DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 



261 



At the same time he states that the newly- 

 appointed Minister, Mr. Judd, was authorized to 

 enter into a treaty with the kingdom of Prus- 

 sia for the adhesion of the United States Gov- 

 ernment to the declaration of the Congress at 

 Paris. 



Similar instructions and powers were given to all 

 the Ministers appointed to conduct diplomatic inter- 

 course with all existing maritime powers. This Gov- 

 ernment, in these instructions, declared its continued 

 desire and preference for the amendment of the Paris 

 declaration proposed by this Government in 1856, to 

 the efl'ect that private or individual property of non- 

 combatants, whether belonging to belligerent States or 

 not, should be exempted from confiscation in maritime 

 war. But recurring to the previous failure to secure 

 the adoption of that amendment, this Government in- 

 structed its ministers, if they should find it necessary, 

 to waive it for the present, and to negotiate our adhe- 

 sion to the declaration pure and simple. 



The right of the United States to close any 

 of the national ports " which have already 

 fallen, or which may fall into the hands of the 

 insurgents, either directly or in the lenient and 

 equitable form of the blockade," is understood 

 as not qualified or modified. 



The conclusion reached was an indirect inti- 

 mation that a separate treaty with Prussia was 

 not considered necessary by that court, but 

 the simple adhesion of the Government of the 

 United States to the articles of the Paris treaty 

 would be sufficient. 



Belgium. On the 26th of March, Mr. Sew- 

 ard addressed instructions to Mr. San ford, the 

 United States Minister to Belgium. The policy 

 of the Administration toward the seceded States 

 at that date is thus stated : 



Formidable as the conspiracy seemed at the begin- 

 ning, it is now confidently believed that the policy of 

 the present Administration in regard to it will be sup- 

 ported by the people a policy of conciliation, forbear- 

 ance, and firmness and that the conspiracy will thus 

 fall for want of ultimate adoption by the States them- 

 selves which are expected to constitute the new Con- 

 federacy. 



The most important duty of the diplomatic 

 representatives of the United States in Europe, 

 says the Secretary, will be to counteract, by all 

 proper means, the efforts of the agents of that 

 projected Confederacy at their respective 

 courts. They are expected not to engage in 

 any discussion which the agents of the dis- 

 uniomsts may attempt to initiate on the merits 

 of their proposed revolution. The President 

 will not consent, directly or indirectly, to the 



iterpellation of any foreign power in a contro- 



rsy which is merely a domestic one. He then 



oceeds : 



There is some reason to suppose that the agents of 

 the disunionists will attempt to win favor for their 

 scheme of recognition by affecting to sympathize with 

 the manufacturing interests of the European nations 

 in their discontent with the tariff laws of the United 

 States, and by promising to receive the fabrics of 

 such nations on more favorable terms. You will be 

 able to reply to such seductions as these that the new 

 tariff laws thus complained of are revenue laws deem- 

 ed by the legislature of the United States necessary 

 under new and peculiar circumstances ; that all expe- 

 rience shows that such laws are not, and cannot be, 



wi 



s 



permanent ; that if, as is now pretended, they shall 

 prove to be onerous to foreign commerce, they will, of 

 course, prove also to be unfruitful of revenue, and 

 that, in that case, they will necessarily be promptly 

 modified. The inconvenience, if any shall result from 

 them, will therefore be temporary and practically 

 harmless. Nor will any statesman of a foreign coun- 

 try need to be informed that the consumption of the 

 fabrics which it is proposed shall be favored by the 

 so-called seceding States chiefly takes place, not with- 

 in those States, but in a very large degree in the States 

 which remain undisturbed by this unhappy attempt at 

 revolution. 



Under date of May 10th, Mr. Sanford wrote 

 that he had been received by the King on the 

 8th, who spoke but generally of the insurrection 

 in the Southern States, said he hoped some 

 peaceful issue would be found, and that the 

 spirit of conciliation would prevail, and then 

 referred to the growing markets they had for 

 manufactures in the United States. 



Again, on the 26th of May, he writes to Mr. 

 Seward that he had a conversation with M. de 

 Vriere on the subject of the efforts of the com- 

 missioners of the Confederate States to obtain 

 a recognition of the European powers. M. de 

 Vriere replied that no application had been 

 made to him in this view, "nor would it now 

 be entertained if made. The revolution would 

 receive no sanction by any a.ct of Belgium." 

 He also spoke of the new tariff with a great 

 deal of feeling, and said it was highly prejudi- 

 cial to their interests, instancing in point that 

 forty furnaces for the manufacture of window- 

 glass had been stopped in consequence. 



On the 6th of May, Mr. Seward writes to Mr. 

 Sanford that the negotiation of a convention 

 with the Government of Belgium, on the rights 

 of belligerents and neutrals in time of war, was 

 desirable ; and he was instructed to endeavor 

 to effect that object. Again, on the 21st of 

 June, Mr. Seward writes : 



You are aware that the declaration of Paris enjoins 

 each of the parties that have signed it not to negotiate 

 any other changes of the law ofnations concerning the 

 rights of neutrals in maritime war. "We have supposed 

 that this would operate to prevent Great Britain, and 

 probably France, from receiving our accession to the 

 declaration, if we should insist on the amendment 

 proposed by Mr. Marcy, namely, the exemption of 

 private property of non-belligerents from confiscation. 

 But we should now, as the instructions heretofore 



fiven you have already informed you, vastly prefer to 

 ave that amendment accepted. Nevertheless, if this 

 cannot be done, let the convention be made for adher- 

 ence to the declaration pure and simple. 



No answer was received from the Belgian 

 Government on this proposition, as they pre- 

 ferred to await the action of France and Eng- 

 land ; and on the 5th of August Mr. Seward 

 again wrote to Mr. Sanford that " there is no 

 especial urgency on our part for the considera- 

 tion, by the Belgian Government, of our prop- 

 osition to accede to the declaration of the Con- 

 gress of Paris, before the similar propositions, 

 submitted to the British and French Govern- 

 ments, shall have been acted upon by them ; 

 although we hold ourselves ready to carry 

 overtures into effect when the Belgian Govern- 

 ment shall desire." 



