The Mason-slidell Affair

Foreigu Office, Jan. 11, 1SC2. Mv L'"i:i) : Tyi mv disputen to yon of tho 3üth of November, after informing you of the cimnnslanccs which had oocurrod in rclation to the capturo of thu four pt-rsons taken from on board the Tront, [ .tated to you thnt t tlms appenrod that cectaiu individuals liad beon forcibly taken from on board a British TMel, the ship of a neutral power, while imch vestl was pursuing a l.iwful and inniccut voyage - au act of violencc whicb. wa nn ntfrunt to the British flag, aud a fiolation of dtevtiatiocial Iaw. I conelii.lo-l by directing you in caso the reparstioii which her Majcsty's governmout expei'ted to reoeivo sliould nol be offered by Mr. Seward, to propose to thnt 1 ter to make su:h redress as alone would atiffy tlie British nation, namely, first, ' tbo libaration of the four gentlemen léken from ou board the Trent, and ' thcir delivery to your lordship, in ordor j thnt they might again be plaeed under i Uritish protection ; and. secoDdly, a suit ble npology for the aggressiou wbioh j had been committed I receivcd, yesterday, your dispatch of tho 27 tli ultimo, iticloging a note to you from Mr. Seward, which is in substance tha answer to my di.'patcli of the oOth of November. Proc eding at once to the inain points in di.Houssum bctween us, her Alajesty's Governn:otit havo carefully ex niincd how far Mr Seward's note, and the conduct it announces, eomplies substantially with tho two pioposals I have rceited. With regard to tho firet, viz : the liberation of tho prisoners with a view to their being again placed under British proteetiou, I find that the note coneludes by Btating that, tho prisoners will bo cheertuliy libcrated, and by ealling upon your lordship to indícate a time and place for receiving them. No condition of any kind is coupled with the liberution of the prisoners. With regard to the suitable apology which the Britisli Government liad a right to expect, I fiüd that the Govern ment of the United States distinctly and meijattvocally . declares that no direc tiDtis had beeu given to Captain Wiikes, r to any other naval officer, to arrest thu four persons named, or any of thom, on tl U'rcnt, or on any other British vessel, at thu place whero it occurrod or elsewhcre. I find further, that the Secrttary of Statu expressly forbeara to justify the purticuiar act af whieh her Majesty'a }overntnent complained. If the United States Government had alleged that, al though Captain Wilkes had no previous instruction for that purpose, he was right in c.tpturing the persons of the four prisoners, and in remo ving them from the Trent on board his own vessel, to be afterward carried into a port of the United States, tho government which had thu saiictioncd the proceeding of Capt. Wilkes would havo become ïesponsible for the origiual violenee and insult of the et. Bat Mr. Seward contenta himself with stating that what has happencd has b;en simply an inaJverteicy, consisting in a departure by a naval officer, free from any wrongful motive, from a rule uncertaiiily cstablished, and probably by the severa! partios concerned either ini?i rfcetly understood orentirely unknown. 'he Secretary of Stïte goos on to affirni that for this error the British government has a right to expect the same ro paratiou which the United States, as an independent state, should expect from Great Britain, or from any other friendly nation in a similar case. Her Msjesty'a government hnving carefully taken into their consideraron tho liberatiou of the prisoners, tho djliv cry of them uto your hands, and the explanations to which I have just referred. have arrived at the conclusión that they constitute the reparation which hor Majesty and the British nation had a right t axpect. It gives her Majesty'a government great sitisfaction to be cuabled to arrive at a conclusión favorable to the maiutenanoe of the most friendly relations betwecn the two nations [ need not dislus the modifications in my statement of fa-ctg which Mr. Seward says he has dürird frotn the reports of offioers of Lis gorenaraent. I caanat concLide, Lowever, without d-ertinjT ghortly to the discussions which Mr. Seward has raiscd upon points not promineutly brought into question in my dispateh of the 30t!i of November. I thore objected, on the part of her Majcsty's gorernment, to that which Copt. Wilkcs had done. Mr. Seward, in kis a B'.ver, poïnts out wh;it he conexivos C.ipt. VVilkes miglit havo done without violating the law of nations. It is not necessary that I should hcre discuss in detail the five questions ably rgued by the Secretary of State; but it is necessary that I should say that her inajusty' government differ frotn Mr. Seward in somo of the oonclusions at whioh he arrived. And it may lead to a bstter understundiug bütweeu tho two natious on several points of international law, whieh may, during tho present contost, or at some future time, ho brought ruto questiou, that I should state to you, for eoinmunicatiou to the Secretary of Hitte, wheroin these differences coasist. I hope to do so in a few days. In thi meantimo ü will be desiralle that tht oommanders of (he United States cruistri thould be imlructed not to rejyeat acts or whiek iki Britisk Governnieiii will hace to atk or rédrem, and which the United SttUei Gocermmvt catinot undertake to j'iuYou will read and give a eopy of thi.s dinpatch to tho Secretary of títate. I mu, &c, (Signed) RUSSELL. Tuk Pkoposkd Taxation. - An animal tnx of $273,000 is proposed, 820i000,000 of which shall be for paying iatrest of loans and for a ninking finid, and the rest for the cornmon expenses of Government. The war expendkures are variously estimated at from one to to two mdlions per day. Tbe following is tha profiosed tnble íoi rit)it)jf the utn of $273,000,000; I. Aiwturier t(i500,000 3 A isd t 40,000,001 3. A i&% qd incomB ................ 5ri,0'10,0l0 4. Í tmt oa lomcstic manufactures 3O.0 0,000 ñ. I)utiiiíi nUimpü ]f,t'OO,.00 A. tu os tUuchtered ADimais 17.nOO.000 ?. AlubiMOUx 16,0JO,0ÜO 8. A tx ou domestic fplrits 9,500,000 A UiondomOHtie leand beer 3,500,000 10. Almurjta 10,(100.00 11. A nevrKpaper and periódica! tai... .... 2.500,0f:o lí. A raüroad U.X 7.500,000 IS. AUiomlim 2,S0J,000 - Sprinsfield Republlcan. SL" The New York Sim, speaking of the eondition of different classes ín that city, says: " Operativts are comparatively bctter off than any clasa, aud the hard times seeiu most to effect merchants and tradeamen whese busiuess is outsido of wy conneetion vith army supplies. - Many jEimUÍL0, aecustomed to pay 1,000 and 1,200 rent, uro üow occupying upper rooms at $1200; and tho number endeuvoring to lessen expenses by taking boarders has so much iucreased, that the regular boaruing houses have beeu affecttl by loss of cuütuui aud tho decline in prices.