PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 





neutrality, instead of imposing upon the Powers the 

 attitude which might resemble indifference, ought 

 rather to make them of service to the two partiesl>y 

 helping them out of a position which seems to have no 

 issue. From the commencement of the war an armed 

 force was set on foot by the belligerents, which since 

 then has almost constantly been kept up. After so much 

 bloodshed, they are now, in that respect, nearly in 

 the same position nothing authorizing the presump- 

 tion that more decisive military operations will shortly 

 occur, according to the last news received in Europe. 

 The two armies, on the contrary, were in a condition 

 that would not allow either party to hope, within a 

 brief delay, for any decided advantage to turn the bal- 

 ance and accelerate the conclusion of a peace. 



All these circumstances, taken together, point to the 

 opportunity of an armistice, to which, moreover, under 

 the present circumstances, no strategical objection can 

 be made. The favorable dispositions toward peace 

 which are beginning to manifest themselves in the 

 North, as well as in the South, might, on the other 

 hand, second steps that might be made to recommend 

 the idea of truce. 



The Emperor has, therefore, thought that the occa- 

 sion has presented itself of offering to the belligerents 

 the support of the good offices of the maritime Pow- 

 ers ; and his Majesty has charged me to make the 

 proposition of this Government to her Britannic Ma- 

 jesty, as well as to the Court of Russia. The three 

 Cabinets would exert their influence at Washington, 

 as well as with the Confederates, to obtain an armistice 

 for six months, during which every act of war, direct 

 or indirect, should provisionally cease on sea as well 

 as on land, and it might bG, if necessary, ulteriorly 

 prolonged. 



The overtures, I need not say, sir, would not imply, 

 on our part, any judgment on the origin or issue of the 

 struggle, nor any pressure upon the negotiations which 

 might, it is to be hoped, ensue in favor of an armistice. 

 Our task would consist solely in smoothing down ob- 

 stacles, and in interfering only in a measure deter- 

 mined upon by the two parties. We should not, in fact, 

 believe ourselves called upon to decide, but to prepare 

 the solution of difficulties which hitherto have opposed 

 reconciliation between the belligerent parties. Would 

 not, moreover, an agreement between the three Courts 

 respond sufficiently to their intentions? Would it not 

 give to their step the character of evident impar- 

 tiality '? Acting in concert, they would combine the 

 conditions best suited to inspire confidence the Gov- 

 ernment of the Emperor, by the constant tradition of 

 French policy toward the United States ; England, by 

 the community of race ; Russia, by the marks of friend- 

 ship she has never ceased to show to the Washington 

 Cabinet. 



Should the event not justify the hope of the three 

 Powers, and should the ardor of the struggle overrule 

 the wisdom of their councils, this attempt would not 

 be the less honorable for them. They would have 

 fulfilled a duty of humanity, more especially indi- 

 cated in a war which has excited passions which 

 render all direct attempts at negotiation more difficult. 

 It is the mission which international law assigns neu- 

 trals ; at the same time it prescribes to them a strict 

 impartiality, and they could never make a nobler use 

 of their influence than by endeavoring to put an end to 

 a struggle which causes so much suffering, and com- 

 promises such great interests throughout the whole 

 world. 



Finally, even without immediate results, these over- 

 tures would not be entirely useless, for they might en- 

 courage public opinion to views of conciliation, and 

 thus contribute to hasten the moment when the return 

 of peace might become possible. 



I request you, sir, in the name of his Majesty, to 

 submit these considerations to Lord Russell or to 

 Prince Gortchakoff, begging him to state the views 

 of the Government of her Britannic Majesty or the 

 Court of Russia. DROUYN DE L'HUYS. 



In reply to the above despatch the following 



despatch was addressed by Earl Earl 



Cowley, her Majesty's Aililm.-- ..-ia: 



FORIIOS Omci, Hot. IS, 1881 



MT LORD : The Count de Flahault came to t! 

 eign Office by appointment on MI.I -Unt, 



and read to me a despatch from M. Urouyn de. I 

 relating to the civil war in North An, 



In thi< <le>p;itrh the Minister of Foreign Affair* 

 states that the Emperor has followed with painful 

 interest the struggle which had now bee: 

 for more than ;i year on the American cor/ 

 does justice to the energy and perseverance which 

 have been displayed by both sides, but he observes 

 that these proofs of their courage hare been given at 

 the expense of innumerable calamities and immense 

 bloodshed; to these accompaniments of the civil con- 

 flict is to be added the apprehension of servile war, 

 which would be the climax of so many irreparable 

 misfortunes. 



If these calamities affected America only, these suf- 

 ferings of a friendly nation would be enough to excite 

 the anxiety and sympathy of the Emperor; but Eu- 

 rope also has suffered in one of the principal branches 

 of her industry, and her artisans have been subjected 

 to most cruel trials. France and the maritime Powers 

 have, during the struggle, maintained the strictest 

 neutrality, but the sentiments by which they.are ani- 

 mated, far from imposing on them anything like indif- 

 ference, seem, on the contrary, to require that they 

 should assist the two belligerent parties in an endea- 

 vor to escape from a position which appears to have 

 no issue. The forces of the two sides have hitherto 

 fought with balanced success, and the latest accounts 

 do not show any prospect of a speedy termination of 

 the war. 



These circumstances taken together would seem to 

 favor the adoption of measures which might bring 

 about a truce. The Emperor of the French, therefore, 

 is of the opinion that there is now an opportunity of 

 offering to the belligerents the good offices of the mar- 

 itime Powers. He, therefore, proposes to her Majesty, 

 as well as to the Emperor of Russia, that the three 

 Courts should endeavor, both at Washington and in 

 communication with the Confederate States, to bring 

 about a suspension of arms for six months, during 

 which time every act of hostility, direct or indirect, 

 should cease, at sea as well as on land. This armistice 

 might, if necessary, be renewed for a further period. 



This proposal, brouyn de L'Huys proceeds to say, 

 would not imply on the part of the three Powers any 

 judgment on the origin of the war, or any pressure on 

 the negotiations for peace, which, it is hoped, would 

 take place during the armistice. The three Powers 

 would only interfere to smooth the obstacles, and only 

 within the limits which the two interested parties 

 would prescribe. The French Government is of the 

 opinion that, even in the event of a failure of immedi- 

 ate success, these overtures might be useful in leading 

 the minds of men now heated by passion to consider 

 the advantages of conciliation and peace. 



Such is in substance the proposal of the Govern- 

 ment of the Emperor of the French, and I need hardly 

 say that it has attracted the serious attention of her 

 Majesty's Government. Her Majesty is desirous of act- 

 ing in concurrence with France upon the great ques- 

 tions now agitating the world, and upon none more 

 than on the contingencies connected with the_ great 

 strusrgle now going on in North America. Neither 

 her Majesty the Queen, nor the British nation, will ever 

 forget the" noble and emphatic manner in which the 

 Emperor of the French vindicated the laws of nations 

 and assisted the cause of peace in the instance of the 

 seizure of the Confederate Commissioners on board the 

 Trent. 



Her Majesty's Government recognizes with pies 

 the design of MTesting the progress of war by friendly 

 measures, the benevolent views and humane mten 

 tions of the Emperor. They are also of the opinion that 

 if the steps proposed were to be taken, the concurrence 

 of Russia would be extremely desirable. 



