[Extract.]
Mr. Adams to Mr.
Seward.
No. 112.]
Legation of the United States,
London,
February 7, 1862.
** * * * * * * *
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a
copy of her Majesty’s speech to both houses of Parliament, together with
the Morning Post newspaper of this morning, giving a report of the
debate in the two houses yesterday on the address. It will be perceived
that both Lord Russell and Lord Palmerston announced, quite distinctly,
the intention of the government to maintain its present position. The
position of Lord Derby, on the other hand, is somewhat equivocal, and
would seem to imply an organized movement, if it were not for the firmer
tone of Mr. D’Israeli in the other house. On the whole, the expression
of sentiment, so far as it goes, is favorable. The debate will, however,
take quite a different shape when it comes to the questions presented in
detail. There is no reason to doubt that a movement will then be made in
whatever direction may be thought most likely, at the moment, to be
favorable to the insurgents. The earnestness with which it will be
pressed will largely depend on the nature of the intelligence received
from the United States.
I beg, therefore, once more to urge the propriety of supplying this
legation with as much authentic information as possible of the condition
of the struggle, especially of the state of the blockade, the internal
condition of the disaffected States, and the progress of the war.
Speculation is at this
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moment of
little use. Our friends want their hands strengthened, both in the power
of affirming our action and denying that assumed by the friends of the
rebels. I do not like to be obliged to confess, when asked questions by
persons who ought to know, touching the movements and policy of the
government, that I am not able to answer them. I do not include in this
category the inquiries most frequently addressed to me touching
emancipation, although public opinion here is more sensitive to that
chord than to any other. The rumor of propositions on that subject from
the confederates is kept up as strenuously as the denial that the
disposal of it enters at all into the issue raised by the United States.
I know not how far the government may itself be possessed of accurate
information respecting the domestic situation of the rebels, but the
fact is certain that the total ignorance of it on this side is of the
greatest possible advantage to their cause. For it enables their
unscrupulous and desperate emissaries to palm off, without
contradiction, any representation of it they chose to make.
I see by the newspapers that Mr. Yancey has embarked in a steamer to the
West Indies, on his way home. He has labored indefatigably upon the
newspaper press, and not without a good deal of success. It is said,
though I know not with what truth, that large sums have been expended in
this direction. The condition of the press is now so peculiar in this
country that it is unusually open to such influences. I have not time to
explain the reasons for this statement, for they run deeply into the
moral and political condition of the people. At some future moment I may
make it the subject of a particular communication.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Untitled]
The speech of
the Lords Commissioners to both houses of Parliament, on
Thursday, February 6,
1862.
My Lords and Gentlemen:
We are commanded by her Majesty to assure you that her Majesty is
persuaded that you will deeply participate in the affliction by
which her Majesty has been overwhelmed by the calamitous, untimely,
and irreparable loss of her beloved consort, who has been her
comfort and support.
It has been, however, soothing to her Majesty, while suffering most
acutely under this awful dispensation of Providence, to receive from
all classes of her subjects the most cordial assurances of their
sympathy with her sorrow, as well as of their appreciation of the
noble character of him, the greatness of whose loss to her Majesty
and to the nation is so justly and so universally felt and
lamented.
We are commanded by her Majesty to assure you that she recurs with
confidence to your assistance and advice.
Her Majesty’s relations with all the European powers continue to be
friendly and satisfactory; and her Majesty trusts there is no reason
to apprehend any disturbance of the peace of Europe.
A question of great importance, and which might have led to very
serious consequences, arose between her Majesty and the government
of the United States of North America, owing to the seizure and
forcible removal of four passengers from on board a British mail
packet by the commander of a ship-of-war of the United States; but
that question has been satisfactorily
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settled by the restoration of the passengers to
British protection, and by the disavowal by the United States
government of the act of violence committed by their naval
officer.
The friendly relations between her Majesty and the President of the
United States therefore remained unimpaired.
Her Majesty warmly appreciates the loyalty and patriotic spirit which
have been manifested on this occasion by her North American
subjects.
The wrongs committed by various parties and by successive governments
in Mexico upon foreigners resident within the Mexican territory, and
for which no satisfactory redress could be obtained, have led to the
conclusion of a convention between her Majesty, the Emperor of the
French, and the Queen of Spain, for the purpose of regulating a
combined operation on the coast of Mexico, with a view to obtain
that redress which has hitherto been withheld.
That convention, and papers relating to that subject, will be laid
before you.
The improvement which has taken place in the relations between her
Majesty’s government and that of the Emperor of China, and the good
faith with which the Chinese government have continued to fulfil the
engagements of the treaty of Tien-tsin, have enabled her Majesty to
withdraw her troops from the city of Canton, and to reduce the
amount of her force on the coast and in the seas of China.
Her Majesty, always anxious to exert her influence for the
preservation of peace, has concluded a convention with the Sultan of
Morocco, by means of which the Sultan has been enabled to raise the
amount necessary for the fulfilment of certain treaty engagements
which he had contracted towards Spain, and thus to avoid the risk of
a renewal of hostilities with that power. That convention, and
papers connected with it, will be laid before you.
Gentlemen of the House of Commons:
Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she has directed the
estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you. They have been
framed with a due regard to prudent economy and to the efficiency of
the public service.
My Lords and Gentlemen :
Her Majesty commands us to inform you that measures for the
improvement of the law will be laid before you, and among them will
be a bill for rendering the title to land more simple, and its
transfer more easy.
Other measures of public usefulness relating to Great Britain and to
Ireland will be submitted for your consideration.
Her Majesty regrets that in some parts of the United Kingdom, and in
certain branches of industry, temporary causes have produced
considerable pressure and privation; but her Majesty has reason to
believe that the general condition of the country is sound and
satisfactory.
Her Majesty confidently recommends the general interests of the
nation to your wisdom and your care; and she fervently prays that
the blessing of Almighty God may attend your deliberations, and may
guide them to the promotion of the welfare and happiness of her
people.
