A letter in the New York
Treats, dated Patis the 19th ult, gives a pretty accurate reflex of the
Yankee view of
Napoleon's recent peace letter it says:
‘
The town is in a great state of agitation to day about the peace news of yesterday, and especially about the results of the news on the Horse.
This morning groups of speculators are collected along the Houlgvard counting the victorious and the defeated of yesterday, but especially the victorious, for the Hourse is like a battle field the dead are not counted.
Thus we are told that the
German Banker, W, gained a million on the
Credit Mobilizer, the
Duke de M, two millions on the
State funds, and the
Baron do R, five millions on railways.!--Such a streak of luck is enough to disgust one with all mundane things, and so especially think the defeated ones, who join with wonderful harmony in the cry of "favoritism!" and even of "foul play!"
’
But was there any favoritism or foul play?
The Emperor's letter, announcing peace in
Europe, was dated on Friday last, and
M. Fould, to whom.
It was addressed, held it until yesterday, Monday, before publishing it in the
Moniteur In this interval of three days, according to the declarations of the detected speculators, word was given out from the Ministry of Finance to a few favorites that the letter in question existed, that it would be published on Monday morning, and that an enormous rise of stocks would be the result.
But whether
M. Fould betrayed the secret or not, the signs for the last week were all in favor of peace, and the "hearts" must attribute their ruin in great part to their own blindness.
Thus it was well understood around town as early as Saturday that Lord Clarendon's mission to the
Emperor was a success; that the previous good understanding between the two Governments had been renewed; that in future they would work together on the same platform in the
Danish question, and that this renewed alliance was likely to be applied to all
European questions, so as to secure peace everywhere.
Moreover, the reduction of the war taxon
real estate, as the result of the happy termination of the
Mexican affair, was announced in the
Chambers on Saturday, and finality.
It was generally understood that the Prussians were about ready to give the assault on the
Danish works at
Duppel, and that there was little doubt of their success.
Already, too, the probability of an agreement in the
London Conference on the subject of an armistice was generally admitted; but, in definitive, no one was prepared for such an avalanche of peace certainties as feil upon us yesterday.
What is to be the result?
On every side we hear loud exultations at the prospect of
general peace, and people are prediction a speedy reduction of the armies and navies of the great States.
And whether these happy results are to be attained or not, it is certain that an immense impetus has been given to commerce and to commercial enterprises in general, and that we are entering upon a season of unexampled prosperity.
The rejoicing over the happy termination of the
Mexican affair are destined to receive a slight cooling off from the resolution voted by the House of Representatives at
Washington, and which arrived at
Paris last evening.
This resolution has not been published yet in the
French papers, and we do not yet know, therefore, how it is to be appreciated.
But the
Government seems to attach very great importance to it, for not only was the telegraphic announcement of it suppressed last evening, but the telegraphic dispatch entire, brought by the
Scotia, was delayed.
The London
Times made the resolution say that the
American people would not "tolerate" the new Government in
Mexico, and it was probably this version of it which induced the
Government to suppress that part of the
Scotia's dispatch until farther evidence of authenticity should arrive.
In my next letter I shall be able to give you an idea of the impression this important resolution of the American Congress has produced.
But to aggravate matters, as between
France and the
United States, the treaty which has just been concluded between the
Emperor of
France and the
Emperor of
Mexico places things in a different situation from what they were at the time
Mr Seward wrote the dispatch in which he gave
France hopes that the
United States would recognize the new order of things in
Mexico; for at that time there is reason to believe that the
French Government promised the
Government of the
United States that they were going to retire from
Mexico almost immediately after the installation of the
Archduke Maximilian — a promise which naturally led the
American Secretary to say that, as defenders of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, the
United States would be obliged to accept whatever Government the people of
Mexico accepted and freely maintained.
But now the
French Government has violated this promise; for, as will be seen by the treaty between the two empires, the
French flag is going to stand guard over the new throne for a period of six years, which is too long a period to respond to the words an "almost immediate evacuation," and which does not allow a free expression of the sentiments of the
Mexican people.
Another circumstance connected with this treaty aggravates the case still more.
It would have been easy for the
French Government to have loaned its officers and men to
Maximilian, and to have placed them under the
Mexican flag, for they would have served the new Empire just as well as if under the
French flag and under French direction, and then it could not be said that it was a French army of occupation, it could not be said that it was in any sense a French Government, and above all
France would not have been bound to resent the insults offered to these 8,000 men, nor bound to fight for the
Mexican throne.
But it seems that in the counsels of the
Emperor there were two parties, a war and a peace party, so to speak, the war party insisting that the way to prevent the interference of the
United States in
Mexican affairs was to leave the
French flag there as a scarecrow as long as possible; while the peace party, better acquainted with the real situation of things in
America, advocated the plan of a total withdrawal of the
French flag as soon as the new throne could be rendered safe against
Mexico itself.
The war party, as you will see by the treaty, succeeded, and the
French flag waving over a small army of 8,000 men, is to remain in the country us an intimidation to the
Americans; for, to prove that this is the object of that provision of the treaty, I have only to say that there is not a man in
France who does not believe that
Maximilian could easily compose an army of his own of foreign and native elements quite sufficient to protect him against the
National party in
Mexico, and that if he had not believed the country was pacified, or rather converted to that extent, he would never have undertaken the voyage.
This leaving of the
French flag in the country is therefore a penance to us; it is a warning by which
France says to the
United States: ‘"We are still in
Mexico, and if you attack the new order of things before the expiration of six years you will have a war on your hands with
France."’ The resolution of the American Congress, therefore, could not have fallen in a more propitious moment; for although it is destined to render more delicate the relations between the two countries, it will at the same time enlighten the situation and allow each party to see where the other stands, and this is always an advantage.
