Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-05-10
BANER0FTsSPEEC MENGLAND.
Earl Russell Denies Mr.. BancrOft,s
statemenIs-Mr. BancrO1t's Reply,
LORD RUSSELL TO MR.. ADAMS.

NAS =
ing out of the civil war:
1.-THE British Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs made haste to send word
through the palaces of Europe that the
great Republic was in its agony that the
Republic was no more, that a headstone
was all that remained due by the law of
nations TO the late Union.'h
As words pronounced on such an ocea-
sion and by so eminent a man as Mr..
Bancroft may have an effect far beyond
the injury which my personal character
might suffer, / must request you to convey
to Mr.. Bancroft my denial Of the truth Of
his allegation, and to refer him TO facts Of
a totally opposite character.
Soon after the news ofthe resistance in
arms of the Southern States to the Gov
eminent of the Union arrived in this
country, Il member ofthe House of Com
mons stated that the bubble of Republi.
canism had burst.
l replied in the same debate that the
bubble of Repuklicanism had not burst,
and that if the curse of slavery still hung
about the United States, it was England
who had made them the gift of the pois-
oned garment which was now their tor
ment.
In fact, L have never had any doubt
that whether the United States consented
to separation or pursued the war to ex-
tremity, the great Western Republic
would remain, happily for the world, a
powerful and Independent Republic.
The authors Of the Declaration of In
dependence in declaring for separation
from Great Britain, after enumerating
their complaints of her conduct, go on TO
say: "We must therefore acquiesce in the
necessity which d%enounces ourseparation,
and hold them, as we hold the rest of man
kind, enemies in war, in peace friends
That we should be enemies in war is
easily understood; but when we are at
peace, whyshould we not be f%rienes, as the
great men of the American Revolution
intended US to be? If they, in the mo-
ment Of separation and of war, looked for
ward to a period Of peace and of friend
ship, why should we, more than three
quarters Of a century after these events,
keep up sentiments of irritation and hos
tility founded on a mistaken apprehension
of facts, and tending to lay the foundation
of permanent alienation, suspicion, and
As Mr.. Bancroft's speech is likely to
have very extensive publicity, 1 reserve
to myself the power Of making public this
letter, OF such time as I shall Judge fit. l
remain, my dear Mr.. Adams, your faithful
servant, RUSSELL.
P. 81 subjoin an extract of my speech
on the 3Oth of May, 1861, as reported in
Hansard's Debates.
BANCROFT TO Mr.. ADAMS IN REPLY.
NEW York, March %, 1866.
MY DEAR Mr.. ADAMS: 1 have received
you, by Lord Russells desire, a copy
of his letter TO you of the 18th of Februa-
ry last, in which he denies the truth of
certain allegations in my address to Con-
gress on the 18th of thesame menth. The
passage which he cites contains these
three allegations That, as British Sec
rotary of State for Foreign Affairs, he
viewed this Republic as "thel late Union -
that he sent this view of our country
through the palaces of Europe, and that
he made haste TO do so. When Lord Rus
sell calls to mind the authority for these
statements, he must acknowledge them to
be perfectly just and true.
On the 9th day of May, 1861, Lord John
Russell, then Secretary of State for For
eign Affairs, wrote a dispatch to Lord
Lyons, in which he describes the condi-
ton of America as "the disruption of a
Confederaey," and he further used these
words; "CiVil war has broken out be-
tween the several States of the late Union.
The Government of the Southern portion
has duly constituted itself. Her Maiesty's
do not wish you to make any
mystery of that view Here is irrefraga-
bic proof of my first allegation.
On the day on which the Minister Of
the Queen thus wrote, he addressed a dis
patch to Lord Cowley, her M.jesty's EN-
bassador at Paris, designating our Repub-
lie as "the States which lately composed
the American Union" 'the late United
'the late Union and he iDclosed
in that dispatch, for Lord Cowley's in
struetion, a copy of the above cited letter
to Lord Lyons. Having thus %ostenta-
communicated his view of our coun-
try as "the late Union he asked in re-
turn ITO be made acquainted with the
Of the Imperial government" Ny
second allegation is therefore true in let
ter and in spirit.
That Lord John Russell, as Secretary of
State, was in haste to do this, appears
from his not having awaited the arrival of
the American Minister of Mr.. Lincoln's
appointment, and from those very letters
Of the 9th of May, 1861, to Lord Cowley
and to Lord Lyons, for in those letters he
confesses that he has not as yet 'treceived
from Lord Lyons any report Of the state
Of affairs and of the prospects Of the sew
eral parties )" but that on coming to the
decision which was so momentous and I'M
p~recedented, he acted on the reports of
some consuls," and nof the public prints
1t is true that twenty-four days after
Lord John Russell had officially described
our country as "the disruption Of a confsd-
the late United States" "tAe late
he reproved a member of the
House Of Commons for openly exulting
that the great Republican bubble in
America had burst" and owned Gthat the
Republic had been for many years a great
aud free StateJ5' and he uttered no expect
ation or hope of the restoration of our
Union, and rather intimated that the
Americans were nabout TO destroy each
happiness and freedom" Lord
John, on that occasion, rightly attributed
he rebellion TO the "accursed institution
# slavery" and confessed that England
va the giver Of the poisoned garment"
hat the former Governments of Great
Britain we're themselves to blame for the
of the evil" But this confession
must be interpreted by the light of his
Iverments on the 9Th of May, 1861, and
" Lord RusselIs later assertion that the
fforts Of our country were but a contest
or "empire."
In speaking to the American Congress
# the life and character of Abraham
Lincoln, it was my unavoidable duty to
efer to the conduct of the British Gov
towards u country during his
administration, for nothing so wounded his
or exercised his Judgment, or
ried his fortitude.
/ was asked to address the two Houses
+ our Congress, and those only. When
learned that the British Minister at
Washington was likely to be one Of nv
Iearers, 1 requested Nj. Seward to advise
i'm not to be present, and through another
l sent him q similar message,
which he received and perfectly under
TODD.
need not recall words Of 90 years ago,
D be persuaded that in peace America
nd the United Kingdom shonld be
-iends. l have 3 right to say this; for
then in the public service, 1 proved it
y public acts, and as a private citizen I
ave never wished our Government TO
emand of q foreign power anything but
Pray send Lord Russell a conz of this