The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-10 00:00:00

FRANCE.

A slight interruption of diplomatic intercourse,
which occurred between this Government and France,
lam happy to say has been terminated, and our
Minister there has been received. It is therefore
unnece!sary to refer novr to the circumstances which
led to that interruption. I need not express to you
the sincere satisfaction with which we shall welcome
tho arrival of another Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary from a sister republic, to
which we hive so long been, and still remain, bound
by the strongest ties of amity.
GERMANY AND DENMARK.

Shortly after I had entered upon the discharge of
the executive duties, I was apprised that a war-
stenner, belonging to the German empire, was being
fitted out in the harbour of New York, with the aid
of some of our naval officers, rendered under per-
mission of the late Secretary of the Navy. This
permission was granted during an armistice between
that empire and the kingdom of Denmark, which had
been engaged in the Schleswig-Holstein war.
Apprehensive that this act of intervention on our part
might be viewed as a violation of our neutral
obligations incurred by the treaty with Denmark, and
of the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 20th of
April, 1818, I directed that no further aid should be
rendered by any agent or officer of the navy ; and I
instructed the Secretary of State to apprise the Mi-
nister of the German empire accredited to this Govern-
ment of my determination to execute the law of the
United States, and to maintain the faith of treaties
with all nations. The correspondence which ensued
between the Department of State and the Minister of
the German Empire is herewith laid before you. The
execution of the law and the observance of the treaty
were deemed by me to be due to the honour of the
country, as well as to the sacred obligations of the
constitution. I shall not fail to pursue the same
course should a similar case arise with any other
nation. Having avowed the opinion, on taking the
oath of office, that in disputes between conflicting
foreign Governments, it is our interest, not less than
our du'y, to remain strictly neutral, I shall not
abandon it. You will perceive, from the correspond-
ence submitted to you in connexion with this subject,
that the course adopted in this case has been properly
regarded by the belligerent powers interested in the
matter.

Although a Minister of the United States to the
German Empire was appointed by my predecessor
in August, 1848, and has for a long time been in
attendance at Frankfort-on-the Maine, and although
a Minister, appointed to represent that empire, was
received and accredited here, yet no such Government
as that of the German Empire has been definitively con-
stituted. Mr. Donelson, our representative at Frank-
fort, remained there several months, in the expecta-
tion that a union of the German States, under one
constitution or form of government, might at length
be organized. It is believed, by those well ac-
quainted with the existing relations between Prussia
and the States of Germany, that no such union can
be permanently established without her co operation.
In the event of the formation of such a union, and
the organization of central power in Germany, of
which she should forma a part, it would become ne-
cessary to withdraw our Minister at Berlin ; but
while Prussia exists as an independent kingdom,
and diplomatic relations are maintained with her,
there can be no necessity for the continuance of
the mission to Frankfort. I have, therefore, recalled
Mr. Donelson, and directed the archives of the lega-
tion at Frankfort to be transferred to the American
legation at Berlin.

CUBA—THE INTENDED EXPEDITION.
Having been apprised that a considerable number
of adventurers were engaged in fitting out a mili-
tary expidition, within the United States, against
a foreign country, and believing, from the
best information I could obtain, that it was des-
tined to invade the Island of Cuba, I deemed it
due to the friendly relations existing be-
tween the United States and Spain, to the treaty
between the two nations, to the laws of the United
States, and, above all, to the American honour, to
exert the lawful authority of this Government in sup-
pressing the expedition and preventing the invasion.
To this end I issued a proclamation, enjoining it upon
the officers of the United States, civil and military, to
use all lawful means within their power. A copy of
that proclamation is herewith submitted. The expe-
dition has been suppressed. So long as the Act of
Congress of the 20th April, 1818, which owes its
existence to the law of nations and to the policy of
Washington himself, shall remain on our statute-
book, I hold it to be the duty of the Executive
faithfully to obey its injunctions.
While this expedition was in progress, I was in.
formed that a foreigner, who claimed our protection,
had been clandestinely, and, as was supposed, forcibly
carried off in a vessel from New Orleans to the Island
of Cuba. I immediately caused such steps to be
taken as I thought necessary, in case the information
I had received should prove correct, to vindicate the
honour of the country, and the right of every person
seeking an asylum on our soil to the protection of
our laws. The person alleged to have been ab.
ducted was promptly restored, and the circum-
stances of the case are now about to undergo investi-
gation More another tribunal. I would respectfully
suggest that although the crime charged to have been
committed in this case is held odious as being in
conflict with our opinions on the subject of national
sovereignty and personal freedom, there is no prohi-
bition of it, or punishment for it, provided in any
Act of Congress. The expediency of :supplying this
defect in our criminal code is therefore recommended
to your consideration.