The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-27 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Times' Correspondent)
NEW YORK, Feb. 13.
A personal difficulty has suddenly arisen between
M. Mercier, the able and accomplished representa-
tive of the Ernpet or of the French, and Mr. Seward,
which will probably lead to the withdrawal of the
former from a post which he has filled with distin-
guished ability. In a despatch to M. Thouvenel,
dated the 13th of April,lB62, recently published in
the Livre Taune of the French Government, and
which arrived in this country by the last steamer,
M. Mercier states distinctly that he visited Rich-
mond with the thorough acquiescence of Mr. Se -
ward, and " almost, as it seemed, in compliance with
his desire." He details the conversation he held
with Mr. Seward preliminary to his departure. One
of them was to the effect " that if any overtures
were made to him (M. Mercier) relative to the re-
cognition of the Southern Confederacy, he should
answer that it ought to be understood that in his
position he could only speak of the restoration of the
Union; that in the disposition in which the popula-
tiGn of the North seemed to be, recognition would
not decide the Federal Government to raise the
blockade; that for us (the French) peace was the
only prayer we could form ; and that we should
be consequently disposed to do all which depended
on us in order that it might be made as soon as
possible in the convenience of both parties." In the
last paragraph but one of theYlespatch M. Mercier
records :—" It was understood besides that I should
report to Mr. Seward only what I was authorized
to repeat to him. Mr. Seward said to me that I
might add, if I found an opportune occasion, that in
his opinion the North was animated by no sentiment
of vengeance, and that for himself he should, with
pleasure, find himself again in the Senate in the
presence of all those whom the South thought fit to
send thither." No sooner was this document pub-
lished in Washington than a violent outcry against
Mr. Seward was raised by the Republican and Abo-
litionist party. A secret meeting was held to demand
his removal from office, and on Monday last, the 9th
inst,, a resolution was passed by the Senate calling
upon the President, if not incompatible with the
public interests, to communicate the character of the
suggestions made by Mr. Seward to M. Mercier,
and what representations, if any, M. Mercier was
authorised to make at Richmond on the part of the
Federal Government, or of the Secretary of State.
Taking for granted that M. Mercier's despatch was
substantially and verbally correct, there was nothing
in it which Mr. Seward should have been ashamed
to avow. Mr. Seward was not not represented as en-
couraging the idea of disunion. He held out no pro-
spects of success to the Confederates. He only said
what was quite consistent with true patriotism, as
well as discretion—that the North entertained no
vengeance, and that he, for one, would be glad if
the South would once again send its senators to
Washington. There was no treason in this—nothing,
in fact, but the kindest and best feeling. But the Re-
publican senators seemed to think there was; and
Mr. Seward, unfortunately for his reputation, seemed
to be of the same opinion. In a communication to the
Senate the day before yesterday, he endeavoured to
put himself right, when he had not been wrong, and
did it in a manner that must render it difficult, if
not impossible, for M. Mercier ever again to hold
official or personal intercourse with him. He stated
point blank that " no suggestions were made to M.
Mercier by the Secretary of State that induced or
were designed or calculated to induce him to un-
dertake a mission to Richmond in April last, or any
other
time,
He (M. Mercier) was not then, nor has
other person, ever been authorised by
t
be,
this
nor
e n
t y
Government, or by the Secretary of State, to
k
representations of any kind to the insur-
rectionary agents or so-called authorities at Rich-
mond, or to hold any communication with them
on behalf of this Government." Mr. Seward over-
stated protested too much in this
not contented with a denial which
a high-minded gentleman of
passage,svtiraiunagl l
but,s
"that y
a c n
cae
es
accused
an
ed
which was not," he went on to say
that since the 4th of March, 1861, " no communi-
cation, direct or indirect, formal or informal, had
been held by the Government, or by the Secre-
tary of State, with the insurgents, their eiders, or
abettors." It is difficult to see how M. Mercier can
remain longer in Washington ee the representative
of France, if' Mr. Seward is allowed to continue in
office with apology or explanation. Some of Mr.
Seward's friends, desirous of finding a loophole of
escape, suggests that, as he speaks no French, he
may have misunderstood M. Mercier's English, or
that M. Mercier (who speaks very good English)
may not have correctly interpreted Mr. Seward's
meaning. If this be a true explanation it is a pity
that Mr. Seward did not himself think of it before
rushing into print with so astounding and offensive
a denial.

But Mr, Seward is too clever by half, and alto-
gether too zealous for a diplomatist. On the 6th
inst., as soon as intelligence arrived of the new pro-
posal made on the part of the Emperor of the
French, ho sat down to his desk and penned a long
and elaborate letter to Mr. Dayton, the United
States' Ambassador at Paris, which is published in
extenso in all the New York and Washington papers
of this morning. He refuses in the most peremp-
tory manner the proposals of any conference or me-
diation whatever, in a tone of defiance which gives
the utmost delight to the war party. The Now York
Times, which has not hitherto been found in the
ranks of Mr. Seward's admirers, says, " It is the old
pristine Americanism which we hear; the same
proud tone that used so signally to
nation conscious of its strength and 'rk this as a
jealous of its
honour." It is a question, however, whether the de-
fiance accords with the public feeling, and whether
the Secretary is not a little too American_ for the oc-
he supports
oc-
casion. Someof the arguments by which
his conclusions are sound,while
puerilities; and the whole documentothers °
are mere
is of a kind
e
that might be more reasonably ex
advocate than from a statesman and
from an
diplomatist.
ork
He scarcely comes up to the idea of the New y
Tames in the matter of conscious power when he
refuses mediation on the ground that if the possi-
bility of disunion were admitted the quick result
would be ever increasing anarchy; nor does he alto-
gether do justice to history when he speaks of the
constitution of the United States as a "sacred in-
strument." It has certainly not been sacred to him
or to Mr. Lincoln, for both of them have trodden it
under foot. Though in this very letter he constantly
uses the words North and South to designate the
belligerents, he lectures M. Drouyn de Lhuys,
through Mr. Dayton, for the employment of those
" I
identical terms, must be allowed," he says, " to
state that M. Drouyn de Lhuys errs in his descrip-
tion of the parties to the present conflict, We have
here, in a political sense, no North, no South ; no
Northern, no Southern States. We have an insur-
rectionary party which is located upon and is chiefly
adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico." Surely this is the
merest trifling—unworthy even of an ultra-casuist.
When, in aiaother'passage of the letter, Mr. Dayton
shall learn, on Mr. Seward's authority, " that not
one voice has been raised anywhere out of the im-
mediate field of the insurrection in favour of foreign
intervention, or mediation or abitration, or compro-
mise with the relinquishment of one acre of the
national domain or the surrender of even one con-
stitutional franchise"—Mr. Dayton may well ask
himself—supposing always that he receives the
newspapers of his own country—whether Mr. Se-
ward knows anything of what has recently passed
or is now passing in the Legislatures of New Jer-
sey, Illinois, and Indiana, where peace and compro-
mise are not only openly debated but vigorously
recommended. When Mr. Seward makes an asser-
tion of this kind ho adds another reason to those
which may already have existed in the minds of im-
partial readers of his reply to M. Mercier for be-
lieving that in the statement of the particular facts
in dispute M. Mercier was wholly right, and the
forgetful, careless, or inaccurate Secretary as wholly
wrong.
While the war of words is raging with a vehe-
mence which threatens to grow wilder as the diffi-
culties of the Republic increase, the war of deeds
languishes at sea, on the rivers, and in the field.
Charleston is more formidably protected than was
imagined. The force sent against it has been in-
adequate. General Hunter and Foster have quar-
relled on a question of precedency and authority,
and the latter, having disembarked his troops on St.
Helena Island, has left General Hunter in poesee-
sion, and returned to Washington to detail his
grievances and demand fresh instructions. On the
Mississippi General Banks makes no progress
against Port Hudson. He has net men enough to
risk a battle, and while his army is day by day de-
creasing, that of the enemy is augmenting, until it
has become a question with the Confederates
whether they shall not assume the offensive, and
walk right over General ,Banks into New Orleans.
At Vicksburg the whole fortune of the war hangs
upon the success of the " cut" that is to divert the
Channel of the Mississippi. The work makes slow
progress, and has not been attended with anything
like the results anticipated. Awaiting its comple-
tion,
military operations are postponed, and "the
father of waters' remains impenetrably closed. In
Tennessee General Rosecrans reposes on the laurels
of murfreeoborough,while.nn the Rappahannock the

once mighty army of the Potomac peaks and pines
like a ricketty child. It has ceased to inspire hope
in its friends or terror in its foes; and will, accord-
ing to all present appearances, be sent for change of
air and scene to North Carolina, and lose the dis-
tinctive appellation by which it acquired renown
under the guidance of M'Clellan. This is a gloomy
picture, and by no means overcharged with dark
colours. A few days, however, may throw a little
sunshine into the foreground. If Charleston be
impregnable, Savannah may be vulnerable. The
Mississippi may be coaxed into the canal which en-
gineering science is digging out for it, and float the
gunboats of the North to the other side of Vicks-
burg ; and, if the army of the Potomac should
abandon " the sacred soil" of Virginia, General
Rosecrans and Joseph Johnson may again come to
blows in Tennessee, and fight a battle less indeci-
sive than that of Murfreesborough.
In the meanwhile, although Mr. Seward may
know or care to know nothing of the circumstance,
offers of mediation and rnmours of peace are on all
men's tongues, and stir up the combativeness of
parties and politicians in all the Federal States ;
there are unpleasant symptoms in the West and
North-West which betoken that the enthusiasm of
the people of those regions for the war and the Union
has cooled down; that no more volunteers can be
had for love or money ; that no forced men can be
draughted under the penalty of a new secession;
and that, in fact, the great West is seriously debat-
ing whetherait will not east in its fortunes with the
South. There is no stability anywhere. The poli-
tical pattern shifts from day to day, end is unsteady
as the reduplications of a kaleidescope. The West
is all alive with perilous discontent, and New York,
which was once proud to call itself the Empire
State, and to govern all the rest by the influence
of its opinion, makes no sign. Its leading
men are timid. Its Legislature is so evenly
balanced between the rival factious that it can no
longer speak with the ancient authority. Its great
merchants and bankers hold aloof, uncertain what
to do or what to think. Its triumphant democracy
content themselves with disparaging the judgment
and the honesty of the President, and of everybody
about him, with complaining of the war, the taxes,
the currency, the prospects of the country, and of
all that the Government has done or left undone.
Professing a great love for the Union, a great de-
testation of emancipation without the consent of
the Slave States, and a bloody-minded determina-
tion to fight out the fight to what they call the
" bitter end," they act as if their professions were
all insincere, and as if they had set their hearts
upon peace and a compromise, without daring to
take the measures to hasten or secure the end which
they desire. Perhaps, however, the day is not re-
mote when New York will be forced to declare itself
with more distinctness, and when the dumb patriot-
ism of the people will find a voice sufficiently power-
ful to be heard above the roar of faction. A serious
crisis is too palpably approaching to permit any one
to doubt that the most stirring events of the war
must occur during the next three months. The
great question of an army or no army will have to
be decided during that interval. On the Ist of June
at least one-half of the existing military force of the
Republic will have ceased to exist by the expiration
of the term of enlistment of the volunteers who en-
gaged themselves for two years and of those who
engaged for nine months. If these men will not re-
enlist, what is to be done ? Will the President, by
a coup d'etat, seek to compel them to remain in the
service? And, if so, what will be their fighting
value ? Will he again try the potency of bounty-
money to induce Irishmen and Germans to lend
their aid to the cause of free institutions in the
North and of subjugation in the South ? He may ;
but are the men to be found ? And does not the
very flower of the Irish and German immigration
lie baried in the bloody battle fields of Antietam,
Fredericksburg, Murfreesborough, and other Gol-
gothas of this merciless contest ? Or will he
imitate the example of the Southern President,
and resort to a conscription ? He may, no doubt ;
but, if he do, he may drive out of the Union
not only the Border Slave States, but the great
Prairie States of Indiana, Illinois, and lowa per-
haps even New York, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey. Or will he rely upon " God and the
Negroes," as Mr. Ward Beecher and Mr. Wendell
Phillips recommend The Negroes, if Mr. Fisdeick
Douglass speaks their sentiments, will not lend the
aid of their strong arms except upon terms which
the white race would reject with scorn and indigna-
tion. They are besides so few in number as to be
incapable of rendering any real assistance. Look
where he will, the President can find small comfort.
The task set him is superhuman. There seems but
one chance left—to call a general convention of the
American people, and leave in their hands the
issues which are beyond his control. The Constitu-
tion not only warraets, but commands such a course
of action, and it will hereafter be considered a
crime in Mr_ Lincoln by the world's judgment and
that of history that he did not at an earlier period
of the struggle remove the responsibility of blood-
shed from his own weak shoulders to those of the
whole people that were better able to bear it.
It was Mr. Lincoln's clear duty to have inaugu-
rated this movement. But it has been taken out
of his hands. Tr ose who from their position ought
to be the leaders have, like him, suffered. inferior
agencies to perform their work. Even the great
State of New York, as already observed, has allowed
the lead in the efforts to procure an armistice and a
convention to be taken by States of less importance
than herself. New Jersey, which is thoroughly De.
mocratic, and has both a Democratic Governor and
a Legislature, was the first to move, and has been
rapidly followed by Illinois and Indiana, the
people of which have done much of the fighting
and suffered most of the real hardships of the
war, and have not profited by war contracts
like the Eastern and Atlantic States. New York,
New England, and Pennsylvania have fought
by deputy. Their trade and commerce have not
been ruined, and many branches of both have actu-
ally been increased in consequence of the war ex-
penditure; but the Western States have not only
given the life blood of their eons, but seen their
fertile fields rendered useless, except for bare sub-
sistence, by the stoppage of the Mississippi and the
utter destruction of their once profitable trade with
the South. When these States speak Peace they
mean Peace. New York and the Middle States are
more quiescent because more prosperous. They love
the Union so much that they would, if possible,
restore it by unqualified submission to the South
in the matter of slavery. They look upon the Pre-
sident's Emancipation policy as both a blunder and
a crime. But, although some of their leading Demo-
crats talk of fighting to the last extremity, many of
them would much rather dissolve the Union with-
out another battle, in the hope and expectation that
the South might, under proper Democratic mani-
pulation, become the nucleus of a new Republic,
which might include New York, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania, as well as the Border Slave States,
and they talk of war without caring to carry it on
in the mode of President Lincoln, or by the agen-
cies of the party that elected him. In the North-
Western States the Democratic party takes a more
practical and intelligible as well as more honest
course. They do rot say with Mr. J. Van Buron
and other New York Democrats that the war must
go on, but insist that it must stop. New Jersey has
appointed Commissioners to proceed to Richmond,
if the Government will grant permission, to invite
the Southern States to send delegates to meet those
of the Northern States in a Grand National Conven-
tion to discuss the state of the country. The Le-
gislature of Illinois has also appointed Commis-
sioners to confer with the delegates appointed by
other States to meet at Louisville, in Kentucky, in
March, and has adjourned without the transaction
of its ordinary business until June, when it proposes
to reassemble to hear the report. In the Indiana
Legislature the peace resolutions propose Nashville,
in Tennessee, as the place of meeting ; but if there-
solutions be adopted, as appears probable, Louisville
will be substituted for Nashville to secure the neces-
sary unity and harmony of action. The Assembly
of Kentucky has appointed nine Commissioners,
six from the House of Representatives, and three
from the Senate, to meet the Commissioners of the
other States at Louisville, and has invited New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware,
Maryland, and Missouri, as well as Indiana and
Illinois, to co-operate. The New England States are
not included in the invitation; but it is possible, as
the project widens, that all the States will betr.eopnraeT
Rented, and that, instead of a partial Convention
es,
Louisville, there will be, what the urgency no lea:
than a
than the justice and mercy of Iherkcas
Philadelphia,
general Convention at News
Loouis,. If Mr,Lincoln
Baltimore, Washington,
advice
"than that of the party
were open to any other
which trusts to emancipation of. the negroaetsioans,thhee
sole cure for the frightful. evils of the n
would seize the opportunity which these movements
present to act upon the advice tendered in the reso-
lutions that are now lying for consideration in the
Indiana House of Representatives. They state that
it is the imperative duty of the chief Executive of
the nation to proclaim an armistice in order that a
Convention of all the States may be held. There has
been more than enough of useless bloodshed. The
bravery of both sides has been sufficiently shown.

The unalterable determination of the South to be
independent has been clearly enough proved to
satisfy the North that the extermination of the
Southern people is as impossible as it would be dis-
graceful, unnatural, and fiendish. The time for com-
promise has arrived. And it will hereafter be a
humiliating thought for unborn generations of Ame-
ricans if living Americans wait for foreign agencies
to do what, as Christians, no less than as men of
the world, men of business, statesmen, and true
patriots they should do for themselves. The voice
of truculent and crazy fanatics has been heard too
long. It is time for the vice of common sense to
sound above the din ; and, if any portion of that
priceless commodity remains in the country, it will
exert itself immediately, or the Northern States of
America will incur the double danger of ruin and
humiliation.