Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-06-12
A CURIOUS STORY.
The Conditions on Which Napoleon
III was to have Recognized the
Southern Confederacy.

Hon. James Lyons, of Rich
mond, Va, writes as follows ii
a letter to Colonel Magrudcr
of Baltimore: e} ,}i,
! ] will relate a conversation
had at my house, Laburnum
near Richmond, with Coun
Mercier, the French Minister
in the month Of May or early
part of June, 1862. lie, it viii
be recollected, visited RichmonC
by permission of the Northerl
Government, but was interdic.
ted from holding direct inter
course with President Davis OF
any of his Cabinet, and he spent
nearly two days of his time al
my house in Henrico. In point
of fact, as the sequel viii dis
close, he was sent there (by Mr..
Seward) with view to make
peace. In the course of a days
discussion in my library, he
asked me a great many qnes-
tions; among others, the ques-
ton:
"Can you whip McClellan?7
who was then lying with an ar
nv of 100000 men within six
miles of Richmond, confronted
by General Lee. ,q1g
[ told him in reply that / felt
sure we could and would, and
! if the Emperor Of the French
would open the ports and keep
them open, we would march to
New York and not ask the loan
of a man or a dollar. With
great animation he sprang to
his feet and said in French:
eff such be the temper of
your people you are invincible,
But why do you think you will
whip McClellan?' TaT'
I answered: "Because5 the.
President and General Lee tell
tell me they believe we will.
Then he added: "But, do you
know how many men are, bear.
ing upon Richmond?"
/ replied: "Thei President
thinks there are two hundred
thousand. General Lee thinks.
not so many, but more than one.
hundred and fifty thousand."s
To which he replietl: "They;
are both mistaken. There are two
hundred and twenty-five thou.
sand. General Burnside's force
at Port Royal is u part of the:
force bearing upon Richmond.
sent to Port Royal merely in.
the hope of inducing General.
Lee to detach apart Of his army
to meet it. / am just from the
War Office, and have all the sta
tistics here (holding up a pa
per which he drew from his
pocket; "buty5' he added, ''can't
this war be stopped? Can't
you come back under the old
flag?"
/ said: "T suppose that is inn
possible, for Mr.. Seward would
not permit us to do so without
the abolition of slavery, and it
would be useless TO propose that
to the men from the extreme
South"
To that lac replied: "You are
If you will only re-
turn and acknowledge the iing,
Mr.. Seward will permit you to
return without any conditions"
"Whatl" said 1: "with the
institution of slavery"
"Yes,'' he said.
/ then said: "But there is yet
one thing more to be consider
cd. TO use the phrase which
was so much hacllneycd with
respect to. the Northeastern
boundary question of 'indemni7I
ty for the past and security for
the FUTURE we can'task, | know
indemnity for the past, but we
must have security for the fu-I
ture. We can not live hercaf-
ter in the state of harassmcnt
and excitement in which we have
lived for some years past"
Then drawing his hand across
a piece of paper lying upon the
library table, upon the opposite
sides of which we were sitting,
he said:
'sMr. Seward will allow you to
write your own guarantees"
I expressed my individual
readiness to consent TO those
terms. / had been in favor Of
the Southern Convention which
South Carolina proposed through
Mr.. Memmingcr, her Commits.
sioner, believing, that if all the
Southern States met in Conyen-
ton, as proposed by South Car
olina, such guarantees would be
asked of the Northern people as
they would grant, and which
would protect us, and in that G..
vent there would be no secession,
and | certainly did not wish Sc
cession if we could be protected
in the enjoyment of our consti-
tutional rights, and that | believe