Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 14, 1863. MY LORD: With reference to Mr. Stuart's note of the 25th ultimo on the subject of the destruction of the British ship York, stranded on the coast of North Carolina, in January, 1862, by order of the commander of the United States steamer Albatross, I have to remark that there are circumstances connected with the case which require further explanation before the liability of this government can be acknowledged. In the first place, the York is represented to have cleared from Valencia, in Spain, with a cargo of stone, for Lewistown, in the State of Delaware. It is very unusual, if not unprecedented, for a vessel with any cargo to make a voyage between those ports, and as Lewistown could not be expected to afford a return cargo, full and distinct explanations as to the reason for undertaking such a voyage will be looked for. In the next place, the wind at and about the time the vessel was stranded was such, according to proof in the possession of this government, that it is thought improbable that a vessel bound on an honest voyage, between the points referred to, could have so far deviated from her course as to run aground at the place where the York stranded. It is conceived that these were circumstances of suspicion that warranted the commander of the Albatross in the opinion that the York repaired to the coast of North Carolina for the purpose of violating the blockade. Supposing, however, that these circumstances should be adequately explained, this government could scarcely be expected to accept the estimate placed upon the value of the wreck of the York by the papers which have been presented. This value could not exceed that of the materials in a market where there certainly was little or no demand for them. The proof offered as to the value is that of persons in rebellion against the United States, who, in a case of this character, cannot be regarded as credible or disinterested witnesses. If it shall be made to appear that the York was bound on an honest voyage, was compelled by stress of weather to deviate from her course, and in so doing was involuntarily stranded, there will be little hesitation in acknowledging the accountability of this government for the value of the wreck in the market where it is supposed it might have been sold. In the present situation of the case, however, that acknowledgment must be suspended. I have the honor to be, my lord, your very obedient servant, Right Hon. LORD LYONS, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 16, 1863. MY LORD: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yesterday, asking whether, in the event that the decree of the inferior court, in the case of the Springbok, should be reversed on appeal, the court will give the vessel back, or pay to the owners its value. In reply, I have the honor to acquaint you that, in the event of a reversal of the judgment of the inferior court, the Supreme Court may be expected to decree a restitution of the vessel, or indemnity, according to the circumstances of the case. department. What the decree will be cannot now be foreseen by the executive I have the honor to be, my lord, your obedient servant, Right Hon. LORD LYONS, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. • Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 20, 1863. MY LORD: In a note to you of the 22d, in reply to your note of the 20th of June last, on the subject of indemnification in the case of the British steamer Magicienne, it was proposed to refer to two persons at or near Key West the questions of damages growing out of the capture and detention of that vessel. As it is probable, however, that an equally satisfactory result in regard to the matter may be reached by an investigation at New York, I name William M. Evarts for that purpose, on the part of this government, to meet any person who may be named on the part of her Majesty's government. If there should be no objection on your part to this course, I will thank you to designate the person to act in behalf of the claimants, in order that Mr. Evarts may be apprised accordingly. I have the honor to be, my lord, your obedient servant, Right Hon. LORD LYONS, &c., sx., sx. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons. DEPARTMENT of State, Washington, October 28, 1863. MY LORD: The Secretary of the Treasury, to whom was referred a copy of your communication of the 19th instant in regard to the detention of the steamer Josie at New York, has replied by a letter of yesterday, which is accompanied by a copy of a report of the collector of customs at that port. I have the honor to enclose a copy of these papers to your lordship, and to be, with high consideration, my lord, your obedient servant, Right Hon. LORD LYONS, &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, October 27, 1863. SIR I have received yours of the 20th instant, covering copy of despatch of Lord Lyons of the 19th, relative to the detention of the steamer Josie by the custom-house authorities at New York. This despatch was sent by me on the 21st to the collector at New York for a report on the case, a copy of which I enclose. With great respect, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury. CUSTOM-HOUSE, NEW YORK, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st, enclosing a letter from the Secretary of State and despatch from Lord Lyons, and other papers, in regard to the detention by me of the steamer Josie, with the request that I would report thereon. This vessel was first detained for inquiry and subsequently seiz d for forfeiture by me upon the ground that she was proceeding on a voyage with the ultimate intent of entering one of the ports of the insurgent States. the facts of the case, the information furnished to this office was deemed sufficient to auAfter taking a sufficient time to examine into thorize her seizure, and thereupon I transmitted the facts to the United States district attorney for this district, with the request that he would institute proceedings for the forfeiture of the vessel and cargo under and in pursuance of sections 6 and 7 of the act of July 13, 1861, and section 1 of the act of August 16, 1861, and sections 6 and 7 of the act of January 17, 1862. I return herewith the correspondence upon this subject forwarded to me by you. Hon. S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury. HIRAM BARNEY, Collector. FRANCE. No. 262.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, November 30, 1862. SIR: I recur to your despatch of November 13, (No. 225,) in which you men tion a reference by Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys to the depredations committed upon American commerce by the 290, alias the Alabama. The President is far from asking the interference of France, or even her good offices, in a matter which disturbs the relations between the United States and Great Britain, and which, if no redress is given, would be a precedent for wide infractions of the law of nations. At the same time, the President does not forget that in the case of the Trent, France, in a generous manner, appealed to the United States to redress the just complaint of Great Britain, and that both of those parties appreciated her interposition. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WM. L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 264.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 1, 1862. SIR: It is expected that you will not suffer the cloud that has recently arisen, as it were, from under your own feet, to excite any alarm about the good fortune of our country. It is to the condition of affairs at home, not the condition of opinion in Europe, that we must look if we would understand the prospects of our country. The great problem of domestic slavery in the United States presented itself for solution when the war began. It is in process of solution, and so the war goes on. It is not yet solved, and so the war is not yet ended. The people of the United States are intensely engaged in the difficult task. If it questions and rejects one process of solution after another, that does not prove that it is abandoning the task. On the contrary, it is the very act of performance of the task itself. If the performer seem slow, let the observer ask where or when did any nation advance faster in a labor so complex and so difficult. The President's message will carry the public mind still more directly and more earnestly on its great work. The war would have had no terrors for the people if they had not feared that the Union could not endure the trial of solving that problem. Apprehensions of that kind are beginning now to be dismissed. In all the elements of strength, power, and stability, the Union is stronger when Congress meets to-day than it was when Congress met a year ago. In all the same elements the insurrection is weaker. Revolutions do not revive their strength or their energy. They must succeed at first, or at least gain advantage continually, or they must perish. A year ago it seemed that any foreign nation might assail and destroy us at a blow. I am sure that no one foreign nation would now conceive such an attempt, while combination of several powers for that purpose is impossible. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WM. L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 267.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 7. 1862. SIR: You will find a suitable occasion to read to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys the enclosed copy of a correspondence which has taken place between the ministry for foreign affairs of Italy and this department on the subject of the reinstatement of Mr. Theodore Canisius in the office of consul at Vienna, and you may give a copy of the same to Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys, if requested. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM L. DAYTON, Esq., &c., &c., &c. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. No. 278.] Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. [Extracts.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington December 29, 1862. SIR: The Europa's mail has only just now come in, a few hours in advance of the time assigned for the departure of the outgoing despatches, and it brings no communication from your legation. The circumstances calculated to excite distrust of the friendly feeling of France towards the United States, to which you have heretofore directed my notice, are now fixing public attention in this country as well as in Europe. Some European observers who are unfriendly to us, or, to speak more accurately, who are jealous of a good understanding between France and the United States, are stimulating popular suspicions here, which, if they are without any just foundation, as the President believes, must be very deeply regretted in both countries. The form which these suggestions take is, that France has design to make of the war against Mexico only an introduction to aggressions against the United States in the Gulf of Mexico or on its coasts. The interpretation which is popularly given to the Emperor's late overtures to Great Britain and Russia for mediation in our affairs favors this alarm, and is consequently causing it to receive a very wide acceptance. Satisfied that France, equally with the United States, desires that the mutual and almost fraternal sympathies that so long have prevailed in the two countries shall remain undisturbed, it becomes a grave question whether it is not expedient that Mr. Drouyn de l'Huys shall do or say something to correct the impressions to which I have adverted. When the French government looks to the land and naval re-enforcements which the President has just sent to New Orleans and the Mississippi, and to the now rapid departure of our iron-clad vessels to their southern destination, it must perceive that in no case do we expect to surrender that river |