New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-06
FRANCE AND THE REBELLION
WHAT LEES SURRENDER PREVENTED.

1868; An International Episode. BY JOHN oieh-
Low. 12ms PIP. 247. Harper Brsshsrs-
Two or three years ago Captain Bullock. VINO
was the naval representative or the Conieoer"oy
In Europe during the rebellion punished WORK
entitled The Secret Service. or How the Con-
federate Cruisers were Equipped In this book
hs told with apparent good faith and candor. the
sAorv of the persistent struggles Of the Confederate
Government In France and England to get per-
mission to build, EQUIP and launch cruisers TO prey
ON the commerce of the North In narratlng the
proceedings Of himself and his colleagues In Franco
Captain Bullock made 1t appear that Louis Ma
uolson and his Government had lured the Con-
federate representatives on to enter into costly
contracts for the construction Of war-vessels in
France; had given them distinct promises OF nom
intervention in this glazing breach OF neutrality
and had finally repudiated al their pledges and
refused to permit the completion or transfer OF
the cruisers on the stocks.
Captain Bullock's account of these proceedings
was marked by strong resentment of what nc
evidently considered the naked perfdy OF the
French Emperor and his side Of the story furnished
several previously missing links to Mr. John
Bigelow, who having served as Charge dAnalres
st the United States Legation ut Paris during tie
war was familiar only with what may 1or COLL
yenience be termed the Federal side OF the case.
Perceivins, however that Captain Bullocks de-
fectiye information in several respects made his
representations erroneous and misleading ana
moreover, caused injurious reflections upon inc
action Of the United States Government In regard
20 the Confederate cruisers, Mr.. Bigelow has IN
the volume before US given his version of the facts,
and in important respects ne puts quite new
aspect on the international episode" as he calls
IL. Information that the Confederate agents In
Europe had procured Government authorization
for the building OF four armed corvettes and Two
ironclads, In private French shipyards, was
brought to Mr. Bigelow by a mysterious trench-
man who figures throughout as NJ. x, ana con-
corning whose identity no Indications are gwen
lie demanded twenty thousand francs Tor nus
news and no doubt it was paid. OF course 1t is
probablc that the conspiracy between the French
Government and the Coniederatcs would have been
discovered sooner later by the United States
agents. but the discovery might have come TOO late
to prevent the escape of one or both the Iron
clads, and in that case every Northern port would
have been at the mercy Of these formidable YES
sells, every Federal war-vessel must have gone
down under their guns NewYork, Boston, Wash
inptou could have been held to ransom or de-
stroyed and no land victories could have counter
vailed the enormous, the overwhelming aoVah-
tage the Confederacy would have possessed ct sea.
As Mr.. Bgelow says: Had these vessels reached
the coast Of America, the territory OF the United
States might possibly now be under two or more
independent governments; or. II under one
widely different one from that under WHOM we
are now living, or from any which our Iathers
designed for us"
II was therefore worth, not merely twenty thou
sand francs but o hundred times that amount
10 secure the means Of battling this dangerous
Mot. and there could be little doubt that posi-
tive proof of It's existence once laid before the
French Government, would defeat it, since what
ever his personal predictions might be, the I'm
pcror could not OF that time afford war with
the United States, and refusal to stop tho cruisers
w,uld be overt hostility. So Mr. Bigelow ana
Mr. Dayton had reason TO feel confident than the
winning cards were in their hands when they
became possessed Through NJ. X Of q series OF
documents which included full copies OF the con-
tracts between Bullock, Slidell and Arman the
French shipbuilder. together with the Governmens
authorization, which showed that the destination
Of the vessels had been mlsrepresented, they nav
ing beon declared intended for commerce IN the
China seas, and their warlike character
b.,ng exnlafned nv the pretence that
they were ultimately to be sold to
some Of the Oriental princes. This false state
mont, of course. gave tho French Government
opportunity for retreat if it wanted TO extricate
itself Messrs Bigelow and Dayton, however,
were not deceived They knew that Arman would
never have ventured to begin work on the cruisers
il no had not received private assurances that
he would not be interfered with. This, indeed
proved to be the fact The Emperor himself had
suggested the pretcxt that the vessels were build
ing for some other Government. The authorize
ton was based on a transparent subterfuge. For
O long time the French Ministers shutied and
prevaricated. AT length they seemed to realize
that the case was too fragrant to be defended,
and that nothing remained buo to enforce the
neutrality laws vigorously This was DONE Ar
man was informed that he must sell the cruisers
TO some foreign Government not at war, and that
full proof of tho genuineness Of the sale must
be produced before they would be allowed to go
to sea.
ALI this time Slidell was diplomatizing In the
crudest, olumsicst, most maladroit way--for he
was q public man of the Jefferson Brick type and
calibre-and sending some Of the most amazing
letters to Benjamin at Richmond Mr.. Bigelow
gives a number Of these letters, which throw con-
siderable light upon the causes Of the Confederate
failure to effect anything In Europe. Mason and
Shdell. in fact, were about equally Inefficient,
but the latter, judging from his own statements,
must have rendered himself persona dlsgrata
TO Louis Napoleon, long before the last Of the
three interviews he alone had with the crafty
Emperor, was reached. Slidell, moreover, was
plainly very obtusc. He could not interpret
hints, and certainly Napoleon gave him plain
ones He was told that he might build the cruis-
ers il their destination was concealed. This was
of course vital and weighty condition, yet Sill
dell. with curious faulty, talked thenceforward
as IL he had received unconditional leave to build
war-ships in France and actually committed the
incredible folly of addressing letter directly to
the Emperor. challenging him to fulfil pledge
he had never gven-when it became apparent
that the cruisers would be stopped After that
he obtained no more imperial Interviews, and his
diplomacy scored more successes The En-
peror had been altogether too shrewd for the
amateur diplomatist, and though he was after
ward addressed politely at the races one day
by Louis NAPOLEON he wrote sadly TO Ben