Additional from Europe.
the Confederate Loan--United States Corruption, &c.The London papers, of the 11th comment on the Confederate loan, and the effect upon it of the recent Confederate reverses. The Times says: ‘ Those who now suffer, therefore, are not to be reproached for want of sagacity, however much they may have exhibited a want of caution. The example furnished is simply a confirmation of the Darfal uncertainties that beset all investments that depend upon military successes or reverses. On the news of Waterloo, it would have been absurd for those who had previously bought largely to boast of the superiority of their judgment over those who had been unfortunate enough to sell. In the present case the operators who were purchasers of the Confederate loan were like persons entering into a battle, to take all its chances, and it must be admitted that these have fallen upon them to the utmost extent that could possibly have been anticipated, the sudden retreat of Lee and the simultaneous fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson constituting an accumulation of disaster rarely paralleled. The following correspondence with regard to the Confederate loan has passed between one of the holders and Mr. McRae, who acted as agent from the Confederate States for its negotiation: ’
the present position of the seven percent. Cotton Loan on our Stock Exchange is such as to give anxiety to the holders, of whom I am one. At the same time I, for one, have not lost for a moment the confidence I always had in the ultimate success of the Confederate cause, nor, putting aside this view for the present, do I doubt that the engagements the Confederate Government have entered into with the holders of the bonds of this Loan can be and will be faithfully fulfilled. however, in order to have a clear idea of the position of affairs, I should like to know from you, the accredited agent of this country for the cotton Loan, some few particulars on the subject:
- 1. Whether there exists within the Confederate States, in possession of the Government, cotton sufficient to discharge its Habilities on this loan; if so, what amount they possess.
- 2. Where the cotton is stored and how; and if the taking of Charleston, Mobile, and Savannah by the Northern army will cause the destruction or capture of any portion of the Government stock of cotton, and of how much.
- 3. Whether I or any holder of paid up bonds, on demanding cotton in exchange for bonds, can get immediate possession of the same within the limits of the Confederacy, and whether, having possession of the cotton forthwith, I shall, on return of peace, or having previous opportunity of exportation, be exempt from all duty, except the stipulated duty of an eighth of a cent per pound.
- 4. Your candid reply to these questions will much oblige me.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
H. W. Schwartz
To Mr. C. J. McRae, Agent for the Cotton Loan of the Confederate States of America.
H. W. Schwartz
To Mr. C. J. McRae, Agent for the Cotton Loan of the Confederate States of America.
Burlington Hotel.
Cork street, Aug. 5, 1863.
Sir
--In reply to the inquiries contained in your note of this morning, I have to say that on the 1st of March last the Government of the Confederate States had purchased about 320,000 bales of cotton.
The purchasing was still going on, and it is fair to presume that by this time the quantity has been increased to at least 500,000 bales.
This cotton is principally in the States of Georgia and Alabama, and some also in the eastern part of Mississippi, Northwestern Louisiana, and Texas, and is stored on the plantations of the planters, from whom it was purchased, in sheds or warehouses 300 feet from any other buildings; and in all cases the planters have agreed with the Government to take the same care of the cotton as if it still belonged to them, and to deliver it to the order of the Government when wanted.
The capture of all our seaports would not endanger the loss of a single pound of cotton, as there are no stocks of cotton at any of them, nor are there any considerable stocks of cotton at any one place in the interior, care having been taken by the Confederate as well as the State Governments that no cotton should be stored at any point within five miles of a railroad station or navigable stream.
That portion of the crop of 1861 which had been brought to the various interior depots has long since been taken back to the plantations by special order of the State Governments.
The cotton will be delivered to any holder of the bonds on demand, as provided for in the fourth article of the contract.
In the States of Alabama and Mississippi, where I have personal knowledge of the manner in which the business has been transacted, the cotton has been sampled, weighed, marked, and invoiced, and the agents of the bondholders can examine the samples at the offices of the chief agents of the loan in the different States, and take their orders on the planters for the delivery of the cotton without trouble or expense.
The cotton obtained under this loan will not be subject to any tax or duty except the export duty of one eighth of a cent per pound, existing at the date of the contract.
Cork street, Aug. 5, 1863.
Sir
The London Globe, speaking of the conscription in the United States, says: ‘ The Morning Post, of to-day, asserts in the most prominent manner that "the authorities at Washington say that the conscription, which has already deluged the streets of New York with blood, is intended not as a means of augmenting the armies now engaged against the South, but as a menace to England."We have not seen or heard of any information which would warrant the above statement, and we are able to say with certainty that no authentic intelligence has been received giving it the slightest appearance of probability. We were aware that the New York Herald had used such language, but until we read the passage quoted above we never heard that the authorities at Washington had put forth such a declaration. But not only is there, as we have said, no trust worthy information at hand which would give it the slightest color, but the tone of the American Government toward our own and the general relations between the Cabinets of London and Washington, indirectly but unmistakably demonstrate the impossibility of such language being held by the latter. Although, perhaps, the American Government expects from our own an active interference with the fitting out of vessels of war, which the law of England does not appear to sanction, yet there is no interruption of the general family between the two, and in the face of the language hold toward us in the name of the authorities at Washington, it is, we may say, impossible that they could have made a declaration so menacing as that which our contemporary sets forth. Nine sample bales of cotton from Java, a new source, had reached Rotterdam. Half of it was grown from New Orleans seed. It is reported equal in many respects to middling fair American. The other half was grown from East India seed, and fulls below this standard. The Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company received, on the 25th of July tenders from several different firms for the manufacture and laying of the cable, and referred them to a committee consisting of two eminent mechanizes and two distinguished electricians — namely, Wm. Fairborn and Joseph Whitworth, Prof. Wheatstone and Prof. Thmsonwho will report which application shall be accepted. The committee of eight appointed by the English Government to investigate the question of a Sub-marine Telegraph, had signed a certificate favorable to the laying and working of the Atlantic Telegraph cable. The London Times says: ‘It is said that the three powers have agreed to send a Commissioner to Russia, to be accompanied by separate dispatches from each of their respective representatives, and that, unless Russia makes some sign of yielding, a diplomatic rupture will be announced as impending.’ In the common note, whatever course the mere forms of negotiation may take, the reality consists in a growing but not very threatening antagonism between France and Russia, which will leave England a neutral, though not an unsympathetic spectator. An iron-clad for Russia, building in England, have been hurried off incomplete, in view of eventualities. ’
