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No. 197.]

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward.

PARIS, September 17, 1862. SIR: I have been especially requested to call your attention to the mode in which telegrams are made up in New York for England and the continent. They have for months past been, as is thought, uniformly and unfairly colored against us. The general answer here to our complaint is, they are made up in New York in the office and under the direction of the associated press, and published with the assent of the United States government. The fact is, these telegrams are manufactured from news received in the office of the associated press, but by an employé of Mr. Reuter, of London. He Las, if I am correctly informed, no business connexion with any person in the United States, nor is he responsible to, nor supervised by, any person there. He is simply and solely the salaried agent of Mr. Reuter. That many of these telegrams for months past have been wrongfully prejudicial to the United States and its interests in Europe cannot be denied. It is truly said that the current history of the war and of passing events in our country is written for Europe in these telegrams. They are received here always from two to four days in advance. of other news. They are at once scattered over Europe, and, if false, the impressions made are rarely corrected. I know that your attention has been heretofore called to this subject from London, and perhaps elsewhere, and am averse, therefore, to troubling you about it.

I enclose, for your consideration, a letter from the Rev. Dr. McClintock, suggesting a remedy.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

His Excellency WILLIAM H. Seward,

Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c.

WM. L. DAYTON.

PARIS, September 17, 1862.

MY DEAR SIR: You will find in the enclosed envelope No. 1-1. A letter from D. H. Craig, esq., agent of the associated press, New York, to Wilson G. Hunt, esq., in answer to one which I had sent to Mr. Hunt through Mr. Budd. 2. A letter from Mr. Reuter's agent, who works in the office of the associated press at New York, for Mr. Reuter's account. This letter is in reply to certain criticisms of mine furnished through Mr. Hunt.

In envelope No. 2, addressed to Mr. Hunt, you will find-1, A letter of mine to Mr. Craig in reply to his. 2. A memorandum for the operator, noticing his answers to my former remarks, and adding some new criticisms on recent telegrams.

From all these documents you will, I trust, come to the conclusion that our government should appoint some thoroughly intelligent person who knows both Europe and America to prepare telegrams. I would not have Reuter's man either superseded or stopped from sending what he pleases; such a course would make an outcry here. But the government agent should work in the office of this associated press at New York, and should form his telegrams (1) out of the newspapers of the day, (2,) out of the telegrams of the day as received at the office, and (3) out of special telegrams furnished him by the gov ernment at Washington. His despatches, thus formed, should contain the truth, in simple and unexaggerated language. All summaries of official documents, or of anything published or spoken for the press by Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Seward, or other eminent public men, should be very carefully made, and should

especially include any anti-slavery sentiment they may contain, as that sentiment is the chief support of our cause in the public opinion of Europe. As the history of the war is, in effect, written for Europe by telegraph, the operator should always have his past despatches before him when preparing new ones, so as to correct all errors and fill up all gaps.

The telegrams should be sent to Mr. Adams in London, and to you here, with authority to both legations to send copies at once to our principal consulates in England and France, and also to the press in both countries. This will involve expense, but it will be repaid a hundred fold in the results.

Very truly, yours,

Hon. W. L. DAYTON.

J. MCCLINTOCK.

P. S.-Perhaps it would be better to have the telegrams sent to the consul in London and the consul in Paris for distribution, as their offices probably afford greater facilities for prompt work of that kind at all hours; or, by paying a larger sum, they might be sent direct from the telegraph office to the legations, consulates, and journals simultaneously. This would, perhaps, be best, as promptitude is everything.

No. 199.]

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward.

PARIS, September 18, 1862.

SIR: Herewith I send you a copy of two pamphlets lately issued here—one by Edwin de Leon, in the southern interest, and the other by Edward Laboulaye, in the interest of the north.

On page 12 of De Leon's pamphlet you will see the miserable effort made to explain away the opening of the port of New Orleans.

Monsieur Laboulaye is, as perhaps you know, a distinguished professor in the College of France, avocat in the imperial court of Paris, member of the institute, &c. His lectures the past winter on America drew immense crowds, and were greatly beneficial to us.

On page 44 he pays you a high personal compliment, and on page 59, note B, commences the reprint of a translation of your entire despatch to Mr. Adams on the 28th of May last. The pamphlet is little more than the republication of some newspaper articles by the author, but it is in the highest degree compli mentary to our cause and yourself.

In behalf of both I have taken occasion to express my obligations to the

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SIR: I write this in haste to acknowledge the receipt this day of your circu lar, dated 4th September, 1862, with the printed letter from the Hon. Mr. Blair, Postmaster General, enclosed; likewise despatch No. 208, enclosing a copy of your despatch to Mr. Adams No. 336; likewise despatch No. 207.

The suggestions by Mr. Blair, as to improvements in international postal arrangements, will be promptly submitted to Mr. Thouvenel, and through him to the proper department here.

I feel much gratified with the full satisfaction which you, in your own behalf and in behalf of the President, have expressed with my conduct in this mission. Certainly, if I have in any respect failed, it has not been for want of proper attention and care. Indeed, I am not now aware that anything could have been done here usefully which has not been done. There is a certain class of people who seem to think diplomacy consists in mousing out and reporting small matters, having really no kind of weight in settling international relations. I have not troubled you with these things, and I am glad of it.

Nor have I troubled you about Garibaldi or Italy or any other matters not directly connected with my mission here. I wish that some other of our officials on the continent could restrain their love of notoriety, and confine themselves to their business. This remark grows out of a letter, which I have just seen, from our consul at Vienna (Mr. Theodore Canisius) to Garibaldi, and his answers, copies of which are enclosed. The sentiments may be all right, but just at this point of time, when Austria and Italy and France are so sensitive, it was scarcely worth while for our consul to throw them in the face of these powers. I am your very obedient servant,

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SIR: Your despatch of the 18th of August (No. 199) has been received. thank you for the attention manifested in sending me the two publications, that of our late consul general in Egypt, Mr. DeLeon, in favor of the treason against the United States, and that of Mr. Laboulaye, in support of the American Union.

Should occasion offer, you will gratify the President by expressing his acknowledgments to Mr. Laboulaye for the inestimable service he has rendered our country at a time which is trying the sincerity of the friends of constitutional freedom throughout the world.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward.

No. 206.] PARIS, October 6, 1862. SIR: Agreeably to request, I have called the attention of Mr. Thouvenel to the case of Mr. Moquardt, an American citizen, resident in Vera Cruz, who complains of ill usage at the hands of certain French officers and soldiers there.

Mr. Thouvenel said he would be compelled to communicate with the French authorities at Vera Cruz before he could give an answer to the complaint. At his request, I left with him your despatch, to be read and then returned.

It is not probable that a final reply to our claim for indemnity, in behalf of Mr. Moquardt, will be given before this government shall hear from Vera Cruz. I am, sir, your obedient servant,

His Excellency WILLIAM H. Seward,
Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c.

WM. L. DAYTON.

No. 234.]

Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, October 8, 1862.

SIR: I have read with respect and earnestness the notes of a conversation between Mr. Thouvenel and yourself, which you have sent to me.

Mr. Thouvenel's cordial and friendly dispositions and his candor are appreciated by the President and by this whole government.

Revolutions seldom admit of exact regulation. This insurrection is an appeal by force not merely to reverse a regular popular judgment, but to overturn the tribunal which pronounced it. I admit the importance of moderation on the part of the government. I think that all the world will agree that the government has thus far practiced that virtue to the largest possible extent. It has, however, produced no abatement of the ambitious designs of the insurgents. It is manifest that they prefer a common ruin, a complete chaos, to any composition whatever that could be made under any auspices. Nor does the case admit of offers of composition on the part of the Union. It is a question between the existing and only possible constitutional system of government and a resolution of society here into small, distracted, and ever-jealous belligerent states. Other unusual elements enter into the motives of the conflict, and popular passions inflame them into a white heat. It is impossible not to see that the conflict between universal freedom and universal slavery, which has been so long put off, has come upon us at last in the form of a civil war, and that the parties are marshalling themselves under the banners of the Union and of the insurrection, respectively. Who has ever seen mediation or compromise arrest a conflict of that nature when brought to the trial of arms? No such conflict was over ended but by exhaustion of one or both of the parties. Does it require a great discernment to see on which side exhaustion must first occur? Does it require much loyalty to our institutions, or much faith in virtue, or much trust in the guidance of a beneficent Providence, to enable us to believe that that exhaustion must be rapid and complete enough to bring about a return of that portion of our people which has been misled to the constitutional government, which alone can maintain peace, preserve order, and guarantee practical freedom to all the members of the state? Where are we now? The Union is distracted, but it is not broken nor even shaken. It still maintains its authority everywhere, with local exceptions, as before. It still maintains its place in the councils of nations. It has only begun to draw upon its resources and its forces. The insurrection is without position at home or abroad. It has nearly exhausted its resources, and it is bringing into the field the last armies available by conscription. No revolution, prolonged without success, escapes the avenger of faction among its movers. That avenger is even now upon the heels of the movers of the insurrection, and it appears with terrors such as failing revolutionists were never before compelled to turn upon and confront. Let any statesman look into the elements of society in the gulf or revolutionary States, and see what else than universal ruin of society can result from longer war against the

Union. What else than the protection of the Union, duly accepted, can arrest that desolation, or restore safety even then to property, liberty, and life.

I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton.

[Extracts.]

No. 236.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, October 10, 1862.

SIR: Your despatch No. 200 has been submitted to the President.

**

I send you a copy of a despatch which goes out by this steamer, recalling Mr. Canisius, our consul at Vienna. You may read it to Mr. Thouvenel, and give him a copy of it if he should desire one.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

[The above-mentioned enclosure appears elsewhere in this correspondence.]

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward.

No. 208.]

PARIS, October 14, 1862. SIR: Your circular, dated September 22, 1862, and the proclamation of the President of the same date, in relation to the abolition of slavery, were received at the legation on the 7th instant.

It is needless to say that these papers are of great interest. They have already been, or soon will be, published throughout the civilized world, and, wherever published or known, will at once fix the attention of mankind.

You may look immediately for the most mischievous efforts from portions of the foreign press to pervert and misconstrue the motives which have prompted the proclamation, and the probable consequences which will follow it. You must not be surprised if another spasmodic effort for intervention is made, based upon the assumed ground of humanity, but upon the real ground that emanci pation may seriously injure the cause of the south, and will interfere, for years to come, at least, with the production of cotton.

But whatever may be the motive which prompts emancipation, or the immediate consequences which may follow it, the act will remain, and this cannot fail, in the end, to commend itself to the enlightened conscience of the Christian world.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

His Excellency WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

WM. L. DAYTON.

Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c.

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