ITI5LIC DOCUMENTS. 



718 



to me at Fortress Monroe at 4.40 p. M., Feb. 2, by 

 Lic'ut.-t'ol. Babcock, of Gen. Grant's staff. 



THOS. T. ECKEKT, Major and A. D. C.] 

 "EXECUTIVE MANSION-. 1YK 10. 



On the morning of the 3d, the gentlemen, M 

 Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell came aboard of our 

 steamer and had an interview with the Secretary of 

 State and myself of several hours' duration. No 

 question of preliminaries to the meeting was then and 

 there made or mentioned. No other person was 

 present. Xo papers were exchanged or produced, 

 and it was in advance agreed that the conversation 

 was to be informal and verbal merely. On my part 

 the whole substance of the instructions to the Secre- 

 tary of State, hereinbefore recited, was stated and 

 insisted upon, and nothing was said inconsistent there- 

 with, while by the other party it was not said that in 

 any event or on any condition they ever would con- 

 sent to reunion ; and yet they equally omitted to de- 

 clare that they would never so consent. They seemed 

 to desire a postponement of that question and the 

 adoption of some other course first, which, as some 

 of them seemed to argue, might or might not lead to 

 reunion, but which course we" thought would amount 

 to an indefinite postponement. 



The conference ended without result. 



The foregoing, containing, as is believed, all the 

 information sought, is respectfully submitted. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN." 



The following was inclosed in the message sent to 

 the Senate by the President : 



' DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, Feb. in, 1S65. 



The Secretary of state, to whom was referred a 

 resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, requesting 

 the President of the United States, if, in his opinion, 

 it is not incompatible with the public interest, to fur- 

 nish to the Senate any information in his possession 

 concerning the recent conversation or communica- 

 tions with certain rebels said to have occurred under 

 Executive sanction, including communications with 

 the rebel Jeft'erson Davis, and any correspondence 

 relating thereto, has the honor to report that the 

 Senate may properly be referred to a special message 

 of the President, bearing upon the subject of the res- 

 olution and transmitted to the House this day. Ap- 

 pended to this report is a copy of the instructions 

 which has been addressed to Charles Francis Adams, 

 Esq., Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten- 

 tiary of the United States at London, ana which is 

 the only correspondence found in this Department 

 touching the subject referred to in the resolution. 



Respectfully submitted, WM. H. SEWAKD." 



ME. SEWARD TO MR. ADAMS. 

 DnPAETMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 1S65. 



Sir: It is true that in times of peace there are 

 always instigators of war. So soon as a war begins 

 there are citizens who emphatically demand negotia- 

 tions of peace. The advocates of war, after an agita- 

 tion longer or shorter, generally gain their fearful 

 end, though the war declared is not unfrequentlv un- 

 necessary and unwise. So peace agitators, in" time 

 of war, ultimately bring about an abandonment of 

 the conflict, sometimes without securing the advan- 

 tages which were originally expected from the con- 

 flict. The agitators For war in times of peace, and 

 for peace in time of war, are not unnecessarily, or 

 perhaps ordinarily, unpatriotic in their purposes or 

 motives. Results alone determine whether they are 

 wise or unwise. The treaty of peace concluded at 

 Guadaloupe Hidalgo was secured by an irregular ne- 

 gotiation under the Don of the government. 



Some of the efforts which have been made to bring 

 about negotiations with a view to end our civil war 

 are known to the whole world, because they have em- 

 ployed foreign as well domestic agents. Others with 

 whom you have had to deal confidentially are known 

 to yourself, although they have not publicly tran- 

 spired. Other efforts have occurred here which are 

 kuown only to the persons actually moving in them 

 and to this Government. 



I am now to pve for your information an account 

 of an aii'uir of the same general character wl* 

 cently received much attention here, and which 

 doubtless will excite inquiry abroad. A few days 

 : : ancis P. Blair, Esq.," of Maryland, obtained 

 from the President a simple leave to pass through our 

 lines without definite views known to the Govern- 

 ment. 



Mr. Blair visited Richmond, and on his return he 

 showed to the President a letter which Jefferson 

 Davis had written to Mr. Blair, in which Davis wr< tu 

 that Mr. Blair was at liberty to say to President Lin- 

 coln that Davis was now, as he always had been, 

 willing to send commissioners if assure'd they would 

 be received, or to receive any that should be sent ; 

 that he was not disposed to find obstacles in forms ; 

 that he would send commissioners to confer with the 

 President with a view to a restoration of peace be- 

 tween the two countries, if he could be assured they 

 would be received. The President, therefore, on the 

 18th day of January, addressed a note to Mr. Blair, 

 in which the President, after acknowledging that he 

 had read the note of Mr. Davis, said that he was, is, 

 and always should be, willing to receive any agents 

 that Mr. l)avis, or any other influential man now act- 

 ually resisting the authority of the Government, 

 might send to confer informally with the President, 

 with a view to the restoration of peace to the people 

 of our common country. Mr. Blair visited Richmond 

 with this letter and then again came back to Wash- 

 ington on the 29th ult. 



We were advised from the camp of Lieut. -General 

 Grant that Alex. H. Stephens, R. M. T. Hunter and 

 J. A. Campbell were applying for leave to pass 

 through the lines to Washington, as Peace Commis- 

 sioners, to confer with the President. They were 

 permitted by the Lieut. -General to come to his head- 

 quarters, to await there the decision of the President. 

 Major Eckert was sent down to meet the party from 

 Richmond at General Grant's headquarters. The 

 major was directed to deliver to them a copy of the 

 President's letter to Mr. Blair, with a note to be ad- 

 dressed to them and signed by the major, in which 

 they were directly informed that if they should be al- 

 lowed to pass our lines they would be understood as 

 coming for an informal conference upon the basis of 

 the aforenamed letter of the 18th of January to Mr. 

 Blair. If they should express their assent to this 

 condition' in writing, then Major Eckert was directed 

 to give them safe conduct to Fortress Monroe, where 

 a person coming from the President would meet 

 them. 



It being thought probable, from a report of their 

 conversation with Lieut.-Gen. Grant, that the Rich- 

 mond party would in the manner prescribed accept 

 the conditions mentioned, the Secretary of State was 

 charged by the President with the duty of represent- 

 ing this Government in the expected informal con- 

 ference. 



The Secretary arrived at Fortress Monroe in the 

 night of the 1st of February. Major Eckert met him 

 on the morning of the 2d of February, with the infor- 

 mation that the persons who had come from Rich- 

 mond had not accepted in writing the conditions 

 upon which he was allowed to give them conduct to 

 Fortress Monroe. The major'had given the same 

 information by telegraph to the President at "V 

 ington. On receiving this information the President 

 prepared a telegram, directing the Secretary to re- 

 turn to Washington. The Secretary was prer 

 at the same moment to so return without waiting for 

 information from the President, but at this juncture 

 Lieut.-Gen. Grant telegraphed to the Secretary of 

 War, as well as to the'Secretarv of State, that the 

 party from Richmond had reconsidered and accepted 

 the condition tendered them through Major Eckert, 

 and Gen. Grant urgently advised the President to 

 confer in person with the" Richmond party. 



Under these circumstances the Secre'tary, by the 

 ^resident's direction, remained at Fortress" Monroe, 



