Mr. Morris to Mr. Seward.
Sir: ********
I have the honor to advise you that I had an audience with the Sultan on the 22d ultimo, on which occasion I delivered my letter of credence as minister resident, and presented to him the congratulations of the President of the United States on his accession to the throne. On that occasion I pronounced the following address to the Sultan. It was spoken in French, [Page 787] as the minister of foreign affairs, who accompanied me, desired, to avoid the necessity of a triple translation.
“The President of the United States of America having been pleased to select me to represent the government of the United States near your Imperial Majesty, in the character of minister resident, I have the honor to present to your Majesty my letters of credence.
“The President has also charged me with the agreeable duty of offering his most cordial congratulations on the occasion of the accession of your Majesty to the throne of your ancestors. The government and people of the United States have learned with sincere satisfaction the accession of a sovereign whose elevated character and enlightened mind offer the highest assurances of the happiness and prosperity of the Ottoman empire.
“The President has instructed me to convey to your Majesty the assurance that he will be pleased to avail himself of every occasion to manifest the disinterested friendship of the government of the United States for that of Turkey, and his desire to modify the existing treaty so as to improve as far as possible the commercial interest of the two countries.
“I congratulate myself on having been appointed to represent the United States of America near your Imperial Majesty, and I beg your Majesty to do me the justice to believe that it will be my constant aim to do all in my power to maintain and extend the amicable relations which have existed in unbroken harmony between the two nations from the commencement of their intercourse to the present day.”
The reply of the Sultan was of the most cordial and friendly character. He desired me to express to the President of the United States his thanks for his friendly sentiments, and for his sympathy with the welfare of the Ottoman empire, and to assure him that he properly appreciated the disinterested friendship which the government of the United States had ever manifested towards that of Turkey. It would always give him pleasure to remember and reciprocate the good will which had uniformly marked the intercourse of the United States with the Ottoman government. He begged me to convey to the President the assurance of his high regard and esteem. After a few words of grateful welcome to myself, he expressed his sympathy with the government of the United States for the troubles in which it is involved, and the hope that the war would soon terminate with the maintenance of the American Union in all its original power and integrity, and with the restoration of peace and concord among the American people.
I am happy in thus being able to report to you that the United States has a true and loyal friend in the sovereign of this great empire. The same feeling inspires all his ministers, and I am sure that this feeling is as sincere as it is warm and generous. I need not assure you that it will give me great pleasure to cultivate and confirm this good feeling in every possible way.
As an instance of the loyalty of American citizens to the Union of the States, I beg to mention the fact that of the one hundred and fifty American missionaries resident in this empire there is not one who sympathizes with the secession rebellion. This fact is the more remarkable as the missionaries are from every part of the United states. Owing to their knowledge of the languages of the country, and their extensive intercourse with the people, their influence on public opinion is considerable. The prayers of all of them are daily offered for the preservation of the federal Union and the triumph of. the Union arms.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State.