Mr. Morris to Mr. Seward.
Sir: The recognition of Prince Hohenzollern as hospodar of the Danubian principalities, has finally taken place. After several months of negotiation, the difficulties which had prevented this event were removed and the Prince was invited to the capital. He arrived here last week in an imperial steamer which had been dispatched to Varna for his conveyance. Immediately on his arrival he was received in audience by the Sultan, who extended to him a cordial welcome. After a profession of homage by the Prince to his Suzerain, the Sultan stated the conditions on which he ratified the choice of the people of Moldavia and Wallachia, which were as follows: The princeship to be hereditary in the direct line; the army of Roumania may be raised to the maximum strength of 30,000 men; the government of that country may coin money with the impress of the imperial cipher; that the tribute shall be increased to a sum hereafter to be determined, and that the Prince shall observe the treaty obligations which connect him with the Porte. These conditions the Prince formally gave his consent to, and his pledge to observe.
Subsequently the Prince interchanged visits with all the members of the diplomatic corps and with the Greek Patriarch. I found him a young man of about 27 years of age, of genial manners, of superior intelligence, and apparently pure and single minded, and animated by sincere intentions to promote the welfare [Page 255] of the country which he has been called to govern. He was quite enthusiastic in the expression of his admiration for the power, material and moral, of the United States, and for the, successful working of our political institutions. He hoped to see the United States extending its influence in the east, in which it must eventually have much larger interests, by the increased development of its commerce through the opening of the Suez canal. He seemed much pleased at the creation of a United States consulate general at Bucharest, and expressed his desire to see that post soon filled by an incumbent. So far as the fortunes of Roumania depend on Prince Hohenzollern, I think there is but little hazard in predicting that they will be all that her most sanguine patriots can desire. The position is, however, one of great difficulty, owing to the foreign intrigues of which Bucharest is the centre, and which are inspired by Austria and Russia, in their rival aspirations for the eventual possession of the rich and fertile region covered by the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. France, which was one of the most active parties in placing Prince Hohenzollern on the throne of Roumania, encourages the creation of an independent kingdom in the principalities, as a barrier on the Turkish frontier against Muscovite aggression. This project is of course not regarded with a favorable eye at St. Petersburg, as it throws serious obstacles in the way of Russian progress to Constantinople, and it is therefore questionable if Roumania will enjoy, even under Prince Hohenzollern, the tranquillity and repose necessary to its development into an independent national existence.
At all events, it is settled that Turkey will not go to war, as was threatened, about Roumania, and the Sultan, in recognizing a Prince whom he once threatened to expel by force of arms, has given another proof of the deplorable state of imbecility to which the Ottoman empire has of late sunk.
With great respect, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.