The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-23 00:00:00

Unit eil States.

In compliance with our statement to you yesterday, we
now express to you our stro rig convictions that neither the
constituted authorities, u.or any body of the people of the
State of South Carolina, v 611 either attack or molest the
United States forts in the h ELrbour of Charleston, previously
to the act of the Conventio o , and we hope and believe not
until an offer has been mad e through an accredited repre-
sentative, to negotiate for a n amicable arrangement of all
matters between the State land the Federal Government,
provided that no reinforce w ents shall be sent into those
forts, and their relative nai Litary status shall remain as at
present. JOHN MCQUEEN.
M. L. BONHAM.
W. W. BOYCE.
LAWRENCE M. KEITT.
Washington, Dec. 9,18 G O.

And here I must, in justie a to myself, remark that at the
time the paper was present ed to me I objected to the word
" provided," as it might be construed into an agreement on
my part, which I never would make. They said that no-
thing was further from theiA7 intention—they did not so un-
derstand it, and I should mo tso consider it. It is evident
they could enter into no re el procal agreement with me on
the subject. They did not profess to have authority to do
this, and were acting in the ii • individual character. I consi-
dered it as nothing more, in ( al feet, than the promise of highly
honourable gentlemen to exert their influence for the pur-
pose expressed. The event has proven that they have faith-
fully kept this promise, aid), °ugh I have never since received
a line from any one of th :an, or from any member of the
Convention, on the subject.. tis well known that it was my
determination, and this I freely cxpressed,not to reinforce the
forts in the harbour, and tin as produce a collision, until they
had been actually attacked, or until I had certain evidence
that they were about to be a ttacked. This paper I received
most cordially, and considered it as a happy omen that
peace might be still preseri red, and that time might be thus
given for reflection. This is the whole foundation for the
alleged pledge.
-

But I acted in the same manner as I would have done
had I entered into a posit five and formal agreement with
parties capable of contracti rig, although such an agreement
would have been, on my peal, from the nature of my official
duties, impossible. The world knows that I have never
sent any reinforcetnents to the forts in Charleston harbour,
and I have certainly never authorised any change to be
made "in their relative n litary status." Bearing upon
this subject, I refer you to an order issued by the Secretary
of War, on the 11th inst., to Major Anderson, but not
brought to my notice until the 21st inst. It is as follows :
MlMOUANlitilkt OF VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS TO MAJOR
ANDERSON, FIRST AR-TILLERY, COMMANDING FORT
MOULTRIE, S. C.

,
You are aware of the great anxiety of the Secretary of
War that a collision of the troops with the people of this
State shall be avoided, and of his studied determination to
pursue a course with refrrenve to the military force and
forte in this harbour, whie..ll shall guard against such a col-
lision. He has, therefore, carefully abstained from increas-
ing the force at this point, or taking any measures which
might add to the present excited state of the public mind,
or which would throw any doubt on the confidence he feels
than South Carolina will not attempt by violence to obtain
possession of the public works, or interfere with their occu-
pancy.
But as the counsel and acts of rash and impulsive persons
may possibly disappoint these expectations of the Govern-
ment, he deems it proper that you should be prepared with
instructions to meet so unhappy a contingency. He has,
therefore, directed me, verbally, to give you such instruc-
tions.
You are carefully to avoid every act which would need-
lessly tend to provoke aggression, and for that reason you
are not, without necessity, to take up any position which
could be construed into the assumption of a hostile attitude;
but you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbour,
and if attacked you are to defend yourself to the last extre-
mity. The smallness of your force will not permit you,
perhaps, to occupy more than one of the three forts, but an
attack OD, or attempt to take possession of either of them,
Iwill be regarded as an act of hostility, and you may then
put your command into either of them which you may
deem must proper to increase its power of resistance. You
411:thorised to take similar steps whenever you have
are also ,
tun g i 1,..1e evinCace of a design to proceed to a hostile act.
7, BUTLER, Assistant Adjutant-General.
1)• ' " Fort Moultrie, S.C., Dec. 11, 1860.
Lc, my instructions to Major Buell.
This is in conformity ' '1 :FLOYD, Secretary of War.
-fowl .i. •
• ~lions transmitted to Major
These were the last in.s_,tru.
, ,rt Sumter, with a sinle
Anderson before his remov.,l to .; ' hieh does not in any
exception, in regard to a pa de:244T Nt,- der these circum-
degree
affect the present question. uh" upon his own 1
stances it is clear that Major Anderson i!etea • indeed, he
responsibility, and without authority, unessl a hostile
had "tangible evidence of a design to proceet. to • t been
act" on the part of South Carolina, which has no!. Y6' nd
alleged. Still, he is a brave and honourable office:'• "-
justice requires that he should not be condemned withOu'l' a 1
fair hearing.
Be this as it may, when I learned that Major Anderson
had left Fort Moultrie and proceeded to Fort Sumter, my
first promptings were to command him to return to his for-
mer position, and there to await the contingencies pre-
sented in his instructions. This would only have been
done with any degree of safety to the command by the con-
currence of the South Carolina authorities. But before
any step could possibly have been taken in this direction,
we received information that the " Palmetto flag floated out
to the breeze at Castle Pinckney, and a large military force
went over last night (the 27th) to Fort Moultrie." Thus
the authorities of South Carolina, without waiting or ask-
ing for any explanations, and, doubtless, believing, as you
have expressed it, that the officer had acted not only with-
out, but against my orders, on the very next day after the
night when the removal was made, seized by a military
force two of the Federal forts in theharbour of Charleston,
and have covered them under their own flag instead of that
of the United States.
.. .

At this gloomy period of our history startling events
succeed each other rapidly. On the very day, the 27th
instant, that possession of these two forts was taken, the
Palmetto flag was raised over the Federal Custom-house
and Post-office in Charleston; and on the same day every
officer of the Customs—collector, naval officer, surveyor,
and appraiser—resigned their offices; and this, although it
was well known from the language of my Message that,
as an Executive officer, I felt mysef bound to collect the
revenue at the port of Charleston under the existing laws.
In 1:1-2e harbour of Charleston we now find three forts con-
fronting s.nach other, over all of which the Federal flag floated
only four da)'s ago ; but now, over two of them this flag has
been supplanter.,; and the Palmetto flag has been substituted
in its stem, it is under all these circumstances that I am
urged immediately to withdraw the troops from the harbour
of Charleston, and am i.Kforn,ed that without this negotia-
tion is impossible. This 1 Pannot do—this I will not do.
Such an idea was never thought of by nte in any possible
contingency. No such allusion had been made in any com-
munication between myself and any human being. But
the inference is that I am bound to withdraw the troops
from the only fort remaining in the possession of the
United mates in the hatbnur of Charleston, because the
officer there in command of a/I .4 the forts thought proper,
big
without instructions, to change position from one of
them to another.
At this point of writing I have receive,4 information by
telegraph from Captain Humphreys, in command of the
Arsenal at Charleston, that " it has to-day (Sunday, the
30th), been taken by force of arms." It is estimated that
the munitions of war belonging to this arsenal are worth
half a million of dollars.
Comment is needless. After this information, I have only
to add that whilst it is my duty to defend Fort Sumter, as
a portion of the public property of the United States, against
hostile attacks, from whatever quarter they may come, by
such means as I possess for this purpose, I do not perceive
how such ei defence can be construed into 5 311011,50 5g5141it

the city of Charleston. With great personal regard, I
remain, yours very respectfully,

JAMES BUCHANAN._
To Hen. Robert W. Barnwell, James 11. Adams, James
L. Orr.

"SECOND LETTER OP THE COMMISSIONERS TO THE
PRESIDENT.

" Washington, D. C., Jan. 1.
" Sir,—We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt
of your letter of the 30th of December, in reply to a note
addressed by us to you, otr the 28th of the same month, as
Commissioners from South Carolina.:'
" In reference to the declaration with which your reply
commences, that your position as President of the United
States was already defined in the Message to Congress of
the 3d inst. ;' th you possess no power to change the re-
lations heretofore r ring between South Carolina and the
United States,' mum less to acknowledge the inJependence
of that State,' and that, consequently, you could meet us
only as private gentlemen of the highest character,. with an
entire willingness to communicate to Congress any' propo-
sition we might have to make—we deem it only neceosary
to say that the State of South Carolina, having, in the
exercise of the great right of self -government which unde,--
lies all our political organisations, declared herself sove-
reign and independent, we, as her representatives, felt no
special solicitude as to the character in which you might
recognise us. Satisfied that the State had simply exercised
her unquestionable right, we were prepared, in order to
reach substantial good, to waive the formal considerations
which your constitutional scruples might have prevented
you from extending. We come here therefore expecting to
be received as you did receive us, and perfectly content
with that entire willingness, of which you assured us, to
submit any proposition to Congress which we might have
to make upon the subject of the independence of the State.
The willingness was ample recognition of the condition of
public affairs which rendered our presence necessary. In
this position, however it is our duty, both to the State
which we represent and to ourselves, to correct several irr-
portant misconceptions of our letter, into which you have
_ _

" You say It was my earnest desire that such a dispo-
sition might be made of the whole subject by Congress, who
alone possesses the power to prevent the inauguration of a
civil war between the parties in regard to the possession of
the Federal force in the harbour of Charleston; and I there-
fore deeply regret that in your opinion the events of the last
twenty-four hours render this impossible.' We expressed '
ne such opinion ; and the language which you quote of ours
is altered in its sense by the omission of a most important
part of the sentence. What we did say was, ' But the
events of the last twenty-four hours render such an assur-
ance impossible.' Place that ' assurance,' as contained in
our letter, in the sentence, and we are prepared to repeat it.
" Again, professing to quote our language, you say,—
' Thus the authorities of South Carolina, without waiting
or asking for any explanation, and doubtless believing, as
you have expressed it, that the officer had acted not only
without, but against my orders,' &c. We expressed no such
opinion in reference to the belief of the people of South
Carolina. The language which you have quoted was applied
solely and entirely to our assurances obtained here, and
based, as you well know, upon your own declaration, a
declaration which at that time it was impossible for the
authorities of South Carolina to have known. But, with-
out following this letter into all its details, we propose only
to meet the chief points of the argument.
" Some weeks ago the State of South Carolina declared
her intention, in the existing condition of public affairs, to
secede from the United States. She called a Conven-
tion of her people to put her declaration in force. The
Convention met and passed the Ordinance of Secession. All
this you anticipated, and your course of action was tho-
roughly considered in yourannual Message. You declared
you had no right, and would not attempt to coerce a seced-
ing State ; but that you were bound by your constitutional
oath, and would defend the property of the United States
within the borders of South Carolina if an attempt was
made to take it by force. Seeing very early that this ques-
tion of propertywas a difficult and delicate one, you mani-
fested a desire to settle it without a collision:. You did not
reinforce the garrison in the harbour of Charleston. You
removed a distinguished and veteran officer from the com-
mand of Fort Moultrie because he attempted to increase his
supply of ammunition. You refused to send additional
troops to the same garrison when applied for by the officer
appointed to succeed him. You accepted the reeignation
of the oldest and most eminent member of your Cabinet,
rather than allow the garr son to be strengthened. You
compelled an officer stationed at Fort Sumter to return im-
mediately to the arsenal 40 muskets which he had taken
to arm his men. You expressed, not to one, but to many
of the most distinguished of our public characters, whose
testimony will be placed upon the record whenever it is
necessary, your anxiety for a peaceful termination of this
controversy, and your willingness not to disturb the
military status of the forts, if commissioners should
be sent to the Government, whose communications
you promised to submit to Congress. You received
and acted on assurances from the highest official autho-
rities of South Carolina that no attempt should be
made to disturb your possession of the forts and property of
the United States, if you would not disturb their existing
condition until the Commissioners had been sent and the
attempt to negotiate had failed. You took from the mem-
bers of the House of Representatives a written memorandum
that no such attempt should be made, provided that no
reinforcements should be sent into those forts, and their
dative military status shall remain as at present.' And
although you attach no force to the acceptance of such a
paper—although you considered it as nothing more in
effect than the promise of highly honourable gentlemen'—
as an obligation on one side, without corresponding obliga-
tion on the other—it must be remembered (if we were
rightly informed) that you were pledged, if you ever did
send reinforcements, to return it to those from whom you
had received it, before you executed your resolution. You
sent orders to your officers commanding them strictly to
follow a line of conduct in conformity with such an under-
standing. Besides all this, you had received formal and
official notice from the Governor of South Carolina that we
had been appointed Commissioners, and were on our way to
Washington. You knew the implied condition under which
we came ; our arrival was notified to you, and an hour
appointed fur an interview. We arrived in Washington on
Wednesday, at 3 o'clock, and you appointed an interview
with us at 1 the next day. Early on that day (Thursday)
thencws was received here of the movement of Major Ander-
son. That news was communicated to you immediately, and
you postponed our met ting- until half-past 2 o'clock on
Friday, in order that you might consult your Cabinet. On
Friday we saw you, and we called upon you then to re:leem
your pledge. You could net deny it. With the facts we
have stated, and in the face of the crowning and conclusive
fact that your Secretary far War had resigned his seat in
the Cabinet upon the publicly avowed ground that the action
of Major Anderson had violated the pledged faith of the
Government, and that unless the pledge was instantly re-
deemed he was dishonoured, denial was impossible ; you
did not deny it. You do not deny it now, but you seek to
escape from its obligation on the grounds, first, that we
terminated all negotiation by demanding, as a preliminary,
the withdrawal of the United States troops from the harbour
of Charleston; and, second, that the authorities of South
Carolina, instead of asking explanation, and giving you the
opportunity to vindicate yourself, took possession of other
property of the United States. We will examine both.
" In the first place we deny positively that we have ever
in any way made any such demand. Our letter is in your
possession ; it will stand by this on record ; in it we inform
you of the objects of our mission. We say that it would
have been our duty to have assured you of our readiness to
commence negotiations, with the most earnest and anxious
desire to settle all questions between us amicably and to our
mutual advantage, but that events had rendered that assu-
rance impossible. We stated the events, and we said that
until some satisfactory explanation of these events was
given us we could not proceed ; and then, having made
this request for explanation, we added and, in conclusion,
we would urge upon you the immediate withdrawal of the
troops from the harbour of Charleston. tinder present cir-
cumstances they are a standing menace, which renders ne-
gotiation impossible,' &c. Under present circumstances 1'
What circumstances ? Why, clearly the occupation of Fort
Sumter and the dismantling of Fort Moultrie by Major
Anderson, in the face of your pledges, and without explana-
tion or practical disavowal. And there is nothing in the
letter which would or could have prevented you from de-
clining to withdraw the troops and offering the restoration
of the status to which you were pledged, if such has been
your desire. It would have been wiser and better, in our
opinion, to have withdrawn the troops, and this opinion we
urged upon you, but we demanded nothing but such an ex-
planation of the events of the last 24 hours as would restore
our confidence in the spirit with which the negotiations
should be conducted. In relation to this withdrawal of the
troops from the harbour, we are compelled, however, to
notice ne passage of your letter. Referring to it, you say,
This I cannot do. This I will not do. Such an idea was
never thought of by me in any possible contingency. No
allusion to it had ever been made in any communication
between myself and any human being.'
" In reply to this statement we are compelled to say that
your conversation with us left upon our minds the distinct
impression that you did seriously contemplate the with-
drawal of the troops from Charleston harbour. And in sup-
port of this impression we would add that we have the posi-
tive assurance of gentlemen of the highest possible public
reputation and the most unsullied integrity—men whose
name and fame, secured by long services and patriotic
achievements, place their testimony beyond cavil—that
such suggestions had been made to and urged upon you by
Lhem, and had formed the subject of more thee one earnest
sisetz,sion with you. And it was this knowledge that in-
duct urge upon you a policy which had to recom-
. 'es 6- ' wisdom and the might of such authority.
Ant, that the
explanations,
and authorities
givingof South o
u Caro-
Asthe
ourself, took possession of other
mentdo tit et4strt'cow4 siss
we should observe—first, that
• !so!, for defence, fo'r the
propertyoiipnpao' ritnunsteiotafthtoeo of '+S
ate ~dnesday; the
before those facts
oopa evencpuo
rrirtfue
dtnh.iitsymrf wereoer arsroi
decisionviet dd e s
was nota
ff
afforded-yo.:
ti
in Washington °ON
news from Major Anderson reached here early on Thursday,
and was immediately communicated to you. All that day
men of the highest consideration—men who had striven
successfully to lift you to your great office, who had been
your tried and true friends through the troubles of your
Administration—sought you and entreated you to act—to
act at once. They told you that every hour complicated
your position. They only asked you to give the assurance
that if the facts were so—that if the commander had acted
without and against your orders, and in violation of your
pledges—that you would restore the status you had pledged
your honour to maintain. You refused to decide. Your
Secretary at War, your immediate and proper adviser in
this whole matter, waited anxiously for your de-
cision until he felt that delay was becoming dis-
honour. More than twelve hours passed, and two Cabinet
meetings had adjourned, before you knew what the autho-
rities of South Carolina had done, and your prompt decision
at any moment of that time would have avoided the subse-
quent complications. But, if ou had known the acts of
the authorities of South Carolina, should that have pre.
vented your keeping your faith ? What was the condition
of things ? For the last 60 days you have had in Charles-
ton harbour not force enough to hold the forts against an
equal enemy. Two of them were empty—one of those two
the most important in the harbour. It could have been
taken at any time. You ought to know better than any
man that it would have been taken but for the efforts of
those who put their trust in your honour. Believing that
they were threatened by Fort Sumter especially, the people
were with difficulty restrained from securing without blood
the possession of this important fortress. After many and
reiterated assurances given on your behalf, which we cannot
believe were unauthorised, they determined to forbear, and
in good faith sent on their Commissioners to negotiate with
you. They meant you no harm—wished you no ill. They
thought of you kindly, believed you true, and were willing,
as far as was consistent with duty, to spare you unneces-
sary and hostile collision. Scarcely bad these Commis-
sioners left than Major Anderson waged war. No other
words will describe his action. It was not a peaceful
change from one fort to another ; it was a hostile act in the
highest sense, and only justified in the presence of a supe-
rior enemy, and in imminent peril. He abandoned his
position, spiked his guns, burned his gun-carriages, made
preparations for the destruction'of his pest, and withdrew
under cover of the night to a safer position. This was war.
No wan could have believed, without your twounzee: that I

any officer could have taken such a step, not only without
orders, but against orders.' What the State did was in
simple self defence ; for this act, with all its attending cir-
cumstances, was as much war as firing a volley ; and war
being thus begun, until those commencing it explained
their action and disavowed their intention, there was no
room for delay; and even at this moment while we are
writing it is more than probable, from the tenour of your
letter, that reinforcements are hurrying on the conflict, so
that when the first gun shall be fired there will have been
on your part one continuous, consistent series of actions,
commencing in a demonstration essentially warlike, sup-
ported by regular reinforcements, and terminating in defeat
or victory. And all this without the slightest provocation ;
for, among the many things which you have said, there is
one thing you cannot say—you have waited anxiously for
news from the seat of war in hopes that delay would furnish.
some excuse for this precipitation. But this tangible
evidence of a design to proceed to a hostile act on the part
of the authorities of South Carolina,' which is the only
justification of Major Anderson, yon are forced to admit
' has not yet been alleged.' But you have decided, you.
have resolved to hold by force what you have obtained
through our misplaced confidence, and by refusing to
disavow the action of Major Anderson have converted
his violation of orders into a legitimate act of your
executive authority. Be the issue what it may, of this
w•e are assured, that, if Fort Moultrie has been recorded
in history as a; memorial of Carolina gallantry, Fort Sum-
ter -will live upon the succeeding page as an imperishable
testimony of Carolina faith.
o By your course you have probably rendered civil war
inevitable. Be it so. If you choose to force this issue upon
us, the State of South Carolina will accept it, and, relying
upon Him, who is the God of Justice as well as the God of
Hosts, will endeavour to perform the great duty which lies
before her hopefully, bravely, and thoroughly.
" Our mission being one for negotiation and peace, and
your note leaving us' without hope of a withdrawal of the
troops from Fort Sumter, or of the restoration of the Btatu
quo existing at the time of our arrival, and intimating, as
we think, your ditermination to reinforce the garrison in
the harbour of Charleston, we respectfully inform you that
we purpose returning to Charleston to-morrow. afternoon.—
We have the honour to be, sir, very respectfully your obe-
dient servants,
" H. W. BAnYwELL,
" J. H. ADAMS, Commissioners.
" JAMES L. Olat,
" To his Excellency the Presidant of the United States."
The following is the endorsement upon the docu-
ment

" Executive Mansion, Wednesday, 3.30.
" This paper, just presented to the President, is of such
a character that he declines to receive it."

FR 01N1 THE GAZETTE OF LAST ,NIGHT.

ST. JAMES'S PALACE, JAN. 18.
The Queen has been pleased to appoint William Stokes,
Esq., M.D., to be one of the Physicians in Ordinary to her
Majesty in Ireland.
CROWN-OFFICE, JAN. 21.
MEMBER RETURNED TO SERVE IN THE PRESENT
PARLIAMENT.

County of Pembroke—George Lord Phillips, Esq., in
the room of the Hon. John Frederick Vaughan Campbell,
commonly called Viscount Emlyn,now Earl Cawdor, sum-
moned to the House of Peers.
WAR-OFFICE, PALL-MAIL, JAN. 22.
Royal Regiment of Artillery—Secemi Captain Thomas
Henry Pitt, from the Supernumerary List, to be Second
Captain, vice Brabazon, deceased ; Lieutenant Charles
Dalrymple Gilmour to be Second Captain, vice Noble,
who resigns. The undermentioned gentlemen Cadets
from the Royal Indian Military College, at Addiscombe,
to be Lieutenants, viz. :—Alfred Edward Turner, James
Fox Brough, Charles Wigram Long, Edward Stedman,
Herbert Frederic Gairnes, Henry Haughton. Hardinge,
Arthur Napier Pearse, Charles Henry Spragge, William
John Rose Harrison, and Wyndham Hughes Hallett.
Corps of Royal Engineers—The undermentioned gentle-
men Cadets from the Royal Indian Military College, at
Addiscombe, to be Lieutenants with temporary rank,
viz. :—Kellow Charles Pye, Ralph Rhenins Evans
Brockman, Andrew Abercrombie Jopp, Robert John
M'Clure, 'William Arthur James Wallace, and Bindon.
Blood,