Mr. Morris to Mr. Seward.
Sir: The usual annual reception of the diplomatic corps by the Sultan, on the anniversary of his accession to the throne, took place on the 25th of June last. Heretofore all the imperial princes were present. On this occasion none of them appeared. His Majesty’s countenance was very dejected, and he seemed to be laboring under indisposition or great depression of spirits. It is generally understood that the melancholy condition of the empire, and the serious perils by which it is menaced, have made a deep impression on the mind of the Sultan. His face, of late, betrays much anxiety of mind, and the more so, as the new cabinet have felt it their duty to conceal nothing, and to make his Majesty acquainted with the actual state of the empire, and with the embarrassments by which they find themselves surrounded.
When the Sultan approached me, after the customary felicitations were exchanged, I said to him “the government and people of the United States cherished the kindliest feelings towards the government of his Majesty for its sympathy during the late civil war, and for the many acts and expressions which manifested its desire for the preservation of the American Union; that [Page 248] whatever might happen during the present crisis in European affairs, it was our earnest wish that the Ottoman empire would suffer no harm.” The Sultan seemed to be extremely gratified with these remarks, bowing to me repeatedly as they were translated in Turkish to him by the minister of foreign affairs. At the close he saluted me with the expression “Memnoun oldoum”—I thank you!
I deemed it proper to avail myself of this occasion, and of a period of general despondency, to utter a few words of sympathy, and the more so, as none such had been pronounced by any other member of the diplomatic corps. I retain a lively sense of gratitude to the Sultan and his ministers for the firm stand they took from the start in behalf of the Union cause, and for the resolution with which they resisted the counsels of certain of the great powers who desired to innoculate the Porte with their own hostility to the American Union. Governments as well as individuals have a keen sensibility to the reciprocation of friendly acts and sentiments.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.