Weekly national intelligencer., 1864-03-31

non JOHN 0LiDEILi C0mmssiOner, &c, Paris.
SIR have thu honor tn enclose copy of letter from
The Secretary OF the Navy the letter above inserted in
elson to forgery extensively circulated by the Euro.
pesnpress purportng to be copy of Official report
addressed by him to IT. s. Babcock" Speaker of the
House Of Representatives of the Confederate States
The paper Is on Its face so palpaby fabrication that
one could scarcely have supposed could dupe the most
credulons, even If experience had not already demon
straed the.facty and abundance with hich teepraphc
news Confederate confessions int re- pied leters
and extracts from Richmond papers have been manu-
factureu Tor European consumption You will notice that
the paper stamped forgery in The mere address not
only by the Of Speaker but because the re
ports Of the head of the Navy Department are never ad
dre sed to the Speaker OF the House The contents Of
the paper are too absurd for comment
TIE Secretary of the Navy has been informed by Com
dore Maury that this paper going the rounds of the
the matter worth notice. make public he fact that he
paper j. forgery am inclined 10 tnk the publication
should be made for fable concerning Us ia too absurd
r oeiei real or pretended in England OF the Con
uheb1 snort time ago European papers were gravely
commenting the " fact" that our Vice President Mr.
Stephens (~ho cannot abandon his position
mere successor to the President in the event of tho
death of the Chief Magistrate and who was at the time
SICK at his home 10 Georgia had arrived in Europe for
the purpose OF concluding treaty with France for the
concession OF Texas and other sovereign States that
Power
am, very respectfully, your obedient servant
j. p. BENJAMIN, Secretary of State.
p S-We have just received the debates in the House
ol Commons on the 23i uimo Mr.. Sey mour Fitz2er
succeeded in defending the conduct Of the Ministry the
subject OF Mr. Lairds rams by quoting authentic this
clumsy fabrication, and that his citatDs from II were
received with cheers This is the unaocountable
nasmuch no the paper had been charact rzed as cyan
kce trick and hoax" by the unexceptonabe antbo-
ry OF Commodore Maury in card published by him in
the London papers three weeks before the speech Of the
Attorney General
Inc same mail brings the statement made by Lord Pal
nerston 10 toe House Of Commons on the 25th nt,mo
hat the release of the Confederate vessel Of Tusca
otsa which had been seized by instructions Of the British
Sovernment IN colonial port had been ordered On the
GROUND that her detention would not be warranted by
International law 1t is TO be regretted that the eager
desire OF the British Government to observe that "mpar.
hai neutrality" which Earl Russell has happily defined
as being conduct exceedingly advantageou. the more
powerful OF the two parties" had not been rainsd
un'il international law had been investigated before in
structons were ssued to violate rights by the seizure
OF one OF armed vessels in port where IL had sought
asylum under the sanction Of the Queens proclamation
lbis prompness TO do neutral exceedingly adyan-
tageous TO the stronger sde has had the result in the
present Of enabling all Of the enemys vessels that had
been threatened by cruiser to escape while the Rr
sb Ministry engaged in s tsrdy examination Of the
law of nations on the subject Of neutras right to seize
tie national vessel OF the lees powerful of the two bel
lieerents.