The Boys of '61 Part 65

"But yesterday you scarce could shake, In slave-abhorring rigor, Our Northern palms, for conscience' sake; To-day you clasp the hands that ache With 'walloping the n.i.g.g.e.r'!

"And is it Christian England cheers The bruiser, not the bruised?

And must she run, despite the tears And prayers of eighteen hundred years, A-muck in Slavery's crusade?

"O black disgrace! O shame and loss Too deep for tongue to phrase on!

Tear from your flag its holy cross, And in your van of battle toss The pirate's skull-bone blazon!"

The Trent affair had inflamed the British public, and Rebel sympathizers were fierce for war, that the South might reap the advantage; but Mason and Slidell had been given up by President Lincoln, and Mr. Mason stood hat in hand at the gate of St. James. But Earl Russell could not conveniently see him just then. Lancashire had spoken. Men upon whose humble hearths no fire warmed the wintry air, in whose homes poverty was ever a guest, around whose doors the wolf of want was always prowling,-the bone and muscle of England, with whom the instinct of Liberty was stronger to persuade than distress and famine to subdue,-they, the hardy workers of England, were with the North.

At home, in the valley of the Shenandoah, Mr. Mason had been a Virginia lord. It was his nature to be proud, imperious, and haughty. He lived in the greatness of an ancient family name. He expected ready admittance at St. James; but though he rang the bell early and often, and sent in his card, Earl Russell was not "at home" to him.

He was ready to turn away in disgust, but the wants of the Confederacy compelled him to submit to whatever humiliation Earl Russell might choose to administer. He told his griefs to Mr. Benjamin, the Confederate Secretary of State, and received condolence.

"Your correspondence with Lord Russell," wrote the Secretary, "shows with what scant courtesy you have been treated, and exhibits a marked contrast between the conduct of the English and French statesmen now in office, in their intercourse with foreign agents, eminently discreditable to the former. It is lamentable that at this late period of the nineteenth century, a nation so enlightened as Great Britain should have failed yet to discover that a princ.i.p.al cause of the dislike and hatred towards England, of which complaints are rife, in her Parliament and press, is the offensive arrogance of some of her public men. The contrast is striking between the polished courtesy of M. Thouvenal and the rude incivility of Lord Russell.

"Your determination to submit to these annoyances in the service of your country, and to overlook personal slights, while hope remains that your continued presence in England may benefit our cause, cannot fail to command the approval of your government."[99]

Englishmen wanted to see the great republic broken to pieces, but there were repulsive features in that system of civilization which the South was attempting to establish. The Union dead were mangled at Mana.s.sas; their bones were carved into charms and amulets. Among the mountains of Tennessee old men were dragged from their beds at midnight, and hung without judge or jury, because they loved the flag of their country. In Missouri bridges were burned at night, and men, women, and children upon railroad trains were precipitated into yawning gulfs by their neighbors! This was the work of the "master race," too "refined," "chivalric," and "gentlemanly" to a.s.sociate with the laboring men of the North. Were the workingmen of Old England any more worthy than they of New England to a.s.sociate with the slave-masters of the South? British operatives and mechanics understood the question,-that it was a conflict between two systems of labor,-and they rejected with disdain all overtures from the South.

The intervention of England and France was necessary to insure the success of the Rebel cause, and English and European public sentiment must be brought round to the Southern side by the power of the press. Mr. Edwin De Leon therefore was made an agent of the Confederacy to subsidize the press of Europe. The wires were pulled by Mr. Benjamin, who wrote thus to Mr. De Leon:-

"I will take measures to forward you additional means to enable you to extend the field of your operations, and to embrace, if possible, the press of Central Europe in your campaign. Austria and Prussia, as well as the smaller Germanic powers, seem to require intelligence of the true condition of our affairs, and the nature of our struggle; and it is to be hoped that you may find means to act with efficiency in moulding public opinion in those countries."[100]

That this scheme of bribery was successful will appear further on. The British government having with precipitate haste recognized the Rebels as belligerents, English merchants were quick to follow in the track of Palmerston and Russell. Merchants, bankers, admirals of the navy, officers of the army, speculators, spendthrifts, adventurers from the slums and stews of London and Liverpool, in common with members of Parliament and peers of the realm, engaged in blockade-running, not only to enrich themselves, but to aid in establishing a government based on human slavery. The agents of the Confederacy in England found hearty welcome from all cla.s.ses, especially the ship-builders.

Captain Winslow and the Kearsarge.

Soon after the attack upon Sumter Mr. Mallory, Secretary of the Confederate Navy, sent Captain Bullock of Savannah to England, to engage ship-builders to fit out privateers. He found W. C. Miller & Son of Liverpool, and the Lairds of Birkenhead, ready to engage in the work of destroying American commerce. He contracted with the first for the building of the Oreto, or Florida, and with the Lairds for the "290," or Alabama. He also found warm welcome from Roebuck, Gregory, and other members of Parliament, and from capitalists, who subscribed liberally in aid of the enterprise.

Admiral Farragut.

Funds were needed for the payment of Rebel debts in England, and the Confederate Congress pa.s.sed a bill in April, 1862, authorizing the exchange of bonds for articles in kind, and Mr. Benjamin thereupon wrote to Mr. Mason, advising him of the financial arrangements which had been made.

"At your suggestion," said Mr. Benjamin, "I have appointed Mr. James Spence of Liverpool financial agent, and have requested him to negotiate for the sale of five million dollars of our eight per cent bonds, if he can realize fifty per cent on them. I have already sent over two millions of bonds, and will send another million in a week or ten days. Mr. Spence is directed to confer with Messrs. Fraser, Trenholm & Co. who had previously been made our depositaries at Liverpool.... I have also directed Mr. Spence to endeavor to negotiate for the application of two and a half millions of coin, which I have here, for the purchase of supplies and munitions for our army. I hope that this coin will be accepted by British houses in payment at the rate of sterling in England, less freight and insurance. It seems to me that upon its transfer to British owners, they could obtain transportation for it on their vessels of war from any Confederate port, inasmuch as it would be bona fide British property, and in any event the holder of the transfer would have a certain security."[101]

This scheme of an alliance between British naval officers and the Rebel government was carried out, and a portion of the coin shipped in a British man-of-war, the Vesuvius, from Bahama, by the English consul.[102]

The bonds referred to by Mr. Benjamin were the regularly issued bonds of the Confederacy. Cotton certificates were also issued; but in addition to these means, the Rebel government deemed it advisable to bring out a loan based exclusively on cotton.

The proposition came from Mr. Slidell, who was in Paris, envoy to the Court of France, but who, instead of attending the receptions of the Emperor at the Tuileries, was endeavoring to obtain social and political recognition by giving luxurious entertainments. Napoleon was ready to recognize the Confederacy, but Palmerston and Russell hesitated, and he was not quite prepared to move alone in the matter.

He was anxious to see the great republic broken up, not that he particularly desired the establishment of the Confederacy, but for the furtherance of his own designs in Mexico. While professing to Mr. Slidell good-will, and a readiness to give substantial aid to the Rebellion, his agents, M. de Saligny, French minister in Mexico, M. Theron, French consul at Galveston, and M. Tabouelle, French vice-consul at Richmond, were intriguing to dismember Texas from the Confederacy.

"The Emperor of the French," wrote Mr. Benjamin to Mr. Slidell, "has determined to conquer and hold Mexico as a colony, and is desirous of interposing a weak power between his new colony and the Confederate States, in order that he may feel secure against interference with his designs on Mexico.... The evidence thus afforded of a disposition on the part of France to seize on this crisis of our fate as her occasion for the promotion of selfish interests, and this too after the a.s.surances of friendly disposition, or, at worst, impartial neutrality, which you have received from the leading public men of France, cannot but awaken solicitude."[103]

The French consuls at Galveston and Richmond were dismissed by Jeff Davis, but that did not outwardly ruffle the temper of the Emperor, nor stop the cotton loan, as will presently be seen. The Rebel congressmen looked upon Slidell's scheme with distrust, but the bill was eventually pa.s.sed in secret session. The finances of the Confederacy were going to wreck. There were heavy debts in Europe, and, unless the bills were promptly paid, there would be an end of supplies. England was suffering for cotton, and the time had come for the successful negotiation of a loan, based on cotton, with great apparent advantages to the subscribers. The mill-owners of Manchester were ready to enter upon any speculation which would start their machinery; the aristocracy would subscribe out of sympathy for the slaveholders; the Liverpool shippers would take stock, as it would give employment to their blockade-runners; while the unusual risks and great chances of profit would make it attractive to the mult.i.tude with whom the Derby is the whitest day of the year.

Mr. Slidell had made the acquaintance of Baron Ermile d'Erlanger of Paris, a Jewish banker, who had a branch house in Frankfort conducted by his brother, Raphael d'Erlanger. This firm was recommended by Slidell as a suitable agency for bringing out the loan, and the contract was given them by Mr. Memminger. D'Erlanger began preparations for putting it on the market in February, 1863. He desired to issue it in England, France, Holland, and Germany at the same time, to bring to the Confederacy the financial support of Europe. The considerations were political as well as financial. He found some difficulty, however, in obtaining English agents. The Barings and Rothschilds stood aloof. He offered the London management to Messrs. John H. Gilliat & Co., but that firm declined having anything to do with it. It was offered to other bankers, but refused. He found willing agents at last in Messrs. John Henry Schroeder & Co., and the firm of Messrs. Lawrence, Son, and Pearce. In Liverpool Messrs. Frazer, Trenholm, & Co. had been acting as agents of the Confederacy, and the management was placed in their hands. Schroeder's agents in Amsterdam managed it there, while D'Erlanger's branch house in Frankfort brought it out in that city. D'Erlanger himself manipulated it in Paris.

D'Erlanger and Mr. Beer, of his firm, visited England, and arranged matters with Mason and Spence, and with Frazer, Trenholm, & Co., all of whom were acting as agents of the Confederacy. A special agent had been appointed by the Rebel government to take charge of the loan,-General C. J. McRae,-who was on his way from Richmond to Paris; but as the needs of the Confederacy were urgent, the loan was opened before his arrival.

The support of the press was secured,-all but two or three papers being brought, through the agency of Mr. De Leon, Mr. Mason, and Mr. Spence, to praise the Confederacy, cry down the Union, and urge recognition by France and England as the surest way to put an end to the war.

The correspondence in my possession between the parties opens on the 1st of March. Mr. Spence, sitting in his parlor in the Burlington Hotel, Old Burlington Street, London, writes to Baron d'Erlanger, who is in Paris, asking for a copy of the contract.

D'Erlanger did not place a very high estimate on the ability of Mr. Spence as a financial manager; but as he was the correspondent of the Times, and commercial agent of the Confederacy, thought best not to offend him. Spence, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to make money. A week later, on the 6th of March, he wrote thus to D'Erlanger:-

"You said something in the last interview of 50,000 of the stock. If it had occurred to you to put down to me that quant.i.ty at the gross price of seventy-seven, I should be disposed to consider it, looking to the advantage to all concerned of having a common interest."

As the loan was issued at 90, this proposal of Mr. Spence to take it at 77,-giving him a margin of 13 per cent under the contract price,-was, in the language of bankers, "a shave" for his services as correspondent of the Times,-a transaction upon which more light will be thrown further on in this history.

The loan was put upon the market on the 19th of March. Fifteen per cent was to be paid at the time of subscribing. The stock was limited to three million pounds sterling ($15,000,000); but so desirous were Englishmen to take it, the applications were for 9,000,000 ($45,000,000).

On the evening of the 19th Mr. Spence wrote to D'Erlanger of its success in Liverpool:-

"All goes well here. The cotton trade take it up with strong interest, and it will come out for large sums. I applied very early for 20,000, and thought I should have been first, but found P--- was before me, with his 100,000. You will have a lot of applications in London from the storgs,-that is, those who join to sell at the premium. Here we have no cla.s.s of that kind, and our applicants, as in Manchester, being more bona fide, will, as a rule, take a day or two to digest its merits. The market closed here at 4-1/4,-quite high enough for the first day."

On the next day, the 20th, Mr. Spence writes:-

"We shall very much exceed a million here, I think, by noon to-morrow. The political effect will be enormous. It is the recognition of the South by the intelligence of Europe."

On the 21st, congratulations were received by D'Erlanger from Slidell, who was in London.

"Allow me to congratulate you," said he, "on your magnific success. Apart from the direct advantages of the affair, it cannot fail to give great prestige to your house."

"The Emperor himself, through the medium of his Chef de Cabinet," wrote D'Erlanger to Memminger, "complimented us upon the great success; a proof with what interest the operation had been received by all friends of the South."

Notwithstanding the "intelligence of Europe" had rushed to secure it, bankers of respectability-men who prized honor and integrity above pounds and pence-stood aloof, for they remembered that Mr. Jefferson Davis, President of the slaveholding Confederacy, was a repudiator. No allegation against him had been made through the press, but the Times came to the rescue before the attack. On the 19th, the day on which the loan was issued, Mr. Sampson, editor of the city article, said:-

"Those among the English people who are still suffering from Mississippi repudiation will perhaps view with wonder and regret the negotiation of a loan for a government of which Mr. Jefferson Davis, by whom that repudiation was defended in his place in Congress, is the head. But the Southern Confederacy includes Virginia, Georgia, and other honorable States, and it is by the prospect of what the Confederacy will do as a whole that people will make their calculation. The reasoning that would exclude the South from a loan on account of the conduct of Mississippi, would apply equally to the North, since the North embraces Michigan. It would also have applied to the United States loans negotiated while Mississippi was a State of the Union, and especially while Mr. Jefferson Davis was an influential member of the Federal government, and regarded with high favor by all the Northern population, by whom the remarks of the Times on his financial views were then declared to be nothing but the outpourings of British rancor."[104]

Turning to the Times of July 13th, of 1849, we find a letter written by Jeff Davis, copied from the Washington Union, in which the repudiator says:-

"The crocodile tears which have been shed over ruined creditors are on a par with the lawless denunciations which have been heaped upon that State."

To this the Times replied:-

"Taking its principles and its tone together, it is a doctrine which has never been paralleled. Let it circulate throughout Europe, that a member of the United States Senate in 1849 has openly proclaimed that at a recent period the Governor and Legislative a.s.semblies of his own State deliberately issued fraudulent bonds for five million dollars to sustain the credit of a rickety bank, that the bonds in question having been hypothecated abroad to innocent holders, such holders have not only no claim against the community by whose Executive and Representatives this act was committed, but that they are to be taunted for appealing to the verdict of the civilized world, rather than to the judgment of the legal officers of the State by whose functionaries they have been robbed, and that the ruin of toil-worn men, of women and of children, and the crocodile tears which that ruin has occasioned, is a subject of jest on the part of those by whom it has been accomplished, and then let it be asked if any foreigner ever penned a libel on the American character equal to that against the people of Mississippi by their own Senator."[105]

Mr. Davis published a rejoinder, dated at Briarfield, Miss., August 29, 1849, addressed to the editor of the Mississippian. "It is a foreigner's slander," said he, "against the government, the judiciary, and the people of the Mississippi. It is an attack upon our republican government, the hypocritical cant of stock-jobbers and pensioned presses,-by the hired advocates of the innocent stock dealers of London change. It is a calumnious imputation."

The State of Mississippi had obtained the money in London on the solemn pledge of the faith of the State, and loaned it to the citizens; but the State had broken its pledge, repudiated the debt, and Mr. Jeff Davis eulogized the proceeding! The courts of the State decreed in 1842 that the debt was valid, and the decision was reaffirmed in 1853. Jeff Davis was then Secretary of War, and through his efforts and influence the State continued to repudiate the claims of the British bondholders. In 1863 Mississippi was indebted to Englishmen not only for the princ.i.p.al, $5,000,000, but for twenty-five years of unpaid interest; yet, notwithstanding this, the Times, eating its words of other days, came before the English people with a certificate of character for the repudiator, also publishing one from Slidell. "I am inclined to think," wrote Slidell, "that the people in London confound Mr. Reuben Davis, whom I have always understood to have taken the lead on the question of repudiation, with President Jefferson Davis. I am not aware that the latter was ever identified with the question."

The Times, commenting upon Slidell's letter, said:-