The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-06-27
The French i'm Mexico.

the recent resolutions of the Senate
and House of Representatives re-
questing information in regard to the
employment of European troops in
Mexico, has transmitted to Congress
the following despatch from Mr..
Bigelow to Mr.. Seward:
LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
PARIS, June 4, 1866.
SIR: L waited upon his ExcelIency
the Minister of Foreign Affairs on
Saturday last, in pursuance of an
appointment, to confer with him upon
the subject matter of your instruc-
tions, No. 459, marked 'sconfidential. +"
AS he had already been apprised of
the contents of that despatch through
the French Minister resident at Wash
ington, l was spared the necessity of
rcstating them. He said that the
Imperial Government proclaimed it's
intention to retire from Mexico. be-
cause 1t suited its convenience and
interests to retire, and for no other
reason. When, therefore, announced
formally, not merely to the United
States, but all the world, that the
army would be withdrawn from Mexi-
co within Il specified term, lie thought
1t should be deemed sufficient. The
Government made its declaration in
good faith, and means to keep it. 1t
means to withdraw its army within
the time prescribed, and it does not
lntend to take one or two hundred in
the first detachment, and one or two
hundred more in the second. leaving
the great body of them to the last,
though 1T had not deemed it neces-
sary to specify with minuteness de-
tails OF this kind, which depend upon
hyglenlc and climacteric considera-
tlons, of which it was the best and
the only competent judge. This, his
Exccllencv said. lie wished T would
say to our Government. asked his
ENceliency if l had ever intimated to
him, whether in writing or orally.
any suspicion OF the Enperors in
tention 20 Withdraw his army from
Mexico III unequal portions. He re-
pied that had not. l then asked
iim ii anNotlicr person authorized
t" speak III the name Of my Govern
ment had done SO He said no. But
he had read imputations Of that kind
IN one OF our papers. ! replied, in
substance. that the press was law
unto itself, and that we had better
not accept it as Il law with us. And
as he asked me to communicates to
my Government formal answer to
what sounded like an accusation of
lnslncerlty and bad faith on the part
OF the Emperor. ] wanted lis autho-
rlty for stating that no such accusa-
ton had reached him through any
official channel. He replied that he
only had read 1t III n newspaper.
then went on to say that the purpose
OF your instruction, as l understood
1t, was simply to obtain an explana-
ton, which was sure to DE required
of You. of the shipment in France of
large bodies of troops to Mexico,
after the purpose to withdraw her
whole army had been officially pro-
claimed. TO this his Excelloncv re-
Piled, that since seeing me, he had
gotten from his colleagues OF the
Marine and War Departments iufor
nation to the purport that no troops
belonging to the corps expeditionaire
had been sent to Mexico this year,
unless for the sake Of partly replacing
soldiers missing; but, at any rate, with
out any augmentation Of the number
of standing troops; that the shipment
OF troops referred to in the public
prints, and III Your despatch. was most
ilkeiy that made i'll the transport
Rhonc. about the beginning of the
year: that this Rhone touched ut Mar
Unique, but not at st. Thomas. AS was
stated; that she carried GIG and not
200 soldiers; that they belonged to
the Foreign Legion. and not the expo
dictionary corps: that they consisted of
troops which had been waiting trans
portatlon u long time in France and
IL Algeria, to join their regiments;
that 40 new troops had been enrolled
for the Foreign Legion since the
Emperor proclaimed his purpose to
Withdraw his flag from Mexico; and
that no more, Ior what he knew, were
intended to be enrolled.
In regard to the shipment OF troops
Irom Austria, he said that was an
affair entirely between that Govern
mrnt and the Mexican with which
France had nothing to do; that since
| had spoken to him upon the sub
lcct, he had verified his own convic-
mons DV II reference to the miniSter