Mr. Seward to Mr. Harvey.
Sir: Your despatch of May 30 was duly received, and the information it gives us of the improving condition of public sentiment in Portugal is very gratifying.
Three cardinal points in our military operations have been attained, namely: the establishment of the blockade, the deliverance of the Mississippi and its tributaries, and the restoration of internal and foreign trade upon these great channels of commerce, and the establishment of the national authority in the border States, as they are named, of Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. We have been baffled in our present demonstration against Richmond. But we are renewing our armies and increasing our navy with a view to a speedy and complete termination of the war.
[Page 584]Irresponsible persons in Europe seem to be persevering in their efforts to bring foreign nations into this conflict. I am not aware that anything more can be done to counteract their efforts than has already been done, unless it is to authorize all our representatives, as I certainly can with perfect justice instruct them to say, that at no time in the history of this country would any form of foreign intervention be more certain to encounter stern and determined resistance. The insurrection lives only on the hope of foreign aid, An attempt to give that aid would rapidly heal our dissensions and restore the unity of the American people.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
James E. Harvey, Esq., &c., &c., &c., Lisbon.