740 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



Her Majesty's Government have, however, not been 

 informed up to the present time that the Russian Gov- 

 ernment have agreed to cooperate with England and 

 France on this occasion, although that Government 

 may support the endeavors of England and France to 

 attain the end proposed. 



But is the end proposed attainable at the present 

 moment by the course suggested by the Government 

 of France? Such is the question wh'ich has been anx- 

 iously and carefully examined by her Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment. After weighing all the information which 

 has been received from America, her Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment are led to the conclusion that there is no 

 ground at the present moment to hope that the Federal 

 Government would accept the proposal suggested, and 

 a refusal from Washington at the present time would 

 prevent any speedy renewal of the offer. 



Her Majesty's Government think, therefore, that it 

 would be better to watch carefully the progress of 

 opinion in America, and if, as there appears reason to 

 hope, it may be found to have undergone, or may un- 

 dergo hereafter, any change, the three Courts might 

 then avail themselves of such change to offer their 

 friendly counsel with a greater prospect than now 

 exists of its being accepted by the two contending 

 parties. 



Her Majesty's Government will communicate to 

 that of France any intelligence they may receive from 

 Washington or Richmond bearing on this important 

 subject. 



Your Excellency may read this despatch to M. 

 Drouyn de L'Huys, and give him a copy of it. 



RUSSELL. 



The following is the reply of the Russian 

 Government to the French proposal of media- 

 tion in America : 



Despatch of Prince GoHchaTcoff to M. D 'Oubril, 

 Charge d' Affaires of Russia at Paris. 



ST. PETERSBURG, Oct. 27 (Nov. 6), 1862. 



SIR : I herewith enclose you a copy of a despatch 

 from M. Drouyn de L'Huys, which the Duke of Monte- 

 bello has been charged to communicate to us. 



It concerns the affairs of North America, and its ob- 

 ject is to invite us to an entente with France and Eng- 

 land to take advantage of the present lassitude of the 

 parties to propose, in common, a suspension of hos- 

 tilities. 



In reply to this overture I reminded the French Am- 

 bassador of the solicitude which our august master has 

 never ceased to feel in the American conflict from its 

 very onset, a solicitude caused by the amicable rela- 

 tions existing between the two countries, and of which 

 the Imperial Cabinet has given public proofs. I have 

 assured him that nothing could better respond to our 

 wishes than to see approach the termination of a strug- 

 gle which we deplore, and that to this effect our Miu- . 

 ister at Washington has instructions to seize every 

 favorable opportunity to recommend moderation and 

 conciliation, so as to appease conflicting passions and 

 lead to a wise settlement of the interests at stake. I ad- 

 mitted that such counsels would certainly have greater 

 weight if presented simultaneously and in the same 

 friendly manner by the Great Powers who take an 

 interest in the issue of this conflict. 



But I added that, in our opinion, what ought spe- 

 cially to be avoided, was the appearance of any pressure 

 whatsoever of a nature to wound public opinion in the 

 United States, and to excite susceptibilities very easily 

 aroused at the bare idea of foreign intervention. Now, 

 according to the information we have hitherto received, 

 we are inclined to believe that a combined step between 

 France, England, and Russia, no matter how concilia- 

 tory and how cautiously made, if it were taken with an 

 official and collective character, would run the risk of 

 causing precisely the very opposite of the object of 

 pacification, which is the aim of the wishes of the three 

 Courts. 



We have, therefore, drawn the conclusion that if the 



French Government should persist in deeming a for- 

 mal and collective step opportune, and that if the Eng- 

 lish Cabinet shares that opinion, it would be impos- 

 sible for us, at the distance we are at, to anticipate the 

 manner in which such a measure would be received. 

 But if in that case our Minister should not participate 

 officially, his moral support is not the less acquired be- 

 forehand to any attempt at conciliation. 



By giving it to his colleagues of France and of Eng- 

 land, under the friendly form (forme officieuse) which 

 he might deem best suited to avoid the appearance of 

 pressure, M. de Stoeckl will only be continuing the po- 

 sition and language which, by order of our august 

 master, he has never ceased to observe since the com- 

 mencement of the American quarrel. 



It is in this sense that I request you to explain 

 yourself to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 

 reply to the communication he has made to us. 



GORTCHAKOFF. 



The following letter is from the French Minis- 

 ter of Foreign Affairs, M. Drouyn de L'Huys, 

 to M. Mercier, the representative of France at 

 "Washington, relative to the preceding over- 

 tures : 



PARIS, .tor. 23, 1862. 



SIR : The proposition we made to London and to St. 

 Petersburg, the text of which I despatched to you by 

 the last mail, has not met with the immediate acqui- 

 esience we had some reason to expect. Although we 

 have received but summary information on that sub- 

 ject, I do not hesitate to look upon the common de- 

 mand, in which we had reason to suppose Great Britain 

 and Russia would associate themselves, as being im- 

 possible to be realized. 



Convinced as we were that an understanding between 

 the three Powers in the sense presented by us would 

 answer as much the interests of the American people 

 as our own ; that even that understanding was in the 

 present circumstances a duty of humanity, you will 

 easily form an idea of our regret at seeing the initiative 

 we have taken, after mature reflection, remain without 

 results. Being also desirous of informing Mr. Davton 

 of our project,! confidentially communicated it to him, 

 and even read in his presence the despatch sent to Lon- 

 don and St. Petersburg. 



I could not be surprised that the Minister of the 

 United States should oppose his objections to the pro- 

 ject I communicated to him, and to hear him express 

 personally some doubts as to the reception which 

 would be given by the Cabinet at Washington to the 

 joint offers of the good offices of France, Russia, and 

 Great Britain. But whatever might have been the 

 answer of the Federal Government to our overtures, 

 we have not now to solicit or discuss it since the evi- 

 dent dispositions of the two latter Courts were to ob- 

 serve an absolute neutrality. We will return, like 

 them, to the passive attitude which we bad also made 

 our duty to observe an attitude from which we would 

 never have departed had we remained indifferent to 

 the present evils and the fatal consequences of the 

 endless continuation of a devastating war. 



The rumors- reechoed by the press on this occasion 

 having seemed to us calculated to deceive public opin- 

 ion, or at least to leave it in uncertainty about the true 

 character of our movements, We have deemed it proper 

 to cut short all hazard&us conjectures to place before 

 the eyes of the world the plain terms of our proposi- 

 tion, confident of the approbation which the country 

 will accord to our motives. We have thought that by 

 giving open publicity to our intentions we would be- 

 sides establish, against all contrary suppositions, the 

 friendly and conciliatory spirit attending the offer of 

 our good offices, and the respect which, however 

 pressing, we would have manifested for the indepen- 

 dence of the United States. In respect to this, sir, 

 we believe that there will be no misunderstanding 

 concerning the incentive of our conduct and of our 

 sentiments, and we desire the Cabinet of Washington 

 to discern in all that has just passed the proof that it 



