Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the First Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part I
Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.
Sir: I have to acknowledge the reception from the department of despatches numbered from 550 to 559, inclusive, and also of 561. No. 560 did not come to hand.
* * * * * * * * * *
In regard to the subject referred to in your No. 550, of the 13th of April, I now have the pleasure of transmitting to the department for the President the resolutions of the Trades Union meeting, at St. James’s Hall, for which you were waiting. On Saturday evening last a deputation, consisting of thirty persons, attended by the chairman, John Bright, esq., waited upon me for the [Page 279] purpose of putting them in my hands. Some remarks were made upon the occasion, a partial report of which, as printed in the newspapers on Monday, is hereunto transmitted. Great anxiety was manifested in regard to the danger of a rupture between the countries, and fear of the effect of such a result on the hopes of the less favored classes throughout Europe. Although not in any way prepared to expect a demonstration of this sort, I thought it, on the whole, expedient not. to appear to evade the question so presented. The reply thus made on the spur of the moment, and printed without examination or revision by me, is in substance correct. It appears to have had a sedative effect.
* * * * * * * * *
The causes of this rather sudden change of tone to America, I am not yet in a situation to comprehend. The beneficial effect on the public mind is already palpable enough. Whether there be much dependence to be placed upon a continuance of it is another and a very different question.
* * * * * * * * * *
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Enclosures.]
1. Resolutions of Trades Union.
2. The Morning Star, May 4, 1863.
3. Daily News, May 4, 1863.
4. The Times, May 5, 1863.
Trades Union deputation to the American minister.
On Saturday evening a deputation of Trades Unionists attended at the residence of Mr. Adams, the American minister, in Portland Place, for the purpose of placing in the hands of his excellency an address to President Lincoln, adopted at the late Trades Union emancipation meeting at St. James’s Hall, over which Mr. John Bright, M. P., presided. The deputation was accompanied by Mr. Bright, M. P., and E. S. Beesley, esq., professor of political economy at University College.
Mr. Bright, M. P., having introduced the deputation to Mr. Adams, said: The deputation I have the honor of introducing to you is one appointed at a meeting of Trades Unionists, held in St. James’s Hall, on the 26th of April last, over which I had the honor and pleasure to preside, for the purpose of expressing their abhorrence of the American institution of slavery, their disapprobation of the rebellion of the southern States of that country, their sympathy with the north in its efforts to put down that rebellion, and their admiration of the general policy—more particularly that relating to slavery—pursued by President Lincoln, to whom they had adopted an address of sympathy and congratulation, which they now desire to place in the hands of your excellency for transmission to Mr. Lincoln. The Trades Unions are not political bodies; they are bodies of operatives united together to promote and defend their social interests; and I believe this is the first occasion on which they have come out [Page 280] as a united body to publicly express an opinion on a political question; and it therefore proves how deep an interest they must have felt in it. [Hear.] I think it is a pity that these important bodies of workingmen do not more frequently interest themselves about great public questions, which I believe they might do with great advantage to the public and profit to themselves. [Hear.]
Mr. Cremer (joiner, and secretary to the meeting) then read the address, which assured President Lincoln that the sympathy of the great bulk of the workingmen of England was with the north, and expressed the hope that his efforts to put down the rebellion of the southern slaveholders would be crowned with success.
Mr. Potter (joiner, and manager of the Beehive, trades newspaper) and other members of the deputation having spoken—
Professor Beesley, acknowledging the relations between this country and the United States, thought that if war did ensue, it would be the result of misunderstanding. He had no doubt our government was fully alive to its responsibility on this point. It had been feared that the pressure put upon our government by the southern sympathizers in high quarters would force them into war. Judging from the past conduct of the government with reference to American affairs, he did not think they were likely to be so influenced.
Mr. Adams, in reply, said: I accept the duty you impose upon me with pleasure, the more so as you have taken advantage of the occasion to speak on the question of war. [Cheers.] I agree generally with you on the subject. But with two nations of the same race, of the same high spirit, both feeling a natural pride in their superiority on the ocean, I think it almost impossible, under existing circumstances, to prevent some things springing up that might occasion a collision. I therefore concur with you, gentlemen, as to the necessity for great forbearance being exhibited by both countries and governments in criticising the actions of each other. I trust that in spite of all that has occurred, there is in the government of each country a sufficient sense of responsibility to induce them to maintain friendly relations with each other. There must naturally be a feeling of pride—of fear lest one nation should appear to refrain from properly resenting what it might deem to be an offence from the other; and in this feeling lies the great danger. I feel confident, however, that if the two peoples and the two governments would speak together in the same frank and unreserved tones as you have spoken to me this evening, all fear of any collision would be at an end. [Cheers.] I can assure you that, notwithstanding the speeches of some of my countrymen—notwithstanding the writings in some of the American journals—there is no nation under the sun for which Americans entertain a greater regard than England; and if the real sentiments of the people of each country can be clearly established to each other, I shall have no fear of their coming into collision. [Hear.] I believe, gentlemen, you have taken the right course to produce this desirable understanding, and I undertake with great pleasure the duty of transmitting your address to President Lincoln. [Cheers.]
The deputation having thanked Mr. Adams for his courteous reception, and Mr. Bright for his kindness in attending, then retired.
Trades Union deputation to the American minister.
THE WAR QUESTION.
On Saturday, at 8 p.m., a deputation of Trades Unionists attended at the residence of Mr. Adams, the American minister, in Portland Place, for the purpose of placing in the hands of his excellency the address to President Lincoln, [Page 281] adopted at the late Trades Union Emancipation Society at St. James’s Hall, over which Mr. John Bright, M. P., presided. The deputation consisted of the following members and officers of the Trades Unions: Messrs. G. Potter, Richards, Garland, Fest, Petherbridge, Burgess, Mildred, Cremer, Graham, Donner, Payne, South, Magher, Eglinton, Llewellyn, and Merrifield (carpenters’ societies,) Mr. Mooney, (boot-closer,) Messrs. Osborne and Nieass, (plasterers,) Mr. Nelson, (wire-worker,) Messrs. French and Dawson, (bricklayers,) Mr. Shave, (plumber,) Messrs. Dodstron, Odgers, and Richardson, (boot and shoe makers,) Mr. Fast, (zinc-worker,) Mr. Facey, (painter;) Messrs. Grey, Conolly, and Gibbons, (stonemasons,) Mr. Martin, (cigar-maker,) and Mr. Butler, (tin-plate worker.)
The deputation was accompanied by Mr. Bright, M. P., and E. S. Beesley, esquire, professor of political economy at University College.
Mr. Bright, M. P., having introduced the deputation to Mr. Adams; said: Your excellency, the deputation I have the honor of introducing before you is one appointed at a meeting of Trades Unionists, held in St. James’s Hall on the 24th of April last, over which I had the honor and pleasure to preside, for the purpose of expressing their abhorrence of the American institution of slavery; their disapprobation of the rebellion of the southern States of that country, their sympathy with the north in its efforts to put down that rebellion, and their admiration of the general policy—more particularly that relating to slavery—pursued by President Lincoln, to whom they had adopted an address of sympathy and congratulation, which they now desire to place in the hands of your excellency for transmission to Mr. Lincoln. The Trades Unions are not political bodies; they are bodies of operatives united together to promote and defend their social interests, and I believe this is the first occasion on which they have come out as a united body to publicly express an opinion on a political question; and it therefore proves how deep an interest they must have felt in it. [Hear.] I think it is a pity that these important bodies of society men do not more frequently interest themselves about great public questions, which I believe they might do with great advantage to the public and profit to themselves. [Hear.]
Mr. Cremer (joiner, and secretary to the meeting) then read the address, which assured President Lincoln that the sympathy of the great bulk of the workingmen of England laid with the north, and expressed the hope that his efforts to put down the rebellion of the southern slaveholders would be crowned with success. Mr. Cremer having explained the cause of the delay in presenting the address, arising from unavoidable causes, said the workingmen of this country felt an especial interest in America, as it was the only country where workingmen held the free use of the franchise. These trade societies were based on broad democratic principles, every member having a voice in making the laws by which he was governed; they were, in fact, so many small republics, the members of which fully sympathized with the large republic across the Atlantic in its present struggle, and hoped it would come out of that struggle triumphant. [Hear.]
Mr. Conolly, (mason,) in assuring his excellency of the deep sympathy felt almost universally amongst workingmen towards the cause upheld by the north, hoped he would use all the influence he possessed to prevent a war between this country and America, which would be one of the greatest calamities of modern times, throwing back the progress of freedom and civilization for many years. This war feeling was fostered by a portion of the press and the mercantile classes in both counties for their own selfish purposes; but he trusted the good sense and mutual forbearance of the peoples and the government would prevent any such fratricidal war taking place. A war with America by this country would, so far as the working classes were concerned, be the most unpopular war that ever existed. [Hear.]
Mr. Potter (joiner, and manager of the Beehive, trades newspaper) desired to [Page 282] assure his excellency that it was principally amongst the upper and a certain portion of the trading classes that southern sympthizers were to be found. The large mass of workingmen had no sympathy with the south, and they would only be too happy to see President Lincoln crush the rebellion and extinguish slavery. A portion of the press in each country were doing their best to mislead the people and embroil the two countries in a sanguinary war. This would be prevented by the people of America being made acquainted with the sentiments of the great mass of the English people, and he hoped his excellency would take the necessary means for making those opinions known amongst his countrymen.
Mr. Odgers, shoemaker; Mr. Petherbridge, joiner; Mr. Facey, painter; Mr. Grey, mason; Mr. Murray, boot-closer; and Mr. Nieass, plasterer, severally addressed his excellency in support of the policy of Mr. Lincoln.
Professor Beesley thought if war did ensue, it would be the result of misunderstanding. He had no doubt our government was fully alive to its responsibility on this point. It had, been feared that the pressure put upon our government by the southern sympathizers in high quarters would force them into war. Judging from the past conduct of the government with reference to American affairs, he did not think they were likely to be so influenced. The sympathizers with the south might be noisy and demonstrative, but the government well knew that those who sympathized with the north were far more numerous and far more strong, as the public meetings on the subject testified.
Mr. Adams, having expressed the pleasure he felt at seeing so numerous a deputation of workmen before him, said: Gentlemen, I accept with pleasure the duty you have imposed upon me in receiving your address to the chief of my government. Representing, as I do, my country in England, you must be aware that I stand outside all local questions; therefore, it is not my province to express dissatisfaction or satisfaction with those persons or parties in England who may express their opinions upon America. If there are some persons in this country who, from prejudice or ignorance, put a harsh construction on the conduct of the American government, it is not my place to find fault or my right to criticise. It is, however, my duty to accept from the representatives of any body of Englishmen their favorable sentiments towards the government I represent, and to reciprocate the frank, manly, and independent spirit in which they have been tendered. I understand, gentlemen, you attend here as representing large bodies of workingmen who advocate and uphold the rights of labor, and it is therefore but natural you should look with dislike upon any parties, in whatever country they may exist, who infringe on those rights. You perceive that in the struggle now going on in America an attempt is being made to establish a government on the destruction of the rights of labor—a government of physical power to take away the rights of labor. It is a question above all local right; it is a general principle, and therefore, though taking place in a foreign country, you have a right to express your opinion thereon. [Hear.] Gentlemen, I accept the duty you impose upon me with great pleasure, the more so as you have taken advantage of the occasion to speak on the question of war. I agree generally with your views on the subject. But with two nations of the same race, of the same high spirit, both feeling a natural pride in their superiority on the ocean, I think it; almost impossible, under existing cirumstances, to prevent some things springing up that might occasion a collision. I therefore concur with you, gentlemen, as to the necessity for great forbearance being exhibited by both countries and governments in construing the actions of each other. I trust that in spite of all that has occurred, there is in the government of each country a sufficient sense of responsibility which will induce them to maintain friendly relations with each other. There must naturally be a feeling of pride— of fear lest one nation should appear to refrain from properly resenting what it might deem to be an offence from the other; and in this feeling lies the great [Page 283] danger. I feel confident, however, that if the two peoples and the two governments would speak together in the same sense, in the same frank and unreserved tones as you have spoken to me this evening, all fear of any collision would be at an end. [Hear.] I can assure you that notwithstanding the speeches of some of my countrymen—notwithstanding the writings in some of the American journals—there is no nation under the sun to which America entertains a greater regard than England; and if the real sentiments of the people of each country can be clearly established to each other, I shall have no fear of their coming into collision. [Hear, hear.] I believe, gentlemen, you have taken the right course to produce this desirable understanding, and I undertake with great pleasure the duty of transmitting your address to President Lincoln. [Cheers.]
The deputation, having thanked Mr. Adams for his courteous reception, and Mr. Bright for his kindness in attending, than retired.
[Untitled]
Five weeks ago the Trades Unions of the metropolis assembled in St. James’s Hall to vote an address of sympathy and congratulation to the President of the United States, and to express their concurrence in the policy and princiciples of the federal government. On Saturday last that address was presented. to Mr. Adams, the American minister, for transmission to Washington, and the occasion served not only for a renewal of demonstrations on the part of sympathizers, but for a most reasonable and timely speech from Mr. Adams himself.
The sentiments expressed by the Trades Unions, though they were not allowed to pass without repudiation by members of the working classes themselves, were upon the whole exceedingly natural. Mr. Bright, who introduced the deputation, and who had presided over the meeting in March last, made a great point of the fact that this was the first occasion on which the unions had stepped out of the sphere of their ordinary discussions to express an opinion publicly on a political question; but this is surely no matter for surprise. This is the first occasion on which a government representing those political principles which unionists mostly profess has resorted to a policy of conquest on behalf of those principles, and has accepted the extremities of war rather than submit to the slightest loss of power. The Trades Unions, therefore, come forward and publicly avow that in a cause which they hold to be their own they have not the least repugnance to war, bloodshed, or expenditure. They are exactly like other people in this respect. Mr. Bright thought it a pity they did not declare their opinions in this matter more frequently; but if they did so, he would no longer be able to represent them as the sole proprietors of political forbearance and wisdom. They have shown clearly enough that, as soon as their own interests can be supposed to be touched, they can advocate a war, even of extermination or conquest, as unhesitatingly as any other people.
Mr. Adams, as was natural on such an occasion, lent a little confirmation to the theory that the war in America was indeed a workingman’s war, prosecuted for the main purpose of preserving the rights of labor and the political predominance of the laboring classes. This view of the case was also rather prominently expressed by President Lincoln himself in his first message to Congress, and it derives a certain support from the fact that the classes above the working classes even in the north itself are believed to sympathize with the confederates. We are of opinion that feelings of this kind have entered into that complication of causes which has produced the war; but what, upon this assumption, must be our necessary conclusion? We must conclude, perforce, that unmodified democracy can provoke revolt as surely as the most oppressive despotism. We must. admit that people can be roused to fight against such institutions as those of [Page 284] the United States with as much desperation as has ever been witnessed in a struggle for political emancipation. The Poles themselves at this very moment are not animated with a fiercer spirit of hatred against their enemies than is expressed by the Americans of the southern States. Democracy in action has driven one-third of a great population into open rebellion, and has even secured them the sympathies of a large portion of the remainder. But it was on the immediate question of the day that Mr. Adams spoke with the greatest decision. He was too prudent to appraise the importance of the particular demonstration to which his notice was invited, or to follow the speakers in their estimates of public opinion in this country. On those points he has formed, we have no doubt, his own conclusions, and given his government the benefit of his information. It was on the question of the blockade, and on the possibility of a collision at sea between England and America, that his remarks were so sensible and so opportune. He did not affect to deny that while we might be carrying ourselves rather too stiffly, his own countrymen might be pushing their pretensions too far. “With two nations,” said he, “of the same race, of the same high spirit, both feeling proud of their superiority on the ocean, under present circumstances it would be indeed surprising if something should not spring up on the ocean which might occasion collision. * * There must naturally be a feeling of pride—of fear lest one nation should appear to refrain from properly resenting what it might deem to be an offence; and in this lies the great danger.” So little desire is there for war in this country that we believe many persons will be concerned to think that, in the eyes of the American minister himself, a “great danger” actually exists. We confess, however, that we have no great fear of its proving any practical peril. A good many words may pass without leading to blows, and as we are confident that neither Englishmen nor Americans have the least wish to go to war with each other, we look forward without mistrust to that mutual forbearance on the part of their governments which Mr. Adams so wisely invokes. We must submit to certain interruptions in our trade in deference to the rights of a belligerent. The Americans must tolerate some shortcomings on our part in consideration of the difficulties of a neutral. In the intelligence just received, it is reported that the seizure of a “confederate steamer”—we presume the Alexandra—by this government had actually inspirited the federals as much as an alleged success of their gunboats on the Mississippi. We can assure them, if they need the assurance, that not a single violation of our neutrality would ever occur without the regret of the government and the deprecation of the public; but such offences cannot be easily prevented. We cannot do what was done at San Francisco, though that was none too much for the purpose; but we are ready to do all we can.
In short, though it would be false to assert that public opinion in this country is on the side of the north, the northerners may rest assured that our neutrality is and will be maintained without any bias whatever. We sell stores and munitions to both parties indiscriminately, and violate no law in doing so. We would not let a southern steamer escape to sea if we could help it. The federals might obtain a loan just as easily as the confederates, if their terms and their securities were equally acceptable. Trade, like politics, knows neither sympathies nor antipathies. We cannot affect to give the federals that approval which they desire, for we believe their war policy can only end in discomfiture and distress. Apart from any consideration of principles or causes, we think that the attempt in which the federals are engaged is hopeless, and we thought so from the beginning. But if it will give any satisfaction to Mr. Adams or his countrymen, we can assure them that they will not be impeded in the course they may choose to pursue by any intervention on the part of England; that we are sincerely disposed to fulfil all the obligations of a neutral power; and that the very last thing we should wish to see is a war.
[Page 285]MEETING AT LONDON.
At a meeting of the Trades Unionists of London, assembled in Saint James’s Hall on the evening of the 26th of March, 1863, the following address was unanimously adopted:
To Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America:
Honored Sir: A portion of the British press, led by the infamous “Times” an arrogant aristocracy, and some of the moneyed classes of this country, having misrepresented the wishes and feelings of its people, with regard to the lamentable contest between two portions of the great republic of which you are the legal and constitutional chief, we, the Trades Unionists and workingmen of London, in public meeting assembled, desire to assure you, and the people of the northern and loyal States of America, that our earnest and heartfelt sympathies are with you in the arduous struggle you are maintaining in the cause of human freedom.
We indignantly protest, against the assertion that the people of England wish for the success of the southern States in their diabolical attempt to establish a separate government on the basis of human slavery. However much a liberty-hating aristocracy and an unscrupulous moneyocracy may desire the consummation of such a crime, we, the workingmen of London, view it with abhorrence.
We know that slavery in America must have an indirect but real tendency to degrade and depress labor in this country also, and for this, if for no higher reason, we should refuse our sympathy to this infamous rebellion.
The history of our race has been the story of a long-continued struggle for freedom, and we prize too highly the liberties bequeathed us by our fathers to desecrate their memories by descending to associate with the conspirators who seek to sink the producers of human necessaries and human wealth into soulless beasts.
Though we have felt proud of our country, of the freedom won for its children by the sacrifices and blood of our fathers, yet have we ever turned with glowing admiration to your great republic, where a higher political and social freedom has been generally established; but we have always regretted that its citizens, our brothers in the great Anglo-Saxon family, should have allowed the foul stain of negro slavery to remain a black spot on their otherwise noble institutions.
When you, sir, were elected chief magistrate of the great American republic, we hoped for the inauguration of a policy which should cause slavery to disappear from the soil of the United States, and we have not been disappointed. Though surrounded by difficulties, though trammelled by enactments made during the ascendency of the slaveowners, you have struck off the shackles from the poor slaves of Columbia; you have welcomed as men, as equals under God, the colored peoples of Hayti and Liberia; and by your proclamation, issued on the first day of this year, and the plans you have laid before Congress, you have opened the gates of freedom to the millions of our negro brothers who have been deprived of their manhood by the infernal laws which have so long disgraced the civilization of America.
We believe that the endeavors already made by you are only intimations of your earnest intention to carry out to completion the grand and holy work you have begun, and we pray you to go on, unfalteringly, undauntedly, never pausing until the vivifying sun of liberty shall warm the blood and inspire the soul of every man who breathes the air of your great republic.
Be assured that in following out this noble cause, our earnest, our active sympathies will be with you, and like our brothers in Lancashire, whose distress called forth your generous help, in this your own time of difficulty, we would [Page 286] rather perish than band ourselves in unholy alliance with the south and slavery.
May you and your compatriots be crowned with victory; and may the future see the people of England and their brothers of America, marching shoulder to shoulder, determinedly forward, the pioneers of human progress, the champions of universal liberty.