William H. Seward to Reverdy Johnson, June 10, 1862

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,            

Washington, June 10, 1862.

REVERDY JOHNSON, Esq.:

SIR: You are aware that complaints have been made of recent proceedings of Major-General Butler, at New Orleans, in reference to foreign consuls, and particularly the consul of the Netherlands there. It being desirable to have the complaints investigated by a commissioner of high character and acknowledged ability, the President has selected you for the purpose. You will receive herewith a copy of all the papers on the subject in this Department, including memoranda of conversations between Lord Lyons and myself, Mr. Mercier and myself, and correspondence between Mr. Roest Van Limburg, the minister of the Netherlands, and this Department. You will proceed to New Orleans by the earliest opportunity and will lose no time in making your inquiries, which should be as thorough and impartial as circumstances may permit.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

_______________

[Inclosure No. 1.]

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to Edwin M. Stanton, May 16, 1862

 [Inclosure No. 2.]

Department of State Memorandum, May 30, 1862

[Inclosure No. 3.]

Department of State Memorandum, May 31, 1862

[Inclosure No. 4.]

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 5, 1862

 [Inclosure No. 5.—Translation.]

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 6, 1862

[Inclosure No. 6. —Translation.]

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 7, 1862

[Inclosure No. 7. —Translation.]

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 7, 1862

[Inclosure No. 8.]

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 7, 1862

[Inclosure No. 9.]

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 7, 1862

[Inclosure No. 10.—Translation.]

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 9, 1862

[Inclosure No. 11. —Translation.]

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 9, 1862

[Inclosure No. 12.]

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 9, 1862

[Inclosure No. 13.]

William M. Evarts to William H. Seward, June 10, 1862

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 115-6, Sub-inclosures, p. 116-139

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to Edwin M. Stanton, May 16, 1862

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,                  

New Orleans, May 16, 1862.

Hon. E. M. STANTON,

Secretary of War:

SIR: Since my dispatch of May 8* I received information that a large amount of specie was concealed in the liquor store of one Am. Couturie, who claims to be consul for the Netherlands. Upon applying to him, he denied all knowledge of it; claimed all the property there as his own. Upon examination, however, there was discovered to be $800,000 in Mexican coin bearing the mark of the Citizens' Bank of New Orleans, the specie capital of which had been elongated before the occupation of the city. Of this I took possession. This money was immediately claimed by Hope & Co., of Amsterdam. A copy of the claim of the agent is herewith transmitted, marked A. But the whole transaction seems to be tinctured with bad faith, as the steel dies and plates of the bank were found in a box amongst this very specie, which is said to have been paid to Hope & Co. before it was due, while the bank was refusing to redeem their bills at home in coin. I hold the specie subject to the orders of the Department. I send also copies of the correspondence between the consul of the Netherlands and myself, and also of the other consuls, upon the same subject, marked B, C, D, E, F, [G].

Indeed, the claims of these consular gentlemen are most extravagant. Men who have lived here all their lives now claim perfect immunity from the ordinary laws of war for themselves and all property which they can cover, although they have been in arms against the United States. Many of these pretensions are too absurd to be for a moment entertained. Amongst other things it is claimed that the consulate flag and consulate have all and more than all of the privileges accorded to residence of a minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary by the laws of nations.

Almost all property, therefore, useful to the United States which has not been burned or carried off will be found to be held here by persons who have lived in Louisiana all their lives, but now claim to be foreigners. Every schooner and fishing smack that cannot venture out of the river raises a foreign flag. All wood for steamers for miles up the river has been burnt, except isolated yards, and in one instance the owner refused to sell one of my boats any wood, and when the officer went to take it hoisted the French flag over it. The steamer wooded up, however.

May I ask direction of the Department on this subject? I call attention in this communication to the correspondence between a person claiming to be acting British consul here and myself relative to the British Guard, the military organization that sent their arms and equipments to General Beauregard after the city was taken. The whole facts are set forth in that correspondence, marked H. I have neither doubt nor hesitation in regard to my action in the premises.

Immediately upon my seizure of the money of the Citizens' Bank I had an interview with the representatives of all the banks of New Orleans. On the approach of the fleet these organizations had sent away and concealed their specie. The letters marked K will explain what has been done. They are now very anxious to get their money back again, are straining every nerve to do so in the best of faith, and are asking me to actively aid them, which I am doing. I thought it much better that ten or twelve millions of specie should be brought within our lines, under our protection and control, than to be left in the Confederate States as a military chest for the rebels. My fear is that a large portion of the money is lost, as it may never be allowed to return.

You will observe that in the letter to the banks, marked K, I have not pledged myself not to "retake" from them the property of the United States. I refer to the specie originally stolen from the mint and treasury here and paid into banks by the secession authorities. I would desire to know these amounts from the bureaus at Washington. I propose the banks shall pay back the amounts so received. When I have traced stolen property to the receiver I have done my duty. The sureties of the several U.S. officers who made these defalcations then are still here, and by prompt action their property may be seized and their indebtment secured.

Will copies of the bonds be sent? †

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

BENJ. F. BUTLER,              

Major-General, Commanding.

_______________

* See Series 1, Vol. VI, p. 506.

† Portions of letter here omitted relates more particularly to military operations & is printed in Series I, Vol. XV, pp. 422-4.

_______________

[Sub-inclosures.]

A.

Edmund J. Forstall to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 11, 1862

B.

Amedée Couturie to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, April 10, 1862 — 9 p.m.

C.

Amedée Couturie: Statement of Facts, April 10, 1862

D.

Cte. Mejan, Le Consul de France et al to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 12, 1862

E.

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to Cte. Mejan, Le Consul de France et al, May 12, 1862

F.

Amedée Couturie to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 16, 1862

Amedée Couturie:Statement of Facts: May 13, 1862 — 11 a.m.

G.

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to Amedée Couturie, May 14, 1862

H.

George Coppell to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 8, 1862

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to George Coppell, May 11, 1862

George Coppell to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 13, 1862

George Coppell to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 16, 1862

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to George Coppell, May 16, 1862

K.

William N. Mercer & Jean M. Lapeyre to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 13, 1862

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to William N. Mercer & Jean M. Lapeyre, May 14, 1862

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 116-7, Sub-inclosures, p. 117-130

Edmund J. Forstall to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 11, 1862

NEW ORLEANS, May 11, 1862.

Major-General BUTLER, U.S. Army,

Commanding Department of the Gulf:

SIR: I take the liberty respectfully to submit to you the following facts:

On the 1st of April last I presented for record in the books of the consul of the Pays-Bas, Am. Couturie, esq., the following resolutions of the Citizens' Bank of Louisiana, bearing date 25th of February last, placing in my hands for the purposes therein stipulated the sum of $800,000 in Mexican dollars, as agent of Messrs. Hope & Co., of Amsterdam:

James D. Denegre, president; Eugene Rousseau, cashier.

CITIZENS' BANK OF LOUISIANA,                    

New Orleans, February 25, 1862.

Extract from the journal of proceedings of the board of directors of the Citizens' Bank

of Louisiana at their sitting of 24th of February, 1862.

“Whereas the present rate of exchange on Europe would entail a ruinous loss on this bank for such sums as are due semi-annually in Amsterdam for the interest on the State bonds:

"Be it therefore resolved, That the president be, and he is hereby, authorized to make a special deposit of $800,000 in Mexican dollars in the hands of Messrs. Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, Holland, agents of the bondholders in Europe, through their authorized agent, Edmund J. Forstall, esq., for the purpose of providing for the interest on said bonds.

"Be it further resolved, That such portions of the above sum as may be required from time to time to pay the interest accruing on the State bonds shall be so applied by Messrs. Hope & Co.: Provided, however, That the bank shall have the option of redeeming an equivalent amount in coin by approved sterling exchange to the satisfaction of the agent of Messrs. Hope & Co.: And provided further, That in the event of the blockade of this port not being raised in time to allow of the shipment of said coin, then the said Edmund J. Forstall will arrange with Messrs. Hope & Co. for the necessary advances to protect the credit of the State and of the bank until such time as the coin can go forward to liquidate said debt; but no commission shall be allowed for such shipment of coin or any other expenses except those actually incurred, and on the resumption of specie payment by this bank this trust to cease and the balance of coin to be returned to the bank.”

On the 12th of April, as agent of Messrs. Hope & Co., and with a view to their better security in such times of excitement, I deemed it my duty to withdraw the said sum of $800,000, already marked and prepared for shipment, say 160 kegs, Hope & Co., containing $5,000 each, and to place the same under the protection of the consul of the Netherlands, Am. Couturie, esq., for which I hold his receipt as follows:

CONSULATE NETHERLANDS,               

New Orleans, April 12, 1862.

Received on deposit from Mr. Edmund J. Forstall, agent in this city of Messrs. Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, 160 barrels, marked H. & C., and containing each $5,000, total 800,000 Mexican dollars. The said barrels are deposited in the vaults of the Netherlands consulate, 109 Canal street.

AM. COUTURIE,                 

Consul Netherlands.

I also placed in the hands of the said consul on the same day ten bonds of the New Orleans City for $1,000 each, and eight bonds of the city of Mobile, for which he gave me the following receipt:

NEW ORLEANS, April 12, 1862.

Received on deposit from Mr. Edmund J. Forstall, agent in this city of Messrs. Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, ten consolidated bonds debt of New Orleans of $1,000 each, eight bonds of the city of Mobile of $1,000 each, which bonds were placed in my hands to the account of Messrs. Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

AM. COUTURIE,                 

Consul Netherlands.

On the first reliable opportunity offering of communicating with Messrs. Hope & Co., which was on 1st of April last, I wrote them as follows:

The Citizens' Bank and Consolidated Association, unlike our other banks, being based on foreign capital, I have thought it my duty to interfere in behalf of the bondholders you represent in order to secure as much of the cash assets of the institution in question as needed punctually to meet running interests in Europe until communications are again opened. For this special purpose the Citizens' Bank has placed in my hands $800,000 in Mexican dollars under the following resolutions. (Same as before transcribed.) This document has been registered as follows:

"Seen and registered in the journal at the consulate under the heading of Order 1, New Orleans, April 1, 1862.

"AM. COUTURIE,               

"Consul of the Netherlands."

For the protection of French property in case of need, the French consul has taken a fireproof building formerly occupied by the Canal Bank with vaults for coin, &c. The French consul has consented to receive for safe-keeping under the protection of your consul the above amount of $800,000 of Mexican dollars. I am also depositing there ten New Orleans City bonds and eight city of Mobile bonds belonging to you. I am doing the same with the bonds belonging to Messrs. Baring Bros. & Co., under the protection of the British consul.

The French consul having subsequently declined receiving the above specie, Mr. Am. Couturie used his own vaults in Canal street.

I hold the power of attorney of Messrs. Hope & Co., covering my whole intervention in this matter; also the originals of all the documents before transcribed, which I am ready to exhibit if desired. I may be permitted here to remark that so far back as the middle of February last I called the attention of both the Citizens' Bank and Consolidated Association to the propriety of securing against all contingencies, and, so far as they were able, the bondholders represented by Messrs. Hope & Co. and Baring Bros. & Co., who had supplied them with their banking capital.

Under these circumstances I deem it my duty to claim in behalf of Messrs. Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, the above sum of $800,000, say 160 kegs, marked H. & Co., containing each $5,000, which, I am informed, has been forcibly taken out of the possession of the consul of Holland, Am. Couturie, esq., and I trust that on a consideration of facts no doubt unknown to you you will see the justice of ordering said money to be returned to me that I may ship same to Europe in accordance with my contract with the Citizens' Bank so soon as I may be permitted to do so.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 EDM. J. FORSTALL.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 117-9

Amedée Couturie to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, April 10, 1862 — 9 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS, Saturday, May 10, 1862—9 p.m.

Maj. Gen. B. F. BUTLER, U.S. Army,

Commanding Department of the Gulf, New Orleans:

SIR: Herewith inclosed I have the honor to transmit to you a statement of facts which transpired in my consular office during the afternoon of this day, duplicates of which statement I am about to transmit to the minister of my Government, accredited at Washington, and also to the minister of foreign affairs at The Hague. I desire to know whether the acts recited in said statement were performed with your sanction or by your orders. Your answer, or a faithful copy thereof, shall accompany my messages to my ministers and Government.

I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient servant,

 AM. COUTURIE,                

Consul of the Netherlands.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 119

Amedée Couturie: Statement Of Facts, April 10, 1862

On this day, the 10th of April, 1862, and at the hour of five minutes to 2 o'clock p.m., I, being in my consular office, No. 109 Canal street, was called upon by an officer wearing the uniform and arms of a captain of the U.S. Army, accompanied by a squad of six or eight men under his command.

The captain informed me that he came to prevent the exit of any person or property from the premises.

I said that I was consul of the Netherlands; that this was the office of my consulate, and that I protested against any such violation of same. I then wrote a note to Comte Mejan, consul of France, in this city, requesting him to come to me for consultation.

This note was handed to the officer, whose name I then learned to be Captain Shipley, who promised to send it after taking it to headquarters.

Captain Shipley returned and stated to me that by order of Major-General Butler my note would not be sent to Consul Mejan, and that he, the captain, would proceed forthwith to search the premises. Captain Shipley then demanded of me the keys of my vault. These I refused to deliver. He remarked that he would have to force open the doors, and I told him that in regard to that he could do what he pleased. For the second time I again protested against the violation of the consular office to Captain Shipley, who then went out. Before he left I distinctly put the question to him, “Sir, am I to understand that my consular office is taken possession of and myself am arrested by you, and that, too, by the order of Major-General Butler?” He replied, “Yes, sir.” During Captain Shipley's absence another officer remained in the office and a special sentinel was put on guard in the room where I then kept myself. The name of this second officer was Lieutenant Whitcomb, as he informed me. Captain Shipley returned and was followed by another officer, whose name I could not ascertain, but from appearances ranking him.

This officer approached me, and in a passionate, insulting tone, contrasting singularly with the gentlemanly deportment of both Captain Shipley and Lieutenant Whitcomb, made the same demand for the keys as had been made by Captain Shipley, and I made the same refusal, protesting against the act, as I had done before. He then gave orders to search the office and break open, if need be, the doors of the vault.

I then arose and said:

I, Amedée Couturie, consul of the Netherlands, protest against any occupation or search of my office; and this I do in the name of my Government. The name of my consulate is over the door, and my flag floats over my head. If I cede, it is to force alone.

Search being begun in the office by the officer, I told him that the keys were on my person. He then in a more than rough tone ordered two of the soldiers to search my person, using the following among other expressions: “Search the fellow,” “strip him,” “take off his coat, stockings,” “search even the soles of his shoes.” I remarked to the officer that the appellation “fellow” that he gave me was never applied to a gentleman, far less to a foreign consul in his consular capacity, as I was then, and that I requested him to remember that he had said the word. He replied it was the name he had given me, and he repeated over the name three times.

Both Captain Shipley and Lieutenant Whitcomb then stepped forward. The latter was the first to take two keys out of my coat pocket. The former took the key of my vault from the right pocket of my pantaloons. Of the keys taken by Lieutenant Whitcomb there was one opening my place of business, which had nothing to do with my place consulate and is situated in a different part of the city. I claimed it, but was told by the commanding officer that he would keep it for the present, but might let me have it to-morrow.

I must here state that when Captain Shipley told me that my letter to the consul of France would not be sent I remarked that I had forwarded another message to the consul and was expecting him every moment, and that if he, the captain, would delay action until I had seen the consul of France something good might come out of my consultation. Captain Shipley replied that he could not delay action, and that the order of General Butler was to go on with the work he was charged with.

The superior officer then took the keys, opened the vault, and in company of Captain Shipley and Lieutenant Whitcomb entered the same. What they did there I was unable to see, as I kept myself in the same place and in the same chair where I had been searched.

After searching for some time said officer retired, leaving the vault open, Captain Shipley and Lieutenant Whitcomb remaining with their men. Two other officers that I had not seen before came in and joined them for some time.

After an absence of about three-quarters of an hour the officer in question returned, and in the presence of the other officers closed and locked the vault, taking the keys along with him. I then remarked to him that the key of my store was among those that had been taken away from my person, and I wished to have it. The same officer then asked me whether my store contained any goods or property belonging to the Confederates, to which inquiry I answered in the negative. The same officer made use of the following language at the time: “You have placed yourself in a bad position, and shall be treated without any consideration.” He retired after that. It was then about 4 p.m.

I then continued to be a prisoner under the charge of Captain Shipley and a guard of armed soldiers placed inside and outside of my office until about 7 p.m., when Captain Shipley, having communicated with another officer who came in the consular office, approached me and said: “You are now at liberty to go wherever you please, sir.” I said: “I am at liberty to go wherever I please?” He answered: “Yes, sir.” I then remarked: “And it is by verbal communication that I am informed of the fact?” He replied: “The same as you were arrested.” I then rose, and before leaving my office made the following remark to Captain Shipley: “You have taken possession of this office, I leave everything in your charge.” To this he replied: “I will take care of it.” Whereupon I left my office, and a short time after I took down my consular flag.

AM. COUTURIE,                 

Consul of the Netherlands.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 119-21

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to Amedée Couturie, May 14, 1862

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,                  

New Orleans, May 14, 1862.

The CONSUL OF THE NETHERLANDS:

SIR: Your communication of the 10th instant is received. The nature of the property found concealed beneath your consular flag, the specie, dies, and plates of the Citizens' Bank of New Orleans, under a claim that it was your private property, which claim is now admitted to be groundless, shows you have merited, so far as I can judge, the treatment you have received, even if a little rough. Having prostituted your flag to a base purpose, you could not hope to have it respected, so debased.

I am, officially, your obedient servant,

BENJ. F. BUTLER,              

Major-general, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 124

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 5, 1862

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,            

Washington, June 5, 1862.

Mr. ROEST VAN LIMBURG, &c.:

SIR: In regard to the papers which you informally left with me yesterday while waiting for the instructions of your Government, I have the honor to say that the President deeply regrets the conflict between the military authorities and the consulate of the Netherlands which occurred at New Orleans just at the moment when preparations were being made for the restoration of order and the renewal of commerce.

The statements of the transaction which have been received show that Major-General Butler was informed that a very large sum of money belonging to insurgent enemies was lying secreted in a certain liquor store in the city, and he very properly sent a military guard to search the premises indicated. The general says that it was reported to him that Mr. Couturie, who was found there, denied all knowledge of any such deposits, and claimed that all the property in the building belonged to himself personally. These reported assertions of Mr. Couturie of course determined the general to proceed with the search. Mr. Couturie at this stage of the matter avowed himself to be the consul of the Netherlands, and pointed at the flag which he had raised over the door. He withheld all explanation, however, concerning the property for which search had been ordered, and protested against any examination whatever of the premises on the ground of the immunities of the consulate. He was thereupon detained; the keys of a vault were taken from his person; the vault was opened and there was found therein $800,000 in specie and $18,000 of bonds or evidences of debt, certain dies and plates of the Citizens' Bank, the consular commission, and exequatur, and various title deeds and other private papers. All the property and papers thus taken were removed and placed for safe-keeping in the U.S. mint, and the transaction was reported by Major-General Butler to the Secretary of War.

After the affair had thus been ended the consul made written protests, in which he insisted that his detention and the search were illegal, and that the specie and bonds were lawful deposits belonging to Hope & Co., subjects of the King of the Netherlands, and an agent of Hope & Co. has also protested to the same effect and demanded that the specie and bonds shall be delivered to them. The consul further denied that he had at any time claimed that the specie and bonds were his own. Major-General Butler still insists that the deposits were fraudulent and treasonable and were made with the connivance of the consul.

The President does not doubt that in view of the military necessity which manifestly existed for the most vigorous and energetic proceedings in restoring law, order, and peace to a city that had been for fifteen months the scene of insurrection, anarchy, and ruin, and in the absence of all lawful civil authority there, the consul of the Netherlands ought, in the first instance, to have submitted to the general the explanations which he afterward made in his protest, with the evidences which he possessed to show that the deposits were legitimate. If he had done this and then referred Major-General Butler to yourself, or to this Government, the President now thinks that it would have been the duty of the general to have awaited special instructions from the Secretary of War. The consul, however, preferred to stand silent and to insist on official immunities, the extent of which he certainly misunderstood when he assumed that his flag or the consular occupancy of the premises entitled him, in a time of public danger, to an exemption from making any exhibition of suspected property on the premises or any explanation concerning it.

Nevertheless, this error of the consul was altogether insufficient to justify what afterward occurred.

It appears beyond dispute that the person of the consul was unnecessarily and rudely searched; that certain papers which incontestably were archives of the consulate were seized and removed, and that they are still withheld from him, and that he was not only denied the privilege of conferring with a friendly colleague, but was addressed in very discourteous and disrespectful language.

In these proceedings the military agents assumed functions which belong exclusively to the Department of State, acting under the directions of the President. This conduct was a violation of the law of nations and of the comity due from this country to a friendly sovereign State. This Government disapproves of these proceedings, and also of the sanction which was given to them by Major-General Butler, and expresses its regret that the misconduct thus censured has occurred.

The President has already appointed a military Governor for the State of Louisiana, who has been instructed to pay due respect to all consular rights and privileges; and a commissioner will at once proceed to New Orleans to investigate the transaction which has been detailed, and take evidence concerning the title of the specie and bonds and other property in question, with a view to a disposition of the same, according to international law and justice. You are invited to designate any proper person to join such commissioner and attend his investigations. This Government holds itself responsible for the money and the bonds in question, and to deliver them up to the consul or to Hope & Co. if they shall appear to belong to them. The consular commission and exequatur, together with all the private papers, will be immediately returned to Mr. Couturie, and he will be allowed to renew and, for the present, to exercise his official functions. Should the facts, when ascertained, justify a representation to you of misconduct on his part it will in due time be made, with the confidence that the subject will receive just consideration by a Government with which the United States have lived in amity for so many years.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurance of my high consideration.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 132-3

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 6, 1862

LEGATION OF THE NETHERLANDS,                

Washington, June 6, 1862.

Hon. Mr. SEWARD,

Secretary of State of the United States of America:

SIR: I have had the honor to receive your note, dated yesterday, through which you have been pleased to inform me that the President deeply regrets the conflict which has occurred at New Orleans between the military authorities and the consul of the Netherlands. It is with a real satisfaction, which accords fully with what I was to expect from the high sense of justice of the President and of the Government of the United States, that I have seen, in the course of the note, that they view the conduct of the aforesaid authorities as a violation of the law of nations; that they disapprove of it; that they disapprove of the sanction which was given to it by Major-General Butler.

After having thanked the President and the Government of the United States therefor, I must permit myself to remark, Mr. Secretary of State, that a circumstance which, from, the inception, the consul of the Netherlands is reproached with, must evidently be attributed to a want of clearness in the statement made by Major-General Butler.

According to your note, he says, “that he had been informed that a very considerable sum, belonging to insurgent enemies, was secreted in a certain liquor store of the city;” whereupon, you observe, “that he sent, very properly, a military guard to make searches at the place indicated.” But it appears to be proven that the money and articles in question were not by any means in this liquor store, but in a very different place in the city. If, therefore, Mr. Couturie was accosted in the aforesaid liquor store, his commercial establishment, he might have said, with truth, that all that was in that store was his personal property. There would, therefore, be want of clearness on the part of Major-General Butler in making the declaration of Mr. Couturie bear upon the kegs, &c. Upon other allegations of Major-General Butler, differing (contrary to) from the allegations of the consul, I would not desire more than yourself, Mr. Secretary of State, to express an opinion.. Major-General Butler makes a very serious charge against the consul, which involves a proceeding deserving a removal from office of the one or the other; that of the consul if he has in reality received, “with connivance,” as Major-General Butler pretends (alleges), a “fraudulent” deposit; that of Major-General Butler if he fails to prove that charge. For to take from one his honor is no less culpable than to take from him his property, his life. Let the Government of the United States, Mr. Secretary of State, in order to throw light upon its information or knowledge, have the affair examined and investigated (“investigate the transaction which has been detailed”) before it pronounces between the accuser and the accused. This could not be impugned by me; but that I appoint some one to take part, to assist, in this species of inquest, which, by the proceedings themselves of the military authorities, can no longer take place upon a state of things untouched--the kegs and the boxes having been carried off without any seals, having been, as it appears, opened by Major-General Butler. This I could not do without granting, in some measure, a bill of indemnity to that which has occurred. It is what I could not take upon myself without receiving upon that point the instructions of the Government of the King. There are, besides, in this affair circumstances which strike me. It seems to me that when the question relates to “fraudulent deposit,” to “connivance” in acts of high treason, one should not impute, as Major-General Butler does; one should rather accuse. One should not limit himself to seize upon the proofs; it would also be natural to make sure of the accused persons; and notwithstanding the consul, to whom they impute so serious an act, was under arrest but during a few hours, during the searches made in his vault, whilst the agent of the house of Hope & Co., who, if the consul be guilty, must be so at least as much so as him, has not been, to my knowledge, arrested. These are circumstances, Mr. Secretary of State, which seem to me of a nature to cause one to rather presume the innocence of the agent of the house of Hope & Co. and of the consul of the Netherlands than to indicate that they are believed really guilty. You should not, therefore, be surprised that I recoil from the supposition of culpability, and that as for myself I could not consider the deposit otherwise than as legitimate until the contrary be proven. It is for Major-General Butler to prove what he alleges; ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat (the burden of proof lies upon him who asserts, not upon him who denies), say the Pandects. It is not for me, it is not for our consul, to prove that he is innocent. Prima facie, the money delivered by the Citizens' Bank to the agent of the house of Hope & Co., to be transmitted to that house or to be deposited with the consul of the Netherlands; is a legitimate money, legitimately transferred.

I could not, without having-received (obtained) the orders of the Government of the King, participate in any manner in an investigation which would tend to investigate that which I could not put in doubt—the good faith of the agent of the house of Hope & Co., the moral impossibility that that honorable house should lend itself to any culpable underplot, the good faith of the consul of the Netherlands.

Quilibet præsumitur justus, donec probatur contrarium (everyone is to be presumed honest until the contrary is proven), saith the ancient and universal rule of justice, and this rule is true especially when it applies to persons such as those as are in question here.

Consequently, while awaiting the orders of the Government of the King, I reserve all the rights and all the demands (claims) which may be based, either by the Royal Government or by the Netherlands consul or by individuals, upon the seizure of values, titles, or papers deposited at the consulate of the Netherlands at New Orleans, and more especially upon the reprehensible and censured manner in which this seizure has been made. But if on the one hand, Mr. Secretary of State, I must reserve, in their entireness, all the demands which the Government of the King, the consul of the Netherlands, and the persons interested might hereafter have to sustain, on the other hand I am happy to give you the assurance that the Government of the King, upon an eventual representation on your part against the conduct of the consul at New Orleans, will receive it with all the consideration and will right it with all the promptness which the excellent relations which for so many years have existed between the two countries may lead to expect from the Government of the august sovereign who maintains, and will ever maintain, the motto, Justitia regnorum fundamentum (Justice is the foundation of kingdoms).

I have the honor, Mr. Secretary of State, to request you to be pleased, at an early day, to acknowledge the receipt of this note from me, and I avail myself of this new opportunity to reiterate to you the assurances of my high consideration.

ROEST VAN LIMBURG.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 133-5

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 7, 1862

LEGATION OF THE NETHERLANDS,                

Washington, June 7, 1862.

Hon. Mr. SEWARD,

Secretary of State of the United States of America:

SIR: In my note of yesterday, of the 6th of this month, I have had the honor to offer you my thanks for the ample and decided manner in which the President and the Government of the United States have censured the proceedings of Major-General Butler toward our consul at New Orleans, at the time of the seizure of the values and papers deposited at the consulate of the Netherlands. I afterward corrected a want of clearness made by Major-General Butler, upon which you based a reproach to the consul.

In reference to the decision of the Government of the United States to throw light upon its information as to what has occurred at the consulate, and upon the allegations of Major-General Butler respecting the nature of the deposit, I have stated the motives which prevent me from participating in the species of inquiry which the Government of the United States is immediately to cause to be instituted at New Orleans, in order to be enabled afterward, without delay, to return the values to the consul or to the house of Hope & Co., should it appear that they belong to that house, or, in other words, to dispose of them according to the law of nations and justice (“with a view to a disposal of the same according to international law and justice”).

The sincerity of this intention and the real desire of the President and of the Government of the United States to terminate not only in the most just, but in the most prompt manner, this affair, highly interesting to all the nations having relations with the United States, this sincerity and the reality of this desire could not be, in my view, subject to the slightest doubt. I am convinced of it, and it is this conviction which causes me, Mr. Secretary of State, to ask you now to communicate to me the proofs which Major-General Butler pretends to have had in his hands to accuse the consul of the Netherlands and to seize the deposit as unlawful.

For it is upon proofs existing at the time of the seizure, and solely upon these proofs, upon which Major-General Butler must rely. Ex post factum, there will be nothing to allege.

You could not, I think, have any difficulty in acceding to my request, because it can only be upon the proofs which Major-General Butler has pretended to have that you retain in your possession the articles taken from the consul, who, being then in possession, had in his favor the legal presumption of a just title.

I pray you, then, sir, to be pleased, by communicating the papers which I have the honor of asking of you, to enable me to enlighten the Government of the King as soon as possible upon this subject; and I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you the assurances of my high consideration.

ROEST VAN LIMBURG.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 135-6

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 7, 1862

LEGATION OF THE NETHERLANDS,                

Washington, June 7, 1862.

Hon. Mr. SEWARD,

Secretary of State of the United States of America, &c.:

From the first interview which I had the honor to have with you in regard to the lamentable events which took place in the course of last month at the consulate of the Netherlands at New Orleans, you have evinced a spirit of conciliation, the extent of which I take pleasure in acknowledging. You have assured me that all which I could reasonably ask of you would be accorded to me.

I submitted to you the information and reports which I had received. These were sufficient to induce you to take the initiative in the reparation which at first seemed to you to be due.

But from the note which to this end you were pleased to address to me day before yesterday, and from the answer which I made to it on the day following, it appears that you cannot at present decide as to the allegation of Major-General Butler, whilst I, until the contrary be proved, must consider our consul as acting entirely in good faith and as being perfectly in the right to receive from the hands of the agent of the firm of Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, a deposit for that firm. There was not, according to the law of nations and universally received usages, any obligation on the Government of the United States to verify the contents of the kegs, which the agent of the house of Hope had declared to him to contain 800,000 Mexican dollars.

In this state of affairs, which your sense of justice will hasten, as you have assured me, to put an end to as soon as possible, our consul would find himself, without some new proof of conciliation and equity on your part, in a false position. Your note of the 5th says that his consular commission and the exequatur of the President (improperly taken out of his possession by Major-General Butler) will be returned to him immediately, and that he will be “permitted” to resume his functions. I have no reason to suppose, sir, that you have used this term with any positive intention; therefore I flatter myself that, while reserving to yourself any ulterior action against the consul, you will not object to considering him, as I do, and as justice considers every man against whom nothing has been proved, as honorable and as acting in good faith; and that consequently you will not refuse to "invite" him, through my interposition, to resume his functions, while adding that you cannot consider him otherwise than as acting in good faith and as honorable until the contrary be proved, and while waiting for the report of the commissioner whom you are going to send to New Orleans.

I have the honor, Mr. Secretary of State, to request you to be pleased also, as soon as possible, to honor me with your reply in this regard; and I profit by this new opportunity to reiterate to you the assurances of my high consideration.

ROEST VAN LIMBURG.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 136-7

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 7, 1862

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,            

Washington, June 7, 1862.

Mr. ROEST VAN LIMBURG, &c.:

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yesterday and of this date on the subject of the proceedings of Major-General Butler with reference to the consul of the Netherlands at New Orleans. The first of these communications presents several points which merit special notice, but I prefer to reserve a reply to them in detail until I shall have received information in regard to the instructions upon the subject which you expect from your Government.

In answer to your note of this date I have to remark that in conformity with that conciliatory disposition which it has been my purpose to show and which you very liberally acknowledge, I have no objection to your writing to the consul that it is the President's expectation that, he will resume and continue in the discharge of his official functions until there shall be further occasion for him to relinquish them.

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you a renewed assurance of my very high consideration.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 137

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 7, 1862

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,            

Washington, June 7, 1862.

Mr. ROEST VAN LIMBURG, &c.:

SIR: In answer to your second note of this date, in which you request the proof upon which Major-General Butler based his proceedings against the consul of the Netherlands at New Orleans, I have to inform you with entire frankness that my communications to you upon the subject have been drawn from the report of that officer with reference to his proceedings in that city generally up to the 16th of last month, the date of the report. That document not being accompanied by any proof of the allegations against the consul, it is quite beyond my power at this time to comply with your request.

I offer to you, sir, a renewed assurance of my very high consideration.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 138

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 9, 1862

LEGATION OF THE NETHERLANDS,                          

Washington, June 9, 1862.

Hon. Mr. SEWARD,

Secretary of State of the United States of America:

SIR: In your note bearing date the 7th of this month, through which you do me the honor to reply to my second note of the same day, you have been pleased, with a frankness which I appreciate, to inform me that your communications on the subject of the affair in question have been drawn from the report which Major-General Butler made to you of his general conduct at New Orleans up to the 16th of the last month; and that this document not being accompanied by any proof of the allegations against the consul, it is not in your power to comply with my request “to be pleased to communicate to me the papers justificative (proofs) of the accusation of the consul and of the seizure of the deposit.”

Your frankness, sir, could not but increase my esteem for the Government whose organ you are, and this frankness encourages me to be equally frank. You will appreciate it on your part, convinced of the respect which I bear for the President and Government of the United States, as also of the confidence which I place in their spirit of justice. Well then, Mr. Secretary of State, since you acknowledge to me that you are not in possession of the proofs, is it not natural to conclude therefrom that these proofs do not exist? For, was it not the duty of Major-General Butler to submit them to you, without delay, to justify the seizure of funds of which you now know that they were in deposit at the house of the Netherlands consul, for account of the honorable house of Hope & Co., of Amsterdam?

Thus, from the moment it shall appear that Major-General Butler has actually seized, without having had well-founded reasons and proofs to justify a step so serious as the carrying off (removal) of a deposit which was at the Netherlands consulate, I expect from the justice of the Government of the United States that the values shall be restored without further delay to the consul or the house of Hope & Co.

I therefore permit myself to request you, sir, to be pleased to call for as soon as possible and to communicate to me the proofs which I have had the honor to request of you in my note of the 7th of this month.

I have the honor, sir, to reiterate to you the assurances of my high consideration.

ROEST VAN LIMBURG.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 138-9

Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg to William H. Seward, June 9, 1862

LEGATION OF THE NETHERLANDS,                

Washington, June 9, 1862.

Hon. Mr. SEWARD,

Secretary of State of the United States:

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 7th of this month, in which you do me the honor to say to me, among other things, that you have no objection that I should write to the consul of the Netherlands at New Orleans “that it is the President's expectation that he will resume and continue in the discharge of his official functions until there should be further occasion for him to relinquish them.” I regret, sir, not to be able to accept that formula without submitting it to the judgment of the Government of the King; and I have the honor to renew to you the assurances of my high consideration.

ROEST VAN LIMBURG.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 139

William H. Seward to Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg, June 9, 1862

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,            

Washington, June 9, 1862.

Mr. ROEST VAN LIMBURG, &c.:

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your two notes of this date. In reply to the request in one of them for the proofs upon which Major-General Butler based his proceedings with reference to the coin lodged with the consul of the Netherlands at New Orleans, I have the honor to acquaint you that no time shall be lost in making them known to you when they shall have been received here.

I avail myself of this occasion, sir, to offer to you a renewed assurance of my very high consideration.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 139

William M. Evarts to William H. Seward, June 10, 1862

NEW YORK, June 10, 1862.

Governor SEWARD,

Secretary of State:

MY DEAR SIR: A gentleman well-informed in the financial relations of the New Orleans banks has handed me the inclosed memorandum of what he supposes to be the probable status of the specie found under the protection of the Dutch consul at New Orleans. I send it to you, thinking it may be of some service in your investigations.

The idea of this gentleman is that the existence of an occasion for a remittance of some $800,000 to Hope & Co. has been made a cause for this deposit, without the least intention of so paying or providing for the debt, which had, doubtless, been otherwise met.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Weed yesterday at a very agreeable dinner given to him by the district attorney. He seems in excellent health and spirits.

I am, very truly, yours,

WM. M. EVARTS.

[Sub-inclosure.]

MEMORANDUM.

The Citizens' Bank was chartered by the Legislature of Louisiana about the year 1836. The State loaned its bonds to the bank to constitute or raise the capital on which it has been doing business. The bank indorsed the bonds of the State, and negotiated some $5,000,000 of them through Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, where the interest and principal are payable. It is said that $500,000 of these bonds become due and payable at Hope & Co.'s counting-house this year (1862), which, with one year's interest on the whole amount outstanding, probably constitutes the sum placed by the bank shortly before the capture of New Orleans in the hands of the consul of the Netherlands. It is almost certain that Hope & Co. have nothing at all to do with any funds intended to be applied to the payment of the bonds negotiated through them by the Citizens' Bank until they reach Amsterdam; they (Hope & Co.) acting merely as distributors of the funds when placed there with them, all risk of transmission belonging to the bank. Such, I know, was the case with the bonds negotiated by Baring Bros. & Co., issued by the State of Louisiana to the Union Bank of Louisiana. Moreover, it is very probable that the Citizens' Bank has ample funds in London to make the payment due in Amsterdam this year, and will use them for that purpose should the money seized be given up. It should not be forgotten that the Citizens' Bank, or the president, or some other person connected with the bank, has been reported as acting in some way, directly or indirectly, as fiscal agent of the Confederate Government, and that that Government may have funds in the hands of such agent, which were on deposit with the Citizens' Bank. It is even probable that a portion of the gold stolen from the mint in New Orleans at the commencement of the rebellion was deposited in the Citizens' Bank by some agent or officer of the Confederate Government. My opinion is that if the money seized should be delivered up to the consul it will find its way back into the vault of the Citizens' Bank, and that Hope & Co. will be placed in funds to meet the bonds and coupons due this year from other resources of the bank. If the money seized should be found to belong rightfully to Hope & Co., then let the Government send the equivalent amount from here to Hope & Co. by bills of exchange on London, and use the specie where it is for their own purposes.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 139-40

Emancipation of Slaves in the Dutch Colonies

By our last arrivals we have learned the final action of the Dutch Government in respect to the abolition of Slavery in its colonies.  No further importation of slaves is to be allowed at Japan and the neighboring islands. – Those already there are being nearly freed under progressive emancipation.  In the West Indies similar steps have been taken.  A Surinam paper says that all the slaves in the Dutch American possessions are to be free on the 1st of July 1863, on the following conditions:

1st.  An indemnity to be paid to the proprietors of each slave man, woman or child, of three hundred guilders, or about one hundred and twenty dollars United States money.

2d.  The slaves are to be subjected to a system of apprenticeship on the plantations for three years, and received for their labor a certain amount of wages; one-half of which is to be paid to the Government.

The Dutch possessions in America are Guinea, St. Eustatius, Curacoa, St. Martin and Saba.

Guinea contains a free population of fifteen thousand souls and thirty seven thousand five hundred blacks.  St. Eustatius, a Leeward island, has five thousand whites and twenty thousand blacks, and has been in the undisturbed possession of the Dutch since 1814.

Of the number of the slaves in the other colonies we have no account.  It is well know however, Curacua once carried on every extensive slave trade from the port of St. Barbara.

Thus steadily does the work of emancipation proceed throughout the world, to be followed up, beyond all question in some philanthropic and satisfactory form, by a similar movement in this country. – {N. Y. Post.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, June 7, 1862, p. 1

Washington News

WASHINGTON, April 9. – The Secretary of War has submitted to Congress a communication on the northern coast defences, enclosing an elaborate report from Edwin S. Johnson, of Conn., well known as a practical civil Engineer and connected with the Joint Commission of 1817 and 1819, for running and marking the north eastern boundary line.  Mr. Johnson recommends the passage of Senator Morrill’s bill, and the adoption of the policy of placing in the hands of the President the necessary power to accept loans of money from the several States for the public defences, and therein provided.  Among the modes of defence contemplated are the use of railways and floating ball-proof batteries, in addition to the ordinary system of fortifications.

His report is the result of a careful examination of the matters in question, including a long list of documents, based on a thorough acquaintance with the philosophical, geographical and topographical feature of the country.

James T. Pike, Minister to the Netherlands, in transmitting to the State Department, a copy of the tariff and revenue system of that country, concludes his dispatch as follows:

“It will be observed that there is no direct tax on personal property, or on _____, as such taxes are believed to stand in the way of industrial and commercial developments, and to operate to expel capital.

“The decisive successes of the Federal Government in Tennessee, have produced their natural effect on this side of the water.  When Charleston and Savannah shall have fallen, and our gunboats traversed the Mississippi, all interest in the affairs of the conflict will cease in Europe.”

About two weeks ago, Com. Foote, in telegraphing the Navy Department, said that Gen. Pope intended to make a transverse movement, which would astonish the secesh on Island No. 10.  The fulfillment of this predication is already known to the country.

The Senate was several hours in Executive session to-day.  It confirmed several military appointments of low grade and Sam’l Brown of Ohio, to be Attorney of the Territory of Colorado.

– Published in the Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 12, 1862, p. 3

From Corinth and New Orleans

More Heavy Skirmishing – Gen. Butler Dispensing Beef and Sugar to the Poor.

ST. LOUIS, May 21. – Special dispatches from below this evening state that every heavy skirmishing is constantly going on at Corinth, and a general engagement is likely to take place at any time, as the federal lines extend close to the rebel pickets.

The steamer Platte Valley was fired into on her way up the Tennessee River, but nobody was hurt.

The rams have reached the fleet, and everything is ready for any emergency.

The Memphis Appeal of the 15th contains the following dispatch addressed to the Rebel Secretary of State:

CAMP MOORE, Louisiana,

May 13, 1862.

To Hon. J. P. Benjamin:

Gen. Butler on the 11th inst., took forcible possession of the office of the Consul of the Netherlands and searched the person of the Consul and took from him the key of the bank vault.  Butler also took possession of the offices of the French and Spanish Consulates, in the old Canal Bank, and placed a guard there.  The French Consulate went on board the steamer Milan, and had not returned up to Sunday morning.  It is said that the guard has been removed from the offices of the French and Spanish Consulates.  In the vault of the Canal Bank $800,000 had been transferred by the Citizens’ Bank to Hoper, banker of Amsterdam, to pay interest on bonds.  Butler also seized the Canal Bank and Smith’s banking house, and has issued an inflammatory proclamation to incite the poor against the rich, promising to distribute among the poor 1,000 hogsheads of beef and sugar.  He is recruiting in New Orleans. – The poor will soon be starved.  The enemy have sent a force up to Bennett’s Cave, which were marched through the swamp and destroyed the railroad bridge.

The Pittsburg Citizen of the 12th instant, says:

“The latest we can ascertain of the whereabouts of the Yankee gunboats, is that they are between Fort Adams and Bayou [Tonica], and are supposed to be in or about the Red River cut off.  The little freight steamer Whitman, which has made so many daring trips to and from New Orleans, has been captured by the Federal gunboat Calhoun.”

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 24, 1862, p. 3

The European Grain Crop

It is of importance to our farmers to know that there is likely to be an immense call for their aid abroad. The German papers indicate that the production of cereals on the continent is likely to fall far below the actual necessities of its vast population. The tremendous floods which lately devastated some of the finest grain growing regions of Germany and the Netherlands have diminished the possibilities of successful culture there, while in other directions the unusually inclement weather has done equal damage. In England, heavy rains continued throughout March far into April and the fields are still so saturated that, altho’ the vegetation is of fine appearance, it promises more hay and straw than grain. As late as April 14th white frost in the morning was followed by intense heat at noon. In France the prospect is better, but by no means satisfactory. In the North rain is too abundant; in the South the rapid succession of heat and cold has killed much of the whole sowing. Accounts from Italy, through Austrian channels, are nearly as bad, and even in Algeria, whence Europe has within a few years drawn copious supplies, the sirocco has laid waste to the grain fields. America then, will be more entitled during the coming year than ever, to be called the Granary of the World.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 10, 1862, p. 2