Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton
Sir: Mr. Bigelow has directed my attention to an article contained in the Moniteur of the 11th of September, which quoted a letter of the 9th of September from Lloyd’s agent at Bremerhaven. The letter stated that one of the [Page 156] so-called confederate cruisers from Bordeaux had entered Bremerhaven under the Prussian flag, and gone out immediately under the confederate flag. Mr. Bigelow intimates that the appearing of the article in the official journal of the French government indicates an unfriendly feeling towards the United States.
Happily, as I believe, the letter quoted is erroneous in fact. Your acquaintance with the principles upon which the Moniteur is conducted will enable you to judge better than I can whether the publication requires explanations. If you think it does, you will ask them. We are not now especially sensitive concerning the dispositions of foreign governments, and we best maintain the national honor by avoiding a querulous habit. At the same time, if this forbearance is likely to be misunderstood abroad into indifference, or want of attention to the national rights, we must ask explanations, however irksome the task may be.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
William L. Dayton, Esq., &c., &c., &c.