Mr. Pike to Mr. Seward.

No. 45.]

Sir: Since my last I have received a communication from the minister of foreign affairs, of which the following is a copy:

“Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the 22d and 28th of March, relative to the admission of the armed vessels of the secessionist States into the ports of the kingdom of the Netherlands and its colonies, and the recognition of the rights of belligerents to those States.

“You ask, in the name of your government, that that of the King may submit this question to a new examination, in the persuasion which the cabinet of Washington feels that if the moral support given to the confederates by this recognition of the principal states of Europe were once withdrawn the struggle which now desolates the great American republic would soon come to an end.

“It is useless to renew to you, sir, the assurance so frequently reiterated of the profound interest that the cabinet of the Hague takes in the events which, to its great grief, are passing in America, and that it most heartily desires a solution favorable to the interests of the Union, as well as those of all humanity.

“I am unable, however, to give you an immediate response to your proposition. Its importance requires a profound examination, and the concurrence of the members of the cabinet, of which I am a part.

“I shall not fail to inform you, in due time, of the result of our deliberations, and I beg you, meantime, to receive the assurance of my high consideration.

“VANDER MAESEN DE SOMBREFF.

“Monsieur Pike, &c., &c.

The late combat at Fortress Monroe between the iron-clad vessels continues to be the talk of every salon in Europe, and is conceived to point directly to the inevitable triumph of the United States over the rebellion.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

JAMES S. PIKE.

Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington.