Mr. Adams to Mr.
Seward.
No. 75.]
Legation of the United States,
London,
November 22, 1861.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit a copy of a
note of Lord Russell, dated the 15th of this month, in reply to mine
addressed to him on the day previous, on the subject of the intercepted
bag of Mr. Bunch, a copy of which was sent forward with my despatch to
the department, No. 11, dated the 14th instant.
I have taken no special notice of the closing observations, for the
reason, 1st, that his lordship transfers the discussion to Washington;
and 2d, that in another note addressed to him, under instructions, on
the case of Mr. [Page 6] Bunch, allusion is
incidentally made to the subject as having been already arranged between
Lord Lyons and yourself.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Earl Russell to Mr. Adams.
Foreign Office,
November 15,
1861.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your note of the 14th instant, which confirms the
statements you made to me orally on Wednesday last.
I have only to add that, believing the cause of the stoppage of Mr.
Bunch’s bag to have been a bona fide
suspicion on the part of the United States government that the bag
might contain despatches from the so-styled Confederate States, I
did not think it necessary to address Lord Lyons further on the
subject.
With respect to your remarks on the subject of correspondence of
British subjects in the southern States, the inconveniences
consequent upon the present state of things are so great that her
Majesty’s government are obliged, seriously, to consider whether
means may not be found, compatible with the vigorous prosecution of
the war, by which those inconveniences may be remedied, at least in
part.
Her Majesty’s government are, accordingly, occupied in devising
measures which, when matured, may afford some hope of redress for
the injuries sustained by British subjects in consequence of the
present state of things. The measures to be proposed will be
communicated, as soon as they are matured, to the Secretary of State
of the United States by Lord Lyons.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, sir, your
most obedient, humble servant,
Charles Francis Adams, Esq, &c., &c., &c.,