Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-06-26
OUR FRENCH RELATIONS.
The Withdrawal from Mexico.
IMPORTANT DESPATCH FROM MIR.
BIGELOw.

WASHINGTON, June 22.-Minister BIGE-
| Lows dispatch to Secretary SEWARD reIter-
ates that he had delivered Mr. Stewards
dispatch to the French Minister of Foreign
| Affairs. who said that the Imperial Govern
| ment proclaimed its intention TO retire from
| Mexico because it suited its convenience
| and interest to retire, and for no other rea-
| son. When, therefore, it was announced,
formally, not merely to the United States,
| but to all the world, that the army would
be tltdrawn from Mexico within speci-
| fed term, he thought it should be deemed
| sufficient. The Government made It's decla-
| ration in good faith, and means TO keep it.
| Ii means TO withdraw its army within the
| time prescribed, and it does not intend to
take one hundred 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 it had not
| deemed it necessary to specify with minute
ness, details of this kind, which depend up
| on hygienic consideration, Of which it was
the best, and the only competent judge.
| This his Excellency said he wished | would
say to our Government.
l asked his Excellency if had ever init
mated to him, whether in writing, or other
wise, any suspicion Of the Emperol's inten
| ton to withdraw his army from Mexico in
unequal portions. He replied that | had
| not | think / asked him if any other per
son, authorized to speak in the name of my
| Government, 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 a law unto itself, and that We
Mad better rot accept it as a law unto US /;
| and as he asked me to communicate to my
| Government formal answer to what sound
| ed like an accusation of insincerity and bad
faith on the part of the Emperor, l wanted
| his authority for stating that no such accu-
sation had reached him through any official
channel He replied that he only had read
| it in a newspaper. | then went on to say
| that the purpose of your instructions, as
understood it, was simply to obtain an ex-
| PLANTATION, which was sure to be 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 of
ficially proclaimed To this his Excellency
| replied that since seeing me, he had gotten
from his colleagues of Marine and War De-
| partments, information to the purport that
no troops, belonging to the corps erpediGOn-
drie, had been sent 10 Mexico this year, I'M
less for the sake of partly replacing soldiers
! missing; but at any rate, without augmen..
| tation of the number Outstanding troops; that
the shipment of troops referred TO in public
| prints, and in your dispatch, was most
likely that made in the transport
RhOne, about the beginning of the
year; that this Rh0Re touched at Mar
Unique, but not at st. Thomas, as was stated;
that there were 9l6 and not 1000 soldiers !;
| that they belonged to the Foreign Legion
not to the Expeditionary Corps; that they
consisted of troops which had been waiting
| transportation a long time in France and
| Algeria: that no new troops had been en-
rolled for the Foreign Legion since the EN-
perOr proclaimed his purpose to withdraw
his flag from Mexico; and that no more, for
what he knew, were intended to be en-
| rolled.
In regard to the shipment of troops from
| Austria, he said that that was an affair en-
| tirely between that Government and the
Mexican, with which France had nothing to
do; that since l had spoken upon the sub
| ject he had verified his own convictions by
| a reference TO the ministers of war and the
marine, and had ascertained that no engage
| nents of any sort have been enter
ed into by either for the enrolment or
| transportation of troops from Austria to
Mexico. He went on further to say that it
was the intention of the Government to
withdraw the army entirely from Mexico
within the time specified in his ditpatch to
You, at the very least; sooner if the climate
and other controlling circumstances permit
ted, and it was not its intention to replace
them with other troops from any quarter.
At the conclusion of the long consultation,
of which | have given the important re-
suits, expressed my satisfaction with his
Excellency's explanation, and the pleasure
| should have in communicating them to
my Government. This dispatch has been
submitted to Mr.. NJ. DRoUYN DE DHUY's,
and the foregoing version of the results of
the conversation has been annroYed by him