The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1872-02-16
THE JOURNAL.
THE RUSSIAN 1MsRoeL1o.
CataeazY, Clay, and cramer.
Washington CJau. l5) Despatch to the New
York Herald

Catacazy, Clay, and Cramer.
Washington (Jau. l5) Despatch to the New
York Herald.
There is much excitement in town
in reference to the dispatch from
Prince Gortschakof about Minister
Catacazy, published exclusively in
the Herald. The genuinenes of the
text of the dispatch has been ques-
toned by some of the State Depart
ment people, but this is not the
theory of the department. The on
ly news that has heen received here
has been what was contained in the
Herald, and the Secretary has been
anxiously expecting the full text,
which may come in the next mail
1t is thought that Minister Curtin
would have sent an indication ofthe
dispatch by cable if it were of the
paramount Importance attached to
it by many of the Journals over the
country. There is high official au
thority for saying that much inter
est. and some anxiety, is felt as to
the effect of the Catacszy matter
uuon our relations with Russia. 1t
has been said that we should have
been patient with Mr.. Catacazy, in
return for the patience shown by the
Russian Government when Gorts-
chakoff complained about Mr.. Cas-
sius NJ. Clay.
The circumstances in regard to
Mr.. Clay are not generally known,
and may be stated. Some time after
he took charge of our legation in st.
Petersburg a dispatch was sent to
the Russian Minister here of con
! fidential character. To make sure
that this confidence would be re-
spected it was written in Russian
and not in the language of diplomacy.
This dispatch directed the Russian
Minister to call Mr.. Stewards atten-
ton to Irregularities of the Lega-
ton which had become scandaous.
Thus, for instance a member of the
Legation, sitting in an open car
riage, accompanied by a woman not
his wife, and of unenvia5le fame,
drove into the private grounds of the
Empress, when she was taking the
air. Entrance to these grounds was
a diplomatic privilege, and the EN-
peror felt tnat privilege had been
abused, when q woman was taken in
to the presence of his wife who
would not have been tolerated in his
Court. Another charge was that
women of evil fame had been photo
graphed at the Legation in q state
of nudity. This might have been
defended upon the ground that such
proceeding might have had anato-
mical or scientific interest, but when
these photographs were distributed,
the Chancellor felt that it was a scan
dal, and so brought it to Mr. Sew
ards attention. Mr.. Seward admit
ted the justice of the complaint, and
the Emperor's cause for anger, but
said to the Minister that there were
peculiar reasons why the Emperor's
forbearance with our minister would
be acceptable to President Lincoln.
We were in q state of war with the
rebels; they counted largely upon
foreign aid. Russia was our CRATE
safeguard among foreign powers,
and had been ostentatious in hel
friendship. To recall a Minister at
that time or make any change in the
Legation, especially under circum-
stances THAT had not-and for many
reasons conld not-be made a mat
ter of diplomatic record, would ex-
cite great attention, and would be
misconstrued by the rebels and their
foreign sympathisers as being an ev-
dence of ill-feeling between the two
countries and a prelude to the dis
ruption of relations, and that the
moral aid thus given to the rebellion
would be detrimental to the Union
cause.
When the request of Mr.. Lincoln,
together with this statement of reas-
ons, was communicated to the EN-
peror, he consented to withdraw his
request for the recall of the minis
ter. This record is pointed to here
by the friends of Mr.. Catacazy as a
striking contrast to what they re-
gard as the impatience and rude
ness of the American Government. |
They contend that the errors of Mr..
Catacazy should have been over
looked, at least until after the visit
of the Grand Duke Alexis. The ad-
ministration people admit the force
of this, but to say that our minister
was merely charged with acts of per-
Conal indecorum, which at best were
an ofense to good taste and calcu-
lated to injure the person committing
them, and not the government Of
Russia, while Mr.. Catacazy is
charged not merely with acts of per
sonal indecorum, bu5 with interfer-
ence with the affairs of our govern
ment-even to attempting to destroy
its relations with a great and friend
ly power. They furthermore point
to the ract that many months have
passed since the request for the re-
call of Mr.. Catacazy was first com
municated to the Russian govern
ment; that if it had been granted
then the matter could have passed
into the confidential records Of the
department, and Catacazy could
have gone home with his bag and
baggage, and no one the wiser.
But when this request was made it
was allowed to lie dormant. Prince
Gortschakof was in Germany, and
the matter was postponed until he
returned. So months passed away,
although little doubt is felt here,
that Prince Gortschakof was aware
of the request, and dallied with it
and postponed it in the hope that
Mr.. Catacazy would make his peace
with the President. As a reason