Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1864-01-30

to the IS, 500 citizens of Birmingham, who sent
an address to the President:
"You will say TO them that they have truly
interpreted the character and nature Of the
contest in this country, which so largely en-
Cages the attention of foreign nations. The
question which is being decided in arms Is, as
they have truly said, whether q nation shall be
built and established even here in the heart Of
this hitherto free country, and upon this yet
new and imperfectly reclaimed continent, upon
the principles that labor shall not be free and
compensated, but involuntary and unpaid; and
that African men, women, and children, once
made captive on their native coast by fraud or
force, and imported here thereby, shall lose at
at once all the rights of manhood, and forever
thereafter, through all generations, shall be
merely lawful goods and chattels, wares and
merchandise"
The whole letter, (p. 1857 from which we
| copy, is worth studying, as are several Others
in the same relation.
Mr.. Seward is not disposed to allow the ma
tions of Europe to eyade all responsibility
in our great trial, but justly reminds them that
they can indulge in no great degree Of self,
righteousness, nor assume too much the char
acter of patrCnising advisers OF our own Gov.
ernment. He says, Up. 20a):
''The United States, by fostering slavery here
with the tact concurrence Of foreign States fol
tfty years, have created system Of internal
industry beneficial to European countries. II
Is hardly to be expected that when that policy
is all at once arrested and abandoned here, at
the cost Of fearful civil war, all the painful
results of so sudden and violent change will
be confined to this country, and that the Euro
pean states will not be obliged to conform theiI
own social industry In some respects to the
| condition Of afT
The parties In these proceedings
will readily understand that the attempted rev.
olution In the United States seriously affects
this Government and American society itself
In many ways which 1t has not fallen within
the province of those parties to examine.
While the interests thus naturally and not i'm.
properly overlooked in Europe furnish the
strongest possible motives to the people Of the
| United States for supprcssing the insurrection
and maintaining constitutional government
received at the hands of their fathers, the
President readily accepts and avows as an ad
ditional and Irresistible motive the suggestion
made by friends of our country In Europe, thai
the success of the insurrection would result IL
the establishment, for the first time In the his
tory OF the human race, Of a state based upoT
the exclusive foundations OF African slavery.
Every great interest of our country seems t.
be familiar to the mind Of the Secretary o.
State. He uses with great effect his compre
hensive insight of political economy, as wei
as Of subjects belonging more directly to the
War, the Navy, and the Interior Departments
Thus, on page 294, he remarks;
"You will not fail to notice the growing con-
| fdence OF the public In the national finances.
| The sales OF government stocks at par now
reach the figure of ten millions weekly. In
| singular contrast with this improvement of tho
public credit, 1t is now discerned that the insur
gents are actually driven TO the importation o
bread for their armies from Europe, through
the hazards of the blockade. 1t is not easy to
perceive how purely agricultural country car
long carry on a war when it has to import moi
only Its material of war but Its provisions
while II puts Its governing population into the
armies, and has continually 10 guard against
the desertion or resistance Of Its laborers. II
is obvious that this condition of things is be.
coming intolerable. The best negro laborers
are now sold in Geol gia at two thousand dol
lars each, insurrectionary currency, equal, 1t il
supposed, TO five hundred dollars national cur
rency. Before the war their value was three
times greater"
The matter OF immigration is one Of the sub
jects which occupies much of his care ant
attention. To one of the many offers receive,
from foreigners to serve as officers in our army
he replies
"Tho War Department has been consulted
heretofore concerning the offer of nducement
to foreign officers and soldiers to migrate AM
. join our armies. But 1t has thus far found n,
e such necessity for a measure of this kind, a
would oyerbalance the Inconvenience and an
noyances which might result from 1t. Tn
country presents inducements 10 cmigrants, a
well in military as in civil life, but It is In nj
such straits as to require extraordinary effort
or sacrifices TO promote such an immigration
All that seems necessary for our representa-
tives abroad to do Is to direct attention to sucl
social facts as are, or ought TO be, UNIVERSAL,
known"
To the complaints of Lord Russell, he re
sponds
"The United States do not deny, but, on tn
contrary, they avow, that voluntary immigra
tion is a cardinal element of their prosperity
They invite and encourage 1t, but only by law,
full means. The army and the navy, as well al
the occupations of civil life, whether In time Of
peace or war, are open always to immigrants
as they are TO all other classes of competent
persons who may desire to volunteer on theiI
arrival within the country, or at any tint
afterwards, but not until they have arrived OF
our shores and Identified themselves with tn,
masses who are subject to our own jurisdiction
and laws"
In various dispatches the Secretary az
nOunces that the fixed policy OF our Governmen
is to make no extraordinary efforts to induce
immigration, relying sufficiently on the saga
city and interests Of the people Of Europe, will
the information furnished to them, and secur,
a healthy and rapid increase of lmmIgrantt
from Great Britain and other countries to our
own.
The Secretary assumes heavy task when he
labors TO give our ministers our true military
situation in contrast with the false and super.
fetal accounts which found their way across
the ocean in the newspapers. He nevertheless
faithfully posts them mp by nearly every steam.
er's mail. In June, 1863, he writes to Mr..
Adams;
"YOu may not be able TO discover tho true
condition Of military affairs through the con.
fusion produced by the Cross.lights Of the press
Our official informatOns represent the seiges
of Port Hudson and Nicksburg as going on
successfully. Two of the corps of the insur.
gent amy, lately encamped upon the Kappa.
hammock, have forded the upper Potomac, and
are in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The posI.
1 ton OF the third corps is not certainly known.
General Hooker has, at his own request, been
relieved, and Is replaced by General Meade. an
officer who enjoys the confidence of the army
and of the War Department He is moving
vigorously, and, Judging from present appear.
ances, a meeting of the two armies is likely %