* d'affaires at Washington, to offer directly to the government the expression of their sympathy at the sad event. Immediately on receipt of Mr. Adams's telegram, I addressed a circular to our consuls. The shock caused by this news is too great to permit me to appreciate calmly its influence on public sentiment touching our affairs abroad. It cannot fail, I think, to cause a far-reaching reaction in the sympathies heretofore entertained by the so-called "better classes" in Europe for the rebels and their cause, and to stimulate, on the other hand, a more friendly feeling toward us and the cause of the Union. The fact that the confederate loan at the London exchange yesterday rose three per cent. upon the news, is a significant indication of the effect which the instigators of this dreadful crime imagined it would have upon their cause. The calm transition of the executive power to other hands, at Washington, contrasted with what would be likely to occur on a similar occasion in most European states, cannot but help to strengthen the conviction, already becoming general by the influence of the success which has crowned this trial, under the strain of the rebellion, of the power, fitness, and durability of our system of government. I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. : : No. 261.] Mr. Sanford to Mr. Seward. [Extract.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Brussels, April 30, 1865. SIR: His royal highness the Count de Flanders sent to me yesterday one of his officers of "ordnance" to express in his name his condolence on the untimely death of the President. I also received in the afternoon a private note from M. Rogier, expressive of his sentiments, of which, as he refers to it in public debate, I venture to enclose a copy, "A." I replied to it by a few lines of thanks. In the house of representatives this afternoon, M. Hardy De Beaulieu, a member of the extreme left, moved, in accordance with previous notice, for an expression of feeling at the late tragic events at Washington. He was followed and warmly seconded by the late Canon De Hearne, of the "conservative" party, who is the author of a widely disseminated pamphlet on our war, and is an ardent friend of the cause of the Union, and by M. Rogier, who announced that he adopted on the part of the government the views just expressed, and that he hoped the house would join in the expression of his desire for the recovery of the eminent statesman, Mr. Seward, to whose existence was attached, in so great a degree, the definitive pacification of the country, for too long a time desolated by war; and after rendering homage to the moderation which he had displayed, the minister expressed the hope "that they might one day rejoice over the restoration of his health, at the same time with the re-establishment of peace between the factions of a great people whom they admired, and which has always had their sympathies, and which he hoped would take again in the world the great part which is assigned to it." All which, interrupted by frequent marks of approval by the members, was declared by the president to be the unanimous sentiment of the house. I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c. [Translation.] GHENT, May 20, 1865. Mr. MINISTER: The Septentrion Masonic Lodge of Ghent could not remain indifferent in presence of the crime which has spread consternation through the civilized world. During the strife, our sympathies and our prayers accompanied the heroic efforts and unshakable perseverance of the defenders of justice and humanity. We are associated with the triumphs of the Americans of the northern States, whose noble persistence has saved the federal Union from a fearful disruption, and caused to issue from the social tempest a new corroboration of the indissoluble power of the United States; and inasmuch as the news of the monstrous crime, which has brought mourning into the midst of joy, has reached us, we feel stricken as yourselves; for LINCOLN personified the cause of liberty and human fraternity, and this cause, which unites nations in a common aspiration, honors and mourns in him one of its most illustrious martyrs. The Septentrion Lodge at its solemn meeting on the 16th of this month unanimously decided to address through you a tribute of regret and of sympathy to the republic of the United States. Receive, Mr. Minister, the assurance of our sentiments of high consideration. ALPH. BUISMAN, Secretary. BAVARIA. Mr. Hagedorn to Mr. Hunter. BAVARIAN CONSULATE, Philadelphia, May, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to enclose the very eloquent instructions sent me by the minister for foreign affairs at Munich, with a translation attached to it, dated Munich, April 29, 1865, (which translation falls short of the original in regard to beauty and feeling expressed in the original,) in which his excellency Baron Von der Pfordten directs me, in the name of his Majesty, Louis the Second of Bavaria, whom I have the honor to represent in this country, to express to your excellency, and through you to the President of the United States, the regret and deepfelt sympathy of the King and of the people of Bavaria, which the news of this most cruel and dastardly murder of the late President, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, has spread over all Germany. Being physically unable to hand this in person to his Excellency Andrew Johnson, I beg of you to do so, and to add that I hope and trust that this cruel and most grievous trial may not delay the onward progress of the American nation, so nobly and victoriously commenced by the noble martyr, President LINCOLN. Receive, sir, the assurance of my very distinguished consideration. C. F. HAGEDORN, Consul General of Bavaria. Hon. WILLIAM HUNTER, BAVARIAN CONSULATE, Philadelphia, May 19, 1865. SIR: I have been directed by his Majesty the King of Bavaria, whom I have the honor of representing, through his minister, to express to your excellency the sympathy and regret which his Majesty and the Bavarian nation in general feel at the unforeseen calamity which has befallen this country, in the assassination of the beloved President of the United States of America, at a moment when the success of the arms of the Union and the prospect of an early peace had filled every heart with joy. At the same time I have the honor of transmitting to your excellency the letter of condolence addressed to me by the prime minister, by order of his Majesty the King of Bavaria. : Having resided for more than forty years in this country, having witnessed its growth and prosperity during that period of time, my feelings have become identified with the same, and I cannot allow this opportunity to pass by without expressing my personal regret and deep feelings of sorrow at the bereavement under which this country is at present suffering. At the same time I pray that, under your Excellency's wise administration, the work which your late lamented predecessor has so nobly and successfully commenced will be fully accomplished, and that unity and peace may again bless the whole of this once happy land. I have the honor to remain, with the highest respect, your Excellency's most, obedient, humble servant, C. F. HAGEDORN Consul General of Bavaria. His Excellency ANDREW JOHNSON, 1 [Translation.] MUNICH, April 29, 1865. ESTEEMED SIR: By order of his Majesty the King, I beg leave to send you the following communication : The dreadful, accursed deed, the news of which came to Europe across the ocean but a few days ago, has also filled with deep abhorrence the land of Bavaria. The President of the United States of North America, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, has fallen by the hand of an assassin at the moment when he was on the point of terminating a bloody civil war--a struggle in which he had upheld the banner of the Union against secession with undaunted courage for the period of four years. It is true that the quiet transition of the highest political power in that immense empire is a guarantee that by the death of ABRAHAM LINCOLN the grand victorious success which crowned his persevering efforts will not be jeoparded. By firmness and moderation the new President of the United States will be no less successful in soothing the irritated passions and reconciling and reuniting the different parties. But this fortunate circumstance does in no way lessen the just and deep feeling among all classes of people which is called forth by the tragic end of this celebrated statesman, and I hereby request you, as consul general, to tender to the government of the United States the expression of heartfelt sympathy and sorrow which we, and particularly our most gracious lord the King, feel at the death of their President, wishing, at the same time, that the noble work of renewed unity and restored peace may soon be accomplished, as much for the welfare of the United States of North 1 America as for that of all the countries which entertain peaceful relations with the same. Please to accept also, on the present occasion, the assurance of my respect. C. F. HAGEDORN, Esq., Consul General at Philadelphia. VON DER PFORDTEN. : BRUNSWICK. NEW YORK, June 5, 1865. SIR: The undersigned, consul general of the government of his serene highness the Duke of Brunswick, has been specially instructed to convey to you the sentiments aroused in the minds of the authorities, and of all classes of the people of the duchy, by the atrocious murder of your illustrious predecessor, the lamented ABRAHAM LINCOLN, and by the deep loss thus entailed upon the United States. The inestimable qualities uniting in the character of the deceased-his pervading humanity and his lofty sense of right--the indomitable energy with which he sustained all the vicissitudes of a sanguinary civil war, outlived all sacrifices, and eventually triumphed over all obstacles in the restoration of the blessings of civil order to his distracted country, as well as the mild and conciliatory disposition so nobly manifested at the approaching close of the struggle, have gained him the warm regard and esteem of the civilized world, and will embalm his memory in the affectionate reverence of coming gene rations. May the peace now vouchsafed to your republic be as lasting, and the prosperity which now dawns upon its future as unbroken, as even the great heart of the departed patriot could have desired. I have the honor to be, sir, most respectfully, your obedient servant, ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States. : 4 |