objection is practically shallow; for a man of
Napier's mind and character, instead of being deluded,
is disgusted by absolutist absurdities, and the better fitted
for republican simplicity and truth and reason, after passing through them.
Nothing yet about the law of maritime war. The Conference would seem to have finished its business, except as
to fixing the time for final departure from the Principalities and Black Sea by Austria and England, which is left
to be announced as soon as the rectified line of the Bessarabian frontier is actually surveyed and verified. What direction, then, have you given to your amendment? ~Will
you offer it to each Power separately? and, having obtained the adoption of the majority, will you give it to
the world by proclamation? I see no objection, but
much to attract, in this course, except that Great Britain,
who has somewhat suspiciously stood aloof from you on
the whole business, may meet you at the close by saying
she was no party to your modification.
The financial situation of this government, always excepting their debt, looks just now very prosperous. Their
revenue has largely increased.  Of a consequence, the
popular demand is for a reduction of taxes and a return
to the peace footing existing before the recent war. That
demand will be gratified only to a limited extent. The
military taste has been pampered unceasingly during the
last six months, in all sorts of ways, shows, reviews, parades, feasts, speeches, etc., and now one is afraid to talk
of such a process as ours in 1816, of razeeing.
I send a wooden box addressed to Mr. Dobbin. It is a
lithograph-portrait of the Bark Resolute,-a vessel destined to outlive in history, in song, and on canvas, the
one that bore Jason in search of the golden fleece, or
Ulysses seeking Penelope, or even Cleopatra when fighting by Antony's side!
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.




128            TO MR. HUTCHINSON.
No. 86.-TO MR. HUTCHINSON.
LONDON, January 12, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Yours of 24th Dec. received.
I propose sending to your address shortly, for our City
Library, a set of the Patent publications of this government. The despatch agent will manage their transmission for me, so as to incur as little expense as possible.
What you have called Blue Books are valueless trash, and
a collection of them might fill a 74.
I will send at the same time, and for the same destination, an antique daub, painted, as is believed here, in
1720, purporting to be "The South-East Prospect of the
City of Philadelphia, by Peter Cooper, Painter."  It is
on torn canvas, some 8 feet long by 11 wide. One of the
members of Parliament, in peering among the rubbish
of a city curiosity shop, picked it up and brought it to
me. The principal buildings of the town of that day
are pointed out, and twenty-four good old Philadelphia
householders are named in a margin. Although worthless on every score but that connected with "auld
lang syne," it presents at half a glance so striking a contrast to the " Consolidated City" of 1857, that it has its
interest for a corner in Franklin's institution. If your
colleagues repudiate it as unworthy, keep it for me.
Owing, I presume, to the tempestuous character of the
season, we have been unusually long without news from
home. I am not as sanguine as you appear to be about
the Central American arrangement, and therefore desire
to know the decision of the Senate. There are trifling
points in it, at which a filibustering spirit may possibly
carp. Indeed, in order to appreciate it correctly, much
more study of details and bearings is necessary than will
be given to it. If it be rejected, some of the rejectors
should be required to devise and carry a better scheme.
We are bound by the Clayton and Bulwer treaty of 1850,
and, starting from that, any project that will remove the
difficulties which have arisen from opposite constructions, may now be calmly discussed. If I have done
anything by coming here, it is by bringing about a disposition to listen without losing temper, and honestly to




TO MR. O'S ULLIVAN.             129
contrive expedients to get rid of obstacles and avoid qularrelling on trifles. This state of feeling will, in the end,
secure something effective.
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 87.-TO MR. O'SULLIVAN.
LONDON, January 12, 1857.
DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 6th December, which was
slow in reaching me, relates to an interesting subject on
which I have felt myself somewhat restrained by the reticence of this government and my instructions. It has nevertheless entered into my correspondence with both Mr.
Marcy and Mr. Mason. I believe England is the only one of
the Powers represented in the Congress which announced
the new programme of maritime war, that has abstained
from presenting it to the United States. Quite explainable!
In the actual attitude of Nations, I entirely coincide
with you in the opinion that Mr. Marcy's proposal to
exempt private property on the high seas from capture,
would work so advantageously for England that her statesmen ought at once to close with it. I believe they will.
Mr. Cobden does not doubt that when understood it will
obtain the unanimous sanction of the House of Commons.
Lord Palmerston avows his theoretical approbation; but
forbears to shew an exulting eagerness to catch at it.
But-how  about the United States?  Will they be
benefited by abandoning the principle and practice of
voluntary action, and by so doubling at a single stroke the
already resistless power of Great Britain's naval means of
invasion and blockade? Are they prepared and disposed
for the national duel wherein the parties shall be a small
squadron to the West, and a cloud of concentrated fleets
to the East? Will they make safety secondary to trade?
Or can they forego the simplicity and economy of their
federal system, and ceasing to trust emergencies to the
spontaneous movements of popular defence, enter upon
the creation of large standing armies and great navies?
I do not intend that these interrogatories shall be considered, per se, argumentative. They are only sent to you as




130              TO JUDGE KING.
evidence that my mind rather inclines, in the existing relations of America and England, and perhaps always jealous of an excess of philanthropy in public policy, to doubt
the expediency of yielding the right to employ privateers,
no matter how modified and upon any consideration whatever. To be sure, these combined potentates of Europe
may try to force their international code upon us, and one
of these days, with the joint condemnatory standard of
" Abolition of Slavery and Privateering," they may put
us on our mettle;-but the probability of such an attack
is not to be avoided, need not be deprecated, and may not
be lessened, by our voluntarily diminishing the weapons
to repel it with.
I am truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 88.-TO JUDGE KING.
LONDON, January 13, 1857.
MY DEAR JUDGE,-I agree with you, the ways of life are
a labyrinth, and our two actual positions are striking illustrations. My peregrinations, to be sure, are nothing compared to yours. You have wandered almost the world
through: I have (as yet!) only crossed the Atlantic. But
it would have baffled, some thirty years ago, the most foreseeing prophetic vision to have traced us to where we
now are.
I don't know that I am yet entitled to the praise you
give me for restoring the pacific relations of the two countries permanently. It may possibly turn out to be but a
deceptive truce. The scheme of arrangement is before
the Senate, and, if sanctioned by that body, I verily believe
it will put an end forever to all Central American difficulties, withoutthe slightest departure from principle orhonor,
and secure in that region the most glorious field and highway of active and untrammelled commerce men have ever
witnessed. The Senate may think otherwise. It is not
impossible that in removing all the points of controversy
under the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, I have crossed the grain
of some who wished to get rid of that contract: —and it is
very likely that, in both countries, I have provoked large




TO MR. MARCY.                 131
bodies of turbulent spirits, by preventing them from coming to blows. These are incidents inseparable from such
public measures, and must be philosophically foreseen as
liable to take place. Still, Marcy and his colleagues have
approved and adopted, and I cannot but hope the Senate
may do so too.
Do you propose a trip to London? Or what are your
plans? I send my notion on. the legal proposition you
have stated, separately.
I am truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 89.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, January 13, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Since my despatch of the 9th instant,
nothing of interest has occurred worth relating, unless it
be the visit volunteered yesterday by Lord Napier.
He stayed for about two hours, and conversed freely.
His personal desire is to reach Washington as early as
possible, not later, he proposes, than the middle of February. He brings his wife and children with him, and is
anxious to secure for them, in advance, a furnished and
healthfully situated house.
There was peculiar and attractive frankness in many of
his remarks. He said that he had no political position at
home, and no fortune; and although he had a title, he was
quite conscious that, in America, would avail him nothing,
if indeed it would not do him harm. He was aware also
that in England there was a considerable party who would
not consider him the proper man for the mission, who
appreciated its great importance justly, and desired the
selection of such a statesman of acknowledged weight as
Lord Carlisle, or the Duke of Newcastle, or the Earl of
Elgin. These ideas made him uneasy. But he had been
habitually and from conviction an admirer and student of
American character, and he hoped to get on by promoting
with his best exertions the friendly relations of the two
nations.
Of course I encouraged his modesty, and assured him
that success or failure in his mission, as far as our public




132               TO MR. MARCY.
men and society were concerned, would depend upon
himself alone.
At first, this gentleman will seem to you cold, a little
awkward, and disposed to silence, like all the best bred
and best minded Englishmen I have yet met: —but I think
it fair to say that, in the course of the two hours he gave
me, notwithstanding his comparatively youthful appearance, I became aware that he was a man'of remarkable
ability, of sound unprejudiced judgment, and of elevated
sentiments of morality and honor. I hope and believe
that you will like him.
For the first time an intimation is given in one of the
morning journals that the Queen may be disabled, from
her early expectations, opening Parliament in person.
The Canada is in her 14th day, and not yet heard of!
This goes to you by the Arago.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 90. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, January 20, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your private letter of the 5th January
I received yesterday.
Your original suggestion, not to initiate officially with
this government any interchange of views on the Privateering question, I have watchfully conformed to:always, however, upon the slightest approach, prepared
to shew the philanthropy, justice, and generosity of your
offer. They have studiedly kept away from the subject,
although many opportunities for opening and discussing
it frankly have presented themselves. I suspect the existence of divided councils-indeed so equally divided as to
prevent movement. We shall have it in the House of Commons shortly after the session opens, a fortnight hence.
Until within this last year, I had been accustomed to
regard the perpetual untruths which disgrace our newspapers as rather the results of mistake or the discolorations of fancy, than as intentional falsehoods. My charity
has lately been much shaken:-for I have seen so many
utterly unfounded statements respecting myself, that I can




TO MR. MARCY.                133
find no mode of accounting for them but in a malignant
invention steadily pursuing some unseen objects.
I need hardly say to you that the paragraphs which in
our journals connect my name with the coming cabinet,
are all, from first to last, false and flimsy. Since he left
London in March last, not a syllable has reached me from
our President elect;-and my correspondence to him has
been confined to two letters, one relating to the sad
drowning of a Lancaster gentleman, Mr. Witmer, and
another, more recent, covering a congratulatory note from
Lady Alice Peel, which, being addressed simply to " the
President of the United States," exacted a short explanation
from me, of my reason for knowing that it was intended,
not for General Pierce, but for him. Nay, more; I have
written to you much oftener and more freely than to any
one else, and I am quite sure that nothing has escaped me
respecting possible appointments that was not of the most
general character. The stream of misrepresentation will
probably be kept flowing until after the 4th of March.
Chess players are sometimes blind to the most powerful moves with which they can fortify their game. Those
gentlemen who are unable to see the preponderating influence in Central America, and all around that region,
secured, by the scheme of pacification, to the United
States, her policy, and her citizens, had better give up the
r6oe of statesmanship, and confine themselves to the art of
managing personal and prurient explosions of predatory
violence. Your treaty does everything for the honor and
interest of the nation, and for the independence and safety
of the Central American States, in all future time; but
these sages think nothing done because Walker is not
patted on the back! Well, if the spirit of filibusterism
can't see beyond the tip of its nose, and, like abolitionism, it increases in force, we shall ultimately have, I suppose, to submit to our " blind guides," and let them lead
us to calamities which they have not the sagacity to provide against. If, however, they?will go on in their own
way, do, I beseech you, encourage them to appropriate,
boldly and promptly, all the surplus revenue to fleets and
forts.
The Chinese and Persian wars are daily becoming
more substantial: the Prussian and Swiss one has fizzled out under the soothing assurances of England and




134               TO MR. MARCY.
France: —and King Bomba is let alone. It is well for
quidnuncs that Parliament approaches. Lord Palmerston will meet it in a spirit of exultation; and unless Lord
John Russell be soured, the opposition will be faint. The
effect of the Senate's declining to ratify will be worth
watching.
I have taken it for granted that Mr. Fay has apprised
you, as he did me, of his having safely received the
Cipher.
You will have by this opportunity, the Baltic, the
brother of your minister at Constantinople. He brings
you a purely commercial treaty with Persia for ratification. He has been a good deal with us, and we have
found him a very intelligent and agreeable traveller.
Though not as cold as with us, the weatherhere, for full
three months past, has been raw, uncomfortable, and suggestive of suicide. Very little snow or ice, but much
rain.
I received in the Despatch Bag yesterday a letter from
Paris, of the 11th December, 1856, which had taken the
circuitous route of getting to London by first going to
the United States! It was from  Mr. J. Y. Mason, and
fortunately did not relate to anything of importance.
Such a mistake, however, might, under other circumstances, cause great embarrassment.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 91. —TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, January 23, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-After having sealed the despatches and
letters for the steamer of to-morrow, I have just received
a note from Lord Clarendon, in which he seems much
worried by the delay of Lord Napier's departure, arising
exclusively out of'domestic arrangements. He tells me,
too, that he has written you a letter accrediting Mr. Lumley as Charg6e, so as not to postpone any longer "the
formal official renewal of our diplomatic relations."
How far, in all this loss of time, the reported non-ratification of the treaty may have had its effect, I cannot




TO LORD CLARENDON.                135
pretend to say. Of Lord C.'s sincere desire to do everything that can contribute to make by-gones by-gones, I
am unable to entertain a doubt. Still, negotiators, like
other parental personages, are not apt to be gratified by
the crucifixion of their offspring. At least such is my
opinion just now.
I send you to-day three swords, and all for naval officers.
The quarrel between Prussia and Switzerland is "a
dead cock in the pit," and the prisoners are at large.
There are editorial hints of changes in the ministry:the ejection of Sir Robert Peel, and a coalition with the
Peelites upon giving appropriate places to Mr. Gladstone
and Sir James Graham:-but I consider the whole rumor
apocryphal.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 92.-TO LORD CLARENDON.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, January 24, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CLARENDON,-Your note of yesterday,
though received at the eleventh hour, came in time to
permit my writing to Mr. Marcy, and I did so.
I have always supposed that our scheme of pacification
would encounter the resistance which was met by the
Clayton-Bulwer treaty:-aggravated, perhaps, by the debility incident to a retiring administration. Opposition,
therefore, does not surprise me.  But the newspapers
exaggerate it, on the principle of " fanning the embers."
I have many private letters from gentlemen on whose information and judgment my reliance is implicit, and all
unite in saying that the ratification is certain. Still, like
yourself, I am anxious, and impatiently wait the next
steamer, which will be due to-morrow. The secret sessions of the Senate are invaded by those only who cater
to an appetite for new excitements; and the deliberations
and prospects connected with a matter so important as
the treaty, are sure to be falsely represented. Remember, too, that as the ratification requires two-thirds of the
Senators present, there is always room for hostile speculation and prophecy.




136               TO MR. GILPIN.
I cannot think the enlightened and judicious body before which the plan is pending, will be unwise enough
not to accept it.
Always faithfully and sincerely yrs.
No. 93. —TO MR. GILPIN.
LONDON, January 30, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 25th December came
just in time to prevent my giving you up, as relapsed into
that feverish antipathy to pen, ink and paper, for which
more than a year ago I worried you with prescriptions.
I heartily thank you for it. The contents were in every
way kind and consolatory. The truth is, for the last five
months the business of the legation has, kept me hard and
close at work, making it impossible to leave town, while
all the rest of the world were away: —and, even during the
hours of daylight, that is from 10 to 4, no time was given
for relaxing and refreshing pursuits. Strange as it may
seem to those who entertain the common notion as to the
idleness of diplomatic life, although I have been more
than ten months in London, and constantly anxious to
visit objects worthy of attention, my feet have not yet
crossed the thresholds of Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's,
the Tower, and hundreds of other interesting edifices,
made classical by recollections associated with them, or
by the purposes to which they are now devoted. I have
allowed myself to be perhaps too much absorbed by the
substantial business undertaken a year ago, and which,
while a vestige remains to do, jealously excludes all
thoughts of other matters. I must confess that after so
much systematic devotion to it, the prospect of the nonratification of the treaty is not the most digestible thing
imaginable. To be sure, the old hostility to the ClaytonBulwer Convention would naturally spring up again, in
the hope of ultimately so impeding the pacific execution
of that, as to render a formal legislative declaration of its
annulment necessary: —this I expected:-but the possibility of its even approaching to success never entered seriously into the account. I cannot help thinking that the




TO MR. GILPIN.                137
scheme of adjustment is not properly studied in its details. Certainly it contains no pledge, direct or indirect,
to sustain or encourage the individual Walker: —if that be
deemed essential, another negotiator is necessary, both to
make the proposal, and to bear its rejection: —but, as regards the expansive policy of our country, and especially
the future opened for American enterprise and commerce
in the Central American and West Indian regions, I am
quite convinced and conscious that the plan far outstrips,
though in a peaceful, just, and honorable manner, the
crude, fitful, and unlawful projects of our filibuster-statesmen. If it fail of adoption, these gentlemen will defeat
their own alleged objects because they are not permitted
to carry them out in their own peculiar and unjustifiable
way:-a way which is founded upon the great vice of our
public men, namely, a restless want of confidence in the
natural energies and persevering progress of American
citizens. Under the stimulus of a safe and uninterrupted
trade, the cloud of British naval armament dispelled, and
one or more free cities as appuis, we should in less than
five years exercise controlling influence on the Isthmus,
elbow out the Mosquitoes, render the Belise a comparatively neglected and dwindling settlement, and possibly
entertain volunteered offers from their respective owners
for the purchase of Cuba and Jamaica. Walker, Nicaragua Walker, is, by habit, incapable of waiting this development, and may be excused if he blunder so eg'regiously as not to catch at the arrangement proposed; baut
that Judge D., Mr. S., or Mr. M. should fail to appreciate
correctly the practical consequences of it, is marvellous
and incomprehensible. Delay may have sharpened their
sagacity:-if so, the treaty will be ratified.
I interrupt my Lord Napier's industrious preparations
for his voyage by a diplomatic dinner (12 only) to-morrow;
and this I mention to shew you my disposition to secure
his favorable reception in the United States, by such endorsement as I can officially give. The young gentleman
I propose introducing to you, and to Mr. Everett and Mr.
Bancroft; he is of those tastes and attainments, of simple
and unaffected manners, and, I think, of more intellect
than Crampton:-his wife is said to be quite an agreeable
person. He has published a book or two in the nature of
VOL. I.-10




138               TO MR. GILPIN.
travelling observations. He is of excellent Scotch lineage;
his great-great-grandfather having invented Logarithms,
and the Duchess of Inverness (now resident in Kensington Palace) being his aunt. There is in my office, hanging over the fireplace, Doo's celebrated engraving of Wilkie's picture of John Knox preaching to Mary Queen of
Scots, and on his first visit to me, Napier pointed at the
little boy standing near the desk under the pulpit, with
his back to the spectator, and looking up as if riveted by
the roaring speaker, and he said that was his renowned
ancestor. Perhaps he may, but my opinion is that he will
not, reach Washington before the inauguration.
I am convinced on reflection that, in a former letter, I
told you of my having left the parcel you sent for Sir Charles
Fellowes. It was done on the same day we visited Mr.
and Mrs. Grote. The two last called in about a fortnight,
having come in from the country for the purpose; the
former has been content with the parcel. Your friend
Bright is in Algeria or Italy, in pursuit of health. No
one entertains a hope of seeing him again in public life,
though his relish for it obviously lingers. Mr. Cobden
will probably take an active part in the proceedings of
Parliament, which opens on Tuesday next, and expects
(naturally, from an English stand-point of view) to get a
unanimous vote catching at Mr. Marcy's offer for the
abolition of privateering. The ministry are likely to be
stronger and more popular than ever. They derive wonderful security from the absence of men fit to take their
places. The Queen foregoes reluctantly the ceremony
she delights in of opening Parliament in person-odd
enough! since writing the preceding line, I have been
told that her Majesty has suddenly announced her determination to attend, quand meme. Lord John says, nolo
peerifi.
European politics have, just now, all the insipidity of
a game of chess without a plan: —no great piece is called
into action, and pawns are straggling over the board,
surprised at their own progress. The affairs of Naples
and Switzerland are by-gones. The system of confederating, for mutual support and security, all the monarchies,
through the agency of Parisian Conferences, is I think
firmly inaugurated. We have on hand, however, two
pretty considerable wars, the Chinese and Persian:-and




TO MR. MARCY.                139
the condition of Spain promises an early explosion and
imbroglio.
My despatch bag demands its food.
Pray remember us all most kindly to Mrs. Gilpin.
Always sincerely and faithfully yrs.
No. 94.-TO GENERAL PIERCE.
LONDON, January 30, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —A highly respectable deputation waited
upon me yesterday with the request that I would transmit
to you a Memorial from the European and American
Electro-Telegraph Company. They assured me that their
only desire was to let Congress, now contemplating legislation upon the subject, be apprised, if you deemed it
proper, of the advantages which they conceived their
scheme to hold out. I promised simply to forward their
paper, and do so now.
Since I left home, eleven months ago, Gov. Marcy has
despotically monopolized through despatches and letters,
all the thoughts worth sending from the legation. I beg
however to say, that I have taken it for granted that what
I wrote reached you with as much certainty as if directly
addressed to you, and of course with less appearance of
presumption on my part. In this view I ought perhaps
to apologize for having so often intruded upon you the
light, crude, and fugitive ideas and opinions of the current
hour in this place. Nevertheless, I cannot permit you
to renew your enjoyments and repose in private life,
without once more, and that shortly, putting you to the
trouble of reading a letter from, dear Sir,
Ever most respectfully and faithfully yrs.
No. 95.-TO MR. MARCY.
LONDON, February 3, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-At the soir&e of Countess G. last night,
were a number of the Privy Council (in their gold em



140               TO MR. MARC Y.
broidered suits), and one of them said to me that the
Queen's speech to-day contained a sentence or two upon
the United States. I am therefore anxious to be at the
opening (which is by Commission) and hope to get home
again before 5 o'clock, and make a brief report to you
for the steamer of to-morrow morning.
Lord Panmure took me apart to express his sentiments
upon the subject of the Report of our Secretary of War to
Congress: and pressed me very warmly to convey to
General Davis his grateful sense of the manner in which
the courtesies shewn to our commissioners, Messrs. Delafield, Mordecai, and McClellan, had been noticed by him.
An expectation is prevalent that the ministry will be
more severely tried than I had supposed. It is thought
that they may founder on the sharp rocks of finance.
The call for reduction of taxes is loud and general; and
though this call is met by the new wars of China and
Persia, those wars are themselves condemned as artfully
predetermined in order to save the Income tax. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer, an honest and able man, is
prosaic: and in view of this characteristic, and of the
emergency, it is foreseen that an effort will be made to
bring in the brilliant oratory of Mr. Gladstone.
Lord Napier tells me that he has directions to proceed
to Washington without delay. But he represents the
difficulties of getting ready in a manner that satisfies
me he will not reach Washington before the middle of
March.
* * * * The Queen's speech, as read by the Lord
Chancella, eontained as little as it was possible to put
together. On our subject not a word but that she had
been negotiating, and hoped all differences would be
settled. A single point, the only one,' is the adoption of
the Canton massacre.
My diplomatic colleague of Lisbon, Mr. O'Sullivan, is
expected here on a visit in the course of the present week.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.




TO MR. MARCY.                 141
No. 96.,-TO MR. MAROY.
LONDON, February 138, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Europe would seem to be settling herself
for another long spell of peace. Fresh negotiations on
the Persian war are opened at Paris between Lord Cowley
and Ferouk Khan: —though the Shah vents a measure
of indignation on the abrupt capture of Bushire. If the
quarrel be not arrested, Russia must obviously take her part
in it, and is already approaching the frontiers of Persia, as
an ally in case of need. A member of the cabinet told
me recently that it would soon be settled.
The question as to the union of the two principalities,
now that Bolgrad and the Isle of Serpents are disposed
of, is looming up into the importance which I originally
ascribed to it. One of its first fruits is to create a new
division of cabinets: Russia, France, and Prussia on one
side, for the unity:-England, Austria, and Turkey against
it. The inhabitants are represented as disposed to form a
single nation and to choose a foreign king. The Moniteur
has avowed the imperial sentiment and policy. Qu.? Is
he forecasting for a throne for Prince Jerome?
The affair of Neufchatel is being arranged, as fast as
gout or grippe will permit the negotiators to indoctrinate
Louis Napoleon. It cannot possibly be allowed to disturb
the serenity of European order again.
You will have noticed the " adjourned question of veracity," in the House of Commons, between the Premier
and Mr. Disraeli, on the assertion made by the latter that
" a secret treaty" was actually entered into, with the assent
and approbation of this government, between France and
Austria, by which the Italian possessions of the latter were
guaranteed to her by the former, while at the same time
the ministry were seeking popularity by a public affectation of desiring Italian nationality. Three passages of
arms have come off; and, until the one of the last evening,
opinion leaned in Palmerston's favor. His admission
that, after all, such a Convention was signed in December,
1854, reinstates the discredited veracity of his opponent
and leaves him nothing to stand upon but the general
reasoning as to the nature and circumstances of the treaty




142           TO LORD CLARENDON.
not justifying the conclusions drawn from it. The fact
which he pronounced a romance he finally concedes.
I told Lord Napier, who leaves in the Persia on the 21st
instant, and therefore cannot reach you until after the inauguration, that he would experience no difficulty at our
custom-house on arriving. But to obviate the possibility
of embarrassment, may it not be expedient that special
directions should issue?
The Queen came in from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace yesterday. Her confinement is expected early
next month.
By the time this reaches you, the new cabinet will be
known. Wherever I go, I am eagerly questioned as to
its composition;-but I remain as profoundly ignorant as
if, instead of being at the grand distributing office of information and news, I was immured in an Esquimaux hut,
at or near the north Pole. I dare say, the good quidnuncs here disbelieve in my alleged emptiness and regard
me as a sham. My correspondents, yourself among the
number, have been singularly reticent upon the subject.
Your winter seems to have been unusually severe.
Here, more frost than is common. But the last three or
four days hake been delightful weather; and the approach
of spring is heralded by the appearance of bunches of
crocuses and violets offered for sale in the streets.
My respects all round.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 97.-TO LORD CLARENDON.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, February 15, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CLARENDON,-While impatiently waiting the result of Senatorial advisement (of which I have
just received cause for entertaining less doubt than ever),
it has struck me that your lordship might be pleased to
see that there was one man at least in the United States
who seems to have seized, in the midst of its details and
complications, the essential spirit of our treaty. I enclose
an editorial cut from a New York paper that reached me
yesterday.
Alwavs faithfullv vrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 143
No. 98.-TO LORD CLARENDON.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, February 23, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CLARENDON,-I received several letters
yesterday from Washington.  The prospect of ratification
is very gloomy, but the finality not yet reached. It is
barely possible that the vigorous exertions of the Chairman of the Committee may save the substance of the
treaty: but I must confess, after what has been said and
done, my hope, as a Yankee would say, has been whittled
to the smallest end of nothing.
The end cannot be reasonably expected for a week.
Always faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 99.-TO LORD CLARENDON.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, March 3, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CLARENDON, -The treaty was again
reported by the Committee to the Senate, with several
really unimportant amendments. Forty-five members
were present, and thirty votes, therefore, necessary to ratification. Its friends seem to have determined to avoid a
vote on that final question, and to let the responsibility
lie with the incoming administration. Five more votes
would have been enough to ratify, but twenty-five were a
majority and sufficient to postpone the consideration of the
subject to the 5th of March, the day following the inauguration: that was effected by 25 ayes to 20 noes.
My letters do not warrant me to encourage a hope less
attenuated than the one I described in answer to your
former note.
Believe me faithfully and resp. yrs.
No. 100.-TO MR. CASS.
(Unofficial.)                   LONDON, March 10, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —It may be important that you should
have early the first indications of opinion among public




144                   TO MR. WOLFF.
men here on the Anti-Privateering question.  This morning's Times contains the report of a debate last evening
in the House of Commons touching that subject, and I
have cut out the enclosed as worth sending to you.
At this particular juncture, when both political parties
are preparing for a popular canvass, Lord John Russell
seems to have more than usual influence and weight. He
is averse to the proposal made by Mr. Marcy in the letter
to Mr. Sartiges, and of course to the Convention I have
recently submitted.
Mr. Cobden expresses an opposite sentiment.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer speaks on the point
with great caution, and, I think, justifies an inference that
we shall have no reply to the invitation until the elections
are over.
I am very respectfully yrs.
No. 101.-TO MR, WOLFF.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, March 11, 1857.
MY DEAR MR. WoLFF,-I send you, in reply to the memorandum which accompanied your note, some remarks
and references, which, though themselves very imperfect,
may be serviceable to Sir John Burgoyne, in his researches
respecting the militia of the United States.
Very sincerely yrs.
MEMORANDUM.
The number of the militia of the United States, as appears by the
Army Register of 1856, is 2,421,163. The return for the present year
will probably be about 2,500,000, as it will include what was omitted in
1856, the returns from the State of Iowa and the Territories of New
Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Kansas, and Nebraska.
1st. The Constitution of the United States, Art. 1, Sect. 8, Cl. 16, vests
in Congress the power to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed
in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively
the appointment of the officers and the authority of training the militia
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.
The following laws may be examined to show how this constitutional
power has been exercised:
1. An act more effectually to provide for the national defence by establishing an uniform militia throughout the United States. —Passed 8th
May, 1792-1 vol. U. S. Statutes at Large 271.




TO MR. HUTCHIINSON.                      145
2. Act of 6th July, 1798. 1 St. at Large, 576.
3. Act of 2d March, 1803. 2 St. at Large, 207.
4. Act of 3d March, 1803. 2 St. at Large, 215.
5. Act of 10th April, 1806. 2 St. at Large, 359.
6. Act of 18th April, 1814. 3 St. at Large, 134.
7. Act of 20th April, 1816. 3 St. at Large, 295.
8. Act of 12th May, 1820. 3 St. at Large, 577.
2d. The enrolment in the militia is variously regulated in the different
States, and is enforced by moderate pecuniary fines.
3d. The mustering, training, and service are gratuitous.
4th. The officers are generally elective, and commissioned by the Governor of the State.
5th. Arms, ammunition, and accoutrements are furnished by the several States, and deposited in arsenals under State militia officers.
6th. Clothing is not furnished, nor do the militia, unless formed into
volunteer companies or called in the service of the United States, wear
uniform.
7th. The acts of Congress already referred to will show the authority
for calling out the militia; but a clear comprehension on this point may
be formed by consulting the following cases decided by the highest judicial tribunal: Martin v. Mott, 12 Wheaton's Reports, 19; Houston v.
Moore, 5 Wheaton's Reports, 1.
8th. Numerous public documents upon the subject may be consulted in
the two folio volumes of American State Papers which are appropriated
to " Military Affairs," and which, I presume, can be, as they ought to be,
found in the Library of the British Museum, and perhaps in the Libraries of Parliament.
No. 102.-TO MR. HUTCHINSON.
LONDON, March 16, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-I hope the five cases have safely reached
you. One of the bills of lading accompanied them in the
"City of Baltimore:" the other I have retained.
Mr. M.'s bill of charges is enclosed:-in all ~5. 12. 0.
The Library Company can either remit this amount, or,
if they prefer it, I will pay Mr. M. and be reimbursed
when I get home.  The charges and the freight, ~7. 7.
10,-say sixty-three dollars, constitute the entire cost of
what I think may be esteemed one of the most valuable
acquisitions. I owe you many thanks for having suggested to me this mode of being accessory to benefiting
our city and State.
The ministry, outvoted on the Canton outrage in the
House of Commons, dissolved Parliament, and are hastening their appeal to the country. They are confident
of a triumph, and indications are thus far strongly in




146               TO MR. DIXON.
their favor. Lord Palmerston's personal popularity has
some resemblance to that of General Jackson: his partisans concede his violence and his arrogance, but call
them an excess of patriotism. Bluster seems, in all countries, to have its charms for the mass. The new Parliament will meet probably about the 25th of May.
Remember us all affectionately to your family.
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 103. —TO MR. DIXON.
LONDON, March 23, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-We were all gratified at hearing from
Fitz that the Russian helmet, picked up on a Crimean
battle-field the day after the head had been knocked out
of it, was acceptable to you. Armor of this sort augments in interest in a collection like yours, and with the
lapse of every year.
I think your beautiful work on Surnames is faultless in
its new edition. Mrs. D., Phil. and I have many thanks
to make for our respective copies. In speaking of it, bythe-by, some days ago, to an acquaintance, he said he had
in his library a book upon the subject, which he regarded
as a curiously labored production, and which he sent me
to look over. It is in two small octavo volumes, and is
entitled " An Essay on Family Nomenclature, Historical,
Etymological, and Humorous."  The author is'Mark
Anthony Lower.' It is probable that you know and have
the work, as its third edition was printed in 1849.
I looked for his notices of our three names. Of Dixon,
he says in his list of " sonnames, nurse names, and diminutives "-what you seem to agree with, thus " Richard,
Richards, Richardson, Ritchie, Rickards, Hitchins (!),
Hitchinson, Hitchcock (!), Dick, Dickson, Dixon, Dickens, Dickinson, Dickerson."
Of Homer-he ranks it in a batch corresponding with the
designations of "the divinities and celebrated persons of
classical antiquity, such as Venus, Mars, Bacchus, Homer,
Tully, Horace, Virgil, Caesar. These are doubtless derived from traders' signs. The former three would be




TO DR. DUCACHET.               147
appropriate for Inns: —the remainder for the shops of
mediaeval dealers in books or their materials.  So recently as the last generation a celebrated publisher gave
his establishment the name of the' Cicero's Head.'"
Of Dallas-he places it in a class deriving the second
syllable from "House."  This, with your signification of
Dall, would make the name purport "the house in the
valley." I remember that my father used to sport, by addressing my mother with a quotation from Swift, "Mrs.
Dalhousie, great Goddess of War!" etc., etc.
Always most truly yrs.
No. 104.-TO DR. DUCACHET.
LONDON, March 25, 1857.
MY DEAR DR. DUCACIET,-I send you an exceedingly
interesting judgment, but now pronounced by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on points of church
furniture and ornamentation, parts of which would seem
somewhat applicable to our dear old St. Stephen's.
The suits began in the Consistorial Court, where decrees
were given by Dr. Lushington broadly against the use of
crosses, candlesticks, credence tables, and altars. Appeals
were taken to the Court of Arches, and Dr. Lushington's
decisions were affirmed. Finally,' the cases were taken
before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and,
after a protracted and able argument, have ended in the
judgment I enclose, which affirms in part and reverses in
part, and which is characterized by such deep research
and sound sense that I presume it will be accepted as
conclusive on the merits of the controversy.
It would appear to be distinctly adjudged that the Communion table should be of wood and movable: -and I am
under the impression that ours is of white marble, and
too ponderous to be stirred without machinery. How is
this? If as I suppose, then I think it would be wise to
consult upon the subject in vestry, and, under your controlling advice and wisdom, to have such steps taken as
may prevent any charge of deviation from material forms.
Of this, however, I am rather presumptuous in making




148                TO MR. CASS.
a suggestion. You will excuse (won't you?) what springs
only from an affectionate interest in all that relates to
yourself and our temple of Protestant worship. Perhaps
you know that many years ago, I assailed in verse the
cross surmounting the steeple of St. Peter's: —Bishop
Doane replied to my rhymes: and it is now authoritatively established that I was wrong and the learned
Bishop right. "Stare decisis" is a rule alike orthodox
and conservative.
Your disciples here are all in good health, and send
their kindest regards to Mrs. Ducachet and yourself.
Always your faithful & sincere friend, etc.
No. 105.-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 2, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Let me thank you for your two private
letters of the 11th and 17th of March, which reached me
at the same time three days ago. They have led me to
think that the informal and unofficial correspondence
which I kept up with Mr. Marcy may not be unacceptable
to you. One prefers, in lounging or in writing, not to be
in full dress.
I pity you all from the bottom of my heart. Nothing
can be more deplorable than the harassing state of siege
to which every new administration is subjected. Your
description-which almost resolves the whole country into
a heaving mass of Ins and Outs-reminds one of the recent bon-mot of the Duke D'Aumale who, speaking of the
social state of Paris, said there were but three classes,
"les fonctionnaires, les factionnaires et les actionnaires."
The elections here have absorbed attention. The whole
operation has been effected with a sort of "snap-judgment
rapidity,"-much faster than a debatable question would
be brought to a vote in the Senate. John Bull can't bear
being without his omnipotent Parliament for a moment.
He fancies the whole social edifice at hazard, and he hurries blindly to manufacture a new one. Not one-sixth of
the old body will undergo change: —and such changes as
are made do not spring from calm consideration, which




TO MR. CASS.                 149
moves slowly, but from the personal passions of the moment, which are quick in striking. Two features of
result are already quite obvious: —a great accession to the
incongruous strength of what is called the Liberal party,
and a decisive individual triumph to Lord Palmerston.
The early scenes of the coming Parliament will be full of
ministerial exultation; but in the belief of many astute
politicians, this will be short-lived, for the elements of discord among Liberals are countless and impracticable. If
Lord John Russell exhibit his usual tact, the city of London has re-endorsed him in a manner which may make
him an early successor to Lord Palmerston. Much, but
not everything will be indicated by the choice of a
Speaker;-and it is amazing how few gentlemen of either
party are admitted into the category of the competent.
Nothing worthy of a regular despatch. Not a syllable
from the Foreign Office on the maritime war Convention.
The attitude of Lord John Russell as to this will seriously
tend to defeat the movement. Besides, Cobden and
Bright and Gibson and Walmsley have lost their elections. Yet, it is worth while noting that a correspondent
of the Post is laboring a series of essays, and with some
adroitness leans to the projet of Mr. Marcy. I am quite
in a fever to hear from you on the subject.
Somebody, it appears, finds access to the penetralia of
your department:-for I find in the Morning Star of today, as extracted from the New York Herald of the 19th
March, what professes to be a copy of the Central American
Treaty, but what in fact is a copy of one of its projets subsequently altered. So that even your unperfected documents are, for some purpose or other, dug from their
dormitories and paraded in the papers. I wonder whether
the Senators may not have been perplexed with the several
draughts, adapted to my several instructions, which I transmitted to Mr. Marcy?  The mistakes in newspapers as to
the provisions and phraseology of the instrument, are innumerable and to me incomprehensible. But fifteen days
remain of the six months during which the ratifications
are to be exchanged. I suppose they will complain here
of the short time left them for deliberation on the amendments. They will have ten days, not more, should your
final instructions come by the next steamer. Perhaps the
whole period will be allowed to run out! As soon as it




150                TO MR. CASS.
appears that the proper moment has arrived, I shall
write you a special letter on a special topic as regards
myself.
Ferouk Khan (pronounced here Cawn), the Persian
ambassador, cottons singularly to your minister. He
prides himself upon having made the Treaty with Mr.
Spence: and proposes to remain here until he can exchange its ratifications. If he did not suffer dreadfully
from sea-sickness, he assures me that he would visit the
United States, and expresses a hope that the two countries may soon interchange diplomatic representatives.
Seinor Don Bravo, the newly arrived envoy from Spain,
is quite an agreeable gentleman:-a genuine black-eyed,
black-browed, black-haired, black-moustached, sallowtinted, short, and compact caballero. With a smattering
of his tongue, fetched from the memories of fifty years ago,
I get along with him tolerably well. They say there are
shades on his past; but of that I know nothing.
The Greek minister, whom I esteem as one of the most
intelligent and estimable of the Corps, was enchanted on
my shewing him that by our new Tariff, currants, under the
description of dried fruit, would be admitted at a duty of
281 instead of the old 40 per cent. ad valorem. By-the-by,
I wrote Mr. Marcy that this gentleman, in order to cultivate the intercourse between our and his country, had
been instructed to suggest the expediency of our converting the Commercial Agent of the United States in Greece
into a Consul: the latter allowing more public manifestation of regard from the Court. He has spoken to me
again on the subject. I presume Mr. Marcy was preoccupied with arranging old matters, and avoided new ones,
as he did not notice the idea.
The news from China, given out by the ministerial candidates at the hustings, to the effect that the Emperor did
not approve the conduct of Commissioner Yeh, does not
seem to have been well founded. Now that it has served
its purpose, it is discredited. The electric telegraph is not
the most reliable agency. I perceive prevailing here among
official men a solicitude that the United States should join
England and France in their proposed pressure against
the wall of exclusiveness within which the Chinese choose
to exist. I retain the opinion expressed in a former letter,
that the two powerful allies meditate a serious aggressive




TO MR. MARKOE.                151
movement, if not a military occupation, in the disorganized land of Tartars, Teas, and Junks. The moment is
propitious. Neither Louis Napoleon nor Lord Palmerston is averse to maintaining tranquillity at home, by turning the public gaze to military proceedings at a distance.
The merchants do not seem to apprehend, as a consequence, any important disturbance of commerce.
Allow me to enforce the suggestion made in my last
despatch, respecting the Supreme Court's decision in the
case of Dred Scott, by adding that if we do not, in some
authentic form, let this prejudiced portion of the world
have access to the whole truth, it is a hundred to one that
the dissenting opinions of Judges McLean and Curtis will
be represented and almost universally received as the Judgment. As to obtaining from the Press here, or anywhere
in Europe, a fair and impartial exposition of the relation
of slavery to our national constitution, so as to vindicate
the principles and practice of our national democracy, no
hope can be conceived more chimerical.
Parliament is to assemble on the 30th of this month.
I am told that the swearing in of the members will consume a week, and no important business will take place
before the expiration of that time. The Queen will not
open it in person, as she will hardly have recovered the
fatigue of dropping another pearl in the jewelry casket
of her devoted subjects. Her Majesty still drives out
every day, showing that if there be no royal road to
learning in general, there is undoubtedly one to the multiplication table. Pray present my respects and regards
to all around you, and believe me
Always cordially yrs.
No. 106. —TO MR. MARKBOE.
LONDON, April 3, 1857.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-Don't abuse me-though you have
certainly a right to do so-for putting your kind energies
under contribution to accomplish, if possible, two small
purposes which I found it impossible to avoid undertaking.




152             TO MR. MARKOE.
Primero. Can the Secretary of War, under the statements of the two notes I enclose, be induced to spare
poor Mr. W. H. B., who unwittingly enlisted in our
army, and has incurred the penalty of desertion? His
family is of high respectability, and I should be much
pleased if they could be gratified by having their reckless
kinsman sent home.
Secondo. IHas there not been published in Washington a work entitled "Report on the Commercial Relations of the United States," Vol. 1? The Department of
State ought to possess it for distribution among the foreign legations. I certainly ought to have a copy. But I
specially want a copy for " The Statistical Society," and
if your department can't order it sent to me, you must
be kind enough to direct any one of the librarians on the
Avenue to address it to me in the next despatch bag,
letting me know the price and debiting me. Pishey
Thomson, or his successor, I dare say has the book.
Let me say to you-of course in profound personal confidence-that the amendments made to the treaty by the
Senate are a series of miserable little criticisms, doctrinal
and verbal, utterly unworthy the dignity of the body and
the gravity of the occasion. I can scarcely understand
how, by the utmost excitement of filibustering declamation, such paltry picking should have occupied that great
council for three months. In a little while the minority
will have no resort but to laugh off their folly as well as
they can. But two weeks left for the exchange of ratifications, and yet I have nothing on hand! Perhaps this
beautiful exhibition of senatorial wisdom is to be rounded
off by —but, n'importe! —the thing was satisfactory all
round, to both Governments and both Peoples —conformed rigidly even as to phrases and terms to instructions, and was most flatteringly eulogized by Marcy " for
judgment and skill" of negotiation, and eagerly sanctioned
by President Pierce and Queen Victoria, and the Press on
both sides:-but it got into a dark hole and has been
nibbled at by rats in search of food for faction. Unless
we go on sinking deeper and deeper in the mire of filibusterism, and encouraging the revival of the age of buccaneering-an ignominy not altogether impossible-the treaty,
with all its faults, will, as John Q. said, " stand the test of
time and talent." I especially think so, because, after




TO MR. CASS.                153
being buffeted about by eminent men so long, its substance and spirit remain unchanged.
I am waiting to hear fromr Washington about two matters which must be definitively disposed of before the moment can arrive for adopting your hint as to the mode of
acting on my own subject. I have no idea of a peevish
and petty course: —and the instant all misconception of
motive can be avoided and all imputation of idle pique,
it may be proper to act frankly and finally. There has
been "negative pregnant" enough not to be mistaken,
and I am quite ready for what was thought not unlikely
when I started on the mission.  I find no fault anywhere.
Palmerston's star is in the ascendant for another year at
least. His party, and his ministerial associates particularly, are flushed with victorious exultation.
My affectionate regards to all.
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 107.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 7, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have not had time to prepare a despatch since Mr. Evans came an hour ago with the Central
American treaty, and your accompanying official letter
of instruction. Yet I do not like to allow the Fulton to
leave to-morrow morning without a word from me.
This matter will, of course, have my earliest attention; and, as I agree with you that the real substance of
the arrangement remains unaffected by the amendments
of the Senate, I have strong confidence that this government will, without much delay, pursue the wise example
of the President. Varieties of opinion on an entanglement so complicated and so multifarious in its bearings,
cannot be avoided. It is the fruit of the Clayton-Bulwer
treaty.
I have yet ten days before the period for an exchange
of ratifications expires. All the necessary copies will be
prepared this evening, and the matter fully submitted to
Lord Clarendon to-morrow morning. The only expunging
VOL. I.-11




154               TO MR. KNAEASS.
on which it is possible they may hesitate is that relating
to the grants of land.
Since my last, the result of the election in Middlesex
has given a still loftier tone of exultation to the Palmerstonians.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 108. —TO LORD CLARENDON.
24 PORTLAND PLACE, April 7, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CLARENDON,-I shall be able to send
your lordship, in the morning, official copies of the treaty,
with the Senste's amendments, and the President's ratification, and the letter of instruction to me from -Mr. Cass
on the subject.
In the mean while, I have thought it might be agreeable
to you to have tlhe draft I prepared for my own use, by
which the loc'us in quo and bearing of each amendment
might be seen at a glance.
The temper of the Presidlent is most admirable: —his
acts.better natured even than his words. Your lordship
need not be reminded that ten days only are left of our
prescribed time.
With assurances of the highest consideration,
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 109. —TO MR. KNEASS.
LONDON, April 9, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —Your letter of the 19th ultimo reached
me a few days ago.
I have procured and now transmit to you the Act of the
British Parliament, 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, which you think
may be usefully added to the library of your Department
of Surveys in the city government.
On the subject of Sewers and Drains, great activity and
research have recently been manifested by the Board of
Public Works, at the head of which is Sir Benjamin Hall, in




TO MR. CASS.                 155
order to effect a permanent purification of this vast city:and it will give me pleasure to find myself, on taking the
necessary trouble, able to send you something from this
source of value to the future health and comfort of Philadelphia..
Very respectfully your friend and servant.
No. 110.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 10, 1857.
IMY DEAR SIR, —Althoughl I have several irons in the
fire, there is no business sufficiently ripe for a despatch.
I sent the whole Central American Record to the F. 0.
three days ago, and I saw Lord Clarendon yesterday. It
is obvious that the amendments are not thought materially
to change the original design and text, except as to the
Land Grants. Some soreness is felt at the abrupt treatment
experienced by the second clause of the second separate
article, though substantially and practically it reaches the
same end. His lordship, however, had not consulted his
colleagues, and did not intend expressing any opinion
before doing so. Some apprehension as to Parliament
was intimated; and he reminded me that Mr. Gladstone
had already attacked the ministry for alienilig a colony
without the consent of Parliament and without consideration. He said, too, among other things, that their treaty
with Honduras remained yet unratified, and this broad
handing over the Bay Islands bodily, contained in the
anmend-ment, to HIonduras, though heretofore not asked by
Honduras, might put her up to reject the treaty,-a farfetched supposition to be sure, considering how immensely
advantageous to IHonduras that treaty was in respect to
the railway. He wanted me to agree to extend the time
for ratification: —the cabinet was scattered: and its regular meeting would not take place before next Thursday,
the 16th. I said that was entirely out of my power:the expiration of the time was prescribed in the instrument ratified by the President, and nothing could now
suspend or change it. This conversation was casual, and
apparently so unofficial that I am rather reluctant in




156                 TO MR. CASS.
repeating it. It certainly, however, involved nothing
definitive, and had only a tendency to disclose the personal opinions and thoughts of Lord C. for the time
being. They have left me under the impression, that,
notwithstanding the rough handling of the Senate, the
treaty will finally be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged this day week or sooner.
The spring is hastening on, with rich green turf, glowing flowers, and expanding shrubbery. The parks and
gardens and terraces of London are already beautiful, and
give great comfort to those who are kept in town.  Absente Parliamento, fashion has flown back into the country:-to return about the 10th of May.
The new House of Commons, it is agreed on all sides,
will have an unwieldy and unmanageable weight of Liberalism in it. If that weight can be solidified as a party,
distinct and prononcee, and be once brought to move, it
will rush into Reform in a manner to constitute an epoch
in British history. The number of able, influential, and
active men who think, talk, and act for sweeping political
and social changes, is greater all over the country than in
the United States is imagined.
Lord C. told me that Lord Napier had written home in
the highest delight with his new residence:-that he was
enthusiastic about everybody and everything:-and that
in such a spirit he could not fail to please.
My best respects to all around you, and in particular to
Miss Cass.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 111, —TO MR. CA8S.
LONDON, April 17, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Lord C.'s proposed proviso strikes me as
much more open to the senatorial objections than was the
clause as originally framed. It enlists the United States
in favor of the ratification of the Honduras Convention,
and so affects them with a full knowledge and approbation of all its terms:-it connects the two treaties by a
direct and indissoluble link.




TO MR. CASS.                157
Now, the sole and declared object of the original provision was to express the fact which removed the Bay
Islands from the cateogory of differences:-that fact being
one derived exclusively from her Majesty's Foreign Office,
to wit, that they had ceased to be a British colony whose
existence was irreconcilable with the purpose and in
violation of the letter of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, but
had become, under the admitted sovereignty of IIonduras,
a free territory. All that we had to look to was the
extinction of the British pretension to sovereignty there,
and the retrocession of the islands to Honduras in any
form or shape that she, Honduras, might be freely willing
to accept them. We could, consistently with our public
principles, interfere with the terms of a contract over
which Honduras had absolute and rightful control, only
by refusing to treat with England at all unless she
announced the restoration of the islands to Honduras, and
their voluntary acceptance as restored by that republic.
As to the conditions upon which this bargain might be
made agreeable to each other, either in reference to the
actual inhabitants of the islands, or to the opening of an
inter-oceanic railway, or any other measure of sovereign
action, our intermeddling would be intrusive and absurd.
These were the views of my instructions. Hence the
original provision in the 2d clause of the second Separate
Article, with which Mr. Marcy expressed his approbation,
as in fact he and General Pierce did with the whole
prqjet when matured. But the Senate did not like the
provision, and have substituted another more substantial
and direct. And now comes Lord Clarendon with a proviso that means to assert, if it mean anything, that England
had a mental reservation, not expressed in the original
provision or in any part of the treaty, not to hold herself
bound, unless the convention with Honduras was ratified,
by her distinct, palpable, and positive engagement with
the United States "to recognize and respect in all future
time the independence and rights of the said free territory as part of the Republic of Honduras."  What had
the United States to do with the ratification of their convention? That was their own lookout. If they entertained a doubt about it, why not offer to refer to it in
some way? If they entertained, as probably they now
entertain, no doubt at all, then it is not surprising that




158              TO MR. KENNEDY.
they considered the mere making of the convention as
equivalent to its ratification, and so at once, and without
deemring it at all expedient to communicate its contents,
they agree to start from its making, and make the stiplulations for all future time which I have recited. Wait for
ratification, indeed! Look to Honduras for the efficacy
of our treaty with Great Britain! I can understand why
Lord C. may shrink from doing what the Senate requires,
but that he should hope to extenuate his shrinking by
offering a proviso whose purport never would have been
and never can be accepted is incomprehensible to me.
It is said to be useless to " cry over spilled milk." The
philosophy is sound and practical. Nevertheless, in extreme anxiety to do nothing that may affect the public
interests injuriously, I shall wait to hear from you on this
finality to the year's efforts to adjust the Central American questions.
I have been obliged to write in great haste, and possibly with a looseness which will tax your indulgent kindness.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 112.-TO MR. KENNEDY.
LONDON, April 21, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your parcel addressed to the Bishop of
Oxford arrived safely; and of course you know that I shall
take pleasure in conforming to your wishes about it.
I furnished his lordship in July last some American experience on the execution of capital sentences in private:
-too late for use in the then existing Parliament. IIe
has the reform much at heart: but all reforms here are
slow in gathering confidence, and their advocates omit
nothing to strengthen themselves against resistance, before making the final push. The United States is a quiver
full of arrows for them: —teeming with successful experiments in all practical improvements. It is really quite
surprising, and certainly not disagreeable, to note the
numberless ways in which the new world has turned
teacher to the old.




TO fMR. CASS.                159
I will not forget the Dean of St. Paul's.
The relations of the two countries are, I hope, independent of diplomatic formularies: as the Central Amrerican treaty returned here with only a single feather on its
backl that broke it down. The point of difference between the Senate and the ministry was whittled to the
smallest end of nothing. It is possible, after swallowing
a camel, to gasp at a gnat.
Pray present the best regards of Mrs. D. and myself to
Mrs. K.
Very sincerely yrs.
No. 113.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 24, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —You get by this steamer more of my
writing than you will be able to tolerate.
Mr. E. was yesterday entrusted with a despatch which
failed to go on Wednesday owing to an accident happening
to the Hermann. He carries also back, in virgin purity,
the unexchanged ratification of the Central American
treaty. As bearer of a private letter from Mr. Buchanan
to Lord Clarendon, he was most kindly and courteously
treated by his lordship.
The coup-de-grace given to the treaty has, as yet, been
unnoticed in the newspapers. This I presume to arise
from an uncertainty as to the most expedient course in
reference to its effect on the new Parliament. Even the
fact is unmentioned.
Theforeign ministers at this Court are invited (or summoned) to be present in Manchester on the 5th of May
next, at the opening of the Art Treasures Exhibition,
destined, unuder the auspices of Prince Albert, to surpass
everything of the sort ever undertaken!
Lord Lyndhurst sets us all a capital example. He is
85, and yet, as Mr. E. will tell you, at a crowded soiree
two nights ago, he was the observed of all observers as
well with ladies as gentlemen:-that too in the drawingroom of a Liberal, although he is an incurable Tory.
The Queen recovers more rapidly than would a farmer's




160             TO COL. MURRAY.
wife. It is even surmised that her Majesty may be energetic enough to open Parliament in person this day week.
She is fond of going through that ceremony, which she
is said to perform with peculiar grace and emphasis.
The imbroglio between Austria and Sardinia promises
to disturb the serenity of European politics. Count Cavour overwhelmed Count Buol with too much united
force and quiet: —the latter, of course, can't forgive. As
to Switzerland and Prussia about Neufchatel, the controversy is finally hushed up by Fiance and England to the
disadvantage of the Republic.  She pays money, and
permits a title derogatory to her territorial independence.
Lord Elgin is off for Hong-Kong. So are land and
naval reinforcements, quite enough to plant a colony
wherever they please among the distracted and decadent
Chinese.
Cordially yrs.
No. 114.-TO COL. MURRAY.
LONDON, April 28, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —Your packet for Mr. D. was received
and forwarded to Mr. Mason in a despatch bag.
General Mercer is one of those clear thinkers who are
not easily misled by mere appearance or sound. Our
system constitutes, as the final negotiator of treaties, a
popular body of 62 members! They amend such instruments with all the freedom they amend ordinary bills,
engrafting each his peculiar notion, and indulging claptrap and bunkum without stint. This is diplomacy run
riot. —and one must not be astonished at finding foreign
powers occasionally restive under its operation. As early
as 1794, our Senate struck whole clauses from Chief Justice Jay's treaty:-in 1824, they so mutilated one made
by Mr. Rush, that this government refused, just as they
have now refused, to exchange the ratifications. Whoever was the Senator to offer the amendment to strike
out and insert the twenty words about the Bay Islands, he
alone has the glory of killing the treaty: —as to all the




TO MR. CASS.                  161
other paltry picking, it was regarded with indifference:that was esteemed an intolerable dictation, and, though
with extreme reluctance, was visited with a tit for tat.
Nothing was more perfectly innocuous than the clause as
it originally stood; but its treatment has, I fear, given
the adversary a very dangerous weapon to fight with.
Whence came that truly valiant and filibustering amendment?-that, to us, is shrouded in senatorial secrecy —
but it is known here, and will amaze us, they say, hereafter. An outside concoction?
The Cobden party committed a blunder, and dearly
have they answered it: —not in moving against the Chinese war, but in, immediately upon success there, consenting to assume a defensive attitude against the charge
of coalition. They found out their mistake at too late a
stage of the canvass.
After all, blustering goes a mighty distance in practical
politics-and of that Lord Palmerston employs no small
a load.
Very truly always yrs.
No. 115. —TO MR. ASS.
LONDON, April 28, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-I send a cutting from the Spectator of
the 25th inst. It is, as you know, the best weekly published in London. This is the first and only notice yet
taken of the non-exchange of ratifications.  I do not
doubt that the intimation in the last line is, in a certain
sense, well founded: —and that the ministers prefer that
the annunciation of their having rejected the Senate's
amendment shall be made by them in reply to parliamentary " interpellations," accompanied by such justificatory
and soothing remarks as they may think the occasion
calls for.
The negotiation as to modifying the rules of maritime
war has been formally suspended. I have reason to know
that the answer to our proposal has been prepared in
two forms, and was on the point of being laid before the
cabinet and then sent to me. Both forms declined:



162                TO MR. CASS.
one assigning reasons at length, the other merely saying
that just now the projet was not expedient in the judgment of her Majesty's government.  My belief is that
Lord Palmerston favors it, and that as soon as he can reinforee his strength in the House sufficiently to beat Lord
John Russell's opposition to it down, he will make it a
cabinet question. Mr. Lindsay, a most intelligent and
re-elected member, and a devoted friend of Mr. Cobden
as well as of free trade, said to me the other day that this
was the second time on which, in reference to surrendering
the right to use privateers, we had retracted at the very
moment when they were persuading the government to
close with the offer. " To me," he added, " it is perfectly
incomprehensible how you can think of giving up privateers, when you contrast the size of our two navies.''
He is amazed that Mr. Marcy's proposal was not instantly
closed with.
The Speaker of the House will be chosen the day after
to-niorrow. Then the swearing in will go on for a week.
And on Thursday, the 8th May, Parliament will be opened
by Commission:-unless " the little lady" should, in the
mean time, muster strength enough to go through a
shevwy ceremony in which it is said she acts her part admirably, and of which she is therefore naturally very fond.
You notice the assiduous and unremitting courtship of
France and Russia. It will yet end in something eclatainte: —especially if the British press perseveres in its recent labors to mortify and exasperate the self-esteem of
the " degenerated race."  The Edlitburgh Review and the
Times have forcible and humbling thrusts at the undeniable diminution of French numbers and "physique." The
Grand Duke Constantine is now the Imperial guest at
Paris:-and his Majesty the Czar is said to contemplate
a visit in the course of the summer.
Your refusal to join the hunt against the Chinese is not
relished. It is characterized as a cold, selfish, and isolating policy: —not actually disapproved, but extremely
disliked. If they can't get your representative out there
to combine with them, they will probably try their best to
make his time unpleasant:-if he side with them in the
remotest manner, that will be enough to produce upon
"the ignorant Chinese" all the "moral effect" they desire.
With cordial respects yrs.




TO LADY MORGAN.                  163
No, 116. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 8, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The oracular speech of her Majesty,
delivered yesterday, through the Lord Chancellor and
his fellow-commissioners, to Parliament, was sent to me
from the F. O. late last night. I enclose it. You will
note the 5th paragraph as amazingly precise, explanatory, and clear!
Observe also, that though Reform be allowed a place, it
is only Law reform. Expressio unius, etc. For this session, then, the ministrv are for that only. It is certainly
important: —but a great deal more is expected, and the
opposition will probably hurry to get in advance. Opinion is becoming every day bolder. At large public meetings, one hears not unlfrequently "No State Church,"
"No legislative Bishops," "No hereditary law-makers,"
"No property franchise," etc., etc.
I cannot resist the impression that this government
contemplate taking possession of a large portion of the
southern territory of China. An adequate military force
will soon be there, both French and English: —and our
squadron will find it hard work to abstain from the general
foray. If you have Mr. Reed still with you, tell him there
is a capital article on the Chinese Question in the last, or
April, number of the Edinburgh Review.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 117. —TO LADY MORGAN.
LONDON, May 9, 1857.
MY DEAR LADY MORGAN,-It was my intention to seize
the pleasure which your remark to Mrs. D. held out,
although somewhat apprehensive of being an intruder.
Your kind " remind " of this morning gives to the lunch
on Monday an attraction not to be resisted, and as my
countrymen say when wishing to make an impressive appointment, "You'll find me thar."
Always faithfully, your Ladyship's
Most obedient servant.




164         TO MR. PISHEY THOMSON.
No. 118.-TO MR. PISHEY THOMSON.
LONDON, May 9, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Pray accept my very cordial thanks for
your letter of the 2d instant. It would have been replied to
at once, but that I was preparing for an absence of several days in Manchester.
I have been much interested in your account of the
Memorial proposed to be erected to the Rev. Jol-in Cotton in the Chapel connected with the Church of St. Botolph in Boston, Lincolnshire; and I shall feel it a
high privilege to attend at the' contemplated ceremony
in grateful remembrance of that eminent clergyman.
Whether I shall be able, at the time that may be fixed
upon for the inauguration, to quit London, I cannot at
present say; but, as soon as apprised of the day's being
finally designated,-which I understood the Rev. G. B.
Blenkin to say might be at the close of July next —I will
promptly determine that point and let you know. This
reticence is in a measure dictated by my knowing that
you desire to give to the solemnity a partly international
aspect, which I am not quite certain that three months
hence it will be in my power to aid you in doing.
Mr. Ingram was kind enough to offer to send me an
account of your city, and I frankly accepted his offer,
supposing that it would be in the shape of an ordinary
pamphlet or guide-book. He has, however, sent me
your really magnificent and costly folio of " The, History
and Antiquities of Boston, etc., etc." The work is truly
beautiful:-but is it not too valuable for me to retain?
I remember you at Washington with much pleasure,
and regret to hear that your health is bad. Should you
visit London while I am here, I beg that I may have an
opportunity to renew our acquaintance.
Very faithfully and sincerely yrs.




TO MR. M.                   165
No. 119.-TO MR. M.
LONDON, May 14, 1857.
MY DEAR MR. MARKOE,-A thousand thanks for " The
Commercial Relations," one half at least of which I beg
you to present to Mr. Flagg.  The volume graces the
library of the Statistical Society, and lies ready to be
devoured on my table.
As many acknowledgments for your successful intercession with Secretary Floyd about young Barnping.
Indeed, I am very much in your debt for these and similar acts of assistance. So, to wipe off a score or two, let
me amuse you with a reference to a recent symposium.
On Monday last, Lady Morgan (Sydney Owenson, the
Wild Irish Girl, Ida of Athens, etc.) summoned me to meet
a friend of hers at lunch. I went at half-past two. Her
house is a small curiosity shop, crowded with interesting
relics. She has Voltaire's writing chair, and a sketch
of his study. The walls are literally concealed by likenesses and autographs. Everything, like herself, is "en
petit" and antique, except the music she never fails to enlist.
She is so short that when sitting her feet can't reach the
floor. Iler vivacity is boundless, and her intellectual attractions recognized, as you will see, by the first minds of the
age. She dresses as you must imagine a discreet sylph
would dress, that is, in a mass of light, many-colored gossamery stuff, with ribbons flying in all directions, and a
fanciful coquettish cap. Well! she rouges highly, and,
though turned of eighty, might under the magnetic mask
of wit, were her sight and hearing not imperfect, pass for
something over fifty. She placed me on her right at her
little round table, and inquired in a whisper if I was aware
of the celebrities present. " They were a cluster of brilliants, and I knew them all." Here you have them. Close
on my right sat Macaulay, the fullest and fastest man
in conversation I ever met with: —his only defect an
uncontrollable effort, arising from excessive self-esteem,
to monopolize the talk. On the left of Lady Morogan was
Lord Carlisle, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (Morpeth).
Then came.Hallam (Middle Ages), a most interesting
person in appearance and manners, suffering to such an




166                   TO MR. M.
extent from disease as to be unable to walk without help,
and perhaps evincing a partial loss of mental energy.
There too was that most excellent historian of Greece,
Grote, whom I like and respect the more every time I see
him. Near hinl and opposite the hostess twinkled away
the pink eyes of' Albino Lowe, the only highly gifted individual of that species perhaps in being: and we rounded off'
with Charles Villiers, a true, talented, and uncompronlising liberal, I had almost said democrat, albeit the brother
of Clarendon: Monckton JilUnes, a poet, politician, parliamentary speaker, and ready converser: —and, though last
far from least, Lady Combermere.
Now I won't indulge in repeating the numberless admirable things said at this cosey lunch, during about an hour
and a half.  The eagerness to talk far outstripped the
eagerness to eat. At one time, I believe every man was
leaning forward over the table and giving to the whole
unilistening company his particular idea. The bursts of
merriment were unceasing. If I were a bookmaking
tourist, I am certain that I could expand the intellectual
gold at this lunch through an octavo of leaves. Review
the names, and realize its character.
I think it very probable that you would prefer a description of some geological cabinet, but I have no relish for
that sort of thing.  Sir Roderick Murchison now and then
walks me through his rich collections of firagments of ores,
spars, rocks, etc., and I take it for granted that they are
all very curious, very valuable, and very instructive: —but,
"chacun d son gouit," and mine never ran in that direction,
farther than to admire your drawers full of what I would
scarcely be willing to allow house-room.
Did you get Guizot's study of Peel?  That and Dr.
Kane's book have aroused more furore among the ordinary
run of readers here than any other new publications.
Lever has just launched a new novel, "The Fortunes of
Glencore," which can be read at a single sitting, though
in three volumes, and is really full of strong pictures and
capital notions of life.
I have a mind to rush you into the Art Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, whose opening I felt it a sort of
official duty to attend. But the labor would be intolerable. You must wait until another appropriate fit comes
over me.




TO MR. CASS.                  167
We are all well. Your notion of Florence is too wise
to last. It would benefit you, your wife, and the whole
family: —therefore, I take it for granted you have long since
given it up.
My best love to every one at home.
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 120. —TO MR. CASS.
LoNDoN, May 15, 1.857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The officers of the Niacgara have
crowded my despatch bag with letters, official aind private.
You will probably, therefore, have full accounts of her
performance in crossing the Atlantic. Their representations are glowing in her favor. She was able to acconlplish two-thirds of her voyage in six days: —subsequently
she took it leisurely, and reached Gravesend on the eighteenth after leaving, the Narrows.
I am afraid matters are not as advanced on this side as
they seem to have been thought by _Mr. Toucey. There
is a difficulty, owing to her draft of' water and certain
unfinished dredgi-ng, in her takingi the place in the Thames
originally assigned, and, indeed, it was contemplated, a
few hours before she entered the Downs, to have signalled
and sent her to Liverpool. I cannot learn that the Cable
is near ready: and when it shall be, the calculation seems
to be that it cannot be stowed on board the ship at a rate
more rapid than twenty miles-of its length per day:-so
that full two months will be consumed in shippingalone the
1200 miles. Should she begin to receive her cargo, which
is a bold hope, by the 1st of June, she cannot finish loading before the 1st of August, even supposing no accident
or delay:-and thus the most advantageous season for
laying the wires nmust be, lost. It would, I think, be imprudent to run the risks of September or October. On
the whole, unless Captain IHuson, or Professor Morse,
apply the screw effectually to the operatives here, and
push them to a speed beyond all their habits, the grand
consummation will be delayed till next summer. As
in military, so in mechanical, exploits England always




168                TO MR. CASS.
lags until the second or third campaign. The thing will
be achieved no doubt:- but not by any means so promptly
or punctually as American goaheadness would exact.
Queen Victoria, in spite of the prevailing popular prejudice, has invited the Russian Grand Duke Constantine
to pay her a visit. Of course such a summons brings him
shortly to Osborne: —although it is gossiped as an unprecedented barbarism that, some years ago, when the present Emperor Alexander was here and at a ball, on being
apprised by the Master of Ceremonies that her Majesty
required hini as a partner in the next quadrille, he very
coolly and imperturbably answered that he was engaged,
and declined the honor! Constantine is said to be fatally
bent on the mischief of breaking asunder the Anglo-Gallican alliance. Success to the Imperial politician!
You must not let me worry you unreasonably with these
letters. My aim is to keep you au fait to current yet
unofficial topics in this maelstrom of intelligence and
bustle. Stop me unhesitatingly as soon as you tire.
Very faithfully yrs.
P. S.-Mr. Marcy made some arrangement with the
captains of the Cunarders, by which our despatch bags
were confided exclusively to their control and care. I
hate suspicion, and the plan may in the long run work
well:-but when I look at your violated letter about Yew
Granada, which came by the Arabia, and compare its contents with the speech of Lord Palmerston on the 15th inst.,
I feel as if I could not explain, without offence to some
one, so singular a coincidence. If our negotiations become
delicate, it would be well not to flinch from employing
special messengers. Economy is an excellent aim, but it
is possible to overshoot it.
G.M.D.
No. 121. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 26, 1857.
MIY DEAR SIR,-Mr. William  Brown, of Liverpool, addressed to me the enclosed letter somewhat too late to be
sent in the last despatch bag. He is so worthy of every




TO MR. CASS.                 169
consideration and respect that I am sure you will not
object to hear his appeal for aid as to the survey of the
railway route in Honduras, although it be informally made
and may not obtain the least acquiescence.
I suppose we cannot have too many lines of Isthmian
transit. Until some thirty years hence, when a direct communication with the shores of the Pacific shall run upon
the surface of our own soil, it will not be wise to rely
on a single road at Panama, or San Juan, or Tehuantepec. We cannot perhaps have too many strings to our
bow. Still, the extent to which we will co-operate with
others, either governments or companies, in projects for
opening these passages, deserves careful consideration. I
think it quite obvious that the commercial interest of
England is contemplating an extensive settlement on the
cotton-yielding lands of Southern China, and looks to
hold direct and rapid intercourse across the Isthmus. As
peaceable competitors, our merchants, with the advantage
of location, would distance them in this trade, as they are
fast distancing them everywhere: —yet it might not be
prudent to facilitate their selling cheap China cotton to
the manufacturers of Manchester.
Your private letter of the 5th instant reached me but
two days ago. This slow progress may have an accidental
cause: —but my despatches from the United States have
recently so regularly been violated on their way, that I
am really growing suspicious. I mentioned to you on a
former occasion that your despatch about New Granada
had been torn open;-and by the very next bag, a large
communication, with the seal of the department, had
undergone the same treatment. The apprehensions created by such a state of things destroy the unreserved character of correspondence. There is a mischievous Paul
Pry somewhere between this and Washington.
Thus far the votes in Parliament indicate, to a casual
observer, a large and firm Palmerstonian majority. tKnowing ones, however, say significantly "wait a little:"-and
they mean by a little a whole year at least. By that time,
the strong infusion of Reform in the new House will have
fermented, found its way to the top, and be prepared and
able to shake the smooth surface of the ministerial caldron. It is astonishing how patiently they bide their
time. The power to "wait" is a great one.
VOL. I.-12




170                TO MR. CASS.
Of course quidnuncs affect great anxiety as to the relations between the two countries. The rejection of the
treaty, which they now realize, and the spirited articles
in our newspapers just received, have created a lively stir.
The Press here still holds back; an abstinence which may
be ascribed to a dread of provoking the Premier to exhibit
his, at this moment, irresistible power in the Commons,
and so committing the country to an extravagance which
in a twelvemonth he will find impossible.
The Russian minister seems pleased with his news from
Washington, and prophesies the abrogation by Congress
of the treaty of 1850:-a proceeding quite unequivocally
represented to Lord Clarendon when I read to him Mr.
Marcy's No. 13, of 24th May, 1856, where it is stated as a
resort to which we might be ultimately driven.
The difficulties about the Niagara rather increase than
lessen. The officers, however, behave exceedingly well
under the circumstances. They still hope not to lose the
summer.
Very faithfully yrs.
No, 122.-TO MR. cASS.
LONDON, June 5, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —The Whitsuntide Holidays dispersed
the members of Parliament throughout the country:and, under the influence of animal magnetism perhaps, I
too went out of town for several days. It is impossible to
imagine anything more beautiful or more perfect in all
its details, intra et extra mcenia, than the rural life of a man
of fortune in England. When the clear and comfortable
weather of early June is superadded, a miserable devil
emerging from the smoke, dust, fog,.and odor of London,
finds himself in Elysiumrn among the hills of Hampshire. I
came back yesterday.
Our good countrymen, in heavy battalions, are winding
their way across the island, to spread themselves all over
Europe and part of Asia. I found my table covered with
their cards and introductories, and they are most cordially




TO MR. CASS.                 171
welcome. There are among them Professors, Chancellors, Bishops and Clergymen sans nombre.
The Niagara goes to Portsmouth to-day, to be so altered,
as I understand, as may fit her for receiving the submarine cable. She will be put in one of the Royal Docks
for the purpose. I am asked to give my official assent to
this proceeding: —but, although willing to aid the great
object in every possible way, I do not feel empowered,
and must leave the matter in the sound discretion of Captain Hudson. The Susquehanna also is in the Thames.
Captain Sands and his first lieutenant were with me yesterdcay. You will have noticed that, as a little lucky accident would have it, they were first in saluting the Russian
Grand Duke Constantine as he entered the British waters
on board of a royal yacht from France, on his way to the
Queen at Osborne. You would be amused to see how
this casual and light incident is remarked upon.
The French elections come off on the 20th instant, and
inspire some interest: —though why, it is difficult to say.
Great care has been officially and openly taken to secure
to the Imperial government an immense majority both of
representatives and votes. The suffrages are expected to
exceed nine millions.
I enclose some papers which the Greek minister has
put into my hands as explanatory of his great desire that
something may be done in respect to the matter I have
heretofore written about. IHe says that Mr. -     is
really not entitled to act as consular representative, and
that his informal authorization from Mr. Diomatari has
expired many years ago; that as a missionary he is constantly provoking the public mind by proselyting —a course
prohibited by the Constitution of Greece. Can you empower me to say a word to him? or is it necessary that
the subject should assume greater formality?
I have nothing worthy of a regular despatch, and cannot have the means of enlivening you until some movement in the political atmosphere disturbs the existing
serenity and dulness.
It is supposed that Parliament, which reassembled last
evening, may continue in session till August and yet their
proceedings be quite devoid of general interest.
Always faithfully yrs.




172            TO MR. HUTCHIVSON.
No. 123.-TO MR. HUTTCHINSON.
LoNDoN, June 12, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have yours of the 26th of May, covering the letter from the Library Company to Mr. Woodcroft, and have immediately forwarded the latter. It
gives me great pleasure to perceive that the Directors
justly appreciate the value of the Patent Publications, and
have comnplied with the engagement as to binding them.
I have come across, in the possession of a fashionable
widow, a Frenchwoman who married an Englishman,
a painting which I wished were in one of the rooms of
the Library. It is an admirable portrait of Franklin,
when our minister in Paris, by a great contemporary
artist ranking now as one of the masters, Greaze. He is
taken in his morning wrapper of green velvet with fur
collar. The widow has repeatedly and significantly called
my attention to it as an object of historical art which
ought to be in America. But I remain stupid to the hint,
as it would be beyond my dilettanti zeal to encourage republicans to give a thousand guineas for a Greuze.
When you tell me that beef in the Philadelphia market
is from 20 to 25 cents a pound, you describe a condition
worse eyen than the one existing in this overcrowded and
extravagant capital of carnivorous gourmiands. You can
get the choice pieces, from the butchers' stalls here, thr
tenderloin at 9 pence the pound, the ribs at 8 pence halfpenny. Our victuallers are making too high a profit on
their business: but we are fond of' good eating and seem
willing to pay for it at any exalted rate. Some scheme
should be adopted, of setting off one meat against another:
of bringing beef down to reason by eating mutton alone
for awhile, or by resorting to fish and fowl. As long as
everybody covets beef; and permits the audacious butcher
to run the price up-hill, we shall have shillings instead of
sixpences for mouthfuls.
Politics are just now serene and quiet. Louis Napoleon waves a more powerful wand over all Europe than
his uncle did, and has a better right than Nicholas to announce that Order reigns, not merely in Warsaw, but
throughout the monarchies. Austria has an aspect of




TO MR. CASS.                 173
liberalism — Prussia lets go of Neufchatel: —Russia,
France, and England (perhaps the U. S. too?) are creepin;g silently after the eoggs of the Shanghais: and the only
ripple to be discerned on the surface is in a pretty little
flare-up against priestly encroachment and practices in the
domestic legislation of diminutive Belgium. Can't we
break the universal peace, by a row on the Isthmus?
Why not monopolize all the transits?
The weather has been warm, for a day at a time: —but
the general temperature is yet too cool to admit of the
slightest diminution of woollens. I suppose you are sweltering under a fierce sun, or rushing to the sea-shore.
By-the-by, be good enough not again to be tempted to try
the treacherous waves of inland waters.
We are all in good health, thank Heaven, and hope to
remain so, even in spite of the incessant entertainments
and soire6s to which we are obliged'to go. Like goodnatured eels, we are growing callous to this sort of martyrdom. The " season," however, will not last beyond the
middle of July.
Present us all to your sons and daughters most affectionately.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 124.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 12, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-There is quite an uncommon serenity
just now in the political heavens. Were it not for the faroff quarrel with China, the anti-priest excitement in Belgiuni, and the French elections on the 21st-all rather
tame subjects-the quidnuncs would be utterly dumb.
Parliament is coolly discussing domestic topics, the camp
at Aldershott, the law of divorce, penalties on fraudulent
trustees, improvement of parks, reformatories, etc., etc.
The ministry appear wonderfully at ease, and my Lord
Palmerston could yesterday mount a fine spirited horse at
Windsor, ride to Ascott, in the Queen's train, stay to the
races, and ride back again, without feeling the weight of
duties or years.




174               TO DR. SHAW.
Opposite to all this, I fear, from the statements in the
newspapers just received, that the condition of things with
you is much disturbed. I hope a great deal from Mr.
Walker's ability and manliness in Kansas, from Harney's
inflexible firmness in Utah, and from the force of the
Supreme law in Ohio. In Granada, you will probably find
little further difficulty, unless indeed the incredible story
be true that England has got another Ruatan on the Pacific side of the transit at Panama. These really grave
subjects, superadded to the oppressions, complications,
and bitternesses, springing almost necessarily out of your
official patronage, must tax your patience and philosophy
not a little. God grant you a safe deliverance!
Please let Mr. Toucey know that Captain Hudson
having apprised me of his intention so to change the
Niagara as to fit her for the reception of the submarine
telegraphic cable, at the expense of the company and without injury to the ship, I applied, at his request, to Sir
Charles Wood for an order that the work might be done
expeditiously, safely, and well by the operatives in the
public employ at Portsmouth. Sir Charles telegraphed Admiral Seymour immediately. The alterations will probably be completed in two weeks. Everybody appears now
sanguine that the cable will be on the bottom of the Atlantic in the course of the summer: —let us hope, with
the two ends tight to Newfoundland and Ireland respectively.
The British Museum has recently had its attractions
increased by the noblest room for a library now existing.
It is an immense circle lighted from a lofty and beautiful
dome. Our congressional apartment devoted to the same
use is quite eclipsed by it.
You see how dull I am forced to be.
With my best regards to Miss Cass,
I am faithfully yrs.
No. 125.-TO DR. SHAW.
LONDON, June 27, 1857.
MY DEAR DR. SHAw,-Pray excuse my delay in answering your note of the 24th instant: —it has been owing to
absence from London and other causes.




TO LORD CAMPBELL.               175
The last session of Congress was the short one, that is,
from December to March 4th. Still, the general subject
to which you refer was not entirely neglected. Two handsome and adequate appropriations of $6760 and $25,000
were made:-the first, "for preparing for publication the
surveys of the late expedition to the North Pacific Ocean
and Behring's Straits, and for finishing the publication
of the charts made by the late expedition for the exploration and survey of the river La Plata and tributaries:"and the second, "to authorize the Secretary of the Navy
to cause to be extended and completed the exploration of the Parana and the tributaries of the Paraguay
river. "
This, to be sure, is not much:-but it may help you out
of a tight place.
I received about two months ago a ponderous quarto
from the United States Coast Survey Departmrent: —the
Superintendent's Report of the proceedings during the
year 1855:-it is an exceedingly elaborate and interesting
expose, aided by many admirable charts. Have you got
it? My only copy was given to Dr. Whewell of Carlbridge, Master of Trinity.
Always most respectfully and truly yrs.
No. 126.-TO LORD CAMPBELL.
June 29, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CAMPBELL, —I must beg you to run your
eye through the enclosed letter received by me from the
United States this morning.
It will shew your lordship that I have been anxious to
fulfil my promise, and that probably the failure to do so
must be ascribed to a mistake of memory in both Judge
Rogers and myself. My correspondent is a member of
the Bar, of established repute for diligent and accurate
investigation.
With the highest consideration, etc.




176              TO JUDGE KANE.
No. 127. —TO MR. THAYER.
LONDON, July 3, 1857.
MY DEAR THAYER,-YOU will see by the enclosed how
very much your letter of the 10th June has gratified the
Lord Chief Justice as well as myself.
By-the-by, talking of judges:-there is hanging in the
gallery of the British Exhibition this year, a very largesized and admirably painted portrait of Judge King. He
is in full Turkish or Egyptian costume, with magnificent
turban, sabre, shawls, and withal a fine flowing white
beard reposing on his breast. The likeness is speaking:and he'ought never to appear in any other dress. It was
sent over from Paris, where he now is, and where it was
painted by Kellogg.
Love to all-ever yrs.
No. 128.-TO JUDGE KANE.
LONDON, July 6, 1857.
MY DEAR JUDGE KANE,-The busts have only just
reached me, and, in honest truth, our recollections are too
vivid to allow us to like them. The artist has fallen short
of justice to his subject. He has failed to delineate, as he
might, the traits of thought, enterprise, vivacity, courage,
and endurance: —these constituted the heroic original.*
For my own part, too, I miss the beard which was the
necessary consequence and companion of his greatest
exploits. Still, we unite in thanking you warmly for the
present.
I sent the copy intended for the Royal Geographical
Society to Sir Roderick Murchison. If his acknowledgment come soon enough, it will accompany this.
With the best regards of all mine to all yours,
Faithfully yrs.
* Dr. E. K. Kane.




TO MR. CASS.                 177
No. 129. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 17, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Observing in the newspapers that you
have returned from your northern journey, I venture upon
resuming my private missives.
Recent events have disturbed the political serenity on
which I commented a month ago. The rebellion in India,
the elections in France, the explosion and failure of the
Mazzini scheme at Genoa, and renewed disturbances in
Spain, are all very interesting in their details and probable consequences.
A grand drama seems preparing from one end to the
other of Hindostan. Every effort is made to conceal or
disguise the fundamental cause of the disaffection. May
they not be playing over again the game of lordly redcoats and paltry provincials? The outbreak at Meerut
has been expected somewhere by intelligent observers, for
several years back. The Home government imprudently
repelled warning and advice. The larded cartridge was
merely the last feather on the camel's back. Proofs
of a vast preconcert, requiring much time to mature,
are manifest. The elevation of a King at Delhi is a
measure of permanent bearing. The simultaneous mutinies of widely separated regiments of sepoys cannot be
misunderstood.
Passion is in the ascendant here. Perhaps this is inevitable while their relatives and friends are being butchered,
and worse than butchered, by the revolted slaves. Too
much force cannot be sent out to execute a prompt vengeance. No money to be stinted. No mercy to be shewn.
The " fanatic natives " are destined to a worse fate, by fire
and sword, than our blacks undergo after insurrection.
There are represented to be about 70,000 British, of all
descriptions, military, civil, and mercantile, in India; and
they are maintaining the sway of this island over 170 niillions! The reinforcements in motion are said to be about
25,000 men: among which are counted the troops going
out to China, but which the Governor-General, Canning,
has intercepted and ordered to Calcutta.
It would seem that Cavaignac and Carnot have decided




178                TO MR. CASS
on taking the oath of allegiance to the Imperial dynasty.
Their constituents insist that it is a condition prescribed
by irresistible force, and if they don't take it they abandon
their country to her fate.
I hope you benefited by your absence for a time from
the turmoil of Washington.
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 130.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 19, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-There is a carelessly worded sentence in
one of my despatches (No. 61, 10th July, 1857), which, if
I had the power, I would like to correct. Fortunately it is
of no importance, being a bald expression of opinion: but
then it would seem to assert a sentiment of my own, which
was not intended. It relates to Cavaignac and Carnot
taking the oath of fealty, and begins, "They should not
hesitate, for what is the obligation of an oath enforced by
500,000 bayonets?" —Had I merely used the words "It is
urged that they should not," then my exact aim would have
been reached. There is enough strength in the view to
puzzle casuists: —but I am not prepared to adopt it, though
powerfully enforced. Pray don't suppose me willing to
treat official swearing lightly for any purpose.
The death of Mr. Marcy was announced to us by the
steamer which arrived yesterday. The " inevitable hour "
came to him in an enviable manner. No sickness, no debility, no pain, no disquietude. I presume it was a sudden
stoppage of the heart's action. Being at the Premier's
drawing-room last night, I observed that it awakened
about as much interest as would the decease of any sepoy
in India.
A fierce struggle getting up between the two Houses
of Parliament on the Jew question. Lord John Russell
moved a new bill, giving to a former act authorizing oaths
to be administered to witnesses in the manner binding on
their consciences, an extension to legislative oaths: —and
if the Lords throw this out, he avows his readiness to call
Baron Rothschild into the Commons, and to have him take




TO MRS. GALES.                 179
his seat, omitting the clause "on the true faith of a Christian." Such a course, if the Peers be firm, must bring on
a most unseemly collision. Lord Chief Justice Campbell
has frankly prejudged it as a violation of positive law. The
truth is, the movement of Lord John is as clearly revolutionary as was the effort of the black republicans to compel or nullify the Senate on the Kansas question. Mr.
Roebuck and many of the newspapers denounce the Lords
with all the bitterness and contempt used by the old
Jacobins of France against the nobles. If we examine
symptoms closely I think we should come to a conclusion that the upper House is fast losing its prestige,
and that its end may be looked for as soon as some five
or six of its veteran sages are removed — Lyndhurst,
Brougham, St. Leonards, Lansdowne, Aberdeen-I doubt
whether our Senate has ever had so little hold upon popular respect. Still, a fondness for aristocracy and a subserviency to wealth leaven the whole lump of British society,
and an attempt to extinguish or curtail the legislative
power of the Peers is always in danger of reaction. The
Crown too shields them by its popularity. If George IV.
were on the throne, both would be in imminent danger.
We have here a number of distinguished Americans:among them, Ticknor, Sparks and Sumner. The last is
quite a favorite as the suffering champion of Abolition.
Ticknor and Sparks have no politics, and are delightful.
Doctors MUtter and Gibson of Philadelphia are also in
London, the former very ill of the gout. A rally of
American sojourners takes place on the 21st instant, the
day after to-morrow, at Boston in Lincolnshire, to " assist"
at the inauguration of a Chapel in honor of the Pilgrim
father, John Cotton. I am bound to be there.
We cannot have farther news from India before the
latter part of this week.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 131. —TO MRS. GALES.
-LONDON, July 20, 1857.
MY DEAR MRS. GALES,-It is extremely provoking to be
obliged in frankness to confess the entire failure of my




180                TO MR. CASS.
efforts to carry out your suggestion as respects Miss
Juliana May.
I reserved an answer to your letter in the hope that, before the season finally closed, something might enable me
to write more agreeable prospects:-but the concerts and
parties at the Palace are now over.
I cannot venture to say why the royal attention was not
attracted to Miss May. IHer Majesty and the Prince Consort justly take pride in selecting the most accomplished
and skilful musicians and songsters for their concerts; and
Miss May, under her engagement with Mr. Lumley, had
publicly, though under some disadvantages, exhibited her
fine vocal powers. The number of great "cantatrices"
from which to select, has no doubt embarrassed choice:
and there are obviously some personal friends, like Novello and Balfe, with whose uniform preference no competitor could hope for success.
I cannot say, for honestly I do not believe, that any
prejudice exists against a voice simply because it is American: high art is too much cultivated, too ardently pursued,
too triumphantly fashionable for that: —nothing so cosmopolitan:-but we have yet to achieve for our country the
reputation of a land of song; and until that be achieved,
and made undeniable, we must not wonder if even the
excellence we know we possess fails to be sought for.
Had I been able to accomplish your wish, my being
accessary to the happiness of Mrs. May and her daughter
would have given me unalloyed pleasure; and certainly
no one would be more eager than myself to contribute in
any degree to your gratification, or to that of Mr. Gales,
whom I can never regard in any other light than as an
old friend of my father's and I hope of mine.
Always most faithfully yrs.
No. 132.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 24, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-It has struck me to be expedient to send
you the accompanying copies of private letters on the subject of handsomely inaugurating the wire which is to run
under the Atlantic from Valentia to St. Johns.




TO MR. CASS.                 181
I hope the President will approve my giving the note
of preparation to Lord Clarendon. It was marked " private" because there is not absolute certainty that the enterprise may not be balked by one of the thousand accidents that are possible, and so the two governments be
made to appear too confident.
One can scarcely yet credit the realization of this most
vast, yet most delicate, conquest of science and machinery.
The first spark that goes from Buckingham Palace to the
White House will, like nlercy, be twice blessed, securing
immortality at once to giver and receiver, in more durable
records than those of politics.
Mr. Huffnagle, our consul-general for British India, is
now here. Nothing as yet from that region to allay the
general anxiety. There seems, indeed, a prevailing impression that the mutineers at Delhi are numrerous, strong
in arms and ammunition, and skilful as soldiers: so that
the siege may be a protracted one and encourage disaffection elsewhere. The rumor of defection in the army at
Bombay does not seem to be well founded.
The course of the three leading republicans lately elected
in Paris, Cavaignac, Carnot, and Godchoux; as to the oath
of fealty, seems still undecided. The constituencies press
the argument I have heretofore stated, and the general
inmpression is that it will prevail.
The facilities and comforts of locomotion by railways
are capital aids to the harmony and distinctive power of
crowned heads. Continental royalty has fairly overrun
England lately. Whether they come like shadows and so
depart, can only be guessed. We have had from Austria,
the Grand-duke Maximilian:-from Prussia, Prince William:-from Spain, the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier: -from Belgium, nearly the whole reigning family:from France, Prince Napoleon:-from Holland, the Queen
of the Netherlands (the Duchess of Van Buren):-and
Louis Napoleon promises a quiet call at Osborne with his
empress in the course of a fortnight! —Jcam satis terris nivis
atqae dire grandinis! When curiosity is once gratified,
these personages are rather inconvenient to the corps diplomatique, at least to our portion of it. " To meet her
Majesty," or "to be presented to H. R. H.;" —hic labor,
hoc opus est!
The toast given at the banquet in Boston to the Presi



182                TO MR. CASS.
dent of the United States was received with a cheering
altogether vehement and remarkable, by a company of at
least 300. It was prefaced by an elaborately prepared and
really forcible speech from the historian of Boston (whose
work, by-the-by, is a magnificent folio volume, got up with
a superabundance of elegance in engravings, type, paper,
and binding), Mr. Pishey Thomson, whom we all knew
as an admirable bookseller for so many years on Pennsylvania Avenue. The learned and eloquent Bishop of Lincoln was there, and gave us a speech. So was our Bishop
Smith of Kentucky, who did ditto. So also, Erskine,
Dean of Ripon, son of the old first Lord. And so, too, a
succession of members of Parliament. The Mayor presided. Our flag waved all day upon the topmost turret of
the beautiful tower of St. Botolph, which is three hundred
feet high.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 133.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 28, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-It is here next to impossible to procure
authentic information of what is meditated at Madrid respecting Mexico. Don Bravo left London some months
ago to meet the Cortes, and Comyn, the Charge, is either
unable or unwilling to talk on matters of public interest.
The newspaper correspondents only invent and mislead.
It is now alleged that the mediation of England and France
has been accepted. It is, I think, rather to be suspected
that the Spanish movement was from the first unreal, and
meant more to cover Cuba from apprehended filibustering
than to invade Mexico. At all events, just now the condition of Spain is too much disturbed and uncertain for an
important military expedition to the other side of the Atlantic, which might furnish us a plausible ground of action.
Spain will be very shy of doing what might possibly swell
to overflowing the popular current in the United States.
The mediation has, in all likelihood, been part of the
original plan, and invited by her.
A moderated tone on the subject of Slavery is undoubt



TO MR. CASS.                183
edly observable even in Parliament. How explainable?
1. The pressure of the truth as to their West Indies. 2.
The pressure of the rebellion in Bengal. 3. The pressure
of the China fight. 4. The shake recently given to the
Napoleonic throne. 5. The annexation of Perim, protested against by Turkey under impulse from France:-and
with all these, 6. The hourly increasing conviction that
there is no safety for the ascendency of the Liberal Party
except in honest friendship with the United States. It
may be that this abatement in the crusading spirit is preparatory to aiding us to acquire Cuba:-for as they
despair of stopping the trade from Africa, they may see
reason to prefer the institution as it exists with us to the
one on the Island.
The French ambassador urged me by letter, three or
four days ago, to obtain for an Imperial hydrographic engineer, the privilege of accompanying Captain Hudson
in the Niagara, during the voyage for laying the sub-Atlantic cable. The ship was on the eve of departure, and
I had no time to correspond with her officers. I sent his
Excellency a short note addressed to Captain Hudson, requesting, if no orders or rules were in the way, that he
would invite and receive the engineer, a Mr. Delamarche,
on board the frigate. I hope the President will approve
what it was impossible to avoid or evade without extreme
discourtesy. The correspondence on the subject I have.
thought it proper to send to Mr. Toucey.
You will see by the newspapers that the Jew's Oaths
question has taken a more decided phase than ever. Mr.
Horsman, an able and influential liberal, has twitted the
Premier, in language to which that functionary is not accustomed, on his duties as the party leader:-intimating
that the Earl of Harrowby, Lord Privy Seal, cannot be
permitted, while a member of the cabinet, to withhold his
vote in the House of Lords from the bill, and that the
whole united and active power of the ministry must be
given to the measure, on penalty of whig denunciation
and disorganization.
Still no fresh news from India, though expected every
hour. In the House of Commons last night Mr. Disraeli
made a very tedious and elaborate speech on the causes
of the disaffection and the proper course of government
now that it had exploded. A worse picture of political




184                 TO MR. CASS.
administration could not easily be painted:-far exceeding, especially in its deep shades of usurpation and confiscation, the recapitulated grievances in our Declaration of'76. It fell, however, very flat on the ear, though I was
a patient listener during the whole of it, from 5 to 8
o'clock. Lord John Russell, who just now resembles an
inexpert swimmer trying to buoy himself with awkwardly
entangled bladders, gave Mr. Disraeli's motion a patriotic direction.
I was earnestly assured, during the concert at Apsley
House last night, by Lord Stanley, whom I think better
informed as to the condition of the British colonies than
any other man in England, that the whole affair was a
mere military ermeute, and would certainly be at once repressed. And yet an Indian Commissary-General, Col.
R., very lately returned home, is anxiously in doubt as to
the result, looking to the fall of Delhi before the besiegers
as indispensable to the safety of the whole against the
pervading discontent. One thing is quite certain: —that
this country will concentrate all its energies against the
insurrection, first to put it down, second to revenge its
cruelties, and third to reform its causes.
Mr. Huffhagle, our consul-general in the East, is returning home fiom Calcutta, wholly unable to meet the expenses of his post by his salary. I have long known him,
and believe him, as a public agent, to be eminently reliable for intelligence and integrity. At this interesting
moment of Chinese and Indian perturbation, he will have
a fund of valuable practical knowledge to lay before you.
That region of the earth is looming up into so much importance that I should think it wise, rather than lose the
public benefit of' his skill and experience, if he were perrnitted his salary unencumbered by his actual expenses.
Those fierce and endless riots in New York make very
disagreeable echoes in the ears of Americans abroad.
We cannot vindicate or excuse them. I really hope they
will soon die out.
My latest official Register is that of 1855; and I often
want the Army and Navy Registers for the current year.
Always faithfully yrs.
P. S.-Your old assailant, Brougham, in his 80th year,
was last night busy among groups of beauties, chatting
and laughing as a boy long after midnight!




TO MR. J. M. M.               185
No. 134. —TO MR. J. M. M.
LONDON, July 28, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Although extremely indignant, I was
not sorry to see the venom spit at you by the Yankee parson. I was sure of the rebound; and it has come in the
best possible way and to the greatest possible effect:subserving not so much the individual —for really he
could not be harmed-as the cause with which he is
identified.
You notice the progress of things here? China, India,
Paris, Italy, Spain, Parliament? I thought the world
going to sleep; when it suddenly, like a drowsy lion, stood
up and shook itself all over. I am afraid, however, that
the monster won't keep on his legs, but will sink into
deeper slumber than ever.
Two or three things are worth noticing.
There's the wonderful readiness of the oldest and ablest
men to mingle, night after night, and atl night, in the
light gaieties of life. Lyndhurst (85), Brougham (80),
Lansdowne (77), St. Leonards (76), Palmerston (73), Canipbell (78), Aberdeen (73), Comrbermere (77), Wensleydale,
Baron Parke (75), etc., may be found wherever anmusement, though it be in the form of mere show, is to be had.
So with the very ancientest of ladies. The effect on society generally is salutary and obvious. To be sure, the
very young are rather cowed.
There's also the busy and widespread eagerness to revive church ornamentation. I have recently visited a
number of Cathedrals and Parish Churches, and, being
a tolerably good Episcopalian, have trembled to notice
the immense backsliding to Romanism  in the crosses,
altars, painted windows, symbols, mottoes, sedilias, piscinas, etc. They look more like niches in the vast St. Peter's, or even chapels in the Greek Kazan. A fierce controversy, to be sure, is waging on the subject: the newspapers and periodicals are full of it. I went into Wiltshire, and saw a church on which Mr. Sydney Herbert,
the M. P., had spent a fortune: it had 754 pillars, big and
little, no two alike! I went, in the opposite direction, to
Lincolnshire, and there saw another on which its wealthy
VOL. I.-13




186                TO MR. CASS.
rector, called Barridge, was in progress of lavishing his
money, making it, to my eye, a glittering temple for
Catholicism rather than a house appropriate to Protestant
worship. The religious archaeologists are raking up and
restoring, under one pretence or another, all the Roman
abominations denounced by the Reformation.
Confound it:-I am in a garrulous vein, and here suddenly comes the necessity of a despatch!
Ever yrs.
No, 135,-TO LORD CLARENDON.
LONDON, July 29, 1857.
MY DEAR LORD CLARENDON,-Definitive information
may I think be expected as to the prospects of the subAtlantic cable in about two weeks from Monday next,
the 3d August. In the mean while, I am promised a telegraphic despatch from the Niagara when she will have
successfully laid three hundred mriles of the wire: —and
this shall be sent to you as soon as received.
The message from her Majesty it would seem prudent
to have in readiness for transmission by the 10th of August; and I would respectfully suggest that it should be
placed in a sealed envelope addressed to the President, to
be opened only upon the instant the communication between Valentia and St. John's is certain. The envelope,
in a letter containing this instruction, should, I am informed by Mr. Cyrus W. Field, be forwarded to " George
Saward, Esq.-Secretary of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, Valentia, Ireland."
With sentiments of the highest respect,
I am fhithfully yrs.
No. 136,-TO MR, OASS,
LONDON, July 381, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The news from India, which reached
here the day before yesterday, has augmented alarm and
affected the funds. Delhi holds out, with a force of 30,000




TO MR. CASS.                 187
mutineers, against General Barnard; and sorties, though
not successful ones, are made frequently and with spirit.
It is admitted that all Bengal is disaffected. The "plot"
was on the eve of exploding at Calcutta, and was only
stayed by a sudden disarming. The King of Oude has
been arrested and imprisoned. A large body of revolted
sepoys are encamped, and yet, it would seem, unattacked
outside of the walls of Delhi. The loyal profession so
much magnified and relied upon by the native troops, was
ardently repeated by a regiment which on the next day
massacred all its officers and dispersed. Christian missionaries are being mercilessly slain. Madras and Bombay, though agitated and anxious, have yet witnessed no
overt acts. These are the leading traits of the telegraphed
news. When we get the details, by the correspondence
on its way here, it is supposed the picture will be much
more gloomy.
Troops are forwarding as fast as they can be got ready.
Large inducements are offered to those whose terms of
service have expired, to re-enlist. Some intimations are
given of French assistance: —but there is an instinctive
jealousy of that. It may, however, be confidently expected
that for two or three years to come, England will think of
nothing but India. Even if she puts a prompt close to
the present insurrection, she will have to increase her European forces there immensely, and inaugurate an entirely
new system of government. She has, for more than a
century, been arrogant, cruel, rapacious, intolerant, and
mercenary, and yet she expresses surprise at the rebellion!-thinks she has nursed the Hindoos into civilization
as an affectionate; mother" would train her children! and
now finds in the monstrous ingratitude she meets a justification for dooming the race to a dreadful retribution.
Barre's portrait of her parentage to us is no doubt true
in application to her colonies in general. She is the
reverse of Rome.
I have heretofore referred to the question of the MoldoWallachian Principalities as one calculated in its progress
to disturb existing combinations. You perceive that it
is now working. France, Russia, Prussia, and Sardinia
are on one side: England, Austria, and Turkey on the
other. Their representatives have reached the point of
angry rupture.




188                TO MR. CASS.
You have probably had your mind recalled to the question of the Right of Search by the case of the Panchita.
Does not that case, and the actual position of this government present a most favorable conjuncture for quietly
putting an end to that pretension?
Pray say to the President that the Queen of the Netherlands specially enjoined it upon me to express her pleasure
at hearing of his complete restoration to health, and to say
that she remembered with much gratification his visit to
Holland, where he had left many agreeable recollections.
Her Majesty speaks English like a book.
There can be no doubt that every effort will be made to
break up the refuge which the unhappy continental democrats find in this country. Sovereigns are, for this purpose, in their turn " conspiring."  The failure at Genoa,
and the implication by arrested men in Paris of Mazzini
and Ledru Rollin in a design to assassinate Louis Napoleon,
furnish the pretext. The Press here will resist gallantly:
-but it will not surprise me if, as one of the possible results of the actual predicament of England, the visit of
the Emperor to Osborne on the 5th proximo were to be
followed by some harsh measure against aliens.
To-day, it is thought, will realize the recent giving out
of Lord John Russell, and see Baron Rothschild sworn
in by resolution in such form as he may deem obligatory
upon his conscience. Such a course promises to be the
initiation of a protracted contest.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 137. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 4, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, - Lafragua, the Mexican minister in
Madrid, is reported as gone to Paris, but it is believed in
order to facilitate the accepted mediation of England and
France. Were anything serious and critical impending,
Mr. -  would not keep it from me. As it is, nobody
anticipates a belligerent course from Spain. There is,
however, great difficulty in getting at the truth.
The recognition of the free navigation of the Danube,




TO MR. CASS.                189
and the extinguishment of the Sound Dues, have very
naturally brought into questibn another kindred matter,the tax levied by that great potentate the King of Hanover upon commerce on the Elbe. Goods crossing a line
running from the mouth of the Schwinge, a small Hanoverian river, nearly due east across the Elbe to the opposite
Holstein shore, are subjected to a toll ranging from 3 to
i and 8 per cent. ad valorem. The exaction is enforced
even though the vessels are merely passing up the river,
and do not stop in the Hanoverian sovereignty, which does
nothing to preserve or improve the channel. Is it not
worth while inquiring how far our trade is affected?perhaps it has been done already-and whether it be,
worth while to make the stand against the "Brunshausen
Toll," which you took the lead in making against the
Sound Dues?
I send you a fat parliamentary volume in the nature of
a Blue Book. Lord Clarendon was kind enough to let me
have two copies: —one will adorn the library of your department, the other that of this legation  The contents
are valuable and interesting.
The contest about the Jew's Oath waxes warm. Lord
John Russell has again shifted his ground, and now relies
upon the general language of a forgotten and disinterred
statute of William IV. He has got the Attorney-General,
Sir Richard Bethell, to agree with him in its interpretation, and so may find his position strong notwithstanding
the clear and powerful dissent of Sir Frederick Thesiger,
certainly one of the ablest, if not the very ablest, lawyer
in the House. A committee to construe the Act, to consult, and report, will probably be appointed this evening.
Lord Palmerston reserves himself for their interpretation
The details of the news from India are frightful:-but
they do not attest that disaffection among the people out
of the ranks of the arniy without which the military mutiny must soon fizzle out. Delhi has probably succumbed
to the army of General Barnard, say about 12,000 to 13,000,
though we have no authentic account of the fact. The
zeal here is unabated: —their empire in the East must be
saved at every cost: the sentiment is common to all
shades of party.
Do you notice the peremptory violence of the French
minister at Constantinople on the Danubian Principalities




190                TO MR. CASS.
question? A la Menschikof he threatened to quit, and the
frightened Turk changed his cabinet to prevent his departure. How Lord Stratford will stomach this remains
to be seen. This political arrangement of the Treaty of
Paris always struck me as having in it the seeds of great
controversy.
The Queen, in person, will probably prorogue Parliaient about the 23d instant, and proceed the next day to
Balmoral. Everybody that can will imitate her example
in hastening out of London. I propose, after having endured city confinement continuously for 16 months, to give
my family a swallow of sea air, on the eastern point of the
Isle of Wight. The heat has been trying for a week past,
the mercury sometimes at 90~.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 138.-TO MR. 0ASS.
LONDON, August 7, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-At Lord Palmerston's, the night before
last, I had a short dialogue with Mr. Comyn, the Spanish
Charg6.
D. I notice in the Post that your Chef is coming back.
When will he be here?
C. He intends returning, but has not yet left Madrid.
D. He will probably be able to tell us how your controversy with Mexico gets on.
C. Oh! for the present, and perhaps finally that is disposed of. We have accepted the mediation of France and
England. But, Mexico is impracticable; and it is difficult to say how we are to get a guaranty that she will not
repeat her barbarities.
D. Her domestic politics are very much distracted, and
her government took no part in the injuries of which you
complain.
C. May be so.
ID. And, after all, an attack from you might do her an
essential good. You would rouse her to union and action:-as to reconquering her, that, of course, you know is
an impossibility. Where is Mr. Lafragua?
C. I believe at, or on his way to, Paris.




TO MR. CASS.                  191
The French sovereigns arrived at Osborne yesterday
morning. Prodigious pains are taken by military, naval,
and police to secure their personal safety. Nothing was
allowed, on the water, to approach within two miles of
them. A body of Parisian detectives forms a cordon
round them at a distance. And yet the eagerness of his
Majesty to greet Prince Albert, when near the landing,
led to his stumbling down the paddle-wheel and falling
heavily on the deck, thereby, as it is said, "grazing his
face and shaking himself considerably." Mazzini should
provide a Roman augur to make the most of the Omen!
Parliament will remain in session some two weeks
longer. A general desire prevails to hear something
definitive fiom  India before adjournment: —and the
grouse can wait a fortnight.
Lord Carlisle fastened the European end of the subAtlantic telegraph wire to its place at Valentia yesterday
morning, and away westward steamed the little squadron!
I am hourly expecting a message from Mr. Field, who is
on board the Niagara, and who promised one when the
expedition has prosperously got 500 miles forward.
I send you the copy of a letter which I received yesterday from a leading commercial house here, one of whose
partners, Mr. G. Moffatt, is a member of Parliament. It
complains of what it calls " an anomaly" in our recent reduction of the tariff, passed March 3d, 1857. Tea was a
non-enumnerated article in the schedules of the tariff of'46,
and therefore by a special clause made subject to a duty
of 20 per cent., " when imported direct from the place of its
growth or production in American vessels, or in foreign vessels
entitled by reciprocal treaties to be exempt from discriminating
daties, tonnage, and other chlarges."  The object of the discrimination is obvious: and yet, perhaps, while the Chinese market is affected by political difficulties, we should
find benefit in suspending its operation. What thinks the
President, or Mr. Cobb?
Always faithfully yrs.




192              TO MR. EVERETT.
No. 139.-TO MR. SAWARD.
LONDON, August 9, 1857.
DEAR SIR,-I enclose a sealed letter addressed to you
from " Osborne," and must beg you to apprise me of its
having reached you safely.
Trusting confidently in the success of your great enterprise, notwithstanding the croaking prophecies of failure,
I am very respectfully yrs.
Not 140.-TO MR. EVERETT.
LONDON, August 11, 1857.
MY DEAR MR. EVERETT,-Your volume of Cushing's
Lex Parliamentaria Americana for Speaker Denison has
reached me just as I was preparing the despatch bag for
to-morrow by the steamer City of Baltimore. I will take
care that it gets to him immediately.
Your letter accompanying this book evinces an apprehension that I may be overwhelmed with letters of introduction. Pray dismiss it. My countrymen come over in
shoals, and are all heartily welcome, especially those who
bring me a line from esteemed friends. I can be of little
service to any of them, farther than to receive them
frankly, and give advice if need be or an occasional official
facility. As a general rule, they appreciate the matter
correctly: if some do not, they might as well.
Rest assured, my dear sir, that a note from you always
gives me pride and pleasure. I am quite sure of my
visitor, and feel entirely at ease, if so vouched.
You see what was done at mother Boston, for the rehabilitation of old John Cotton. The Church is a noble
one. The new Chapel small but neat, and admirably set
off by your tablet.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                193
No. 141.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 13, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR — The arrival of Gov. Wright in the
steamer Atlantic took me by surprise. Mr. Vroom has
left Berlin, and will reach Paris to-morrow or the next
day. He proposes to embark for the United States on
board the Arago which leaves Southampton on the 26th
instant. Gov. Wright, who has been with me all the
morning, is worried at not having got to his post before
his predecessor quitted it, as he very naturally hoped to get
the benefit of his local knowledge on modes and means of
life. Hence he hastens across the channel.
You observe that Lord John Russell's Committee on
the Statute of William IV., after complying with the decencies of consultation for two or three days, put a negative upon the hoped-for construction which would apply
the words " body corporate and politic" to the House of Commons, and Baron Rothschild is again put of: This failure
of Lord John will, I think, strengthen the position of the
House of Lords, and, with the help of the Church, set the
current against the Jews.
Louis Napoleon managed matters on his recent visit
with singular adroitness. He has obviously carried his
present, if not his ultimate, point as regards the Principalities, and induced Lord Palmerston to confess in the
IIouse of Commons, with some disingenuous distinctions,
a change or surrender of policy. The truth, however, is
that India, and India alone, is the predominating and controlling thought; —nor should I wonder if the offer of a
regiment or two of Zouaves had proved more attractive
than the mere abstract theory of bolstering the independence of Turkey by keeping Moldavia and Wallachia divided. Nous verrons.
You know how impossible it is for an Englishman to
understand and apply the limited nature of our federal
constitution and system. They all hope and believe here
that you are about to extirpate the Mormons, and rejoice
as much at the prospective overthrow of that fanaticism,
as at the cherished expectation of the, triumph of another
in 1860. Perhaps (according to a favorite form of speech)
you may not gratify them on either point.




194                TO MR. CASS.
One of the Parisian correspondents of a daily journal
here invents the idea-that Mexico has taken the stud at
Spain's backwardness to accept her proffered hand, and
has instructed Lafragua to make not a step farther in conciliation. If Mr. Comyn spoke truth to me, and I cannot
doubt it, the mediating powers, having got the matter in
charge, will soon end it.
I am sending my family for a short period to the Isle of
Wight: —a distance which I can conveniently run over on
the railway in four or five hours.
The ministerial white-bait dinner, precursive of parliamentary prorogation, has been announced for the 19th
instant.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 142.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 18, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The failure as regards the electric cable
is a sad affair. It would not appear to be relieved by any
promising or remediable symptom. The sudden rising
of the ship, in obedience to the swell, must necessarily.
test the strength of the wire, and may be more or less
violent:-a rise which does not jerk might be harmless
notwithstanding the weight already immersed: but even
a momentary pause in paying out would risk a snap.
However, a great result is rarely achieved by a first experiment, and we have many reasons for confidence in the
power of mechanism scientifically directed.
The Niagara and Susquehanna went into Plymouth.
They will probably remain on this side of the Atlantic
until their officers have had opportunity to consult with
their associates in the enterprise, and the prospects of the
future as well as the facts of the past are capable of being
embodied in a report.
Mr. P. reached here on the 14th instant, and has brought
me letters fiom yourself and Governor Wise. I have not
yet had the pleasure to see him, and, of course, do not
know the aim of his mission except very generally. The
American demand for English capital is increasing and




TO MRS. BACHE.                195
almost unlimited:-but I should hope that the timidity of
money-lenders would subside in sight of such security as
the State of Virginia can exhibit. The letter printed by
Governor Wise a short time ago, and of which he was
kind enough to send me a copy, put the resources of the
Ancient Dominion in a striking light. All our States, however, are still suffering, more or less, the disrepute inflicted by the caustic and undiscriminating pen of Sydney
Smith.
Parliament will close with this week, and the world of
official business and of fashionable toil will immediately
disperse to the four quarters, not to be reassembled before
late in February, unless the Indian rebellion assume a
size-digtus vindice nodus.
I have recently obtained for our worthy historical compiler, Dr. Jared Sparks, the permission of Lord Clarendon
to rummage through and extract from the diplomatic correspondence in the State Paper Office carried on during our
revolutionary struggle, between the ministry here and
their representatives in Spain and Holland. He goes to
the Hague, too, to see if Mr. Belmont can obtain for him
there the like opportunity. He is a slow, pains-taking
and honest compiler, and, as we have a vast deal of this
sort of work to do before the foundation of our national
history can be thought fairly and securely laid, it would
be a wise measure in Congress to authorize his permanent
engagement for the purpose.
I hope your eyes are less enfeebled by use than mine:if not, I am afraid that you must regard the deciphering
of my cramped handwriting as rather more troublesome
than satisfactory.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 143. —TO MRS. BACHE.
BONCHURCH, ISLE OF WIGHT, August 18, 1857.
MY DEAR SISTER,-We have got ourselves temporarily
ensconced at one of the most picturesque points of this
beautiful island. Facing south, we have immediately below us a hidden cluster of houses:-beyond these a lower




196               TO MRS. BACCHE.
cliff, with a precipitous fall of some three hundred feet,
and then, all open to the eye, the wide sea rolling or glittering to the Bay of Biscay or the coast of Spain. Just
in our rear frowns the first of a succession of cliffs north,
on whose side we have ventured to clamber a little, but
whose top has thus far proved inaccessible to us. Our
cottage rests, amid trees and flowers, on one of the platforms, as it were, of this mountainous stairway called the
un dercliff:-we have no neighboring houses.in sight, except
the belfry and cross of an old chapel far below us, although
elegant villas are numerous all about and their sites may
be guessed at by the curling smoke from their kitchen
fires. We are said to be in the village of Bonchurch, to
have the town of Ventnor on our right, to the west about
a mile off; and the City of Ryde nearly due north, distant
a two hours' stage. This is said, for unless we journey
away we are actually able to see only the ocean at our feet
or the broad green cliff in the clouds.
So far for position, to which my description necessarily
fails to do justice. Our home is what a man of fine taste
and adequate means would adapt to such a locale. It is
the perfection of a Swiss cottage, in exterior architecture,
and its interior is inimitably arranged for hall, parlors,
dining-room, six chambers, kitchen, servants' apartments,
and so forth. The furniture is exceedingly neat, and
everything in the highest order of English cleanliness. I
have rented it for six weeks for forty-two guineas, say
$220. The principal incidental expense of this delightful
rustication is that of moving to and from London: —for,
of course, my presence at the legation must not be suspended, if there be the smallest occasion for it. The jaunt
by railway to Portsmouth, thence across the Solent to
Ryde, is three hours: —and to Cliff-Den by coach an hour
and a half more.
A favorable wind, like the one which began two days
ago and still continues, gives us the finest imaginable marine panorama. All the harbors of Holland, Belgium,
France, and the eastern front of England, disgorge their
ships and steamers for the western and southern voyages.
I have counted as many as 36, 46, and 48 vessels in full
sail, and visible from the piazza. Sophia and the girls
have been enchanted by a short absence frpm the London
heat, smoke, and dust, to which they have clung contin



TO MR. CASS.                 197
uously for sixteen months; and I sincerely hope it may
brace themn to bear another of those delirious "seasons"
two of which have gone roaring by.
While thus writing, don't think that I am forgetting
whom it is for. The good accounts latterly received of
your improving state induce me to suppose that I may
amuse you and beguile a few moments of slow recovery.
We are just now expecting a visit from two ladies of
Philadelphia, Mrs. E. and Mrs. J. And here in fact they
are! Mrs. E. says she has come on purpose to be able
to report faithfully the character of our cottage when she
gets to the U. S. by the steamer Baltic early next month.
They will honor us for two days, and then travel through
the little isle on their way back to London.
Ever most affectionately yrs.
No. 144,-TO MR. OASS.
LONDON, August 25, 1857.
Mr DEAR SIR,-NO city can be imagined duller or more
repulsive than London during the hot season of August
and September, when Parliament, public functionaries,
club frequenters, the Court, and fashion have all sped away
as if flying from pestilence. Everything becomes insipid,
languid, and listless. The resorts, the libraries, the galleries, the shows, are shut up. The great thoroughfares
are thinned. The crowds of equipages have vanished.
The Squares are without life or light, every house deserted, and the four blocks of buildings staring vacantly
over the area with doors and shutters tightly closed. To
be sure the summer's sun treats most towns in this way:
-but the effect is worst in London, because of its vastness, and because of its multitudinous swarms at other
times.
I have adverted to this matter, because the genius
loci seems to have dried up the springs of these private
letters to you. I can hear nothing, see nothing, read
nothing, think nothing, worthy to be written to a Secretary of State, even had he not the superadded dignity of
being on the other side of an ocean, four thousand miles




198                 TO MR. CASS.
off. It's a sad dilemma. A diplomat without a topic!
All envoy without food for a despatch! and that too in
this huge "poluphloisbos thalassa" of intelligence and
news! One consolation: —you will certainly not regret
the absence of what must be so vapid and empty.
All eyes, all hearts, all heads are fixed on India. The
accounts, since my despatch of last Friday, are gloomy and
heavy. Butcheries, savage, indiscriminate, and fanatical,
are pouring in. The climate, too, takes sides with the
natives. Generals Barnard and Lawrence dead: all Oude
up: the circle of mutiny and murder widening every hour.
The 1500 men intended to back Lord Elgin in China have
fbund their way to Delhi. At farthest by the month of
Novenlber-and they could not stand the heats earlier,
there will be in Bengal thirty-one thousand British soldiers:-a force quite ample to reconquer Hindostan, if
properly commanded: and I must confess that my personal intercourse with Sir Colin Campbell, the new comman der-in-chief, has inspired me with great confidence in
his military capacity and qualities. If he fail, or sink
under the climate, —to which fortunately he is partially
accustom ed,-the prospect will be dark.
Suppose the rebellion put down, as it may effectually be
by this time next year, then comes the problem what,
under the new circumstances, will be done with India?
An indifferent stranger almost shudders to think what
may be done. The population is so great, so ignorant, so
superstitious, so vindictive, so cruel, so utterly unprincipled, that, with the zealous counsel of missionaries, no
government will be thought capable of lasting six months
which is not preceded by overwhelming strokes of vengeance and accompanied by a system of inflexible and unrelenting oppression, political, religious, and social. It
will require all the exertion of all the ablest writers and
statesmen of England to prevent this consummation, so
inconsistent with her humanity, toleration, and justice.
The accident to the sub-Atlantic electric cable is by no
means regrettable. Such a thing is natural enough at any
time and in any hands: —it is not discreditable. But,
had it not happened-had they gone on depositing at the
rate they did,-they must inevitably have developed, " not
a crime, but something worse, a blunder."  For, only
think: notwithstanding the several voyages, the soundings,




TO MR. CASS.                 199
the calculations, the consultations, the experiments, —their
cluster of scientific and mechanical experts had actually
provided a cable five hundred miles too short! Captain
Hudson tells me that the length payed out exceeded expectation 25 per cent., owing to depths, currents, etc.,
and that no doubt they would have fallen several hundred mniles short of reaching St. John's: -one mile of
which would have been just as fatal as one thousand!
A project of a Red Sea electric telegraph is much talked
of:-the India difficulties make it exceedingly desirable;
and there is great probability that the East India Company will purchase the Atlantic cable at its cost, and apply
it to their more urgent purpose: —leaving the Atlantic
Company to construct a new one by next spring.
Parliament may be prorogued to-morrow or the next
day, or it may linger on for several days. The Queen
will not be kept waiting, and so it is given out that the
prorogation will be by commission. One cause of uncertain delay is the Divorce bill, now gone amended back to
the Lords: another is the expectation of receiving something decisive from India by Thursday next, when parliamentary votes of supply for a great military effort may be
required. Lord Panmure said, while I was in the House
of Ljords last night with Mr. Preston, that they had out
upwards of 550 recruiting parties, and had enlisted in one
week about 1600.
I bade Governor and Mrs. Vroom good-by on Saturday
last. They were leaving for Paris and will join the Arago
at Havre to-day.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 145.-TO MR, CASS,
LONDON, September 1, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-These missives of mine must be regarded
with indulgence. I am quite aware that they must often
be vapid and fiat. That is unavoidable in a correspondence continuously kept up at brief intervals. It is impossible to find the supply of news always equal to the de



200                TO MR. CASS.
mand. Still, I am unwilling that you should be long
without at least a line from me.
1. Lafragua, the Mexican Envoy to Madrid, is " in nubibus." No one can say where he is, or what he is at. The
last theory represents him as having gone to Cadiz, to
embark for home, in a pet: a theory on which no reliance
can be placed.
2. The affair of the steamer Cagliari is being exaggerated by quidnuncs and newspaper scribes into a ground
of war between Piedmont and Naples. She was the vessel seized by certain of' her Mazzinian passengers and
employed in reaching Sicily. Having been taken into
custody, the King declines restoring her to his brother of
Sardinia:-and so the seed of quarrel is fresh planted in
the soil of old grudge.
3. Vogorides has had all his electioneering trouble and
squabbling for nothing. He is obliged to repeat the same
game, as the Sultan has consented to cancel the former
result. The Union party in Moldavia is strong, but not
believed to be in the majority. The management of Vogorides tricked and overwhelmed it. Wallachia will probably remain steadfast to the principle of Union:-backed
by the potent influences of Russia and France. Austria
is particularly and angrily averse to the Union, and the
Porte dislikes and intrigues against it. England has
cooled in her zeal about the matter, under the shadow of
the India revolt and the sunshine of the Imperial visit
to Osborne. The chances are not bad that we shall witness the creation of a new Monarchy and a new Royal
Dynasty.
4. The world of London is dispersed. The rush abroad
and into the country preceded the prorogation and left
scarcely a " Corporal's Guard " to do the ceremony. Locomotion will soon be the pastime of all the sovereigns.
Queen Victoria has gone to Balmoral, taking Lord Clarendion in her train. The Empress Eugenie has had her Sunday sport at bull-baiting, and is off to Plombieres. Louis
Napoleon is whisking front one town to another, and, it is
thought, after the review at Chralons, will contrive to meet
the Czar somewhere in Germany.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 201
No. 146. —TO MR. BASS.
LONDON, September 14, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —I have availed myself of a few days in
the country to draft a letter to Lord Clarendon on the
Panchita business. It rather grew under the pen as I
analyzed the papers you sent me. His lordship is, however, in attendance upon her Majesty at Balmoral, and I
may not get an answer these two months.
Fresh news hourly expected from India. In the mean
time, the old dishes of insurrectionary atrocity are rehashed and daily spread in the newspaper columns. They
certainly are shocking. The Weekly Press, Mr. Disraeli's
special puffer, told us on Saturday, the day before yesterday, of a suspicion that government had received further
accounts so disastrous that they kept them back until
well ventilated. This is mere party coinage.
The populace are becoming irreverent. The ministry
are assailed for absenting themselves on grouse plains,
stalking moors, and watering-places, at a moment when
the empire is shaken to its foundations. Even the Queen
is thought to fall too easily into the bull-baiting track of
the Empress, when she celebrates the massacre of her subjects in Bengal by festive sports in Scotland.
The quarters whence men receive help in life are sometimes very hidden and odd. You perceive that Macaulay
has been made a Peer. Well, I ascribe his promotion as
much to Horace Greeley, of the New York Tribune, as to
a real sense of his merits. For, you must know that just
as the public were discussing "a creation" of Lord John
Russell, Lord Robert Grosvenor, Lord this and Lord that,
out from over the Atlantic came a caustic and dogged
article in a number of the Tribune on the discomfiture of
Thackeray as a candidate for Oxford, and dwelling with
gnashing teeth upon the indifference shewn even by the
liberals to ability when contending with family and title.
It had no look towards Macaulay: —when it was penned,
the great historian had not been thought of:-but its drift
touched a sensitive spot, and, in true Palmerstonian style,
without a word said, what was meant as a practical disproof brought up Macaulay. "There's more in heaven
VOL. I.-14




202        TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON.
and earth, Horatio, than is dreamt of in (even!) your philosophy."
The two Emperors, of Russia and France, design to
meet and embrace at Stutgard on the 25th or 26th instant.  Cui bono?-unless to swear eternal friendship as
their predecessors did at Tilsit, and then straightway fall
to fighting, it is hard to say. Perhaps, Louis Napoleon,
assuming the character strongly hinted for him  in the
last:Edinburgh Review, of the Roman Augustus, being a
nephew of another Julius, meditates the golden era of
universal peace, as the sequent of his uncle's everlasting
wars.  If India permit, I think Palmerston or Clarendon
will meet Walewski there. Suppose the world parcelled
into tranquillity by a national triumvirate which will secure China to the Czar, Egypt to Octavius, and Hindostan
to Vernon Smith!
My theory about the Spanish menace against Mexico is
merging into reality. The dread of our seizing the plausible
opportunity to acquire Cuba has put them into fidgets to
prevent the quarrel. All over Europe just now, there is a
disposition to regard the United States as a sort of "John
Jones of the War Office"! —a belligerent individual to be
encountered wherever there is a muss, and who cannot be
put down; —when he looms up the alarmed gaze at him,
as Alpine travellers watch the impending avalanche, which
a single musket-shot may bring crashing down upon them.
You'll say, this is flighty figure: I insist that tour-fifths of
it are positive matter of fact.
Always faithfully yrs.
NOTE.-The note addressed to Lord Clarendon, referred to in the first
paragraph of the foregoing letter, was printed in a Blue Book furnished
to Parliament six or eight months after its date. It is extracted from
the Blue Book.
Inclosure 1, in NTo. 580.
MR. DALLAS TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON.
LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, LONDON, }
September 16, 1857. 
MY LORD,-It has been made my duty to call to the notice of her Majesty;s government, certain proceedings of Commander Fairfax Moresby,
of the Royal Navy, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the early part of
May last; and to avert, if possible, Any unfavorable influence which those
proceedings might have upon the relations of the two countries, by inviting from your lordship such early and distinct disclaimer and assurance




TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON.                        203
as may be esteemed adequate. No doubt is entertained that the acts of
Commander iMoresby were unauthorized; that, however plausibly pursued, they were the suggestions of his own discretion, not of his official
instructions, and that all danger of their repetition will be promptly removed.
The barque "Panchita," Frederick B. Sladden, master, owned by citizens of New York, with an American register, and trading under the
flag of the United States, was, on the 9th of May, 1857, lying at Punta
de Lenha. At the same date, in the river Congo, was her Majesty's
sloop " Sappho," commanded by Commander Moresby, one of the British
squadron then stationed off the African coast to prevent the Traffic in
Slaves. The "Panchita " had, in some manner, awakened suspicions as
to her objects in the mind of Commander Moresby, who (agreeably to his
own narrative) with "the pinnace and gig" of his armed vessel, proceeded to Punta de Lenha " for the purpose of examining her." Meeting
Captain Sladden, Commander Moresby " expressed" to him'" a wish to
muster his crew," and "no objection being made," went, accompanied
I" by Mr. Frederick Wells, master of her Majesty's sloop under his command, on board the'Panchila;'" mustered the crew; asked, and was
refused, permission to look into the holds; became confirmed in his
" opinion" of her being " engaged in the illegal Traffic of Slaves," and
was thus " induced to inform" Captain Sladden, that he should " detain
him," with a view to give him over to the first American man-of-war he
could meet. Finally, the "suspicions " of Commander Moresby being
"by the vast quantity of fresh water" aboard'"still further corroborated," he took "upon himself the great responsibility of sending" the
barque to New York "' for the decision of the United States authorities,"'
detailing for that purpose, Lieutenant C. D. J. Odevaine, with a party
of seamen, and giving special and prudent directions for their conduct.
It may be added that the "Panchita" duly arrived at New York, was
transferred to the custody of the Marshal of the United States for that
district, and was libelled in the proper Court of Civil and Admiralty jurisdiction as a forfeiture. The question whether or not her voyage was,
either in fact or intention, connected with the Traffic in Slaves will ultimately be determined in that still pending judicial proceeding; but its
decision, one wavy or the other, can have no bearing on the violation of
sovereign right now brought to your lordship's attention.
This statement of Commander Moresby's conduct is made, as already
intimated, almost exclusively in his own words: nor is it deemed necessary to the design of the present communication that the striking discrepancies of detail between his statement and that of Captain Sladden
should be drawn into relief by comment. They illustrate, it is true, the
conflicts to which a course of action like that of Commander Moresby
necessarily leads, so liable to exasperate popular sensibilities on either
side, and, in the end, to endanger the friendship and peace of nations.
But I am unwilling to mix with the public aspect of the subject the coloring of individual imputation.
The Earl of Clarendon will, then, perceive that Commander Moresby,
on the occasion described, impelled by " suspicion," actually effected a
visitation, search, and seizure of the "Panchitaa:" that he knew her to be
an American vessel; that, for predetermined " examination," he went to
her, accompanied by a show of force, namely, the master of the "Seappho,"
and two boats' crews from his sloop-of-war; and that, excited by discovering what he construed to be badges of a criminal employment, he assumed the responsibility of disregarding the flag she bore, and of wresting
her from the control and possession of her American captain.




204          TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON.
Against each leading feature characterizing this transaction-the visit,
the search, the seizure-the government of the United States has uniformly, on all appropriate opportunities, for more than fifty years, openly
and effectually protested, as inconsistent with the laws of nations, sanctioned by no Treaty, subversive of the separate rights and derogatory to
the honor of independent communities. It was not the exercise of any
fancied privilege of war, for profound peace prevailed; and yet, without
the pretence of belligerent necessity, in respect to contraband or blockade,
the property and citizens of a friendly Power were invaded and arrested, and the protecting presence of their national symbol irreverently
slighted.
The flag of the United States has a meaning which should not be hastily
overlooked. Like that of Great Britain, or of any other civilized country, no matter how distant the sea, or humble the lorcha on which it
floats, it implies a pledge of a nation's power and honor to shelter what
is beneath it from invasion or wrong. All flags are but hoisted emblems
asserting the national presence and jurisdiction. Commander Moresby,
even while recognizing the genuineness of the "Panchita's" flag, failed
to appreciate its real dignity and inviolability.
The reasons assigned for this extraordinary proceeding are certainly as
distinctly confessed as they are frivolous. They are found in the report
of Commander Moresby to his superior officer, Commodore John Adams,
of her Majesty's ship " Scourge," dated the 15th of May, 1857. They do
not call for much elaboration of analysis or remark.
Commander Moresby  "suspected," say, confidently believed, that the'" Panchita" was engaged in the illegal Traffic of Slaves.
I need not remind your lordship that since the United States led the
way, by their Federal Legislation, to the abolition and penal proscription
of the African Slave Trade, they have manifested, in every manner
deemed compatible with their fundamental institutions, the fixed opinions
of their people, and considerations of the highest moment, the utmost determination and sincerity in carrying out that policy of philanthropy and
justice. But the United States, although they went far, stopped at the
line which the reckless zeal of Commander Moresbyoverleaped. Though
often persuaded, they have invariably declined to concede to any nation,
upon any terms, for any object, a right irreconcilable with the perfect
immunity of their mercantile marine from foreign interference. Without their previously obtained consent, no visit, or search, or seizure, of
an American vessel can take place except with defiance and insult to their
flag. The Convention of the 9th of August, 1842, signed at Washington
by its negotiators, MIr. Webster and Lord Ashburton, with the principles and provisions of which your lordship is familiar, arranged for a
small squadron of the United States Navy on the coast of Africa, in order,
first, that their public force might co-operate with that of her Majesty in
extinguishing the Slave Trade; and, secondly, that their merchant vessels, if suspected, or even flagrantly guilty, should, nevertheless, be liable
to visitation, or search, and seizure, by the officers and seamen of their
own country only. Eagerly, even at great cost, as the suppression of the
noxious Traffic might be sought, it was still not an aim to which the
United States would consent to sacrifice the more dearly valued exemption of their own citizens from coercion by strangers. I may be pardoned
for here adverting to the language used on this very topic, by one of the
brightest and most authoritative ornaments of English judicature: " NXo one
nation has a right to force its way to the liberation of Africa by trampling
orn the independence of other States, or to press forward to a great principle
by breaking through other great principles that stand in the way. The right




TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON.    205
of visitation and search on the high seas does not exist in time of peace. If
it belongs to one nation, it equally belongs to all, and would lead to gigantic
mischief and universal war."'
It is hardly worth adding that the mere 1" suspicion " or belief of Commander Moresby of the illegal occupation of the " Panchita " cannot be
accepted as the slightest possible basis for his proceeding, when the open
avowal or the living proof of the supposed fact of guilt is not itself admitted, by compact between the two nations, to be a justification of search
or seizure.
Some difficulty is naturally felt in adverting to the remaining reasons
with the respect due to an officer honored in the possession of the Queen's
commission. But I feel assured that Lord Clarendon will understand
me as only desirous to bring out the true lineaments of the transaction.
Commander Moresby informs Commodore Adams that in sending the
"Panchita" across the Atlantic, in charge of his lieutenant, to New
York, he was "' incited by the unfortunate fact of the total absence of anything like an American naval authority, and that in consequence the'Panchita's' detention may be prolonged for an indefinite period."
It would, perhaps, be harsh and invidious to scan too closely the statement that the sending the vessel to New York was regarded as the step
which involved him in his alleged " great responsibility."  In the chain
of his acts, that one is the only link not liable to objection, at least on
the part of the United States. The American government is outraged,
not by the subsequent misgiving and politic device of a reference to its
own tribunals, but by the violation of its flag at the outset, the unwarranted intermeddling with the property and pursuits of its citizens, the
"examination"' and " detention."
Actual trial for a number of years has, perhaps, demonstrated the inadequacy of the squadrons on the Western Coast of Africa to accomplish
the great end contemplated by their respective governments. The vessels are, probably, too few; necessarily distant from each other; and occasionally disabled by the diseases incident to climate, or the disasters of
weather. They certainly cannot be ubiquitous, and yet without that attribute they are no match for the wary and covetous slave-traders on that
extensive shore. Such difficulties, if remediable at all, are to be remedied,
not at the discretion of any one, or all, of the naval agents in both services, but by the concurring action of the two governments. Commander
Moresby alleges " the total absence of anything like an American authority;" but such absence (in one aspect, rather fortunate than otherwise) justified, as regards the flag of the United States, and the lives and property
over which it waved, no arbitrary substitution of himself in the stead
of the American absentee, for the purposes of visitation and search. An
American authority might, very possibly, upon receiving from Commander
Moresby a revelation of his " suspicion " of the "Panchita," have done precisely what Commander Moresby did; but Captain Moresby could under
no circumstances or pretext whatever do it, without usurping a supervisory function, not only not confided, but expressly forbidden, to him.
It would seem as if the imposed restraints, and the purposed omissions,
of the Treaty of 1842, were not in harmony with the speculative opinions,
and chafed the eager spirit, of this subordinate officer.  He entertained " a
firm conviction that if some steps be not taken, there is nothing whatever to prevent the American flag from sanctioning any vessel, openly in
the eves of the world, equipping and trading with slavers in any part of
the African coast;" and he proceeded to take the reformatory steps of
* Lord Stowell.




206                     TO MR. CASS.
visitation and seizure of the "Panchita."  This may be one mode by
which the Gordian knot of the " consuetudinary Law of Nations," " great
principles that stand in the way," and even precise conventional stipulations, can be cut. But Commander Moresby has to learn from your lordship that it is an absurd and indefensible mode. It is absurd, as having
a tendency to alienate and detach from the united undertaking a powerful people who first legislated to abolish the Trade; who first, by municipal enactment, made that Trade punishable as piracy; and whose armed
force has been perseveringly stationed to watch and prevent it. It is indefensible, as placing the matured policy and peace of nations at the
mercy of their rash and presumptuous servants, and as "leading to
gigantic mischief and universal war."
It would be unjust to ascribe to Commander Moresby the mistaken impression that, because the Criminal Code of the United States denounced as
piracy the Traffic of which he suspected the "Panchita" to be guilty, he was,
therefore, at liberty to search and seize that vessel and her crew as "' enemies of the human race." He puts forward no such erroneous reason for his
conduct. Ignorance of the wide distinction between the Law of all Nations,
and the Municipal Law of a single one, cannot fairly be attributed to him,
or to any British officer. The protection or rescue of the American flag
from prostitution to illegal aims, still rests exclusively with the American government and people, whose will and ability to enforce their own
statutes cannot, or need not, be questioned. On one or more occasions,
the Secretary of State, by direction of the President-both of them ardently disposed to combined movement against the Trade, and stimulated
by a Resolution of the House of Representatives-proposed to her Majesty's government a scheme for the extirpation of that condemned commerce, to be incorporated, by universal consent, into the Law of Nations,
and involving mutual concessions of the right of search. The discussions,
perplexities, and obstacles encountered by that proposition need not be
recalled; it is enough to say that its ultimate failure left the Law of
Nations, which it was designed to modify on the point referred to, unaltered.
I trust I am not too sanguine when anticipating that her Majesty's
government, aware how occurrences such as the one on which I have thus
animadverted grate upon the sentiments of an independent people, and
how rapidly they become unmanageable causes of estrangement and quarrel, will promptly mark the act of Commander Moresby with just reproof, and otherwise render its repetition extremely improbable.
Copies of the documents transmitted to me from Washington, and which
have been observed upon, accompany this communication.
I have, etc.,
(Signed)                  G. M. DALLAS.
No. 147.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 17, 1857.
DEAR SIR,-I had scarcely closed my letter of the 14th
instant under the impression that it would go in the
steamer of the 16th, when I found that fresh Indian news
had arrived.




TO MR. CASS.                207
Nothing more auspicious, however; —perhaps a still farther sinking in the morass of rebellion. Another general
forced by ill-health to quit the siege of Delhi, which has
made no progress. The Bombay Presidency disaffected
and doubted. The rainy season, with all its difficulties
and diseases, fairly set in. Yet Havelock has marched
from one victory to another, has probably relieved Lucknow, and possibly terrified Nana Sahib into suicide. Sir
Colin Campbell had reached Calcutta. I shall be mistaken
if he do not hasten to attempt Delhi by assault.
More will be made of the Imperial coincidence at Stutgard than is generally supposed. It will probably originate a Congress.
Lord Clarendon has been relieved of his attendance on
the Queen in Scotland, and may give attention to my Panchita despatch within a reasonable time. I suppose Commander Moresby will, for his reckless zeal, be ultimately
rewarded with knighthood.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 148,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 28, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-I am somewhat exercised to determine which conspiracy against common right will be the
less in~jurious to the United States, the existing one
between France and England, or the one concocted at
Stutgard between Alexander and Louis Napoleon. That
the Emperors contemplate an alliance which will affect
the relations and policies of all the European governments,
no one doubts: that it must ultimately embarrass, perhaps
endanger, this country, is gloomily anticipated: —but its
power to extend its influence across the Atlantic nobody
believes. The course of British cabinets, in the constant
snarling and arrogant tendency to alienate America, has
perhaps accomplished its natural result and rendered it
impossible to bring our people to sympathize, much less
co-operate, with John Bull in his contests with continental
despotisms.




208                TO MR. CASS.
The effect to be produced on the domestic politics of
England, by the measures of the new alliance, is dreaded
by some, and exultingly foreseen by others. It is said, the
ministry must be changed: that Palmerston, though very
well for ordinary times, is not competent to a great national crisis: that he cannot enact the wonders of Pitt. I
think this impression of his capacity is very general. But
what then? Is there a stronger man to be had? Certainly not among the Whigs, properly so called. Clarendon? Granville? Lewis? Panmure? Labouchre? Vernon Smith-? No, no, no! But can't better be extracted
from the Tory ranks? Derby?-not relished. Disraeli?veryrespectable as subordinate, preposterous as Prime. Ellenborough?-ditto. In sober truth, the eye ranges over
the whole field without encountering a single mind up to
the mark of command. Perhaps we might, as the best of
a bad bargain, pick up Lord Stanley.
I have a perfect horror of Mormonism. It is a sort of
carbuncle on the body politic, which will get worse and
worse every year, and inflame the whole system unless
resolutely extirpated. I know the Constitutional and legal
difficulties in the way: —but sincerely hope that you will
seize the first fair opening for a decisive swoop. The
subject is one for conversation here almost constantly.
Within the last few weeks some of the Elders, roaming for
converts, have held meetings in Lond6n, and inspired extreme disgust.
A dread prevails as to what may be the character of the
hourly expected news from India. It is feared that the
cholera may have compelled an abandonment of the siege
of Delhi; that Lucknow Fortress may have fallen before
Havelock reached; that he may be surrounded by, an
overwhelming force of sepoys and annihilated; that there
may be a preconcerted rush, during the Mohammedan
Festival, from Delhi all along the Ganges to Calcutta;
and that Madras and Bombay will be unable to withstand
the torrent of insurrection.- It is said that no substantial
succor can arrive until late in October, by which time
irreparable mischief may be done.
It is a curious fact that there is a considerable party in
Ireland, headed by the newspaper The NYation and not
a little countenanced by Cardinal Wiseman, which takes
sides with the Hindoos, against the Ei#glishfilibusters. It




TO MR. CASS.                209
would be difficult to find a stronger illustration of the
liberty of the Press as it prevails here.
Of course you notice that Lafragua has received instructions authorizing him to accept the proffered mediation.
By the latest hypothesis (for facts are unattainable) the
arrangement will be negotiated in this city.
Not a single member of the ministry is in town; unless
he have casually strayed in for a few hours to or from
scenes of social enjoyment.
Always faithfully yrs.
P. S. —September 29, 1857. Last night's telegram (a
newly coined and most convenient noun) of events in India, although not as bad as was supposed possible, gives
additional shades to the picture. Havelock had been unable to advance for the relief of Lucknow as late as the 12th
of August, and the gloomiest apprehensions prevailed as
to the fate of the thousand English, men, women, and
children, who had taken refuge there, but who had estimated their provisions to last only to the 6th of August.
Delhi as heretofore. -General Nicholson had reached there
with reinforcements, though not sufficient to justify an assault, say 2000. The spirit of mutiny seems spreading:to the southwest of Delhi, at Judpore, at Belguum, in the
-Bombay Presidency, and in Bombay itself, where they were
disarming particular native corps; and in Madras. Lord
Canning is the object of much attack, as inefficient and
too forbearing. It is said that he and Sir Colin Campbell
had had serious differences, and that Lord Elgin took
sides with the latter. Nothing short of prompt vindictive cruelty towards the sepoys will go down now. John
Bull doubts the capacity and patriotism of every man who
is not implacable; he exacts torrents of black blood, and
razed cities. Canning will probably be recalled because
he don't play the part of a British Nana Sahib. Lord Elgin may be summoned from Hong-Kong, whither he has
returned, to assume the Governor-generalship. Nobody,
just now, cares for China.
Lord Clarendon has appointed a new consul-general at
New York, Mr. E. M. Archibald, the brother of the gentleman who has been lately actively soliciting the place
and who is known I believe personally to the President.
The consul was formerly the attorney-general of New



210                TO MR. CASS.
foundland; and had retired on a pension. He was preferred to his brother because younger, being within 50
years of age, the maximum of consular appointees, agreeably to the rules of the Foreign Office.
Always faithfully yrs.
G. M. D.
N1o. 149.-TO MR, CASS.
LONDON, October 5, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —It is said we need expect nothing farther from India for a fortnight. During that period
anxiety will work itself into fever.
I think I perceive much effort and dexterity in preventing really bad news from striking too suddenly upon the
public mind. One of these finds facility in the little
known geography of Hindostan, and the unpronounceable nomenclature of its towns and districts. As an instance: A mutiny of 20,000, with a Rajah of Akulkote at
its head, is announced as having occurred at or near Shulapore: well, it produces no special sensation, because
few are able to separate it from the general mWle in Bengal between Delhi and Calcutta. But if you once turn to
the map and gazetteer and discover this formidable outbreak to be in the Bombay Presidency, about 250 miles
southeast of the city of Bombay, then you perceive it tells
an ominous story of the extension of the rebellion some
seven or eight hundred miles from its place of origin, far
in the interior, and in a region whose order was still matter of boast. Perhaps I ascribe unmerited importance to
this fact; but on carefully hunting up its locality, it appears to me terribly significant. One immediate effect of
these sporadic outbreaks is to render a concentration of
the British forces sent out quite impossible.
The large expenditures incident to the exactions of this
" servile war" will bring the skill of Sir George C. Lewis,
Chancellor of the Exchequer, into play. Government is
more earnest and lavish now than in the Crimean war.
Yet, by an official abstract it appears that the receipts in
the Treasury during the quarter ending 30th September,
contrasted with those of the corresponding quarter of




TO MR. CASS.                211
1856, shew a decrease of ~900,000: although comparing
the entire years, that of'56 surpasses'57 by only ~170,000.
Now the principal decrease has been in the Excise and
property tax, amounting jointly to upwards of ~500,000:
and it may well be predicted that the reductions effected
last fall will have to be undone, and that the Income tax,
with such modifications as will prevent its becoming
unpopular, which it certainly ought not to be, will be reestablished and possibly increased beyond any rate it has
yet attained. The amount of taxation which this people
will bear is wonderful. Their capacity to borrow on
emergencies is the only more wonderful thing:-their
credit being literally inexhaustible, as the annual profits
of their industry are enormous.
Your Nos. 80 and 81 by the Europa came this morning.
Now do, pray, attend to what I have to say about the die
from which you send a gold medal for Captain De Gruchy.
So many have passed through my hands that I am almost
ashamed of having been accessary to inflicting so much
discredit upon the artistic taste and skill of the country.
Nothing can be worse imagined or worse executed. We
formerly had die-sinkers who produced beautiful medals.
In the Mint at Philadelphia there are some that do credit
to American art. But this! ye gods, it is frightful!
Gold cannot make it tolerable, although it burnishes and
recommends everything else. In silver, worse. Now, in
this dilettanti age, we are snubbed at the sight of such
specimens from the government studio. If the stamp is
worth having at all, it is worth having such as will stand
criticism. "Reform it altogether."
I send you what I think rather an interesting and telltale slip just cut from a newspaper. It shews the troops
sent to India, vessels, and dates: and you will perceive
that the greater portion can hardly be expected to reach
their destination before November. -Ience, no doubt, it
has been resolved to try the shorter cut by the Isthmus
of Suez and the Red Sea.
Always faithfully yrs.




212                TO MR. CASS.
No. 150. —TO JUDGE WOODWARD.
LONDON, October 6, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-I had not supposed that it would take
Lord Clarendon so long to deliberate upon the expediency
of allowing me to have a copy of Major Butler's report.
It is near a month since I wrote to him, and his answer
came last evening. You will observe too that he has
thought proper to omit some portions. Of the nature of
these suppressions, it is useless to conjecture, though one
can hardly avoid thinking that they might possibly have
exhibited the combined forces of savages and English as
committing equal, mayhap greater excesses than are now
fiercely denounced as unpardonable barbarities by the
"black fiends" of Bengal. This sensitiveness to national
character is rather laudable than otherwise, but had better
not be indulged at the expense of historical truth. The
Earl is himself so excellent and amiable, that I am not
surprised at his shrinking from disclosing how worse than
wild Indians his countrymen sometimes are or have been.
Copies of the letters which passed between us are enclosed
for your private information.
Very faithfully yrs.
No. 151.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 13, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-There is a great likelihood that the King
of Prussia will shortly die. I presume we shall all be
bound to go into mourning for his Majesty, especially as the
marriage of his nephew with the Princess Royal has made
so much stir in Parliament and elsewhere. By-the-by
(even the d- is entitled to his due), I have been assured
most positively that the alleged intemperate habits of the
King were the false inventions of English travellers, that
he is uncommonly abstemious, drinks nothing be.yond
wine and water, but that he has a silly trick of lowering
his eyes and shaking his head, which suggested the notion




TO MR. CASS.                 213
that he was vinum guzlando potens. His intellect is fast
yielding, and he now fails to recognize his oldest friends.
When he is finally off, I suppose there will be an immense
rapprochement between the Courts of Potsdam  and St.
James.
The Queen will honor the southern section of her dominions by returning from Balmoral to Windsor on Saturday next the 17th. Her Majesty stops a day, in the royal
progress, at Haddo House with the Earl of Aberdeen. I
take it for granted that this great dull town will feel the
influence of regal vicinity, and be restored to the life so
essential to sustain these private letters of mine.
Your idea of improving our foreign diplomacy by having each minister apprised of the principal objects pursuing at every Court is excellent. I urged something
analogous to it upon Mr. Forsyth, while I was at St. Petersburg, and I pressed it upon Mr. Webster when Secretary of State. It is the great practical advantage enjoyed
by the diplomats of Russia. It produces a harmony of
action and inculcation that, in a long run, tells conclusively.
Mr. Webster's difficulty was in the great labor which it
must throw upon somebody in the department, already
overtaxed. How that may be, I can't pretend to say:but if there.be any use at all in having missions dotted
over Europe, they might as well be made to co-operate in
the general policy of the government as run the risk of
impeding it by a want of information from the fountainhead. Take an instance somewhat illustrative. I had
been here but three or four months when, at an interview
in the Foreign Office, Lord Clarendon suddenly asked me
whether a treaty had been made between the United
States and Persia, by which we had engaged to lend some
naval squadrons to the Shah, and were to be indemnified
by the possession of certain trading stations in the Gulf:
-and he produced two or three long articles extracted
from the instrument. What could I reply? There was
no practice'of communicating from the department on
which I could rely, and I had never heard of the treaty.
Fortunately, I took a strong impression that his lordship
was making, rather hastily, a ground of complaint against
us as a set-off to Crampton's affair, and that the alleged
treaty was absurdly unconstitutional. I pondered over
the paper he put in my hands for a minute or two, and,




214                TO MR. C.ASS.
aware that his eyes were fixed with suspicion on my
face, I slowly relaxed into a smile, and then exclaimed,
laughing, "My lord, you are hoaxed: this is a document
which no American statesman would dream of making:
-some one has played upon what he believed to be the
readiness of the ministry to think the United States capable of any enormity."'-Now, this was little more than
good luck, and certainly was not founded on any positive
knowledge of facts, one way or the other. It struclk his
lordship forcibly, but did not convince him, and at his
special request I wrote to Mr. Marcy inquiringly upon
the subject. The hoax was proved: —but the risk run in
denouncing it, at the outset, weighed upon my mind for
some time.
Lord C. has just sent me two large Blue Books, purporting to be official correspondence on the Slave-Trade
up to March,'57. Do you want them? I have not yet
had time to open their pages. Indeed, I look upon these
compilations, laid upon the parliamentary tables with exceeding regularity, as mere sops to Cerberus, intended to
gorge the anti-slavery appetite, so keen throughout England, and to take from the Opposition one of the popular
themes of declamation and attack. It is hard work to
wade through them.
There is heavy sighing on the London Exchange and
Paris Bourse. The calamitous panic in America, and the
financial confusion in India are creating mischief everywhere, and the end is not yet. Consols, in one day, yesterday, fell near 1~1 per cent. This was accelerated by the
unlooked-for action of the Bank of England, in raising
her rate of discount, before 10 A. M. to 7 per cent. Private failures are beginning to pour in, among the ScotchAmerican houses particularly. Some anticipations are
gloomy enough to embrace a stoppage of the bank in paying specie. Gold and silver are flowing westward, across
the Atlantic. A, million of dollars, it is said, will be
shipped to-day from Liverpool. The French funds underwent a rapid declension. The newspaper accounts from
the United States are exceedingly distressing: —but, unlike any derangement of credit or currency we have heretofore experienced, it would seem that the present one
is in no manner whatever ascribed to, or inflamed by,
politics. Hence, I am inclined to augur an earlier recovery.




TO SIR W. G. O USELY.             215
I should doubt whether the Central American Treaty
will receive the attention of this government until they
are relieved of anxiety about India. My impression is
that, rather than quarrel, they will yield their interpretation of Mr. Clayton's unhappy Convention: —but they will
be extremely reluctant to do so in a direct manner, or at
a moment when it would seem extorted from their national embarrassment. When they do it, they will want
it to appear a concession to amity. Perhaps, too, at this
moment, the sore is a little too fresh.
The rage is for Imperial Conferences. These dignitaries are just now all three comparatively young men, and
are naturally disposed to scan each other's figures. Austria and France meet next: —time and place not yet determined. As to my predicted Congress, to come out of
the Stutgard " embraces," it is getting along slowly but
surely.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 152.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 13, 1857.
AMY DEAR SIR,-My Bag has gone, and I have only a
momnlent to say that Sir William G. Ousely will be sent
out, as a Commissioner of some sort, to settle the Central
American question.
He conies to Washington first, and then proceeds to
Central America. He leaves here in about a fortnight.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 153.-TO SIR W. G. OUSELY.
LONDON, October 18, 1857.
MIY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,-Pray receive two packages,
one composed of official documents, which I beg you to
keep, and the other of two volumes, being Squier's work




216               TO MR. J. M. M.
on the region you are about visiting, and which, as a gift
from the author, I am bound not to part with.
If, on farther rummaging, I find anything more that
can possibly be serviceable, I shall do myself the pleasure
of sending it.
Begging you to make my best compliments to Lady 0.
whose prospect in the coming month I cannot help envying, I am,
Very faithfully yrs.
No. 154.-TO MR. J. M. M.
LONDON, October 16, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —There is great difficulty in forming a
satisfactory judgment on the actual state of things in India, or the prospects. So much is exaggerated, so much
concealed, and so much thrown into confusion by endless
repetition. My opinion, however, is that the rebels have
done their worst, have leavened nearly all Hindostan with
their spirit of mutiny without being able to produce a
general explosion, and will now be rapidly reduced to subjection. The great body of the forces recently levied will
reach the field of action before the 1st of November.
They may find the country already nearly restored to
tranquillity, by Sir Colin Campbell, Havelock, and Nicholson:-if not, their own numbers are abundantly sufficient
to effect that end. England has exhibited more than
usual military vigor and capacity, at this crisis. The
beastly butcheries of women and children have stirred
the blood in the lowest depths of John Bull's heart.
So too, the British soldiery in Bengal have exhibited admirable courage and endurance. To be sure, everything
has been made to give way before the resolution to save, at
every cost, the Indian empire. They will soon begin to
discuss the principles on which to refound their government there. The Bishop of Oxford and Mr. Gladstone
have opened the theme with some impressiveness: —the
former is for giving Christianity "fair play," by which he
means proselyting: the latter is rather too much of a statesman and philosopher for that. I am, on the whole, inclined




TO MR. CASS.                  217
by the signs of the times to think that, after the subject
has been well buffeted between parties, and hammered
to death in the journals, it will gradually lull into silence,
be forgotten, and the old course of proceeding resume
tranquilly its march. To be sure, this will lead to future
outbreaks periodically, but what of that? In politics, as
in monetary affairs, panics; though momentarily frightful,
have their permanent advantages.
The King of Prussia threatens to die. His brother and
proper successor meditates renunciation or abdication (at
least so your excellent friend Mrs. E. just from Paris told
me she had heard), and then Prince William, with his
British bride, the Princess Royal, mounts the throne.
Victoria gets ahead of Louis Napoleon by this family arrangement.
Spain is at a loss to get men willing to assume the responsibilities of governing her. That race, so renowned some
centuries ago, is fast sinking, indeed already sunk, into
wretched impotency. Queen Isabella, sick of all the factions around her, musters character enough to insist upon
presiding at the Council!
Our yellow fogs have begun, and her Majesty has come
"flae Scotia:" —so London will be rapidly repeopled.
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 155.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 20, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —The Bank of England yesterday raised
her rate of discount to 8 per cent.: —a rare, if not the
single, instance of its being placed so high. Of course Consols fell: —they are 841, and all stocks are affected.  The
continental banks are taking the same steps. A feverish
anxiety pervades the mercantile classes. The danger is
attributed to the disruption of credit in the United States,
and particularly to the lawless course of our banks. These
institutions seem subject to periodical epidemics; and as
the respective States have, over and over again, shewn
their incapacity to control them, could Congress apply the
constitutional power to better purpose than by enacting
VOL. I.-15




218                TO MR. CASS.
a bankrupt law for their exclusive benefit? It is quite
clear that while they are at liberty when a storm comes
to find shelter in suspending payment, they will never
take in sail, or fasten the hatches down. They should be
forced to forecast: —when the fit is actually upon them,
measures of mitigation, compromise, and relief seem unavoidable:-the only plan is to prescribe, while they are
sound, a rule which will keep them so. Hang the birch
on the wall of the school-room.
This India convulsion will more or less affect the political attitude and pretension of England for some years to
come. Hence it may be important to us that its real bearings and perpetually shifting phases should be distinctly
understood. Is it to weaken her? Is it to tone her down?
Will her relations with Persia or Russia become complicated with it? What branches of trade, or supplies for her
manufactories, are put in jeopardy? These and many other
questions naturally spring up, and I am inclined to think
that Anglo-Hindostanee study might be very useful to our
politics, if not now, at least soon. The Press is teeming
with publications of great interest and authority upon the
subject: —and I have sometimes wished that I had it in
my power to send them to your departmental library, and
add them to that of the legation. Here are some twelve
or fifteen works-among them, that mine of exact and
useful information of all kinds " Thornton's Gazetteer of India," without which a practical statesman's shelves are im,
perfectly supplied. What say you?
A continental and no unfriendly paper warns Englishmen not to be too sanguine in the expectation of repressing
the rebellion, and points significantly to the Sikhs, as a
probable source of great danger, though at the moment
friendly. The warning is rather late, be its foundation
what it may. John Bull thinks he has already strangled
the tiger. The Globe, a few days ago, chanting the invincibility of the Anglo-Saxon, declared that even the
American Revolution would have been crushed had not
France lent her aid i
Isabella of Spain has at last a new ministry, of which
Admiral Armero and Mon are the chiefs. The rest of the
component members as yet unannounced.
Prussia will probably follow the example of Sweden,
and have her Regency. From regent Prince Oscar, we




TO MR. MARKOE.                 219
are to have a new member of the diplomatic corps at this
Court,-Count de Platen, in the place of old Baron de
Hochschild.
The Queen and Court ensconced themselves at Windsor on Saturday last.
All Americans abroad recur with pride to the heroism
of Herndon and his companions. An act which illustrates
and dignifies national character should, somehow, receive
national notice.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 156. —TO MR. MARKOE.
LONDON, October 23, 1857.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-Oh! for some sassafras, or slippery
elm, vegetable simples apparently unknown to the pharmacopceia of this Babylon!-for the very act of putting on
my specs reminds me that the rebellious eye of which I
complained about this time last year, has come back to
worry and disable.
The money mutiny, like that of the sepoys, is slowly but
surely yielding to the force of metal. Consols closed yesterday at 88k, a shade better than the day before. All
the world here is engrossed by two possibilities; universal
bankruptcy and the loss of India: one just as likely as the
other, and both mere air-drawn daggers.
I have omitted to thank Mr. Chilton for his few beautiful lines on Herndon. Pray do it, and most cordially,
for me. This incident is unequalled in moral beauty.
The case of the British frigate Birkenhead was like it,
but inferior in the fact that the saving of the women and
children was the result of military discipline, and not of
purely voluntary heroism. I hope the subscription for the
family will succeed: but I look at the act in another point
of view. It is a great event, illustrative of, and tending
as long as remembered to mould, the national character.
Our history has some, though few, of such significant and
immortal utterances of high-souled humanity:-the clodhoppers rejecting Andre's bribe is one, and Miller's "I'll
try" another:-bSut nothing so calm, so utterly unselfish,




220                TO MR. CASS.
so simultaneously good and great, has yet been recorded.
It should live and speak forever. Perhaps it is unsuited
to the cold material of the sculptor:-but ten or twenty
thousand dollars appropriated by Congress for a vigorous
effort of Horace Vernet's brush, to be hung in the Capitol
or the White House, would secure an everlasting discourse
upon the glories of a subject far exceeding any military
achievement on which we habitually expend folios of 4th
of July Orations. I should like to enlist Mr. Pearce, of
the Senate, and some such high-feeling and bold-speaking
man as Governor Wise, in the House, for this.
But my eye is furiously angry, and threatens if I go on
to burst-into tears.
Our countrymen are hurrying home in shoals, terrified
at what the panic has done or may do.
Ever truly yrs.
No. 157.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 23, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —The despatch on this occasion will bring
you a formal notification of Admiral Seymour's blockade
of the port and river of Canton. This may possibly interfere with our trade somewhat seriously. It puts a stop to
the chuckle I have seen in some of our papers to the
effect that we might reap a harvest while they were quarrelling.
This war is one between Sir Michael Seymour and Commissioner Yeh, or between England and Canton, not between the two Empires of Great Britain and China: —and
certainly no declaration of war has yet appeared. I suppose
therefore we are to regard it as an imperfect or limited
war, though it looks more like a "Plug Ugly" skrimmage
than a national war.
The panic in the United States acts upon our travelling
countrymen like the " rappel " or beat for a retreat. They
are fast thronging homewards. Mr. - told me that on
one morning, after the receipt of disastrous failures and
suspensions the night before, one hundred and fifty had
departed from the Hotel du Louvre at Paris to get on
board the Vanderbilt!




TO MR. CASS.                 221
Consols were yesterday a scintilla below 89. This is
slight but perceptible improvement. The great effort is,
if possible, to prevent the shipment of gold and silver to
the United States. Such consignments are so immensely
remunerative just now, that the Bank of England repels
by an 8 per cent. discount notes designed to draw out her
coin. She has succeeded, it is thought, quite sufficiently
to avert the danger.
We can expect no news from India short of a week
hence. Boys in the streets are, to be sure, every night
shrieking out, "Delhi fallen," "Havelock defeated;"but their newspapers contain nothing of the sort.
An inflammation in my left eyelid, engendered by a
fierce midnight lamp and the intolerable types of the New
York and Philadelphia journals, absolutely compels me
to stop short. I dare say you will breathe a "thank
gracious!" for if the members of your diplomatic menagerie throw at you such heaps of paper pellets as I do,
it is not in human nature to avoid a sense of patience
overwhelmed.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 158.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 30, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —The last news from India, although accompanied by the storm of Delhi, is of a mixed character,
and scarcely justifies the exultation expressed in the Press
here. The capture of the city was not attained except
with immense comparative loss, especially of officers, and
it proved an almost empty acquisition, as the great body
of the rebels, with their new King at their head, had skilfully managed to evacuate the place, to cross the Jumna
by a bridge of boats, and to effect a compact and safe retreat. The details of the assault, if allowed to appear, will
probably be frightful; as it was protracted for six days,
during the greater part of which the fighting was conducted in the streets. Such disastrous and inconclusive
successes, in a civil or servile war, ought not to be vapored
about. The escape of the King and garrison, which re



222                TO MR. CASS.
quires explanation, makes the whole siege measurably
abortive.
It is also quite obvious that, instead of being overawed
and checked, the disaffection is becoming wider and bolder.
The son of the deposed King of Oude, but 15 or 16 years
of age, has been hoisted into the throne of his father, and
his ministers have organized a force to impede the march
of Havelock and Outram to the relief of Lucknow. Several sepoy regiments heretofore relied on have mutinied.
The English battalions, to be sure, seem invincible where
they stand: —but their power is confined to that "possessio pedis," and they do not put down the insurrection.
By this time, however, the new levies have reached the
scene of action, and we may expect to witness something
definitive.
The question as to the union or status quo of the Danubian Principalities is rapidly ripening into what may prove
a quarrel after the approaching Conference at Paris.
France, Russia, Prussia, and Sardinia favor the consolidation, with a new King chosen from the western dynasties:
England, Austria, and, Turkey are averse to anything of
the sort. The Principalities themselves have recently by
large votes in their respective divans pronounced for
union. The difficulty will not be removed when the
Powers come to consider the Treaty of Paris (or of Peace)
of the 30th of March last: —on the contrary, it will be
augmented. For it is clear that by Article 25, if the Sultan alone holds aloof and refuses to agree to any proposed
definitive organization of these provinces, he is at liberty
to do so, and his "suzerainet6" remains unimpaired. But
he has done so already, in advance of the Conference:he has formally repudiated the new monarchy scheme as
one to which he will never assent or submit; and while
apparently silent, both England and Austria vigorously
back him up in this stand. The majority of the Powers
in conference, sustained by the regularly ascertained sense
of the Principalities themselves, will not readily or cheerfully submit to the Sultan's veto. Hence it is not impossible that the consulting physicians may disseminate an
opinion that "the sick man" is, after all said and done,
pretty much as Dr. Nicholas thought him, and that depletion, drenching, and straight-waistcoating constitute the
only promising treatment.




TO MR. CASS.                 223
By this occasion, you have consigned to you Sir William Gore Ousely and his charming American wife,
whose transmission by her Majesty to Central America
(pray where is that government?) I apprised you of in my
note of the 13th instant.
I had the pleasure to welcome Secretary Cobb's Commissioner on International Coinage two days ago. Professor
Alexander shall certainly have the benefit of all the aid I
can give him in getting access to the officers of government to confer on the interesting subject intrusted to his
care. The topic, however, is not one to which attention
can, just now, be turned.
Prussia, you will have observed, has lapsed into a Regency. The King, confiding everything to the hands of
his brother, proposes travelling southwards to Rome and
Naples. He will hardly get through the winter, and may
be regarded, like the generality of patients whom their
physicians recommend to travel, as a rapidly "dissolving
view." The circumstances connected with the event seem,
somehow or other, to interfere with the programme of the
marriage of Prince William and the Princess Royal: —a
postponement to the spring is already hinted.
The alarm excited here by the monetary panic in the
United States is subsiding. Few failures: —among which
only one Bank, the Borough Bank of Liverpool.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 159.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, November 6, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The commercial fright, which seems
generally swelling into terror, is the only thing which
might possibly be beaten up to an importance sufficient
for a despatch. Everything else since the fall of Delhi
was announced is fiat and fugitive. England has rather a
heavy load upon her back at present, and this last monetary pressure threatens to make her stagger. Every fresh
steamer (the Vanderbilt last evening) brings gloomier accounts from the United States. All the merchants and
manufacturers connected with American trade are startled




224                TO MR. CASS.
and trembling. The Bank already appeals to the forbearance of her depositors and customers, and tells them that
if they act upon their fears and ask her bullion, she cannot stand it. Her interest is raised to 9 per cent., and
another puff of the western sirocco will lift it to 10. What
then? Why, then she must cry out to Lord Palmerston
and Parliament, "help me, Cassius, or I sink!"-What
if they refuse? Why, then I should be disposed to remember that the population of this Babel might become
feverish and excitable under the influence of an infusion
of some hundreds of thousands of discharged operatives,
and that it might be prudent to have the Stars and Stripes
ready for exhibition from one's balustrade! Bread riots,
however, are not famous for discrimination.
The failure to lay the Atlantic electric cable has been
followed by the failure to launch the Great Eastern, or, as
christened, "The Leviathan." An attempt on the 3ct instant, to permit the monster to slide sideways down an
inclined plane into the Thames was frustrated by some of
the workmen mistaking a signal shewn by Mr. Brunel
from his elevated position on the deck:-the effect being,
that one part of the ship obeyed the signal and moved some
three or four feet, while the other part remained stationary. It was accompanied by some sad accidents.
Still the operation might have proceeded, and it probably
would have proceeded, but that the river was densely
thronged by crowded steamers and boats, and the mishap
already experienced made it not impossible that another
might occur, and precipitate the vast unmanageable bulk
to overwhelm and deluge everything within two or three
miles of her. She is now resting on the inclined plane,
and it is feared that as that is constructed on piles, her
enormous weight, say 14,000 tons, may gradually settle
down and become immovable by any known mechanical
force. The second of December is given out as the day
for another trial: —but it would not surprise me to hear,
that, in order to avoid the obvious and imminent dangers
of a multitudinous collection, distracting and intimidating
those engaged in managing the machinery, she had been
safely launched without public notice.
Parliament has been prorogued to the 17th next month,
and will probably, as usual, be again prorogued to the
beginning of February.




TO MRS. EDGE.                 225
The United States frigate Niagara, Captain Hudson,
left Plymouth yesterday morning, homeward bound.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 160.-TO MRS. EDGE.
LONDON, November 9, 1857.
I REGRET, my dear Mrs. Edge, that consistently with
truth I am not at liberty to confirm your hope of our relationship. Judging exclusively by the intelligent and
frank tone of your letter, it would have afforded me great
pleasure to do so.
My father's name was not Joseph, but Alexander
James: my own name is not George Mills, but George
Mifflin.
My grandfather, somewhere in the middle of the last
century, was a physician in Edinburgh, Scotland:-he
married a wealthy lady of the Island of Jamaica, and had
numerous sons and daughters, all born in that colony.
His name was Robert Dallas. The estate upon which he
lived and died was known as "Dallas Castle." His widow
subsequently married a Mr. Sutherland: and these two,
in some way or other dissipated all the family property,
and threw my grandfather's sons upon their own energies.
All of them became emnilent, but none except one called
Charles Stuart, or Stuart Charles, accumulated fortune.
My father, after marrying in County Devon, a daughter
of Major George Smith, of the British Army, sought his
future in the United States in the year 1783, when about
25 years of age. I was born in 1792 in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This short narrative shews you that, although our
branches of lineage may have a common trunk, somewhere in distant times, they have extended far apart, and
it would be impossible to trace their connection beyond
the name.
Of the name, I knew there existed, during the last fifty
years, in America, several very respectable families: —but
enquiries have always ended in failing to prove that any
one of them was of the origin of my own.
Very sincerely and respectfully yrs.




226                TO MR. CASS.
No. 161.-TO MR. 0A88.
LONDON, November 10, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The worst apprehensions are fast seizing upon the merchants. The Bank of England raised
her interest on discounts to 10 per cent. yesterday. Several heavy failures have been announced, among them
the great firm of Dennistoun, of Glasgow; and others are
hourly expected. Not a ray of sunshine breaks upon the
gloom from any quarter as yet. Men look as if they were
beneath an impending avalanche and scarcely dare to
breathe. This applies to the great banking houses without exception, whose names I will not trust to paper, but
whose deep anxieties are manifest.
Dr. Peter Parker, our late Commissioner in China, arrived here last evening, and has just paid me a protracted
visit. Mr. Reed, according to the doctor's calculation,
will arrive at Hong-Kong at about this date. He seems
to regret that he was not left, like his colleague, Dr. Bowring, to aid the minister whom the condition of public
affairs rendered it expedient to send out. His purpose is
to proceed to the United States in about two weeks and
to visit Washington without delay.
I have written only because of my wish to send you a
line by every leading steamer, for I really am left by the
extreme dulness of the times, without topics for letters.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 162.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, November 13, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The panic proceeds: —leaving deeper
vestiges of its march on this side of the Atlantic than with
you. Yesterday, the cabinet took a stcp which cannot
fail to be impressive, for good or evil, and which may
produce serious discord in the approaching Parliament.
They determined to throw the government as an impediment in the way of the spreading commercial embarrass



TO MR. CASS.                227
ment: —and'the Globe of this afternoon contains the letter
of Lord Palmerston and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
addressed to the Governor and Deputy Governor of the
Bank, authorizing a violation of the Charter by extending
their issues beyond the limits prescribed by Sir Robert
Peel's great and approved Act of 1844: and this, though
with deprecatory language, at their discretion! The ministry pledge themselves to ask from Parliament a bill of
indemnity, to save the Bank harmless, if it will break
through the fetters of law, and give the merchants an unlimited supply of its notes:-And they omit the slightest
provision calculated, if that be at all possible, to prevent
the depreciation of the paper. After such a measure, it
is quite time that the English journals should pause in
their prolonged attacks on our Bank suspensions and their
legislative legalizations.
Not all yet. An early meeting of Parliament is to be
summoned, probably before the close of this month.
Having taken the irrevocable step, the Premier resolves
to face the music at once. To this conclusion the government would seem to have been hurried by two things:first, by the violent disorders menacing Glasgow, on the
stoppage of the Bank of that city, which demanded the presence of a military force: and second, by the example of
Louis Napoleon, who, the day before, to wit Wednesday the
12th, came out in the Moniteur with a letter addressed to his
Minister of Finance, stigmatizing the panic as a creature
of the imagination, disclaiming any design to employ
empirical measures, and counselling simple and temporary measures of prudence. The simple measures were
immediately adopted by the Bank of France, and the interest on discounts made to rise according to the length of
the note to 8, 9, or 10 per cent.
The vice of all this is governmental intermeddling. It
depreciates the obligation of law, intimidates trade, and
tampers with currency. Men struggle boldly and successfully, amid commotions incident to the natural elements
of their business:-but if these are to be changed or controlled at the will of government, results cease to depend
on individual energy and sagacity. When the fermentation is under way, abstinence is the true wisdom: wait
till spontaneous, self-creating clarification takes place.
The last news from India has caused much relief and




228               TO MR. BATES.
exultation. The reconquest of Delhi and the complete
success of Havelock in his movements on Lucknow are
undoubtedly pregnant facts. The old Mogul King (90
years of age) and his old wife, with their three sons, have
been pursued and captured: the superannuated couple
spared, the rest executed. Still, the confessed loss in hard
fighting, especially among the officers, has been immense.
Two generals, Niell and Nicholson, among them. There
is more disaffection reported: —a new and younger King
has been proclaimed: the rebels of Delhi have gone in
masses to other places to maintain and encourage mutiny:
the cholera rages: and General Wilson has been driven
from his command by ill health.
I am informed by one acquainted with him and his
family that General Havelock has had, during all the time
he has been pressing so gallantly forward, a daughter
among the besieged at Lucknow!
The new ministry in Belgium is of advanced liberalism;
so, it is said, is the new ministry in Madrid: Rogier and
Mon are the respective vital spirits. I look to see, at an
early date, the finger of Napoleon in both of these pies,
disturbing the crust and displacing the plums.
Please say to Mr. Cobb that his Commissioner on International Coinage, Professor Alexander, after a short delay,
accompanied me to-day to the Foreign Office, was introduced to the Earl of Clarendon, and received every necessary direction as to putting himself " en rapport" with the
"proper functionaries " mentioned in the Act of Congress.
The subject occupies many of the first minds in this country, and I.think the time may come when the two governments will mature it into practice. At present everything financial and commercial is too dislocated and
disturbed to allow the necessary attention to be given to
the project.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 163, —TO MR. BATES.
LONDON, November 15, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your proposal as to Christmas is too kind
and cordial to be resisted, notwithstanding our conscious



TO MR. GILPIN.                 229
ness of the multitude it embraces. We anticipate great
pleasure in conforming precisely to your programme, and
in being with you and Mrs. Bates at Sheen on the 23d to
the 28th December.
I am given always to doubt the virtue of nullification
of law, whether it be executive or popular: —but cases of
sudden necessity may arise which excuse, if they don't
justify, a government in assuming the responsibility of
doing it. The precedent set in 1847, of suspending the
operation of Sir Robert Peel's Bank Act, was very seductive at this crisis; and the manner in which that bold
breach of positive legal injunction was treated may be
fairly regarded as equivalent to a legislative modification
or relaxation of the terms of the Charter. No ministry
can hereafter, under the same circumstances, venture to
hold on to the law inflexibly. One position, "ita lex scripta," must yield to another, " communis error facit jus."
I hope what you say of the storm here may be true also
of the storm in the United States, though you perceive that
our Secretary of the Treasury recoiled from doing what is
somewhat analogous to Lord Palmerston's proceeding:he would not throw the doors of the sub-treasury vaults
open, in face of an Act of Congress, although extremely
inclined and tempted to do so. My letters are still full of
sad foreboding, but I think a streak of sunshine returning
here and there breaks through the dark cloud. We shall
revive in sixty days, but we shall miss from the herd many
a noble animal who carried veteran and magnificent
antlers but two months ago.
Pray offer to Mrs. B-  our warmest regards, and believe me always
Most faithfully yrs.
No. 164.-TO MR. GILPIN.
LONDON, November 16, 1857.
MY DEAR GILPIN,-It puzzles me to find excuses for
your long protracted silence. I hear and sincerely hope
that Mrs G. has perfectly recovered her health. If not,
then to be sure the puzzle is explained.




230               TO MR. GILPIN.
Mr. Cobden brought Mr. Bright to see me about a week
ago. The latter looks the type of florid health; but I
doubt its entirety and permanency. He, several times in
the course of an hour's talk (for visits here are very prolonged), put his hand to his head as if to aid the process of
thought:-once, perceiving that I remarked the gesture
with a slight sympathy, he said that he still felt a remnant
of his complaint ill being unable to push vigorously to
concentration the course of his ideas:-that he was apprehensive he would find it hard, if not impossible, to take
his old position in parliamentary debate: that in other
respects his restoration was perfect. I told him that in
convalescence, the mind, like the body, required gradual
exercise; that his had been idle for nearly two years, and,
though perfectly sound, was relaxed; and I exhorted him
not to postpone exertion to the House of Commons, but to
try himself first among his friends after a public dinner, and
then at one or two political meetings. I added, that one of
my chief inducements in consenting to come on this mission was the opportunity of hearing Mr. Cobden and himself in full blast on the free trade topic, and I did not want
to be wholly disappointed. These gentlemen carried their
Manchester Peace principle to an extreme, at a moment
when the nation was irrevocably committed to war, and,
as a necessary consequence, their popularity waned. Mr.
Cobden lost his election last spring, only because of his
constant opposition to vigorous measures against Russia.
I do not yet perceive a prospect of his regaining his
ground. His friend is younger, less dreaded or disliked,
promised not to carry his Quaker notions into the Indian
struggle, is re-elected, and if he will only surmount, by
the regimen I have prescribed, his diseased want of selfconfidence, must become the leading spirit of the House of
Commons. Of course, I took the occasion to speak of
you, whoim he remembered with obvious pleasure, and to
place in his hands the package of books you sent for him
a year ago. No doubt he will acknowledge to you their
receipt.
The very last accounts from India create extreme anxiety for the fate of Generals Outram and Havelock and
their army about 3500 strong. They reached Lucknow
and relieved the European men and women besieged in a
fortress: —but they can't themselves get out again: the




TO MR. GILPIN.                231
masses of Mussulmans in the city of Lucknow itself are
watching an opportunity to overwhelm them; the road
back to Cawnpore is infested with small armies of mutineers; Nana Sahib, with thirty or forty thousand men
and munitions in abundance, is surrounding them; and a
month at least must elapse before adequate reinforcements could reach'them. After all the suffering endured
and gallantry exhibited by Havelock and his men, their
sudden destruction, by Nana Sahib too, would be as severe a blow upon the heart of this country as could be
struck. It looks at this moment to be almost inevitable.
Havelock will no doubt sustain the character he has
achieved by a most desperate defence: but the odds are
too great. Men argue here that the fall of Delhi and the
capture of the Mogul King will dispirit the rebels at Lucknow: —perhaps so, and perhaps not. The city was a barren conquest: —it was kept with acknowledged courage
and skill by the sepoys for months: it was abandoned by
them when no longer tenable: and they have escaped to
rally and continue the war elsewhere: the superannuated
monarch was a mere effigy, though a cherished one, and
the treatment shewn him, with the execution of his sons,
may possibly produce more exasperation than fright.
Niana Sahib, with all his atrocities exaggerated, is yet admitted to possess talents, bravery, and resources:-he may
also see in the extirpation of the King's family, an opening for the establishment of a new dynasty: he may be a
Spartacus, and yet hope to avoid the fate of Spartacus.
Parliament will meet in the first week in December. It
is hurried up by the government to pass an Act of Amnesty
for the benefit of the Bank, which, at the instigation and
request of the ministry, openly violates the express restrictions of its Charter in issuing an unlimited amount of its
notes and retaining its coin. There is precedent for this;in 1847:-and the nullification of positive law not only does
not create surprise, but seems to receive unanimous approbation. The panic has made its own law. I am told by the
first city merchants that the " storm is over," that the
breath of Lord Palmerston has stilled the agitation, and
arrested an explosion on the brink of producing widespread ruin. The "Omnipotent" Assembly, whose past
decrees are thus slighted, will register a new one with very
little if any demur. It will continue in session for a week




232                TO MR. CASS.
or two, and then be prorogued, probably to February. It
will only take time to utter a few speeches about India,
China, and perhaps Central America.
The book of the day is Livingstone's Africa. Read it.
Don't be repelled, as I was on the point of being, by the
first fifty or sixty pages. You will come to curious and
interesting details of natural history which will abundantly
delight you.
We all unite, nem. con., in sending the kindest regards to Mrs. G.
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 165. —TO MR. 0CAS.
LONDON, November 17, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The meeting of Parliament will precede
that of Congress by four days. It was prorogued to the
17th of December, but the Queen has by proclamation yesterday hastened it a fortnight.  Officially, the object is "the
despatch of divers urgent and important affairs:" generally,
it is understood to be the passage of an act to amnesty
and guarantee the Bank: —really, it is for these purposes,
and specially perhaps to authorize a loan for the relief of
the East India Company's finances. This last point will
be a sore matter, notwithstanding the military glory whiclf
is represented to have been gained in the rebellion;-for
John Bull thinks that the expense of the struggle should
all be extracted, by the East India Company and the local
government, through confiscations and fresh taxes, out of
the natives, and not be wrenched from him.
It is doubtful whether the Queen will open Parliament
in person. And why? You will be surprised to hear.
The reason is that if her Majesty does open Parliament,
she must, of necessity, advert to the gallantry exhibited
in Bengal by the British generals, and particularize them
by name. Public feeling will not be satisfied with cold
comprehensive praise from her:-and yet she cannot step
out of a dull formality without stirring the hot embers of
an established feud in the India service, the feud between
those called "Queen's men" and those called "Company's




TO MR. CASS.                233
men." I have the disclosure of this covert but practical embarrassm ent, of which I was not before aware, from a highly
distinguished and intelligent gentleman in office. Htow the
difficulty bears upon Wilson, Lawrence, Havelock, Nicholson, Niell, and Outram respectively, it will be curious to
enquire, and may be a key to explain future honors or
slights. Thus far Havelock has borne off the palm, and
he is even compared withWellington:-although a morning paper, in view of,his actual danger in Lucknow, denounces his advance to that place as the precipitate mistake of the campaign. His popularity here is unbounded,
and may extort from Majesty a F. Marshal's baton.
There are philosophers everywhere who think themselves peculiarly competent to cure all existing evils.
Such no doubt is the gentleman who wrote the accompanying pamphlets on monetary matters, pamphlets which
he is anxious to administer, as a sort of homceopathic dose,
to Brother Jonathan, in the convulsive crisis of his affairs.
He has begged me (by the letter enclosed) to send them
to the President, a courtesy to him which I cannot pretermit:-but, as I am averse to call attention from vastly
more important affairs to the lucubrations of Mr. John M.
Knott, a perfect stranger, I must, even, with a thousand
apologies, transfer the burden to your broad shoulders.
There are puffs of news from China., Lord Elgin had
greatly benefited his health, which was assailed by fever,
by his voyage to Calcutta: but he ascertained, on his return to Hong-Kong, that he would have to remain in
Southern China, until at least the next spring. The
blockade had been pushed up to Canton itself. Several
skirmishes had occurred, and, in the main, the English,
under Commodore Elliott, came off second best. The
French Embassy had reached Singapore. The Russian
envoy had managed to communicate with the Imperial
government at Pekin, and had then gone to Shanghai
to wait reception and presentation, but it was believed
that he had received information of the Emperor's unwillingness to accept his visit.  With the exception of
Canton, commerce with all the ports of China is as
lively and tranquil as ever. "How very odd!"  Commodore Tatnall, who arrived here a week ago, will proceed
on his voyage to relieve Commodore Armstrong, in the
course of a few days.
VOL..L-16




234                TO MR. CASS.
We are called upon by the Court official to mount
mourning for the deceased Duchess of Nemours, as cousin
of' her Majesty! that is, I believe, she was the daughter of
the personage who first married the Queen's aunt, and
secondly married her mother! -well, according to the
regulations of your department, our suits of sable are
always on hand, and always "full dress."
Very faithfully yrs.
No..166.-TO MR. 0ASS.
LoNDON, November 20, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —The progress of commercial disaster
does not appear to have been arrested by the ministerial
intervention. The Bank, to be sure, lends more freely,
but the list of daily failures gets longer and longer. Unless the grand panacea of governmental guaranty prove
effective soon, I don't see what is to prevent a general
break-down, attended by great social disorders, far worse
than any we need fear in the United States.
The ambassadors from the First and Second Kings of
Siam, with their presents of rich barbaric gold and jewelry, were received by the Queen (upon the throne!) at
Windsor yesterday. I met these illustrious mulattoes at
the dinner of the Lord Mayor in honor of the Duke of
Cambridge. Wretched, squat-faced, inexpressive, animallooking creatures! in every possible trait inferior to our
Indians. Strong and sinewy, with teeth stained jet-black,
hair equally dark and cropped close, and tight-fitting
gowns of thin cloth of gold:-admirable laborers for a
Southern cotton-field.
Yesterday, too, Mr. Brunel made a second failure with
the Great Eastern. He attempted to move her nearer to
the water and applied a force which made the piles supporting the rams give and break without budging her.
This trial was a private one: and no doubt all future ones,
until the huge fabric is afloat, will be conducted without
public notice.
Very faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                235
No. 167. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, November 24, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR, —Stillness precedes a stir: —and by that
reflection I account for the silent smoothness with which
political affairs are gliding to the meeting of Parliament
on the 3d of December, and of the Congress at Paris
shortly after. Nothing agitates the air but the fall, actual
or prophesied, of some great commercial house, or the
learned declamation of an "Oxon." on the duty of making a Christian demonstration against Juggernaut in Bengal, so that future divine judgments may be averted.
Two parliamentary, or rather ministerial, dinners are formally announced for the 2d of December:-one by Lord
Granville, the other by the Premier.
The Reform party, headed by Mr. Roebuck, think
the moment propitious for a fresh movement, and have
issued a sort of manifesto which may be characterized as
a cowed utterance of Chartism. I think Mr. Roebuck one
of the ablest, he is universally admitted to be the most
independent, of the members of Parliament: —but the
country is, at this moment, tamed by two wars, by the
alarm-bell of the Exchange, and by the prospect of popular commotion and suffering excited by augmented taxation. The period is unwisely chosen. Although Lord
Palmerston explicitly pledged himself to introduce a Reform Bill at the present session, no one expects him to do
it, and already the matter is treated, in conversation and
in the press, as indefinitely postponed. Mr. Roebuck's followers are sufficient neither in number nor moral weight
to make head against the quiet overslawing current of the
time.
The death of Cavaignac was thought to be the knell of
the French Republican party: —yet the fact that Carnot and
Goudchaux have refused to swear allegiance to the Empire indicates very strongly the reverse. I am told that,
owing to some yet undeveloped cause, the popularity of
Louis Napoleon among the Parisians is perceptibly waning.
This may be tested by the new election ordered.
You will receive this at about the opening of Congress,
and I cannot repress an entreaty that I may be promptly




236                    TO MR. CASS.
supplied with 1. the President's Message, 2. the Report of
Mr. Cobb, and 3. the Congressional Directory.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 168.-TO MR. OASS.
LONDON, December 8, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Arabia brought me, late yesterday,
your interesting Nos. 85, 86, and 87. Their tone implies
a policy which has my zealous sympathy, and which I am
eager to see distinctly announced in the President's Message. At this moment, public opinion all through Europe is prepared for the new American Executive's cutting
through all the protracted and complicated cobwebs of
controversy which it has been the pleasure of England to
spin  out of the fruitful womb  of the Clayton-Bulwer
Treaty. Lord Napier's letter to you of the 9th October
looks very like a deliberated effort to lay the foundations
of another series of batteries for arguments long drawn
out. Your reply of the 20th probably created a flutter,
a suspension of works, and an appeal for further instructions.
If the Message be what I have thought likely on our
Foreign  Relations, Parliament will reassemble (it adjourns on Monday the 14th) after the holidays in a temper
very different from  the quiet and passive one it now exhibits. Not a word given to the United States, or Central America, in the Queen's speech!* a fact commented
* DIARY: December 3, 1857.-" The opening of Parliament by the Queen
in person this morning was altogether a handsome and suggestive ceremony. Here, in a vast and rich hall, was in fact concentrated the government of a widespread Empire:-Royalty, Princes, Peers, Nobles, Bishops, Law-Judges, and Comnmons. Her Majesty wore a crown of brilliants,
and jewels sparkled over her person. Her principal garment was a glittering skirt of striped golden stuff, and she removed from her shoulders
the weight of a cloak of crimson velvet bordered with ermine. She was
preceded into the House of Lords, from the corridor, by high officers, who
bowed to the yet vacant throne as they passed it. She was handed up
to the throne by the Prince Consort. On her immediate right stood
Lord Winchester, holding a gold stick surmounted by a large red velvet
cap, with gold tassel, termed the Cap of Maintenance. On her immediate




TO MR. CASS.                        237
upon by the Journal des Debats, and  deemed significant
of disturbances behind the scenes. And a representative
of France, Mr. Belly, has proceeded to join  Sir W. G.
Ousely, in order to realize Lord Clarendon's old declaration as to the universal bearing of the Anglo-Franco Alliance. Very well! There is nothing so impressive upon
the majority of the House of Commons as decided language from  the chief of our "fierce democracie," and
Lord Palmerston may find himself suddenly unhorsed by
the influence of terrified manufacturers already tortured
by the panic.  It is an epoch at which the very questionable opinions and interpretations of a Premier will not be
sustained by the popular branch of Parliament at the
hazard of reviving the hostile feelings of the two countries.
I went last night to both Houses.  The Lords were on
India, the Commons on the Bank: —but the benches were
almost empty while Lord Derby was speaking in the one,
and a Scotch member in the other. It is understood that
the ministry have their way on both questions; and the
opposition, after a few  speeches, retires listlessly from
contest.
I hope you have noticed that the great English historian,
like a wise man chary of fame already acquired, has retained his name and  taken the oaths in the House of
left was Earl Granville, grasping and keeping erect, with fixed solemnity
of look, the huge decorated Sword of State. The Lord Chancellor, Cranworth, was next to the Marquess of Winchester, and held in his hand the
Address, which he subsequently gave, kneeling, to the Queen, to be read.
Lord Lansdowne carried a Crown upon a cushion. The Princess Royal
and Princess Mary of Cambridge, seated themselves in front on the
Woolsack, with their faces to the Queen, their backs turned necessarily to
the crowd. The chamber was full of elegantly dressed ladies:-the Peers
present were few. As soon as the obstreperous rushing in of the disorderly Commons to the Bar, headed by their Speaker, had subsided, the
Address was read by the Queen, still sitting, and was well read:-her
Majesty manifesting a slight and attractive agitation at first. There was
much to gratify in the whole performance:-but it seemed to me that its
charm arose from its being headed by an exemplary lady not yet old enough
to have lost beauty, grace, and sweetness of voice. Her husband occupied what might be regarded as a secondary throne, on her left beyond
Lord Granville. The Address read and returned to the Lord Chancellor,
the Queen rose immediately, and, handed by the Prince Consort, bowed
to the audience, who all stood up, and left by the door and corridor
through which she had come. The Prince of Wales was not present.
Prince William of Prussia was."




238                TO MR. CASS.
Peers, with the title of Baron Macaulay. If he choose
it, he will carry great weight with his new associates.
You have doubtless heard that we are in the middle of
the Nineteenth Century. What a mistake! The illustrious ambassadors from Siam, on being introduced into
the presence of the Queen, actually and in a group fell
upon their faces, crawled on all-fours to the foot of the
throne, and presented her Majesty with the right royal
and magnificent present (among others) of a spittoon!
Shade of Basil Hall, and Genius of Trollope! what think
ye of this intrusion by the representative of " the filthy
practices of Americans " into the very sanctuary of transcendental refinemenrt? I wonder if these eastern savages
are given to practical jokes, or have in their wit a spice of
sarcasm.
Commercial skies are slowly brightening. The reported
failures are becoming few and far between. The example
of the Bank of France will probably be soon followed, and
the Dame of Threadneedle Street begin to lower her interest on discounts. At Hamburg, however, and it is
feared at Copenhagen and Stockholm, the financial asphyxia threatens universal ruin. Iow singularly similar
to the progress of an epidemical cholera has the advance
of this monetary derangement been! only it travels in an
opposite direction, from West to East.
Mr. Brunel has not yet got his Leviathan into her element: unless she rushed down in the course of last night.
One half of her journey homewards is not yet accomplished. All things, however, inspire confidence, and
very soon the astronomers In the Moon will rejoice in the
discovery of a great spot upon the Earth's disc.
I ought to make-and therefore I do make-a thousand
apologies to the Secretary of State for this mixture of incongruities: —but, as Monsieur Crapaud says, "Que voulezvours?"-my notes are as musical as I can make them.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. J. M. M.               239
No. 169. —TO MR. J. M. M.
LONDON, December 11, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The President's Message is eagerly
awaited. Misgivings as to its tone are prevalent. It may
rouse an opposition in Parliament which, disposed to anything rather than quarrel with America, will oblige Lord
Palmerston to quit the helm. The administration, say
rather the President, has a glorious opportunity for inaugurating a grand international clearing-house.
The French scheme for reviving the Slave Trade, ostensibly a mere license to a firm, Regis & Co., to ship from
Africa large numbers of negroes, as free laborers, for the
West Indies, will probably be abandoned. Some people
think, though I do not, that the functionaries of this
government would have connived at the project had it remained sub rosa:-but the keen-sighted and loud-tongued
abolitionists gave the halloo, and now Lord Clarendon,
when waited upon, gives positive and impressive assurances that their great and faithful ally beyond the Channel will effectually prevent the mischief. The conception
of the plan is a proof of the straits to which they are
reduced, as to labor, by their fanatical humanitarianism.
Observe, the English statesmen and editors have had a
measure of rationality infused into their doctrine of universal emancipation by their fight with the Indian sepoys:-for though, like the scrupulous framers of our
Constitution, they sink the word slaves, they in reality
inflict a servitude more abject and galling than is known
to our Southern States.
The House of Lords will this afternoon dispose of, by
passing, the Bill of Indemnity to the Bank and the ministry for violating its Charter. That proceeding certainly
seemed to lull the commercial tornado which threatened
universal break-down. Until the government cried "let
go and hawl," the vessel, in general opinion, was upsetting:-that spell righted her, and she has ever since, on
an even keel, been slowly getting into smoother water.
Failures, to be sure, are almost daily announced of houses
connected in business with distant continental places,
Hamburg, Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, Constantinople,




240                TO MR. CASS.
and St. Petersburg, to which the tempest has pushed and
where it is expending its expiring force. But the worst
is over, here; as I fervently hope it is with you.
It is curious to observe how popular sentiment will force
its way in this country through all sorts of aristocratic
finesse and obstacles. I have noticed many instances:but here is a new and signal one. General Havelock, by
a series of gallant exploits, made himself the favorite
of the day, and the people called lustily upon royalty
for his reward. Well, they first settled upon him a
wretched annuity of ~100. Pish! cried John Bull, that
will never do! Then, they made him a Baronet: —Bah!
grumbled John, that may do for Sir William Williams of
IKars, but here's a soldier of a dozen victories! Then,
the Queen, by special message, graciously hoped her
Parliament would vote, and her Parliament has voted,
~1000 per annum during his life. Still the heart of John
Bull is swelling and dissatisfied, and he is demanding
something like what was done for Marlborough or Wellington-for John solemnly believes Havelock to have
saved the British Indian Empire-and he now insists upon
a peerage and a fortune to maintain it. Success to him!
and succeed he will, if he but stick obstinately to his demand. Havelock's present position at Lucknow, however,
renders it extremely doubtful whether he will survive to
wear his honors. I-e is beleaguered by 70,000, and wants
food; and though Sir Colin Campbell may rake together
a force of 5000 to go to his assistance, a deep dread prevails that he will be too late.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 170.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 15, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-Parliament has adjourned to the 4th
of February next. It was in session nearly nine working days. The Lords met on Saturday last the 12th,
merely to receive the Queen's assent to the act relieving
the Bank. Little positive legislation beyond that was
attempted. A Committee of broad investigation as to
currency was reappointed: General Havelock was voted




TO MR. CASS.                241
a pension of ~1000 per annum for life: and a pretty distinct intimation was thrown out that the government
would be obliged to go to the relief of the funds of the
East India Company. As to Reform, explicitly promised
in the Queen's speech, the Premier merely added in debate, "you must wait till after the holidays for our plan:
— we have no notion of allowing the critics to brood over
it during the recess." One thing was too obvious for
doubt: on none of the existing public measures is the
opposition capable to make a stand. It is difficult to
imagine a British ministry more unchecked in pursuing
whatever course they like, than that of Lord Palmerston.
Nor can any change be anticipated as the fruit of some
measure of domestic policy. Even a ridiculously small
instalment of reform-a wee bit-will fail to exasperate a
serious resistance. There may possibly spring up a foreign question to disturb this smooth ascendency, but it is
not easy to designate the quarter whence it can come, or
to say how it will divide parties when it occurs. The
practical power wielded by Lord Palmerston would fmake
me anxious lest, to attain some sinister purpose, it should
be exerted against the United States, but that I feel assured that he and his cabinet are too sagacious voluntarily
to run the risk of the only national quarrel which their
countrymen cannot and will not uphold. His lordship's
theory of administration certainly leads himl to keep open
an issue of war, as a vent for the humors of John Bull:
and if he closes the Indian struggle, as appearances indicate that he soon will, you may expect to see Canton
sacked, and Pekin menaced. But he must be very tightly
cornered before he will aim at America, and so revive the
swarming of the hosts of manufacturing hornets upon his
head.
The solicitude about Outram and Havelock, cooped up
in Lucknow with an extra train of women and children,
continues, although somewhat less desperate owing to recent accounts. The contending forces are converging to
that point, and the result of an assault by Sir Colin Campbell will probably close the insurrection. He was near
being captured on his way to take the command. Travelling en courrier without an escort, in order to be quick, he
pounced suddenly upon a considerable body of mutineers,
and narrowly escaped by the fleetness of his horse.




242                 TO MR. CASS.
In the course of next month the marriage of the Princess Royal is to attract hither an immense flight of crowned
personages, their families, or representatives. Her Majesty has not palaces enough to accommodate her guests,
and is obliged to engage public hotels in advance. The
chief theatres will, in the same service, be thrown gratuitously open for several weeks. Every effort at brilliant
eclat will be made. You probably experienced and remember the effect of such whirling court festivities upon
a republican minister.
The money crisis seems to subside quite as fast as the
monster steamer: — both are, however, still upon the stocks.
Always faith-fully yrs.
No. 171. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 22, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Message reached London at about
5 A.M. yesterday. I read it in bed and composedly. It
appeared, in pretty large fragments, in most of the morning papers. It is frankly and distinctly praised, except in
that portion which deals of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty.
The Times and the Post of to-day contain comments; and
perhaps these, better than my impressions formed in so
short a space of time, will enable you to see the reception
it has had here; and although I know you have files of
these papers sent to you, it may be convenient to have the
slips I now enclose. By the interference of Terence's play
at the School of Westminster with the free agency of one
of my guests at dinner yesterday, I missed the opportunity
of being told the sentiment of Lord Clarendon, who had
in the early part of the day talked fully to him on the
subject. I got my copy before sunrise, by virtue of an
arrangement to expedite it from Liverpool on the arrival
of the Arabia.
Commercial matters appear to be improving. They
have not been as bad in France as either here or with us.
They are still deplorable in Germany; and some intelligent
merchants anticipate that the failures in that quarter, especially the north, will react upon France, and make matters




TO JMR. CASS.                 243
worse than they have yet been. Consols have run up to
within a shade of 93:-but the Bank still exacts 10 p. c.
interest.
The town is deserted and dull.
Always faithfully yrs.
P. S.-The Message is printed at full length, not in
fragments, in to-day's Times, partially disfigured by the
headings to the several topics, originally devised by the
New York fHerald.
No. 172.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 29, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,-It occurs to me as possible that the
many interesting subjects which are hourly demanding
your attention in Washington may make you give less
welcome than heretofore to these desultory letters of mine.
I hope you will not hesitate, if so, to tell me to relax the
stream.
It is quite apparent that the two leading topics for parliamentary disposition, in February, will be representative
Reform, and a modification of the government in India.
The minister will, after all and possibly very unwillingly,
be obliged to offer his bill. A scheme novel in its character has been recommended to him, in a formal Memorial,
by a large number of influential persons headed by the
Archbishop of Canterbury. After the fashion of thinking which prevails here, the plan has its plausibilities. It
rests upon the idea of creating a new and distinct constituency, to be composed of those who have been "liberally
educated;"-that is, according to English common parlance, of the professions-of lawyers, physicians, and parsons. These, throughout the Empire, are designed to be
jumbled into a separate mass, and to send their representatives from specified localities to the House of Commons.
It is calculated that this constituency will furnish about
seventy members, contributed in pretty nearly equal proportions by the Bar, the Faculty, and the Clergy. It is
class representation, intended and avowed, according to
some narrower examples already existing. Much atten



244                TO MR. CASS.
tion has been awakened to it, and it may not be entirely
excluded from the ministerial project. In discussing it
the other day, at a dinner table, before some Judges and
Members of the House, I took the liberty to characterize
it as a sop thrown to Cerberus, oiled with conservatism,
which, instead of satisfying, would only sharpen appetite:
and that, after all, if they wanted to do justice to their
fellow-men, nothing was so conservative as universal suffrage, the very opposite of such class preferences.
You notice that Baron Brunow returns to this Court,
which he left when the Crimean war broke out. I hear
through a diplomatic colleague that Count Kreptowitch,
owing to some unexplained cause, went back to St. Petersburg somewhat under a cloud. Sed, de hoe quaere?
Count and Countess Platen, who succeed, from Sweden, Baron and Baroness Hochschild (the former dead),
are plain, unpretending, and attractive persons. The
Count told me he had begun life in the British navy,
had been in the Swedish ministry, but had retired many
years ago from public affairs. tIe is owner of a large fortune. They knew intimately my old friend Mr. Christopher HIughes, whose daughter married Senator Kennedy
of Maryland.
The Spaniard, Bravo, is off again to Madrid. HIe left
here on the 21st instant. The very nice young gentleman whom he leaves Charg4 d'Affaires, Conti, says that the
minister is a leading member of the Spanish legislature,
and that his presence in the Body is occasionally indispensable. Nothing need be apprehended against Mexico.
The movement of General Walker may possibly revive a
little alarmed bustle-for Spain regards all filibustering as
ultimately destined against Cuba-but the President's
Message effectually secures her good behavior.
The vestiges of the commercial panic are fast disappearing. The Bank suddenly dropped her rate of interest
front 10 to 8, and will shortly lower to 6. She does but
conform to the street rate. The storm is, however, growling as it retreats on the Continent. Everybody eulogizes
Mr. Cobb's report, and the tendency to American investments will before long be greater than ever.
Sir Colin Campbell has done his job handsomely, with
only such an amount of wound as would attest his personal activity and exposure. The details of his relieving




TO MR. MARKOE.                 245
Lucknow have not yet arrived. He is conjectured to have
returned to Cawnpore, there to organize an overpowering
force for the subjection of the kingdom of Oude.
Can it be possible that while the case of the " Panchita"
was beingo disclaimed and apologized for, the same thing
was going on with dozens of our vessels and flags?
Many happy returns of the season.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 173.,-TO MR. MARKOE.
LONDON, January 5, 1858.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-Your letters are full of interest to
me, of one sort or another, and I thank you heartily for
them.
General Cass has been, I honestly fear, palled by the
ceaseless stream of those I have written to him. During
the active labors thrown upon him by the session of Congress, he can hardly have leisure to break their seals.
Miscellaneous and transient as their topics are, the desire
to keep them up as long as they can prove, in the remotest
degree, useful or agreeable, has kept me watchful of all
the minor incidents of the day, and constantly on the qui
vive. They cost me a great deal more in attention and
thought, than the routine of official despatches: —and yet,
I have a misgiving lest they oppress the General and be
really valueless.  Tell me the bald truth, without a
mincing word.
I think I drew your curiosity before I left home to
"Christie Johnstone," one of Reade's first novels. Well,
now get his last, "White Lies."  It is written with the
same boldness of conscious power, is thoroughly and designedly French, and has a noble tone of domestic virtue
and of moral.
Tell M. that the general inclination here is to disbelieve
in the Leviathan. Another failure yesterday almost extinguishes hope;-but it arose from an outside piece of
carelessness: a bark ran into and disturbed one of the
barges essential to the operation: and so I keep a stiff
upper lip of confidence in ultimate success.
Always sincerely yrs.




246                TO MR. CASS.
No, 174.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 8, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Yesterday's telegram of Indian news
announces the death of General Havelock by dysentery, a
few days after his leaving Lucknow, and the defeat of
General Wyndham near Cawnpore by the Gwalior contingent of sepoys. This last force of mutineers was, about
ten days subsequently, attacked and routed by Sir Colin
Campbell. It is difficult to understand the defeat of
Wyndham: but its effect must be greatly to reanimate
and encourage the rebels. Explanatory details will not
reach here for a week or ten days.
The necessity of Parliament's authorizing the East India
Company to effect a loan in England of about ~8,000,000,
seems generally conceded. It will probably precede, and
not embarrass, the fundamental change contemplated in
the mode of governing "the Eastern Conquest."  That
change will mainly consist in bringing the political sovereignty of the Empire, passing by the " Company," to bear,
in name and in reality, upon all Hindostan as a national
conquest: in founding a new ministerial department exclusively devoted to the supervision. and control of that
immense region: and in fact, at the expiration of more
than sixty years, to take the defeated scheme of Mr. Fox,
and abandon for it the disproved one of Mr. Pitt. This
important topic of legislation will go far to elbow out of
the coming session every other, and may help especially
in still farther putting off definitive action on Parliamentary Reform.
I can't avoid thinking that the present moment is peculiarly favorable for relieving our country from so much of
the Ashburton Treaty as calls for the constant presence of
an American squadron on the Western Coast of Africa.
1. The plan is, confessedly on all sides, a failure. 2. The
whole system of British emancipation is combated. 3.
The demand for black labor in the West Indies is loud
and imperative. 4. France is obviously reluctant to yield
up her cunningly devised method of reviving the trade by
seeming to pay wages to ignorant brutes eager to exchange
the actual servitude under their barbarous chiefs for the




TO MR. CASS.                  247
prospective and ameliorated one under white masters.
5. Is it not an " entangling alliance," of a nature to make
us, ostensibly in pursuit of a common object, always play
a secondary and equivocal part? 6. The press here, so
long and so energetic in the negro policy, is backing
before the logic of experiments and facts; —not a little
perhaps affected by the consciousness of a glaring inconsistency in the two crusades, one against African slavery,
the otherfor Hindoo slavery, both black!
Two great institutions, the Bank and the Leviathan, are
nearing smooth water. The former lowered her interest
to 6 p. c. yesterday; and the latter has become so tractable that she has gone on her ways rejoicing at the prodigious velocity of eighteen feet in forty-eight hours.
Eheu! These monsters, nevertheless, are very differently
actuated. One shuns, the other seeks, liquidation!
A  German paper suggests the probability that the
Prince of Prussia, now vested with the powers of Regent,
will, on the death of the derangdd King, carry into effect
an often declared purpose of' abdication: —so that the
Princess Royal of England, having married his son, may
first put her foot in Berlin as Queen of Prussia.
Our steam communication is becoming less frequent,
irregular, and uncertain.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 175. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 15, 1858.
TMY DEAR SIR,-The Times of this morning contains a
telegram from Paris, dated at 10 o'clock last night, announcing that the Emperor had been shot at as he was entering the Opera House. Some few features of personal
display and of popular sympathy are stated, but we await
the details. You may have noticed that, during this
lively season of the year, his Majesty has, with much
ostentation, seemed to give himselfconfidently to his subjects, to walk about the streets in plain dress and without
attendants, and to talk occasionally with a lively "boutiquiere." This was done, I think, twice, and duly noted in




248                TO MR. CASS.
the newspapers. Whether the vigilant agents of the police, as at Osborne, encircled the Imperial person and gave
him the ease of perfect security, no one knows. Suddenly,
in the darkness of night, and without being touched, he
is fired at: what next? All history tells how such incidents are used, to avoid an impending danger: —how can
a generous people allow a chief who shews such free and
confiding trust in them, to be victimized by conspirators
and assassins? So, then, body guards, spies, and the
army! Besides, is it not well to divert men's thoughts,
in the profound tranquillity of politics which now prevails,
by initiating a fresh series of arrests and of "causes celebres"?  The worst interpretation which can be put upon
the event, is precisely that which best harmonizes with the
character of its principal personage.
The Bank of England, yesterday afternoon, lowered her
rate of discount to 5 per cent., and thus I think has discharged the farewell volley over the grave of the departed
panic. She may reduce still farther: —but that will be
owing to the plethoric fulness of her vaults.
Walker's capture by Paulding, and his subsequent alleged enlargement, are variously commented upon. Lord
Palmerston's organ rails like a very drab. Generally,
however, the arrest is regarded as a lucky thing, though
accompanied by a violation of a foreign territorial jurisdiction. Nicaragua is clearly the only authority offended
and entitled to complain, but will she be absurd enough
for that? In converting into pirates those who offend our
neutrality laws, and so making them like slave-traders
seizable under the statute anywhere, it would seem to me
that the Commodore has not manifested the discrimination of a criminal lawyer. Perhaps he remembered Porter's pursuit of pirates to Foxardo, and Jackson's following the Indians across the boundary into Florida:-if so,
I am afraid he has confused extremely dissimilar cases.
My curiosity is up to know exactly what you propose to
do with this little complication. Perhaps, having the
breaker of the law actually in your power, you will send
him to a jury, and then appease Nicaragua by disclaiming
the act of taking him on her soil. If you don't deal with
him, his security in New Orleans will probably hasten to
take him on a bail-piece.
Col. P. of Virginia, who tells me that he has succeeded




TO MR. CASS.                 249
in effecting an arrangement with a French Railway Company, and Mr. John M. B., who has been visiting Russia,
are both here on their way homeward.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 176.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 21, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —I was not far out of the way when, in
my last, some of the philosophy of history was hastily applied to the recent escape of Louis Napoleon from assassination. He has hurried onward, while the explosions of
the bombs were still echoing, to destroy every vestige of
freedom. His address to the legislative body, written
with uncommon ability and beauty, is simply a declaration of absolute despotism in maintenance of his dynasty.
Repression must be the order of the day, to silence opposition and establish safety: —national prosperity can only
be permanent when all resistance to him, as "the just," is
extinguished. Already, two journals, Le Spectateur, and
Revue de Paris, are suppressed. The Ordinances of Charles
X. were nothing to this: —and yet all Paris, under the excitement of an abortive conspiracy, is showering upon him
enthusiastic congratulations as the protected of Providence, and assurances of devoted allegiance! How far
this country connives at this "conspiracy" to rebuild the
edifice of arbitrary power, it is not difficult to perceive.
Telegraphic messages of sympathy stream between the
Tuileries and St. James: and in all the court circles,
and special court papers, the moment and the man are
avowed to be propitious for chaining down the monster
democracy. "Laissez alter!" While the army remains at
his beck, he can go on: but let that falter for an instant,
and France will spring up more anti-monarchical than in
1789. The faster he goes, the sooner will return the dawn
of liberty.
The vehemence with which the Parisian orators and editors demand that England shall cease to be the sanctuary
for refugee contrivers of revolution, may lead to important consequences. The cabinet is unprepared for a deVOL. 1.-17




250                TO MR. CASS.
cided stand either way. The impression is that the topic
has created internal dissension, and that the Premier is
disposed to measures which will enable the government
to order away whomsoever the French Emperor may desire to be so treated:-but he is alone in that opinion.
This subject is connected in common conversation with
another which is supposed also to threaten the " entente cordiale," and that is, Napoleon's private determination to adhere, for the benefit of Guadaloupe and Martinique, to
the policy of the Regis contract. He is said to insist that
it involves no violation of treaty, and that the interest of
France demands a supply of black labor for her West Indian islands. The other night at a state ball, the Hanoverian expressed himself as anxious and apprehensive that
" these contrarieties would make them very angry at St.
Cloud!" To avert such an appalling danger, we shall probably witness all sorts of propitiatory attempts and speeches
in the Parliament, which reassembles on 3d proximo.
We have a new member of the corps, in the person of
Mons. Van Dockum, who succeeds the President's ardent
friend General Oxholm, as minister from Denmark. The
subject which engrosses that kingdom, and may involve a
war, is the controversy with the Duchies of Holstein and
IJauenburg. The army is being increased.
Spain has had another spasm or " crisis." Armero and
Mon have thrown up, in view of their defeat in the election of a President of the Cortes, and we have, for perhaps a brief spell, an Isturitz ministry. The old mother
Queen Christina is still anxious to augment the value of
her large investments in Cuba, and her Court influence
at Madrid is perhaps greater while she is absent. Your
plan of communicating to our foreign legations the outline
of what is designed and doing at each Court, would have
told me your intentions as to the ultimately inevitable
island. Of course I am scrupulous of touching, without
some sort of authority to do so, any diplomatic purpose
outside of Great Britain. But might I not lubricate a
little wheel or two in casual conversation? As I understand it, the mountain which impedes our progress and
through which we have to tunnel with care is the hurt
feeling of national and really false pride. Such an obstacle
may prove impenetrable and insurmountable; but, all circumstances considered, I doubt whether you can have a




TO MR. CASS.                       251
fitter moment than the present for undertaking it. The
ruffled sense of honor is soothed by the sentiments of the
Message on filibustering, while it is by no means easy for
the pinched and disordered treasury of Spain to meet the
amount of our just reclamations.  There is, too, just now,
among some who could.aid your purpose, an opinion which,
though adverse to slavery in general, deems it to be less
reprehensible under the laws and morals of the United
States than elsewhere, and would feel rather philanthropically employed than otherwise in being accessary to its
transfer from Spain to us.
The  Almanach  de Gotha is enjoying its triumph  in
London. The hard names, complicated pedigrees, and
endless titles of German royalty, are exercising the oldest
and best of us. The palace swarms with the kindred of the
Queen, actual and contemplated, for the wedding festivities: —and I must frankly own that these continental foreigners, both male and female, are very conspicuous for
refinement of manners, delicacy of look, and absence of
affectation.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 177.-TO MR. CA8S.
LoNDON, January 26, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-It is difficult while in the rapids of wedding festivities,* to stop and gather sober thoughts and facts
* DIARY: January 26, 1858. —" Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, Victoria Adelaide, was yesterday married to Frederick William, the Prince
Royal of Prussia. The ceremony took place in the Chapel Royal at St.
James' Palace, and in the presence of a comparatively small number
of persons. The diplomatic corps were provided with seats as advantageous and comfortable as the building afforded, in the gallery facing
the altar. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London performed the service:-the Bishop of Oxford and another being in the background, on the' haut pas.' About three hundred people in all witnessed
the proceeding, which was as brilliant and effective as such a spectacle
could possibly be. All the appropriate royalties, appropriately disposed,
and making appropriate movements at appropriate moments, executed
their respective parts in the interesting show to the general satisfaction.
The appearance of the Queen, surrounded by her brood of children and
seemingly flurried by natural excitement, inspired the kindest sympa



252                   TO MR. CASS.
for a Secretary of State. In truth, since I wrote by the
Canada on the 23d instant; nothing of political bearing
has occurred or, at least, caught my attention.  I have, to
be sure, a few items for a formal despatch, but they are incomplete, and I shall not trouble you with them until by
doing so I am able to dispose of them finally. They are
quite unimportant.
The President is doubtless well acquainted with Lord
Overstone, formerly Samuel Jones Lloyd, created peer in
1850. HIe is, as I conceive, the highest financial authority,
theoretically and practically, now living in England. At
the state ball, a few nights ago, I expressed to him the
gratification I had received in reading in the Edinburgh
Review' of the present month some comments upon his
monetary and banking papers. He immediately insisted
upon sending me his two volumes published last year.
They came to-day, accompanied by the note of which the
enclosed is a copy. I enclose it because of its reference
to the President's Message and Secretary Cobb's Report,
as the opinion of so competent and fair a judge cannot
but have its interest to those gentlemen.
The diplomatic illuminations of last night were exceedingly dazzling. That with which your representative contented himself was a simple and brilliant star.
Always faithfully yrs.
thy:-the bridegroom's gallant and graceful kissing of the ring as he
put it in the hand of the Archbishop:-the beautiful group of eight
bridesmaids uniformly dressed in white, with their hair encircled' by a
wreath of pink roses: the'abandon' of the embraces and felicitations
among the newly created kindred after the marriage was finished:-the
joyous aspect of the couple as they left the chapel'man and wife:'-the
rich and regulated music: the gorgeousness of the toilettes: —all these
striking features combined to invest the first wedding in the family of
Victoria and Albert with a charm I had not expected. We went to it at
91 A.M., and were at home again at 11 P.M. At 10 at night a monster
concert in the great ball-room of Buckingham Palace."




TO LORD O VERSTONE.              253
No. 178.-TO LORD OVERSTQNE.
LONDON, January 27, 1858.
MY DEAR LORD OVERSTONE, —Allow me to thank you
for the very welcome present you sent me yesterday of
the two volumes of your excellent tracts on metallic and
paper currency. They are a mine of thought, experience,
and logic, whence I propose to draw much instruction and
conviction.
The monetary science has a wide field to explore and
watch in the United States. Although the Federal government has, by the Constitution, the exclusive power to coin
money, regulate the value thereof and of foreign coin and
fix the standard of weights and measures, and although
the respective States are expressly prohibited from emitting bills of credit or making anything but gold and silver
coin a tender in payment of debts:-yet by an early judicial construction given to these provisions, the right of
each State to create banks of issue and discount, and to
manage its own currency, was recognized. This "State
Right" decision, though often argumentatively controverted and deplored, has, for half a century, continued
unreversed, and I fear must be deemed irreversible.
Hence the control and operations of the currency are,
practically, not in the single general government, but
in the local legislatures, who are of various intelligence
and motive, and who have deluged the country with
separate floods of paper from more than twelve hundred banks. I mention this in order to shew you how
deeply interesting to the statesmen of America such productions as your Tracts must be; and at the same time to
intimate how really powerless and irresponsible our President and Secretary of the Treasury are, notwithstanding
the soundness of their views.
This latter gentleman will, I am quite sure, be highly
gratified should you determine to send him a copy of the
Tracts; and it will give me much pleasure to forward
them, with a note from you, in the despatch bag of this
legation.
Reiterating my acknowledgments for your kindness, I
have the honor to be,
My lord, yours faithfully.




254          TO MR. J. R. McCULLOCH.
No. 179.-TO MR. J. R. McOULLOCH.
LONDON, February 4, 1858.
DEAR SIR,-Allow me to express the very great pleasure
you conferred by sending me a copy of the Treatise on
Money and Banks.*  It is now many years since a work
on political economy first introduced me (if I am not mistaken) to a name which has been held thenceforward in
high estimation.
I am happy to find that the sound views on Banking
contained in the President's first Message to Congress
have your sanction. They are undoubtedly those maintained by experienced and enlightened statesmen throughout the United States. But, in carrying them out, we are
encountered by difficulties such as, in a different system
of government on this side of the Atlantic, you can but
partially appreciate. The constitutional power to create
a national bank is denied to the Federal legislature:while, within their respective limits, the separate States
charter money corporations, privileged to issue and discount ad libitum. Hence the channels of circulation are
crammed with paper which loses nearly all value the instant any derangement of business creates distrust. Under such circumstances, the Federal authority is powerless
over the currency, except so far as, within its own spheres
of collection and expenditure, it maintains the solid superiority of its gold and silver coin. Something is achieved
by keeping the government at Washington "a hard money
government:"-and yet, until in the several States a reform
of ideas on banking be thoroughly effected, the country
in all its departments of trade and labor must continue
liable to the shocks and mischiefs of redundant and inconvertible currency. It is no easy matter to correct perverted theories as they exist or arise at the thirty-one
birthplaces of more than twelve hundred banks: —but I
trust that even this is not impossible under the steady
inculcations of our executive state papers, and of such
authoritative treatises as that with which you have honored me.
Repeating my sincere thanks,
I am with the highest respect yrs.
* Treatise afterwards printed in the Encyclopwdia Britannica.




TO MR. CASS.                 255
No. 180.-TO MR. CASS.
LoNDON, February 5, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-There are two volumes in the Bag of today for Mr. C-. They are the " unpublished " (that is,
printed for private circulation only) tracts of Lord Overstone on Currency, collected by the political economist, Mr.
J.R. McCulloch. Of these papers, an article in the January
number of the Edinburgh BReview says, " As literary compositions, they are master-pieces: —as contributions to monetary science, they rank with the congenial and analogous
productions of Adam Smith, Horner, and Ricardo."  "As
regards the investigation of questions peculiarly relating
to the regulation of the circulation, and to the theory of
Banking, Lord Overstone is in some respects superior
to his illustrious predecessors." The author has been
extremely pleased with the financial doctrines of the President's Message, and with their elaboration in the Report of
the Secretary of the Treasury. Hence, as a mark of high
respect, he has begged me to be the medium of conveying
this compilation.
The two houses of Parliament had a reasonably short
session yesterday, and the leaders of the opposition, Messrs.
Derby and Disraeli, made their customary opening proclamations. By the reply they received, it is obvious that,
under the pretext of only doing what is just, the ministry
is prepared with a bill on the Refugee question by which
to deprecate the wrath of the new Caesar and his menacing legions. On this delicate point, the state of excitement throughout the country,in the press and among the
people, has been such that the course proposed will be as
severe a blow upon the pride and pretension of John Bull
as he has ever experienced. Disguise the concession as
they may, it will be ever adjudged an undignified and
frightened retreat from the very citadel of their own most
boasted laws, before the threats of Louis Napoleon. See,
how just after vaunting their prowess in repelling, on behalf of Europe, the approaches of the northern Colossus
of Absolutism, they connive at and cower to a fiercer and
more proscriptive military tyranny in their ally!
The active measures of repression and precaution taken
by Bonaparte are generally construed to betray great alarm




256                TO MR. CASS.
founded upon the knowledge of some facts not yet publicly known as to the extent and resources of the conspiracy against his throne. He has gone farther than can
be otherwise explained: as, for instance, in not merely
dividing France into five military districts with a Marshal resident in each, but chiefly in authorizing each of
these officers, on any supposed emergency, to act with his
whole force without waiting the orders of the Emperor.
The wars in India and China are exacting reinfordements, and great exertions are being made to get recruits.
It is understood, however, that the operation is flat and
unproductive. From India we have no recent news of
importance. Appearances indicate a protracted and exhausting struggle. From China, news is hourly expected
of the bombardment and capture of Canton. Of course
no one dreams that the assault of English and French
forces combined can be repelled by the refractory Yeh.
Some of " our own correspondents," to be sure, have repeated a rumor that the principal streets had been mined,
with a determination that the city and its invaders should
be destroyed together.  That's the Russian mode of
action; —not the Chinese.
The East India Company has been both industrious and
spirited in resisting the transfer of her government to the
Crown. The directors and proprietors have held a number. of public meetings: —and the speeches and addresses
have made out a better defence of their administration
than was thought possible. A lively essay in Blackwood's
MIagazine for this month, entitled a letter from John Company to John Bull, gives a familiar and pretty fair view of
the controversy.
The vacuum created in public solicitude by the Leviathan having floated safely to her moorings at Deptford
and the Bank's weekly reduction of her interest until she
has sunk to 31 per cent., is being refilled by fresh movements preparatory to laying the Atlantic telegraphic
cable.
All the festivities of the royal wedding having been
brought to a close, and the young couple being ensconced
in their Berlin home, we are suddenly called upon to don
our suits of sable for the Grand Duke of Baden, who died
pending the marriage ceremonies.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO COL. MURRAY.                257
No. 181,-TO COL. MURRAY.
LONDON, February 8, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have lots of thanks to hand you from
Mr. H. and myself for your kindness in procuring the information wanted respecting our coinage.
It might be supposed that so important and interesting
a state paper as the Annual Report of our Secretary of the
Treasury must have been transmitted to this legation from
the State Department long before now. Alas! no —we
foreign agents of the government must be contented with
what we can pick up in the newspapers as to current matters:-by-and-by, when they have become antiquated and
stale, then we are deluged with floods of Executive and
Congressional volumes which the public printer furnishes
for the benefit of his own finances. I am yet without a
document of national manufacture since November last.
You observe how incontinently the great allies are
getting by the ears. Louis Napoleon seems to have been
somewhat upset by those hand grenades of Orsini, and is
pursuing measures of tyranny " hand over hand "! He has
the talent of looking cool: —but his acts betray supreme
terror for his person and his dynasty. A man who usurps
power with the incidents of the coup d'etat should be conscious that millions are, at every minute, aiming to "hit
back again," and become callous to attentats. He, however,
seems surprised; and he encourages a blustering attack
upon England by his officers of state, his army, and his
press, as the sheltering den of miscreant assassins. Well!
all England bristles up with indignation, talks back the
libel, reviews "the Little" from top to toe, and hurls the
phrases "murderer" and "conspirator" in his teeth. A
pretty little quarrel as it stands! But old diplomatic
heads will take care not to let the skrimmage go too far.
Already the Premier has interposed a soothing draught in
the House of Commons. It. may be discussed this afternoon. Like a bread pill, it may make the Imperial patient believe he is taking something very composing and
satisfactory, while in fact it is inoffensive nothing.
Ever faithfully yrs.




258                TO MR. CASS.
No. 182.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 9, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —No preparations were made for sending
anything to you by the Arago from Southampton to-morrow:-but as Mr. Pierce, the secretary of legation at St.
Petersburg, being on his way home, has offered to take
charge of a Bag, I have suddenly determined to send one.
The tempest of excitement against Louis Napoleon for
having "insulted and threatened England," after raging
in the Press, has found its way into both houses of Parliament. Mr. Roebuck, last night, in the Commons, and
Lord Lyndhurst, in the Peers, exhibited great feeling and
vindicated the public clamor. The attempt to appease
indignation by an equivocal apology for the publicity
given in the Moniteur, did not produce the success anticipated. The debate, which arose on a bill offered by Lord
Palmerston to change the criminal law so far as to make
a conspiracy to murder, in or out of England, instead of a
misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment, a felony
liable on conviction to the minimum of five years, and the
maximum of perpetual imprisonment, and to transportation,
continued for several hours and was postponed without
conclusion till to-day. It is curious to note that the Times,
while advocating in its editorials the passage of this measure, supplies in the letters of its Parisian correspondent
the most sharp and powerful weapons employed by its
opponents. Thus,-that correspondent dwells upon the
unquestionable fact that the present Emperor has hunted
up and paid to Cantilo the legacy left to him by Napoleon
I. as a reward for having attempted to assassinate the
Duke of Wellington: and thus, too, he points out that
the Colonels, who have in their addresses been especially
abusive of "the den of assassins," have received the cross
of the Legion of Honor, and promotion!
This subject absorbs the attention and feeling of the
public. My opinion is that the ministry, aided by a large
number of Conservatives, will carry their propitiatory
measure.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                  259
No. 183.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 12, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Enclosed are copies of two "Private"
notes between Mr. H. and myself. I applied some ten
days ago for the surrender of a man who was charged
with murder on the high seas, on board of an American
vessel. They seemed dilatory at the Foreign Office, and
I addressed a " remind'" to Lord Clarendon. Hence
these epistles. I cannot conceive that the broad terms
used in the extradition treaty will receive from the Crown
officers the restricted or qualified construction which has
suggested itself to the mind of her Majesty's principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Novel interpretations of the plainest international engagements are, however, a little too much the order of the day. This one, if
persisted in, is so palpably wrong, that I should be disposed to regard the treaty as fit for the category of the
Clayton-Bulwer, that is, fit for abrogation.
When I receive a formal communication from the Earl
upon the subject, it shall become a part of a despatch, into
which private notes from under-secretaries should perhaps
not be introduced except on extraordinary occasions.
Lord Palmerston's bill, on the Refugee question, was
allowed to be read a first time by a very large majority,
in the House of Commons. It will, however, be attacked
in committee, and be strenuously opposed at every stage.
I was last night told by a Peer, that neither this measure,
nor the Premier's India Bill (which he offers this afternoon), nor his Reform Bill, can pass in the Lords; and
that he might cease to be the head of the government before the present session closed. These representations I
suspect to be the offspring of party feeling, for I can perceive no diminution in his popularity or power.
You will have noticed fresh successes by Sir Colin
Campbell in India, and the capture of Canton by the allied
forces.
Always faithfully yrs.




260                 TO MR. CASS.
No. 184. —TO MR. HAMMOND.
LONDON, February 12, 1858.
MY DEAR MR. HAMMOND,-I can entertain no doubt as
to the construction heretofore put by the government of
the United States upon our Extradition Treaty of, 1842.
The point arose when a similar treaty was negotiating
by Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, and Baron Gerolt,
the minister from Prussia, at Washington, in 1852. The
language used in the Xth article of our Treaty, " all persons," was perceived to be too comprehensive for the
powers of the King of Prussia, and of a large number of
the German States (parties to the treaty) as restricted by
their respective constitutions and laws: —and so in the
preamble was specially recited the limited sense given to
the general phraseology, and its cause.
I think, indeed, that owing to the constant employment
of the seamen of each nation on board of the other's
vessels, an extradition treaty which left either at liberty to
decline the surrender of its own citizens or subjects, would
lose more than half its value to both.
Very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 185,-.-TO MR. 0ASS.
LONDON, February 23, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The despatc'h of to-day tells you of the
sudden downfall of Lord Palmerston. It is possibly like
that of the Son of the Morning, irreparable. The ground
upon which it was achieved is undeniable as a fact, and as
a sentiment irresistible. He neglected, is the charge, to
maintain the national honor when it was assailed in the
insolent and exacting letter of Walewski. This is the
point on which he has heretofore, and justly, plumed himself for promptness and boldness, the lack of which at
Vienna kept another statesman for some years under a
cloud. Certainly nothing could be more insufferably offensive than the French tone; and John Bull has suddenly




TO MR. CASS.                261
awakened to the conviction that his old hatred is as bitter
as ever.
Among the rumors of the day, I have been told that the
French minister, Mr. Persigny, while the Conspiracy Bill
was pending, visited Lord Derby, and in the course of
conversation, impressively urged its early passage. Well,
said Lord D., it may get through;-but it may not, and
what then?  What then? exclaimed the ambassador," la guerre!"  Ah! was the cool reply, you had better go
and tell that to Clarendon! His Excellency left for Paris
the next day:-the papers report him gone to a country
seat; and it is conjectured that he may not return to
London.
One of Lord Derby's earliest calls, after being invested
with the power to construct a ministry, was on Mr. Gladstone. That accomplished gentleman expressed a readiness to join him, on one condition, however, namely, that
his political associates, the principal of whom are Newcastle, Herbert, Grey, Graham, and Cardwell, would go
with him. All of these, when asked, flatly refused.
On the day of the ministerial resignation, Saturday last,
I dined at the Palace, and met at table, among a number of
guests, two of the retired secretaries, Lord Clarendon and
Sir Charles Wood. Their happy exhilaration was quite
unusual and striking. No doubt, they felt personally the
relief of having thrown off an immense weight of complications, commitments, and responsibilities. Such loads
as the Conspiracy Bill, the India Bill, the Reform Bill,
the war in China, and the Sepoy war, are not easily carried.
At the dinner, when my turn to receive a gracious word
from-her Majesty arrived, she informed me that she intended writing to the President on the subject of her daughter's marriage, and to send him a medal which she had
had struck in commemoration of that happy event. These
medals are of three descriptions, gold, silver, and bronze;
and they are represented as exceedingly beautiful in design and execution. Of course, I made the proper assurances of the high gratification with which such a remembrance from her Majesty would be received by the President.
Always faithfully yrs.




262                TO MR. CASS.
No. 186.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 5, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The "inaugural" speech of the Prime
Minister in the House of Lords on Monday was faultless
in manner, and in general tone becoming. It was, however, impossible not to perceive that Lord Derby was oppressed by a consciousness of party weakness, and of his
being at the mercy of the Liberal majority in the Commons. He enunciated no distinctive policy, assumed no
elevated stand, but on the contrary seemed to deprecate
the antagonism of those he had overthrown, by generally
adhering to their recent measures, and by some instances
of special compliment. I-e would go on with the India
Bill.:-he would continue the war in China; he would
conform to the advanced state of public opinion by maturing a Reform Bill: and for the first time, he relaxed
the rigid character of his conservative party by defining it
as ready to introduce safe improvements of every sort.
He eulogized the management of the army by Lord Panmure and the Duke of Cambridge. On the ruling topic
of the day, the Imperial demand that the English criminal
law should be made more stringent, he was puzzled how
to shape his course differently from the one pursued by'
his predecessors. The French alliance was of incalculable
value; and yet his countrymen were justly indignant at
the libels and menaces which had been vented by certain
official and military functionaries, and which had been
crowding the Parisian papers headed by the Moniteur. He
would take the vote of the House of Commons on Mr.
Milner Gibson's motion as the voice of the people of England:-he would make that the groundwork of his action;
he would, by a paper already prepared by Lord Malmesbury, answer appropriately Count Walewski's despatch of
the 20th of January, and he should receive in reply such
disclaimers of injurious meaning as would satisfy British
honor and preserve the alliance.
At the close of this address, Lord Clarendon vindicated
his forbearance in not at once answering the offensive
letter, by a speech unusually lucid and, able. But there
was this obvious nmisapprehension of the gist of the matter
running through the whole: —namely, he treated Walew



TO MR. CASS.                 263
ski's letter, not as a national act but as an indiscreet ebullition of personal excitement, an imprudence that might be
easiest got over in conversation between Lord Cowley and
the Count. Every one must have felt that this secret
mode of adjusting a public point of national honor would
not do:-the affront should be repelled and disclaimed as
it was given.
I have been struck by the series of incidents which led
to this sudden change of the government. It is difficult
to ascribe the immediate resignation of Lord Palmerston
solely to the equivocal, and by no means impressive, censure
of Milner Gibson's resolution. Perhaps I regard it from
an American point of view:-but I cannot help thinking
that, had not the roar of the angry and approaching
masses been heard, the retirement would have been less
precipitate. The plain truth is that on this point of conceding to foreign dictation and menace, the hearts of the
people were in advance of the heads of their representatives of both political parties: —a case we have often seen
illustrated in our own history. After all said and done,
there are special occasions on which it may be accepted as
Gospel that Vox populi est Vox Dei. The roar is less loud
for the mo'ment, that Lord Derby may have a fair chance:
-but let him tamper for an instant with this deep and
deaf popular sentiment, and he will have to follow the
footsteps of his illustrious predecessor.
In the midst of all these grave proceedings, one cannot
help being amusedat some few manifestations of harlequinade. Almost in the same hour, some score of ponderous politicians invade the Palace, hand their seals
(supposititiously?) to the Queen, kiss her hand, and
bow backward into the grave of private life: and then advance an equal score among whom the seals are re-distributed, who kiss hands, and who stream  like eagles,
from the presence of her little Majesty, to the pinnacles of
power! Observe, too, that the change in government
exacts other more visible changes, as for instance, whereas
the former score of functionaries sat, in either Hiouse, on
long benches at the right of the presiding officer, Cllancellor or Speaker, and the present score sat on similar
benches on the left, now they must cross hands and front
each other from exactly opposite quarters. And, as their
chiefs do, so must the whole body of each of the political




264                TO MR. CASS.
parties do: thus placing the ministry for the time being
always on the right and the opposition always on the left.
No doubt there is practical convenience in this conventional course of action, but it reminds one comically of
the dancing among the Shaking Quakers.
You observe that Changarnier declines returning to
France, until her population is " in possession of laws protecting their dignity and safety." This is throwing the
glove at the foot of the throne, and, connected with subterranean rumors which have reached me, has much more
than its apparent significance.
The new ministers are rapidly getting re-elected to their
seats in the Commons: and I presume all will be ready
by the 15th instant, the day to which Parliament adjourned.
Always faithfully yrs.




LETTERS FROM LONDON.
VOLUME II.
VOL. H.-i








LETTERS FROM LONDON.
No. 187.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 12, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Two things are just now overshadowing
the India and China wars, and intently engaging attention:
1. the uncertain tenure of the new cabinet, and 2. the
critical relations with France.
Lord Derby is undertaking to do what has never been
done before, that is, to conduct the government with a
large majority against him in the House of Commons.
That majority, however, is itself divided into Liberals, the
greatest faction, —the Radicals-the Lord John Russellites
-and the Peelites; and it will require some address to
start a measure of leading importance which will concentrate enough of these subdivisions to outvote the ministry. Of course much speculation is indulged as to the
advance by which the opposition will find it politic to
bring on the decisive contest. I received a hint last night
from an eminent member that I had better be in the
Commons this evening, when Parlianment reassembles, as
some demonstration is expected whence it may be ppssible to foresee the fate of Lord Derby. It will be too late
for your enlightenment by this opportunity.
The alliance with France is fast taking the aspect of "a
dissolving view." Very bitter feelings have seized the
populations of both countries. France would seem to go
with her military chiefs in pursuit of some external quarrel whose effect at home will be the consolidation of the
Imperial dynasty, and a succession of fields of glory.
Nothing more in harmony with prevailing passions, or
more promising, than a war with England. I think it a
mistake to suppose this state of things to be the sudden
(3)




4                  TO MR. CASS.
creation of recent events. It has been long brewing;and, as the Hindoo mutiny found its vent in greased cartridges, so this is rounded by the grenades of Orsini.
You will see in the newspapers a remarkable paper, obviously emanating from the Napoleonic bureau, the tone
of which is quiet and deprecatory, but the real influence
of which is to prepare the French mind, by insidious allusions to Waterloo, St. Helena, and the Crimea, for an explosion of the alliance. On the other hand, Lord Derby,
in the existing mood of his countrymen, in and out of Parliament, will find it hard to pursue steadily the policy of
peace. The Times of to-day says they are " drifting into a
war," and speculates on the facility with which they can
protect the island from invasion and demolish Cherbourg
at a blow! Should the Premier exhibit the spirit and
faculties of a war minister-and he has already shewn
some symptoms of the kind-he may become mlaster of
the political-party position, and through the ruling interest
of the day greatly augment his popularity.
I must add to these views and impressions the undoubted
fact that disaffection to Louis Napoleon is becoming widespread and menacing. Arrests have been multiplied:spies, informers, and police swarm all over France: generals are planted in civil posts: Changarnier and Bedeau
reject, rather contemptuously, the imperial invitation to
Paris: Chalons, not far from the capital, has been the
theatre of an emeute, during which was heard the ominous trumpet call "Vive la Republique!" and I was read
parts of a letter from a highly distinguished and reliable
source, two days ago, which depicted France as " honeycombed" with secret and affiliated societies. I think I
perceive in my general intercourse, the existence of that
vague and undefinable expectation of some coming events
which is said to precede a convulsion.
All this may blow over: —it would seem hardly possible, and yet it may. But should it not, what then? We
have vast interests, material and political, involved in the
measures which it may please the two great European
belligerents to take against the commerce and possessions
of each other. The violence which followed the rupture
of the treaty of Amiens may be revived under fresh Berlin decrees and Orders in Council: perhaps impressment!
but I suppose we are not yet near enough to the catastrophe to render forecasting necessary.




TO MR. CASS.                 5
Colonel Williams is here, on his way to Constantinople.
He will probably remain for a week or ten days.
The Turkish Embassy to this Court express great gratification at the manner in which you have welcomed their
High Admiral.
You will much oblige me by saying to Mr. Toucey that
I have been earnestly requested to intercede on behalf of
the Atlantic Telegraph Company for another steamship
as a consort to the Niagara: —but I forbear troubling him,
because quite sure that he will do what is right.
A gentleman just in from Paris states the universal dread
of something impending as prevailing there: thlat the
funds have gone down and are still sinking: that the railways are nearly all insolvent: and that business and movement are completely arrested. This is the very latest picture of that metropolis: what will be the next?
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 188. —TO MR. ASS,
LONDON, March 19, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-I cannot permit the Persia to go tomorrow without a line, although I have really nothing
worth communicating.
Since my No. 94 of the 17th instant, everything (always
excepting the spiteful degladiation of the London and
Paris presses) has been quiet. A few symptoms indicate
that neither country is quite satisfied with the manner in
which their respective governments have closed the discussion on the Refugee question. After some subterranean
fermentation, it is not unlikely that there will break out a
fresh stream of hot lava.
You will have heard from Madrid that the actual ministry discountenanced war with Mexico: that Zuloaga
has recalled Lafragua and promised another envoy: and
that the prospect is fair for an amicable settlement under
the mediation of France and England.
Everybody is anxiously gazing on the military movement against the Sultan of Utah. When you have dis



6                  TO MR. CASS.
persed the Saints and their seraglios, it is possible that the
Church of England may proclaim a special thanksgiving.
Mr. Disraeli constantly and fervently begs for quarter.
There is a beseeching character about his whole manner
in the House of Commons which really begets a generous
sympathy and forbearance.
I was a guest-the only intruder —at a consultation
dinner caucus the other day, about 20 in all. They were
maturing a plan for abolishing light-house duties, following our example therein. It has to be managed with
great caution and skill to avoid corporate and vested interests.' It will, however, be soon stirred.
A telegraphic despatch from Naples announces that his
Majesty has released the poor insane engineer Watt,
though he retains unrelaxed his clutch upon the other
Englishman. Public feeling is more excited here on this
topic than it has yet been.' Civis Romanus sum."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 189. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 26, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —Count Persigny withdrew from  the
French Embassy here, and we'are expecting his successor
in the person of the Duke of Malakoff. There are very
many causes to which this change is attributable:- the
simplest is perhaps the effective one, to wit, the personal
rivalry and ill will between Walewski and Persigny. The
former did not feel the extreme solicitude to preserve the
alliance felt by the latter, and suppressed or mutilated
papers elaborately prepared to attain that end: he treated
his subordinate as too English; and preferred, at any cost,
to maintain in the Refugee controversy, the "dignity of
France" and her position. Persigny saw, or thought he
saw, that this was not the Napoleonic idea, and has thrown
up in disgust. He is said to be resolved on private life, or
at most to restrict himself to the duties of a member of
the Council of Regency. He has been devoted to the
Emperor; is at heart, like most of the French absolutists
of the hour, a republican: possesses independent landed




TO MR. CASS.                    7
estates: and is hardly fifty yet. His lovely and pleasureloving wife, grand-daughter of "le brave des braves,"
is weeping her eyes out at the prospect of quitting her
London throne of fashion for a rural isolement.
As far as I have yet been able to learn, the Duke of
Malakoff is fitter for an Algerine Arab hunt than to hold
the reins of diplomacy. Some regard his mission as a
threat, or as a reply valiant to the manner in which the
British Parliament and press have been lately dealing
with the "cock-a-doodle-doo" loyalty of the French
colonels and army:-others, on the contrary, and this is
the construction most favored, esteem it as the highest
possible pledge to preserve unimpaired the fraternization
of the Crimea. Nous verrons.
I thought myself yesterday on the eve of another of
those wretched pouts about Court Costume with which,
as an intermittent, every Master of Ceremonies is liable
to be afflicted. The new functionaries did not exactly understand or quite relish two suits of sable with which two
of our countrymen shaded the brilliancy of the Levee on
the day previous; and one of these functionaries very
civilly called at the Legation to enquire the particulars of
the understanding between Mr. Buchanan and Sir Edward
Cust which might authorize the appearance of those " betes
noires." I frankly told him all about it, assumed the responsibility of the Yankee wardrobe, asserted its entire conformity with all the essentials of etiquette, and then told him
he had better see Sir Edward Cust, and dive into the mysterious depths of the great subject, before he formed any
conclusion, or said anything farther on the subject. Fortunately for the pacific relations of the two countries, my
visitor was a gentleman, a gentleman in manners, sentiments, and ideas, Mr. Ponsonby, once in Washington with
Sir Richard Pakenham, and he went away to investigate.
On his return, after a long consultation, he declared my
view to be entirely right, that he would make an official
record of his decision, and that henceforward there could
be no doubt or difficulty about presenting American citizens to her Majesty, from the General Circle, in the very
dress of their diplomatic representative.  Laus Deo — for
I think this will enable our ministers here to walk, on this
treacherous element of dress, as on thick ice, not as heretofore on what boys call "kiddly benders." Now that




8                   TO MR. CASS.
this 4th of July equipment has reached the zenith of its
triumph, I am tempted to shew that it has its injurious as
well as its beneficial influences. But I won't. Let me
only say that when worn amid a thousand embroidered
red coats, it produces a peculiarity which necessarily gives
the very distinction it professes to avoid, and so cultivates
in the wearer anything but a plain republican spirit.
Crede experto.
Both the English engineers are released by the Neapolitan monarch: —a fact which mav be esteemed preliminary to his being readmitted to fellowship with France and
her ally. Sardinia is, however, very emphatic in demanding the Cagliari, as yet without success.
Parliament has got along with the present ministry thus
far pretty well. Prodigious efforts to propitiate members
by the attentions and blandishments of private intercourse
are obviously unremitting. They will have their effect:and probably that will be first seen in the care with which
a test question will be avoided by the extreme Liberals.
There will be an adjournment, possibly to-day, to the 12th
of April next.
At the Marquess of Salisbury's last night, Sir Charles
Lyell informed me that General J. A. Thomas, recently
Assistant Secretary of State, had suddenly died in Paris
from the effects of a neglected influenza.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 190.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 30, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The India bill, introduced by Mr.
Disraeli on Fridav last, as a substitute for Lord Palmerston's, absorbs attention. It is ascribed to the eccentric
talent of Lord Ellenborough, and may be described as a
brilliant specimen of imaginative statesmanship:-various,
complicated, and incongruous. Some of its features are
decidedly republican. It obviously aims to propitiate all
sorts of interests, prejudices, and theories. The government is that of a representative council, under a minister
of the Crown:-and the constituencies are executive, popu



TO MR. CASS.                   9
lar; financial, and municipal. A scheme so odd and intricate can hardly commend itself to the gravity of Parliament, and its failure will be the knell of the Derby ministry. As soon as the Easter recess is over, this bill will be
treated as the great cabinet measure, will be picked to
pieces, and probably condemned by an overwhelming
vote. Lord Derby will then determine whether to hand
the seals quietly back to Lord Palrnerston, or appeal to
the people by dissolving a refractory legislature. Either
course can be sustained by peculiar reasons.
Nothing not military floats now in France. The Duke
of Malakoff, even as ambassador here, will be encircled
by his aids-de-camp. The English press tries hard to contemplate this aspect of things graciously: —but winces in
a manner prophetic of early distaste and alienation. It is
impossible to be blind to the war-footing on which Louis
Napoleon is hastening to place his Empire, or to be deaf
to the doctrines preached by his five Marshals at their respective divisional headquarters. There are gloomy forebodings among the City merchants. Austria characterizes
the course of the French Emperor, in his repressive laws,
his numberless arrests, his stringent system of passports,
his ubiquitous espionage, and his filling civil posts with
soldiers, as dangerous to the peace of Europe.
Sir Colin Campbell is besieging Lucknow with a force
of about 50,000, and we are in daily expectation of news
of the downfall of that great capital of Oude. It will probably be accompanied by immense slaughter.
It is said from  China that Mr. Reed has joined the other
plenipotentiaries in moving upon the Emperor at Pekin.
I am often questioned about our policy in that region:but you have not yet carried out your plan which would
enable me to shape an answer.
I have just received the President's letter to the Queen:
-also the draft in favor of Mr. F. L. Campbell. By-theby, the Danish minister has been empowered to receive
the money payable on account of the extinguishment of
the Sound Dues, and is on the qui vive to hear of its arrival.
Always faithfully yrs.




10             TO MR. LINDSAY, M.P.
No. 191.-TO MR. LINDSAY, M.P.
LONDON, April 5, 1858.
MY DEAR MR. LINDSAY,-YoU must not suppose that
because I have delayed answering your letter of the 30th
inst., I am insensible to its admirable object, your meditated "History of Shipping."  On the contrary, I have
been thinking how I could most effectively throw in a
mite of assistance as to that portion of your labors which
will relate to the United States. Were I at home, in the
midst of my own books, I should find no difficulty: —but
here, I want the familiar instruments of action, and am
unwilling to rely on memory.
The British Museum ought, I think, to possess in its
library a volume published some forty or fifty years ago,
entitled "Seybert's Statistics of the United States." If
my recollection be accurate, the author devotes several
chapters and tables to merchant shipping, bringing down
his narrative to a date subsequent to 1800. I knelv him
personally and well as a friend and associate of my father,
and am sure that he enjoyed a high reputation, as a painstaking, discriminating, and trustworthy compiler.
The legislation of the United States immediately after
the adoption of the Constitution in 1789, may usefully be
consulted. We then had, at the head of our financial department, one of those leading and powerful minds that
never fail to send their practical wisdom down to a distant
posterity, Alexander Hamilton. He was indefatigable in
putting the new government into operation, especially as
to the machinery for the "regulation of commerce" exclusively vested in Congress.
In our principal ports, Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, New Orleans, there are committees or boards
of trade, emanating generally from the active shipping
merchants, who would, I cannot doubt, take pleasure in
collecting such local information as you. might desire to
have.
But I reserve myself for another note after I shall have
heard from the United States. In the mean while, I beg
you to be assured that I shall take great interest in your
arduous enterprise.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                  11
No. 192.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 6, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —The Arago, which quits Southampton
to-morrow, is a favorite steamer, or I should be tempted
to leave you without a line until Saturday: —there is so
little worth saying.
Indications are strong that an effort will be made on the
India bill to cut short the ministry of Lord Derby as soon
as Parliament reassembles. The Palmerstonians have
had frequent private meetings: —and the "extreme left"
or radicals strongly denounce the scheme of government
proposed by Mr. Disraeli. The success of the movement
maybe doubted, for thus far the cabinet has rather gained
ground than otherwise. Observe, however, that they who
want to return to office cannot safely allow their adversaries to be gradually creeping into public favor. A general impression prevails, without any decided cause for
it, that an election is not far off. Candidates are being
put in train. Should Lord Derby be in a minority on a
division in the House, it seems agreed that he will march
to the last Tory pitched battle-the Waterloo-by a dissolution.
The fondness of the good Queen Victoria for her handsomle and irreproachable husband remains unabated; and
I think it may enter into the propitiatory policy of the
present ministry to gratify that conjugal feeling by proposing to Parliament that the former Prince Albert, the
present Prince Consort, should be hereafter recognized as
King Consort. What her Majesty takes to heart, her devoted subjects, however they may temporarily grumble,
will not long withhold: —and, as a mere piece of tactics,
Lord Derby, as champion of the Queen's private wishes on
this score, would not find his strength at the hustings impaired. A petition to Parliament, the natural start of an
appeal to popular sentiment, is drafted and seeking signatures. The Prince is not as universally liked as he really
deserves to be. He has exhibited great discretion in a very
trying position for many years:-but he is a German, and
much jealousy is cherished as to his absolutist principles
and his secret affiliations with the continental Courts. At




12                 TO MR. CASS.
this particular juncture, his known and busy liaison with
Louis Napoleon is regarded with-disfavor.
The French Emperor, although his diplomats are sufficiently soothing, takes care to keep alive among his subjects
those reminiscences which invigorate their hatred of England. Waterloo, St. Helena, Libels on his great uncle, are
common topics. By-and-by he will find it impossible to
keep his throne without yielding to the "vis a tergo."  In
allusion to the mission of Pelissier to London, one of his
newspaper wags has remarked that at the beginning he
said,'L'Enipire, c'est la Paix," now, by the slightest modulation of tone, he converts it into, "L'_Empire, c'est l'tEpe!"
I am told his ambassador will bring in his suite some
six or eight of those redoubtable colonels whose recent
figures of valiant loyalty so exasperated John Bull.
News from India is daily expected to announce the
bombardment and fall of Lucknow. It is, however, but
one of a hundred strong fortresses in Oude. The Chinese
demonstration, though successful against Yeh, looks, in
other and broader aspects, very much like a "fizzle."
The Cagliari affair has ceased, by the discharge of" the two
engineers, to have any English interest:-but between
Piedmont and Naples it is rankling into bitterness.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 193.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 16, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Now that we are officially and formally
told that the extinction of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty will
be followed by no discontent or protest, might it not be
well to effect the abrogation, if possible, by convention?
It would seem best to avoid throwing this complicated
subject into the House of Representatives for endless debate, as must be donq to obtain a statute of abrogation:
and I do not see but that a treaty, although the supreme
law of the land, may be rescinded by the modus operandi
in which it was created.
This subject reoccurs for reflection, in consequence of
a short conversation had with Lord Derby at his reception




TO MR. CASS.                13
on the 14th instant. He expressed a wish to know how
soon they would be likely to hear of the result of the
legislative movement to abrogate; for, said he, "though
we make no objection, we should like to be apprised, as
soon as it takes place." Of course, I could not say when:
perhaps a month hence, perhaps more, perhaps less.
You are the best, and indeed the only, judges how far
it may be prudent to precipitate the annulment of the
treaty. There may be something in the actual relations
between this government and the Central American
States, and in the amount of British naval force present
at San Juan or Panama, which may suggest the expediency of at all events not immediately relieving England
from the obligation not to acquire dominion in that quarter. The effect of a sudden push might be inconvenient:
and, although I can perceive no just reason to apprehend
anything of the sort, yet no harm can be produced by
treating it as imminent.
The arrival of the Duke of Malakoff, although publicly
attributed to other causes, has been delayed by a lady's
being obliged unexpectedly to keep her chamber in the
hotel of the Embassy. He is now in London.
At the Levee on Wednesday, Baron Brunow said to me
that he intended calling on me, with a view to a conversation respecting Russian and American policy towards
the Chinese. Here again I experience the disadvantage
of not knowing the objects Mr. Reed may have been instructed to pursue. The Baron will doubtless be very
communicative, but he will get nothing in return, for I
am in the safe position of having nothing to give.
The desire to monopolize the commerce with the western coast of Africa, under the guise of philanthropy, betrays itself more and more every day. They are quite
convinced- here, by their explorers, geographers, and lecturers, that they are opening a new India in that quarter.
The coast will soon be too hot for any trade but their own.
Spain is making reclamations like ours, for honest and
legal voyages harassed, impeded, and broken up on the
slightest pretexts. No merchants can stand this: —and in
less than ten years, if these obstacles continue, all but the
English flag will have disappeared. Monrovia may enjoy
the benefits of a British protectorate.
You can see in the newspapers of this morning the




14                 TO MR. CASS.
debate in the House of Commons on Light-house Dues.
I suppose it a result of the dinner caucus of members
to which I referred in my letter of the 19th of March
last. We are largely interested in the success of the movement. Lord Clarence Paget exhibited great research and
ability in his opening speech. Lord Palmerston, though
when Foreign Secretary in 1850 he resisted the diplomatic
notes of Mr. Lawrence, seemed yesterday a convert.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 194.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 23, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-We are now in the enjoyment of the
Duke of Malakoff's presence. He is an undersized,
chunky, compact, white-haired figure, with a fine dark
eye, black and arched eyebrows, jet moustache, and a
manner at once tranquil and impressive. Efforts are obvious to give his advent the appearance of popularity. At
his residence yesterday, on his return from the Queen's
Dr!awing Room, a crowd assembled and cheered him. He
will doubtless accept the compliment as an ample amende
for the acquittal of Dr. Bernard.
This verdict cannot be misunderstood. It has no connection whatever with the evidence on the trial. It is
John Bull's natural protest against an excess of gallicism
in the government and at the palace. Had the proof been
ten times as pungent and cumulative, the "Not Guilty"
would only have been pronounced with tenfold emphasis.
A great Law-Lord ascribes it to the republicanism with
which the mass of the people are becoming thoroughly
imbued. And, notwithstanding all this, the mere mention
of the verdict, no matter in what circle it ble made, is accompanied by a smile of secret satisfaction!
I think the ministry are gradually getting firmer in their
seats. Their movements have, thus far, had lucky results.
They have raked Watt and Parke, the engineers, out of
the Neapolitan fire. They have ad j usted satisfactorily th e
vexations of the passport system. They have dodged an
open breach with France. They have steered their India




TO MR. CASS.                 15
bill, piloted by Lord John Russell, into smooth no party
waters. And now Mr. Disraeli, in a speech of clearness
and ability, has introduced his Budget, which is praised
and accepted by the practical financiers of the City. To be
sure,, parliamentary reform may almost at any moment
rise to alarm them: —and if the Brights, Roebucks, and.
Milner Gibsons can content themselves with what, on that
subject, Lord Palmerston or Lord John Russell is willing
to concede, then the Derby cabinet must disappear like
a whiff of smoke:-but there lies the perhaps insurmountable difficulty of the opposition. The extreme Liberals
whom I have named want manhood, or universal, suffrage,
and regard the ballot as a sine qua non. Besides, they
begin to look proudly on the ministry themselves, and I
doubt whether any effective reconciliation between the
disjointed sections of the Liberal party which does not
make Bright and Gibson members of a new government,
be at all possible.
The Greek minister, Mr. Tricoupi, has repeatedly
begged me to say to you that the gentleman whom the
President has appointed consul in his country occupied
that post some years ago:-that he will undoubtedly be
received and treated with the respect and confidence due
to the United States: —but when he was there before, he
did something which obliged the Greek government to
complain; and on the present occasion, nothing more is
wished than that he should be instructed not to intermeddle in the politics of Greece.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 195. —TO MR. ASS.
LONDON, April 30, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-There is a current of conversation among
politicians leading me to think that a decisive effort will
soon be made by the Liberals to eject the present Conservative ministry. The rank and file within, and the editors
without, are beginning to reproach Lord Palmerston and
his colleagues with too easy an acquiescence in the exclusion of the party. More vigor and readiness to rescue the




16                 TO MR. CASS.
government are called for. The practical embarrassment
in effecting the necessary understanding among the sections of the opposition is the claim of Lord John Russell to the Premiership. Lord Palmerston will not be restored while his restoration requires votes from the Bright
and Gibson division:.- but if this rivalry of the whig
chiefs could, in any way, be surmounted, say by adopting
another leader, as Granville or Clarendon, the doom of
the Derbj cabinet would be immediately sealed.
You will have noticed that Mr. Disraeli, though unexpectedly and admittedly successful with the Budget, has
greatly damaged the position of the ministry by his management of the India bill. That measure was timidly
sacrificed to a menace from Lord John Russell, and now,
this very evening, Sir Harry Vane proposes to move, and
with every prospect of success, that the subject of a new
government for India be postponed to the next session.
The directors of the East India Company may thus, as I
have expected they would, triumph by the quarrels of
their assailants.
It is difficult to say in what way the issue will be made
up for the final struggle. The gentlemen in power are so
concessive, as to make a positive conflict upon a cabinet
question hard to bring about. Their adversaries may be
obliged to introduce a motion of a want of confidence.
Room for such a step is afforded by 1. The weakness
shewn on the India topic: 2. The implacable spirit against
the admission of the Jews into Parliament: 3. The bungling in the War Department as to military commissions:
and 4. The general inability or reluctance, springing
from internal dissension, to assume and avow a distinct
line of policy on any subject.
It is not believed that a disposition exists, either in the
two countries themselves or elsewhere, to push the controversy between Piedmont and Naples about the Cagliari
to extremities. The point of international law, as to the
right of capturing the vessel, is knotty enough to divide
professional men of the highest ability and repute. King
Bomba will continue to be gracious, as in the cases of
Watt and Parke, and liberate the steamer: or the dispute,
now the cause of bold and loud words, will be permitted
to "fizzle" out, in subdued tones, at the Paris Conference.




TO MR. CASS.                  17
Sir Edward Cust, the Queen's Master of Ceremonies,
who carries the warlike title of Major-General, has just
put to press a military work to which he is paternally
anxious to draw attention. He has begged space in the
despatch bag for two copies, one addressed to the President, the other to General Floyd, and you will please to
ensure their prompt reception.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 196.-TO MR. Cass.
LONDON, May 7, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Lord Palmerston in opposition is singularly different from what he was as Prime Minister. He
has become: patient, discreet, and even conciliatory. He
helps, with his whole following, Mr. Disraeli, whenever
that gentleman is supposed to be in a tight place. HIe did
so to the overwhelming discomfiture of Lord Harry Vane's
motion against any present legislation on India government: and only the night before last, he repeated the
movement, by planting himself and forces under the walls
of the cabinet, against which Mr. Gladstone and the
Peelites, with Lord John Russell and the Radicals, were
briskly aiming an address to the Queen in favor of the
union and independence of the Moldo-Wallachian Principalities! The tendency of this course of party action is
to strengthen the roots of dissension among the Liberals.
Recently, a caucus of these in number about 120, convened
in a committee room and coolly denounced, as unsatisfactory or treacherous, all the whig leaders of late years:resolving that until the Liberal party could be organized
upon a broader and firmer platform, it would be unwise
to oust Lord Derby.
The "Niagara," with more than 1400 miles of an electric cable on board, will be ready to begin the experimental trip by the close of this month. Captain Hudson
goes to Paris this afternoon, and will ascertain what Russian or French guest he is to have with him. He and
his officers are all sanguine that the improved machinery
will secure success. The melancholy condition of the
VOL. II.-2




18                    TO MR. CASS.
" Susquehanna" will, it is concluded, prevent her participating in the exploit.
Consider me, my dear sir, as saying all that a modest
man ought to say, in acknowledgment for the kind words
in your letter of the 15th April, just received.*
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 197.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 11, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-We have a second youthful Queen at
Buckingham Palace, who received the homage of the
diplomatic corps on Saturday last.  Her father, here also,
is of the multitudinous secondary shelf of royalty, the
German House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringenl.  Some few
years ago he abdicated, being too poor to maintain the
dignity of independence, and ceding his position, whatever it was, to the King of Prussia, that sovereign dubbed
him  "Highness," and made him  a Prince of his royal
family. IHis daughter, "IStephanie,"'' married by proxy to
the King of Portugal, is on her way to Lisbon, and very
naturally stops here to make her curtsy to Queen Victoria,
the central link of the marriage compact uniting Prussia,
England, and Portugal. She is just twenty-one, looks
like an unaffected modest American girl, and probably is
a little perplexed in thinking that, if the recent attempt
to poison her morganatic better half had succeeded, her
position as Queen and yet no Queen, as civiliter wife and
yet religiose not wife, would have been rather anomalous
and embarrassing.
The struggle between the Lords and Commons on the
Oaths bill-properly called the Jews' Admission bill —is
* The " kind words" alluded to were the following, and they are extracted as the stimulus and apology for the present publication:
" I thank you very much for your graphic letters. I read them all to
the cabinet, where they are listened to with great interest. Your facts
and speculations are just what we want, and what we can get nowhere
else. I will say to you what I have said elsewhere, that since the days
of Horace Walpole I have seen no more successful effort of this kind
than is furnished by your lifelike correspondence."




TO MR. CASS.                  19
ripening to coercive legislation. Lord John Russell, last
night, seconded ably and sternly by the late AttorneyGeneral, Sir Richard Bethell, threw the gauntlet of defiance by moving the disagreement to the Peers' amendment of his measure, and his motion prevailed by a heavy
majority. There will be a conference: and it is believed
that some expedient will spring out of it to enable the
hereditary wisdom to succumb gracefully to the elective.
I doubt that. Lord Derby and his new Lord Chanfcellor
have taken their stand " inter apicesjuris," and will I think
inflexibly wait the " hazard of the die." If so, then will
the Commons be invoked to rush into the illegal, and
therefore unconstitutional, step of seating the wealthy Jew
by a mere resolution of their own, dispensing with the
phrase "upon the true faith of a Christian."  At that point
the fight may flag. Men, however disposed to urge into
practice the principle of religious toleration, may recoil
from the uncertain consequences of a really revolutionary
step in parliamentary action. They are not ready to set
the precedent of a single House of Legislature.
A new and grave topic of political contest has arisen.
The Governor-General of India issued, on the taking of
Lucknow, a somewhat ferocious proclamation, confiscating the territory of Oude, with certain exceptions in favor
of loyal chiefs and inhabitants. It has been disapproved
by the India Directors, and by the President of the Board
of Control, Ellenborough, in a manner highly offensive
to Lord Canning and his friends. The first effect is a
meeting of Liberals at Cambridge House, Lord Palmerston's, on Sunday, the day before yesterday, who seem to
have seized upon the occasion as a peculiarly fortunate
and promising one for an onset to overturn the ministry.
Something will be attempted to this effect on the 13th instant. If it be shewn, as vehemently asserted in conversation, that, owing to local ideas, Lord Canning is right
and Lord Ellenborough ruinously wrong, then the cabinet
ignorance of the true policy towards India, connected with
the terrible break-down of their India bill No. 2, may
make very dangerous a resolution of want of confidence
on the great subject of their Eastern Empire now uppermost in the thoughts and feelings of the nation. Here is
a battery suddenly and indiscreetly provoked to open its
deadly fire on an administration already tottering!




20                 TO MR. CASS.
I have received a perfectly reliable letter, which has not
been sent to you simply because you are worried more
than enough already by unimportant matters, complaining
that owing to some irregularities or neglect of the agents
you employ, the books intended by the government for.the British Museum very often fail to reach their destination.  This is a waste or a misappropriation which perhaps a word from you might arrest.
Our quondam friend, Sir Henry Bulwer, functus as
Commissioner to the Moldo-Wallachian provinces, has
gone, to the Porte, successor to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe.
This appointment is deemed a good one, and may, in a
measure, be traced to the connexion of Sir E. Bulwer
Lytton, his brother, with the party in power. I have had
the good luck to form a pleasant acquaintance with Lord
Stratford, and to find that he has agreeable recollections
of his stay in the United States as well as an exalted estimate of the ultimate destiny of our country.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 198. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 14, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The specialty of the moment is the
ministerial crisis. Mr. Cardwell's resolution, decidedly
equivalent to one of a want of confidence, so accepted indeed by both sides, was postponed from yesterday and
will be discussed in the Commons to-night. Lord Shaftesbury has a corresponding motion, though less comprehensive and pungent, with which the Lords will be occupied at the same time. I don't think hereditary wisdom
will be excited to censure by this last, because Lord Ellenborough, against whose indiscretion in giving publicity to
his despatch disapproving Lord Canning's proclamation
it is particularly directed, has suddenly, obviously to save
the cabinet, resigned. But Mr. Cardwell in the Commons
is "an ugly customer."  He has moulded his missile into
a deadly shape: —if it hits, it must kill. I had an opportunity last evening, at the Admiralty, to ascertain the
forecastings as to the result. All admitted the "tight




TO MR. CASS.                 21
place" of the ministry. Some affected to regard the selfimmolation of Ellenborough as an adequate atonement.
The great hope, however, seemed to be in the extreme
difficulty if not impossibility of combining a sufficient
number of Radicals with the Whigs in the vote.. Mr.
Bright and Mr. Milner Gibson are, for the emergency at
least, in "entente cordiale" with the cabinet:-but Lord
John Russell, though not immovably fixed, is deeply
committed against. Gossip says that a perfect reconciliationI would be immediately effected between Lord John
and Lord Palmerston, and the Liberals at once disperse
the Tories, but for certain in-door rivalries, each Lady's
conjugal pride claiming the premiership. Those most
intimate with the eminent quartette are profound, though
probably deluded, believers in that article of secret history.
Possibly to-morrow's Times may take you the finale of
the great debate in the very steamer to which I am
obliged to send the Bag by 5 P.M.:-but I doubt its ending so soon: and if it be adjourned beyond Sunday, it may
be prolonged to Wednesday the 19th instant. If beaten
by a large majority, Lord Derby will probably acquiesce,
and retire as promptly as he went in: if the majority be
small, or in other respects equivocal, he will resort to a
dissolution of Parliament, should the Queen consent.
Have you noticed the contemptuous manner in which
the Commons treated the amendments made by the Peers
to the Oaths bill? A precedent of 1715 has been disinterred upon the strength of which Baron Rothschild, the
Jew bone of contention, without having qualified, but
simply upon his electoral return, is sent as a member of
the Committee to confer with the Lords! Lord Chelmsford, being a parvenu on the woolsack, and full to overflowing in zeal for his new Order, can scarcely articulate
his offended dignity.
I sincerely congratulate our whole country, and yourselves especially, upon the news which reached London
yesterday of the final votes on the Kansas question.
How odd, that you are still, after the lapse of seven
months, as much at a loss to see the special and definite
purpose of Sir W. Ousely's mission as I was when announcing it immediately subsequent to a personal interview with him! Diplomacy brings reproach upon itself




22                 TO MR. CASS.
by whatever looks double and disingenuous. Lord Napier labors very hard, and probably controls his real nature, in his explanatory and excusatory note of the 26th
April last.
The opposition in Paris have carried their man: and
thus, of that representation there are two to one against
the Empire.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 199. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 18, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-As soon as my despatch bag had been
forwarded to Liverpool on the 14th instant, with my letter
to you of that date, I hurried to the House of Commons,
and sent an aid to witness and report the proceedings of
the Lords.
The truth is that more than the usual interestis felt at this
legation as to the result of the vote of censure on the present ministry, proposed by Mr. Gladstone in the Commons
and Lord Shaftesbury in the Peers. This arises from a
strong impression that the gentlemen in power have in
twenty various ways manifested towards the United States
a more just and conciliatory disposition than was shewn
by their predecessors.
The debate in the upper chamber closed on the evening
it began, with a division of 9 in favor of government: —a
small majority, which would have been smaller had Lord
Aberdeen, with two proxies in his pocket, remained to
vote. The announcement was cheered by the opposition,
who expected a worse defeat.
In the Commons, the discussion is unfinished, and may
be protracted beyond to-night. It was opened with measured care by Mr. Cardwell, who was poorly seconded by
Mr. Deasy, and was fortified only when Mr. Lowe and
Lord John Russell spoke, The weight of the last against
the cabinet was the greater, as his course was ascribed,
more or less, to a definite understanding with Lord Palmerston about the future. An adjournment to yesterday
was agreed to after midnight. The defence has been




TO MR. CASS.                  23
marked by great ability and eloquence. Certainly the
best speech I have heard in Elngland was delivered by
Cairns, the Solicitor-General, who was vigorously aided
by Lord Stanley.  Yesternight the debate continued
until half-past 12, the principal advocates of the censure
being Sir Charles Wood, and Sir George C. Lewis, and
against it Whiteside, Roebuck, and Sir Robert Peel.
It was again adjourned, to be resumed this afternoon.
The question may be taken to-night, as the Races are
attractive: possibly it may be suspended till Friday next:but what is expected to be the result? Judging from the
sentiments expressed by the innumerable experts whom I
have conversed with, the result may be considered doubtful:-but on the whole I incline to think that Lord Derby
must sink under the united pressure of Liberals, Peelites,
and crotchety Radicals. Let us hear, however, Palmerston, Gladstone, Graham, and Disraeli. The physiognomical expression of the last, in his seat on the Treasury
Bench, imports the agony of crucifixion.
Our grand, full-dress, diplomatic, annual, Birthday dinner came off at the Foreign Office on Saturday last.
Everybody, not excluding Mr. Cobb's Commissioner on
International Coinage, was in appropriate costume. The
Turkish ambassador, seated on Lord Malmesbury's left-not
the French on his right-toasted the Queen: and shortly
afterwards a little epigram in action made me and others
smile. Our host had to embrace in one sweeping responsive sentiment the national constituencies of all his guests.
He rose, hemmed repeatedly as Englishmen invariably do
when about to speak —"Messieurs, buvons a la sante des SouVERAINS (here his eye became fixed on mine, he paused,
hemmed again, and suddenly added) et aux ETATS dont les
honorables representants sont presents!"  Of course, you
remember that at such a table, even in London, no tongue
can be admitted as either " a la mode," or universal, except the French. The Duke of Malakoff, I understand,
can but won't speak the language of this Court.
Lord Derby, if censured, will resort to a dissolution:in doing which I am satisfied that, considering the condition of parties, he will act as a leader most unwisely.
Always faithfully yrs.




24                  TO MR. CASS.
No,. 200.,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 21, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The difference, in respect to us, between
the Tory cabinet of Lord Derby and a Liberal ministry
selected and headed by Lord Palmerston, is perhaps distinctly illustrated by the slip which, cut from the Money
Article of yesterday's Times, is enclosed. Contrasting the
recently expressed sentiments of Lord Malmesbury, as to
all the southern portion of the North American continent
and as to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, with the tone of this
piece, it is not difficult to see that whereas the ins are
frankly favorable to the maintenance of the most pacific
relations, the outs, now vehemently struggling for restoration, are disposed to pledge themselves to an opposite
course. In the existing attitude of things, I cannot wish
success to the pending motion of censure upon the government.
That motion is still under animated debate. Its fate
will, no doubt, be decided by 2 o'clock A.M. to-morrow
morning, and be carried as the latest telegraphic news
from Liverpool to Halifax by the present steamer. I have
heretofore thought that it would prevail by so large a
majority as would make it idle for Lord Derby to resort
to a dissolution. Just now, appearances and impressions
run in the other direction; and one cannot help thinking
that there is a great probability of Mr. Cardwell's resolution being rejected, or, if carried, carried by so small a
majority as would entirely justify an appeal to the people.
The defence has been conducted with a striking superiority of boldness, fairness, and ability on the side of the
ministers. Two important men, one a Peelite, the other
a Radical, Sir James Graham and Mr. Bright, threw their
weight into the scale of the government last night. Mr.
Roebuck states in private that the censure will be negoatived by a decisive vote:-but he is a sanguine mutineer
in the ranks of liberalism. Lord Palmerston, who exhibits quiet confidence in the result, reserves himself apparently for the final onset of this evening, and will rally
his whole party with his accustomed skill. But, "lying
low," ready for a spring, is Disraeli, and "keeping dark,"
to shock by a surprise, is Gladstone.




TO MR. CASS.                  25
The electoral triumph of Migeon, in the Haut Rhin
department, against the open and peremptory injunctions
of the Imperial functionaries, Canrobert, Espinasse, the
Minister of Police, and the Prefects, is a manifestation
strongly resembling those which first developed the existence of our secret Know-Nothings. The candidate had
neither character, capacity, nor influence:-but, without
a symptom of organized effort, he is suddenly, as a sign,
lifted to alarm Louis Napoleon on the score of his favorite
pretence as to universal suffrage. This "portent" occasions much remark.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 201.-TO MR. CA8S.
LONDON, May 25, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The motion to censure the ministry
broke down on the very day it was expected to triumph.
The adjournment for two days to enable members to attend the Derby, gave just time enough for the arrival of
explanatory documents from India, which were of a character to make the motion too palpably unjust to be farther
pressed. Its withdrawal was loudly called for, and finally
tbok place early in the evening of the 21st instant. Perhaps it might still have been urged to a division, but that
there was a grim lion in the way to which the young
members were unused and whose aspect, the more it was
looked at, the more terror it inspired. The dissolution of
Parliament, positively resolved upon by the Premier, if
the attack prevailed, was fraught with so much uncertainty, expense, and trouble, that a large number, elected
scarcely a year ago, could not bear to risk its possibility.
The effects of this abortive impeachment may, I think,
be regarded as threefold. 1. It permanently splits, and
so kills, the Peelite party. 2. It postpones for a considerable time any farther assault, and will probably involve in
that postponement any definite legislation as to India.
3. It goes very far to produce throughout the country
an impression that the men at present at the helm understand steering a little better than their opponents, and




26                      TO  MR. CASS.
may be safely permitted to command the ship until some
ruder emergency occur. Lord Derby will not be disturbed for a year to come; and the condition of the
Liberal party will have to be vastly improved by the sacrifice of personal aspirations and antipathies, before it can
disturb him at all. I repeat what I have before said, that
I do not perceive as yet the slightest reason why the
United States should regret the ascendency of the existing
phase of conservatism here.
At the request of the Royal Geographical Society, I attended their session of yesterday, and received for the
Superintendent of your Coast Survey, the great Victoria
Gold Medal, awarded to him by those learned pundits.
It is transmitted in the despatch bag.*
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 202.-TO  M]R. AS,.
LONDON, June 4, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-You must bear with all due patience
my douche of despatches by to-day's Bag. If I could only
* On the delivery of the Medal, the following remarks were addressed
to Sir Roderick Murchison:
Mr. President,-I receive with much gratification, on behalf of my
eminent fellow-citizen, Professor Alexander D. Bache, this mark of the
approbation of your learned society.
The fame of her sons in the noble brotherhood of science is a most cherished part of my country's wealth and strength; and, as her national
representative, I thank you, gentlemen, for thus adding to her store.
Professor Bache has for many years discharged elevated, interesting,
and arduous duties under the government of the United States. He was
specially fitted for these by academical training and successes, by educational labors, by an intellect at once lucid, profound, and persevering,
and by an aptitude, not too common with reserved students and philosophers, for practical method and administration. Without adverting to
a rich series of prior and of accessary performances, I speak with entire
certainty in saying that his chief work (though yet uncompleted), the
Survey of the American Coasts, Sounds, and Estuaries, in all their expansion, intricacies, and characteristics, admirably delineated as if daguerreotyped in charts of extraordinary perfection, has earned for him a solid
and enduring reputation in this, as in our own, hemisphere.
I believe him, Sir, in every respect entitled to the high honor you confer by awarding this Medal, and am happy in being made by your distinguished association the medium of its safe transmission.




TO MR. CASS.                  27
effect thereby a perfect water-cure, that is, a perfecf relief of
the Seas from the constipation of visitation and search, it
would rather please me than otherwise to pour out a deluge by every opportunity for a month to come. Pray, be
enduring. A little while, and that word "discontinue," if
quietly but steadily used (d la Poplicola), will put into the
President's bonnet something worth a whole "forest of
feathers." The issue has been impudently forced upon us
by the sudden and simultaneous spanking of our skippers,
and that too under our very nose:-and now let Jonathan
keep a flock of starlings to iterate and reiterate, at every
point of the compass, the cry of "discontinue," in every
note of the gamut, "advient que pourra,"-not "war"! but
"discontinue "!
You will possibly think this a light mode of treating a
grave topic, and not precisely ambassadorial. Well, you
are entirely right: —but I seek a temporary relaxation
from the oppressive solemnity of remonstrance at the Foreign Office, and I cannot but feel how gloriously right
you are.
That sweeping search of our shipping at Sagua ought
to be, as the French say, constate with greater amplitude
and authenticity. It is the grand climacteric, at which
every independent nation will startle and mutter " Shame!"
The informant of our consul may be mistaken, and the
act is so transcendently outrageous as scarcely to be
credible from the lips of one man only.
I have a fine group of compatriots here just now:-the
Aikens, the Fishs, the Fishers, the Sparks, the Tottens:-but, alas, like an ill-omened bird whose shadow
deepens the blackness of the storm, onward comes flying
the perturbed Senator! This advent is regarded as most
unfortunate. Will your minister be countermined? If
so, have we not a penalty in the Criminal Code? What
says your Attorney-General? If I had a modicum of
secret service money, this mole's underground activity
might be watched and thwarted. However, a good
cause, like good wine, needs no bush. Surveillance is
almost as mean as treachery.
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton has entered the cabinet and
taken the Colonies from Lord Stanley. The latter is
transferred to the Presidency of the Board of Control.
Both must be re-elected: and I tremble for my friend the




28                     TO  MR. CASS.
great novelist.  His nerves are strung to the trial, and
his address out. Mr. Gladstone, after nibbling at the bait,
peremptorily darted off.
While your representative was yesterday distilling his
brains to form a decoction at once powerful and palatable
for Lord  Malmesbury, the Prime Minister of England
was dashing away, indifferent to the cares of Empire, at
the Ascott Races!
Mr. Locke King succeeded, the night before last, in the
House of Commons, in carrying the second reading of his
resolution for abolishing the property qualification of
members, by a majority of 126.  A pretty broad and flat
"vestige" or footprint of republican progress!  The old
fogies of the close-borough genus, especially of the German order, are stupendously aghast.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 203.-TO  MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 11, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-While I was sending my last despatch
on the afternoon of the 8th instant by the Vanderbilt, the
Foreign Secretary, on an interpellation by Lord Clarendon, was giving the House of Lords a very cautious insight
into the arrangement I had effected with him  that morning. This, I presume, you have seen. All right, as far
as it goes. It made me, however, rejoice to remember that
his lordship had himself made a written minute* of the
* The " Minute " is as follows:
" Minute of Conversation between Mr. Dallas and Lord MIalmesbury,
June 8, 1858."
" Her Majesty's government are not prepared to justify or excuse such
acts on the part of their officers as have been complained of by the United
States government, if they are truly reported.
"' Her Majesty's government recognize the principles of international
law as laid down by General Cass in his note of THE 10TH OF APRIL,'58,
and that nothing in the Treaty of 1842 supersedes that law.
" Her Majesty's government, however, think it most indispensable, in
the interest of civilization and the police of the Seas, that there should be




TO MR. CASS.                        29
agreed points.  Had these points been less full and distinct, there would have been no agreement at all.  Iis
speech bears marks of an apprehension that he will be
attacked for having yielded. Our old Palmerstonian
haters are said to be already on his track:-but they will
be kept at bay by the threat of exposing the orders issued
to British naval officers by the former government, which
are hinted to have involved not merely a search against
slave-traders, but one also against William  Walker and
his associate filibusters.  At the royal ball, the night before last, I was, assured, with emphasis, by one of the ministrv, that he positively knew what had caused and motived
the sudden outrages upon our vessels: —he did not feel at
liberty to communicate it: but it would come out. The
men now in power had nothing to do with it.  He rather
thought too much had been conceded, but, he added, I am
content, as, rather than bring our two countries into collision, I would concede a great deal more.
My colleagues of the diplomatic corps have, one after
another, expressed their congratulations.  They seem  to
regard with pleasure every check given to the maritime
arrogance of England.  Even Malakoff said he supposed
I was now in good humor, or softened. There is no
country in Europe which does not look upon the Right of
Search as a weapon in the hands of a single bully: —especially since your famous letter which stopped Louis Philippe's signing the Quintuple Treaty.*
a power of verifying the nationality of a vessel suspected on good grounds
of carrying false colors.
"Her Majesty's government would wish to learn from the United
States government their views in detail on this point, in the hope that
some mutual arrangement, by way of proceedings to be executed by our
respective officers, may be found effective, without being offensive.
"' The French have lately proposed and laid down this rule, viz.: that
a boat may be sent alongside of a suspected ship and may ask for papers,
but not, unless invited, board the vessel. Such is our arrangement with
France.
" Lord Malmesbury has given Mr. Dallas a copy of our instructions to
our officers. Pending our negotiations on the above point, orders will
be given to discontinue search of American vessels."
* DIARY: July 17,'58. —" At 11 o'clock P.M. went to General Peel's.
Here met for the first time Mr. Guizot. A small figure, white hair and
crowning scratch, dressed in black, with large star on his left breast, and
much activity of manner. His eye remarkably fine and expressive. He
boarded me at once with a compliment for having removed the last
source of quarrel between this country and the United States. He said
he had tried the same thing while here as French Envoy, but could ac



30                   TO MR. CASS.
We have apprehended some contest with the vessels
you have ordered to the West Indies. Although far from
afraid to measure swords the third time, I hope, as disclaimer and discontinuance have promptly followed your
demand, that we shan't be embroiled just now.
The Niagara left Plymouth yesterday, on the final trial
to submerge the cable and unite the two continents. I
have my doubts: —as the experimental trip had its accidents.  We shall know the result in three weeks or less.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 204.-TO  MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 22, 1858
MY DEAR SIR,-The two principles of the Manchester
men-peace at any price and anti-slavery-came into conflict on our subject, and you will see by the debates that
the latter has been made to kick the beam.  Mr. Bright,
their leader, will not consent to force philanthropy down
revolting throats at the point of the sword.
You will have noticed that the ministry of Lord Derby
has continued in the groove of good luck. They obtained,
on demand, ~3000 for Watt and Parke, and, without any
demand, the Cagliari for Piedmont. This sort of fortune
imparts a prestige which is often equivalent to actual
strength. Lord Malmesbury in addressing Carafa seems
to have taken a leaf from our book.
English ill-will on the subject of the slave-trade takes
a strong direction against France. In the recent discussion of the Lords, language of bitter blame was not spared.
It will farther concentrate there, when the letter of Mr.
Cobb to the Collector of Charleston becomes known. The
press here is in the habit of saying that we secretly import
slaves through Cuba: —the Secretary nails the falsehood
complish nothing. It was a great'resultat,' and would be felt everywhere. Enquired about the President's health: —he had seen him in
Paris about two weeks before his final return to America. I shall probably permanently regard this accidental meeting with Guizot as among
the most agreeable incidents of my mission to London. However debatable he may be, he has made a strong mark on his times as a statesman and an author."




TO MR. SAWARD.                  31
on the front, and I shall try to have it generally seen.
"No admittance here!"
Much is printed, and more spoken, about the quiet
armament of France. In private circles anxiety and suspicion are apparent. Each neighbor is on the, look-out:
Belgium, Austrian Italy, and England.
Nothing yet from the squadron engaged on the subAtlantic cable. Indeed, as they start the submerging in
mid-ocean, we cannot hear anything with certainty before
the way is completed by attaching one end at Valentia.
The Foreign Secretary and I have interchanged notes preparatory to the transmission of messages. If it succeed,
however, this will be rather late notice to you.
There is a vague rumor that the Emperor is somewhat
dissatisfied with his Ambassador in London: —that this
great functionary has shewn towards the Duke d'Aumale
too warm a sense of Algerine reminiscences, quite an incoinvenient explosion of old companionship: — that, besides, his brusquerie among the ladies of the Court has occasioned some extravagant scenes; and, in fine, that he himself feels like a fish out of water, and longs to return to
his Parisian element. "Se non e vero," etc.
The heat has been more oppressive than any I have before known here. Thermometer in the shade 91 and 92.
The effluvia from the Thames alarms Parliament and
threatens disease. There is, however, enough unfinished
public business to keep the session going for at least
another month. Lord Derby has been incapacitated by
illness for attendance during a week past.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 205.-TO MR. SAWARD.
LONDON, June 22, 1858.
SIR,-I will thank you to present to the Directors of the
Atlantic Telegraph Company my cordial acknowledgments for the case of specimens of the component parts of
their cable which you were kind enough to send me yesterday. It is a most interesting and highly appreciated




32                 TO MR. CASS.
memorial of a vast undertaking whose success will be
hailed with exultation by all civilized humanity.
Accept the assurance of my sincere esteem.
Most respectfully yrs.
No. 206.-TO MR. CASS.
LoNDON, June 25, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Bishop of Oxford's hereditary horror
of slave-trading has drawn the House of Lords as it were
to the confessional, and they have made a clear breast of
it as respects the coolies. The middle passage was nothing
worse than the accurate exposures of Lord Carnarvon.
Here was a vindication of America for you! Here was
something with which Walewski might unanswerably
twit the expounders of the "modern requirements of a
higher morality"! Nothing was left to the magnates but
to get angry with themselves and the rest of mankind:
and certainly the language of Earls Grey and Malmesbury,
of Brougham, Clarendon and others, exhibited unsparing
and undiscriminating rage. It is quite interesting to note
the ferocity of the attack upon the great ally whom their
post-prandial eloquence is apt to make all idol of. The
British Peers and the Parisian press are interchanging a
brisk fire of "falsehood,"" infamy," "hypocrisy," " barbarity," "murder," and other equally courteous accusations.
Of course, an occasional shot strays to the United States:
but, like eels, we are used to skinning; and, on the whole,
the two new targets, Spain and France, have been much
worse riddled than we. That affair of the " Regina Cceli,"
in which the fettered free laborers rose upon the crew and
butchered all but the surgeon, is not without its parallel
on our record. Lord Brougham, like Mr. Adams, thought
the "killing no murder."  Notwithstanding all this, the
Duke of Malakoff, the day before yesterday, at the Lord
Mayor's dinner to her Majesty's ministers, was embalmed
in unguents of flattery and applause! There is an inexplicable subserviency to the alliance, which may possibly outlive fanatical anti-slavery; rival pretenders just now.
The horrible condition of the Thames, aggravated by




TO MR. SA WARD.                33
unusually hot weather, is the universal town talk. The
parliamentary windows, overlooking the widespread fiats
of poisonous filth at low tide, have to be tightly closed;
and so the heat becomes in its turn insufferable. The
sickening odors, however, cannot be excluded from the
passage ways and committee rooms, and these furnish a
second-hand supply to th.e Lords and Commons. Perhaps
the matter may be exaggerated by those who want to
adjourn.
Nothing yet from the Atlantic Telegraph Squadron.
We ought to hear in a week. I reminded the Foreign
Secretary by note of the preparation made last year for
inaugurating the cable by messages between the Queen
and the President, and, at his request, sent him a copy of
what Lord Clarendon had intended should be first transmitted. He will probably use it, if he have a chance: and
of that you will be apprised before receiving this letter.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 207.-TO LORD MALMESBURY.
LONDON, July 2, 1858.
MY DEAR LORD MALMESBURY,-Your message of last
evening will be forwarded to Valentia without delay.
I hope it may be in time to inaugurate the work, and yet
I fear it will have to wait another year or two. Shoals
of my countrymen, arrived by the last steamers, represent
the weather to have been very unpromising, if not unmanageable.
Always faithfully your lordship's
Most obedient servant.
No. 208. —TO MR. SAWARD.
LONDON, July 2, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —Conforming to the course intended to
have been pursued last year, I transmit to you the enVOL. II.-3




34                 TO MR. CASS.
closed from the Foreign Office, containing the message
which it is desired may be the first or inaugurating one
sent across the Atlantic to the President of the United
States, as soon as the communication is established. Pray
let me hear of its safely reaching your hands:-and should
any unexpected circumstances prevent the attainment of
its object, you will oblige me by returning the package
unopened. Ardently wishing success to your great undertaking,
I am very faithfully yrs.
No. 209.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 6, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-I put into the Bag to-day a long narrow
box addressed to Mr. Cobb, which I will thank you to
have sent to the Treasury Department. It contains drawings of the life-boat preferred in this country, and which
the Duke of Northumberland, on behalf of the Society
over which he presides, wishes to engage the attention of
our government. I enclose also copies of the two letters
written upon the subject.
They are still fashioning upon the parliamentary anvil
a government for India. Perhaps, as the bill was last
night ordered to be reported to the House, it will soon be
adopted and sent to the Lords. That job accomplished,
there will be great anxiety to adjourn, as the Thames continues to throw out a most disturbing effluvia.
Her Majesty has gone to Osborne; and, as soon as Parliament disperses, designs visiting Germany, expecting to
meet her daughter the Princess Royal at Cologne.
I am hoping to receive by the steamer which will be
due the day after to-morrow, a despatch from you on the
subject of the "Minute:" for although I have been apprised of its safe arrival, my solicitude is not quite extinct,
and will not be until I hear fiom you.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CA SS.                 35
No. 210.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 16, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Queen must, of course, keep her
engagement with the Emperor, to grace the festivities at
Cherbourg, by a short stoppage on her way to Cologne,
and so, perforce, Parliament must adjourn before the 4th
of August. It is easy to create a necessity, when the
moors are attractive and the Thames offensive. You hear
a grumbler, now and then, like Mr. Charles Villiers, while
he throws an angry glance across the Channel towards the
frowning fortification, ask, "Why does her Majesty go rejoicing there?" but such rough notions and suspicious
jealousies are injurious to the alliance; and, though deeply
felt in honest humbler classes, are repudiated by Court and
ministry.
It is difficult to avoid seeing how closely the ties are
drawing between Russia and France. The meeting at
Stutgard is fiuctifying fast. The night before last, while
" assisting" at a ball in the hotel of the Russian Embassy,
I stood for five minutes ruminating before two magnificent full-length portraits, just put up, of Louis Napoleon
and Eugenie! Ex pede Herculem. Nothing in themselves;
only, going back for a couple of short years, one thinks
of the ants in amber and wonders "how the devil thev
got there." The recent flagrant massacres of Christians
at Jidda, and in Candia, by Mussulman mobs may give
rise to a fresh enquiry about the condition of "the sick
man," under a new combination of the consultative faculty.
You will have noticed how exceeding angry, indeed irrepressibly furious, Spain has been at the language used in
the House of Lords, and especially by the Earl of Malmesbury, on her slave-trade connivances. A word, said the
Times in reply, from his lordship, would give Cuba to the
United States. The Thunderer, indeed, seems so exasperated that he has been known to insist in private, as well
as preach in public, that the fanatics against the traffic
can best and easiest extinguish it by transferring the jewel
of the Antilles to the zone of Columbia. Mr. Cobb's
letter, prohibiting the desired clearance for a vessel avowedly destined to bring a return cargo of Congo free labor



86                 TO MR. CASS.
ers, has produced an agreeable surprise. It could scarcely
at first be credited as anything but an elaborate and ingenious hoax-like Locke's wonders of the Moon —but it
crept into the Globe, and is producing much sober
thought.
Accounts from India are bad. The mutiny is spreading
through all the Central districts. The numbers and resources of the rebels seem constantly on the increase. The
scorching heat is decimating the European forces. A
speculation admits as far from impossible that their armies
may be driven for refuge and be besieged in Calcutta,
Madras, and Bombay: —there finding safety in their inexhaustible navy. It would be a curious fact, if, as the
Lords finish the Government of India bill, they perceived
that there was no India to govern! Yet, it is within the
range of possibilities, or, as gamblers say, "within the
cards." Their total effective strength has dwindled to
26,000 men.
The President has failed to receive the sub-Atlantic message of the Queen. The fates are averse. All the elements,
above and below, combined against it. A more fearful
storm than that which separated the vessels and enraged
the sea, cannot well be imagined. It is a miracle that the
Agamemnon survived. And yet the tempest is not the
gloomiest occurrence of the abortive effort. There is a
sad sense of a mysterious and unfathomable agency of
some sort in the "lowest deep," which takes the liberty,
at discretion, to treat the cable as a thread of sand:separating, perhaps dissolving it, without any kind of
warning and at the most promising moment! Here is a
problem which may baffle even Lieutenant Maury, unless
some modern Empedocles will do the world the favor to
engage the Nautilus, and dive three miles to verify the
subaqueous facts. It is a terrible lion crouched in the
pathway of the spark.
NTo doubt you are suffering from incessant toil and a
burning sun: and I would not have my solicitude relieved
at the cost of a single additional grain to your heap of
troubles. Only bear with me while I say that you have
had that little "Minute" about visit and search ever since
the 21st of June, or twenty-five days, without a word to
say what you think of it. Mr. Fitzgerald, to be sure, has
eased me off in some measure by reading to the House of




TO MR. CASS.                  37
Commons Lord Napier's official narrative of his interview
with you on the subject. But I had rather get a monosyllable from yourself than a quarto from his lordship. I
have a faint hope that the Persia, due to-morrow, may be
freighted with a line for me.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 211, —TO MR. ASS.
LONDON, July 23, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The day after the departure of the Europa I received, as was expected, your welcome letter of
the 1st July, by the Persia.
The generous notice you take of my course in bringing
about the abandonment of the vexed and vexatious pretension of visit and search, is most valued because it assures me of your continued friendship. I did my best,
in seizing the occasion:-but what would that have
availed, without the firm attitude and language of the
President, and your overwhelming letter to Lord Napier
of the 10th of April? Armed with such weapons as these,
almost self-acting, it was enough to follow the injunction
" arpe diem," and point them at the adversary.
I do not think it enters into the policy or character of
this government or people ever to resume an international
doctrine which they have once formally surrendered.
They fight to the last for a false position which props a bad
practice, but the instant they give it up, they rather hurry
to deny they ever took it. This is a result of an exorbitant self-respect, the rivalry of political factions, and a
quickly detective press. Hence, I did not anticipate that
the "Minute" of what was settled at the interview between
Lord Malmesbury and myself on the 8th of June, could
occasion doubt or misgiving. When those big fates, commonly called big wigs, the "law officers of the Crown,"
harmonized with Lord Derby's policy, and made a clean
breast by honestly and frankly avowing the soundness of
your public law, visit and search fell dead, and went to
that bourn whence no mere expedient subtleties ever return. Peaceful resurrection is impossible. As to war, its




38                    TO MR. CASS.
chances, instabilities, and vainglorious fruits are proverbial: —and were force ever resorted to to restore a disclaimed
principle, all we could do-and that is the ultimrna securitas
-is to invoke Shakespeare and cry "lay on, Macduff,
and d-d be he who first cries hold, enough." England
will never try our mettle again; and least of all on this
confessedly untenable pretence.
The Atlantic Cable Squadron are out again on their
desperate enterprise. None but enthusiasts look for success. They left Queenstown on Sunday last, and we may
hear of them again in ten days.
The Queen'svisit to Louis Napoleon at Cherbourg, like
that of Sheba to Solomon, will be an affair of much ostentation.  Her Majesty proposes to have a train of ministers,
peers, and members of the House of Commons, flounced
off by a fleet of some twenty ships of war! Newspapers
affect great indignation at her going, and have urged a
"town meeting" to stop her. When Victoria once announces her purpose, after accepting an invitation, all
that's left is to shrug one's shoulders and make the best
of it. A resolution against her Majesty would be hooted
down even in "Rao Fair."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 212.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 30, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —YOU will have noticed that Lord Lyndhurst, in asking for the production of papers on Monday
the 26th instant, prefaced his capital speech by quoting
from the Times report of my remarks at our 4th of July
celebration here.*  Those remarks had their purpose, and
* The report in the Times of the 5th of July,'58, was as follows:
"His Excellency MR. DALLAS rose to acknowledge the toast, and was
received with loud cheers. He said,-Mr. Chairman and Fellow-Citizens, I had promised myself, in consequence of continued ill-health for
some time past, to abstain from anything so exciting as public speaking;
but it is, unfortunately, the 4th of July (laughter and cheers), and I find
it impossible to remain silent on such a day after you have received the
mention of my humble name so kindly and so cordially. A few years
ago it would have been thought discourteous and intrusive had one or




TO MR. CASS.                          39
have attained it.  The slight doubt hinted in some newspapers, as to the extent of the renunciation on the boardmore American citizens ventured upon the celebration of the 4th of July,
1776, in the great city of London. The old wounds were still fresh, old
feelings still survived, and the citizens of the United States who were here
had the good taste as well as the forbearance not to do that which might
have been misconstrued so as to be disagreeable to those among whom
they were residing. (Hear, hear.) But now, gentlemen, we feel much
more at ease. The principles of the American revolution have gone on
conquering and to conquer. (Cheers.) They have received the approbation, cordially but certainly, of all the wise and good in England as well
as in the United States. They have become perfectly well understoodthey have beaten down the impressions of hostility which, being misunderstood, they originally created. The principles of the American revolution are acceptable here as they are at home. (Cheers.) The men of
our heroic days-our Washingtons, our Jeffersons, our Madisons, and
our heroes in the battle-field, are known now in England almost as well
as they are in the United States, and are honored as much here as there.
(Cheers.) The progress, then, of the principles of the Revolution of the
United States has been striking, and has produced that to which I have
already adverted-the propriety of our meeting to celebrate the origin of
those principles in London as well as elsewhere. (Hear, hear.) Do not
for a moment suppose that I am availing myself of a detached part of the
toast just given in order to draw the conclusion that the recognition of
those principles has been brought about in any degree by the diplomacy
of the United States. ('Hear,' and a laugh.) The truth is-and you
are, perhaps, not aware of the fact-that we have no American diplomacy.
(A laugh.) In England and on the Continent diplomacy is a lifelong
career. With us it is nothing of the sort. American diplomacy, compared to European diplomacy, may be likened to the militia as contrasted
with the regular army. (Laughter.) To be sure, in the United States,
from the outset, we have always had a partiality for the militia. (Hear,
hear.) Our first military achievements were gained by men among whom
were some of the rawest possible militia. (' Hear,' and a laugh.)  And
it has so happened, probably by accident, that our militia has over and
over again proved equal to the best regulars of Europe. (Cheers.) It
is in that way, perhaps, that the diplomacy of the United States has
been able to do something towards giving expansion and popularity to the
principles of the American revolution. Although our Ministers abroad
have been drawn from the ranks of private and professional life, on very
many occasions, at the most distinguished Courts of Europe and throughout the world, in conflict, or rather in argument, with the most refined diplomatists of any country, those militiamen of diplomacy have achieved
remarkable success. (Hear, hear.) I might refer, if I were disposed to
empty upon you the archives of the American Legation here or elsewhere
(a laugh), to many striking instances of this kind; and as I propose to conclude my remarks by suggesting a particular name to your approbation, it
may be proper to say that the list of our American diplomatists, beginning
with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and William
Pinkney, includes a long array of illustrious'militiamen diplomatists,'
who have left behind them a record of the most glowing and gratifying
character. (Cheers.) At this very Court some of my predecessors may
be compared to the very best of the drilled cohorts of European diplomacy. There is one little comment, which is to a certain extent connected




40                      TO MR. CASS.
ing question, and the reticence of ministerial M. P.'s when
interpellated, seemed to make it important that the exact
character of what had been done should be fixed before
Parliament adjourned, and before the possible contingency
of a change from Derby to Palmerston could take place.
The post-prandial device worked to a charm: —and Lords
Lyndhurst and Malmesbury have left nothing to desire in
their public and precise avowals. The same thing as to
the press. And now England, through her omnipotent
Wittenagemote, through all her leading journals, specially
the Thunderer and Lord Palrnerston's organ, as well as by
table oratory, is made to know  the identical pretension
her government has finally withdrawn from  as illegal.
After-claps, such as followed the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty,
are impossible.  By a lucky accident, Mr. John Y. Mason
and myself were in the diplomatic gallery when Lord
Lyndhurst addressed the Peers. I felt personally a little
awkward at being present to hear my own name mentioned:-but the gratification of your Parisian representative at the force and lucidity of the Sage of 87 years was
unmeasured.  It was, indeed, a rare realization of Homer's
Nestor: —and it beat down the assault of mere party.
with American diplomacy, on which I will say a word. You know that we
have recently had some little difficulties on the coasts of the United States
and in the West Indian Sea (hear)-a matter with which, as one of the
militiamen in the diplomacy of the United States, I was lately charged.
Now, without referring to that question more closely, it is a point which
is essentially connected with one of the fundamental principles of the
American revolution, —that principle being the necessity of maintaining
on behalf of the great American people, as a great community, the independence of their flag. (Cheers.) Well, I am not going to argue the
question as to visit and search. It has been over and over again, for
years back, argued and re-argued. But I should like on the 4th of July
to announce to my fellow-countrymen that visit and search in regard to
American vessels on the high seas in time of peace is frankly and finally
ended. (Tremendous cheering, the whole company rising and manifestino the liveliest enthusiasm.) While, gentlemen, I am able to announce
this gratifying fact, I think it ought also to be accompanied by the assurance that the termination of that for which we have struggled for nearly
half a century has been brought about with a degree of honorable candor
and fair dealing on the part of the British government which is worthy
of every acknowledgment on our part. (Loud cheers.) With a view to
draw these remarks to a close, I beg leave to offer you as a toast the name
of one of the earliest representatives alike of the principles of the American revolution and of the Constitution of the United States-I mean
Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. (Loud
cheers.)
" The toast was drunk in solemn silence."




TO MR. CASS.                      41
Cherbourg will throw into shade the Field of Golden
Cloth. But her Majesty will not, as has been erroneously
rumored, be escorted by a large fleet:-nor will her subjects cease to grumble or soon forget this her first omission to uphold their national pride. Lord Derby did not
foresee or he would have deprecated an invitation. As it
is, "there's nothing left for it!"
The American horse "Charleston," running for the
Goodwood Cup, has been terribly beaten, coming in only
7th.  The Niagara and the electric cable -are unheard of
since leaving Queenstown for a re-trial.  The driving current of American travellers to the Continent knows no
abatement. It is a social phenomenon.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 213. —TO MR, CASS.
LONDON, August 6, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The salvos of artillery at the meeting of
the Sovereigns yesterday in the basin of Cherbourg were
drowned by the sudden and unexpected annunciation that
the Atlantic cable was laid! All London is in a tumult
of surprise and exultation. The stock, which two days ago
stood at ~200 or ~300, has with the quickness of its own
electric fluid, risen to ~800 or ~1000. New Columbia (Frazer's river) is, at once, to the great relief of Sir E. B. Lytton,
brought within hailing distance.  I hope the Secretary of
the Company, to whom it was specially confided, has not
failed to transmit to the President the inaugurating message of the Queen. The reply ought to reach us to-day!*
* The telegrams here referred to were the following: —they were undated, but were interchanged on the 18th and 19th of August, 1858:
1. —From her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain to his Excellency the
President of the United States.
The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the successful
completion of this great international work, in which the Queen has taken
the greatest interest. The Queen is convinced that the President will
join with her in fervent hope that the electric cable, which now already
connects Great Britain with the United States, will prove an additional




42                     TO MR. CASS.
I received on Sunday last an exceedingly interesting
letter from Mr. W. B. Reed, written on the very day, the
20th May, of the taking of the Chinese forts at the
mouth of the Peiho by the allied squadrons. He appears
to have acted with great judgment and forbearance: —and
yet perhaps the vigorous movement of Lord Elgin and
Baron Gros in pushing nearer to Pekin may break down
oriental form, and incline the brother of the Sun and Moon
to be as courteous and kind to the Earth as are his relatives. Mr. Reed kept pace with the advance, a mediating
pacificator always at hand.  The complication is delicate
and very interesting; and our representative expresses a
doubt where it will end-possibly in territorial acquisition by one or the other of the allies.
Was there ever any paper so wretchedly devised and
penned as the speech on the prorogation?  And yet there
are in the ministry Buliwer Lytton, Disraeli, Stanley, and
Cairns! It must have been left to the bewildered cookery
of a Law-Lord.
Mr. Miller, our Despatch Agent, whom I had desired
to keep a sharp look-out for the Blue Book promised by
Lord Malmesbury on the boarding question, informs me
that he has ascertained it will not appear before the next
session. There is an habitual, and often an inexplicable,
fondness for procrastination:-they don't think it the thief
but the physician of Time: possibly, on this occasion, dislink between the two nations, whose friendship is founded upon their common interest and reciprocal esteem. The Queen has much pleasure in
thus directly communicating with the President, and in renewing to him
her best wishes for the prosperity of the United States.
2.-The President of the United States to her Majesty, Victoria, Queen of
Great Britain.
WASHINGTON CITY.
The President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of her Majesty
the Queen on the occasion of the great international enterprise accomplished by the skill, science, and indomitable energy of the two countries.
It is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, thanw
was ever won by a conqueror on the field of battl.  May the Atlantic
Telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to oe a bond of perpetual
peace and friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument
destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty,
and law throughout the world. In this view will not all the nations of
Christendom spontaneously unite in the declaration that it shall be forever neutral, and that its communications shall be held sacred in passing
to the place of their destination even in the midst of hostilities?
JAMES BUCHANAN.




TO MR. CASS.                  43
creet views of party popularity suggest the expediency of
extending the record.
You have no doubt remarked the interest attached to a
recent and absorbed interview between the French Emperor and the Sardinian Prime Minister, Cavour. The
general impression forecasts a breach with Austria and
the Unity of Italy. As this country may probably side
with Austria, hence the expediency of having Cherbourg
in the rear, more as defensive and a refuge than a measure
of invasion.
Lord Stratford de Redcliffe returns to Constantinople.
Pourquoi vient-il, l'enraye? asks Thouvenel. His lordship
says, to take leave of the Sultan:-others intimate, to
teach, as privy councillor, the Divan how best to act in
existing difficulties.  Perhaps, Sir Henry Bulwer has
missed a figure somewhere, and made the temporary
presence of De Redeliffe necessary.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 214,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 13, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Nothing exceeds the desertion of London-except the crowds in the streets. The heat, the
odorous Thames, the Royal Highnesses in Prussia, and
the whirring grouse of Scotland, are fast depopulating all
the great Squares and abandoning the Parks to the million. The clubs are vacant. The theatres slam to their
doors. Science closes her lecture rooms, and Art wraps
her galleries in muslin. Even the Press, the Metropolitan
Press, — unheard of thing! is somniferous and stupid.
In such a state of affairs the affairs of State are apt to sympathize, and the despatch of a diplomat takes irresistibly
a turn of tameness. I doubt much whether this my weekly
missive don't fall sound asleep.
It would seem that Lord Elgin and Baron Gros have
a fair prospect of demolishing the Great Wall. They are
comfortably seated at Tien-Tsin, about sixty miles from
Pekin, in daily communication with a new Grand Corn



44                 TO MR. CASS.
missioner clothed withthe indispensable full powers; they
have propounded their ultimata; and they give infinite
persuasion to these by the display of 2500 European
soldiers before 300,000,000 of Asiatics! Mr. Reed and
Count Putiatin follow the belligerent Admirals in a Russian vessel called the America, with their respective flags
flying, steadily prepared to join the triumph and partake
the gale! It is difficult, with our "western" habits of
thought, to realize this extraordinary invasion of the oldest and hugest existing empire on earth. And yet there
they certainly do go-winding their diminutive cavalcade
through river and canal towards the Imperial palace, with
that sort of audacious indifference to the Chinese that
Cortez exhibited to the Aztecs!
Parties here are at odds about the character which the
parliamentary and official measures of the ministry ought
to bear. Well! —as a stranger, a mere looker-on, I can
judge impartially. Lord Derby has shewn wisdom, tact, and
statesmanship, far beyond what was expected from him,
and the natural result is a corresponding triumph over
public opinion. The spirit of exterior conciliation is quite
distinct. He soothes and satisfies everywhere: France,
United States, Naples. At home, he has ceased to fight
with the age, concedes more liberally than he ever promised, accepts the Jews, abolishes property qualification,
contemplates manhood suffrage if not the ballot, gives a
government to India, and makes an acceptable budget!
Surely, there is nothing equivocal in these traits of a six
months policy:-shewn, too, in the midst of difficulties,
which might have provoked their angry relinquishment
without exciting surprise. I have no tendencies to what
is called Toryism (perhaps you know that without my telling it!) and I may rather fall short of than exaggerate the
merits of the Preniier and his colleagues. If-as some
anticipate, especially since that passage of the Queen's
speech read on prorogation, which refers to the exercise
of members' injfuence during the recess-a dissolution be
attempted in the spring, it would not surprise me to find
the new House of Commons more disposed than the
present one to sustain the existing government.
We are having hourly messages from the Niagara, but
none yet from the Office on shore.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                  45
No. 215.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 27, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Note, that Marshal Pelissier is about
marrying. At Cherbourg the predestined couple met for
the first time. " Mons. le Due," said the sovereign, Eugenie, "prenez la main de la Comtesse Panijga pour se souper;-eh! pourquoipaspour la vie?" and so, we shall have a
Duchess added to our corps in less than a fortnight. Malakoffis affectedly pitied as a victim though 62: his intended
being 30 and surpassingly lovely.
Count Persigny deems it necessary to spread more sail.
He would probably like to regain his diplomatic residence
in London. So he has made a long speech at the Council
General of the Loire, in which he reminds the world that
he was among the first to attach himself to the fortunes of
Louis Napoleon, and that the French and British alliance
is essential to the interests of both nations. Although he
used some very offensive words in addressing the Lord
Mayor after Orsini's attack in February last, yet, take him
for all in all, he is rather a favorite here.
Royalty has periodical fits of peripatetic restlessness.
Just now, the great thrones are vacated. France, Russia,
England, Prussia, Spain, Holland, have their monarchs
wandering. Queen Victoria returns from her trip to Potsdam during the next week, and will hold a Privy Council
at Osborne on the 2d September.
Lord Elgin has effected his objects: —opened China to
commerce and Christianity, got an indemnity of $6,000,000,
and made Pekin a residence for foreign diplomats and
consuls. Such at least is the credited news from St. Petersburg. It is understood that the quiet Putiatin has
dexterously managed to obtain great advantages for Russia.
France claims a large half of the "glory" of the enterprise.
The Conferences at Paris have closed. The details of
the arrangement respecting the Danubian Principalities
have not transpired. Generally it is said the Suzerainet6
of Turkey is maintained: Wallachia and Moldavia are
each to have a Hospodar elected for life and a separate
legislature: on what points a junction is effected, whether




46                  TO MR. CASS.
ecclesiastical, judicial, or electoral, don't appear yet. It
is strongly illustrative of the irresistible tendency of the
age that these consultative agents of despotic powers could
come to no result but one essentially republican.
Doubts are whispered as to the state of France.  The
steadily continuing transportations of squadrons of " suspects" to Cayenne, indicate a widespread discontent, and
must aggravate, not repress it. Your old assailant Lord
Brougham, in the course of a long call with which he
honored me, expressed serious anxiety as to what might
soon follow.  By-the-by, after all his termagant fury
against your defeat of the Quintuple Treaty, he has -come
round to your letter of the 10th April last, and says that
visit and search are the same, both against the law of nations, cannot be forced, but he hopes a succedaneum may
be devised by negotiation. A few firm phrases in the
President's message will place " The Police of the Seas"
beyond the reach of the hand of resurrection.
Lord Derby obtained the prompt consent of her Majesty
to the publication of the telegraphic messages between
herself and the President. They appeared in the Times and
other journals of the 23d instant. The contrast between
the manner in which the success of the cable has been
treated here and in the United States, is very marked and
strange. Except at the first surprise, and in the rise of
the company's stock, nothing symptomatic of enthusiasm
has broken out: not even a dinner! Some hyfalutin articles got into a paper or two: —obviously, however, more
inspired by pique against the glorification at Cherbourg,
than by joy over the wire. What is the cause of this dif
ference? Is it that your ecstacy arises from an instinctive
consciousness that the cable will be a medium for propagating quickly and directly your swelling thoughts?-of
indoctrinating this old continent with your principles and
aspirations? There is vastly more in it, rest assured, than
trade, and peace, and fraternity. If not, why is the lion
tame and tranquil, while the eagle is huzzaing in the
clouds?
I am meditating a short visit to Tunbridge WVells with
my family, to give opportunity for certain repairs and improvements in the house I occupy. If I do not write as
often as before, ascribe it to this and to the intolerable
dulness of everything in London.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                  47
No. 216,-TO MR, CASS.
LONDON, September 10, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-An annoying uncertainty lingers about
the Atlantic cable.  It has stopped speaking:- and
Whitehouse, the electrician who has heretofore taught it
speech, ascribes its present dumbness to some injury inflicted upon the small line of wire by the violence of the
sea off the Irish coast. He applied a remedy once, and
can, he thinks, apply another: —but, then, men of science
are akin to poets, the genus irritabile, and the cluster around
the telegraphic instruments have got squabbling. The
physician who cured the disease was dismissed as soon as
he succeeded:-but now comes a fresh attack, and he
won't stir unless soothed by ample reparation. If the
Professor be not promptly propitiated the mischief may
get beyond the power of repair:-and then, how idle the
conflagration of the City Hall!
The cable's rival, Cherbourg, the "standing menace,"
seems to have won the day. John Bull is still loquacious
about the.splendor of that spectacle, and harps, at political meetings and dinners, about its incidents and meaning. HIe comforts himself, under the warnings of Roebuck and Lindsay, by preaching faith in the alliance, by
mounting a few enormous cannon pointed in the direction of the French fortification, and by frequent iteration
of "forewarned, forearmed!"  But the old gentleman
cannot divest himself of uneasy feelings: and a stern determination is everywhere evinced that Parliament, at its
next session, must not lose anl hour in strengthening the
defences of the country. In connection with this, observe
that Paris is flooded with anti-Anglican pamphlets, fosteringand augmenting every sort of national prejudice:-and
remember that the completion of Cherbourg places a
weapon in the restless hands of the metropolitan blouses
which they will long to try. Should the army, to whom
Louis Napoleon has undoubtedly pointed the way to
England, become infected by the same popular yearning,
nothing is left for it but a trial, either with or without his
Imperial Majesty. You may have noticed that a wag,
during the magnificent pyrotechnics, construed the initials




48                 TO MR. CASS.
N. E. (Napoleon, Eugenie) and V. A. (Victoria, Albert)
as an implied compliment to the Czar on the NEVA. Who
knows?
The news from China is not yet definitive. No doubt,
however, is entertained that Lord Elgin has accomplished
all that mere treaties can secure. I have just received an
interesting letter from Mr. Reed, dated at Tien-Tsin on
the very day, the 18th June, on which he signed his own
treaty, which he describes as entirely satisfactory. I
should judge from what he says, that he and the British
Plenipotentiary have not harmonized. Some supercilious
flings have already appeared in the newspapers here,
against the American mode of getting honey without
working for it, which are perhaps distillations of diplomatic ill-humor.
Much noise is just now occasioned by a Protest or Remonstrance against the intolerance of Sweden for having
driven into exile some half dozen converts to the Roman
church. The paper, signed by the great body of ecclesiastical dignitaries, headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
was formally sent to Count Platen, the Swedish minister
at this Court: —and his reply to it is at once curious and
dignified: curious, as it explains the intolerance to be the
law, which the legislature will not, though pressed bythe
Sovereign and Court, change: and dignified, as his Excellency plainly intimates the impropriety of one country
meddling with the institutions of another.
Permit me to offer to yourself and your daughter my
sincere felicitations upon the event which I see announced
in the public papers.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 217.-TO MR. OASS8
LONDON, September 17, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-My despatch by this Bag will lead
you to speculate as to what may be the possible objects
of Lord M's. sudden eruption. It may go farther than
it has gone. Whether the deficiency of party capital
be felt and must be made up:-or whether it be conceived




TO MR. CASS.                  49
necessary to "tack ship aend about," on the visit question: or whether the everlasting dripping of fresh reclamations for "outrages" has wrought what the French term
"un acces defievre:" or whether the atmosphere of Potsdamn exerted an unwholesome influence: or whether, after
all (for Oxenstiern found the world very contemptible),
there be at bottom meaner promptings than these, —let
us leave the future to disclose. As for my own action,
it lies plainly before me, and I have to make it clear by
quietly repelling encroachment, preserving both temper
and dignity.
Mr. Riicker, the minister of the Hanse Towns, who, bythe-by, has greatly lifted his mission by marrying an exceedingly pretty and most fashionably toiletted wife, has
once more begged me to intrude the " Stade Dues" upon
your notice. Europe is not unwilling, on some topics, to
feel us on this side of the Atlantic. The House of Commons has had its committee, a copy of whose report I send
you. Is it worth our while to take, as respects our treaty
with Hanover, the course England is taking with hers?
One word in reply, to assuage the solicitude of the Hanseatic diplomat.
Russia has, with sly insinuating softness, nestled herself
at Villafianca with Sardinia. She has bought a steamnavigation depot on the shores of the central sea:-and
already England foresees naval rivalry and is, of course,
vehemently excited. Lord Derby will be interpellated to
explain how he happened to be thus outwitted. But the
step was, it is said, accompanied by political engagements
of much significance:-Russia promising to aid Piedmont
should she be assailed by Austria.
Another letter from Mr. Reed, dated at Tien-Tsin 1st
July last. The airs played off by the British Peer among
the effeminate Orientals are approvingly described in the
Times:-Mr. Reed speaks of them in a wholly different
strain.
The Cable don't speak:-the cause is yet undetected,
not "in nubibus" but "in profundis:" and the electricians
are at loggerheads. Everybody looks blank,'and croakers
are beginning their bull-frog songs with, "Well, you
know I always doubted!" The absolutely perfect isolation which it is necessary to secure for the wire through
the whole 2000 miles may remain for a short time: —but
VOL. ii.- 4




E50                  TO MR. CASS.
can it, in reason, be expected to last amid the lashings,
grindings, abrasions, and corrosions of our stormy sea?
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 218. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 23, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Nothing more from Lord M. after the
lapse of ten days: —so I suppose he may be considered as
persuaded that "IHer Majesty's Captains who visit suspected vessels" may sometimes be handled without kid
gloves, and yet no offence be justly taken.
Mr. Bradley, our consul at Ningpo, who accompanied
Mr. Reed up the Peiho, passed through London to Galway, bearing with him our Chinese Treaty. IIe must
reach you some days before this note. Lord Elgin is
much eulogized, no doubt deservedly, but he has obtained
nothing which does not enure to the equal advantage of
the United States, and there are stipulations in Mr. Reed's
treaty which they are here congratulating themselves will,
under the most favored clause, enure to the benefit of
England.
Lord Brougham  has made a most elaborate and unreadable speech on the occasion of inaugurating, the day
before yesterday, at G-rentham, a statue in bronze to New
ton. He exhibited his own familiarity with the highest
ranges of science:-but he does not appear to have, by
effective words and generalization, brought into any
stronger relief the creative genius of Sir Isaac. There
are some fames, such as Johnson considers Shakespeare's,
whose adamant nothing can strengthen or impair.
The Premier, apparently sacrificing his stud to his
studies, tried a sale by public outcry: —but his heart
caved in, and he fixed such enormous prices upon his
favorites-on one, Toxopholite, 15,000 dollars-that all
the really good nags are left upon his hands. He will be
obliged to retract his abjuration of the turf. Why, indeed,
should a man affect to be what he is not, even though he
be prime minister?
Every day gives rise to some new theory as to the cause




TO MR. CASS.                  51
of the Cable's failure. The last is the least hopeful:-it
is in the shape of a report firom an enquiring electrician,
appointed for the purpose by the Company. He seems
to think that an injury may have been inflicted when the
Agamemnon, overrunning her log, unconsciously quit the
submarine plateau of Maury:-or, as he intimates, the
excessive force with which the fluid was impelled at each
*extremity may have transcended the ability of the wire to
hold it, and so ignited the contiguous coating to a considerable length: —at any rate, he doubts whether the
fatal wound was given short of 300 miles from shore, and,
since it was given, whether it was by fire, or water,/or
rock, it may have spread its coils several hundreds of
miles. I hope you quite understand this, although it be
too erudite for me, partaking as it does of the wild invention and incomprehensibility of Southey's Curse of Kehama.  Vates ambo!.
You must not find fault with the subjects on which I
write. At this season, I grasp at whatever has any sort
of interest. The Atlantic Cable has, besides, risen to be
a great political institution, and its flaws have a tendency
to check international intercourse and universal civilization! Ask Mr. Cyrus Field if that be not so. The wits
of Paris, after long calling by the name of " canard" any
piece of false news, have now christened immortally, every
signal failure " a cable."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 219.-TO MR. CAS8
LONDON, September 28, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-I avail myself of the steamer "City of
Baltimore" in order to beg your attention for a moment
to the subject of the enclosed copy of a letter from solicitors long connected with this legation.
It is quite clear that a sharper has been for some time
at work defrauding many of our too credulous countrymen
by pretending to have discovered property in this country to which they are entitled: and inducing them to
transmit small sums of five or ten pounds to meet the fees




52                 TO MR. CASS.
and costs of preliminary enquiry.  The expediency of
a short and prompt notice is suggested: and I submit
whether something of the sort may not with propriety be
inserted in the Union and Intelligencer.
The dumbness of the Cable seems alike incurable and
inexplicable. Every day brings out a tedious rigmarole
of imaginary causes:-but as yet no positive action to fix
the distance or character of the mischief.
The Queen of Greece has resolved upon restoring the
Olympic Games: —not, Mr. Tricoupi tells me, on or near
Mount Olympus, nor exactly in their ancient simplicity:
— but on an estate left for the purpose by a private millionaire, near Athens, and much in the form of modern
industrial exhibition!
The very last on-dit about the Prussian crisis seems to be
that the Prince has become permanent Regent, the King
incurable. When h's Majesty dies, it is not improbable
that the Regent will abdicate and permit his son, who
married our Princess Royal the other day, to take the
crown.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 220.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 8, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The rumor of the day is that apology
and reparation are to be made for Captain Pullen's
bombardment of Jidda! How different this firom what
would have taken place had Lord Palmerston remained
in office may be seen from a characteristic anecdote which
I know to be true. His Ex-premiership recently met
Fuad Pacha, the Turkish plenipotentiary in Paris, who
complained to him bitterly of the cruelty of firing upon a
defenceless town, especially as the offence given was in
train of diplomatic enquiry and reparation. Very harsh
and very sad, was the reply: —but as the fanatic massacre
at the consulate was incontestable, had I been minister I
would have ordered the immediate destruction of the
town. This goes a little farther than the precedent set at
San Juan.




TO MR. CASS.                  53
Another long and able report from the electrician HIenley on the Atlantic Cable. He permits a scintilla of hope
to survive that, by the use of his instruments, the mischief
may be gradually remedied. He leans, however, to the
opinion that the fault was in the cable when laid, and that
it would have been discovered had a proper series of experiments been previously made. There are some subjects on which scientific men seem to delight in theorizing
fancifully: the two most attractive just now are the deepest
in earth and the loftiest in the heavens-the Cable and the
Comet. I am told that the Earl of C. has written a book
to prove that this latter beautiful visitor is on an errand
to execute the judgment of Daniel and destroy the world!
Implicit faith is due to the sacred prophets: —the difficulty lies in fallible constructions and calculations by imaginative laymen. However, nothing is too incredible
not to have some believers. Credo, quia impossibile.
Lord Derby, though physically excruciated by the gout,
continues politically in the groove of good luck. The public revenue has augmented beyond expectation. Some, to
be sure, predict a deficit of ~6,000,000 at the end of the
year:-but the most sagacious are unable to perceive
whence it can arise. The ministry are allowed six months
longer life by their sanguine opponents:-the lapse of that
period brings them to the second month of the parliamentary session, and what may then be the topics of
eventful discussion it is impossible to foresee. Reform
will not shake them.
Lord Canning has written a very able defence of his
policy against the attack made in Lord Ellenborough's
celebrated despatch, condemning his confiscating proclamation. His defence, to be sure, consists more. in averments of intention than in denying facts: arguing it to be
wise to declare the territorial forfeitures, but not to retain
them:-to restore or re-distribute them.
The Czar says he will visit Paris and London, if possible,
in the spring. He had better move slowly in the cause
of serf-emancipation, or his boyars will make the visit impossible. He has been, as it were, "stumping" his empire: and his published addresses are underlaid by an
apparent consciousness that the task which baffled his
father may endanger him.
Always faithfully yrs.




54                TO MR. MARKOE.
No. 221.-TO MR. MAR0KOE.
LONDON, October 8, 1858.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-YOU never write. The steamers
bring me nothing. I hope you are taking your fall trip,
for that will be your best apology by giving me the assurance that your health is invigorating.
I suppose an Ex-Premier may be likened to an " archangel ruined," and so, worthy even in his fall, of some
respect. Well!-the ladies, by a rapid interchange of
notes, so fixed it that we closed our vagabondish month
of September by a visit of five days to Broadlands, Lord
Palmerston's delightful residence in tIants.  What a
lovely region of country. That river Tesk! running at
the foot of the lawn, in all sorts of curves, limpid, crystalline, sparkling, murmuring, with the quick-eyed trout
stemming its current while seemingly motionless three
feet below the surface! The huge elms, with trunks thirty
feet in girth: the towering cypresses: the pinnacled cedars:
the aoe-worn oaks: the magnolia grandifloras with their
capacious (but not fragrant) white flowers: the glowing
beds of roses, geraniums, rhododendrons, heliotropes,
pinks, chrysanthemums-the sculptured vases, fountains,
cascades: the interminable park, clusters of trees, gravel
walks, and clouds of ever-cawing rooks: —and there, right
in front, high in the heavens, yet glittering in the rippling Tesk, shines the magnificently tail-bearing Comet!
Don't ask me about paintings and rare objects of vertu.
I am not now in their vein. Take them to be multitudinous and infinitely curious. I want to boast, that while
Morphy was challenging and beating all Europe at chess
in Paris, I was following his illustrious and patriotic example by conquering the conqueror of Derby at billiards,
and by outshooting him marvellously during a five hours'
tramp after partridges: —he in the finished jaunty costume
of a thoroughbred English sportsman, I under my heavy
beaver, in common frock coat, and light thin boots. Our
coveys were shy, and required more than usual activity of
pursuit, and it was glorious to see how this veteran managed to keep up his animation and brisk step to the very
last: dressing and coming to dinner too in an hour afterwards as if he had been upon a satin sofa all day.




TO MR. CASS.                   55
Don't abuse me for this harum-scarum style of epistle.
If I stopped long enough to arrange ideas and words, I
should be worse fagged than I was in shooting, and you
would lose this precious piece of fanfaronade by the flight
of my Bag.
Ever faithfully yrs.
No. 222. -TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 15, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Emperor and his resolute minister
Walewski shew no yielding on their device of black emigrants firom Africa to the West Indies. You have doubtless noticed the new case of the ship " Charles et Georges "
seized off Mozambique by the Portuguese, first for being
in prohibited waters, and second for carrying on the prohibited trade.  She was crammea1 with negroes, and
crowded with fetters: both of which "our great and good
ally " vindicates by the presence of a public "r Commissaire
de France" on board. Sent for condemnation to Lisbon,
two Imperial line-of-battle-ships have repaired thither,
anchored in the stream, and demand that either she shall
be forthwith surrendered, with indemnity, or that Louis
Napoleon's diplomatic representative shall repair to Paris.
Of course, poor Portugal will have to succumb, violate her
own laws, annul the judgments of her courts, and sacrifice
the vested rights of her subjects. There is a talk of saving
honor, etc., by a mediation. What will England say?
Vive la sainte alliance?-maugre the capture of a slave-ship
flagrante delicto.
His Prussian Majesty has finally withdrawn before a
Regent, and may be regarded as a "dissolving view."
Like several other supernumerary royalties, he ceases to
be talked of, and must soon either die or be forgotten.
The condlition of the Venezuelan controversy is just now
somewhat inaccessible. Lord MI. sticks tenaciously to his
" shooting box" in Scotland, and nobody in London cares
a pinch of snuff for all the parties concerned. Monagas
is reported to be in Paris. But your ex-minister, Eames,
must by this time have repaired to Washington and put




56                  TO MR. CASS.
you au fait. A loose rumor represents the difficulty as
settled by mutual concession.
The Duke and Duchess of Malakoff;  married two days
ago, ought to be in London this afternoon. Thus far the
Crimean conqueror has been a model of loyal acquiescence
to a command which secured for him a combination of
Venus and Juno. His predecessor, as I suspected in one
of my former letters to you, is longing to return to Albert
Gate: —and his pretty countess haunts, like a desponding
spirit, the courtly scenes of her past enjoyment.
The Association of Social Science, met and still sitting
at Liverpool, is really exhibiting great ability and vigor.
Still it is noticeable what an infinity of talent and trouble
they expend in proving positions long since accepted by
us as almost axiomatic truths.  Lords John Russell,
Brougham, and Shaftesbury are the leading figures.
Though no chance of acting efficiently for some time is
apparent, I hope our Coast Survey is on the alert to seize
the first opportunity offered by the Cable for fixing the
longitude by means of clocks at each end. Men of science
are referring to this here.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 223.-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 22, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —-The first duty and pleasure of the moment is to thank you for your private letter of the 4th
instant.
I wish I could answer your enquiry as to the personal
deportment of the explosive petard of the Foreign Office:
-but I cannot:-he has been shooting grouse or stalking
deer in Scotland, or perhaps, preparing like an irritated
lion for another spring, he coolly for the present lies low
and keeps dark. However, to speak seriously and sincerely, my impression is that his rage exhausted itself in
his note from Potsdam, that he has not a drop left with
which to treat my reply, and that we shall slowly (on my
part very slowly) resume our previous relation. You will
have seen that our diplomatic correspondence on other




TO MR. CASS.                  57
topics has not had the faintest smack of this particular
acid.
Will you have the Bahamas? They are not as attractive
as Cuba, and scarcely comparable to the bay of Samana:but they lie in the great thoroughfare of our Gulf; and
might yield a cluster of harbors for coaling or against
storms. What will you bid for them? The "Baron E.
Graves van der Smissen," a highly intelligent Dutchman
of about 33, claims them or rather their sovereignty as
vested in himself and co-heirs under an express grant of
Charles I. The Baron is a grandson of Admiral Graves,
whom I knew here in 1814, who had been naturalized in
the United States and married there. The Baron can and
will deploy a perfect title: —he has undertaken to put it
on paper, to exhibit copies of deeds, and to set forth the
chain of proofs. His price is reasonable.  Will you
offer?
I send you the copy of a letter addressed to me by a
surgeon of the 2d West India Regiment. HIe thinks himrself entitled to a share of the $3000 appropriated in June
last to make suitable acknowledgments to the Jamaica
authorities for the relief extended to the sick officers and
crew of the Susquehanna. Not, as it would seem, that he
actually partook in the kind offices rendered, but that he
was on board of the vessel which carried the sufferers to
New York, might have succored their bodies had his aid
been invoked, and no doubt soothed their minds by the
consciousness that he was at hand. The surgeon might
quote precedents of high authority.
The Chinese Treaties are still favorite topics.  Of
course, John Bull claims all the merit. Even Baron Gros
was on the point of yielding to the views of forbearance
and national courtesy inculcated by Mr. Reed:-but Lord
Elgin held on his course sternly.
The Queen returned from Edinburgh to Windsor Castle
on Wednesday last: —of course with her usual "entourage."  All the peripatetic royalties have gone back to
their homes.
I am strongly inclined to convey to you my speculations on the drift of political affairs just now, this side of
the Atlantic: —but this letter is already too long, and you
are too busy for generalities. To me, let me say briefly,
the indications of approaching change, convulsion, and




58                 TO MR. CASS.
war, are marked and multitudinous.  "Watchman, what
of the night?" Shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon
it. Keep our western star steadily shining, that the world
may see it above the storm.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 224.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, October 26, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-What of Lord M.?-you will ask.
Well! these collateral entanglements about words are by
no means the easiest to unravel: and they who rush impetuously into them must sometimes be fain to creep backwards out as they may. His lordship would appear unable or unwilling to put in a replication to my answer,
and so resolved, after six weeks' meditation and a visit to
the Premier at Knowsley, to bury the hatchet with short
blessing, and with as much grace as his nature would
allow. He invited me to the F. O. and I went yesterday
at 4 P.M. I entertain a high and sincere respect for the
Earl:-none the less because as a British statesman he
has done the United States justice on a point of momentous
concern long in angry controversy. Let me then restrict
myself to saying that after I had tranquilly looked at him
for one or two minutes, waiting the communication he
had invited me to receive, he went on to talk, discursively
and incongruously upon all sorts of topics, without for
one instant adverting to the one uppermost in my thoughts,
and the one which it was impossible not to perceive was
the bee in his own bonnet. A pointless and profitless
course of commonplace was selected as the harmless
means of bridging over the fissure in our relations. He
began by awkwardly saying that though he had requested
to see me, he really had nothing to communicate; and he
proved his words by much talk on ordinary topics which
he forbore to illuminate by the least novelty of idea. I
saw very soon that the controlling sentiment was "the
least said soonest mended;" and I abstained, during the
fifteen minutes' visit, from interfering in the slightest degree with what was no doubt prescribed as the course




TO MR. CASS.                  59
fittest and fairest for all concerned. There then is an end
of that tantamarara: redeunt saturnia regna:-and you may
rest assured that your minister is henceforward safe from
such storms.
Lord Malmesbury's department would seem to me to
give him something better to attend to than deer-stalking.
This abandonment of Portugal to the swoop of the Imperial eagle, on a point too of so much professed tenderness,
puts a sharp arrow into the quiver, as well as a broad grin
on the face, of the Palmnerstonian opposition. One of two
things: —either the govern ment of Lord Derby did, or did
not, intervene to shield at least the honor of their feeble
friend:-if they did, why was their intervention repelled
by their dear ally?-if they did not, why thus palpably
sink from the position of a first rate power? The question grates closely on the very spirit which, suddenly
evoked by Milner Gibson, deposed Lord Palmerston.
The French editors, too, are taking now pretty much the
contemptuous and defiant attitude taken by the French
colonels then. Popular feeling is rousing: and by the
time Parliament meets, it may become a small hurricane
like that of February last, only taking the opposite direction.
Flags, as well as feathers, shew how the wind blows.
On the very day that Portugal surrendered the " Charles
et Georges" at the summons of Louis Napoleon, Marshal
Pelissier, for the first time, hoisted over his embassy at
Albert Gate, the tricolor, and there it has continued,
flouting the air, and exciting curious enquiries as to its
import. Just at the same time, as if to console by blandishment, the excellent Count and Countess Lavradio are
commanded to Windsor Castle. Of course, the despatch
of the Count soothed the Court of Lisbon with the idea
that his flattering reception at such a juncture was an
ample equivalent for the loss of the slaver.
The controversy about the Jewish boy, who was baptized into Christianity by a sort of nurse, then taken in
charge by the Roman priests as a brand plucked and to
be saved from the burning, and as to whose restoration to
his parents the Pope says "non possumus," is in full blast
all over Europe. It is egging on Louis Napoleon to a
quarrel with the Holy Father; some say, nothing loth to
find pleas for re-enacting his uncle's coronation courtship




60                TO MR. GILPIN.
of Pius VII. If the case of this child, Mortara, were for
judgment before King Solomon, he would be puzzled, as
he was once before:- and I think that I perceive that his
reference to the headsman is a hint for the disposition of
such knotty points not altogether forgotten, though perhaps perverted. The lad, at a college of catechumens,
is reported very, very ill.
Much power of oratory expended on her Majesty's subjects of late! as a general current, not unlike the dull,
turbid, and repulsive Thames of the last summer solstice.
Mr. John Bright, M. P. for Birmingham, has, however, in
addressing his constituents the day before yesterday, made
a stirring speech on Reform, almost sufficiently democratic
for a 4th of July at Tammany Hall. This rich cream is
more to one's taste than the bonny-clabber of the Liverpool meeting of the Social Science Association. One result of these agitations is striking, and is apparent more
to veterans than to novices like nlyself:-they are said to
foreshadow the early downfall of the present ministry. In
his brief compliment to Lord John Russell, Mr. Bright is
thought to have indicated the only Premier the Manchester party will accept as successor to Derby.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 225.-TO MR. GILPIN.
LONDON, October 31, 1858.
MY DEAR GILPIN, —Mr. Bright's picture of England's
domestic politics must have its "pendant" on foreign
policy: —so here it is, and perhaps you will say the better
of the two.
I forget whether even a scrap of the eloquence of either
of the Gracchi has come down to us: (how is that?) they
were always favorites of mine:-now take the two speeches
of Mr. Bright together, and do they not give him a claim
to rank with these jewels of Cornelia, and as a diamond
of the first water?
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                  61
No. 226.-TO MR. CASS.
LOnDON, November 5, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —One can't help being struck by the
singular sensitiveness which seems to prevail here about
a French invasion. All the stump speakers, all the daily
papers, all the ponderous periodicals, do their best to argue
it down, or laugh it off. This very effort keeps it on the
qui vive. Two days ago, at Queenstown, in Ireland, a
junior lieutenant, left by superiors in command of a war
steamer, took it into his head, after a late dinner given to
some shore companions, to signalize the occasion by a succession of salutes. He fired away, larboard and starboard,
for some twenty minutes, and this far in the night. Conticuere omnes, intentique:- "the French are come!" the
whole town shook with panic. Officers convened, movements were concerted, deputations arranged, and imaginative ladies fainted.  Returning silence set guessing at
work; and when day came it was soon ascertained that
the eccentric and insubordinate son of a gallant old Admiral had kicked up all that there was of a "French invasion." In revenge for the terror he had inspired, he
was arrested; and I suspect he will have a hard time of
it for causing the universal apprehension to betray itself.
All this is natural when you consider the peculiar locality, press, principles, pretensions, and antecedents of England. As her hand is ready against every other nation,
she instinctively feels that the hand of any one sufficiently
powerful must be against her.
The Times of this morning contains a merciless column
against the present ambassador of France. It rakes up
the savage exploit of burning 500 Arabs in their rocky
den, and quotes the strong denunciations pronounced at
the time in Paris against so barbarous an act. What is
meant hereby? To make London, like the refuge of his
victims, too hot to hold Pelissier? To prepare the reinstatement of Persigny?  Or is it a mere catering to the
existing and swelling discontent with the Imperial ally?
Most likely, the last: —for the Times has gone far and deep
in multiplying attacks on Louis Napoleon, especially since
his treatment of the Portuguese for intermeddling with
the black emigration scheme.




62                 TO MR. CASS.
London is reviving.  The members of the cabinet
have returned to their official residences. The Queen has
held a Privy Council at Windsor. Courts of Justice have
begun business. Galleries of Art are opening. Science
is marshalling her lectures. Soirees, theatres, and equipages are agog. " The noise of battle hurtles in the air."
Be patient a little while, and I shall have more dainty
food to dish up in these "notce variorum."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 227.-TO MR. CASS.
LoNDoN, November 12, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —Mr. Pickens has sent me by a private
messenger such loads of despatches from St. Petersburg,
which he describes to me in a note as specially confidential, that I shrink from putting anything in the Bag which
can distract your attention, especially at the season when
the Message is on the anvil.
Count Montalembert would seem to have a peculiar
relish for martyrdom. His pamphlet of panegyric upon
England in derogation of France introduces him to a
criminal court in the manner most acceptable to the Emperor, for it brings the national feeling to co-operate with
the Crown in its policy of silencing the Press. The
gauntlet thus indiscreetly thrown is instantly picked up
by one who, in so doing, loses the character of oppressor
and becomes, as against a hated rival, the champion of
his country. This result is being aided by the Times,
which devotes countless columns of exultation to the republication of the essay. The Count's purpose was doubtless a generous and brave one:-but like many an imprudent advocate, he has, in his anglomaniac zeal, given to
his cause the very worst stab it has yet received.
In general opinion here, the Morning Herald is the
government paper. It has latterly sought to be interesting by commenting upon our uncontrollable tendency to
expand and annex. The Monroe doctrine is stigmatized
as a "sop addressed to American vanity:" and it is insisted
that on the other, as on this side of the Atlantic, a




TO MR. FAIR.                   63
"balance of power must be upheld."  Yesterday the Central
American States were the pivot on which these remarks
revolved; to-day it is Mexico, and the necessity of European intervention to preserve her demoralized weakness
from sinking into our athletic embrace is distinctly stated.
Now, this is all fanfaronade if it be not ministerial:- but
if the latter, it mounts into importance, is inconsistent
with protestations to which I have heretofore listened at
the Foreign Office and have formally reported to you, and
is entitled to grave attention. Spain may yet under the
auspices of England be tempted to make a spasmodic
effort for the restoration of her Mexican dominion. A
word, a single word, importing American unanimity and
iniflexibilitv on the topic, would crush the egg-shell project forever.
You have doubtless observed the French Emperor's retreat from his free emigration scheme as to the negroes;
his letter to Prince Jerome directing a thorough investigation, and hinting that white slavery is perhaps as good
as black, and that Coolies may be made to work as well
as Africans. Some persons are ill-natured enough to regard this as a mere ironical feint on the part of his Majesty. I do not. He is a sincere politic penitent. "Les
Amis des Noirs" are at once numerous and fashionable in
Paris: —while pig-tailed and scalp-tufted Chinese are rare
and no go.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 228 —TO MR. FAIR.
LONDON, November 16, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —Your letter of the 13th instant is just
received.
The positive provision of the act of 1856, that " no attachd shall be allowed in any case," has, I presume, been
conformed to by our foreign legations since it became
known. I am aware of but a single instance of what bore
the appearance of its evasion:-that of a young gentleman whose card, brought in to me about a year ago,
described him as "secretaire in time de S. -E. le Ministre des




64                 TO MR. CASS.
Etats- Uniis." Perhaps as personal or private secretary he
obtained all the circulation he desired.
The mischief against which the law is aimed had long
been noticed at the department of State, and was often erni
barrassing to our diplomatic representatives. Under the
old usage, unpaid attaches might be created without stint
as to number: and a train so composed was thought, and
justly thought, to give eclat to a mission.  Now it frequently happened that the minister, always conscious of
the invidious nature of selecting from his young countrymen, preferred giving his appointments without discrimination and to every one who asked. American attach&s
became as plentiful as blackberries, and sometimes deranged by their intermeddling the business of, or by their
deportment, threw discredit upon, the legation. Congress, moved no doubt by the Secretary of State, Gov.
Marcy, who was pitiless against showy pretension, struck
at the root of the evil by an express prohibition. I have
occasionally wished to possess the discretion:-but on the
whole perceive many inconveniences in which I should be
involved by it, and have therefore no reluctance in strictly
complying with the law.
Do me the favor to believe that it will always give me
pleasure to be allowed to interchange with you views on
public topics.
Faithfully and respectfully yrs.
No. 229.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, November 19, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-You will find in the Bag of to-day a
despatch addressed to Mr. Toucey which conveys an interesting document respecting the pay and allowances
of British naval officers, and will enable him satisfactorily,
as far as this country is concerned, to answer a resolution
of the House of last session. Pray expedite his reception
of it.
You will have noticed that England has rather tired
of the Protectorate assigned to her over the Ionian
Islands, and is planning to pick the plum out of the pud



TO JiR. CASS.                 65
ding, that is, to retain Corflu, as a military post, and let
the rest go to Greece, or elsewhere. This course, hardly
reconcilable with her public obligations, must be made
at least plausibly proper:-and so Lord Derby has lately
sent Mr. Gladstone to visit these Homeric regions and to
report what is best to be done, not doubting that he will
reach the coinclusion already attained bythe cabinet. The
member for the Oxford University, the finished scholar
and too musical rhetorician-the Preston, as I might describe him, of the Ihouse of Commons - scarcely crossed
the Channel, in his progress up the Mediterranean, before
out came a series of official documents in the newspapers
shewing that the alleged enquiry for which he was appointed had been fully, effectually, and satisfactorily made
by the British representative actually there. All the opposition at once open cry. It is termed a shabby and
treacherous treatment of an eminent statesman, who committed himself by accepting office under this ministry
merely because he wished to render a patriotic service.
Mr. Gladstone is depicted as placed in a most awkward
and ludicrous predicament:-to get out of which it is predicted that he will at once throw up his commission in
disgust. What follows on the heel of this seemingly wellfounded explosion? Why, another complication. The
-Colonial Department, under the signature of Sir Edw'd
Bulwer Lytton's private secretary, alleges that the official
documents have been surreptitiously taken from the files
and published, without the assent or knowledge of her
Majesty's government! This is the present almost absorbing topic. No doubt the desire is great to "fan the
embers" of a quarrel which may induce the Peelites to
merge into the ranks of opposition.
The appointment by Prince Jerome of Count Persigny,
whose anglomania is even greater than that of Montalembert, to be president of the committee to examine and
report upon the nature of the Black Emigrant scheme, removes all doubt, and is thought to denote a foregone conclusion in the Imperial mind to give it up.
Lords Palmerston and Clarendon have gone to Compibgne, and the political reunion, or rather the r4union of
politicians at that place, is regarded as something significant. Of one thing its significance is strong, to wit, that
her Majesty's late Premier and principal Secretary for
VOL. II.-5




66               TO -MR. TO UCEY.
Foreign Affairs are being very careless of their popularity
at home. This visit of theirs gives countenance to the
subservient predilection of which they have been accused,
and the belief in which produced their fall on the 19th of
February last. Ordinary minds draw ordinary conclusions, and this sort of intimacy, wholly uncalled for in the
existing state of feeling among the masses of both coun-'tries, gives rise to the most prejudicial inferences.
Parliament has undergone a second prorogation, to the
2d of January, when a similar formality will be enacted
for the first week in February and-for the despatch. of
business.
Lord Elgin's two brothers, Bruces, mount the back of
his Chinese Treaty, one as Ambassador to Pekin, the
other as Governor to the Prince of Wales.
Since my last week's note, I observed in a newspaper's
correspondent at Madrid that, after a long interview held
with the Foreign Secretary by the English and French
ministers, a squadron had been ordered to Vera Cruz.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 230.-TO MR. TOUCEY.
LONDON, November 29, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-After my letter to you, returning the
credit on the Barings for $500, Colonel Guernsey obtained
the written consent of the Queen to his engaging in our
service, and shewed me a note from Mr. Hamnmond saying that the document was at the Foreign Office, to be
had on the payment of about fifty dollars office fees. He
exhibited also strong testimonials from the Duke of Cambridge, General Burgoyne, General Evans, General Hill,
etc. etc., as to his military qualifications: and he impressed
me with a conviction that his familiarity with the topographical features and garrison equipments of Paraguay,
would make his presence oil board our squadron quite
useful. Military operations, dependent upon the depth of
water in the river, could not begin before February:-so
that there was ample time for him to reach Buenos Ayres.
I determined to send him: and arranged with Messrs.




TO MR. SPEAKER DENNISON.               67
Baring Brothers & Co., for an advance of $500 to pay his
expenses out. During the whole of last week, I expected
him  daily at the legation to complete the transaction,
bring me her Majesty's leave, take his money, letters and
final instructions, and speed to the rendezvous. I agreed
that his compensation should be at the rate of pay allowed
in our army to a Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers. He
came not: and my two successive notes to you of the 23d
and 26th instant were written in impatient expectation of
his coming.
The mystery of his dilatory action has been suddenly
solved. The evening newspaper of last Saturday, the
Globe, contained a detailed examination at the Bow Street
Police Court on that morning, shewing his arrest and
commitment upon the criminal charge of having stolen
the much-talked-of Ionian despatches from the Colonial
Office! So, there is an end to this Free Knight:-he
won't destroy Lopez; he won't disgrace the American
service, and he won't pocket our cash!  I send you a
printed narrative.
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 231.-TO MR. SPEAKER DENNISON,
LONDON, December 4, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-I beg you to excuse my apparent remissness in not before answering your note of the 22d
ultimo:-attributable to a short absence from town and a
press of official engagements.
The spirit of party, in America as in all free countries,
is prone to goad in moments of excitement to acts of injustice. Majorities, each in turn, may abuse power by
dealing with the minority impatiently and illiberally.
But what has long stood its ground as a rule of legislative
action, surviving changes in party ascendency and the
criticism of tranquil times, must be presumed to possess
substantive and independent merit. Such I regard to be
the case with our Congressional "Previous Question."
It is not practised in the Senate, whose numbers are
comparatively few and graver in age. But in the House




68         TO MR. SPEAKER DENNISON.
of Representatives it is resorted to, with a view to expedite measures known to be exigent, and to break through
the entangling meshes of amendments, or to close a wornout debate. The Rules of the House, carefully matured
in advance, prescribe its modes of use and its effects. It
has disadvantages no doubt: —but its conceded beneficial
working on the whole has preserved it through shifting
currents of political stornis. Public opinion, which soon
becomes.all-powerful with us, has never yet condemned
the "Previous Question" as exercised in the House. On
the contrary, it has been generally esteemed, as well by
the enlightened as the popular mind, a check upon factious dissipation of time and money, and a wholesome
corrective to profuse or " bunkum" speaking.
Your "distinguished American who was in London
last year" had perhaps personally suffered under the rule,
and owed it a grudge. If he mentioned the instances of
the Annexation of' Texas and the Fugitive Slave Law as
unaccompanied by discussion, he was sadly in error. Pardon a few particulars to shew this.
The former question not only occupied the whole country during the Presidential canvass of 1844, in which one
party made it the principal and victorious issue, for the
popular verdict, but, after being recommended to Congress by President Tyler in his Message on the 3d of December of that year, it was on the 19th, in the form of a
Joint Resolution, referred to the " Committee of the whole
House on the State of the Union;" and thenceforward, at
fifteen full meetings of the House in Committee, during
nearly half the session, it was debated with great ability
(but " usque ad nauseam"), and it was only (a directory order for closing the discussion having passed the House onil
the 21st of January,'45, by 102 to 54), finally decided
under the "Previous Question" on the 25th of January,'45, 120 to 98.
Being now transferred to the Senate, it underwent farther and more elaborate consideration. The same question had engaged that body upon movements of its own
members.  One Senator, McDuffie, had introduced a
joint resolution for the annexation of Texas, on the
10th December,'44: another, Niles, on 7th January,'45: and a third, Foster, on the 13th January: —but
the great debate, or pitched battle, was reserved for the




TO MR. SPEAKER DENNISON.              69
coming House measure. That measure came in on the
28th January,'45, was sent to a committee, was reported upon adversely on the 4th of February, but was
taken up in its order on the 13th February: and thenceforward, at every daily meeting of the Senate, and sometimes twice a day, it was the standin go order and exclusive
topic, until the 27th of February (within four days of the
close of the session of Congress), when, debate being
drained to the lees, no one capable or willing to add
another word, it passed by a majority of two votes only.
I very much doubt whether any act of legislation has
undergone a more thorough, full, fair, and satisflactory
discussion than did the annexation ofTexas by Congress.
As to the Fugitive Slave Law, the sphere of its discussion was, owing to exceedingly special circumstances,
almost exclusively the Senate. It was introduced there
by the Committee on the Judiciary, on the 16th of' January, 1850, and was soon after made by Mr. Clay otne of
a set or cluster of measures which constituted hlis celebrated Compromise of that year. As a feature in his comprehensive plan, it underwent debate, as unrestricted as
able, for thirty-three days. So much time, indeed, was
taken up by these discussions, that the bill did not reach
the House of Representatives until the 26th of August,
nine months from the opening of the session. As a component and indispensable part of the adjusted compromise,
its prompt adoption, in the approved shape, was required
by the state and voice of the country. It passed upon a
demand for the "Previous Question," on the 12th of September, 109 to 76-:-and Congress closed one of its longest
and most agitated sessions in about two weeks afterwards.
I have gone into these two cited instances of what is
thought an abuse of the "Previous Question" by the
House of Representatives, as pieces of legislative history
which you will perhaps think interesting, and principally
to shew you how little they justify the grumblers against
its exercise.
I have said, it has not found its way into the Senate.
But there is another expedient there for maintaining, on
emergencies, the rightful power of the majority to control
the business of the Body:-that is, a motion to lay whatever is under discussion upon the table: whence, indeed, it




70                  TO MR. CASS.
may be subsequently taken, but not without a successful
motion to that effect.
Always very faithfully yrs.
No. 232.-TO MR. OASS.
LONDON, December 10, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-The young roues of London, on crossing the Atlantic, would naturally be curious to see the
wild life of the Western savages. No one, therefore,
doubted the rumor, published two days ago, that the three
English noblemen who have been travelling in the States,
had penetrated far into the northwest of Canada, had had a
fight with a tribe of natives, and were all murdered. The
sensation produced was after their own hearts. Fortunately, Lord Shaftesbury, one of the fathers, had received
an explanation of the story and was able yesterday, as he
says "providentially" (for his lordship is of the class particularly pious) to contradict "the massacre " taken from
"American journals" whose origin is only "the murder
of two traders" by Indians last August. Poor traders!still, we are all pleased to hear that the nobles are safe.
Louis Napoleon and Montalembert are still at their
game of chess. It is the Emperor's move. The epigrammatic pardon (whose sting lay in reminding the Count
that he was among the faithful actors of the 2d of December) is spurned, and the appeal perfected. Can his Majesty pardon what Mr. Berryer reasons and the court may
adjudge to be no offence?  Various are the opinions on
this subtle point. The Count is pushing boldly before
the Judges to checkmate his adversary:-let him  take
heed, lest by the sudden refusal of the Procureur Imperiail
to make another move, the game takes the unsatisfactory
turn of a " stale."  That would subject him to the " loi des
suspects?" of last February for the rest of his life, or rather
for the rest of the Emperor's reign, which promises to be
the shorter of the two. Professors Morphy and Stanton,
hide your diminished heads!
A bitter hatred to each other is vented daily by the
masses on the two sides of the Channel. It is getting be



TO MR. CASS.                   71
yond the power of repression by the respective governments. As I ventured to foresee would be the case, the
visit of Lords Palmerston and Clarendon to Compiegne
has brought a cataract of reproaches upon their heads.
Count Montalembert is prosecuted without a single popular murmur, because he praises England. Where is the
wisdom that can tell which of these two nations is right in
her hostility? Or are both wrong? One thing is clear to
the rest of the world, to wit, that it is easier to like a volatile
Frenchman than a bullying Briton. Here is a mangy
M. P.-one Henry Drummond-an F. R. S. (which may
sometimes mean a Fellow Rather Savage), who, because he
chooses to pick a controversy with Mr. Bright, snarls at the
whole world, and especially snaps at the United States in
the following precious sentences:-" Their pretended love
of freedom is the most barefaced falsehood that ever existed.
They are utterly without private or public honor, and the only
people on'earth who ever avowed that gain was their sole object
in every relationship of life."  That from an F. R. S. of 72!
Out upon such fellowship. If English philosophy deal in
calumny, in what may not English anger and arrogance
deal?  We can't honestly say "ab uno disce omnes:"-but,
in reference to national attributes, it is impossible not
to acquiesce in the "expede Herculem."  Drummond, it
may be feared, is a specimen brick.
A careless phrase or two, let drop at a review by the
King of Sardinia, combined with a general restlessness
and discontent in the north of Italy, fanned by the antiAustrian feeling in France, gives promise of an outbreak
in the spring. Let it come. For really Europe, under
the auspices of a Bonaparte too, is retrograding so fast
into mediseval wretchedness, that nothing can save it but
a grand smash. This is not mine, but the sentiment of
the day. At present, Victor Emmanuel is busy in riveting
the affections of Russia, conceding Villafranca, and entertaining most cordially H. I. H. the Grand Duke Constantine and his household.
I ought to hurry in retracting some of the conclusions
expressed in my last, drawn from the premature publicity
given to the despatches of the High Commissioner of the
Ionian Islands. It now appears that these documents
were purloined by a military engineer (upon whom, bythe-by, Mr. Toucey and I were very near conferring the




72                  TO MR. CASS.
immortality of sharing in our Paraguay demonstration)
from the Colonial Office; that their contents never had
received the approval of government: and that the duty
of adhering to provisions of the Treaty of 1815 establishing the Protectorate is recognized and avowed. To
be sure, this would seem  to reduce the extraordinary
and vaunted mission of. Mr. Gladstone to a mere act of
patronage.
Lord Derby steers more skilfully than was anticipated.
A few things have recently deepened the groove in which
he moves. The proclamation of the Queen on assuming
the sovereignty of her 200,000,000 of Indian subjects, obtains unanimous praise. It is ascribed to Lord Stanley.
So, the discountenance given to the efforts of ship owners
to unsettle free-trade by insisting upon sharing in our
coast trade as a right of reciprocity, is commended by the
opposition. Then again the decided aversion to filibustering, manifested in the repulse of Rajah Brooke of Sarawak, is favorably contrasted with the foreign policy of
Lord Palmerston, and what perhaps just now tells powerfully on popular sentiment is the cooler distance taken
towards French rulers and men, set in contrast with the
course of their rivals both before and since downfall. It
is said that Lord Palmerston frankly declares that a change
would not at present be an improvement. Mr. Lowe,
whonm you had in Washington two years ago, a man of
great political acuteness, told a large dinner party of his
constituents two days ago, that he was unflinchingly devoted to the late Premier, but that his restoration could
not be thought of for a year or two to come. All things
are uncertain:-but I am inclined to think that, sportsman as he is, more of the stable will be found in Lord
Derby than in most prime ministers.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 233.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 17, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Mr. Toucey, like all the London public,
will be surprised to hear thAt my quondam recruit for Para



TO MR. CASS.                  73
guay, Colonel William Guernsey, has been tried for larceny of the Ionian despatches and-acquitted! His dexterous counsel triumphed over the Attorney-General and
the court; —making the jury believe that to purloin in
order to publish an official paper, not to appropriate it to
his own profit, was an offence which lacked the essential
quality of a felony. Government prosecutions thrive only
in France: —here, as with us, juries like to rescue hapless
sufferers from the grasp of authority.
You will have noticed that while the Emperor's commissioners are actively engaged in ascertaining for him
the real character of free emigration from Africa, and just
at the moment when they are supposed to be ready to report in its favor, a case like that of-the " Charles et.Georges"
occurs on the western coast of Africa. The zealous commander of HI. M. S. "Alecto" (you remember that name,
don't you, in connection with Cobb & Ellis's " Caroline"?),
egged on by the President of Liberia, captured the French
vessel " Phoenix," with an Imperial representative on board
and negroes stowed in the hold. The culpable craft was
taken to Monrovia. As this government lost, in the estimation of Europe, much of its dignity by failing to shield
Portugal from the peremptory resentment of Louis Napoleon, it may be willing to lose a little more by disavowing
Captain Hunt's act, and pointing to President Benson as
the scape-goat.
The Reform leader, Mr. Bright, is steadily making headway. He successfully, if not victoriously, withstands the
combined contumely of the Times, the Morning Herald, and
Punch. His speeches are read by everybody: his photographs hang in all public nooks and corners: his audiences
are multitudinous and enthusiastic. If he maintain his
attitude in the House of Commons, and once enforce a
principle by carrying a measure, it will be difficult to
assign a limit to his progress.
All the world are on tiptoe for the Message. It cannot
reach us until two days after this letter shall have left
Liverpool. These democratic state papers have now for
more than half a century been giving annually their ponderous blows upon the intelligence and integrity of Europe, until they seem to be accepted as the periodical
strokes of some great spiritual bell marking the advances
of humanity.




74                 TO MR. CASS.
I am disposed to think, notwithstanding some equivocal indications, that you will not be harassed with fresh
complications in Central America, arising out of the landing of troops. Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald, of the Foreign
Office, has just proclaimed with emphasis that non-intervention is Lord Derby's cardinal principle:-and, to say
the truth, I have more confidence in Mr. Fitzgerald than
in the Earl of Malmesbury.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 234.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 24, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR, —During the last day or two a protracted
spell of some six or eight weeks of wretchedly dark and
damp weather has been broken in upon by glimpses of
sunshine. Let us postpone the project of suicide, at least
during the festivities of Christmas. So, many compliments of the season to you!
General Pierce is tracing the vestiges of his executive
predecessor Tiberius at the delicious little island of Capri
in the mouth of the Bay of Naples. I heard from him
yesterday. The cold at Florence was disagreeable and
unkind to Mrs P., who, though improved by travelling, is
still exceedingly delicate. The picturesque islet promises
much better, and will be adhered to until the close of next
month. Thence, to Rome.
It is difficult to say whether the game of chess played by
Napoleon and Montalembert has dwindled to a drawn one,
or which of the champions comes off the better  The
Count exults in having by his appeal proved the absurdity
of his pardon; in reversing that portion of his sentence
which subjected him to the arbitrary provisions of the
February law of "suspects;" and in reducing by one half
the term of his imprisonment. The Emperor, on his part,
makes a merit of mercy, fastens upon his victim the discredit of petty police offences, has him roundly lashed for
anglomania by the eloquence of the Procureur-General,
Destange, and either puts him in jail for three months or
forces him to swallow the pill of a pardon. No political




TO MR. CASS.                  75
result can follow: because there is nothing excessive in
the penalties, and praise of England is treason to France,
in the sense of the Blouses.
You must not be too credulous of the Earl of Eglintoun's Proclamation. There may be secret societies in
Ireland as elsewhere: apprentices, clerks, and counterboys
achieve importance and notoriety by mysterious affiliation:-hut there are no revolutionists, and no filibusters.
The arrests thus far have pompously secured some twenty
lads of 14 or 15 years of age, accused of drilling at night
in the open fields, and one girl charged with writing sedition! And these are the heroes said to be awaiting the
arrival of Generals Walker and Henningsen! It is hard
to discover a decent apology for all the police pother of
the Viceregal government.
The signal failure of General Prim  in the Spanish
legislature to have a war with Mexico discountenanced,
would seem enough to put you all upon your guard. The
only question is whether the invasion.which it means is
to be a joint one by France, England, and Spain, or a
separate one by Spain only.
No doubt your news from China is later than mine.
But it may not be amiss to say that my last letter fiom
Mr. Reed is dated Shanghai, 20th October. He had returned from Japan, and was engaged with a new tariff.
lie quits for home about the present time, and contemplated reaching London, via Bobay, Ecrgypt, Malta, and
Italy, in March next.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 235.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 31, 1858.
MY DEAR SIR,-Mr. H. F. Polydore, a much-respected
English solicitor, desires to express his thanks all round,
for the rescue of his young daughter from the sink of
Mormonism. I ellclose you a copy of his exceedingly
well-worded letter to me. The facts are doubtless fresh
in your remembrance. As the incidents which preceded
the child's abduction, and captivity in Utah, have been




76                  TO MR. CASS.
extensively published, and as her restoration to her father
is a pleasing episode of warlike operations, I suggest the
propriety of letting Mr. Polydore's gratitude find vent
through the Intelligencer and Union.
You are tired hearing of Montalembert, are you not?
Well, this is "positively for the last time."  He is pardoned again, nett and comprehensively, without a witticism, and even his companion in offence, the straw publisher of the Correspondant shares the Imperial quotation
of Uncle Toby's address to the fly —"there, go: room
enough in the world for both of us!"
As the result of the bold speeches made by Dufaure and
Berryer on this trial, I think the press in Paris appears
disposed to resume a little more liberty. It is plausibly
argued that the prevailing silence fosters secret disaffection, and that the dynasty founded on universal suffrage
and aiming at universal good, must be invigorated by a
certain legally limited freedom of discussion. Fortunately
for the world, despotism cannot be rational.
I suppose you have noticed the admirable example set
by the Servians, how to effect a revolution promptly,
quietly, and without shedding a drop of blood. Almost
as smooth a process as our State-constitution-making.
The people of Servia discovered their Prince Alexander
to be no better than he should be:-they invited an extraordinary session of an old body called the Shupkina
(something analogous to the French States-General), and
when this assembly met, it composedly adopted a resolution ldeposing Alexander, who took sanctuary in a Turkish
garrison, and recalling, as purified by adversity, their former Prince Milosch. The scale is small, but the fact as
a movement of popular self-government is immense: and
how it will be regarded by the adjacent neighbors, Austria, Russia, and Turkey, is an interesting question.
Annexation of contiguities is an impulse of governments at once instinctive and irresistible. All past nations have exhibited the disease in its natural form, and
all existing ones are constantly breaking out with it.
Here now is Greece, little, delicate, infantine Greece,
eager to embrace and absorb Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante, and
the others of the seven Ionian Islands! No child ever had
the measles more virulently. Mr. Gladstone finds a sympathizing disorder impetuously proclaiming itself among




TO MR. PIERCE.                77
the islanders wherever he goes. What's to be done? The
Colonial minister, Bulwer Lytton, seems, by a very neat
despatch, recently written to Lord High Commissioner
Young, disposed to treat the case as the old physicians
treated the small-pox, by fastening down the window
sash, excluding the air, locking the door, throwing the
key away, and preventing all spread of the malady by declaring intercourse impossible! This won't do, Sir Edward! You have, by sending the Homeric statesman on
his mission, created the occasion for a full and frank interchange of sentiment, and must not now turn a deaf ear to
unanimous utterances. Parliament will no doubt, as soon
as it meets, be exercised upon this topic. The Manchester men are in favor of letting people whom they do not
regard as fellow-subjects manage their own destinies as
they like best.
Although I am before an 8 or 10 feet wide window,
extending to the ceiling, I have not been able, from 11
o'clock in the day, to write this letter without the aid of
two candles. Such has been the wretched, smoky, foggy,
dirty, rainy atmosphere for the greater part of six or eight
weeks! One comfort:-my daughter reports Paris to be
quite as bad, if not worse.
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 236.-TO MR. PIERCE.
LONDON, January 2, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 15th ultimo reached
me some days ago, and communicated so much pleasure
that I have chafed a good deal under the pressure of engagements which prevented an immediate reply. It was
warmly welcomed because in the first place it assured me
of the well-being of Mrs. Pierce and yourself, and, in the
second place, it flattered me with the intimation that my
course of action in this arduous diplomatic post had not
disappointed the expectations of the gentleman who sent
me to it. Many, many thanks for the kindness.
What you have noticed in the newspapers about me has,
as far as I myself know, no foundation whatever. I have




78                TO MR. PIERCE.
not invited a recall, and do not believe one to be contemplated. At this particular moment, the step would be an
unwise one, and would be so until the Central American
complications are definitively unravelled and settled. The
period for their adjustment is not far off: On0 purely public considerations, there should be no change in this mission pendente lite. As to private considerations, I confess
myself agreeably disappointed by the hospitality and respect which have invariably been shewn me:-but my
anglomania is not sufficiently intense and concentrated
to survive three years' close observation of the medieval
barbarism of caste by which the social intercourse of this
country is broadly and painfully marked. Democracy is
less at ease in England than in Imperial France or Russia.
How I should have enjoyed being with you at Capri!
In the course of my life I have made several desperate
efforts to get to Italy: —one, forty-four years ago, at Ghent,
trunk packed, and bills of exchange ready, when the veto
of Mr. Gallatin interposed, and whisked me off to Mr.
Madison. By-the-by, Miss Julia Kavanagh, in a course
of volumes, has given us her " summer and winter in the
two Sicilies" so agreeably that I commend it to Mrs. P.
while she is yet in the scenes described.
The Persia, which arrived yesterday, brought nothing
worth telling from home. A sharp letter of Mr. Slidell's
published on Judge Douglas. A fight on the Avenue
between two members of Congress, Messrs. English and
Montgomery. Governor Wise nominated for 1860 by
the Richmond Enquirer. A message from the Governor
of South Carolina recommending the dissolution of the
Union and the creation of a Southern Confederacy.
Lord Napier's recall universally regretted. Public sentiment, recently much excited by British folly at San
Juan, has swung to the opposite extreme and represents
everything to be settled.
Mrs. D. sends her best regards to Mrs. P., as we all do
en macwsse.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. MARKOE.                  79
No, 237.-TO MR, MARKOE,
LONDON,, January 9, 1859.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-Your last letter springs from too
solicitous a friendship and shews me that you are greatly
more anxious about this mission than I can bring myself
to be.
It is about eighteen months since I wrote to General
in reply to a kindly meant intervention on his part,
and explained the principle of public action on which alone
the President would probably act, and on which alone I
could consent to accept or retain any foreign appointment
whatever. That letter was, with more than my usual
caution, enclosed to you unsealed, and, if it obtained the
sanction of your friendship, it was to go to the General,
and from him to Mr. Buchanan as I did not doubt. You
approved, hnd it went on its way. I believe its contents
gave no dissatisfaction to the President: —indeed, they
were such as could not be a cause of difference between
men of just and honorable sentiments. Well, that letter
marked out my permanent attitude as respects this post,
and I am without any new motive or reason for changing
it in the slightest particular. I cannot perceive that what
I have been doing for nearly three years has suddenly become wrong: —and unless that were to stare me in the
face, why am I virtually to admit my error?
It is wished that I should write letters to the President
himself and so avoid a threatened storm. Perhaps I write
oftener than any minister ever did:-what I write goes to
the President, but it is addressed to the Secretary of State,
because it would really be intrusive in me, considered
personally or officially, to be perpetually courting the eye
of the Executive with matters which, though interesting
or entertaining, are more private than public. I do not
believe that Mr. Buchanan can view this in a different
light. He is too much a man of the world not to see that
my notes to General Cass, on the topics they contain, are
really as open to him, and indeed his whole cabinet, as to
the Secretary. Their shape only saves them from the
wretched fate of public despatches. I wrote to General
Pierce but once, as he was on the eve of quitting Washin gton.




80               TO MR. MARKOE.
As to the prospective storm, so like a tempest in a teapot, I cannot see whence, where, how, or why it is to
blow: —but if it rage fiercely enough to tumble the Capitol
into Goose Creek, I would not stir one inch to avert or
allay it. Precedents are as plentiful as blackberries: and
the minister has clearly the right to make what arrangements with the government he deems will best secure the
character, dignity, and interests of the station he is about
holding which that government approves. My notions
upon the subject are the results of experience and observation. When I went to Russia in'37, Mr. Van Buren
invited me to take as secretary a gentleman unknown to
me except as unreliable, and I declined. Every one of
our legations furnishes, almost annually, proofs how fur illassorted public agents disturb their business, depreciate
their character, and torture their incumbents. These
things have to be encountered by many, but when it is
possible to avoid them it is wise to do so.
Everybody knows that nothing is so easily found, when
wanted, as a pretext. If one thing don't answer, another
will. Now, if there be a disposition to assail-of which
it is naked justice to say I have seen no proof whateverhow practically absurd it would be to expect to sweeten
that disposition, or foil it, by disingenuous and altered
action! Even in the light of personal policy, every man
only lays himself more open to attack by abandoning the
position he deliberately and openly took at the outset.
Having taken a stand, unless convinced that it is wrong,
he had better accept firmly all its consequences.
I should not write thus to anybody else. You have a
right to my inmost thoughts. And though I cannot
adopt the course of action you recommend, I am profoundly convinced that it has sprung out of a friendship
I am proud to have kindled and to reciprocate.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                        81
No. 238.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 14, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The signs of war accumulate.  Since
the oracular words to Baron Hiibner on New-Year's day,
every sort of soothing and explanatory construction has
been attempted in the Paris newspapers to no purpose.*
The Bulls and Bears are convinced, and funds are steadily going down. Austria has hurried into Lombardy thirty
thousand additional men.  The address of the Sardinian
King to the legislature, just assembled, was clearly martial, and drew forth loud manifestations of popular adhesion.  But it is in the arranged  marriage that veteran
politicians see conclusive proof. Victor Emmanuel, though
ranking among young sovereigns, is in his thirty-ninth
year of age and has a daughter, Clothilde, of attractive
sixteen, whom he gives to Prince Napoleon. Their engagemnent is publicly announced.  The Prince, only two years
younger than his father-in-law, quits Paris to-morrow for
Turin, to spend a week in courtship of his girl-bride.
This is admirable preparation for a Bonapartean kingdom  of Savoy.
Two or three other war-pointing straws are in the wind.
Baron Hiibner is reported, prematurely I suspect, to have
suddenly left the French capital for Vienna.  The French
marshals and generals, absent from their respective posts,
are ordered to return to them. And the Austrian vessels
of war in the Adriatic are exhibiting more than customary uneasiness and activity. I have thus, I believe, like a
faithful Pliny, given you the leading premonitory symptoms of the approaching eruption.
* DIARY: January 3d, 1859, Monday.-" The first flash of lightning
precursive of the storm has startled everybody. The French Emperor
at his Levee held on the 1st instant, Saturday, addressed the following
words to Baron Hfibner, the Austrian minister, with marked excitement and emphasis: —' Je regrette que nos relations avec votre Gouverne-,nent ne soient pas aussi bonnes que par le pass: —maisje vous prie de dire d
I'Empereur que mes sentimnens personnels pour lui ne sont pas changes.'
Marshal Vaillant, who was by, followed it up by adding to the minister:'After that, I suppose I am not at liberty to shake hands with you.'
This sudden revelation of the purpose as to Italy is a striking imitation
of the conduct of Napoleon I. towards the British ambassador, Lord
Whitworth, preparatory to the rupture of the Treaty of Amiens. To be
sure, there is more graciousness, less downright insult in it."
VOL. II.-6




82                 TO MR. CASS.
It may be doubted whether our great anvd good friend the
Czar will find it quite convenient to pay his promised visits
in May next to Paris and thence through Cherbourg, to London. I ventured, from my remembrance of what his sterner
father experienced, to predict, in the course of a letter to
you.a year ago, that his ardor for serf-enfranchisement
would receive a check from his nobles and might disturb
the Empire. Well! the committee to whom the matter has
been entrusted, and who manifested great zeal, have suddenly insisted that the reform shall not stop half way, that
it must be extended to other classes besides the serfs, and
(tell it not in Gath!) that the States General should be convoked! Of course Imperial indignation will be roused:but what can be done?  His Majesty set the ball rolling,
and these really revolutionary ideas emanate from  the
very Council charged to keep it rolling. There is something in reform like the electrical fluid:-generate it once
and it will run to the end of the wire. In England, long
training has taught how to effect it "bit by bit:"-but in
Russia the spirit is a novelty-how to fetter or graduate
it unknown.
The heir apparent to the Protestant British Crown is
off to Rome. His visit, though the result of natural and
laudable curiosity, is not the most prudent or wise thing
that could be done. The press has already regarded it
with jealousy. "No Popery" is a chord which is made
to vibrate in England just now with the slightest touch.
He may not be converted:-but, if he ever reign, he
will be taunted, by one party or the other, with the taint
of the Vatican. In France, an ultramontane journal has
already interpreted this tour of the Prince of Wales to
mean such an approach to Roman Catholicism as is involved in the alleged Puseyism of Queen Victoria! The
age (17) and character of the lad invest his course of travel
with other aspects of hazard.
Two days ago, the 3d of February, was fixed upon for
the meeting of Parliament. Her Majesty's Pioclamation
appeared and the farther prorogation to that day, and
then for the despatch of business took place. All the
ministers are now at their posts in London. Their scheme
of electoral representation, though avowedly on the anvil,
has been kept profoundly secret. Although there are
several other important topics on which, during the recess,




TO MR. CASS.                  83
they have laid themselves open to serious interpellations,
this of Reform, notwithstanding the affected disdain of
"John Bright," is the impracticable maelstrom which
endangers their safety.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 239.-TO MR. KNOTT.
THE Minister of the United States has received the note
of the 18th inst. addressed to him by Mr. S. Dyer Knott
from "Alphington, Devon," requesting an autograph.
Now, "Alphington, Devon," are words singularly persuasive with the minister, who yet hopes to secure before he
recrosses the Atlantic, a daguerreotype sketch of the
Church of that Parish.
Let there be, then, a Yankee bargain.
The minister will send his autograph with pleasure to
Mr. Knott, if Mr. Knott will kindly procure and send to
the minister a mem. from the proper functionary of the
entry in the Register or Record of the Church at "Alphington, Devon." of the declaration of Banns and the
marriage of "Alexander James Dallas and Arabella Mucia
Smith," who became husband and wife in that Church
about 1780 or 1781, and who, subsequently emigrating to
America, in the course of ten years summoned the minister into being.
Such a mem. with a a note of whatever fee should be
remitted the functionary, will, on being received, be instantly followed by the transmission to Mr. Knott of the
minister's thanks and autograph.
Is it a bargain?
LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
LONDON, January 19, 1859.
No. 240.-TO MR, CASS.
LONI)ON, January 21, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have tried, during the last week, for
your benefit, to form a judgment on the probabilities of




84                  TO MR. CASS.
war. It is no easy thing to do so. Opposite views, hopes,
and interests are in loud and indefatigable conflict. Facts
are invented or exaggerated every day on one side or the
other. Schemes to lift or lower the rates on the Parisian
Bourse are hourly creating panics or composure, both
alike treacherous. Immense efforts have clearly for their
sole object to arrest or mitigate the effect, upon property
and prices, of Napoleon's sudden revelation of " the situation" on New-Year's day. It is impossible to deduce anythinig satisfactory from this boisterous chaos of statements
and denials. There is no safety for opinion in attempting
to discriminate between them. What, then, is there no
clue to the labyrinth? None, except to set aside all the
contradictory clamors and pretences of the last three
weeks, and coolly weigh the import of the admitted international incidents bearing on the question. 1. The
foregone conclusion in the Imperial mind of France as
uttered to Baron Hiibner. 2. The rapid concentration of
Austrian forces in Italy. 3. The explosive disaffection of
all that part of Italy. 4. The vigorous speech of Victor
Emmanuel and the enthusiastic echo it evoked from the
Sardinian legislature. 5. The nuptials which unite the
destinies of the two dynasties, Bonapartist and Piedmont.
6. The military vis a tergo to which Louis Napoleon is
subject. 7. The ambitious entrainement of both sovereigns. 8. The vast armies and wounded pride of Austria.
9. The death of Ferdinand II. (Bomba) just announced.
He was 49 years of age. His successor, Francis, Duke of
Calabria, is 23, and married but recently a German princess, though it must be remembered that his mother was
an aunt, and that he himself is therefore a cousin, of Victor Emmanuel.
War may be averted. The moneyed power of Europe
may keep it off. But the advancing apparition is obvious
to sight, like a comet "shaking its fiery tresses in the
air."
The last number (January,'59) of the Edinburgh Review, just distributed, has come in aid of the Parliamentary Reformers, in a short but effective article. Its inlculcation is an adherence to the principle of the Act of'
1832, with such practical extensions "as the great innovator Time" calls for: and, asserting every free government to be founded on a system of compromises, it insists




TO MR. KNOTT.                 85
upon a plan which shall duly combine numbers, property,
intelligence, and locality. Its language is moderate and
persuasive: —and I think it may be regarded as foreshadowing what will be realized.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 241.-TO MR. KNOTT.
LONDON, January 26, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-YOU have executed your part of the
proposed fanciful bargain so promptly and so kindly that
I feel ashamed of the little to be done on my side. Something more than a humble autograph must prove how
much pleasure you have given. I propose, as soon as I
can command the time, to tell you briefly the brilliant
career run, in the new world, by the disobedient couple who,
at the ages of 21 and 16, fled from the house of an aunt
named Barlow, at Devonport, and were married in Alphington Church on the 4th of September, 1780
I must beg you not to place me under any heavier obligation by taking thetrouble to search for and send me a
sketch of the. Church. An engagement with an admirable artist was entered into some two years ago: —he undertook to accompany me, with his instruments, into Devon,
at a moment's warning, and give me a perfect daguerreotype of a venerable building, which to me has a higher
charm than architecture or picturesque position can possibly confer.
You are right as to the witness, Charles Stuart Dallas:
-he was my father's elder brother: and adhering to the
island of Jamaica, accumulated a large fortune as a lawyer.
His son was recently Speaker of the House of Assembly.
I consider myself strictly bound, independent of this
letter, to furnish for your curiosity album the accompanying detached and worthless signature of,
Dear Sir, very sincerely
Your obliged humble servant.




86                 TO MR. SICKLES.
No. 242.-TO COL. MURRAY.
LONDON, January 28, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-My present object is special and urgent.
I know your energy and activity when once under way in
a good cause, and I want to stir into immediate movement
yourself and through you, your Mayor, Collector, District
Attorney, etc. etc. The King of Naples has consigned to
New York, as a sort of New-Year's gift, a collection of
about 200 of his political victims, among whom are those
noble specimens of the genus homo, Poerio and Settembrini.
All good men here wish them health, honor, and happiness. Brown, Shipley & Co., of Liverpool, will address
their branch in your city most generously about them.
Bomba has sent them to Cadiz, whence they are to be
shipped in merchant vessels.* They are probably now
a third of their way across the Atlantic. Some persons
dread the operation of a State or municipal law which
would reject them as convicts and paupers palmed upon
your poorhouses. Do, in the name of all that is just and
generous, prevent anything of the sort. Rather give
these inflexible foes of tyranny the ovation they merit on
reaching our shores. I shall hide my diminished head if
you act otherwise.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 243.-TO MR. SIOKLES.
LONDON, January 28, 1859.
DEAR SIR, —Yo  will have noticed that the King of
Naples has recently liberated some two hundred of his
political prisoners upon certain conditions, among others
exile in America. He will suffer them no nearer than
* They left Cadiz on board the American ship "' David Steward," Capt.
Prentiss:- but, when at sea, combined to compel the officers of the vessel to shape her course for Ireland; and, going into Cork, were received
with great enthusiasm and hospitality.




TO MR. CASS.                  87
New York. They were sent to Cadiz, to be thence forwarded on board of one or more merchant vessels, and
are probably now crossing the Atlantic. Among them are
Poerio and Settembriiii, who, the best known and appreciated, may be regarded as types of the entire company.
Now any man of liberal thought and generous feeling
must wish that the sufferings and wants of these victims of
tyranny should be cared for and lightened wherever they
go. Fears are entertained that, as destitute convicts and
paupers, they may be repelled at New York by some State
or municipal law and thrust back into the cells of Bormba.
For God's sake, move heaven and earth to prevent the
possibility of an incident which, coming from our country, would require endless explanation, and would be the
thrust of an icicle through the heart of every friend to
constitutional liberty in Europe.
I am very truly and respectfully yrs.
No. 244.-TO MR, cass.
LONDON, January 28, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-His Majesty of Naples, though supposed
a sufferer by partial paralysis (courteously ycleped rheumatism), did not die, as was somewhat victoriously announced by the Mornirt Post. He is recovering fast; and
let us hope that his political victims, to whose pardon he
has managed to give the torturing keenness of exile, may
yet, auspice Napoleoncino vel iMuratto, find means to confront
him somewhere on the plains of Italy:-the nearer to one
or the other crater of Vesuvius or Etna, eager to receive
hin, the better.
I returned a call of Lord Lyons two days ago. A war
steamer takes him to Boston or New York on the 15th of
February. I knew his father, the Admiral, and was therefore partially inclined towards him. Perhaps, he may
succeed in pleasing as well as Lord Napier, though the
latter has the immense advantage of being charmingly
married. A legation without a lady is but half composed:-a column sans capital, piano sans pedal, coiffure
sans curls. I suspect the ages of the two lords are much




88                 TO MR. CASS.
the same:-Lyons is 42. He lives at Norfolk House,
whose Duke married his sister.
An official decree is out in Paris, prohibiting free negro
emigration on board French vessels from the eastern coast
of Africa. Whether this affects the existing contract of
Regis & Co. may be doubted. As far as it goes, however,
it is a homage to the British monomania.
The marriage at which, according to the French phrase, I
assisted just one year ago (25th Jaluary,'58) in St. James's
Palace, was yesterday signalized at 1 P.M. by the productiot of an heir to the Prussian throne. The annunciation
shot from Berlin to Windsor in six minutes. Her Majesty has become a grandmother while yet some three or
four months short of 40.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 245.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 4, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Of course your British legation were in
full force representing you in the House of Lords yesterday at the opening of Parliament by the Queen.
The Speech. though unusually long, was extremely cautious both in what it said and in what it left unsaid. In
referring, in the fourth clause, to the desile " to maintain
inviolate the faith of public treaties" and to contribute
"to the preservation of the general peace," you find the
key to the remarkably bold and anti-Napoleonic exposition of policy made by Lord Derby in the evening. I
listened very attentively to the outspoken Premier, and
was led to the conclusion, 1. that he was making rather a
menacing effort to arrest a war which he feared was impending: 2. that he chose an attitude of neutrality, and
3. that if obliged by events to change that, he would embrace the Austrian cause.
A telegram reached the Brazilian minister yesterday, to
the effect that his sovereign had been invited to act as
mediator between the United States and Paraguay, and
that his Imperial Majesty had consented to do so.
Since the 1st of January, and a fortiori since the mar



TO MR. CASS.                     89
riage of Prince Napoleon and Princess Clothilde, I have
not been able to doubt that hostilities would soon, upon
some pretext or other, be made to break out on the banks
of the Ticino between the confronting troops of Piedmont
and Austria.- That now is all that is wanting to produce
a French rush into Lombardy.  My opinion is confirmed
by a letter which has just been received here from Mr.
Guizot.  Lord Brougham, immediately from  Cannes, a
sort of observatory for Mediterranean and Italian politics,
told the Peers last night that the popular sentiment was
altogether undeniable and universal. It is barely possible, nevertheless, that the unanimity of Parliament may
check the impetuosity of Victor Emmanuel and Louis
Napoleon.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 246.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 11, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-You will perceive by the map transmitted how easy a thing it is to settle to one's mind a reconstruction of European nations, on paper. Some thousands of this document crossed the Channel three days ago,
copies of it have been multiplied on this side, and many
a startled and staring diplomat has had his nightmare
under the weight of so fantastic a sheet. Rumor preluded
it as a Napoleonic study and cartoon direct from the Imperial press. Farther scrutiny seems to ascribe the invention to a Belgian priest.  Then, again, it is thought to
be a monster device which, by the argument of contrast,
may make the mere expulsion of Austria from Italy seem
a small affair.
Since my last week's note, two very strong shadows of
the coming event have been thrown on the dial of time:
a pamphlet* plainly if not avowedly Bonapartean, entitled
* DIARY: February 5, 1859, Saturday.-" A tremendous Pamphlet just
out in Paris. It is obviously the offspring of Imperial'inspiration.'
Nothing could be more like' Les IdMes Napolioniennes.' Its title is' Napol6on III. et l'Italie.' It inculcates with remarkable power and dis



90                   TO MR. CASS.
"Napoleon III. et l'Italie," and a speech from the throne
to the French Chambers:-both, in my judgment, powerful yet guarded expressions of an unalterable purpose.
The pamphlet is a manifesto and appeal really unanswerable, or answerable only by the charge of ambitious motives:-the speech is assailable and assailed, merely because
it forbore to repeat from the Queen's address to Parliament
the inviolable character of the Treaties of 1815-those
monuments of the overthrow  of "My Uncle"! Austria
may be expected to circulate her reply through diplomatic
channels: —audi alteram partern!-but the controversy advances and embitters.
To these indications must be added the return of bodies
of troops from Algeria to Marseilles, the storing of fabulous amounts of ammunition, the gradual adoption of a
warlike tone by the Parisian press, the fifty million loan
voted by the legislative chamber of Sardinia in a paroxysm
of anti-Austrian ardor, and, last not least, the very decided
written and oral utterances of Count Cavour, whose position as a wise, virtuous, patriotic, and skilful statesman
is overtopped by no one in Europe.
But what's the prevailing opinion? Some wish peace
to continue, and that wish is father to their judgment.
Others deem it a duty to humanity to clamor down war.
Many of the best thinkers are mystified by conflicting
representations, and incapable of forming a conclusion or
even a firm guess. I have recently and most industriously
attended the soirees, to deduce from their chatting coteries,
for your enlightenment, the general impression. Well!
-at the Marquess of Salisbury's, at Lord Palmerston's, at
Lord Derby's, and particularly at the Prussian minister's
last night, the current of opinion ran war, not immediate,
but inevitable war. Her Majesty's cousin, the Conlmanderin-chief, personally intimate with the Imperial character,
disclaims emphatically any doubt about it.
Do you notice how amusingly the Union-loving sentitinctness the necessity of preserving the peace of Europe by insisting
diplomatically and if need be militarily upon the withdrawal of Austria
from Lombardy, and the construction of an Italian Confederation of
Nationalities. It opens by a distinct declaration of aversion to the Treaties of 1815: —no wonder, for they are the monuments of the degradation of France and the Bonapartes by the Holy Alliance. This splendid
manifesto is clearly meant as a semi-official preface to a great drama. "




TO MR. WINTHR OP.               91
ment of the Principalities has flouted the injunction of the
Congress of Paris in 1856? It was formally decided by
that august body that they should live separate and apart,
and each have her independent Hospodar. The elections
coming on, Moldavia chose for her chief Prince Couza,
and Wallachia ran after and chose the very same man for
herself, thus concentrating in one personage the executive
authorities of both states!  There's a complication for
you! The Sultan is said to be enraged: —he can, however, like Austria in reference to the revolution in Servia,
do nothing alone beyond a protest: he must await the reassembling of the Conference, an event whose non-concurrence is among the possibilities on the cards.
I will not release you from this note until I apprise you
that my admirable and able friend Mr. Richard Cobden
will go by the same steamer, Canada, to the United States.
He has just called and bade me good-bye. He will strive
to reach Washington before the dispersing day of the 4th
of March. Bid him, All Hail!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 247.-TO MR. WINTHROP.
LONDON, February 17, 1859.
MY DEAR MR. WINTHROP,-Your letter in regard to the
recall of Lord Napier and the shameless explanation of it
attempted in the Boston paper by a penny-a-liner correspondent here, deserved a prompt acknowledgment. I
think your appreciation of his lordship strictly just. We
cannot hope to have a more acceptable British minister
at Washington. A great mistake is involved in his removal; and though his successor be quite unexceptionable, the r6le he played in cementing the kindly feelings of the two countries can scarcely be acted with equal
efficiency by any one else.
I am not quite sure that the ministry were insensible
to the motive imputed for the treatment of this distinguished gentleman. Some of our travelling countrymen
are inconsiderate enough to bring abroad the party asperities they cultivate at home; and though in the general




92                  TO MR. CASS.
they take nothing by doing so, or rather are positively
disrelished for their lack of natural patriotism, still occasionally and on particular points they achieve more
mischief to the country than it is easy to repair.
You do not, I perceive, shrink from the sarcasm of
Carlyle, who, in his Life of Frederick the Great, calls all
antiquaries by Scott's descriptive cognomen, Dryasdust. I
forward you a diploma sent to me from Somerset House.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 248.-TO MR. CASS,
LONDON, February 18, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The unanimity in Parliament on the
still pending war question seems to have a composing
effect as to party differences. Nothing as yet has ruffled the smooth current of legislation. Even the Right
of Search, which gave Lord Clarendon an opportunity to
awaken a titter at the expense of Lord Malmesbury,
passed off without leaving a furrow behind it. By-theby, her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs said that a series of naval instructions, as to the
mode of verifying the flags of traders, had been prepared
by France and England, and were now under consideration at Washington. He anticipates from their adoption
an international millennium. Pray suffer me to see this,
not quintuple, but tripartite proposal.
I have a letter fromn Mr. Reed, of the 10th ultimo,
Colombo, Ceylon. He expects to leave Bombay behind
him on the 25th, to be in Malta on the 14th February,
in Rome on 1st March, and here before April. I am thus
particular to enable you, if occasion occur, to let Mr.
Ward know how he may run a fair chance of meeting
his returning predecessor.
I have no modifications to make in the views heretofore expressed as to the likelihood of a struggle over a
new map of Italy. Every well ascertained incident throws
fresh light and reality on the prospect. The Bulls and
Bears are fertile in rumors to help along their speculative objects:-bllt the steady, calm, and vigorous man



TO MR. CASS.                  93
ner in which both the great parties are taking what Mr.
Madison called their "attitude and armor" permits one
conclusion only. It is barely possible that the Conference
about to be held in Paris to deal with the contempt committed by Hospodar Couza-a sort of political bigamymay wish ampliare jurisdictiornem, and to throw oil upon
the troubled waters: —but the matter has gone too far,
and backing down, even to preserve the peace of Europe,
is un-imperial and too shockingly distasteful.
The relations of the mutually dependent partners,
Messrs. Demand and Supply, are oddly illustrated just
now. There's a plethora of money everywhere, and down
comes a cataract of projected public loans! Mr. Bates tells
me the Austrian proposals have failed. Turkey, like a
Phcenix, makes her own fire with her own fuel. Sardinia
designs to try the same experiment for the fifty millions of
"lire" she wants. Lord Stanley thinks nothing of asking from English capitalists, for his new empire of India,
thirty-five millions of dollars.
The Court of the " Parvenu " has signalized itself by the
introduction of a new feature of etiquette. At the grand
ball at the Hotel de Ville, two days ago, in honor of the
recent marriage, the girl-bride, like a 1" little Miss Creeper
left in the lurch," instead of being handed into the
crowded salon by Prince Napoleon her husband, was permitted to walk behind him! Magnificent, cry all the
newspapers!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 249.,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 1, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR, — The review which Lord Palmerston took
in his speech last Friday evening of the causes and character of quarrel just now between France and Austria,
was marked by more than his usual discretion and forbearance. Mr. Disraeli, in making answer to his enquiries, shewed equal sense of the dignity due to the
occasion: —and his announcement as to the prospect of
preserving peace was uncommonly effective. But I am




94                 TO MR. CASS.
disposed to think that those who heard him were a little
misled by their hopes, and did not notice the extremely
measured and cautious words (no doubt pre-arranged, for
they were repeated later in the evening by Lord Malmesbury in the Lords) which he used. "Her Majesty's government had received communications from which they
had reason to infer that the two powers would withdraw
their respective armies from the Papal States simultaneously, and upon the invitation of the Pope."
A very extraordinary result is expected to be achieved
over the cabinet of Vienna by the energy, skill, and suppleness of Lord Cowley: —no less than its acceding, notwithstanding all its recent acts and language to the
contrary, to the original proposal of Louis Napoleon.
One is accustomed to predicate of Austrian statesmanship
nothing but pretension and obstinacy:-and the ministry
will be singularly lucky if, in the full tide of these characteristic qualities, they get Francis Joseph to " eat his
leek."  They themselves entertain grave doubts: —for
Lord Lyndhurst told me that when the Premier heard of
what Mr. Disraeli had said in the Commons, he remarked
"'he has gone too far"! Such an expression lacks reliance on the diplomatic expedient. In Paris, it would
seem to be very little relied upon: —indeed, there the
evacuation of the Papal States is but a small part of the
solution of the Italian question.
Pray let me ask you to give consideration to the accompanying copy of an advertisement which contains matter
of great historical interest to our country. The two
hundred letters and documents connected with the negotiation of what Mr. Adamns called "Our Treaty of Independence," and the map of the United States traced by
Franklin, ought certainly to be in your department. I
can receive the expression of the President's wishes upon
the subject before the 6th of April, the day appointed for
the sale.
I was last evening seven continuous hours in the diplomatic gallery of the House of Commons, listening to the
introduction of Lord Derby's Reform bill. It is as infinitesimal a dose as any homceopath could administer, and is
essentially a mere sham of words. Lord John Russell
denounced it at once; Mr. Bright termed it frivolous,
trifling, absurd, and disgusting. Not a shadow of enfran



TO MR. CASS.                  95
chisement extended to the working classes. Lord Palmerston and his serried ranks of friends remained quiet,
while the measure underwent violent castigation from the
ultra Liberals and was falteringly sustained on the Treasury side. Mr. Walpole, Home Secretary, and Mr. Hen]ey, President of the Board of Trade, have resigned: Lord
John Manners is expected to follow suit: General Peel is
said to be giving way for Lord Elgin, and Sir E. B. Lytton
for Gladstone. On the whole, the cabinet seems spontaneously dissolving.
Mr. Ward and his family have been here for the past
week. I have been able to keep him advised of Mr.
Reed's course and progress homewards. He will meet
that gentleman in Paris on the 15th instant, whither he
proceeds to-morrow. You have probably already heard
that there has been fresh fighting near Canton between
the'English troops and Chinese braves, as late as the 8th
of January. It is said that. the Imperial government
secretly disclaim Lord Elgin's Treaty as the work of compulsion.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 250,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 4, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR, —Her Majesty's government have been
caucusing. Lord Derby invited two hundred and eight
of his partisans of the House of Commons to meet him at
the Treasury Department in Downing Street on Tuesday
last:-the gravamen, the Reform bill. He plumply informed the assembled gentlemen that every one of them
must vote for every part and the entirety of the measure
unflininngly: and that, if it finally failed, he would dissolve Parliament. It is customary to regard our President,
not in the light of the Sovereign here, but as a Prime
Minister:-now, what would be thought of him all over
the world, and what would the Representatives say and
do, if our Chief Executive were to take a leaf out of Lord
Derby's book, and, surrounded by his cabinet, were to indoctrinate, menace, and marshal the legislative phalanx?




96                 TO MR. CASS.
I think we should all be long before we heard the last of
it. This jumble of separate and co-ordinate powers is the
natural, if not necessary consequence of permitting ministers to hold seats in Parliament: —a practice accompanied
by certain administrative advantages, though subversive
of fundamental principle. Be this as it may, Lord Derby
had his caucus, and he and they have resolved to go it
blind for the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill.
Now, I can't express a confident opinion as to how this
will end, and I must tell you why. Lord Palmerston is
at heart no reformer; he does not wish to reattain power
upon that issue: and he would probably be averse to
larger concessions of political franchise than are made by
Mr. Disraeli. I have observed, upon this topic, unequivocal symptoms of rapprochement between his followers and
those of Lord Derby; and, to defeat the ultra Liberals,
Bright, Gibson, Roebuck, and Russell (!), they may find
themselves on a test vote in the same lobby. Generally
speaking, it is thought the bill cannot be saved, and that
a dissolution is unavoidable.  Noous verrons on next Monday fortnight, or shortly after.
Plon-Plon, having sacrificed himself to the Imperial
policy by marrying a youthful princess, swells with selfimportance, and takes airs: —snaps his fingers at the
Treaties of 1815: and snubs Persigny, even in the great
presence at the Tuileries, and to the well-affected amazemnent of the Court, by loudly telling him that, let England
or all Europe say what they please, the honor and safety
of France demand and will exact the independence and
nationality of Italy.
Lord Cowley is on his return to Paris: —but the fruits
of his mission remain undivulged:-while "rentes" are
sinking and armies concentrating, the Kaiser at Vienna
openly abusing the Kaiser on the Seine, the Holy Father
and Cardinal Antonelli "ungratefully insulting" France,
and the remains of the patriot Dandolo are being buried
at Milan in a row!
Mr. Gladstone is said to be coming home to fill the
Colonial Office now occupied by Sir E. B. Lytton. He is
conveniently at present in Piedmont, interchanging views
with Count Cavour.
I am afraid I have overwhelmed you lately with official
despatches. The constant effort is to prevent accumula



TO MRS. BACHE.                   97
tion and to be brief. I was told by Mr. P., at Cambridge
House last night, that, in the Foreign Office, Lord Lyons
and Lord Stratford de Redcliffe were esteemed their ablest
writers.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 251.-TO MRS. BACHE.
LONDON, March 10, 1859.
MY DEAR SISTER,-Julia has made for you copies of a
series of small notes which have passed between a gentleman living at Alphington and myself, the contents of which
will I think interest and amuse you. The whole, except
the photograph of the church, are enclosed.
I meet at the leading receptions and soirees no one
more punctually than Mrs. Mansfield, your Baltimore
friend of early life. Her son has been distinguished as a
general in the Indian war:-and she is sedulously engaged
in chaperoning her grand-daughter, about 18, through the
mazes of a first season out.
All the inferior world of Europe is waiting impatiently
to know what the two angry Emperors of France and
Austria are going to do:-to make war or prolong peace.
At this moment, after much vaporing and bluster, there
is a lull-inspiring hope which enables the stock exchanges
of Paris, Vienna, and London to take a little breath. It
is attributed to the supposed success of Lord Cowley's
mediatory mission, and it may be dispelled in twenty-four
hours by some fresh blast. There is obvious dissension
in the French cabinet on the point: —Prince Napoleon
though just married upon the strength of his belligerent
inclinations, resigning his ministry of Algiers and retreating before his adversaries, Messrs. Walewski and Fould.
This is likely to tell.
Dallas has, I presume, recorded his annual.victory over
the enemies of the Coast Survey. You would be surprised if told how much anxious interest is expressed here
in his labors.
I am told that your spirits are good, that you do not
VOL. II.-7




98                  TO MR. CASS.
suffer pain, and that you enjoy the presence of affectionate
children and friends. Such news is comforting.
Always your devoted brother.
No 252.-TO PROFESSOR ALEXANDER.
LONDON, March 11, 1859.
MY DEAR PROFESSOR,-Thank you very many times
for your obliging and most agreeable notes. Nothing but
positive lack of time has prevented my writing in reply:and now, with the Bag yawning for its food by my side, I
must be brief.
If there be such a volume as the Parliamentary Rules of
Order and Debate, I will procure and send you a copy:"else wherefore breathe I in a Christian land?" I'll catch
the Speaker by the button, or Lord John by his keen
circling look, at the next reception, and soon know the
truth. If it exist, consider it yours.
We have reached a very brisk part of the rampant
"season," and yet retain our health and senses. Pray
remember us all most cordially to Mrs. A.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 253.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 11, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Our friend her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has been subjected to a
heavy critical bombardment, in both parliamentary chambers, for what was represented as his dulness, indifference, and mismanagement of the " Charles et Georges"
affair between France and Portugal. Lord John Russell
was extremely and unusually tart. In defence, but one
really good speech was made, that by Cairns, the clever
Solicitor-General. Had not the prospect of expelling the
ministry upon their Reform bill assumed an almost cer



TO MR. CASS.                  99
tain aspect, I think the Opposition would have rallied on
this field. and carried a vote of censure.
Lord Cowley gets back to-day from Vienna. Nothing
yet known as to what he has achieved: and that circumstance in itself leads me to suspect that in his main and
indispensable point, the abandonment of the special treaties, he returns as he went. The government must have
been apprised by the electric telegraph of any decidedly
favorable concession, and would be eager to tell it. Their
omission to do so, in the existing tremulous state of
stocks, would be regarded as almost criminal.
Napoleoncino, alias Prince Napoleon, alias Prince Jerome, alias Plon-Plon, has retreated before his adversaries
in council, Walewski and Fould, fiom  the ministry of
Algeria. He is perhaps too impatient and impetuous: —
wanting at once to give the quid pro quo for his bride by
devotion to the policy of Victor Emmanuel. To that complexion, postpone it as they may, it will come at last. A
sweep in the Imperial cabinet is no improbable occurrence
as, soon as the failure of their agent Lord Cowley is
ascertained. It will be the first step in a great European
war.
Two days ago the harbor of Cork was invaded by the
revolted Neapolitan prisoners whom the gracious Sovereign of the Sicilies had consigned to New York on board
of an American vessel! They have been welcomed with
loud hurras and open arms. These victims of royal perjury and cruelty, headed by Poerio and Settembrini, are
irreproachable, talented, and upright men, whose presence
in London will probably tap many a purse and spread
many a table.
It is perhaps incumbent upon me, at least thus informally, to say that the Queen, at her dinner last evening,
very graciously enquired about the President and Miss
Lane, of whose health I was fortunately enabled by a recent private letter to give welcome assurances. Her
Majesty has really been benefited by becoming a grandmother.
Always faithfully yrs.




100                 TO MR. CASS.
No. 254.-TO SIR E. B. LYTTON.
LONDON, March 17, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR EDWARD,-Your note of yesterday reached
me late at night.
Our Senate is, in its several aspects, legislative, executive, and judicial  When acting executively, it sits with
closed doors, deliberates on treaties sent to it for ratification or rejection by the President, and on appointments
to office. With these functions the House of Representatives has nothing to do. Foreign affairs necessarily engage the Senate largely: —not merely the Committee, but
the body itself:-the Committee is only an agent to
examine closely and report in detail.
But you are not strictly right in saying that the House
of Representatives "does not discuss foreign affairs."
There are many cases in which negotiations with foreign
nations end in tariffs, or engagements to pay money:these to be carried out, require legislation, and so become
legitimately topics of discussion in the House. And there
prevails a practice which rather irregularly and illegitimately constantly converts the representative chamber into
an arena for discoursing "dle omnibus rebus et quibusdam
aliis." This happens whenever on motion it resolves
itself into a " Committee of the Whole on the State of the
Union:"-the comprehensive character of which opens
every field of debate, domestic and foreign:-practically,
a great safety valve
Faithfully yrs.
No. 255.-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 18, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Among the veteran and vigilant statesmen whom I meet in clusters at social gatherings there
would seem to be an -almost unanimous belief that war is
inevitable. To be sure, the course taken by the inferior
sovereignties of Germany has been calculated to check
the impetuous progress of the French Emperor, for it




TO MR. CASS.                 101
threatens a revival of the Coalition of 1815: and we are
still kept in the dark as to what has been effected by Lord
Cowley, which may possibly transfer all difficulties to the
domain of diplomacy:-but, the immense military preparations on both sides, and the mutually incriminating
tone of their state papers and journals, daily diminish the
probability of peace. I am told that in the commercial
circles of the City the conviction is so strong that bets have
been offered that the first gun has been fired! Austria is
evidently greatly emboldened by the attitude of Prussia,
the utterances of the German Confederates, and the intervention of this government. At Vienna, her inflation has
chalked the walls with the vowels, A. E... 0. U.-which
do plainly signify that "Austrix Est Imperare Orbi Universo:"-and smacks of the democratic arrogance which
we may remember adorned the fences and bricks of Washington, "54.40 or fight"!
To welcome and relieve the Neapolitan prisoners landed
at Queenstown is the order of the day. Very imposing
committees are already formed and generous contributions
made. You are entitled to know that, owing to some
letters written home, I was wanted on the first committee
organized, but declined, pleading the restraints and reserves attached to position. I think I perceive that this
hospitable movement is very much, if not exclusively, in
the hands of Liberals: —not unnaturally.
The first prosecution of the members of the "Phcenix
Society" in Ireland has failed, although pressed with ability and energy by the Attorney-General, Whiteside. The
jury disagreed. It is becoming a religious struggle: and
apart from the big words used in the indictment, the acts
of the conspirators appear very frivolous. A government
should ignore the fantasies and follies of exuberant youth:
— nee Deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus.
I am on tiptoe for the Cass-Yrissari and Ousely treaties:
taking it for granted that Nicaragua will baptize them as
twins at or about the same time.
Our winter has been remarkably mild, more so than
fifty years have witnessed. Little or no ice formed; and
fruit trees in full blossom three weeks ago. Lord Eversley
(the late Speaker, Lefevre) told me that he has covered his
trees, down in Hampshire, with woollen netting to protect
them from any possible return of frost.
Always faithfully yrs.




102               TO MR. KNOTT.
No. 256.-TO PROFESSOR OWEN.
LONDON, March 18, 1859.
MY DEAR DR. OWEN, —-After thorough search, one
volume only of Commodore Perry's visit to Japan has
been found in the legation: —and that I now send you.
Let me beg you to retain it sine die. At a future day I
hope to be able to send you its mate.
Very faithfully yrs.
No. 257.,-TO MR. KNOTT.
LONDON, March 19, 1859.
DEAR SIR; —I am afraid that my tardiness ill acknowledging the great kindness of your last letter, accompanied
by a sketch of Alphington Church, may have lost me
some of your good will. I must throw myself upon your
indulgence, simply assuring you that my engagements
have been constant and monopolizing.
The delay has relieved me of one perplexity: —how to
fulfil, without too much intrusion upon a stranger, the
promise respecting the career in America of those whose
Banns were declared in Alphington in 1780.  Since
making the promise, I have received a very valuable
work published in my native city of Philadelphia, called
"A Dictionary of British and American Authors:"-and
herein I find a short notice of my father which contains
quite as much as you ought to be troubled with. So my
daughter has been good enough to transcribe this article,
and I enclose it.
Allow me to repeat to you the very grateful thanks
with which I shall always remember the part you have
taken in our Correspondence.
You enquire whether either of my parents resided in
Alphington when they were married. I believe not.
My mother was at the time under the care of an aunt, a
venerable single lady named Barlow, whose home was in
Devonport.
Faithfully and respectfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 103
No. 258.-TO MR.  ASS.
LONDON, March 25, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-We may now safely conclude, as I formerly surmised, that Lord Cowley's mission to Vienna
produced-nothing. So close, however, upon its heels
came a proposal from the Russian Czar for a Congress,
that an undiscriminating public has given his lordship
the merit of that suggestion. This European Areopagus
will be constituted of plenipotentiaries from France, Russia, Austria, England, and Prussia; Count Cavour goes
to Paris to insist upon the presence of Piedmont, and it
may be that considering the peculiarly Italian purpose of
the consultation, the minor States of the peninsula may
creep in. As all such assemblages are designed, not so
much to confer and discuss, as to give impetus and weight
to a decision already reached by one or more of the cabinets, I think we shan't be wide of the mark if we anticipate that the issue of a scheme of settlement devised at
St. Petersburg, and instantly adopted at the Tuileries, will
bear hard upon Austria. Thence springs the question, will
it be frankly acquiesced in? —Assuredly not: and so nothing will have been gained by the expedient except those
inestimable matters-time for preparation and a temporary rise in stocks. We are already told that Prince
Napoleon is designed to be the ~' alter Ego " of his Imperial
cousin at the Congress. The landing at Cannes suddenly
dispersed a body of this sort in 1815; and, indeed, unless
there be great haste in meeting at Geneva, or Aix-la-Chapelle, all accounts agree in predicting a revolutionary
movement in or near Rome, or a conflict on the Ticino,
which will supersede all deliberation: —the decies repelita
story of Brennus.
An amusing and much-laughed-at instance of Lord M.'s
propensity to indoctrinate with simple and wholesome
truths, took place in the " Charles et Georges" case, when
he pinioned the veteran Malakoff to his fauteuil at Windsor Castle, and inculcated " the immortal truth, that time
undermined prejudices as well as unveiled facts."
You will notice that last night's debate in the House of
Commons, brought out through Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald,




104                TO MR. CASS.
Under Secretary of State, the acknowledgment that "representations had been made by the French government
respecting the conduct of her Majesty's commander of the
steam sloop'Alecto' (Hunt!) in boarding the Phcenix while
the latter was engaged in procuring laborers (under the
system which had been so much discussed) on the west
coast of Africa." When the particulars of this domiciliary
visit are laid upon the table, they may help Cobb & Ellis
to form an estimate of the real character of the self-justified agent of maritime police who so harmlessly seized,
carried off, and kept in durance vile, for two days, their
dirty little " Caroline."
The government's Reform bill has occupied the House
of Commons every day of this week, except Wednesday,
and many suppose the debate will not close before Tuesday night next, 29th March. Amid a mass of " intolerable
rubbish," there are here and there speeches made of real
power, as well on one side as on the other. Bulwer Lytton,
the Colonial Secretary and charming novelist, defended
the bill in.a manner which would have done honor to
Fox, Chatham, Sheridan, or Erskine, in his palmiest day.
Cairns, the Solicitor-General, was equally successfufl. Lord
John Russell, whose motion aims to strike down the bill
and the ministry too, has been supported ably from every
section of the Liberal party, and partially from the Tories.
Sir Charles Wood, Sidney Herbert, Bernal Osborne, John
Bright, and Milner Gibson have taken leading parts.
Nobody doubts the result; except perhaps myself. I
cannot, until he himself declares it, believe that Lord
Palmerston and his personal tail will contribute to what
cannot, with their assistance, fail to be the triumphant
Premiership of Lord John Russell. Lord Palmerston was
to have addressed the House last night, and, according to
universal conviction, in maintenance of the motion: — he
will speak to-night, and let us see whether he does not, in
some way or other, repress the expanding glories of his
rival. Perhaps, for this purpose, he may dexterously
yield to Mr. Gladstone, or Sir James Graham.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 105
No. 259.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 1, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR, —In the House of Commons, at 1 o'clock
this morning, the resolution of Lord John Russell, immolating the ministerial Bill of Reform, was carried by a
majority of 39 out of 621 votes. An adjournment took
place to Monday the 4th instant, giving to the cabinet an
opportunity to determine on their course, whether of a
new bill, a resignation, or a dissolution of Parliament.
Much could be said in favor of each of these courses: but
my knowledge of Lord Derby and his colleagues induces
me to believe that the last will be preferred. Certain formal
and indispensable steps of supply must be first taken, and
the maturing of these may consume a week or ten days.
It is not impossible that, in the generous hour of triumph,
the opposition may allow to be wasted as much time, I
think about a fortnight, as is necessary to ripen the title
of Mr. Disraeli to a pension of two thousand pounds annually for an aggregate service of two years. It is hard
to see such luscious fruit turn to ashes on the eve of being
clutched. The disinterested independence of Mr. Walpole in resigning when similarly tempted to hold on, has,
however, been greatly eulogized.
If a new ministry, who are likely to compose it?
There is no redundant ability, experience, and influence
at command. As to the Premiership, the hostile attitude
of Palmerston and Russell must embarrass:-for you will
notice that, agreeably to the anticipation with which I
closed my letter of this day last week, the former of these
gentlemen, while sustaining the motion of the latter, took
a course to damage any ambitious hopes its author might
entertain very seriously. Some speak of Lord Granville
as the chief who could enlist both in an administration
and bridge the gulf which divides them. Others think a
Russell Reform cabinet may be made stronger (through
the Radicals) without than with Palmerston. Sir James
Graham and Mr. Milner Gibson will doubtless be provided with seats. On the Department of Foreign Affairs,
Lord Clarendon seems to have an almost undisputed
lien: —and that is our principal concern.




106                 TO MR. CASS.
No place yet definitively fixed for the proposed Congress.
Berlin, Geneva, Baden-Baden, and Mannheim have been
successively named. As to its result, meet where and
when it may, the opinion I have heretofore expressed remains unchanged. Count Cavour has returned from a
victorious sojourn at the Tuileries to Turin, radiant with
smiles:-and Count Cavour's vista has no limit short of
relieving Italy of every Austrian foot.
I am afraid that these two great topics have lost some
of their interest: —but until they are on the track of human
affairs in a settled shape, I don't know how to avoid them.
So, be merciful.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 260.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 15, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-A thin and glimmering ray of possible
peace has suddenly shone on the dark cloud of approaching war. My colleague and neighbor, the Belgian minister, regards it as a rainbow, precursive of a bright sky.
He may possibly be right:-but I cannot say that the incidentt appears to me of much importance. It is the last
proposal made by Austria:-that there shall be a general
disarmament, and the Italian question referred for definitive adjudication to the Congress at Baden.. Now, what
is this but an affectation of fairness?-an offer originating
in financial difficulty, and which cannot, without self-stultification, be accepted by the quarrelling powers. Accordingly France replies at once, she has not armed, and
cannot therefore disarm: —a reply about as ingenuous as
the proposal itself. Sardinia declares she cannot safely,
and therefore will not, take a single step backward, while
her enemy remains in Lombardo-Venetia. The truth is,
it is essential to both parties to satisfy the opinion of Germany: and hence the game of constantly recurring efforts
to put each other in the wrong. The instant these efforts
are exhausted, artillery will be heard, whether preceded
by a declaration or not. The acknowledged and extraordinary popularity of Louis Napoleon, notwithstanding all




TO MR. COh' YELL.              107
that he has been doing since the 1st of January last,
amply disproves the change in the French character which
it is the fashion here to insist has been effected by the last
eight years of peace. They love glory, and will follow
this Bonaparte in pursuit of it just as readily and heedlessly as they did the other.
On this absorbing subject we are promised by the cabinet a full development of the course they have taken, and
of the actual "situation."  It was designed for this evening, but was last night postponed to Monday next. My
own impression is that we shall be told of the failure of
every mediating effort, and perhaps of an impending declaration of war by Austria against Piedmont, which will
be a "tocsin " to France.
Mr. Reed reached here the evening before the last. He
must have crossed Senator Clingman on his way to Paris.
He tells me Mr. Mason has no doubt of war.
I arn quite sensible how much your time must be filled
up with more peremptory claims, and therefore am really
very grateful for your delightfully long note of the 18th
ultimo.
The members of the Commons are very generally off to
the bustings. It is not easy to form a House. The election will be a spirited one:-perhaps at some places it may
be marked by violence. Mr. Cobdeni is up for Rochdale;
-his armor borne in his absence by his Patroclus, Mr.
Bright, who has no dread of his own defeat at Birmingham. The dissolution finds little favor with either party.
When coolly considered by-and-by, it will be looked upon
as a most unnecessary and dangerous departure from the
settled principles and practices of this government: —a
step, however, rather stimulating towards republicanization.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 261.-TO MR. CORYELL.
LONDON, April 21, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 4th instant is before
me, and I thank you for its contents. It is impossible for




108              TO MR. COR YELL.
me to be more active in private correspondence than I am.
There are so many subjects for official thought and attention constantly arising that I am obliged to rest satisfied
with the modicum of personal writing within my power.
I bombard General Cass by every steamer.
What a deplorable picture you draw of the condition of
our good old party! It must be much worse, however,
before I can persuade myself to think that there is real
danger. As to my own action, I have grown old sticking
inveterately to one groove of straight line motion, out of
which I have neither the wish nor the ability to budge.
My faith in pure democracy is now exactly what it was
when I embraced or inhaled it fifty years ago. Perhaps
this will be esteemed blind idolatry. Be it so. I steer
by an old compass: and, sink or swim, amid shallows,
rocks, flats, or icebergs, I'll keep on to the last. When I
see men, like fretful painters, displeased with their own
work and dashing their brushes in a rage at the canvas,
I feel more pity than surprise at an intemperance which
visits the imperfection of a slight part upon the great
whole  Because they can't make a nose as straight, or an
eye as blue, as they conceive it ought to be, they indignantly spoil their still beautiful creation. None do more
harm to fundamentals than they who are over-righteous
and are "wise in their own conceit."  fou must make
the application of these "saws:" for you perceive I have
a latent reluctance to do so.
So, the delusive chirrup with which warm-hearted
friends are wont periodically to be excited as with an intermittent, has again, for the fifth time, buzzed in the
breeze! At this distance it is quite inaudible. The
speaking-trumpets of the press communicate no sound of
the sort. The cars are crammed with candidates steaming to Charleston. I'll accept cheerfully any one of them:
preferring to be sure a Southerner, but never discontente'd
with the best practicable result. When we can't do the
best, let us at least do the best we can. Be the candidate
whom he may, nail the flag, and never despair of the Republic!
We have not got war yet, though I expect it every day.
France and Austria have had a protracted game of political chess, and I rather think the former will prove the
Morphy of the occasion. The number of men under arms




TO MR. CASS.                109
in Europe, fully equipped and ready to give battle, may
be estimated at two nillions five hundred thousand.
These are the bulwarks of despotic thrones!  Can we
wonder that thrones still stand?
Remember, when you have a chance, to give my kindest
regards to Mr. Ingham: —also Judge Joel Jones, etc.
Very faithfully yrs.
No. 262.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 22, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-I see a good deal of Baron Poerio, the
minister in'49, and ever since the imprisoned victim, of
the now dying King of Naples. He is a short, slender
gentleman, rather bald, of unaffected quiet-toned manners,
and of clear mind. I should presume him to be about 55;
he attracts much kind notice, and circulates actively.
The deportment of all these escaped prisoners has been,
since they reached England, most admirably becoming.
They are not generally military men, but they seem to
regard the Sardinian army as their natural resource.
Two brilliant intellects of the 19th century have just
died out: De Tocqueville, at Cannes, on Saturday last,
and Lady Morgan, at London, on the preceding Wednesday.
The heavy sword of Brennus has suddenly been pitched
into the scales, though not exactly from the quarter I had
anticipated. Yesterday morning, the funds rose, Lord
Malmesbury's indefatigable and inexhaustible proposals
for peace, disarmament, and a Congress seemed everywhere accepted, and even my obstinate convictions were
giving way; when, crack! came the thunderclap of the
af'ternoon's telegram from Turin, announcing that Giulai,
the Austrian Commander-in-chief at Milan, had summoned Piedmont to disperse her soldiers and volunteers
under penalty of war and invasion at the expiration of
three days! I do not believe the fact to be so, but it looks
very much as if England had busied herself in administering opiates and sedatives to Louis Napoleon, while the
black double-headed eagle was stretching its wings for a




110                 TO MR. CASS.
spring and a swoop. For, what can Victor Emmanuel
do now? He must fly before the immense forces he is
wholly incapable of repelling; his capitals must fall in
quick succession: and when he is irreparably ruined, and
perhaps a suicide after the fashion of his father, then
possibly France, delirious with shame, may rush to revenge him. If the French take up this notion, that their
honor has been compromised by too blind a reliance upon
their dear allies, whither will they not impetuously turn
to strike? Scotch "second sight" is hardly necessary to
make palpable the crowded harbor and bristling batteries
of Cherbourg. And Queen Victoria is without her Parliament, her Channel without a fleet, her coasts without
defences, and her militia without arms or practice! Here
is a complication from which you may deduce the likelihood of a violent demand for the restoration of Lord Palmerston, the recognized War minister, to power.
I wish Congress could be persuaded to place at the disposition of the American minister here a reasonable credit
with the house of Barings, to be applied, under Presidential sanction in each case, to the purchase of rare relics
illustrative of our national history. Besides the catalogue
of Franklinian and Revolutionary articles sold on the 6th
instant, but which you plead poverty for not buying, here
is a manuscript of extreme interest by Bradford, the narrator of the preparations, voyage, and settlement of the
Pilgrims, quorum pars fuit: and here, telling a tale of our
complete and minute custom-house subserviency, while
colonies, to the London establishment, is the very copperplate whence were struck, and sent over, certificates of
assessed valuations of imports!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 263.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 29, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Foreign Office and the Exchange
are equally under a panic. Stocks are tumbling headlong, with curses louder and deeper than any heard since'48. As to Lord Malmesbury, he is fiercely assailed in the




TO MR. CASS.                 111
newspapers for absence and neglect of duty at an appalling
crisis. It will turn out, as I believe, that the Secretary,
over-zealous to avert war, has hurried to Paris to present in
person England's final offer of mediation. The treaty of
alliance offensive and defensive between Russia and
France, executed three days after the date of the Austrian
summons to Piedmont, and immediately announced, has
created general surprise and consternation. The Czar's
troops are in two armies of observation, composedly exercising surveillance, one on the eastern frontier of Prussia,
the other not distant from the eastern frontier of Austria.
They will cross the boundary at the signal of Lolis
Napoleon, who sped from Paris yesterday for a field of
battle in the vicinity of that of Marengo. The Duke of
Malakoff is still here, and possibly may linger for several
days:-but he has left what I take to be his farewell
cards. He has often said that the Emperor was no general
and never could be one. His Majesty has nevertheless
organized a magnificent campaign, and if he come out as
well as he goes intto it, the Marshal will be obliged to eat
his words. In the course of the present week the soil of
Piedmont will be trodden by little less than 350,000
armed men, marshalled by three sovereigns, and bent on
a pitched battle whose importance far transcends that of
Waterloo.
The perplexities an'd tribulations of Lord Malmesbury
are, as we may readily imagine, au comble. But the real
state of things is every instant thrown into doubt by fresh
telegrams across the Channel. Since I began this letter,
a distinction is taken between a treaty offensive and defensive, and a perfect understanding, in explanation of the
Czar's attitude. Bonaparte's quitting Paris is said not
to be definitive, and hence he don't empower the regency
to act:-he will be back before he enters Italy. He is
gaining time by forbearing to slam the door against mediation. All the while, however, it is certain that immense bodies of troops are pouring across the frontiers of
Piednm ont.
Should this European war proceed, of which I have
hardly had a doubt since the 1st of January, would it not
be well to suggest to General Floyd the expediency of
allowing  some of our most promising officers to witness
its operations?  Vast improvements in military weapons,




112                TO MR. CASS.
it is said, will have their first practical trials; and the
French Emperor has studied out, and meditates exhibiting, new strategical movements, the very hints of' which
have thrown all the young Gallic mousquetaires into ecstacies. For my own part, I should like to see, if the combatants would permit it, an American historiographer,
Major Delafield for instance, at or near every battle.
The election is going on with less agitation than was
expected. The coffers of the Carlton Club are crammed
with means for "paying expenses."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 264.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 3, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-It may be important that you should
promptly know the judgment passed by this government
upon the proceedings of their negotiator in Nicaragua;
and I therefore availed myself of the earliest opportunity
by'the Arago from Southampton. The tone of censure
used by Lord Malmesbury is somewhat softened in my
report. Such unexplained departures from prescribed
duty could, he said, be only attributed "to the loss of his
faculties "!
I introduced conversation by complimentary reference
to the Secretary's great exertions for the preservation of
peace in Europe. The truth is, I felt the extraordinary
alteration his appearance had undergone. Ile looked
abattu, exhausted, worn, grave: as if ten years of suffering
had intervened since I last saw him.  He said he had
given fourteen hours of every day for two months to
efforts to keep people from fighting, but fight they would,
in spite of everything he had been able to say or do: —all
mediation or intercession was at an end:-and (pausing to
reflect) they fight this very day!
War then is opened. The white-coated legions, with
their black double.headed eagles, have crossed the Ticino,
and Austria is in Piedmont on the banks of the Sesia!
Nothing as yet but a lively skirmish: —the Sardinians
killing a colonel and fifteen privates, and then retreating.




TO MR. T.                 113
The French are hastening to the theatre of action, through
all the passes, in great corps and high spirits: —forty thousand of them at Genoa from Algeria and Toulon. Revolution has exploded at the approach of the tricolor in
Tuscany (whose ducal family have fled), in Parma (whose
duchess is among the missing), in Modena; and even in
Rome, popular "manifestations," after taking a decided
course, tending to the overthrow of the Pope's secular
power, have only been suspended by the persuasive exhortation of the French General Guyon. The respective diplomatic vindications of the three belligerents are now addressed and circulated at the bar of European opinion. Napoleon, however, is still in Paris, and Malakoff in London.
At present the policy of maintaining a pacific neutrality is
here ascendant. All the hustings proclaim it. The pipe
of every section, Derby, Palmerston, Russell, or Bright,
discourses the same eloquent music. Yet the Mediterranean squadrons and garrisons are reinforced, and the Channel fleet is in process of doubling. Volunteers, too, are
drilling with rifles: —the militia embodying: —and the
coast fortifications are anxiously brushed up. There is no
knowing, indeed, in what direction the lava of a volcano
may scoop its channel.
The complexion of the new House of Commons cannot
yet be determined. The Conservatives will gain, say their
adversaries, about ten membe-rs,-not enough to enable
them to retain the government. Lord Palmerston anticipates another ministry, and another dissolution consequent
upon the adoption of another Reform bill in less than a
twelvemonth.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 265.-TO MR. T.
LONDON, May 7, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,- I got yours of the 2d instant with its
enclosure.
When Mr. -- asks " for such information, in regard
to international law, as will define the rights, obligations,
and responsibilities of neutral ships," he asks a pamphlet,
VOL. II.-8




114              TO MR. PICKENS.
not to be struck off (according to the newly coined phrase)
as quick as 1 o'clock. I think it one of the most violently
unreasonable requests ever made to a public officer who
has current business exacting attention. If I can manage
to get time enough to compress a few leading principles,
rules, and cases, within something short of an octavo, you
may have a chance to hear from me; otherwise, hint to
Mr. -  that what he wants he can easiest and safest procure by administering a handsome fee to some eminent
professional counsel.
Faithfully yrs.
No. 266.-TO MR. PIOKENS.
LONDON, May 8, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Your highly interesting letter of the
19th ultimo would have been answered before, but that
our Central American relations suddenly required rectification here and exacted exclusive zeal. It will be a
source of great pleasure to me to exchange thoughts with
you occasionally.  I cherish many delightful remembrances of my short residence in St. Petersburg during
the years'37,'38, and'39, and feel much interest in the
movements of the present Czar, in their bearing on
foreign politics, or domestic ameliorations. He became
of age while I was at his father's Court.
The condition of things at home seems rapidly improving. All the elements of prosperity are vigorously
pushing upwards. Coal, iron, cotton, corn, railways, are
emerging from the fogs of panic. An excess of imports
is apprehended: —a dangerous consequence, but sure
proof, of renovated enterprise. The incumbent of the
Treasury, after suffering the chilly horrors of emptiness,
will have to watch and subdue the tendencies to repletion.
The Paraguay Armada returns; having accomplished
very little, but that little quite enough. Peace and good
will are pearls for which we must sometimes pay a high
price. We probably saved in the future a good deal by
the size and vigor of the demonstration.
The very equivocal —rather the unequivocally wrong



TO MR. PICKENS.               115
course taken by the British negotiator in Nicaragua,
threatened to necessitate a similar movement in that
quarter. I think, however, it will be abstained from.
The fault was clearly more in Sir William G. Ousely than
in the local statesmen; and the remedy sent from the
Foreign Office will doubtless be efficacious; we shall
have the Cass-Yrissari Treaty pure et simple: the transit
opened, permanently neutral to all the world; the Mosquito Protectorate at an end; and the Bay Islands restored to Honduras:-these arrangements leaving the
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty free of contestable points.
It; in addition to the Right of Search question, the
China question, the Paraguay question, and the Central
American question, the President shall be able to adjust
advantageously the wretched Mexican question, his foreign policy will stand a very good chance of being esteemed
historically as fortunate, no matter how his personal popularity at home may stand.
The existing war is an exceedingly interesting event.
Of the real, though distant, source whence it springs, one
can scarcely doubt. When you hear of an unaccountable
murder, you ask "' who benefits by it?" It is possible that
Italy may incidentally be relieved of Austrian tyranny:
but the Emperor of Russia would appease his Sire's ghost
by occupying the halls of Stamboul, and a large print of
the foot of Napoleon I. is indelible at the base of the great
Pyramid. At the expiration of this struggle, unless the
maritime power of England energetically intervene, the
Crescent will have disappeared from Europe, and Egypt
be annexed to Algeria. That is the only logical end to
the beginning.
Just now, the public men of Great Britain, high and
low, in and out of office, on the hustings and in private,
unanimously inculcate neutrality. The policy is wise,for the time being: but it will not continue wise or safe,
as soon as the vista shall open of a redistribution of empire in especial reference to the crowns at Paris and St.
Petersburg. For one, or two, or three years, England
may husband her vast resources and concentrate her scattered forces: and then, on seeing the danger patent, she
will find herself able to compel a peace. You will probably have remarked that the instant her efforts at mediation failed, she pushed forward the doubling of her fleets,




116                TO MR. CASS.
the restoration of her garrisons, the embodying of her
militia, the recall of her troops, and the recruiting of seamen with a ten-pounds bounty. I am quite satisfied that
she will try to avoid being drawn into the maelstrom of
war, until she feels so strong and so secure that she can,
by going one side or the other, bring it to a close. Up to
the point of driving the Austrians into the Adriatic, my
sympathies all run with the Italians, and even with Louis
Napoleon: " apres cela, rien si non le deluge!"
I agree with you in believing that our American interests are beyond the reach of injury by this war. Indeed, as neutral carriers, our merchant vessels may be
much benefited; especially under the operation of the
2d, 3d, and 4th clauses of the "Declaration concerning
Maritime Law" in the Treaty of Paris of April,'56, although Mr. Marcy refused his assent.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 267.-TO MR. 0ASS.
LONDON, May 13, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-There are but two topics, the war on
the Po and the fight at the Polls. The latter is just closing:-shewing twenty Liberal members captured by the
enemy, but still leaving a large superiority of force, say
55, with the opposition. Is it not quite shocking to perceive that, in this highly moral and religious country, so
given to inculcate virtuous principles and practices upon
"all the world and the rest of mankind," this change of
twenty constituencies is authoritatively (Sir James Graham), scarce disputably, attributed to bribery, bribery with
a Carlton Club fund!
Governments are very generally and distinctly announcing neutrality as the order of the day. In the actual war,
Russia declares herself neutral: so does Prussia: so does
Switzerland: so does Belgium: so does Holland: so does
the Roman Pontiff: so does expiring Bomba: so does
Denmark: and so shortly will England, either by orders
in Council, or unequivocal declarations in Parliament.
Thus the war in Italy assumes the aspect of a prize fight:




TO MR. CASS.                 117
three bruisers without backers hemmed in by a complete
cordon of neutrals.  How  long this cordon will last;
whether it will not soon prove itself a rope of sand;
whether the German States will not be frightened into
fits of intermeddling; whether Russia may not on tiptoe
creep to the bedside of the "sick man;" whether Hungary may not invite the Czar to liberate her on his way to
enlarge Greece by territorial annexations; and whether
splicing Egypt to Algeria may not fall like "a stunner"
upon Britannia: are all speculative questions of eaVy
starting but of slow solution.
The French Emperor reached Genoa yesterday. Today he is doubtless in Turin. Whether he will execute
his promise and get to Milan in three weeks, noas verrons.
He left Paris on the surge of the highest swell of popular
enthusiasm, and (a comforiing fact) carrying in his portfolio the spontaneous pledges of the " Mariamne " and the
Socialists that they would guaranty the safety of his dynasty and family during his absence. His command is
already 180,000 men.
We are bound to celebrate her Majesty's birthday on the
19th instant at the Drawing Room in St. James's Palace,
at the Foreign Office dinner, and at the Prime Ministers'
ball: and all this by conventional arrangement, when the
excellent Queen was really born on the 24th of May. Quite
immaterial, when once settled.
Marshal Malakoff is succeeded at this court by corporation-scolding Count Persigny. The former went off in a
huff, at being sent to Nancy to await the possibility of
getting the command of a division at some future day.
Perhaps it is intended that, in order to have a pretence for
concentrating the army, he shall do something to provoke
a German breach of neutrality. Since his marriage, I
think he has become "the soldier tired of war's alarms."
Lord Napier and family arrived safely at Plymouth a
few days ago.
Always faithfully yrs.




118                  TO MR. H.
No, 268.,-TO MR. H,
LONDON, May 17, 1859.
DEAR SIR,- Your note of the 14th instant was handed
to me yesterday. In it you request my opinion as to your
contracts to ship provisions and coals to France, and as to
your position in executing these contracts, per English
vessels, under the recently issued Proclamation of the
Queen.
You leave me in the dark as to the dates and terms of
the contracts, the expressed purposes to which your supplies are destined, the nominal parties, and the places of
delivery. All these are matters which, more or less, affect
the character of your proceedings. One thing, however,
is I believe indisputable:-your contracts are with the Imperial government, not with private persons, and it would
be difficult, therefore, should obstacles interpose, to resist
the presumption that your shipments were designed for
military, not domestic use.
The penalties and forfeitures provided in the act of
George III. recited in the Proclamation, are meant to enforce a high national policy, that of strict neutrality in an
actual war between two foreign powers. Such shipments
as you propose would certainly help the belligerent movements of one of these powers injuriously to the other: if
that be undeniable, do they not necessarily violate the
neutrality proclaimed? and so subject the shipper to prosecution for misdemeanor and his vessels to condemnation.
If the Proclamation means less than this, it is mere pretence.
But perhaps you hope that the doctrine promulgated in
the Times is sound, to wit, that the statute does not apply
to American citizens or vessels. I am sorry to be obliged
to think otherwise. The very words of the act refer to
"' any person" and " any vessels."  Our citizens domiciled
as merchants in England, and our ships in British ports,
cannot claim immunity from the operation of the statute
upon, any principle of which I am aware.
These views are hastily submitted to you. I should
much have preferred expressing them orally: —because I
do not like to give a hurried opinion on so grave a topic.
Please, regard them as confidential.




TO LADY S.                  119
Let me conclude by saying, that, notwithstanding the
suggestions I have made, the shipment of provisions only
seems to me so little likely to be noticed or complained of
by Austrians, that, were I embarked in the business, I
should not be deterred from going on.
Very respectfully yrs.
No. 269.-TO LADY S.
LONDON, May 18, 1859.
MY DEAR LADY S.,-Your note of the 16th instant in
reference to Mr.    has had all the favorable consideration which any request from you is sure to command from
me. I cannot doubt the excellent qualities of one whom
you desire to serve: —and in promptly conforming to your
wish, it would be a source of additional satisfaction to me
to contribute, however slightly or indirectly, to an appointment which would please the several highly cherished
friends whom you name.
If on any occasion Lord Malmesbury were to honor me
by touching on the subject and asking my opinion, I might
feel at liberty to express myself in harmony with your
suggestions. But, to go farther than this, or to initiate
the topic, is out of my power, as I am prohibited by positive law. What course of conduct heretofore pursued by
the representatives of the United States at any foreign
Court may have suggested the expediency of the legislative injunction is unknown to me:-but in 1856 Congress
passed an act prescribing, among other matters, that " no
diplomatic officer shall recommend any person, at home or abroad,
for any employment of trust or profit under the government of
the country in which he is located: nor ask or accept for himself or any other person any present, emolument, pecuniary favor, office or title of any kind from any such
government."
This law, my dear Lady S., renders me powerless to
aid your gracious object: and I have no mode of mitigating the regret felt at abstaining to execute your wish
except by frankly shewing the obligation of duty.
The departure of his Grace, the Duke of Leeds, shocked




120                TO MR. CASS.
us all by its suddenness. Short as our acquaintance with
him was, the kindly and generous features of his character had produced an impression not to be easily effaced.
With the sincerest respect I am, my dear Lady S.,
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 270. —TO MR. ASS.
LONDON, May 20, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Lord and Lady Napier had a prosperous
and quick voyage home. They are full of grateful remembrances for kindnesses, and express themselves to everybody with warmth.
Your representative at the Court of Lisbon, the gallant
General Morgan, is at present here. He escorts Mrs.
Morgan to Liverpool, on her way to the United States
by the steamer of to-morrow. They did us credit yesterday at the birthday Drawing Room of the Queen.
We were thirty-two plates at the diplomatic feast of the
Foreign Office. Among us shone, in a perfect wilderness
of diamonds, Prince Obrenovitch, son of the recently
reinstated Miloch of Servia. This specimen of the race
is exceedingly imposing, and dwarfs nearer and older
royalties.
What of a battle?-coming, not yet come. Strategy,
manceuvre, observation, inspection, distribution, but no
fight. They say we are to hear of one to-night. Sympathizing with Italy, I almost fear the news:-the Austrians
have been so cautious and concentrated, the allies so dashing, brisk, and loud. Then the military theories of Louis
Napoleon, however brilliant, do not give the confidence
imparted by the experience and practice of Hess and
Gyllai. And again, even the Emperor himself apprehends mischief from the rash levity of his new troops.
I would be content to ensure a drawn game or two for the
next month.
Count Persigny has resumed his embassy. IHe said to
me yesterday that he would not have come, had he not
regarded his coming as an earnest of the Emperor's good
will towards England. Something, then, makes it expe



TO MR. T.                  121
dient to prop up the belief of that good will even by small
matters! WQrds have lost their efficacy..No wonder, for
the world is pretty generally convinced that the extraordinary armament of this country has its impulse in the
knowledge of the secretly agreed designs between Russia
and France. I think the leaning of sentiment and comment too here is towards Austria. The Times has managed, it is said through the agency of Lord Aberdeen, to
plant a "special correspondent" at the head-quarters of
the Tedeschi on the Po: and able letters have already
appeared, eulogizing and vindicating the invaders. The
Regent of Prussia, too, father-in-law of our Princess Royal,
in his farewell address to the dissolving landtag, though
still ambiguous, shews more anti-gallicanism than was
expected.
The new Parliament convenes in ten days. The Liberal
majority is fifty-one, nominally: in reality, it may sometimes be many more, and sometimes wholly disappear, according to the questions for decision. Great exertions are
being made to keep the party united, until at least a change
of government be effected. If Reform be early brought
upon the tapis, the ministry will fall: but if, as I hear,
a resort be had to any other expedient, such for instance
as a vote of want of confidence, on account of failuce to
prevent the war, or on imputations of electioneering corruption, the "independent members" will bolt, and Lord
Derby be firmer than ever. I am, as you know, not much
of a political conjurer: but, were I to wager, it would be
that the cabinet will last another year.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 271.-TO MR. T.
(Unofficial.)                    LONDON, May 22, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-If I do not misapply the present Sabbath, I am afraid that an answer to your letter of the 20th
instant will run a chance of almost indefinite postponement. Perhaps, too, what may be said will reach all the
practical objects aimed at by your friend.
The memorandum, now returned to you, of the legis



122                  TO MR. T.
lative provisions by which our shipping, in its titles, transfers, and privileges, is governed, however correct in itself,
does not seem to me applicable to the enquiry on foot.
Our custom-house regulations are not what you want.
You are seeking a solution of the illusory problem started
in several newspapers since the Queen's Proclamation of
neutrality, to wit, whether the penalties prescribed by the
act of George III. can be avoided by shippers in England,
if they employ American instead of British bottoms and
flags. Now, on this question, our peculiar customs laws
have no bearing whatever.
1. When a war is declared or explodes between two or
more nations, the normal relation of other nations to that
war is one of neutrality: signifying, engaged on neither
side.
2. To preserve unquestioned this condition of neutrality,
some governments deem it expedient to warn and deter
the people by threatening with penalties and forfeitures; other governments simply go on their usual course,
having nothing to say or do with quarrels which don't
concern or involve them, and leaving intercourse and
commerce to private enterprise and prudence.  Great
Britain, on the occurrence of the actual war, has chosen
the former proceeding: the United States have mostly
heretofore, and probably will now, take the latter. This
difference in the manner of municipal action towards their
respective peoples does not, in the slightest degree, vary
the character of their international relation: —they are
both neutral to the fullest extent.
3. The statute of George IIT., recited in her Majesty's
Proclamation, makes amenable to domestic or municipal
criminal procedure, certain acts tending to bring the
national neutrality into suspicion, against which we in the
United States have not thought it necessary to take such
stringent steps. Both countries have what are called permanent neutrality laws (ours tyou will find dated the 20th
April, 1818), but the offences made punishable are not the
same in reality or in termsl
4. Observe that the language of the statute Geo. III.
very properly makes the penalty and forfeiture attached
to the commission of the described misdemeanor, applicable to all "persons" and "ships" within British jurisdiction.  It would have been strange if "foreigners,"




TO MR. T.                  123
domiciled Americans or any other class, had been allowed
an immunity for offences alleged to endanger the national
good faith, honor, and interests. We have not declared
in our criminal code the acts thus denounced to be misdemeanors: but had we done so, certainly aliens or strangers
would have been made equally liable with citizens.
5. Breaches of neutrality are of various kinds and followed by various consequences. It is impossible, for me
at least, to state in advance every case that would be construed into a breach. Take it as a fundamental rule that
fraudulent neutrality is no neutrality: and, then, that in
general a violation is committed by supplying one of the
belligerents, directly or indirectly, with contraband of
war.
6. What articles are contraband of war must be too
commonly known to require mention. They are, broadly
and comprehensively, such things as contribute to, and
are designed for, military use. Provisions may become
contraband, if destined to feed a population intentionally
condemned, by siege or other plan of operations, to starvation: and the necessities of steam navigation would
seem, in these modern times, by parity of reason, to convert coals into contraband, if freighted for a belligerent
navy.
7. I have been surprised, under the influence of these
views, at finding some portion of the English press making
the unusual concession that commerce can be more safely
carried on from their ports in American ships and under the
American flag than with their own. This compliment has
too little foundation to be accepted. As I have said, both
nations are neutrals, in reference to the war now waging.
To be sure, an English merchant in Liverpool, who fits out
an English vessel in the Mersey, with a cargo of coals or
salt beef, and orders her to Toulon, may be, and his ship
also, in more immediate peril than would be an American
merchant in New York who fits out an American vessel in
the Hudson with a like cargo for the same French port: but
the greater peril does not spring out of the nationality of
the citizen or ship: it is the consequence of a local criminal
law, the statute of George III., which at Liverpool applies
indiscriminately to every person *and every vessel, but
which at New York don't exist at all. On the high seas,
in the view of the parties at war, and in reference to the




124               TO MR. DILLER.
doctrine of contraband, as the two nations are equally
neutral, it is quite immaterial whether the carrying craft
be British or American. If the freight be internationally
lawful, it is as secure against invasion in one as in the
other:-if it be unlawful, it will in both be liable to
seizure and condemnation.
8. War has its rights,as well as neutrality. These rights,
in regard to maritime captures, are enforced by courts of
admiralty, whose decisions rest, or ought to rest, upon
the established principles of international law. Whether
a vessel seized for breach of neutrality be good prize or
not, is often a complicated, nice, and difficult question,
requiring the closest study of facts, documents, circumstances, and designs. In every civilized country, admniralty tribunals have been established to which either
party to a war may resort with alleged prizes to obtain
judicial decrees of condemnation, unless, indeed, for the
stricter maintenance of neutrality, such resort has been
prohibited.
But you will say enough, and more than enough! I
believe so too. These suggestions have been made, to
indicate what I conceive to be the right track of thought
on the new phase of our commercial relations by which
your mind is exercised. Each of them could be amplified into the pamphlet held over you in terrorem, by illustrations, exceptions, and book authorities; —but I forbear
to do what would consume much precious time (both
mine and yours) without yielding a corresponding profit.
One reflection I must add: indeed " situated as I am" (as
Sir Patrick Plenipo adroitly intimates), I do not feel at
liberty to omit it: viz. that what I have written to you on
this grave topic, if used at all, should be used with extreme discretion.
Faithfully yours.
No. 272.-TO MR. DILLER.
(Unofficial.)                   LONDON, May 24, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have received your excellent letter of
the 20th instant. It is one among many from our foreign




TO MR. DE LA HTENRIERE.             125
consuls which the war has induced. All, I believe, are
anxious to do right:-but all are not as inflexible to surrounding and misleading influences as I take great pleasure in finding you to be.
Your law on the mooted topic is incontestably sound,
and your official morality, in refusing to be an agent to
effectuate a fraudulent cover, not to be questioned. Never
do what is tainted even with the suspicion of malafides.
In God's name, why should the seal or the flag of the
United States be debased by bolstering or disguising what
is false? We should recoil from such profanation instinctively.
There is a certain amount of discretion vested in you by
the 637th paragraph of the Regulations. There should be
proof that 1. the purchaser is a citizen of the United States,
and 2. that the transaction is bona fide:-and you are to determine whether that proof be satisfactory: you are the officer
to be satisfied: and though I would never embarrass a fair
transaction of business by captious difficulties as to evidence, yet, if I doubted its integrity, I would probe it
resolutely, and exact all-sufficient proof.
Of your power to administer an oath whenever you
think it necessary or proper in fulfilling your duties, no
doubt can possibly be entertained since the passage of the
24th section of the act of the 18th of August, 1856.
I will only add that the advantage to be derived by one
neutral ship-owner in selling to another neutral, even as
a cover, is imperceptible to me: for, in time of war, no
flag can protect against the belligerent right of search.
Very respectfully and faithfully yrs.
No. 273.-TO MR. DE LA HENRIERE.
LONDON, May 25, 1859.
SIR,-I beg to thank you for your note received two
days ago, and for the spirited little volume, the Handbook
of Reform, which accompanied it.
As the dispassionate conclusion of an enlightened stranger, your estimate of the Constitution of my country is
exceedingly welcome. Born under the beneficent opera



126                TO MR. CASS.
tion of that instrument, I have yet to experience my first
doubt of its great wisdom, or to shew my first reluctance
to maintain it unaltered.
With sentiments of esteem and good will,
JI have the honor to be, sir, yrs.
No. 274.,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 27, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The French Ambassador fairly cornered me at a reception the day before yesterday, and
with unmistakable enmpressement and perseverance went
through an elaborate vindication of the Emperor's entire
course respecting the war. It was necessary to give my
whole attention:-for Count Persigny spreaks poor English, and is too courteous to insist upon his own tongue,
though I hinted he might. Well! he produced in my
mind a conviction that Napoleon III. regards it as essential to his dynastic and national policy that he should end
the war and leave Italy to her own population and selfgovernment, as soon as he has driven the Austrians into
the Adriatic. Nothing, said his Excellency, can be more
unjust and preposterous than the English notion that he
wishes to go beyond the independence of LombardoVenetia: that he wants crowns for his cousins: and is
preparing to confront all Europe in battle. If anything
of that sort result from the intermeddling of the German
States, the fault will not be his. Securing the Peninsula
against revolution, and Frane  against its contagion, by
giving the oppressed and misgoverned people the power
to act for themselves, is the great guaranty he proposes
to effect for his throne and fame. Victory, it is true,
deals with the general as brandy deals with the toper:but inebriation may possibly be escaped, and the Count
has implicit faith in-the strong head of his Majesty. So
have I.
Once or twice heretofore you have had my deduction
from various and numerous small matters, that the tendency of the Derby government is to rapprochement with
Austria. That, I am convinced, is their gravitation.




TO MR. MARKOE.                 127
Neutrality, vigorously arming neutrality, as long as Napoleon has his hands full in Lombardy, and while Prussia
is settling the Germanic pre-eminence: but, when all's
ready, the ministry, in harmony with the Court, will elude
the popular vigilance and place England, before she is
aware of it, at the head of a general coalition hostile to
France. One event may defeat this,-a ministerial change:
for all admit that no administration which could be formed
by Lord Granville, Lord John Russell, or Lord Palmerston, would allow the pacific position, now unanimously
chosen, to be disturbed, in order to reinstate or uphold
the oppression of Italy.
Her Majesty's mother, the Duchess of Kent, about 73,
has just undergone a severe and alarming attack. Should
it prove fatal, the Queen's affliction will be ample ground
for putting off any rough handling of her official servants.
The Tories would rejoice, as brands from the burning, if
they could tranquilly tide over the next two months.
Poor old lady! she little thinks that such hopes have been
kindled by the report of her illness!
Senator Seward has been here a week, and purposes to
remain until November. Sir Henry Holland talks of visiting the President in September. He likes the sea, and
has American investments.
The battle of Montibello, though unquestionably a
French success, is not esteemed here as much more than
a sanguinary skirmish with little result.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 275.-TO MR. MARKOE.
LONDON, June 1, 1859.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-The military movements in Italy
are very engrossing. To-day brings us a second sanguinary fight at Palestro; in which the Piedmontese carry off
the palm, and the Austrians are beaten. Their chief,
Gyulai, is reported among the slain. The carnage, both
here and at Montibello, is out of all proportion with the
result as affecting the campaign.
In the north, at Como, Garibaldi has received a check;




128                TO MR. CASS.
a thing that will do him no permanent harm, for he was
moving on, like mad Anthony, rather recklessly, too much
despising his adversary. A little more caution and armament, and he may yet' be the first in Milan. One can't
help wishing this, for he is their best type of liberty and
independence:-republican, ab ovo usque ad mala.
Odd enough, I am getting to believe in the sincerity of
Louis Napoleon's professions about the only purpose of
the present war. 1 have persuaded myself into the conviction that it is the interest of his dynasty and fame and
future power to stop, at least for some years, as soon as he
drowns the Austrians in the Adriatic:-and as he has
sagacity enough to see his interest, so, setting aside the
notion that a despot can be a liberator, he may see his
own selfish and solid advantage in accomplishing what all
Europe will praise him for, if he be content as soon as it
is done. Of course, Englishmen and Germans can't reason
in this way; they remember too keenly, and are nervous.
Prussia is fast taking the pre-eminence and lead among
the German powers.  If Austria yield her the pas in
political arrangement, she may be flattered to a rapprochement, and then if the French Emperor forget the
moderation inculcated by Eugenie, she, with England at
her side, will create a coalition for the House of Hapsburg, which even Russia might not be averse to joining,
and which Napoleon is not vigorous enough to withstand.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 276.-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 3, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-I am told by a confidential and reliable
Whig, that all efforts to bridge over the chasm between
"Lord Pam and Lord John" have failed. Neither will
enter a new government except as Prime Minister. If
such be the irremediable fact, the great Liberal party,
with its majority of fifty in the House of Commons, must
fly to pieces on the first occasion next week, leaving Lord
Derby "calm as a summer's morning." Mr. Roebuck,
the fiercest of the Independents or Radicals, and Sir John




TO MR. CASS.                 129
Ramsden, a sterling member of her Majesty's opposition,
have recently made speeches which disclose a very unpromising prospect for those who covet seats on the
Treasury bench.
The battle of Palestro was signalized by the exhibition
of great daring on the part of Victor Emmanuel, and by
the first command given by Louis Napoleon, which directed
the Zouaves to an irresistible attack. It was reported, but
without foundation, that Gyulai had been killed. As the
allies contemplate a combined movement to cross the
Po in face of the Austrians, a general and most destructive conflict is hourly expected.
Some of our distinguished army officers, Crittenden,
Carr, Todd, Leroy, Clitz, have been attracted to this side
of the Atlantic by the war. They would like to be observers at head-quarters:-but there are, I fear, insuperable
obstacles in their way.
The legation was, the day before yesterday, specially
honored by receiving her Majesty's commands inviting
Bishop Delancey, of New York, and Mr. Senator Seward,
to a concert at Buckingham Palace. The Queen graciously
permitted the presentation of Mr. Seward between the
acts of music: —I had, some weeks ago, introduced the
Bishop at a regular Levee.
This morning I received official notice that her Majesty
will in person open Parliament on the 7th instant. What
has been doing since the 31st May is preliminary only:
the election of Speaker, Mr. Denison again, and swearing in of members.
You will doubtless have seen in the public journals, or
received from  our consul there, Mr. Ferdinand Sarmiento, the official notification of the blockade of Venice
by the French fleet. This is, I believe, the first maritime
act of the kind in the present war. All the belligerents
have referred to the Treaty of Paris of 1856 for their rule
as to blockades: —we did not adopt the declaration contained in that treaty, but I suppose the rule would act
upon all commerce without discrimination.
Always faithfully yrs.
VOL. II.-9




130                TO MR. CAS&.
No. 277.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 17, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The world's movements have latterly
been brisk: —the Tories driven out, and the Austrians beyond the Adda! To signalize these events duly, I send
you a list of the new government, and the huge blue-book
of correspondence on "the affairs of Italv" from the Foreign Office. Of the first, it may be said that, like the
pudding, its proof will be in the eating: —the flavor is not
peculiarly palatable to us, but it mav improve on tasting.
Of the second, this is clearly true, that it does great credit
to the industry and fairness of Lord Malmesbury as a
European statesman:' the Continent will read and digest
it with avidity, and perhaps hasten to regret the downfall of
Lord Derby. These gentlemen, after all, quit power with
grace: —a grace that has emboldened the Queen, notwithstanding the condemnatory vote of the Commons, to confer the Garter on the retiring Premier, and the red ribbon of
the Bath upon his principal Secretary of Foreign Aftairs,
as also upon his first Lord of the Admiralty, Sir John
Pakington.
The virtues of a caucus were signally shewn by the opposition. They convened to the niumber of 274, the day
preceding the opening of Parliament: were addressed by
Palmerston, Russell, Bright: and although tempted into
dissension by Roebuck, Lindsay, and Horsman, they steadily resolved to move an amendment to the Address, declaring a want of confidence in her Majesty's ministers.
After nearly a week's debate, the amendment prevailed,
in a House of 633, by a majority of 13. Had no preliminary and conciliatory meeting shewn the possibility of
union on interchanges of mutual pledges, it is quite certain that the government would have stood.
The distinctive feature of the new cabinet, as a political
agency on this side of the Atlantic, is an avowed sympathy
with the Italian cause as espoused by Napoleon III. To
be sure, neither Palmerston, Russell, Granville, nor Gladstone will dream of quitting neutrality in order to aid tllat
cause:-but as soon as it triumphs by the expulsion of
Austrian power from the Peninsula, they will firmly in



TO MR. CASS.                 131
sist upon a peace by their mediation, and upon guaranties
of independence and improved administration. If you
can afford a few hours, I recommend to your perusal that
cogently argumentative and wonderfully witty book,
About's "Question Romaine."  You will there see, dissected and phosphorescent, the corruptions which make
changes absolutely indispensable.  I think the opportunity is at hand for their cure: -but it will be like
drying the sores of Lazarus.
You will observe that the cabinet I send you requires
the Queen's assent:-that will be announced in the two
Houses of Parliament this afternoon, and probably without modification. On the score of ability, it will pass
unchallenged. A greater infusion of " Independent Liberals" and less of " Peelites" might have improved the
"pudding." Whether Mr. Cobden will accept the Board
of Trade is questionable: he and Mr. Milner Gibson are
the representative men of the extreme left "below the
gangway," and they rather seem fobbed off with pieces
de resistance, hard and homely places.  Mr. Gladstone
and Mr. Cardwell are assigned the posts for which they
are respectively admirably fitted: but, as to the former,just radiant under the patronage of Lord Derby, eulogistic
of rotten boroughs as nurseries of statesmen, and voting
unabated confidence in ministers-one " wonders how the
devil he got there!"  The three plain Misters, pray
remark, are counterpoised by a cluster of Dukes:-Newcastle, Argyll, Somerset; the best tried and least exceptionable of their class. A happy hit brings in Lord Elgin,
and makes the government overwhelmingly strong in the
House of Peers:-even though the despotic Lord John
preferred himself to Lord Clarendon, who may flost justly
question the wisdom of the preference. Personally, the
Premier has limited himself to keeping his faithful "corporal's guard" the three Sirs, Wood, Lewis, and Grey.
A " broad-bottomed" administration here was once shortlived: —perhaps one on a " broad basis" (for that was the
improved phraseology of the present coalition) may last
a little longer. Bottom  and Basis! tweedledum  and
tweedledee! the end may be the same.
The Austrian Emperor has taken command of his army
in Italy, as a preliminary to a last desperate battle. He
stands at bay in what military men call "the famous




132                TO MR. CASS.
quadrilateral position," or the area flanked and defended
by four great fortresses. The allies will undoubtedly
rush upon him: if their attack succeed, the work of the
campaign may be regarded as accomplished, for they will
then have nothing to do but to invest the garrisons, and
await the inevitable capture of Venice by the French
fleet. There is really no reason why the war should not
be closed by November next:-for, observe, that the attitudes respectively taken by Russia and Prussia, per their
recent diplomatic manifestoes, render it in the highest
degree improbable that any testy or terrified member of
the Germanic body will intermeddle with the struggle.
Thus localized, like a malignant disease boarded up in
an infected district, it must soon die out. I do not say
that all difficulty will cease when war ceases and Francis
Joseph renounces his provinces:-for it is quite obvious
that as arms are laid down, up will spring a multitudinous
crop of c6mplications respecting the Pope, the Legations,
the Duchies, and the Two Sicilies: —but these fall to the
department of diplomacy.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 278. —T MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 24, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The new ministry are in, but not fairly
under way. Until re-elected to their seats, vacated by accepting office, those of the House are busy with their constituents. With some it will probably be a hard road to
travel:-among these Mr. Gladstone, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and Mr. Sidney Herbert, Secretary of
War. The former, but recently twice chosen by the University of Oxford, has exasperated toryism by joining Lord
Palmerston, and I am assured by a gentleman just returned from that seat of learning and conservatism that he
will be defeated by his competitor the Marquis of Chandos. It will be something odd if circumstances should
make it appear that, in his panegyric about two months
ago on nomination boroughs, he was under the influence




TO MR. CASS.                 1:33
of a prophetic spirit as to his own impending necessities.
Herbert is hated for his Romanismn (he built a church
which for excess of ornamentation illustrates a bad taste
run mad) and for being a Peelite.
The expenditures of the government of Lord bDerby in
military defences are beginning to be denounced, and it
is said Mr. Gladstone intends their reduction. This design is connected with the sympathy felt in the Italian
cause, more genuine and sincere than that of the preceding ministry, with the greater devotion to the French
alliance, and with the perception that the extraordinary
armament of England is represented at Paris as a menace
to France, while it sets an example of which the continental states avail themselves. Prussia has put on her coat
of mail and seems more than half inclined to forbid the
allies crossing the Mincio. In taking this step she would
undoubtedly place herself at the head of the German Confederation:-but she prudently looks right and left: on
the right, for an intimation from Lord Palmerston, and on
the left, to note the Muscovite corps d'armee. The step
once taken, unless Victor Emmanuel and his all-powerful
colleague are willing to eat dirt, a thing altogether incredible, the war, like a vast maelstrom, will very rapidly
if not instantly suck into its vortex every European nation.
I don't think anything can be done to restore peace until
both Lombardy and Venetia are independent; aiming at
that, the struggle has, in the course of six weeks, sacrificed
some fifty thousand lives.
Do you observe that, animated by the republican spirit
of our Congress of'89, the Hospodar of Wallachia and
Moldavia, Couza, has actually abolished all titles except
those descriptive of official duty and authorized by the
new Constitution?
The Queen's concert on Wednesday was graced by the
presence of the Belgian King and members of his family.
The deaf, and loud-talking, Prince Esterhazy was there also.
Movements in these elevated circles are just now supposed
all to have their meaning. WThat is the import of his Majesty's? Is it to act as medium between Palmerston and
Prussia? Is it to fan the flame of Germanism in this
Court? Speculation is rife. Leopold could not withstand
the reconstruction of the map of Europe, which a great
and authentic literary discovery has proved that even




134                TO MR. CASS.
Charles X. sketched and encouraged, and which Louis
Napoleon may be provoked into attempting.
Don't say, " rather dull!" —for my consciousness is so
sensitive that, if you do, I shall hear it on this side of the
water.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 279.,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 1, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-With equal personal safety and eclat,
Mr. Cobden has crossed the Atlantic, and Napoleon III.
the Mincio:-the former welcomed by troops of eulogizing
friends, the latter accompanied by a victorious army.
You will notice the very warm expressions of Mr.
Cobden about the kindness he experienced in the United
States. They are among his earliest outpourings on landing in Liverpool.  We could not act otherwise: he might
have imitated Basil Hall, or Morpeth, or Dickens, or
Grattaln.
At the Queen's ball the night before last, I met Milner
Gibson, Lord Clarence Paget, Monckton Milnes, Charles
Villiers, and others of that ilk, whom I was astonished to
find ignorant of the advent of Mr. Cobden. Their anxiety was extreme to ascertain whether from what he had
said and done, there was a likelihood of his accepting the
Board of Trade. They wanted him to do it:-but obviously feared his Roman inflexibility. His decision is
yet unknown; and the advice of Mr. Bright may disincline him to the post. The woman who deliberates is
lost: —it may be so with the politician, and I rather infer
from silence and suspense that Mr. Cobden consents. It
is a matter of almost vital importance to the PalmerstonRussell ministry, both of whom met him, ere he landed,
with letters of invitation and courtesy.
Mr. Gladstone will be re elected member for the University. He has been violently shaken, almost toppled
over; but he will retain his seat. The election closes this
afternoon. Mr. Secretary Cobb, with fellow feeling, will
felicitate his brother financier on his good luck in finding




TO MR. CASS.                 135
the national income better than it was a year ago. The
customs, and indeed all the sources of revenue except the
income tax, have been very productive.
There is a singular identity of character in the battles
in Lombardv. The last, that of Solferino, like those of
Palestro, Montibello, and Magenta, can scarcely be said
to be a victory for either belligerent: almost a drawn,
certainly an inconclusive, though a horribly bloody, fight.
The Austrians, under the command of their Emperor,
against respectful but urgent remonstrances of General
Hess, advanced across the Mineio, 200,000 strong, to meet
the coming French and Sardinians, 180,000, and struggling for fifteen hours on a field of fifteen miles in length,
with alternations of success and failure, finally retreated
unpursued and in order over the river, amid the natural
obstacles and terrors of a dark tempestuous deluge. The
French Emperor, it is undeniable, exhibited consummate
strategetical ability, combined with omnipresent activity
and reckless courage. Gossip, not credited, says that
one of his epaulettes was shot off by a Tyrolese rifleman.
It is impossible to see one's way through the many
complications incident to this war. I think the chances
of a general European convulsion, revolutionary as well
as merely belligerent, have been largely increased by
recent events. At Vienna, I am told by Mr. Villiers, who
referred to letters received by his brother, the popular
rage and mortification are threatening to explode against
the incapacity of the sovereign and his generals. All the
French diplomatic and consular agents in Turkey have
been mustered at Paris, have received fresh instructions,
and have gone back to work up a rebellion against the
"sick man" of which the Czar may avail himself  The
covert but obvious encouragement given to Kossuth and
Klapka, if it do not lead to insurrection in Hungary, can
hardly fail to exasperate into action some of the German
States, and as sure as any of them crosses the frontier
to aid Austria, Bonaparte, now raising 450,000 new levies
and thus lifting his forces in and out of France to a figure
exceeding a million, will burst like a torrent over the
Rhine. Prussia, with all her dignity and composure,
secretly dreads this irruption, and is indefatigable to
repress the angry spirits of the Confederation:-yet Sax



136                TO MR. CASS.
ony, through her Metternich, Beust, replies to Gortschakoff's warning in a tone plausible and taunting. Rumor,
to be sure, brings upon the tapis armistices, mediations,
concessions:-but clearly the moment for any of these is
not yet:-and precipitancy in proposing them  would
make matters worse, by leading to their scornful and irreparable rejection. Louis Napoleon has deemed it inexpedient to rouse the enmity of the forty thousand Roman
Catholic priests in France by countenancing any assault
upon the secular dominions or power of the Holy Father:
-yet it may be doubted whether the revolutionary
patriots of the Peninsula will be satisfied with this forbearance. It must also be remembered, as a fact established historically if not argumentatively, that blood once
tasted, the craving fbr it becomes, as Senator Seward
would say, "irrepressible," and that Bonaparte's triumphant conscripts may insist upon no halt until they reach
Vienna. Even Professor Espy, though claiming the
ability to raise a storm, did not, I believe, pretend to the
power of dispelling it.
Mr. Murphy, your representative at the Hague, has just
visited me. lIe accompanies some members of his family
to Liverpool to embark them for the United States.
Ex-Speaker Winthrop has reached England, intending
to travel, first through the island and then on the Contin ent.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 280.-T0 MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 8, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have been anxious to (lo something
which would shew my attention to the joint resolution of
Congress on the Tobacco Trade to which your printed
circular of the 20th April last applies. The unsettled
condition of the ministry suspended everything for a
time: —but I had some conversations which led me to
think that a change in the duties favorable to our purpose
could not be looked for. Suddenly, I notice the newspaper paragraph which is enlclosed: the foundation for




TO MR. CASS.                 137
which may possibly be found real when Mr. Gladstone
opens on his budget.
An armistice between the two Imperial fighters seems
agreed to, though its duration and terms remain to be
fixed by commissioners. I have reason to believe this
measure, altogether operating in favor of Italian independence and almost necessarily leading to peace, to be the
result of prompt and energetic' steps taken by Lord John
Russell, backed by the Prussian Regent. If this be so,
the new cabinet in Downing Street will have consolidated
itself and resumed for England the prestige in Europe so
much impaired of late. Yesterday I had the pleasure to
dine with her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for
Foreirgn Afifairs, and late at night bustled to the soire'e of
the Secretary of the Admiralty, Lord Clarence Paget. I
returned from these two excursions of fashionable gaiety
with the conclusion mentioned.
It is remarkable how little confidence is expressed by
the leading intellects here in the designs of the Emperor
Napoleon, whom they nevertheless still call their " great
ally."  His total want of sincerity and truth, even in his
most formal public documents, is regarded, in every theory
as to his course, to be a conceded postulate. The dread
that he may yet direct his now acknowledged military
genius towards this country is almost universal. Lord
Lyndhurst, you will have noticed, and Lord Brougham
have sounded the alarm in the House of Peers:-and even
Mr. Cobden, though he declares that he sees no danger
of invasion, bends before the prevailing nervousness, and
is willing to double the national debt rather than have a
French army for a month in London!
The terrors of the Thames are taking rank with those
of Bonaparte. Pestilence is thought to be brewing in its
waters. The horrid odors which accompany its returning
tide are worse now than during the heats of last summer.
Members of Parliament, suffering seriously, are perplexed
what to do, for they fear to excite among the wretched
classes of this vast population an apprehension of cholera.
They are careful what they say upon the subject, and will
work hard in order to adjourn soon. The armistice may
give a better grace to this purpose.
General Pierce reached London on Tuesday last, the 5th
instant, from Brighton, where he had been for several




138              TO MR. EVERETT.
days. ITe is in excellent health. For the benefit of Mrs.
Pierce, who is still very delicate, he has taken lodgings
at the village of Norwood, close to the Crystal Palace.
He will perhaps remain in England until late in the
autumn.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 281. —TO MR. EVERETT.
LONDON, July 13, 1859.
AMY DEAR MR. EVERETT,-YOUr letter of the 28th ult.
reached me the day before yesterday.  Its enclosure
and accompaniment came safely also. I obtained from
Count Bernstorff the exact address, and have sent to Mr.
Miller as you desired, the letter for " his Excellency Baron
Bunsen, Heidelberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany."
The power of your pen is strongly and delightfully
shewn by the eulogy of Thomas Dowse. " Phiebus! what
a name to fill the long resounding trump of Fame!" I
am a little exercised with the doubt whether you had a
conscientious right to set him thus in amber:-and would
be greatly pleased to hear, through the medium of Judge
Edmonds, whether the modest spirit of the leatherdresser don't shrink from your brilliant casing, and
"wonder how the d- - he got there!"  Certain humble
merits, one likes to see drawn out, and given the fame they
were prevented achieving by circumstances. But had
Dowse those merits? Was he a practical philanthropist?
Was he an ardent patriot? Did he devote a long life to useful public purposes? Is it enough for the immortality you
have conferred, that he had selfish though correct tastes,
and took delight in books and pictures which he held to,
notwithstanding nephews and nieces, until he felt he could
keep them no longer, and then passed them to your Historical Society? As an author, does he prove a title to
the splendid niche you have worked, by twenty short
lines on Franklin, or by paying for a monumental column?
He was lame, and no doubt that lameness helped to make
him solitary, selfish, and silent:-but how many thousands
suffer in this form who nevertheless seek society, love their
kind, and charm with sentiment and wit?-which are the




TO MR. A. DICKENS.              139
worthier?  IHave you not in fact thrown a handful of
pearls-to where they were not claimed and are ill suited?
You see, I am jealous that such consummate power of
rhetoric should expend itself indifferently upon a Washington or a Dowse.
I shall be happy to welcome you to London, and must
beg you not to hesitate a moment to charge me with any
commissions or wishes I am able to execute.
Always, my dear sir, sincerely yrs.
No. 282.-TO 0MR. A. DIOKENS.
LONDON, July 15, 1859.
MY DEAR MR. DICKENS,-I got your note of the 1st
ultimo, and went straight to enquire the reputation of
the auricular professors so full of promise in tile advertisement you enclosed. Nothing good could be picked
up:-but, finally, the parties in command of countless
names, were charged with conspiracy to defraud, before
the Recorder, and, after much evidence, were each sent to
18 months' imprisonment. I send you the report of the
case.
There is, however, another invention of which I have
heard, and to which I shall direct my attention. A lady,
by whom I sat at a dinner, observing that my right ear
was imperfect, invited mle to look into hers; and there I
noticed, tightly embedded and scarcely visible, a miniature trumpet. It effectually restored her power to hear,
and she employed it whenever she went into society for a
limited time. But she had a vague dread of its modus
operandi. The compression of something like a delicate
watch-spring, one end of which kept the tiny instrument
in the ear, and the other passed through the hair to the
top of the cranium, was sure to produce pain, occasionally violent. She recommended my trying it:-but really
her look at the time made me think it better to be content with the good organ left. I will, however, search
farther, and let you have the result. Nothing would give
me more sincere pleasure than being able to send you
some relief:
Always faithfully yrs.




140                TO MR. CASS.
No. 283.-TO MR. cASS.
LONDON, July 15, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The quick incidents of the day are generally thought full of approaching mischief. The peace
of the two Emperors, signed at Villafranca on the 11th
instant, is not yet clearly comprehended, but every one
sees that something not seen has rehabilitated Austria in
Italy at the very moment she was being extinguished:every one sees that Sardinia has been coldly thrown her
stipulated pound of flesh without a drop of blood in it:every one sees that the despotic principle rejoices in an
overshadowing triumvirate:-every one seesthat the movements of Prussia and the press of England are already in
the crucible to produce the amalgam of another war:every one sees that the eagles which flew across the Alps
can as rapidly perch upon the hills around Cherbourg:every one sees that the abrupt abandonment of 6ne programme necessitates the annunciation of a second still
more exciting and acceptable:-in fine, every one sees, or
thinks he sees, a huge finger, or an air-drawn dagger, over
the " Invalides," pointing to the chalky cliffs of perfidious
Albion. There are not wanting those who already give
up the struggle, who deem successful resistance impossible, and who would rather propitiate than exasperate
the invader. One public and forcible writer recommends
an immediate appeal to the liberty-loving and arms-wielding citizens of the United States! All this springs from
exaggerated alarm: an alarm to which the recent shifts of
Imperial policy lend the character of patriotism.
Napoleon is looked for in Paris to-day. Some have
fancifully thought that neither his own army, nor the
revolutionists, nor the corps of Garibaldi would suffer
him to quit Italy alive. He comes without his soldiers,
and postpones an ovation until they arrive to participate
in it.
I have written several rather lengthy notes to enquiring
consular functionaries on the rights and duties of neutrality. The trouble might have been saved, for the
present at least. As the newspapers report you to be
engaged on a comprehensive manifesto of the kind, I




TO MONCKTON MILNES, M. P.            141
hope you will have finished it before you hear of the
peace.
Pray notice the denunciations passed by Lord Brougham
and other anti-slavers upon the horrors and infamies of the
Coolie trade. Poor Jamaica! she can't be allowed labor.,
black or white.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 284.-TO MONCKTON MILNES, M. P.
LONDON, July 28, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The subject of your note of the 25th
instant has, for many years, engaged the attention of my
predecessors and myself: I have meditated sending you
the dead fruits of our efforts: —hence my delay in answering:-but I find that doing so would involve too much
copying- either for the short time you have left me or for
your patience.
If, as an M. P. you have access to the pigeon-holes of
the Foreign Office, you can perhaps come across a long
letter addressed by Mr. Buchanan to Lord Clarendon, on
the 1st March, 1855. This letter was the epilogue of many
conferences. It offers three articles for consideration, the
third of which was intended to remedy the practices of
which the Pamphlet " Unpunished Cruelties" so justly and
persuasively complains, and the mode of cure was precisely the enlargement of consular jurisdiction you suggest.
The project failed, and my efforts to revive it have been
fruitless: —much, I believe, against the personal leanings
of Lord Clarendon, but under authoritative opinions from
Law Officers of the Crown, who saw something in the
arrangement incompatible with fundamentals. Certainly,
a good deal of novelty and machinery may be seen, which,
according to the constitutions and laws of both countries,
can only be vindicated on the maxim, consensus tollit
errorern.
Possibly a Parliamentary Resolution (if that be in
order) recommending a Consular Convention with the
United States, to arrest these mischiefs and others of a




142                TO MR. CASS.
kindred character, might embolden the ministry to make
the experiment even under the frowns of the lawyers. I
believe it would work practically well.
Faithfully yrs.
No. 285.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 29, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-One life is not much, and yet sometimes, though far from protracted, it witnesses, in its
course, really wonderful progress. When I started, men
of taste were not very laudatory in front of paintings by
Copley, Trumbull, West, and Stewart. To be sure, we
praised, because we had no idea of not being patriotic
even more than critical, and, perhaps, because we knew
no better. Well! God bless the aspiring genius of my
countrymen, we are already at the head of sculpture, and
here comes " The Heart of the Andes," to challenge competition from any century of old Europe. The chief dilettanti, Lord Lansdowne, considers it an unequalled picture, and Lord Stanley, who has travelled these Cordilleras, pronounces it a faithful portrait. No landscape was
ever yet put on canvas more absorbing, more rich ill varieties of beauty, or more true to nature. I wish it were
of our Rocky Mountains! N7'importe, it hails from the easel
of " Church, of New York."
It seems possible to delineate the heart of the Andes,
but who will undertake to map out that of Louis Napoleon?  What is really in contemplation, at present,
as to the future, no man ventures to assert.  There
are reticences which cannot be dragged forth, depths
unfathomable, darkness impenetrable:-or it may be,
that drifting on the current of events, and watchful
only for the approved opportunity, the avenger of Waterloo calmly bides his time. At Zurich, the peace will
be given definite shape. Will it be followed by a European Congress? What for? Simply to do what was left
undone at Paris in 1856, to soothe the seething cauldron
of revolution in Italy? Lord John Russell, in his speech
last night on foreign affairs, threw but a faint light




TO MR. CASS.                 143
athwart the gloom. He was cautious almost to cowardice.
Remark, however, that apparently without intending it,
he developed the ruse to which, at Villafranca, Francis
Joseph became dupe: —conclusively shewing that the
draft of terms of mediation and peace, shewn as if agreed
upon by Prussia, England, and Russia, and which he has
characterized as worse on the part of his " natural allies"
than those of his conqueror, was concocted in the bureau
of Count Walewski, never assented to here or at Berlin,
and was therefore most deceptively used by Napoleon in
the interview with his brother Emperor. If there be a
Congress-resisted only by Austria-England will hardly
withhold her presence:-for though she has nothing to
do with the points to be adjusted, and is choice in praise
of non-intervention, yet Lord John (for such is the pith of
his address in the Commons) has read and felt the "melancholy chaunts" of Petrarch and Leopardi! How capital this in a parliamentary leader!
Bonaparte has determined that his armaments, both on
land and sea, shall be " remises sur le Ipied de la paix," and
Great Britain breathes "freer and deeper." His pied de la
paix is probably what it was when he told Austria the
same thing just before he threw 150,000 men across the
Alps. It is, however, extremely annoying to be in constant panic; and so a prodigious effort will be made here
to restore the public equanimity, on the basis of this most
oracular and illusory phrase in the Moniteur. The alarm
has certainly been universal and excessive. Lord Lyndhurst exhibited its. extent when he forcibly inculcated
"distrust, distrust, distrust."  I-ow, indeed, is it possible
for a manufacturing and trading people, who are not
familiar with the use of arms and who cannot muster a
force of 100,000 men, to banish " distrust" when they see
but thirty miles off, under the absolute control of a victorious avenger, a standing and irresistible army, with
numerous steam transports ready to annihilate the distance in three hours?  Ay, but the Channel fleet!-unfortunately nobody knows where it is, and everybody
knows that it is not ubiquitous.
I have had on hand lately many of my distinguished
fellow-citizens. Mr. Seward, Mr. Sumner, Mr. Motley,
General Pierce, Mr. Winthrop, and lots of others whom
it has afforded equal pride and pleasure to welcome to my




144                TO MR. CASS.
diplomatic domain. They scatter, however, rapidly:some to the attractive mountains of Switzerland: sonie
to the capital or " vine-covered hills and gay regions of
France:" —some to the Scotch and Irish lakes: -some
nestle in the Isle of Wight: —and some take a long sight
for the Pyramids, the Holy Sepulchre, or the Acropolis.
Anywhere and quick, rather than remain breathing the unusually hot malaria of London, and the pestiferous effluvia of the Thames. Parliament will, I think, soon follow
this rational example. Though the day of adjournment be
not yet fixed, many members assure me that the session
cannot be protracted beyond the 18th proxinmo.
The committees of the House have been laying bare
the corruptions of the last election. Bribery in every
shape, bold and unblushing. Employments secured, public offices promised, executions paid, and golden sovereigns openly laid upon tables to be picked up by voters!
A more scandalous exhibition cannot be imagined. A
contest costs, in this utterly shameless way, not less than
thirty thousand dollars, to the victor. One of the unseated
gentlemen is, who married an heiress, and who
"bled" profusely to attain "position."  The thing is so
little regarded that when, on the evening his election was
declared null, I met him at Mr. Sidney Herbert's, he was
full of fun about it, and smiling sympathies passed current
through the company. When matters come to this point,
which are we to prefer, the universal stiffrage under Napoleonic surveillance by Prefects, or English limited suffrage gorged with golden baits?
We are promised, in the newspapers, visits from the
three Emperors in the course of the summer. I have no
idea that the promises are more than " canards."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 286.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 5, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-It seems agreed, that at the last election,
both political parties, Conservative and Liberal, thrust
their arms to the elbows into the depths of bribery. The




TO MR. CASS.                      145
expositions made before scrutinizing committees of the
direct and open use of money amount almost to the burlesque. In his fierce indignation, Mr. Roebuck drags the
case of a member for Bodman before the House this afternoon. Now, this gentleman occupies a half'way house between Whigs and Tories, and fairly represents both: —is
a scholar, author, and old legislator:-yet is he personally
picked out and denounced for undeniable corruption! He
is striving to escape the gclat by a compromise with his
assailant and by accepting the Chiltern Hundreds: —but
Mr. Gladstone claims this myth as the only sphere of patronage attached to the Chancellorship of the Exchequer,
and denies him the sanctuary unless he first plausibly explains.  Let us see whether the onslaught of Mr. Roebuck
be not something of a feint, intended to subside into a
fizzle.
Opportunities of personal intercourse with Lord John
Russell occur just now less frequently, owing to the death
of his father-in-law, the Earl of Minto, a few days ago, in
his 78th year.
We are expecting an inundation of Russian Imperial
visitors. The Czar himself was supposed corning, but
that is given up. The Grand Duke Constantine is hourly
looked for, and was thought to have reached Osborne
last Sunday merely because a sudden convocation of ministers at that royal residence was noticed. The Grand
Duchess Maria, whom I saw married to Maximilian the
Prince of Leuchtenberg in July, 1839,* and who, having
* DIARY: July 14, 1839, Sunday. —" Went to the Winter Palace, agreeably to invitations, to witness the marriage of the Grand Duchess Maria
and Prince Maximilian of Leuchtenberg. Julia, Elizabeth, and Sophia,
having obtained tickets of admission through the kind activity of the
French Ambassadress (Madame de Barante), were escorted by Madame
Daschkoff to a window gallery in the Chapel which overlooked the ceremony. The foreign ministers and their ladies, after waiting with the
general company for some time, were shewn by Count Woronzoff into
the Chapel and arranged on the two sides nearest to the chancel, forming
an alley for the Imperial cortege. Among us were interspersed Count
Nesselrode, General Count Woronzoff, Governor of Odessa, Count Orloff,
Count Platen (Russian Ambassador of Paris), the Marquess of Anglesea
and his three sons, Count Levaschoff, Count Cancrine, Count Tschernyschew, etc., etc., etc. We noticed that two pairs of pigeons entered at the
open windows, and alighted, after flying round the dome, over the altar:an incident that may have been accidental, but which many conceived to
have been prearranged. The Metropolitan and a concourse of twenty or
thirty Priests, robed in rich vestments of crimson thickly crossed with
VOL. II.-10




146                     TO  MR. CASS.
lost her husband some seven years ago, lost it is said also
by a subsequent mesalliance her caste, has found her way
to Torquay with a miniature Court or entourage of some
six or seven. She is represented as rivalling, in the arts
of diplomatic intrigue, the late Princess Lieven:-Is that
a r6le to be played now and here?  Quien sabe?
I hope you will specially authorize me to meet at once
any proposition for a Consular Convention which this
government may make in consequence of the mnotion of
Mr. Milnes in the House of Commons, explained in my
official despatch of to-day. There are other points of
great practical interest beside the " unpunished cruelties"
to be attended to.  You will find these detailed in the
admirable draft of a treaty submitted by Mr. Buchanan
in 1855 and the correspondence connected with it. The
obstacle encountered at that time may possibly be now
kept out of view: especially if you should instruct me to
say that a total suppression of that obstacle, and the full
attainment of the arrest of merchant-seanlen deserters, are
sine qua nons to any arrangement whatever.  The humanigold embroidery, and with mitres glittering with jewels and enamel pictures-some bearing the sacred images and others carrying wax lightsstationed themselves at the grand entrance to receive the Imperial party.
Everybody wore their richest clothing:-all the ladies having long trains,
and all, except the diplomatic ones, having the Kakoshinnick brilliantly
studded with diamonds, or otherwise ornamented. The bride wore a superb diadem of diamonds and on the very top of her head a crown of the
samne description. Her train was an immense one of crimson velvet
deeply bordered with ermine. Of the religious ceremonies I could understand nothing: —they were exceedingly tedious. There was an interchange of rings between the bride and groom effected through the agency
of the Metropolitan: they sipped the consecrated wine from the same
golden goblet: and during a part of the proceeding, for about twenty
minutes while the Metropolitan was reading to them, golden crowns were
held over the heads of the couple-over that of the Grand Duchess by her
brother the Hereditary Grand Duke Alexander, and over that of the
Prince by Count Pahlen. At one time the couple were led, with their
hands united by the Metropolitan, three times round the altar. At the
close of the ceremony, the groom handed his bride to the Emperor, who
bade him embrace her, and then followed the family felicitations and
kissing. The Court choir performed the great Te Deum most effectively,
and the cannon of the Fortress, aided by peals from all the huge bells of
the innumerable churches, sent forth a deafening yet exhilarating uproar.
After kissing a number of the Priests in succession, the Imperial circle
left the Greek Chapel and went to where a temporary Roman Catholic
Chapel had been constructed in some interior apartment, and the marriage ceremony was repeated. We got home as expeditiously as we could
at about 4 o'clock."




TO COL. MURRAY.                147
tarian zeal which in a case of black and white discriminates in favor of the former, may accept compensation
founded on the prevention of " unpunished cruelties."
Parliament may drag its slow length along for anfother
week.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 287,-TO COL. MURRAY.
LONDON, August 5, 1859.
MY DEAR COLONEL MURRAY,-Your letter of the 1st
June, enclosing one from Mrs. -    and another addressed
to the Queen, has reached me.
Instinct makes me always anxious to do what any lady
seriously desires me to do. Independent, therefore, of
some misplaced suggestions made by your fair friend, it
would and will give me pleasure to accomplish her object,
if I discover a mode of doing it compatible with fundamental rules. At this Court, it is much easier to manage an important national negotiation than to break
through the gossamery fencework with which aristocratic
exclusiveness has hedged in the sovereign. I would personally prefer entering upon a complicated question of
peace or war, to manoeuvring for the mere autograph of
her Majesty. The request, no matter how meritorious its
purpose, involves considerations of extreme delicacy
its gratification would set a precedent of which millions
would be eager to avail themnselves: —the sale of the
signature might be a mortifying one:-and the danger
of its misapplication by an unknown purchaser is not
slight.
Besides this, Mrs. --- has transmitted the letter to the
Queen sealed, and has not sent me a copy of it. I cannot
break the seal, have no certainty of its precise character,
and am therefore without the means of giving to an intermediary officer of the government or of the Court the
indispensable knowledge of what it is he is conveying to
her Majesty.
You will do me a favor by explaining to Mr. S. and to
Mrs. -    the embarrassments I feel: —assuring them at




148                TO MR. CASS.
the same time that my disposition to meet their wish is
sincere and will be watchful.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 288.-TO MR. ASS.
LONDON, August 19, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Queen goes to Scotland in the
course of three or four days: and, as her Majesty must be
accompanied by one or the other of the Secretaries of
State, she takes with her on the present occasion our
" chef," Lord John Russell. HI-e has engaged a house in
the vicinity of Balmoral, and may remain resident there
for five or six weeks. I am almost the only member of
the diplomatic corps who may possibly miss him, my colleagues having diverged from London to all quarters of
the compass.
Louis Napoleon has certainly the art of concentrating
upon himself the universal gaze. No one else in Europe
is just now visible, and everybody intently watches each
successive movement. He is another Blondin, whose
figure is strongly delineated on the sky, advancing steadily upon a tight rope, over a boiling and unfathomable
abyss. At this moment, he is doing the graceful. One
decree amnesties all political prisoners under sentence or
"proscrits:"-this opens France to about two thousand
of her ejected sons, among them Changarnier, Louis
Blanc, and Victor Hugo.  Another fiat enjoins the
promptest execution of the amnesty in all the colonies,
to be hailed with rapture at Cayenne. And a third
launches a ray of promise at the press, by nullifying
all the warnings that have been given. At his recent
fete the clap-traps were innumerable and irresistible.
The speech to the banqueting generals was short, frank,
and soothing. Victory seems to have given him confidence, and confidence brings into play the generosity of
his nature. Or, is it purely the attitudinizing of a skilful
acrobat?- So thinks Louis Blanc.
Mr. Cobden's two addresses to his constituents of Rochdale maintained in undiminished solidity his past reputa



TO SENATOR G. W. JONES, BOGOTA.    149
tioii. I presume I was the only foreign minister invited
by the Committee to his soiree; and it would have given
me peculiar pleasure to attend. As, however, I am scrupulous of participating in party politics here, it was without regret that I found myself obliged to be elsewhere.
Everybody praised these speeches, their force, originality
and tone. IHis explanation of his refusal to enter the
ministry is at once so manly and conciliatory that many
regard it as a sort of pledge to take the place offered, some
six months or a year hence. According to conventional
ideas in England, he is too strong a man on the Liberal
side to be allowed to remain out of the government.
The Great Eastern (she has resumed her original name,
because positively destined to ply between this and Australia), after trying the suppleness of her joints by an experimental trip, will, on 15th of September next, bridge
the ocean between the two Portlan(ls, Portland in Dorsetshire and Portland in Maine. She is open to passengers, and Sir IIenry Holland and I have calculated
that she may accomplish the transit in five days. What
if she do! an Atlantic voyage in 120 hours!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 289.-TO SENATOR G. W. JONES, BOGOTA.
LONDON, August 27, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Immediately on the receipt of your
letter, I took the necessary steps to enable you to have by
return packet, the Daily Times and the Illustrated News.
It is to be hoped therefore that you will get them at the
time you get this. The subscription, as you directed, was
made for one year: and finding payment in advance indispensable, rather than allow you to be disappointed I
sent the money. Copies of the papers are enclosed.
The real state of things in Europe is never what it superficially appears to be.  The press is wise to a certain
extent, and is always striving to seem wiser:-but the
select few who wield the powers of nations cover their designs in impenetrable mystery, which is only broken by
sudden action. Ience it is dangerous to speculate as you




150               TO MR. GILPIN.
wish me to. The Zurich Conference proceeds slowly:-it is
scarcely across the threshold. A Congress is yet uncertain,
though more likely than it was a month ago. The Peace
of Villafranca adds nothing to the security of this country;
far, very far otherwise. She steadily advances in armament and apprehension:-so much so, that she is hazarding her polity by training her yeomanry to the use of the
rifle.
I am just now on a visit to Brighton, whose attractions
are too great for much letter-writing.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 290.-TO MR. GILPIN.
BRIGHTON, August 29, 1859.
MY DEAR MR. GILPIN,-The manner in which I have
had your silence accounted for worries me a good deal.
I am told that you are not well, and have been ailing for
some time. If this be mistaken rumor, pray let me hear
so, as soon as you can and as shortly as you please.
London is a horrid hole in hot seasons. The Thames,
the Serpentine, the sewers, the crowd, the dust, are all
horrid. So, we have escaped, and taken a house here for
a month:-close to the sea on the Marine Parade, with a
balcony whence we look across the Atlantic up to the
corner of Spruce and 11th Streets. I must have been
made sensitive to atmospherical conditions by continued
stay in the murky Babylon sixty miles off, for I never
before noticed such purity and perfection of air as we are
breathing. Merely to inhale it seems to satisfy us all:and, although nearly a week since we came, we have felt
no inclination to do the sights of the city, beyond the
Cliffi the Pavilion, and the Pier. As to company, catch
us at it!
I can't get a word from home about politics, although
really feeling my habitual interest in the customary
tangle. The democratic embroglio seems to be eschewed
as a disagreeable topic, which one's friends erroneously
suppose I can't want to hear about. Don't they know
that distance blends and softens coloring? What seems




TO MR. GILPIN.                151
to shock them, as for instance Wise's letter to Donnelly,
creates with me only a smile at its naivete!  Mr. Everett
sent me that little epistle, as if he regarded it as almost
the crack of our doom: I read it, and, strange to say,
laughed at so characteristic a specimen of eccentricity at
full gallop.
But if people won't indite politics to me, how dare I
venture on politics to them? Simply because what is exotic
is relished in every locality.  Well! Europe is lulling at
this moment. Crowns are perplexed by efforts to rectify
the blunders they have been committing. They can't
bear to be sneered at for incompetency and rashness, and
so they hugger-mugger at Zurich to put things to rights.
Will they succeed? Yes, if Plon-Plon be planted in
Tuscany: — yes, if the so-called Italian Washington,
Garibaldi, be strong enough to inaugurate the Confederation and upset the Pope: —yes, if the Iron Crown,
filched from Milan and locked up in Vienna, be sent in a
satin reticule worked with golden bees, to the Charlemagne bathing at St. Sauveur: —yes, if Victor Emmanuel,
dropping the victor and assuming the chafferer, will
agree to pay more gold than his people have yet paid
blood, for Lombardy: — and finally, which ought to be
firstly, yes, if Lord Palmerston will consent, which he
won't, to a Congress without his condition precedent.
Otherwise no, no, no.
Something like a squadron of cavalry has just gone by,
-here on the brink of the ocean!-with carbines under
arm i!! Take that as an indication of the "English
Craze" at present raging about invasion and armament.
They can't sleep quietly for Cherbourg, looking as if
ready to vent itself in this direction, or Lille, looking as
if ready to brush away our Uncle Leopold.
General respects and regards to Mrs. G.
Always faithfully yrs.




152                TO MR. CASS.
No. 291.-TO MR. CASS.
BRIGHTON, September 1, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-You must not suppose me slow or dull
as to the main topic of the despatch to-day. I think of
nothing else, feel all the urgency of the case, and will omit
nothing. If professions mean anything, an abundance of
steam has been let on to accelerate the engine in reaching
every one of the stations in quick succession-all, in the
course of two or three months. But, while from this
point a brisk readiness may shew itself, there can certainly be nothing expected from the Isthmus but delay,
prevarication, and petulance. Without fancyving to exist
a profligate disregard of good faith and truth, the fault is
not here, but there.
Her Majesty took with her to Balmoral, the day before
yesterday, as the Secretary of State "in waiting," not Lord
John Russell, but Sir George Grey. This change of programme was simultaneous with a sudden summons addressed to all the scattered cabinet for a meeting in
Downing Street: —and they came rattling from every
quarter of the compass. As Polonius would say, put that
and that together and it may not be difficult to surmise
that "something's in the wind." What that something
may really be; whether the belligerent aspect of an
increase of French force at Lille, designed to overawe
and prevent the Belgic fortifications at Antwerp, or the
emergency created by the determination of a large body
of English soldiers not to re-enlist but to return home
from India, or the new aspect of the Napoleonic policy as
regards the banished dukes in Italy, or the still meditated
Congress, nobody can tell. The Conference at Zurich
engages little attention:-seeming to divide its time between apoplexy (Count Colloredo) and waiting for instructions.
Have you ever been at Brighton? I am here for several weeks, owing to the adoption of some new system of
drainage in London which imposes the necessity of repulsive repairs in my quarters. The rapidity of travel on the
railway here, the regular express train darting at the rate
of' sixty miles an hour, puts me as near to the Foreign




TO PROFESSOR BACHE.              153
Office as Mr. Bodisco or Mr. Crampton was to the Department of State, when residing on the hills of Georgetown.
Judged by difference of atmosphere, however, I am a
thousand leagues away:-a boundless sea, a dazzling sky,
a clear, pure, and bracing air, and endless lines of white
palaces surmounting chalky cliffs; such are the features
of Brighton.
Always faithfully yrs.
P.S. —By a memorandum just received, I find that the
presence of Sir George Grey with the Queen during her
journey to Scotland misled me, when I concluded that he
had been substituted for Lord John Russell. The Foreign
Secretary, with his family, left London two days ago for
Abergeldie Castle, assigned by her Majesty as their residence while she remains at Balmoral. Before his lordship's return, ample time will elapse to enable me to hear
again from you as to Wyke and Central America.
No. 2921-TO PROFESSOR BACHE.
BRIGHTON, September 5, 1859.
MY DEAR PROFESSOR,-Your note, accompanied by the
letter of Mr. G. W. Blunt respecting Lights on the
Bahamas, reached me a day or two ago. I have been
here ten days, and intend staying two weeks more, in
order to enable my landlord to make some offensive repairs as to drainage and painting. I mention this to explain why, at a distance from records, I don't give, in
what I am going to say, exact dates and results.
By enquiry at the Treasury Department you will be
able to obtain full information as to the extent to which
this government deems it expedient to go in constructing
Light-houses on the Bahama Islands. And should additional ones be called for, you will find the course heretofore taken to have been this: —Mr. Guthrie during the
summer of'56 wrote to me to see whether I could get
more Lights put up by the government, and if not, whether
I could induce them to authorize the United States to
build them. I begged him to furnish me with the evi



154                TO MR. CASS.
dence upon which he thought the Lights necessary and at
what points. He sent me a Report from the Light-house
Board, and a very admirable and large manuscript chart:
on the strength of these, Iwent to work. After transmitting all the ideas and explanations in my power in writing,
I had several conversations with Lord Stanley of Alderley,
and other members of the Board of Trade, on the subject. If I remember aright, they took a long time to deliberate, and finally they expressed to me, through the
Foreign Office, the opinion that the Lights already up
were sufficient, and that those suggested by our Board
could really be of no aid to navigation. All thlis will, I
take for granted, be on file in the Treasury Department:-certainly, my correspondence with Governor
Marcy cannot but indicate every step taken.
If a renewed effort be thought expedient, let it begin
by such measures in the Light-house Board as will develope the positive want; then a representation to Mr.
Cobb; then an application by him to the Secretary of
State requesting him to direct my exertions to the attainment of the desired objects.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 293.,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 15, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-It would seem that on this side of the
Atlantic we are about entering upon a fresh score of important public events.
1. The tangled condition of the Italian question is already
regarded as incapable of solution except by the sword.
Since the JMoniteur avowed Napoleon's altered attitude as
to the Duchies, nothing but hasty belligerent action by
either the French or Austrian forces lingering in Lombardy, is looked for as a result of the Imperial conjunction at Arenenberg. A step not the less willingly made,
perhaps, because it slightly promises to draw this government out of their entrenchment of neutrality and nonintervention.
2. The attempt of the allied fleet in China to force a




TO MR. CASS.                 155
pathway to Pekin for their ambassadors has been unexpectedly baffled by an army of Mongols at the Taku
forts. Four hundred and seventy-eight of the peremptory
assailants were killed and wounded, among them sixteen
officers, including the British Admiral (Hope) and two
captains. Three vessels of war were sunk, and the squadron retreated to Shanghai! Of course this news, which
reached here by telegram from the secretary of the British
minister in China, via Constantinople and Alexandria, on
the 12th instant, has caused great solicitude and exciterment. The feeling is none the less sharp because the story
goes that our envoy, Mr. Ward, politely characterized as
the " submissive republican," has quietly found his way to
the capital and been cordiallywelcomed. I think Mr. Reed
foresaw the likelihood of these events, as consequences of
too harsh and dictatorial a manner. The fiery cross is, of
course, rapidly circulating, and the croaking ravens of the
press all " bellow for revenge." Observe, that the Chinese objected, not to the ambassadors, but to their naval
and military escort; a distinction with. great difference.
3. The aspect of India too is inauspicious and sullen.
Financial matters get worse and worse. The English
soldiers in Bengal, to the number of eight or ten thousand,
disregarding the remonstrances of Lord Clyde, insist upon
discharge, and are returning home. Rebels are still on
foot, fighting the Sikhs in Nepaul. It is curious as a political coincidence, that just at this moment an emissary,
M. de Sercy (was he not once in Washington?), of the devoted ally, has come back from a thorough exploration of
Hindostan, and has officially reported to his superior,
Count Walewski, that everything there threatens confusion and ruin!
Our friends in Portland, remembering the "frantic
follies" incident to the landing of the western end of the
Atlantic Cable, must be cautious in preparing a glorification on the coming of the Great Eastern. Her progress
down the Channel was partially interrupted, opposite the
town of Hastings, by the tremendous and murderous explosion of one of her water-funnels, killing by scalding
some seven or eight of her engineers, and, without seriously affecting the body of the huge vessel, knocking
saloons and staterooms into such pi as must occasion a
month or more's delay for repair. The stock of the com



156                TO MR. CASS.
panly has gone up because the ship didn't go down:-a
strong illustration of how to make the best of a bad bargain.
Lord John Russell continues in Scotland, and may not
be in Downing Street for a month to come.
You have noticed that Ilospodar Couza has been permitted by the Conference at Paris to retain his two political brides, Moldavia and Wallachia, provided he keeps
them apart from one another. The federative principle
is making its way.
In Russia, the generous Czar is countenancing the creation of elective municipalities, with powers of local government.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 294.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 23, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR, —The Sentinel aloft must have smiled
at the superfluous philanthropy which wasted our blood
and treasure in searching for Sir John Franklin. He and
his associates were all dead before we resolved to share in
the scientific honor of restoring them to their country.
The officer sent out by Lady Franklin in the screw vessel
the Fox, F. L. McClintock, has returned with manuscripts
and relics, found in the undisturbed desolation of Arctic
cold, which disclose the sad secret. The gallant explorer
perished more than twelve years ago, on the 11th of June,
1847. The details of this successful discovery are exceedingly interesting, minute, and authentic.
Public sentiment is somewhat inflamed by the imperfect accounts we have received of General Harney's proceedirng at the islet of San Juan, and the prospect of collision arising out of Governor Douglas', so-called, prompt
and judicious course to substitute the Royal standard for
the Stars and Stripes. The provincial chief in the far
northwest seems to have taken a leaf out of the book of
Admiral Hope in the extreme east, and, without asking
explanations or purposes, resolves to cut the matter short
by Sappers and Miners. It is possible that the General




TO MR. CASS.                 157
may have been precipitate, and, if so, the Governor should
have abstained from following a bad example. Public
agents, except in cases of necessity, should await their cue
from their superiors, and not, defensively or offensively,
assume to involve two nations in war. Patience is a great
power, and never fails to strengthen the party that exercises it.
General Duff Green was kind enough, on reaching England, to run down to Brighton, and to place in my hands
his several commendatory credentials. I detained him to
dinner, and we were all much gratified with his flourishing accounts of the Washington Panorama. I am yet a
little at fault in forming a practical conception of what he
aims at by his visit, if it be more than to obtain the cooperation of capitalists in building his projected railway
across Texas. His views as to the political relations of
the United States, England, and Mexico, are broad, comprehensive, and sound: and as he naturally likes to inculcate them, he shall have all the opportunities among the
public men here I can fairly give him. At the moment,
however, in the slang phrase, nobody is in London, and
that nobody will be in London for some weeks to come.
Two ninety-two gun steamers have been ordered by the
Admiralty to prepare for sea: probably as members of the
contemplated Anglo-Gallican expedition to revisit the
Taku forts at the mouth of the Peiho:-possibly, to see
how the Sappers and Miners get on in San Juan.
Zurich still fizzles slowly. Arenenberg postponed. A
Congress getting put aside, the loadstone is at Biarritz,
and thither diplomats of all sorts are thronging from every
European Court. The Belgian monarch returns from the
Imperial hug, with the conviction that he has bagged an
Italian kingdom for his younger son. AEsop's Lion holding his levee is magnificently revived, with a new corps
of performers and fresh decorations.
Always faithfully yrs.




158                TO MR. CASS.
No. 295.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 30, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Governor Douglas of Vancouver has
sent to London an explanatory and accusatory messenger,
Col. J. S. Hawkins. This "gallant" officer, who reached
here on the 27th instant, went straight to the Foreign
Office and "transacted business."  A systematic effort to
place General Harney in the category of "American filibusters" and to put our government in the wrong as to
the channel or Canal de Haro, is of course just now the
outburst of newspaper loyalty and patriotism. In deploying the argument there is manifest ignorance or mrisrepresentation: —take as illustration that they say.
1. We never made claim till gold was found on Frazer's
River!-a naked untruth.
2. The island is of no use to us!-yet it lies south of
49~ and fronts our coast its whole length.
3. It is in the track of British intercourse with Vancouver! not unless that intercourse pass through admitted
American territory.
4. Starting from a point on the 49th degree, we can't
reach the Canal de Haro by'sailing " southerly" as the
treaty directs!-most assuredly we can: —" southerly" is
not equivalent to "due south," but on the contrary implies a partial admixture of easting or westing: and it is
obvious to inspection that to proceed from the given point
to Rosario Strait much more easting has to be taken than
need be taken of westing to get to the Canal de Haro.
5. At the date of the treaty, no "Channel" navigated
or known, but that of Rosario! Untrue again: —the name
3Iaro is itself disproof given by one' of its oldest and earliest, if not its very first, navigator.
I hope General Harney will disclose good cause for his
proceeding: —for if he do, San Juan is too clearly ours to
be allowed again to go adrift.
Lord John Russell, though a veteran and able statesmnan, has perhaps rarely if ever visited Scotland before the
present season:-for he has just been admitted to the
Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.
General Green is now, as always, sanguine of success in




TO MR. CASS.                159
his projects: what they are exactly I do not know. He
has seen and indoctrinated Mr. Cobden and others of that
ilk: and your letter emboldened me to give him personal
notes of introduction to Lords Palmerston and John Russell. He talks of returning to you by the steamer of the
8th of October, but he will probably wait for the 15th.
Regimentals are your only wear for Europe. The tendency to enlarge military establishments, as sine qua nons
of safety, is shewing itself almost everywhere among the
minor States of Germany. The Continent, with unimportant exceptions, is covered with an agglomeration of
camps. "Poor human nature!" sighed Jacob Faithful.
Nothing more burlesque than the laborious idleness and
unproductiveness of the " three men of Gotham who went
to sea i n a bowl " at Zurich! They are about to make six
bows to each other, and leave the future to a Congress
which won't meet. Some gloomy quidnuncs anticipate
an Austrian movement in Italy to restore the Dukes; Napoleon leaving the struggle to Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi. The whole conduct of Central Italy has been so
admirable that Lord John Russell openly avowed at Edinburgh that the ministry were with it. Perhaps a compromise upon King Plon-Plon, with indemnity to the excluded
princes, may be the destination to which public opinion
is agreed to be led.
The press looks at last in France fierce and nearly unanimous for law and legal trial against administrative caprice
in warning and controlling its utterances. The minister,
Due de Padoue, or as he has been nicknamed, the Duke of
Padlock, provoked great excitement by his measures;
and now there are grave thinkers on this side of the
Channel who predict that Bonaparte will soon follow in
the footsteps of Charles the Tenth and Louis Philippe!
Tell that to the marines. A devoted army of four hundred thousand men, with a great name at their head, just
reburnished by Magenta and Solferino, are not readily
put to flight by printer's blacking balls and types. There
must be subsisting discontent to work upon.
The Turks say that Schamyl was bought not beaten, that
gold corrupted all his followers, except the few with whom
he took refuge in Gounib, a fortress which was esteemed
to be impregnable. He bore himself sternly when captured:-was a bigoted Mohammedan fatalist: indulged in




160                TO MR. CASS.
pretensions to supernatural colloquies with the Prophet:he was brave, patriotic, and national, sometimes cruel:how will he fare in St. Petersburg? —probably better than
the prisoner of St. Helena.
Mr. Ward has found his way to Pekin, though after a
fashion somewhat comical. It may be that what appears
to us ludicrous and derogatory was esteemed by the
Celestial masters of ceremonies as the ne plus ultra of
civility and etiquette to which they could go compatibly
with their usages. Even the western barbarians would
regard it as an act of unusual courtesy if an arriving
envoy were facilitated to the seat of governnment by an
express train or a coach and four, with an escort of purveyors, cooks, and valets. The floating or oxen-dragged
chamber of the Chinese looks like their substitute for all
this. I very much doubt its being meant as rude insolence. Very possibly French and English editors will so
represent it:-but they are naturally nettled at Mr. Ward's
success, and would not be unwilling to provoke us into
joining the new military enterprise for vengeance. I send
a slip of what the Paris Pays reports upon the subject.
Your highly recommended friend the ship-builder,
Daniel McKay, has been warmly welcomed here. It gave
me pleasure to obtain for him from the Admiralty (as I
immediately did notwithstanding Lord John Russell's
absence) the run of the dock-yards and naval establishments.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 296. —TO MR. ASS.
LONDON, October 14, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The Sovereigns of the French returned
to their capital from Biarritz and Bordeaux late in the
evening of the day before yesterday. In adverting to
Italy's future he still restricts his speech to dubious
oracular utterances. It would seem as if these and the
long-drawn-out futilities at Zurich owe their origin to a
reactionary policy, which for itfs excuse wants and waits
such outbreaks as butchered Colonel Aviti at Parma.




TO MR. CASS.                 161
The Imperial reply to the Archbishop is double: devotion
to the Pope, and his abandonment by the withdrawal of
French forces from  Rome:-two pills, one opiate and
soothing, the other inflammatory and alterative. On dit
that a huge bolus is compounding for Victor Emmanuel
in the form of a summons to foot the bill of his kinsman and ally for the expenses of the recent. war:-say
250,000,000 of francs:- and this, it is expected, will
eventuate in a compulsory compromise ceding Savoy.
The Local Science Association-not socialists, remember, oh! by no means-are mimicking the Institute this
year at Bradford, in the West Riding of York. Lord
Shaftesbury presides, recapitulates, and preaches: Lord
Brougham  thunders in ferocious eloquence  against
Bribery and Bonaparte: and there is a perfect flood of
philosophers, each holding in his hand a homoeopathic
dose of science which he complacently regards as a
panacea for some one or other of life's evils. Onward,
gentlemen! the Augean stable is large and crammed
with filth, but each of your countless crowd is a selfesteemed Hercules!  Eureka, Eureka! Victor Hugo's
new poem, at present in two, but designed hereafter to be
extended six octavos more, "La Ligende des Siecles," has
prophesied the end of all this labor after perfection, and
says that man must invade the skies through clouds and
stars!-certainly, and the Association, during its short
existence of three years, has already ballooned us into
the former.
Some strange, discredited but adhesive, rumors are just
now afloat, chilling the funds somewhat. Rome has
risen into revolution:-how can that be while Guyon is
still there?  The French and English squadrons off
Morocco have had a conflict:-all circumstances considered, se non e vero, e ben trovato. Baron de Bourqueney
has gone off from Zurich in a laugh:-very natural, therefore likely to be true.
I am afraid that our lively countrymen at Portland
will not have a chance this vear to hail the Leviathan's
advent. Little annoying accidents succeed each other
almost as often as the monster moves; and there appears
to be in the hold of the big ship, as in the Christian
Church, an irreconcilable conflict between fate and free
will, which disturbs her management. She has had her
VOL. II.-11




162             TO LORi NAPIER.
trial trip, was pushed to seventeen miles an hour, and resumed her tremendous anchorage, waiting for a visit from
the Queen:-but, she pitched and rolled, while meeting
or siding the waves, far more than exact mathematicians
had calculated or foretold.'irnmporte! —she's a wonder.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 297.-TO LORD NAPIER.
LONDON, October 19, 1859.
MY DEAR LORD NAPIER,-Your kind note of the 30th
ult. and the package for Mrs. E. were received after the
lapse of several days: —the latter crossed the Atlantic in
the Bag by the Europa of the 8th instant. Let me assure
you that one of the. most valued sources of permanent
gratification which I have had the good fortune to meet
with in my wanderings on the arid desert of diplomacy
has been the acquaintance made with yourself and Lady
Napier. This is so true, that I am wondering at the time
which has elapsed without my answering your letter: —
but perceive how exactingly General Cass has dealt
with me.
There is no wisdom in the world: —it is a myth which
seems possible but is never met with. Certainly it was
unwise in the two governments to neglect their boundary:
- certainly unwise in Harney to plant his Picket in a
neutral enclosure: and nothing can transcend the unwisdom with which the newspapers, by taunts, sneers, and
invective, fret and exasperate the wound inflicted upon
the public sentiment of both countries. The President
has rapped the general over the knuckles, has sent Scott
to put an extinguisher upon him, and has openly declined
to order anv additional naval force to that distant "jumping-off place:" a course which you will agree with me in
considering somewhat less unwise than the menacing one
of hurrying off several screw 91's and a parade of more
sappers and miners. This last is a sad error.
The Yankees are taking the matter coolly:-unanimous
in disapproving IHarney, and unanimous in believing
the islet theirs. How the question may, at tile coming




TO MR. CASS.                163
session of Congress, be harangued into the Presidential
canvass, you have seen enough to imagine. Your friends
Seward and Douglas will think nothing said while aught
remains to say, in carpentering a new plank for their respective platforms.
Mr. Everett cannot leave home. He has too many
engagements as a writer and lecturer. His son came
over and has gone to Cambridge.
Prav make my respectful regards acceptable to Lady
Napier,
And believe me,
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 298.-TO MR. CASS,
LONDON, October 28, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,- Maps are statements, oculis submissi
fidelibus; producing more permanent impression than mere
words. Hence it is that, to affect the general mind, the
London shops and their windows are being crowded with
charts of the islands and channels between Vancouver
and the Continent, purporting to delineate the boundary
as provided in the Treaty of'46 by a deep "red line,"
starting from a point in the Gulf of Georgia and running
with pictorial emphasis down Rosario Strait. Mr. Webster in'42 allowed his technical tendencies to conjure up
difficulties as regards a more ancient "red line:"-it was
cunningly po-pohed by Lord Ashburton, when at the very
moment there could be seen, in one of the governmental
offices here, a carefully neglected map which had descended from the royal negotiators of'83, whose "red line"
conclusively sustained the one rather punctiliously abandoned by our great lawyer. Mr. Webster erred on the
right side, and nobly declined resting his case on what he
had not proof to shew might not be a " suggestiofalsi:"-but
this highly moral monarchy then took, and has ever since
kept, the fruits of an admitted "suppressio veri." Ask them
if the wrong ought not to be remedied, and what answer
will you get? a shrug and a chuckle. By-and-by, we
shall be appalled by the resurrection of some long buried




164               TO MR. CASS.
map of Vancouver's, on which the " red line" will speak,
as a voice from the grave, in corroboration of those now
addressing the public eye. I see by an extract of a letter
from some Washington correspondent, in the Times of
this morning, that you have replied to the extraordinary
instructions given on the subject of San Juan by Lord
John to Lord Lyons before any intimation of General
Harney's proceeding had crossed the Atlantic. My solicitude to see this reply is extreme, and I hope to receive
it by the steamer due on Sunday or Monday next.
Mr. Lesseps, with his Suez scheme, lingers longer in
the public gaze than M. Belly with his Nicaraguan. The
latter gentleman seems to have fallen like the stick of a
rocket:-but the Emperor Napoleon relieves the former
from the averted gesture of the Sultan, pats him cheeringly on the back, and inculcates patience. When the
Mediterranean becomes a French lake, which the alliance
with Spain against the Moors brings into a shorter range
of telescopic view than heretofore, it will be both more
safe, and more economical in time and money to forward
legions to India through a perforation in the Isthmus than
round the Cape of Good Hope. This is perfectly understood and appreciated by all classes: —and hence you may
have noticed that of three leading investing countries,
contributing to the Lesseps project an aggregate of
$22,669,900, Great Britain, the plethoric capitalist, offers
only $408,500, Holland only $261,400, while France subscribes for the whole residue, $22,000,000!
It is rather a strange fact that the cousin of the " dear
ally " should come ostentatiously to England, announced
in advance as purposing to meet Queen Victoria on board
the Great Eastern, should pay his visit to the big ship,
should travel rapidly about, should stop in London several
days, rest at Portsmouth, and finally go back to Paris without having had the honor of seeing or hearing from her
Majesty at all! There may be something in Prince Napoleon, disagreeable and repulsive, though Mr. P. who
chaperoned him through the Museum thinks otherwise;
or there may have been dropped unguardedly a stitch in
that mysterious woof of etiquette which surrounds royal
intercourse:-whatever the cause, the truth is notorious
and leads to all sorts of remark and surmise.
Lord Brougham is just now the order of the day. He




TO MR. CASS.                165
has been honored with a grand " Banquet" at Edinburgh,
in the course of which, it is said, he pronounced an elaborate philippic against the Emperor of the French. Under
the new act of Parliament authorizing the appointment
(without salary) of a Chancellor of the Scotch University,
he and the Duke of Buccleugh are competitors for the post.
A good deal of critical analysis of their respective merits
and demerits is circulating:-but I think the Lord Harry
is far ahead.
Count Colloredo has succumbed, at Zurich, and the two
incomplete treaties must be signed by a new and special
minister from Austria.
The cabinet came to town yesterday from all points of
the compass, and are now in session. On the 6th of November they will be here again and then remain to meet
for five or six days in succession.
Yesterday Parliament was formally and further prorogued to the 15th of December, on the coming of which
day it will be put over to the beginning of February.
One of this morning's journals prints a telegram from
Hong-Kong, saying that Mr. Ward had not effected the
ratification of the treaty at Pekin. Possibly: —but I doubt,
on the foundation of a staterment made to me by Major
McDowell, recently an aid of and introduced by General
Scott. He says that while at St. Petersburg, ten days
ago, Mr. Pickens informed him that the Russian Minister
of Foreign Affairs announced at an interview that Mr.
Ward had been treated with the utmost respect and kindness, had exchanged ratifications, and was invited to drink
tea with the Emperor! The truth is, that the contrast
between peaceful and bullying diplomacy is becoming
painfully clear, and must be obscured by canards.
The French Imperial Court go to Compiegne next
month. Of course, dependent and fraternizing sovereigns
are expected to rendezvous there. The Grand Duchess
Maria, whose marriage I witnessed in 1839, and who has
the unenviable reputation of being a consummate politician, will be first and most favored.
Always faithfully yrs.




166                TO MR. RIEED.
No. 299.-TO MR. REED.
LONDON, November 4, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Yours of the 16th enclosed one addressed to Sir George Grey of Cape Colony. Until this
morning, I was at a loss for his residence: —nobody as yet
being known to be in London. He has your letter now.
The perversity about China is still surprising. Louis
Napoleon will be held to his engagement for a joint expedition of vengeance, and that may shield the government
from Parliamentary condemnation: —for, the high point
of acting independently of their great ally is not yet
reached, either on "the floor" or the hustings. Mr.
Ward has on the whole acted well. I saw from the first,
and so wrote home, that the box, on which our piqued
friends here were so lavish of their wit and sneers, was in
fact designed in kindness and courtesy. At Pekin they
went very far in conceding their Court ceremonial in order to bring about an Imperial reception: —farther, in my
opinion, than you would get the Arbiter elegantiarum of
Queen Victoria, Sir Edward Cust, to go.  Crede experto.
But this is Europe, whose traditionary futilities of five
hundred years must be respected; while those of Asia
whose roots have been deepening for 3000 years are fit
only to be bullied down! I thought Englishmen more
right-minded and just than this Chinese experience shews
them to be. All their newspapers except one, and their
hustings orators without exception, take special pleasure
in striving to make Mr. Ward ridiculous:-and yet they
owe to the manly and generous impulses of this gentleman
at the critical moment of fight before the Forts, the lives
of their admiral and his officers, and the rescue of such
of their gunboats as were capable of rescue! The inconsistencies of false pride know no end.
We have a war, a small war in presenti but a huge one
infutlro, Spain vs. Morocco. This and the coming Congress are possibly the means wherewith to provoke a
quarrel with England.
Truly yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                  167
No. 300.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDoN, November 11, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-When you get this, the Message will
probably be in print, possibly in Congress:-and I must
express a confident assurance that upon considerations of
a public and pressing nature it cannot reach here too
soon.
The treaties of Zurich, after a succession of obstacles
and delays approaching the burlesque, were on the point
of signature, when the cabinet of Vienna, in the true
virus of the age, suddenly felt the inspiration of moneymaking, stopped the pens as they touched the parchment,
and asked 400,000 dollars more! "My representatives,"
said Napoleon, "do you attach your names and seals to
those instruments, and leave them to remain incomplete
if others so choose." This command bore a serious significance. So Francis Joseph made a virtue of necessity,
withdrew his demand, and the treaties became faits accomplis late yesterday afternoon. "I tell the tale as it was
told to me."
Count Montalembert does not feel' himself martyred
with sufficient emphasis. He was being forgotten:-a
wretchedness quite intolerable to a Frenchman who has
once tasted fame of any sort. So, now he has rushed
into print with two strings to his bow, resolved to be sacrificed by Napoleon and sainted by the Pope. His brochure "Pie IX. et La France en 1849 et en 1859" has drawn
upon the Correspondant an avertissement; and will probably make him once more the hero of a public prosecution. On the present occasion he does not, as he did on
the last, enjoy the sustaining sympathies of John Bull:
for that unselfish old gentleman has been thrown into a
perfect splutter of vexation, by finding that this apostate
from anglomania has branded his conduct as "iignoble"!
the felicity of which epithet is not diminished by its belonging to both tongues.
Your late diplomatic representative at the Argentine
Republic, Mr. B. C. Yancey, is here. Did he not hail from
Georgia I should take him for the brother of the member
I once knew from Alabama. He returns to the United




168           TO MRS. SCHOOLCRAFT.
States in the painful predicament of Mr. P, to settle
and realize a fortune of a million left by a deceased fatherin-law.
The foray of Ossowatomie Brown and his band has been
commented upon here with a little less of the anti-slavery
monomania than usual. The favorite cant ascribes it to
" madness." To me there seems so much method in this
madness that I cannot but regard the whole as meriting a
thorough investigation by commission or committee. Our
national future may depend upon the manner in which
this plot is dissected and exhibited. To pass it over as a
freak will ensure it many imitations. Besides, the conduct of those who were to be forced into liberty, willy-nilly,
goes an immense way to shew the real character of their
condition as laborers: —and at the same time may satisfy
the most fanatic abolitionist how utterly nonsensical as
well as desperate is the object at which he aims.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 301.-TO MRS. S0HOOLORAFT.
LONDON, November 19, 1859.
MY DEAR MRS. SCIHOOLCRAFT,-I received late in September last your letter of the 29th of August with its enclosed circular, and fear that I may have incurred your
displeasure by submitting to the heavy pressure of official engagements before making this acknowledgment.
No one holds in higher estimation than I do the great
success achieved by your husband in his history of the
aboriginal race of our Continent;-and it will afford me
sincere pleasure to avail myself of every opportunity to
draw attention to the edition you contemplate publishing.
In June last I was the happy medium of conveying to
the Queen the sixth volume of Mr. Schooleraft's work, in
the name of the President. I presume that the emphatic
acknowledgment made by her Majesty, through Lord
John Russell, the principal Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, came to his knowledge. Her Majesty expressed
her "very great pleasure in accepting this magnificent
and interesting volume," and requested that I would have




TO MR. CASS.                169
the goodness to convey to "the President her sincere
thanks for the present of a work which reflects honor both
upon its author, and upon the government under whose
auspices it has been published." Such praise as this, from
a Sovereign so universally beloved, and a Secretary so
high in literary reputation, should give the work unlimited
circulation.
I am, my dear Mrs. Schoolcraft, with profound respects
to your husband,
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 302.-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, November 25, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Since my despatch by the Europa of the
19th instant, nothing has occurred worthy of official communication.
I am told by Sir Henry Holland that Lord John
Russell has, for the last four or five days, been so unwell as to be confined to his apartments. Even if this
were not so, I have no reason to expect an early attention
to the title or taking of San Juan. No doubt your
thoughts have been turned to the expediency of having a
limit assigned to all discussion upon the subject. It is not
enough that we should be in possession, though it is a
great deal.
Although I can imagine the multitudinous distractions
to which, at the opening of the present Congress, you
must be subjected, yet I doubt your being'half as much
puzzled how to act as Lord Palmerston and his colleagues
now are or seem to be. On receiving, the other day, a
deputation respecting an improvement in the Law of
Bankruptcy, the Premier, thinking that the matter ought
regularly to have been carried before Lord John Russell,
amused his visitors by a comical excuse for that Secretary,
in consequence of the deluge of difficulties pouring into
his department from all quarters of the earth. To these
cares may probably be soon added that of representing
his country at the European Congress to convene in Paris,
possibly as early as the 15th of December next.




170                TO MR. CASS.
Lord Cowley paid us a flying visit at the beginning of
the present week, and is believed to have borne from Compibgne the cunning proposal of a simultaneous disarmament. No ministry could outlive for a week an attempt
to arrest the actual movement for defence against possible
invasion. Stop the Naval Reserve! Stop -the Rifles!
Stop the Armstrong guns on their way to the chalky
cliffs! The astute Emperor probably understands this
perfectly:-and only strengthens'his own position and
plans by offering what is sure to be refused.
A casual interchange of question, answer, and remark,
at the Russian Embassy, with her Majesty's principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. His lordship anticipates much good from the visit of General Scott to
Bellevue: —he also has great confidence in the wisdom
and forbearance of Admiral Baines:-his principal objection to Harney is the rough or rude style in which he re~plied to Governor Douglas' disproof of Hubb's story that
the Hudson Bay's Company had threatened to carry off
an American who had killed a pig! I expected him to
tell me, but he did not, that Governor Douglas had been
recalled. It is so rumored. Not a word yet from the
new Envoy, Mr. Wyke, who deflected to Guatemala. I do
not ascribe much importance to these chats en salons, but
they are not wholly void of significance, and certainly
in the one referred to I could perceive nothing inconsistent with the impressions heretofore conveyed to you.
I have just been told, by a perfectly established authority for penetrating and disseminating political secrets, that
Garibaldi has been invited to Compi~gne. The tyrant
and the tribune in conclave! There is something Napoleonic in the conjunction: as it shews a consciousness that,
of all the brood of monarchs, he alone, as the offspring of
universal suffrage, can handle unharmed the hot irons of
democracy.
Persons recently from Italy (English and American)
say that no ejaculation is more frequently heard among
the common people than " Oh! if we could only find a
Washington!" Uttered in the sincerity of a trying crisis
by the descendants of Brutus, Cato, Gracchus, etc., are
we not excusable if proud of these words? Garibaldi is
assuredly not an entire Washington: but he is as nearly
so as perhaps any man can be not born on the Western
Continent.




TO MR. CASS.                 171.
Prussia, stimulated by her traditions, is believed to
intend, at the coming Congress, to press the adoption of
Governor Marcy's proposal to substitute for the abolition
of Privateering the entire immunity of private property
from capture. It is perhaps to be regretted that we are
not yet prepared for this beneficent measure. Our great
instruments of war on the ocean are the swarms of volunteer clippers with which we can so harass the commerce of an enemy in all parts of the world as speedily
to bring him to terms. We deprecate standing armies,
huge navies, and our policy is not only peace but permanent disarmament. What's to become of us if this last and
congenial resource be diplomatized out of our power?
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 303.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 9, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-This note must be accommodated in size
to the little patience you will have left after reading three
dull despatches.
1. My confidence in the punctuality of steam inclines
me, as you open this letter, to step out, mingle in your
interchange of visits, and very heartily to wish you a
merry Christmas!
2. The early meeting of Parliament, 24th January, is
ascribed to a determination on the part of the cabinet to
begin the session with a Reform bill, and to push it
steadily through before the holidays. Mr. Bright has
just announced at an assenting assemblage of reformers,
that he will accept what is supposed to be the ministerial
projet, namely the measure explained in the House by
Lord John Russell, after the Derby administration had
been fatally stricken: i.e. a ten-pound franchise in counties,
a six-pound rental one for boroughs, with a large extinguishment of seats in; small boroughs, and the transfer of
those seats to more important constituencies.
3. This government were, through the Admiralty and
admiral, so prompt, quiet, and effective in rescuing the
property of Grinnell and Minturn, on board the Sea




172                TO MR. CASS.
Serpent, from  the dangers of a violent mutiny, that
though I may feel bound to say something, would it not
be well that I should be authorized to convey your formal
acknowledgments?
4. It is confidently believed, though not technically
certain, that the Congress at Paris, which assembles on
the 15th or 20th instant, will have Lord Cowley alone as
the British representative.
5. For the first time in England, I was yesterday
honored by a visit from Mr. Louis IKossuth. He looks
much improved. He is somewhat subdued by long deferred hope making the heart sick. He does not, how.
ever, complain, even of Louis Napoleon. His eye brightens, and his arm makes an oratorical gesture, as he refers
to the incidents transpiring in Hungary. He says he is
growing old. I think not. He is but 57, and his beard
only enriched with lines of silver scattered on lightbrown.
6. Of course you have noticed the act of the four Liverpool merchants who undertook to eclipse the famous
Sheffield Foreign Affairs Committee, by addressing a
joint note of interrogation to the Emperor, demanding to
know what he meant. The thing is too silly to be the
burden of remark: —and yet H. I. Majesty has not let
slip the opportunity of sending a few keen darts of mingled encouragement and scorn across the Channel. Nevertheless his reply don't silence the Laureate's invocation,
"FORM, FORM, RIFLEMEN, FORM!"  Drills are enacted
everywhere. The Judges and Lawyers "play soldiering"
every afternoon in Westminster Hall!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 304.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 16, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR, —Accept my best thanks for your full and
kind letter bf the 26th November last. I cannot think
that the democratic statesmen of the United States will
fail, under passionate excitement, to turn to the best account what appears to me the most auspicious period fur



TO MR. CASS.                  173
nished by our political history for vindicating the social
humanity, as well as the national wisdom, of the assailed
clauses of the Constitution.
The diplomatic movement at the Porte, insisting upon
the concession required by Mr. Lesseps, is very significant.
The Sultan is beset by the combined representatives of
France, Russia, Austria, Prussia(?), and Sardinia, who
simultaneously demand that he shall recede from the engagement of his Prime Minister with Sir Henry Bulwer,
and authorize the canal. Such a pressure is not to be resisted by the "sick man."  It is, as Ilregard it, the suddenly revealed consummation of a profound Napoleonic
policy, which has been characterized in a recently published and powerful pamphlet by Emile de Girardin, as
the ultimately fatal thrust of the French rapier into the
British cuirass.
Pius the Ninth commissions Cardinal Antonelli to the
Congress at Paris. That, of course:-for he has no other
competent man at his service; but then, feeling the
majesty of the Pontificate, he formally claims for the representative of 160,000,000 of Roman Catholics the Presidency of the Assembly. The demand can scarcely be
entertained by a Protestant power:-even France may
be embarrassed by it: —nor is it altogether impossible, if
it be seriously and firmly pressed, that the contemplated
Congress may disperse in anger before organization. I
wish this: —and would almost agree to be Mortara-ized,
if the Holy Father would effect it:-for, in verity, as Europe is now composed, these general Congresses are mere
trumps in the hands of a despotic copartnership.
All Ireland is getting to be deeply stirred. Meetings
are numberless, crowded to excess, extremely violent,
and openly proclaiming a higher loyalty than that to the
Queen.
The Russian is beginning to perceive that he has a hard
road to travel in effecting the emancipation or enfranchisement of the serfs. "'The course of' true love never did
run smooth." Our wishes for his success are rather damped
by the bold attitude and language of the dissenting nobles.
Senator Seward returned home the day before yesterday, I believe by the Arago. As I send you, from the
Azores Consulate, a letter respecting the yacht "Wan



174                TO MR. CASS.
derer," it may be agreeable to have the enclosed newspaper slips, reporting the subsequent career of her captain.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 305.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 23, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-A telegram from Galway brings news
from the United States as late as the 13th instant, and
announces that, at that date, there were still no Speaker
and no Message! However provoking, pretty much as
was expected. I cannot help thinking and hoping that
the true cause will lose nothing by debate in the House: —
but the consequent detention of the great annual exposition of national affairs is a grievance of no light weight.
The Congress at Paris being assured, either for the 5th
or (to accommodate Gortschakoff) the 20th of January,
and the Plenipotentiaries ascertained, the moment is seized
for a Manifesto which discloses, if not dictates, the Napoleonic programme. This paper, entitled " The Pope and
the Congress," passes from  the Emperor to the public
through the same funnel, Monsieur de la Guerroniere,
whence issued the celebrated pamphlet " Napoleon 111. et
l'Italie," which closely followed the sharp words to Hiibner
on the 1st January,'59, and in advance vindicated Palestro, Magenta, and Solferino. It is a most remarkable
document: —leading through a series of lucid and forcible
arguments to a conclusion with which all the world might
be satisfied except perhaps the Pontiff and his Cardinals.
It is here and there sprinkled with refreshing drops of
sound democratic doctrine. The right of the Romagnese
to choose their own government is not to be controverted,
and that they have done so is a fait accompli. France
can never coerce them back as subjects of the Pope. Let
his Holiness remain an independent sovereign: his territory, Rome: —his police or protection, the troops of the
Confederation: —his revenues, the guarantied contributions of the Catholic Powers, and of the 200,000,000 of
his spiritual subjects: —his head and heart relieved from




TO MR. P.                  175
the distractions of administration; his pursuits those of
contemplation, beneficence, prayer, concord, and peace!
All the high officers of government have gone to spend
their Christmas holidays in their country homes. -They
will hardly rally here again before Twelfth-Night: —and
then they will not have three weeks to prepare for Parliament.
The rumor was false that ascribed to the Pope a desire
to have Antonelli preside over the Congress. A formal
contradiction comes from Rome.
It is impossible to get at the truth as to the war in Morocco, or the tendency to outbreak in Hungary. Spain,
however, has certainly met a more determined and numerous foe than she expected. If a few drenching storms,
pregnant with cholera, dysentery, and ague, help the
Moors, O'Donnell may be driven to his ships.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 306.-TO MR. P.
LONDON, December 25, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-The best thanks of Mr. Sanders and
myself are due to you for the effort made to place the
-Petition before his Imperial Majesty. I received it back
safely, and have transmitted it to Mr. Sanders, with the
original note from the Department of Count Gortschakoff:
-so that he can, if he wish, pursue his object by invoking
the kindness of Mr. Stoeckl at Washington. More than
twenty years ago, he was a gallant officer in the service of
his country, Poland: —but the extinction of all hope there
threw him upon the resources of his education and energy
in the United States, and, as a fellow-citizen of ours, he
has worked his way to general esteem and a competency.
The brochure just issued in Paris, nominally by M. de
la Guerroniere, discloses with eloquence and force the
Napoleonic policy designed for adoption by the Congress.
France will not permit the banished Dukes to be restored
by arms: the position of the Romagnese is incontestably
afait accompli, and she cannot, consistently with her principles, compel them to resume an allegiance which they




176                  TO MR. P.
have unanimously and effectually thrown off: the temporal sovereignty of the Pontiff is essential to his spiritual
independence, but it need not be territorially extensive,
on the contrary it may best be restricted within the boundaries of Rome: —let his revenues be ample contributions
from the Catholic Powers and Peoples; his sacred office
freed from the distractions of administration; his subjects
without liability to taxation; and his mind bent exclusively upon divine contemplation, magnificent ceremonials, prayers, and blessings! Such is substantially the
programme for the proceedings at the Congress to assemble
in Paris about the 20th January, 1860. It is a boldly delineated chart, whose lines are strongly marked, and to be
misunderstood by nobody, least of all by the Holy Father
or Francis Joseph. Will it be carried out? I would say,
perhaps it will, if the Czar adhere to France, England,
Prussia, and Sardinia.
Advices from home are to the 13th instant, when Congress was still without organization, no Speaker, no Message: nor is it very probable that any progress will be
made until after the holidays. Naturally, so near the tentative foray at Harper's Ferry, and with a state of parties
in the House which allows a fair hope to our friends, the
excitement runs very high. I am waiting in momentary
expectation of hearing of the arrival of the steamer Europa
at Liverpool: —she will bring the news down to the 16th
instant, and if that be important, an effort shall be made
to send it to you.
Our relations with this government are once more
serene. The effect of General Scott's visit is reassuring
and tranquillizing. San Juan will be enlivened and protected by the presence of two small military companies,
one from each country: —and then, the negotiation, as to
the title to the island, renewed, will, I dare venture to say,
be protracted pretty much as was the one about the Oregon
boundary.
Pray present the best wishes of the season to Mrs. P.
from all my family, and with my cordial salutations, believe me
Very faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 177
No, 307.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, December 28, 1859.
MY DEAR SIR,-Sir H. II. calling to make sure that a
prescription was effective, has just told me that Lord Macaulay died yesterday morning. His disease was in the
heart, and probably attended by an effusion on the chest.
Only 59: —made Peer about three years ago, but has never
spoken in the House of Lords. During my time here, he
has been residing two miles out of London, on Campden
Hill. His high position in the world of literature will
doubtless cause a deluge of obituary notices.
General Scott's adjustment at San Juan is esteemed
satisfactory; although this good people, as is their wont,
think they are entitled to more than enough, and growl
askance at Picket's little anti-Indian company. The renewed assertion of their unquestionable title to the island,
in the daily journals, may I think be regarded as an indication that something claiming to be an answer to your
argument is on its way.
The Napoleonic pamphlet "Le Pape et le Congres," which
I mentioned in my last, is creating as much chuckle in
England as tumult on'the Continent. These mild and
tolerant Episcopalians look upon it as a fatal stab inflicted
upon the Scarlet Lady, by the favorite matricide. The
Pontiff and the Cardinals are startled into activity: —Antonelli draws back the foot he had stretched towards
France: —his intended colleague, already in Paris, Sacconi, demands official disclaimer by Walewski: even the
Gallican Bishops seem shocked, and, with one or two exceptions, are " denying their master:"-and, behold!
Count Kisseleff, the Czar's ambassador, though of the
Greek Church, says the brochure won't do, that it is too
democratic, and that the glorious example of Russia attests
the wisdom of keeping united temporal and spiritual sovereignties! In the midst of this fracas, the unanimous
"All Hail!" of Central Italy and Sardinia comes roaring
over the Alps. It is almost a fair race between the two
Congresses, the one at Paris and the other at Washington,
which shall organize first and which first disperse. I
rather incline to wager on the latter: —but we shall be
VOL. II.-12




178             TO MR. EVERETT.
better able to form an opinion how the heat will end, the
day after to-morrow, the pregnant New-Year's Day, when
the Papal Nuncio, heading the Diplomatic Body, may
possibly evoke or provoke from the Oracle some illuminating remark like that darted upon Baron Huibner.
Do you notice that the -old impracticable Boyars of
Moscow have so worried and irritated the Emperor Alexander, on the question of serf-emancipation, that he declines spending his Christmas among them as has been
the practice of the Court? A small fact, signifying much
on that point.
The weather has become quite mild.
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 308.-TO MR. EVERETT.
LONDON, January 5, 1860.
MY DEAR MR. EVERETT, —YOU must allow me to sight
two birds (and beautiful birds they are!) with a single barrel. Mrs. S. B. some month or two ago had permitted
me to retain the newspaper copy of your Webster Eulogy.
I had indeed a diplomatic purpose to which to apply a part
of it. Since then the pamphlet with your signature has
been cordially welcomed. I can't tell you without seeming extravagant how much pleasure it has given me.
During my first service in the Senate, my seat adjoined
Mr. Webster's, and this accidental circumstance led to a
constant interchange of remark on politics and persons.
You can readily conceive how well I remember certain
leading incidents of that his most brilliant and useful time.
Am I wrong in the impression that you and Mr. Webster
were never in the Senate during the same session? It is
to that I ascribe your not dropping a word, while enumerating his traits, upon his power as an actor. IIe was too
grave a statesman to shew this except behind the curtain;
but I have seen him, when the galleries were cleared and
the doors closed, gesticulate against the "'unmitigated
tyrant," or repeat a whole scene from Cumberland, with
an effectiveness equal to anything dope by Demosthenes
or Garrick.




TO MR. CASS.                 179
In speaking of him as a diplomatist, the Eulogy supplies
a most interesting narrative of what he did while negotiating the Treaty of'42, as to the Northeastern boundary,
with " the red-lined map of'83." The view taken of this
matter by the quondam British Consul of Boston, Grattan,
may not have met your eye. I have it, cut from a recent
Times, and send it enclosed.
All lovers of their country doing duty abroad must
gratefully thank you for that grand invocation to Union
delivered at Faneuil Hall. Nothing sounder, nothing
truer, nothing finer. Such an appeal ought to be irresistible. And yet the infatuated and presumptuous men,
authors really of all the mischief, know how to be deaf to
everything but their own voices. Let them take heed:for they who halloo on a robber and assassin may find
Judge Lynch attracted by the sound. The poisoned
chalice is often drained by those who mixed it.
Lord Macaulay takes his place in Poets' Corner on Monday next, the 9th of January.
Our friend Sir H. H. gives me most pleasant accounts
of the happiness of your son at Cambridge, and of the
high esteem niwhich he is held.
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 309.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 6, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR, -We shall soon plunge in medias res,
on this side of the water. The Premier's grand ministerial dinner is announced for the 21st instant: it precedes
the opening of Parliament three days. The session promises to be interesting from the start, and may become
-eventful. Parties, however, are unusually tranquil. Certainly there are topics enough on which disagreement
must arise: —the war with China, the Morocco policy, the
future. of Italy, and the Pope, Reform, Church Rates, Indian Finance, Rifle-corps, Ribbon-men: —but as yet the
surface betrays no symptom of interior violence. The
government can scarcely be said to have its majority in
the House; and it is believed to be liable, from hour to




180                TO MR. CASS.
hour, to explosive dissension: and yet, no one anticipates
the advent of a new ministry from any checkmate in the
Commons.
The earthy residuum of Macaulay will be deposited in
the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey on Monday next:
-and, as within three years he was " created" something
better than other folks, the huge folding front door of the
great Cathedral will be thrown open for his ashes, and he
will not be required, as Stephenson was, to crawl his way
through the little back door, occasionally rubbing and
sticking against cold walls, to his immortality. But wherefore in the " Poets' Corner "? Assuredly he wrote verses,
and good ones too: —but they were thrown into dark
eclipse by his Essays and History. In this last department,
wherein he chiselled hard at the column of his fame, his
integrity has often been assailed:-and it may be that his
dust is mingled with that of " Rare Ben Jonson," Shakspeare, Pope, to intimate that he excelled ill fiction even
when handling fact.
Count Walewski has ceased to be Napoleon's minister
of Foreign Affairs.  The acceptance of his resignation
is in yesterday's Moniteur. IIe is succeeded, ad interim,
by M. Baroche, permanently by Thouvenel, the ambassador at Constantinople. This change is, at once and
everywhere, recognized as strongly if not conclusively
significant of the Imperial determination to adhere to the
scheme of the recent pamphlet "Le Pape et le Congre's."
In one aspect, it is anti-anglican:-for Thouvenel has
signalized his mission at the Porte by routing Sir IHenry
Bulwer on the Suez Canal: —but in a more important
bearing, that of the central independence of Italy and the
limitation of the Supreme Pontiff's temporal sovereignty,
it is all English. One consequence may, I think (though
others don't), be safely predicated of this decided coup
d'etat:-there will be no Congress, or only such Congress as, in the absence of Czar, Kaiser, and Pope, will
augment, instead of eradicate, the complications and
uncertainties of the "situation." There is ample room
on the astrologer's dial for a fresh coalition and another
war.
I long, everybody longs, for the Message:-and yet
after the lapse of a whole month from the beginning of




TO MR. CASS.                 181
the congressional session, here comes a newspaper saying
that by this time it may just have reached the Capitol!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 310. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 13, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-I am much exercised by the misgovernment which appears to prevail on board of our merchant
vessels. Acts of mutiny or murder are causing constant
applications for rendition warrants. Four of these are at
this moment pending. Can nothing legislative be devised
to remedy a disease which must bring the service into disrepute, and ultimately injure our navigation and commerce? Would not Mr. Clay, Chairman of the Senate's
Committee on Commerce, consider the subject?  As akin
to this topic, let me add that I shall to-morrow confer on
the possibility of a Consular Convention; —a possibility
regarded as very remote.
The Message came to us in full, two days ago. It is
received with a deference and favor altogether unusual.
The Times has dwelt upon it every morning in terms of
compliment as to matter, tone, and style. The cheekbursting Boreas of the Advertiser, full of abolition wind,
is the only journal that has ventured a rabid roar in the
other direction. Such official documents, however treated
amid party heats at home, furnish to all lovers of American institutions abroad, as you very well know, inexhaustible sources of pride and gratification.
The Pope and the Emperor have crossed rapiers, and
simultaneously lunged at each other. Napoleon's weapon
is the more polished:-the Holy Father losing some of
his discretion in extemporaneously addressing General
Guyon under excitement caused by the. really Imperial,
though ostensibly anonymous pamphlet "Le Pape et le
C'ongres." While Bonaparte soothingly and reverently
couples with his " Happy New fear" the suggestion how
wise it would be in the Pontiff to let the rebellious
Romagnese go their way, his spiritual and infallible
Chief anathematizes the brochure as "un opuscule qu'on peut




182                TO MR. CASS.
appeler un monument insigne d'hypocrisie et un tissu ignoble de
contradictions"!  The width and depth of a breach thus
created cannot be sounded: -and we look soon to see
Rome evacuated by the French troops: —indeed both
Guyon and Grammont are reported to have already
left.
A writer of considerable talent, and a shrewd observer,
has recently pressed upon public notice a sort of warning
which it can do no harm to communicate to you. He
shews, in the first place, a large increase made, and still
making in the French Navy. Then he points to the
quarrel about the Cod fisheries, purposely kept open.
And he asks, what the armament is meant for? —ridicules
the idea of an invasion of England, and announces the
Napoleonic idea of a reconquest of Canada! A restoration of this great colony, half of whose population remain
essentially French, would, he argues, give to Louis
Napoleon a brilliant immortality, not otherwise within his
reach.
Do you notice the dexterous manner in which the
nobles of Russia have caused the Czar to halt in his
plan of serf-emancipation? They address him through
an imposing committee: profess to admire the generosity
of his aims; and express a readiness to aid the movement, if it be accompanied by its indispensable and kindred props, freeholds, municipal representation, and
liberty of the press! IHis Majesty has paused and still
pauses.
A shadowy prospect only is thought to remain for a
Congress at Paris. The common tendency is to back
from it. Russia doubts, and Gortschakoff declines:Austria thinks the programme proposed by France altogether irreconcilable with the agreements of Villafranca
and Zurich, and too unpalatable to be swallowed. Pio
Nono and Antonelli are completely staggered. Prussia is
quite indifferent. England, after all, would seem to have
brought about a condition of things which leaves to the
alliance the command of the "situation," and unites her
with Napoleon in securing the independence of Italy.
The general opinion regards the alliance as closer and
strongrer than ever. Such I know are the ideas inculcated in the very highest circles of politics. It is not
said "w e have joined Napoleon:"  that would involve




TO SIR G. LEWIS.               183
an admission at which national pride recoils: but ".Napoleon has come over to our policy" is a phrase heard in all
quarters, amid flushes of exultation and rubbing of hands.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 311.-TO SIR G. LEWIS.
LONDON, January 18, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR GEORGE LEWIS,-I cannot too cordially
thank you for the excellent pamphlet on Jurisdiction and
Extradition which accompanied your note of the 16th instant. Having read it carefully, I do not find a single
proposition in it to which I can decline adhering. It has
given me a strong assurance that one who so perfectly
understands his subject will devise modes of removing its
practical embarrassments.
It is a high interest of all nations that great crimes
should be punished. But they can be punished only by
the jurisdiction within which they occur. The Times and
the Post seem not to approve my interposition with the
case at Cowes. Qne regards me as "protesting," the other
as impeding the progress of justice. Not at all. The
murders cannot be reached by English law. No English
court would entertain a case of crime committed on the'high seas on board of an American vessel. Not to intervene and not to offer the only competent jurisdiction,
necessarily lead to the ultimate discharge and impunity
of the malefactors. Their escape, owing to the imperfections of our extradition system, may be probable: —but
without that proceeding it is certain. You and I may,
I. sincerely hope, contrive some mode of preventing the
escape of culprits and witnesses, and remitting them
promptly and effectively to the only jurisdiction, here or
in the United States, where they can be dealt with. If
we don't, each country becomes, more or less, a sanctuary
for the other's worst criminals.
Many apologies and fresh thanks.
Always faithfully and most respectfully yrs.




1S4                TO MR. CASS.
No. 312.-TO MR. OASS.
LONDON, January 20, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-There is great rejoicing that the French
Emperor, in an official letter of instructions to Mr. Secretary Fould, of the 5th instant, has given his unqualified adhesion to the doctrine of Free Trade, and has
directed the future to be fashioned accordingly.  This
grand coup d'etat received its final impulsive blow from
Mr. Cobden. That gentleman sought Paris ostensibly for
a chance of air about two months ago;-but those who
watched his movements made public reports of frequent
interviews with his Majesty: their conversation even was
occasionally detailed: and now the Moniteur of last Sunday contains the economical dissertation and fiat which
for ten days they elaborated upon the anvil between them!
The French trading ports are naturally rejoiced: Bordeaux and Havre illuminated as soon as they appreciated
the reach of the new policy: but, as with us, and as naturally, the manufacturing towns demand to be, and are
promised to be, fully heard, before the system is practically
put into operation in 1861. The paper is remarkable for
the quarter whence it comes, and is the third in the series
of Manifestoes by which its author has marked and continues to mark, in advance, every leap he takes: but to
this public, and to us, " qui ont passes par ld," it suggests
nothing very forcible or new. Half an eye perceives how
much this movement must strengthen the alliance.
We have dates to the 7th instant, and yet no Speaker!
This is very bad in reference to the national business
and interests: —but in its bearing upon political party,
nothing better could be desired.
The Queen comes to London from Windsor on Monday
next, the 23d, to open Parliament in person, at 2 o'clock
on the following day. The Premier's summoning missive
to the Liberal members has been out for a week. It
promises immediate and important measures for legislation. Lord Derby, at a large dinner in Liverpool last
night, seems to anticipate a quiet session.
Mr. Oliphant has made two volumes of considerable interest and attraction out of Lord Elgin's mission, particu



TO MR. CASS.                 185
larly the visit to Japan. Though he credits the Earl, his
patron, with qualities of sagacity, vigor, and tireless activity, I think one can detect, from a casual word dropped
here and there, that the private Secretary's opinion leans
towards the American style of pacifically opening China
to commerce and intercourse. It is a part of the art of
bookmaking, however, not to cloud the prospect of profit
by offending any large class of readers.
After all, Macaulay did not get to his grave through
the vast folding door of the Abbey:-the sublimation of
his blood was too recent and imperfect:What can ennoble knaves or fools or cowards?
What? —a single drop from any of the Howards!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 313.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, January 27, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-Her Majesty's Speech on opening Parliament is of more length and interest than common. I
send you herewith an official copy. In leaving the HIouse
of Lords, I met the Duke of Newcastle, Colonial Secretary, who said, "Well! you see we reciprocated the
friendly remarks of the President!"  I have no doubt that
was the design: —but it would be highly un-English if, in
carrying it out, they did not employ some word, or take a
tone, making the civil intention questionable.
Earl Grey, though he argued with spirit and force,
failed to get the support of Lord Derby to an amendment
to the Address, and was obliged to withdraw it. He
wished to condemn any regulations of tariff by commercial treaty:-this was a little too much in advance, for the
one made with France through the active agency of Mr.
Cobden had not been communicated to Parliament, and
was not actually perfected by signature at the moment
his lordship was assailing it.
There are many more than Mr. Cobden who claim
the merit of having converted the French Emperor to
Free Trade. Michel Chevallier had certainly much to
do with it. So had Baroche. But I was enlightened




186                TO MR. CASS.
by a long visit from  Count Persigny, who coolly and
volubly assumed the whole exploit. IHe declares that
he has been at it these five years:'that he developed,
in successive elaborate papers sent to his Majesty, all
the ramifications of the new policy: and that he returned from Paris only ten days ago, after a final and
successful exertion of his personal influence. How will
history decide among these rivals? Perhaps she may
reach the conclusion that Prohibition and Protection
yielded, after all, more to the Napoleonic fondness for
change, for sudden and surprising coups d'etat, than to the
force of facts or logic.
I had the opportunity last evening of a free after-dininer
chat with Lord John Russell respecting Mexico. IIe is
much at a loss what to do: has little confidence in the
public men.of that country, except Juarez: is solicitous
to avoid even the appearance of attacking the Monroe
doctrine by intermeddling with their distracted condition:-the military strength of both contending parties is
exhausted: and how enough energy was to be infused
into either for executive government, without foreign aid,
it was impossible to see.
The Great Eastern maintains her title of " The Unluckv:'" —she has just lost Captain Harrison, drowned in
going to the wharf, and her shareholders and directors
are in a tempest of quarrel.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 314.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 3, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-I am  strongly impelled, by a modest
sense of demerit, not to send you the enclosed newspaper
slip, reporting the interpellation of Lord John Russell by
Mr. Monckton Milnes. It is, however, more important
that you should see exactly where the proposed Consular
Convention is, than that I should indulge mauvaise honte.
May it not be necessary to clothe me with a Full Power
for the special occasion? The negotiator does not mani



TO MR. CASS.                 187
fest a very scrupulous regard for the technical obstacles
interposed heretofore by the Crown Lawyers; and indeed
has no reluctance to' being esteemed equal, if not a little
superior, in their own specialite, to any of them.
It is not difficult to perceive that a good deal of the
eagerness which prevails to back Bonapafte against the
Pope springs rather from Protestant bigotry than love of
Italian liberty. The Vatican is an old and preferred target for all the Locksleys of the press: —he who plants a
shaft in that bull's-eye, has instantly the reward of a general shout. The new Encyclical letter exhibits more firmness than was predicated of Pio Nono. It has obliged the
French Emperor summarily to suppress the leading organ
of ultramontanism, L' Univers, and to throw himself upon
the historical loyalty of the Gallican Church. He does so
under the sanction of a special clause in the existing Constitution, and with graceful forbearance in regard to the
Holy See., But Church and State are now squarely confronted, and the past, decies repetita, tells us what to look
for as inevitable.
Your charge in Paris will no doubt send you an early
copy of the Anglo-franco Commercial treaty. Portions of
it have got into the journals here:- -but some details are
still elaborating and incomplete. The manufacturing and
mining opposition is active, impetuous, and outspoken:it will put the reforming Emperor to a sharp trial.
The question of Savoy! aye, here it is at last. More
than a year ago, I hazarded the "guess" that this Duchy
was a stimulant to the anti-Austrian appetite. Well! it
is sliding into France, under the operation of a quiet contract entered into at that very time with Victor Emmanuel. The secret has been well kept:-perhaps it would
have been better to keep it so still, until this country had
got more completely into the complicated meshes of the
entangling alliance:, —for John Bull is already out against
his immovable nightmare, anybody's annexation but his
own!
" The Papal Question in a New Light," by an American Diplomatist, is printing in Paris, and is from the pen of our recent Minister Resident at Lisbon, Mr. John L. O'Sullivan.
The "new light" seems to consist in discovering the identity or strong analogy between the District of Columbia
under our Constitution and Rome under the plan of the




188                TO MR. CASS.
Guerroniere pamphlet. Only two-thirds of it, translated
from French, have reached here.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer opens his budget on
Monday next, the 6th inst.  Royalty quits Windsor
Castle fdr Buckingham Palace on the 12th: —and that
infinitesimally kimple measure, the Parliamentary Reform
bill, comes up, for the first time since the world began, on
the 21st instant.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 315.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 10, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR.-" What mighty contests rise from
trivial things!"  Every sort of mischief seems likely to
flow from the ill-timed hoarseness of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer. On Monday last, his throat refused its
mellifluous tones to the eulogy of the budget: —he dared
not venture, with a croaking voice, on a permanent income tax of nine-pence, a one-sided tariff-treaty with
France, and an appropriation of thirteen millions sterling
for the navy alone! It is announced as possible that he
may undertake the task this evening. In the mean while
discontent has so accumulated as to be dangerous, if not
altogether impracticable. The delay has given opportunity to coalition; thence, a substantial condemnation of
Cobden's arrangement; thence, a change in the government; thence, coldness or quarrel with France; and
thence, finally, a general war! Extravagant as this may
seem, I do assure you that the dismal foreboding is seen,
felt, and expressed by every knot of politicians at the
now numerous soirees:-and all the series of disasters
unanimously attributed to the sore larynx of Mr. Gladstone.
There is some cause for suspecting, in the present
House of Commons, a diminution in the zeal for Reform.
On the night before last, the bill for abolishing Church
Rates, sunk, from a majority six months ago of 74, down
to one of 29: and last night, the ballot, after a hostile speech
from Lord Palmerston, was rejected by a majority of 31.




TO MR. CASS.                 189
These votes, united with the sensitive solicitude of Irish
members about the Pope, tend to fresh party combinations fatal to the present ministry. Lord Derby and
his friends are tranquilly watching the course of incidents, quite sure that the pear is rapidly ripening and
must fall into their hands before two months elapse.
You will have noticed that the Peers were unanimous
and firm against the annexation of Savoy to France. The
address to the Queen moved by Lord Normanby was not
pressed, on the ground that it gave a formality to the
protest unnecessarily offensive to the Emperor. Victor
Emmanuel and Count Cavour hold on tightly (as yet) to
"the Cradle of the Royal House."  The Parisian press
is bent on forcing their grasp. The ministry here, after
advising against the acquisition, are really indifferent, not
seeing any danger in it, to the balance of power. Louis
Napoleon seems in no hurry to proclaim his purpose, but
all the world knows what it is, and are quite satisfied that
sooner or later it must prevail.
I send, to occupy a cranny in your departmental library,
a small volume on the present state of British shipping.
It is written by a friend of mine, a member of the IHouse,
a large ship-owner, and a clear-headed man. His leading
object, he tells me, is to arrest the movement towards the
restoration of the Navigation Acts.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 316. —TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, February 17, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-I hurried through my letter this day
last week in order to reach the House of Commons in
time for Mr. Gladstone's grand performance on his twostringed harmonium-the Budget and the Treaty. He
spoke for four hours uninterruptedly, and with perfect
mastery of his complicated subject; the very personification of self-convinced, eager, and unrelenting Free Trade!
No mercy shewn to a solitary article taxed upon the principle of protection:-everything of the sort swept scornfully to the rubbish heap. In pushing his financial plane




190                TO MR. CASS.
along the board, he has, here and there, say iron, coal,
hops, and ribbons, cut more fiercely and deeply than is
consistent with a prudent policy, and has roused a hornets' nest to sting his tariff in every quarter. But he has
left his victims no means of escape. The commercial
compact with Napoleon and the entire scheme of taxation
are Siamese twins, the former dragging the latter over
every obstacle. At a Conservative caucus, a resolution
fatal to the ministry on this topic was rumored to have
been adopted, and Mr. Disraeli was said to be sharpening
his weapon for a home thrust on Monday next the 20th
instant. I have, however, reason to disbelieve that this
was the strategy finally agreed upon. Lord Derby does
not wish to oust his rival at the present moment, and
throw everything into sixes and sevens with France suddenly. The demonstration will cautiously avoid putting
the enemy to flight. The debate in the Lords last evening was left in the hands of secondary men, Earls Airlie
and Grev, and was signalized by the absence of Lords
Derby and Malmesbury, although founded on a formal
notice. The pear is not ripe.
You will notice the reply given last evening in the Commons to Mr. Liddell upon the subject of our Coasting
Trade, by Lord John Russell. Perhaps, as you are referred
to, I had better send you the enclosed slip.
His lordship, in answering Sir Robert Peel, conveyed
to my mind the conviction that what I heretofore predicted about the annexation of Savoy to France cannot
be prevented. Victor Emmanuel has been distinctly apprised by the Emperor that if his power and dominion
were swollen by the accession of Central Italy, the Empire
would not be safe with the Var as a boundary. Such a
notice from the ally who is working out the aggrandizement of Piedmont involves a compact not to be disputed
hereafter.
Lord Elgin goes back to China without delay, to relieve
his brother Mr. Bruce, with whose course of action and
despatch-writing public opinion is dissatisfied. Mr. Bruce
indulged unfairly in catering to what he thought was the
diseased appetite of the Foreign Office, by repeating false
and frivolous stories of Mr. Ward's contemptuous treatment at Pekin. Lord Elgin is sanguine in the belief that
he may preserve peace, and professes that to be his sole




TO MR. CASS.                 191
object. Remembering as we must that he extorted the
Treaty of Tien-Tsin from Chinese fear, he would hardly
seem the fittest agent for a friendly mission.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 317.-TO MR. CASS,
LONDON, February 24, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-There is no variation in the political
tune. It is nothing but treaty and budget, and budget
and treaty, at all times, and everywhere. I can perceive
only a slight giving way on the part of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer:-he sops the deep and dangerous baying
of "the Trade," i.e. the licensed victuallers, by abandoning his proposed licensing for the sale of beer, confining
it to wine. With this small exception, he pushes his entire
scheme with perseverance and overshadowing ability.
His firmness is bolstered by the collateral consciousness
that the opposition hold in extreme dread another dissolution of Parliament. The technical assault of Mr. Disraeli on Monday last, was baffled with promptness. The
debate may be extended far into the coming week.
There prevails something like a superstitious aversion
on both sides to the proposed fight between Heenan and
Sayers, for the Championship. The House of Commons
will probably goad the government into preventive energy.
The training of the Benicia.Boy, in the Isle of Skye, is
represented as admirable.
The Queen's Levee yesterday was amazingly tedious
and uncomfortably cold: —relieved for a moment by the
Royal sword descending upon the shoulders of the last
explorer for Sir John Franklin. The knighthood of Captain McClintock, itself a mere name, closes with something like poetic justice this long protracted drama of
sentiment.
There is a peculiar numbness (an allowable word?) at
this moment about the Italian complications. No one
can say how they stand. An occasional theorist anticipates the disclosure of a compromise between the Pope




192                TO MR. CASS.
and the Emperor. Another will say that Napoleon lingers
only until the Treaty, Budget, and Alliance are beyond a
peradventure.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 318.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 6, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-On this side of the water, the mercury in
the political barometer starts upward and sinks fast, very
suddenly. The avowal of the Emperor in his address opening the legislative chamber on the 1st instant, certainly
that he wanted and impliedly that he would have Savoy,
has shocked the morality so unanimously and eloquently
discoursed for a fortnight in the Palace of St. Stephens.
That avowal takes firmness and fornm in the diplomatic
notes addressed by Monsieur Thouvenel to the French
ministers here and at Turin. Lords Palmerston and Russell are deeply committed against the annexation: and
in the Commons last night they seemed perplexed in the
extreme on discovering that the recently negotiated commercial treaty was in danger of defeat by the opposition
as a primary protest against enlarging the limits of France.
Still, I do not think Lord Derby and his wary associates
prepared to take the helm, at the risk of encountering at
once a Gallican tempest. The hour for that has not yet
struck:-but they do much to consolidate the foundations
of their party and to give it a European position, by seizing as theirs the popular dread of Napoleon's designs.
Already there are symptoms of sensitive vigilance, if not
of coalescing jealousy, in the intercourse and movements
of Russia, Prussia, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
This repeated "filling and backing" on the Italian points
of policy bewilders interpretation and inculcates the expediency of a general " look-out."
I cannot say that when I read your last note on San
Juan (to Lord John) there was the slightest indication of
surprise or vexation on the part of her Majesty's minister.
Whatyou did was probably expected: or, atall events, Lord
Lyons had written enough to take off the edge of aston



TO MR. CASS.                 193
ishment. But, if Horace had not written Nil admirari, I
should be inclined to ask, is it not wonderful how persistently and variously a bad cause is sometimes pressed? I
went on Wednesday last to the reception of the Royal
Geographical Society at the residence of their present
President, Earl de Grey and Ripon, late Lord Goderich,
and what do you think "stared me in the face with rapid
strides"?-On the wall of the grand stairway, conspicuous
to the eye of every comer, brilliant in coloring, was a
gigantic map of the disputed Island, with its adjacent
waters, and a deeply red line, a quarter of an inch wlde, running, as if unalterably convinced, down Rosario Strait! Now,
his lordship is not merely the praeses among the manufacturers of charts, he is also an under Secretary of State for
War! This sort of mural dogmatism can only deceive;for, as you say, Rosario Strait is given up: the nailing, or
plaistering, a concededly false pretension is unworthy a
sage or statesman.
The French papers announce that your Plenipotentiary
(Mr. Faulkner) presented his credentials to the Emperor,
the day before yesterday (Sunday).
Always faithfully yrs.
No, 319.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 9, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-I have too recently written to have any
thing to say.
At the French Embassy on Tuesday evening last Count
Persigny took the trouble to detail to me all the peculiar
causes which justify his sovereign in annexing Savoy, or
rather the "slopes of the Alps," and the extent to which
he has been exasperated, not alone by the violent abuse
in both Houses of Parliament, but also by the extraordinary diplomatic notes which Lord John Russell, ever
since July last, has been scattering all over Europe, in
deprecation of that resolutely adopted measure. The ambassador looks upon the state of things as threatening a
war in the course of this spring.
The question of the treaty will be decided in the CornVOL. II.-13




194              TO MR. MARKOE.
mons to-night, on Mr. Byng's motion for an address to
the Queen, conveying approbation. I do not doubt the
success of the motion. Apart from the almost unanimous
aversion to permitting France to have any of the Alpine
passes, the ministry is overwhelmingly strong.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 320.-TO 0MR, MARKOE.
LONDON, March 12, 1860.
MY DEAR MARKOE, —Your billet of the 21st February
struck a spur into my intent, and caused me to drive
in haste to one of the queerest and dirtiest little alleys
I have vet seen in London. You marked (as everything
delusive is now-a-days marked) with a "red line," on a
certain page of catalogue, a group of Facetix as worthy of
prompt pursuit. I rushed to 45 Booksellers' Row, Strand;
and, would you believe it? the precious rarity had very
recently been sold and no other copy was extant! I had
to find consolation in shrugging my shoulders, and ill
gazing with wonder at the countless accumulations of old,
weather-beaten, black, yellow, stained, greasy, big and
diminutive volumes, encumbering both sides of the narrow
and long streetlet into which I had picked my way on foot.
Before vanishing from Mr. A.'s gloomy literary " Curiosity
shop," I seized the accompanying list for the present
March from off his ledge, and then gaspingly sought a
gulp of fresh air.
What with China, French Treaty, San Juan, Savoy, Imperial Pamphlets, Counteractive Royal Coalitions, with the
lively sessions of Parliament, the thoughts of diplomats are
whipped, like spinning tops, into a stand-still of ceaseless activity. This mission is very different from that at St. Petersburg. There, I could yawn and doze, without end:-here,
not an hour arrives without its budget, keeping me forever either in the deeply reflective or the excitedly qui vive
mood. Which post is the better? I am not yet old and
cold enough to hesitate in preferring this. I am not disposed to be dead before I die. After all, there is a charm
in living fast, in being on the rack of vigilance, eagerness,




TO MR. CASS.                 195
hope, and hurrah, which goes at once not so much to the
heart, as to the immortal spirit within. Of course I am
referring to the enjoyments and bustle of the intellect, not
to those of sense. London has an immense field for these,
just below the Court and above the Counter: and, in that,
range vast herds, titled and untitled, the philosophers, the
litterateurs, the lawyers, the clergy, the editors, the politicians, the experimentalists on matter, mind, and morals,
the painters, the sculptors, the musicians, the agriculturists, the florists, the photographers, etc., etc., etc. Any
man who will anchor himself in this tide of incessant and
roaring movement, and give himself to each wave of the
flood as it passes, must, if he don't run mad, experience
the highest degree of human enjoyment. All this is the
better for not being exclusively English. Every country
and every language contribute to the result. And all of
it is essentially and absolutely apart from the pantomimic
finery of royalty, or the grossness of mere money-changing. No doubt, the individuals have each and all their
repulsive qualities:-but as a stirring whole, the thing is
marvellous!
All well. Love to all.
Ever yrs.
No. 321.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 16, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-The " Manchester School" have enabled
Lord Palmerston to give two signal victories to the Treaty
of Commerce with France, the majority in the Commons
being 282 to 56, and in the Lords 68 to 38. The financial
scheme of Mr. Gladstone, adapted to the treaty, proceeds
almost pari passu, and we already read in the shop-windows French articles for sale "duty off."
If history does repeat itself, there are always some
modifications, some slight shades of difference. That
Bonaparte should bag Savoy, even with contemptuous
disregard of the European Chart of 1815, is natural
enough; —that he should do it, however, simultaneously
with the closest embrace he has yet accorded to England,
has a spice of novelty quite piquante. Such harmony




196                 TO MR. CASS.
in defiance of the "balance of power" and the annals of
centuries, is wonderful.
Poor Switzerland points to the gash in her side for
ruin's wasteful entrance and shrieks in vain for help!
Victor Emmanuel, having attained the full proportions of
manhood, parts with his "cradle" without a sigh. And
the Savoyards, true to their wandering instincts, are
rather eager than otherwise for the change of position.
The prevailing excess of the entente cordiale is worth
watching.  It may suggest the expediency of a less
friendly tone with us. Our cotton surpasses General
Scott as a great pacificator:-but the new Convention,
opening vast markets for coal and iron, inspires exultation. In the Times of yesterday you will find the following lusty words: " Sain Juan American, and Vancouver's
Island  and Columbia British, are incompatible with
peace." Heretofore there has been a chime of pens and
presses, representing the material relations of the two
countries as rendering war between them impossible. Let
us see whether a variation is to be struck.
I have just had a visit from Mr. He has so absorbed me by descriptions of everything and everybody
at home, as to oblige me to cut short this note. His conversational powers, always great, seem greater than ever.
He goes to his consulate at Havre to-morrow, by way of
Paris.
The season's circulation in what is termed high life
will experience a damp check from the death, two days
ago, of the Countess of Granville, wife of the President
of the Privy Council. She was a general favorite.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 322.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 27, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR, —At the House of Commons last night,
I listened to an outburst from Lord John Russell singularly at war with the Treaty of Commerce and pregnant
with danger to the Alliance. It was, at the instant, provoked by a charge of "truckling" from Mr. Horsman;




TO MR. CASS.                  197
and it announced, on the part of the ministry, as the consequences of recent negotiations with France respecting
Savoy, the loss of all confidence in the assurances of the
Emperor, and the duty of avoiding isolation in Europe by
at once forming connections with other continental Powers
interested in preserving the general balance. I have
seen this movement preparing for a week past. Lord John
has probably replied to the despatch of Mr. Thouvenel
whose contents he refused to state, with the animation
called for bv a haughty tone. The Times has surprised
its readers dluring four or five days with pungent articles
on "fourberies de Scapin," "tricks of Figaro," and "insolence" of the new French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Considering the relations subsisting between the leading
writers of this journal, and the chiefs of the cabinet, these
pieces could only be regarded as preliminary to a foregone
conclusion soon to be disclosed. The opposition loudly
cheered: one of whom, while complimenting the perseverance of the mutinous Liberals, expressed a hope that, seeing the manly and patriotic course at last taken, government would now be unanimously sustained in upholding
what were strongly asserted to be the interests, honor,
safety, and sentiments of the British People. All this
may, according to the genius of our epoch, blow over:a few honeyed drops of soothing recantation from the lips
of pre-eminent power may appease the rising storm: but
I am inclined to think that the irrevocable bolt has been
shot, and that while Lord John remains in his present post,
Napoleon will consider this country as inimical and at work
everywhere to thwart his views and restrict his influence.
It really would seern, according to the old couplet, that
The pleasure is as great
Of being cheated as to cheat,
for our acute countrymen almost hurry to be duped by
the rogues on this side the Atlantic. They apparently
like being, as lambs in hot weather, affectionately fleeced.
Your letter on the newly contrived and extensive fraud
reached me after I had received a number of eagerly enquirinfg notes, and after I had thoroughly ascertained the features, though not the authors of the conspiracy.* This is
* The contrivance was of the following fashion, and singularly successful. The conspirators in London ascertained the residences of individuals




193                    TO MR. CASS.
about the tenth swindle which has invoked my detective faculties. Of course, artful and audacious rascals prearrange
to mystify and baffle pursuit:-and I do not believe in the
existence of police skill adequate to ferret out and brinog
to punishment the plotters of so wide ranged, and as it
were international a scheme of pocket-picking as this.
The knaves reckon much and naturally upon the indisposition to throw good money after bad: then, uncertainties
of success give to distances an insurmountable aspect.
But, nous verrons.
Admiral Van Dockurn has ceased to represent Denmark
at this Court; and Mr. Bille, the younger, whom we have
known at Washington  for many years, took the post of
Plenipotentiary some five days ago.
I have just got the private note of which a copy is subjoined from  Lord Clarence Paget, first Secretary of the
Admiralty; and I mrust beg you to request Mr. Toucey
to have the document therein referred to, if there be such
a one, forwarded to me as promptly as possible. I have
not been able to find anything of the sort amnong the books
and papers sent to me.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 323.-TO  MR. CASS.
LONDON, March 30, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-Pardon me for expressing a hope that
you have not forgotten to obtain for me from  Mr. Toucey
the Report on our Naval Dock Yards requested by Lord
Clarence  Paget.   Our countrymen  are so constantly,
in most of the American States from local Directories. They sent by
post numberless letters carefully addressed to all parts of the Union,
especially to the interior. Each letter stated that the writer had accidentally discovered a Will or an Estate in which it appeared that his correspondent was largely interested:-that a claim if promptly asserted
could be maintained upon accessible evidence: and that if it were wished
that he should investigate records or collect proofs, he was ready to do so
on receiving a trifling amount of money, say five or ten dollars, with which
to meet preliminary fees or expenses. The bump of credulity and the
smallness of the sum required made the suggestion irresistible to thousands,
who could not too quickly transmit their cash to the appointed place.




TO MR. CASS.                199
through me, getting information of all kinds from the
depths of the public offices here, that I feel it to be a
duty to reciprocate whenever I can.
At the Queen's Levee on Wednesday the 28th instant,
the Premier took occasion to converse about the Slave
Trade. He expressed himself much gratified on noticing
the promising plans you were preparing to pursue: —saying that the great difficulty arose from the facility yielded
to the traffic by Cuba, and intimating that, as ice objected
to meddle with any vessel not carrying our Flag, and they
had promised not to meddle with any that did carry it, perhaps the most effective plan, off that island, would be for
the cruisers of the two nations, as he termed it, " to hunt in
couples," the British cruiser overhauling and examining
all vessels bearing colors not ours, and leaving the rest
to us. Imention this because Lord Palmerston appeared
to hold the idea as a favorite one, to be matured and formally proposed: and because it involves a striking recognition anew of the position you have enforced.
A Liberal Conservative Irish MI. P. interpellates Lord
John Russell this evening on the condition of the San
Juan question. It will not be in my power to attend:but I presume that his lordship will decline for the present
any disclosure, unless indeed he regard your last as closing
the negotiation, which is very unlikely. His troubles seem
to crowd thick upon him just now. Nothing livelier than
the agitation in the little diplomatic hive produced by his
anti-Napoleonic explosion on Monday last. Persigny pale
with passion, and the really stingless cluster of German
Envoys buzzing unceasingly with a singular mixture of
enjoyment and alarm!
I must not omit to state what it was pleasing to hear,
when on Wednesday I dined at Buckingham Palace.
During the conversation, which on such occasions, after
the table is left, always takes place between the Queen
and her guests, her Majesty enquired with the utmost
kindness about the President and Miss Lane:-she was
happy to hear of their continued health. I assured her
that both would be delighted to know that they were thusremerrmbered.
The Prince of Wales proceeds to Canada in July. His
younger brother Alfred the midshipman, wishes to accompany him, but probably will not be allowed to do so.




O00                  TO LAD Y H.
The Duke of Newcastle, Secretary for the Colonies, and
Lord St. Germans, Lord Steward, will go.  The future
King and his party will, I have reason to believe, visit
Washington. Should there be an invitation?
The day assigned for Lord Elgin and Baron Gros to
embark at Marseilles for China, is the 12th of April. He
did not however appear surprised when I suggested the
possibility that existing complications with France might
stop him altogether.
1 had the pleasure to introduce yesterday, at his request,
your minister in Madrid to Lord John Russell. Mr. Preston's picture of his Spanish residence is not very flattering. He will cross the Atlantic in company with this
note: —and, as he moves energetically and rapidly, may
reach Washington as soon.
There is a rumor just from New York, that Cuba is at
your disposal, though the price is not fixed. Bonaparte
may have encouraged the substitution of a colony in
Morocco for the precarious one in the Antilles.  The
rumor will require much confirmation before it gains
belief.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 324.-TO LADY H.
LONDON, April 5, 1860.
MY DEAR LADY H.,-Allow me to express very cordial
thanks for your note of last week, respecting the autographs placed in Leicester Square for sale at auction.
I could not find time until yesterday to visit these interesting relics. The signatures of Washington and Lord
North are particularly attractive from historical association and relation. The bold broad hand of the former
seems to contrast rebelliously with the delicate and tiny
calligraphy of the latter.
Again, many thanks, very faithfully and most respectfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 201
No. 325.-TO MBR. CASS.
LoNDON, April 6, 1860.
MY DEAR Sir, —Parliament, at the instance of Lord Palmerston, adjourned over on the night of the 3d to the 14th
instant, that is, for the Easter Holidays. The members
of both Houses are now distributed all over the kingdom
and in the continental capitals. They left London at the
moment when the relations of the Foreign Office were
disturbed by despatches from Mons. Thouvenel to Mr.
Persigcny, and by an unexpectedly bold declaration from
Lord John Russell that other allies than France must be
sought for. Let us see in what mood they will reassemble.
Those who stop in Paris, to assist at the grand fete of her
Imperial Majesty, or to chat with Mr. Cobden, will. probably have their-" fretful porcupine" quills smoothed gently
to their usual level. The Nephew is less irritably explosive than the Uncle, with equal tenacity of aim.
Spain is perhaps a reasonably good "quarter racer."
She has shewn herself capable of a vigorous effort, of military sklill, and of courage: —but she has tired soon. The
Treaty of Peace with the Moors is not what O'Donnell was
expected to dictate; and it will probably throw a shadow
over his returning ovation. You of course notice that,
almost simultaneously with the capture of the two steamers off Vera Cruz, the Governor of the Baleariq Isles,
Ortega, attempted a rebellious dash at the Crown of
Queen Isabella and the inauguration of Don Carlos! This
political pimple does not appear to have been thrown to
the surface by any interior humors, and has exhaled of
itself:-Ortega being chased by his owii troops, no one
can say whither.
A Papal Excommunication cannot be regarded as mere
brutumn fulmen as long as millions of devoted Roman Catholics are to be found in almost every country. Napoleon
is alive to this: —and he hurries to exclude the lightning
from his empire, by invoking all old, nearly obsolete law
which prohibits the publication of foreign ecclesiastical
acts without special license. To be sure, he is not " nominated in the bond:"-neither is Victor Emmanuel, nor in
fact any one else: —but it is difficult to discriminate be



202                TO MR. CASS.
tween their respective offences: —the alleged crime of
despoiling the patrimony of St. Peter is flagrant, —don't
the world know "who have taken part"? who "perpetrated,"
"warranted," " supported," "helped," " counselled," "followed,"
"connived at" it? Well, they are all comprehensively and
indiscriminately anathematized and scourged out of the
Church. Take an illustration of the immense influence
of the Vatican: —the Duchess of, the granddaughter
of Charles Carroll, ending her life in the quiet rural contentment of Protestant England, is said to have just sent
the Holy Father a cadeau of a thousand guineas! Rest
assured that we shall hear a great deal more than we have
yet heard of the potency of this thunder.
An appeal to the Detective orordinary Police respecting
the frauds upon our citizens involves so large an expenditure, and so much official distraction and embarrassment,
that I hesitate in believing that you intended both should
be incurred. The falsehood and swindling character of
the pretence have been completely ascertained, and I have
written some dozen letters home upon the subject. Perhaps a short warning in the Constitution and intelligencer,
which proved effectual in a similar case about two years
ago, might save many a man his four dollars. But can
the government be reasonably expected to go farther?
The mischief lies in the facility with which, in spite of all
experience, our good countrymen allow themselves to act
at once upon the faith of a boldly made pronmise. If
they would only take the precaution, before parting with
their money, to write to the legation, through your department, or directly, they would be shielded from the
contrivances of rogues. If in your name I complain to
Lord John Russell of the conspiracy, or in any other manner set the ball of criminal enquiry and punishment going,
I commit the government to a responsibility for charges
whose amount has no limit, and I also, I fear, subject myself and the secretaries and the archives, to the annoyance of judicial process. I can, and do, set a subpoena at
defiance, as incompatible with my extra-territorial position:-but if I volunteer to begin the hunt, what then?
Pray think for a moment on these practical suggestions.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. CASS.                 203
No 326.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 13, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-Notwithstanding the undeviating and
stern course adopted, the "revendication" of Savoy has its
difficulties. I had the honor yesterday of a visit from
Mr. de la Rive, the Swiss representative, and was much
gratified by the candor and fulness of his conversation.
He considers his country in great danger, and fears that,
after what has been done, the Emperor will find himself
unable to give her, in the direction of Geneva, the securities which, by the unanimous resolution of all parties,
she is determined to exact. Mr. Persigny, to be sure, has
encouraged him to hope that Napoleon will transfer an
adequate circuit of territory to the Republic, the inviolability of which may be guarantied by a Congress. But
he has the "' mistrust" spoken of by Lord John Russell, and
inclines to believe that Helvetian safety will ultimately
have to be sought in an armed coalition with Germany,
Prussia, Austria, and Russia. He is here to demonstrate
the rights and perils of Swiss neutrality:-perhaps England
may be persuaded to throw something in the balance
weightier than mere remonstrance. An article of much
force in the Edinburgh Review of the present month rather
favors that "perhaps."
Our papers, I perceive, anticipate some pleasurable stir
from the visit of the Prince of Wales. It is thought here
that he will hasten back, and may probably only see
Boston on his way to rejoin his ship. He is an ingenuous,
good-looking lad; in expression taking after his mother,
and in quiet polished tone of manner after his father.
An article in a New York journal intimating the propriety and policy of his being invited, has been reprinted
here; a symptom of the sensitive attachment universally
felt for the Queen and her children.
Always faithfully yrs.




204                TO MR. CASS.
No. 327. —T0 MR. CASS,
LONDON, April 20, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-Had Doctor Franklin been in the House
of Peers last night he would have found repeating the
same favorite abuse of America to which he listened
nearly a hundred years -ago in the gallery of the Commons. Pray read the speech of Earl Grey; and observe
with what oily unction he hands our present generation,
from its highest to its humblest branch, to the mercies
of the common hangman. Your people are venal, corrupt, and brutal: your State and Federal judiciary are demoralized and sunk: your legislatures, local and congressional, are mere spoilsmen, except when they are
also ruffians: and your President himself and his cabinet
are all floating in this ordure of crime! The excommunication is thorough. And on what bald pretence is this
wholesale anathema of a nation founded?-simply on the
fact that Lord John Russell's proposed measure of reform
lowers the franchise from ~10 to 6! It is difficult to
trace the connection, but that matters not:-tthe opportunity was seized, if not made, to crucify transatlantic
democracy. His lordship overshot his mark,-so the
Earl of Granville told him-and he runs the risk of being
permanently coupled in our affectionate remembrances
with Attorney-General Wedderburne.
A vague uneasiness prevails as to the state of affairs on
the Continent. Nor can this government with any certainty say whether their relations with the Emperor of
France are amicable or repulsive. Events are hurrying
on, especially in Italy, which must ripen to something
definitive before a month is out.  On-dits or canards
are countless.  Among these, a gentleman just from
Paris (Mr.   - of the Edinburgh Reviewv) reports that Lamoriciere has Bonaparte's sanction for enlisting in the
Papal service, that the French troops are not to be withdrawn from Rome, and that it is doubtful whether the
mutual confidence between the Emperor and Victor Emmanuel can be prolonged.
I forgot, in my brief critique of Lord Grey's thunder,
that he attributed to this mighty monarchy an amiable




TO MR. CASS.                 205
tendency to treat us as "spoilt children."  The Treaty of'83 was a'concession to "spoilt children;"-we were, like
" spoilt children," permitted to flog our parent in 1813-'14:-the dismissal of Crampton was overlooked as the
act of " spoilt children:" and our arrogant diplomacy was
only tolerated because we are "spoilt children."  Such
phrases as these are alike unworthy of the scene, the subject, and the speaker: —rankling as venom in the hearts of
individuals, yet puerile as regards the country.
Our disagreeable weather has continued until one does
nothing but abuse the everlasting Nor'-Easter!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 328.,-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, April 27, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-I found great pleasure in reading, four
times over, your despatch, to which the private letter
of the 5th instant refers. There was nothing which hypercriticism could wish to alter. Pray take it for granted
that I am not liable to be tired with reading any despatch
of yours, however "lengthy:" on the contrary, it is both
useful and agreeable, as in the effort to convey the contents justly to another, I become more thoroughly master of them myself, and moreover take a certain amusement in witnessing their legitimate effects upon the
listener.
Until the last four months I doubted the existence of
eloquence in England. Mr. Gladstone and Sir Bulwer
Lytton have dispelled the doubt, by performances equal
in force, beauty, and versatility to anything of Brinsley
Sheridan's. The Quarterly Review, no friendly critic, pronounces the former's four hours' speech on the Budget,
" the finest combination of reasoning and declamation that
has ever been heard within the walls of the House of
Commons:"-and again, "we find ourselves in the enchanted region of pure Gladstonism, that terrible combination of relentless logic and dauntless imagination."
Bulwer, ilt assailing the Reform bill last night, rose to the
same level. I cannot venture to predict the fate of that




206                TO MR. CASS.
measure:-*-it is so moderate, that enthusiasm cannot be
roused on its behalf: —if the vote were taken by ballot, it
would be defeated, but the ayes and noes on a division
are a formidable ordeal for those who love their seats.
Bad and unwholesome weather prolonged beyond all
season. Everybody is victimized by rheumatism or uvula
in some shape.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 329.-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 4, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-On what is termed "the San Juan" difficulty, Lord John Russell was last night "interpellated"
by Mr. Fitzgerald. If my knowledge of facts be correct,
there is much indistinctness and confusion in his reply.
I send it.
The Reform bill staggers along. The second reading
is carried, but farther progress was suspended, amid loud
jeering from the opposition, until the 4th of June next.
The enemies of the measure have taken great pains, in
both Houses of Parliament, to ventilate their hatred of
American institutions, laws, and manners. Indeed, that
course of atrabilious remark is rather cheered and encouraged by a large majority of both parties. We must manage
to survive and smile: —especially as we are apt to give as
hard as we receive.
On the Continent there would seem to be a momentary
lull. Everybody, however, regards it as the stillness which
precedes the storm. Each new day is expected to develope
the coming coup  A fresh map of Europe lies upon the
table of every Parisian editor.
I am earnestly exhorted by a gentleman whom I do not
know and never heard of, to inculcate upon my countrymen the duty and policy of intervening to stop the atrocious
massacres committing in Sicily by Bomba Junior. He
hopes nothing for the cause of humanity from England or
France, but looks to us.
Our friend Mr. W. Beech Lawrence, of Rhode Island,
has just issued a brochure in Paris, a light well-written




TO MR. CASS.                207
essay, to vindicate the Southern form of labor, and to
show its necessity if the new commercial policy of the
Emperor is to be carried out. The "Amis des Noirs" are
quite as numerous in France as here, and equally inaccessible to reason. Those of the De-bats refused to publish any piece extenuating negro slavery:-and, under a
sense of duty, he has fung out his pamphlet.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 330.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, May 11, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-The descent of Garibaldi upon Sicily,
with a force not exceeding 2000, re-enacts the enterprise
of distant centuries. He has managed with equal skill
and boldness: allowing nothing to be suspected until he
had pushed to sea, with all his companions, and securing
a longer start ahead by cutting, on the instant of departulre, all the loquacious electric wires in reach. The Island
is rampant with insurrection, which his presence will organize and lead to success. Already the restricting epithet
"North" is deemed misplaced in the title of the new
Italian kingdom.
Mr. Gladstone's budget was uncomfortably near a fatal
blow on the evening of Tuesday last. In a House of 428
he carried the repeal of the paper duty by a majority of
nine only. Another such victory, and the opposition will
be encouraged to a formidable assault.
Observe the affectionately polished terms in which Earl
Grey and Lord John Russell cut each other up in a series
of private though published notes. How worthy of imitation by our pugnacious members! "Dear Lord John,"
"Dear Lord Grey:"-can anything be more charming
than this mode of pinning baseness and falsehood upon
each other?
Although you would not tell me, I have known for
some time, through Mr. Isturitz, that you decline taking
any part in a Congress to deliberate on the means of effectually extinguishing the Slave Trade. I had been called




208          TO MR. C. J. INGERSOLL.
upon by a diplomat some time ago on this subject. He
said his government would follow in the footsteps of the
United States: and after much conversation, he added"Let me put a question: suppose my government to accept Lord John Russell's invitation, how would you regard her conduct?" I answered instantly, "As un-American and unfriendly."  " Am I at liberty to write home to
that effect?"  " Certainly, as an expression of my individual sentiment and belief: the United States can never
consent to be swamped in a European Congress: —in politics, we must be wary not to dovetail the two continents."
From all I hear, this fresh effort to get a tribune whence
to lecture the nations on religion and humanity will fail.
Lord John will take nothing by his motion.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 331.-TO MR. 0. J. INGERSOLL.
LONDON, May 21, 1860.
DEAR SIR,-Your letter of the 12th ultimo led me, in
frequent conversations with eminent gentlemen, to seek
a distinct answer to the question on British constitutional
law which it proposed. Is there, in the making of leagues
or treaties, a clearly defined line between the prerogative
of the Crown and the power of Parliament? Without
undertaking a dull and minute course of discrimination,
let me give you my impressions.
What is called "the tendency of the age" shews itself
strikingly on this subject.  The great Commentator of
last century may have been accurate:-he would require
liberalization now. Hie told us that whatever international
contracts the sovereign engaged in "no other power in
the kingdom can legally delay, resist, or annul." That
dictum, in its broad import, has ceased to be true. The
impeachment of a bad minister is no longer the only recognized escape or remedy of an injurious treaty.
The Commercial Convention recently entered into with
France, contains an express declaration that it shall not be
valid unless "Her Britannic Majesty shall be authorized
by the assenit of her Parliament to execute the engage



TO MR. C. J. INGERSOLL.            209
ments contracted by her in its several articles."  Such a
clause is, I am assured, always introduced in modern treaties of this kind: and upon the present occasion its exigency was met by the adoption of a joint address to the
Queen approving comprehensively the diplomatic programme.
I believe it safe to say, now-a-days, that a treaty which
calls for a law in order to be executed, may be constitutionally nullified by the refusal of either House, the Commons or the Lords, to enact that law. If it be necessary
to assent, it is competent to dissent. Treaties requiring
appropriations of money: treaties establishing tariffs, or
mutual terms of interchanging products: and treaties relinquishing territorial dominions, perhaps: sink into the
power of Parliament. In the olden time, Blackstone
would have been shocked if the Executive, bent upon
fulfilling an international engagement, had thought it
worth while to say more than "P' ass the bill:-stet pro ratione voluntas!"
It may be doubted whether the check upon executive
discretion be not, in this sphere of public agency, better
ascertained here than with us. Chancellor Kent, I think,
expressed astonishment and regret that a resolution,
founded on the incidents of Jay's Treaty, was passed by
the House of Representatives in 1796, declaring what is
now understood to be settled English law and practice,
that is, if a treaty depend for the execution of any of its
stipulations upon a legislative act, the House could and
should determine on the expediency of carrying it into
effect or letting it abort. Whether the principle of that
resolution was abandoned, or only pretermitted on the
emergency of 1816, may be questioned. It disappoints
expectation, but in reality is not illogical, that the treatymaking power when in the hands of a hereditary monarch
should be more trammelled and restricted than when in
the hands of an elective chief magistrate and Senate. I
trust, however, that, should the controversy revive, our
representatives may feel themselves, maugre Chancellor
Kent, free to be at least as democratic as the British Commons. It is noticeable that the precedent of a parliamentary stand against a treaty was made during the
ministry of Pitt, almost contemporaneously with Jay's:
and that while on this side of the Atlantic the popular reVOL. II.-14




210                TO% MR. CASS.
sistance triumphed, by leading to the withdrawal and
abandonment of the measure, on our side, notwithstanding
an agitation alike universal and violent, we were compelled to swallow, pure and undiluted, the strong concoction of the venerable Chief Justice.
Very sincerely and faithfully yrs.
No. 332.-TO MR. OASS.
LONDON, May 22, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR, -Much tribulation was caused by a motion in the House of Lords to throw out, or reject, Mr.
Gladstone's favorite measure for the repeal of the tax on
paper. It was made by Lord Monteagle, backed hotly
by Lord Derby, and after a violent debate of nine hours'
duration, it was carried at 2 o'clock A. M. (this morning)
by the overwhelming majority of 89 in a vote of 297.
The friends of the bill stood upon the privilege of the
Commons, to preserve untouched their control of the
finances, and specially insisted that to reject a relief of
taxation which had passed the House was equivalent to a
fresh imposition. The blow is a harsh one on the Chancellor of the Exchequer: and, though it keeps him in deep
water as far as national income is concerned, it deranges
the system of his budget, and throws discredit upon his
prudence. The garland of victory is proverbially fragile,
and I shall not be surprised if Mr. Gladstone, nettled in
the midst of elation, were suddenly to drop the seals of
office.
Garibaldi's defeat of the Neapolitan forces arrived late
last night pretty directly from Naples. I was told it in
the House of Peers by Lord Wensleydale. The battle
was fought in the vicinity of Palermo: and probably by
this time young Bomnba is on the road to Vienna.
Nobody questions the wonderful powers of Lord Brougham. HIis readiness at plagiarism upon himself is carried
too far, and gives a stale look to some of his latter productions. At his inauguration as Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, on Friday the 18th instant, he must
have consumed a full half-hour in repeating his celebrated




TO MR. CASS.                211
and superb parallel between the virtues of Washington
and the vices of Napoleon I.
All the world will stream to Epsom to-morrow. The
Prime Minister has formally given warning in the House
of Commons that he regards the Derby Day as too sacred
for legislative business: —he will move an adjournment
over. By-the-by, his lordship is not a little addicted to
fancies of the kind. The other day, he was obliged to
expend heaps of solemn condemnation upon the approaching prize fight of Sayers and Heenan:-but he concluded
by saying, with a bright twinkle in his eye, " Well! if it
must come off-I hope Tom will beat."
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 333.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 1, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-In the adjustment of the British Constitution, which you know is asserted to be the more perfect because imperfect, accommodating itself to the exigencies of progress, I think the popular principle about to
make a fresh advance upon the oligarchical. The right
of the Lords to intermeddle in any manner with money
bills sent up by the Commons, as well repealing as imposing taxation, is for the first time broadly and vigorously denied. The precedents upon which Lords Monteagle, Lyndhurst, and Derby acted in throwing out the
measure abolishing the paper duty, are discovered to lack
in a slight degree exact applicability: and the Commons
seize the occasion to push their privilege farther than
it has hitherto gone, by absolutely excluding the Peers
from the entire domain of the finances. New forms of
bills may be devised for that purpose. Resolutions of a
decided character will be introduced in the lower House.
And though the actual offence of retaining the paper duty
may glide into oblivion, it will become so only after its
recurrence is rendered impossible. Such promises to be
the issue of the present constitutional conflict between
the legislative branches of Parliament.
My diplomatic colleagues very generally agree in con



212                TO MR. CASS.
sidering the state of affairs on the Continent as unpromising and precarious. The "sick man" is once more an
object of solicitude: and the unhappy Christians in Turkey are breaking the heart-strings of tender Prince Gortschakoff: Then, Prussia is carefully restoring the warfooting to her army, while Parisian pens are dropping
persuasive pamphlets on the banks of the Rhine. Then,
Spain, for some covert reason, instead of doffing, is actually riveting on, the helmets she donned in Morocco: —
giving permanency to an army of 200,000, quartered in the
Balearic Islands and on her northeastern coast. Then
again, the intrigues and tentatives of the exiled Dukes of
Tuscany and Modena get encouragement somewhere:the despairing contortions of Helvetia in the tightening
folds of the Gallic constrictor are extremely painful:
Hungary is threatening Kaiser Francis with the treatment
given to King John at Runnymede: the perturbations in
Belgium are equally conspicuous in Leopold I. and Leopold's minister Van de Weyer: and finally, see the volcanic blaze of Garibaldi, whose head-quarters were established, with Sardinian flag in hand, by the brave chieftain
himself in the centre of Palermo!
At last we hear from China. The Brother of the Sun
and Moon has contumeliously flouted the terms arrogantly
exacted by Mr. Bruce. Nothing seems left to the Allies
but an advance on Pekin, and a race after the Emperor
wheresoever he may fly. Whether a retreat like that of
Thucydides and his ten thousand from Persia, may not
be compelled by mere force of overpowering numbers, we
must wait to see. Some straggling engineers and drill
sergeants of Russia may possibly be backing the Celestials. The enclosed contains what Lord John Russell
lately characterized as the "moderate" demands of this
government!
Le Box, as the Parisians call the P. R., is renewinlg its
hold upon the public taste. There are no heroes like
those of the fist. Heenan and Sayers recall Hector and
Achilles; and one of the panegyrists ranks them on the
rolls of fame with Napoleon I. and Wellington! Each
has stood, and still stands, in a pelting shower of gold:each buckles on a belt sparkling with gems and ponderous with silver: —both are trumpeted from one end of the
kingdom to the other: and even at the Derby, the high



TO MR. CASS.                213
mettled racers were forgotten in the universal eagerness
to run after the Benicia Boy! The victory over law,
civilization, order, and morality, is complete.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 334.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 15, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR, —Things are tranquillizing. Lord John
Russell's Reform bill seemed to command too small a
majority and has been withdrawn. The vacuum thus
produced will enable Parliament to advance rapidly to a
close. Agitation on the question of the exclusive financial
privilege of the House, although kept alive, will mainly
be reserved for the recess.
Indications make it quite clear that the.second daughter
of Queen Victoria, the Princess Alice, is about being
merged into Dutch Royalty. John Bull has often counted
the beads of his rosary, good-naturedly giving to each of
them a blessing and a purse, and' then growling at the
budget.
A great conjunction takes place to-morrow or the next
day at Baden-Baden. Napoleon III. has an interview
with the Prince Regent of Prussia, and several sovereigns, Saxon, Bavarian, Hesse-Darmstadt, etc., propose
to "assist" thereat. Europe has had recent experience
of the consequences likely to flow from such consultative
reunions. The Emperor, as his own Premier, is apt to
state his " idea," to fix it impressively on those who listen,
and to leave its complete execution as a thing, willy-nilly,
to be done. No doubt, his fiat on the present occasion
will point to the Rhine as the natural boundary of
France: and one cannot perceive in any quarter the
faintest readiness to resist. He will get it, nune vellunc:
possibly by diplomacy, for there is a deep dread of provoking him among the royalties, but, if not so, by an
overpowering rush from Chalons.
The annals of Europe, though crowded with the names
of great soldiers and seamen, do not furnish a parallel for
Garibaldi: —so they call him the Washington of Italy. W e




214                TO MR. CASS.
Americans may think the designation a little too flattering:-but in truth he has noble qualities, among which
are most conspicuous the very firmness, sobriety, moderation, and devotion to duty, which characterized our
national favorite. He has plucked Sicily from the Neapolitan crown by a series of rapid as well as prudent
movements, and we may soon look for such insurrectionary collisions among the Lazzaroni as will induce him to
cross the Strait of Messina and end the dynasty. All
Europe is crying shame at Bomba junior for his barbarities-cannonading and shelling, firing and destroying his
own city of Palermo and its population; and the dogma
of divine right does not save him from universal condemn ation.
Another trial trip by the Great Eastern preliminary to
starting for New York on the 20th instant. They have
been tinkering at her extensively for the last six months,
and perhaps she is now a safe steamship: —but she don't
promise to perform the voyage in less than ten or twelve
days, she is still liable to many interruptions and accidents, and, on the whole, the report of the late excursion
of twenty-four hours leaves me inclined to prefer a conveyance by the Adriatic, the Arago, or the Persia.
Our countrymen are crowding into London by hundreds. They are astonished at finding the cold wet
weather which we have had all the spring.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 335. —T  MR. CasS.
LONDON, June 19, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-The cluster of kings and kinglets which
met for two days at Baden, smiled unimaginable things
at each other, and then dispersed as if enchanted with
the wonders they had achieved, has opened a fresh and
interesting field for speculation and prophecy. Simultaneous with the departure of Louis Napoleon from Paris
was the appearance of a new pamphlet, "France and Prussia," by About. This performs the office assigned to the
brochure "lNapoleon III. et l'ltalie," in February, 1859,




TO MR. CASS.                215
which heralded the conquest of Lombardy, and the annexation of Savoy and Nice. The first moves in the game are
alike: —Guerroniere and About the summoning trumpets.
"Reform the vices of your constitution: give up Divine
Right: make your legislature what ours is, the offspring
of universal suffrage: don't gasp at uttering democracy:
expel your treacherous bureaucracy: and then, as soon as
you concede to France her'natural frontier,' she will expand you, as she has expanded Piedmont, into a United
Germany." Such is the programme blandly unfolded to
the Regent of Prussia, under Imperial inspiration! At
Baden, Napoleon shook hands, drank tea, paid first visits,
was the model of cordial good-fellowship, and when he
left at night for the Tuileries, only dropped, as interpreting the drama, this little pamphlet of About. I send
you as much of it as was in the Herald of yesterday
morning.
The alarm here is somewhat on the increase. A commission has recently made report on the Public Defences,
and its recommendations call for an expenditure of eleven
or twelve millions of pounds sterling. French naval force
is steadilyv augmenting. Lord Overstone appears in print,
anxious about invasion. Colonel Jebb looks it coolly in
the face, adverts to the three successive stages at one of
which it may possibly be repelled, and finally, supposing
London to be captured, looks to the probability of buying
off the enemy!
The cold and wet continue without change. The Great
Eastern anticipated her time, and left Southampton for
New York on Sunday last the 17th instant. May she
arrive safely!
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 336.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, June 29, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-Strong and sincere gratification seems
to have been given by the President's note to the Queen
inviting the Prince of Wales to Washington. It is talked
of in all circles; and the young gentleman himself is




216                 TO MR. CASS.
exuberant with delight. The Duke of Newcastle anticipates great enjoyment on the tour, and dwells much on its
prospect. He expressed to me a solicitude to avoid, after
quitting Canada, any proceeding, such as stopping for a
short time at Cincinnati, which would be regarded as the
slightest breach of the principle- of etiquette that the first
visit should be to the White House. Without being too
strict in exaction, I have encouraged the expediency of
travelling direct to the capital, and afterwards branching
in any direction they please. This, I think it probable,
will be the course. They calculate on reaching you about
the close of September, and on re-embarking for home at
New York about the middle of October: —allowing very
little time to the United States. As we shall be involved
in the universal and absorbing distractions of a Presidential election, perhaps it is well that it should be so. The
programme for the voyage was officially published two
days ago, making the start from Devonport on the 10th
of July.
The legislative scene, like the fashionable season, is
drawing to a close.  Unless something unlooked for
should break out, Parliament can hardly protract its session for another month.
England is laboring to convince herself that she is a
military nation. Within the last week she has held two
Reviews, one in Hyde Park of the Volunteer Rifles, and
another at Aldershot of Regulars, counting an aggregate
of about 45,000 men. Soon, she proposes to inaugurate
a system of local games, making the skill in point-blank
shooting the object of popular attainment:-like archery
in olden times, only substituting the rifle for the crossbow. She went into ecstacies, as you may have noticed,
at the tramp of her 20,000 volunteers, and almost trumpeted defiance to the 400,000 of France. Paris was highly
amused. But, after all, there is somrnething in this first
taste of the voluntary principle which is really seductive,
and may lead to important results. It is a bold and pregnant idea, that of putting rifles into English hands indiscriminately: —it may possibly end very differently from
what is expected.
Our small screw steamer, of 6 guns, the Iroquois, Coinmander Palmer, is, under the requisition of Mr. Chandler,
looking doggedly at the subordinates of young Bomba,




TO MR. CASS.                217
and we may possibly witness something after the fashion
of the Ingraham and Koszta incident. The King is getting
so rapidly pushed off his throne, that he bows concessions in despair all round. A mere attitude will be quite
enough for him.
Very sad rumors are afloat about the effects already
produced, and the worse ones feared, from the continued
cold and rain. The crops are in danger here, and indeed
all through Europe. Prices of food are rising fearfully.
The horrid weather is attributed by some to the great
number and huge size of icebergs in the Atlantic.
Lord Elgin and Baron Gros seem to have lost everything but their lives by the wreck in the harbor of Galle.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 337,-To MR. CASS.
LONDON, July 13, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-Mr. Longstreet, one of the delegates
appointed by the President to the International Statistical
Congress, has reached here in due time, but regrets to
find that Mr. Lawrence, his colleague, left England in the
Adriatic on the 20th ultimo. It is not impossible that this
latter gentleman may be on his way hither. I have had
sent to me by Mr. Faulkner from Paris, endorsed as from
the Treasury Department, what I take to be his commission and therefore temporarily retain for him. Mr. Longstreet will, however, find other American associates in the
Congress. Dr. Jarvis has been sent by the Massachusetts
Association. This government, through Mr. Milner Gibson, invited my attendance at the initiation of the movement, but I declined for obvious reasons.
The Prince of Wales embarked in the " Hero " three
days ago for Canada. His departure was signalized by
naval demonstration and ceremony executed by the Channel fleet. He will go farther South than Washington
only to visit Richmond.
The " sick man," as you have doubtless seen, is getting
worse and worse. The Christians are being massacred by
thousands in Syria, the Turkish forces too weak or un



218                TO MR. CASS.
willing to protect them. On both sides of the Channel, it
is beginning to be seen that the Czar Nicholas had reason
for his plans, and that Europe may soon be obliged to execute them. The two Emperors, Napoleon and Alexander, have a steady and longing eye upon the " New Map"
I sent you two years ago, and are only impeded in their
project of a coalesced triumvirate of military nations by
the obstinate integrity of the Prussian Regent. How
long that obstacle will last against the double pressure,
right and left, depends much on the energies of Downing
Street.
I listened attentively a few nights ago to a singular but
striking speech by the Premier in the Commons. It was
on the pending question of privilege, and elaborately excused, if it avoided defending, the rejection by the Lords
of the bill remitting the paper duties. To me it savored
strongly of a disposition to drop, or drive out, certain distasteful members of his cabinet —Lord John Russell, Mr.
Gladstone, and Mr. Milner Gibson-for these gentlemen
have resolutely and openly flung the gauntlet at the Peers,
and are stirring up popular agitation in a manner rather
disquieting. Yesterday there was convened at Liverpool
what we should consider even in New York a roaring
tumultuous meeting on this subject:-and here, three
days ago, at the discussion of the topic by a numerous
assemblage, a proposal to convene in Hyde Park was indiscreetly opposed by a threat of the newly raised
Rifles!
The celebration on the 4th was enlivened by a capital
speech from Layard (Nineveh Layard) and a very flat one
by Dr. Mackay. Our own addresses and toasts were
dishwater.
A fierce assault upon Sir Samuel Cunard and his line
of steam ships is now in progress. The gravamen, an unEnglish concession to anti-negro tastes, by rules of government on board, which accommodated a sable Mrs.
Putnam and her numerous family separately from other
passengers. They demanded, and now the exclusively
civilized press of England demands for them, that they
shall eat, drink, sleep, and promenade, undiscriminated
by color. What will Sir Samuel do? He has tried to
avoid the onslaught, by justly regarding the matter as
one to be determined by his own interest in controlling




TO MR. CASS.                 219
his own business: —but they threaten him with the withdrawal of all government aid and countenance, and the
bolt of popular excommunication.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 338.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, August 3, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-The interest of Europe is just now concentrated on three novelties: —the filibustero Garibaldi,
the Imperial letter-writer, and the religious massacres in
Syria. Everything else is for the hour overshadowed.
The general is supposed to be slightly mutinous:-disregarding the advice of Victor Emmanuel, and fatally
bent on seeing Naples. A telegram is daily looked for,
announcing his landing on this side of the Strait: and it
is said that there lies in the beautiful bay a fine steamship ready to receive the King and his household, as soon
as the "Hero" touches the Continent. No reliance oil
the Royal forces: no trust in Lazzaroni: no safety but in
quick flight: " the thief doth fear each bush an officer."
Napoleon's epistle to his "cher Persigny" is regarded
as addressed to the British nation. Agreeably to the
direction in it, the ambassador laid it before Lord John
Russell, who told the House of Commons, and a bad
translation appeared in the newspapers on the following
morning. I send you a copy in the original French. No
more remarkable State paper can well be imagined. He
runs over the keys of Imperial policy with the rapid
familiarity of a master hand, and seems to smile through
his writing at the facility with which he gets over the
hard passages of the last year's history. What does it
mean? No one can say precisely. Perhaps more consideration must be given to it. But if, as some think,
it was an inspiration of Mr. Cobden's (who continues in
Paris) to help Mr. Bright's opposition to the immense
expenditure on fortifications, it has failed, for that measure was carried in the House of Commons last night by
a majority of 227.
The hair-trigger tendency to religious war is by no




220                TO MR. CASS.
means restricted to Syria. There, it has exploded into
massacre fierce and undiscriminating:-but alarm prevails throughout the Turkish Empire, and the two great
sects are everywhere watching each other with dangerous
bitterness. Constantinople itself is in something like a
state of siege.  The Sultan has formally invited "the
Great Powers," who signed the Treaty of Peace in 1856,
to help his weakness. Bonaparte (exemplary Christian!)
springs forward with alacrity, and was hastening his soldiers to Beyrout and Damascus, when Lord John Russell
interposed the necessity of. a previous programme of
conditions and understandings. If the Zouaves are once
bivouacked in the Lebanon, when will they leave it?
The Queen proceeds from London to Edinburgh during
the night of the 6th and 7th instant, reviews the Scotch
Riflemen on the afternoon of the 7th, and speeds to Balmoral, Her Majesty will probably visit her new granddaughter in Berlin early in September. Parliament gives
no promise of immediate prorogation, yet London is being
rapidly deserted.
Always faithfully yrs.
No. 339.-TO MR. CASS.
LONDON, September 14, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR,-All eyes are fixed upon the movement
of General Fanti, at the head of fifty thousand of Victor
Emmanuel's forces, into the States of the Church. Guyon
is orde'red back to his' post at Rome, taking with him ten
thousand French, as a sort of body-guard for the Holy
Father. Very little reliance is felt in Lamoricidre, whose
scum of foreign mercenaries only exasperate Italian feeling. The critical moment has arrived; and the Piedmontese cabinet seem suddenly to have taken against the
Pope a new attitude of menace and violence. In his
extremity, the hand of Bonaparte will be stretched out
for his relief.
Garibaldi entered Naples on the 7th instant, and
straightway, as if touched by a magic blight, the throne of
Francis II. crumbled into dust. It is said that the King,




TO MR. CASS.                221
while penning his farewell to his subjects, actually issued
an order for the bombardment and sack of the city!
What army he may be able to retain will pass to the ranks
of Lamoriciere. HIis own destination is yet doubtful:perhaps Spain, may-be the interior of Germany, possibly
Vienna.
On the 3d of next month, and at Warsaw, there will be
an ominous conjunction of sovereignties, Russian, Austrian, Prussian, etc., and why? only to declare a negative,
that they do not propose to coalesce against France.
" Methinks they do protest too much."
The Queen returns from Balmoral to Osborne on Tuesday next, and forthwith prepares for a visit to the Continent. Lord John Russell will accompany her.
Nothing of much moment as vet from China: —the latest
accounts intimate the probability of a battle about the
middle of July, which, if it have taken place, should reach
us now. In New Zealand the success of the natives
against the British authorities has created an anxious
feeling.
Quite a stir has been made about the character in which
Mr. Wm. S. Lindsay, M. P., is visiting the United States.
Lord John has certainly given it a slight infusion of the
diplomatic decoction. So much so that I presume that
gentleman will hasten his arrival at Washington, and may
seek interviews with the President and yourself on various
topics which one would think exclusively manageable by
Lord Lyons. Mr. Lindsay called on me before quitting:
and I inferred from his conversation that he hoped to do
something d la Cobden in Paris.
London is lifeless:-all the world abroad: rain unabating:
and cold annoying. It seems conceded that the harvests
have been impaired to the extent of at least one-third.
The great astronomer Herschel tells us in a published
letter that he did not predict this season, but that many
observations led him to foresee it.
Always faithfully yrs.




222              TO MR. MARKOE.
No. 340.,-TO MR. MARKOE.
LONDON, November 23, 1860.
MY DEAR M.,-It is much to be feared that all the patriotism and valor of Garibaldi have been wasted. He is
essentially a republican; and so his rash levied troops who
nevertheless conquered Sicily and Naples have been disbanded and dispersed, and himself bowed' into the rocky
islet of Caprera!
Of all interesting monuments of antiquity and power,
commend me to Windsor Castle. Mrs. D. and I have
just returned from a three days' visit there. We were
lodged in the Tower of King Edward III.: and I mounted
to the top of the "Round Tower," about three hundred
feet above a base constructed by the soldiers of Julius
Caesar!! Then see the interminable and inexhaustible
Corridor: —the Rubens Chamber: the Tapestry: the
Royal Plate: the Hall of St. George: the Armory: the
State apartments. It is far the most imposing and suitable Palace to be found in England or perhaps in Europe.
Innumerable objects of art, paintings, sculptures, and
highly ornamented cabinet works and vases are spread
through the Corridor having reference to the incidents of
the present reign. The first time the Queen, only seventeen years of age, presided at the Privy Council, forms an
interesting picture, Lord Melbourne, her guardian and
Prim.e Minister, in the attitude of addressing her from the
farther side of the table, and looking as if struck by the
dignity and ease of her carriage. Then the Duke of Wellingtop, in the presence of her Majesty and Prince Albert,
assuming the office of godfather to one of her infants and
presenting a richly jewelled casket, forms another. The
glowing and gorgeous representation of the Coronation
makes a third. Portraits and busts of Popes and Cardinals are excellent and numerous.
You may get this on the day of an opening row in Congress, and I hasten to close it, to avoid keeping you away.
I have an infinite deal of nothing to say, but not a minute
to say it in.
Always affectionately yrs.




TO MR. MARKOE.                223
No. 341. —TO MR. D.
LONDON, November 16, 1860.
MY DEAR F.,-Your recent visitor' the Prince of Wales,
though he left Portland on the 20th October, only got to
Plymouth yesterday. He had a disagreeable voyage and
caused considerable anxiety and alarm. Several vessels
had hurried out to scour the seas for him.
Empresses, you perceive, are becoming flighty. My old
Dowager of Russia has taken final leave. The young
Austrian, little cared for by her husband, has borrowed a
steamer from Queen Victoria to carry her to the healthrestoring climate of Madeira. And the lovely parvenu
Eugenie, crossing the Channel in a common packet, and
content with ordinary cabs, has actually reached Claridge's
Hotel in Brook Street, incog., and on her way to a ball at
the Duchess of Hamilton's in Scotland! Is it possible
there can be a transient mniff with Louis Napoleon? These
Imperial freaks set the world full of conjecture and gossip.
Garibaldi has gone to his rock between Sardinia and
Corsica, Caprera: they say, to milk his cows, but one may
suspect to cry over spilt cream. Though he still harps
on a movement in the spring with a million of men, he
probably feels that his great republican idea finds an insurmountable obstacle in the crown of Victor Emmanuel.
Always affectionately yrs.
No. 342,-TO MR. MARKOE.
LONDON, March 1, 1861.
MY DEAR MARKOE,-Our latest news from the West
plays like a thread of lightning on the horizon and
rekindles hope. It is to the effect that the Convention
assembled under the counsels of Virginia has under consideration a scheme of adjustment, including the best
parts of those of Crittenden, Guthrie, and the Border
States. Amen! Anything to save a great constitutional
country from the self-immolating stroke of panic.




224              TO MR. MARKOE.
Storms have been unceasing during the last month, and
the wrecks reported are numberless.
The Bishop of Poictiers, in an address to his clergy, has
made a deadly lunge at the Emperor. Like the rest of
the world, he regards the signature of "Laguerronidre" to
the recent pamphlet of "Rome, France, and Italy" as simply that of Louis Napoleon. He has the boldness to run
openly a parallel which, in a Roman Catholic sense, stamps
indelibly the Tuileries pamphleteer, in his treatment of
the Pope, as the modern " Pontius Pilate, washing his hands
as he surrenders the Saviour to execution!"  The image is forcible, is colored into strong relief, and is destined to produce a powerful impression on Gallican consciences.
We have been treated at the Royal Geographical Society with a charming lecture on the scenery and course
of the White Nile, the Mountains of the Moon, and the
Gorillas in Africa, by our young American traveller Du
Chaillu. He brought me an introductory, and has made
a capital hit. The audience at Burlington House was
immerse, partly ladies.  He was complimented at the
close by fervent speeches from Professor Owen, Mr. Gladstone, and Captain Galton: —naturally, his gratification is
unbounded. He began falteringly, seemingly intimidated
by being in the presence of so great a crowd of strangers,
and "as he knew only his minister Mr. Dallas, he was
sure to receive his protection "!
The lease of the house I have occupied uninterruptedly
for five years comes to an annual close on the 24th instant. By that time I may look to have a successor.  I
propose, therefore, quietly to forego farther housekeeping
in London on that day, and to hold myself in readiness
for homeward flight at any moment. Whoever may be
sent to this post will be cordially welcomed by me, and
facilitated in his first movements as far as may be in my
power. I would advise him, as a measure for his own
comfort, to rent the establishment I quit, provided it be
repaired and refurnished, and to enlist the eight servants
who have been with me from the beginning.
Always faithfully yrs.




TO MR. SEWARD.                225
No. 343.-TO MR. SEWARD.
LONDON, March 26, 1861.
MY DEAR MR. SEWARD,-YOU must allow me to make
my sincere acknowledgments for the personally kind
messages received from you through Mr. Mason.
I shall take pleasure in giving to your representative,
my successor, whoever he may be, a cordial welcome, and
to place at his service any little aids or facilities with
which my stay here may have riade me familiar. I do
not yet know who is likely to be your choice: and possibly he may not be within that range of acquaintances to
whom I should feel at liberty to write. But I shall be
happy to know that he has been apprised of my readiness
to receive him. My own trial in'56 prepares me to believe that he cannot get himself and family ready to emigrate to London, without great inconvenience, short of two
months hemce, say by the 1st of June.*  I hope for him
about that time, and shall be happy to make arrangements with Lord John Russell for his comfortable landing at Liverpool or elsewhere.
Reiterating my thanks, I am truly your obliged
and obedient servant.
* Mr. C. F. Adams reached London on the 11th May, 1861.
THE END.
VOL. II.-15








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