Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams.
Sir: I have received your despatch of the 28th of April, No. 670, and have read with much advantage the remarks it contains on the subject of political affairs in Great Britain.
The reflection which your survey excites is, that Great Britain is at this moment preoccupied with a domestic party strife; while Germany and Denmark show her so much deference as to meet in London to discuss their differences there, quite free from any dependence upon her opinions or wishes as to the terms of settlement. Meantime, while the British people earnestly desire peace everywhere, except in the United States, storms seem to be gathering in every quarter of the world. I cannot suppress the thought that if Great Britain, at the beginning of our civil war, had regarded it as a wound that ought to have been speedily healed, rather than aggravated by unfriendly hands, her own great prestige would have been better preserved. Every day’s experience confirms the belief that nations which insist upon maintaining free constitutional elective governments must, for their common safety, stand by and sustain each other.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Charles F. Adams, Esq., &c., &c., &c.