Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward.
Sir: The receipt of your despatches from No. 163 to No. 115, both inclusive, is hereby acknowledged. Neither of these despatches seems to contemplate a present reply. Their contents, respectively, I have noted, and in due time will communicate the substance of such as are intended to be communicated to Mr. Thouvenel.
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The news from Charleston, followed by that from Richmond, is most disheartening. The prolongation of the war beyond the present season will now, I suppose, be a matter of necessity.
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The Emperor and the court, as well as the diplomatic corps generally, have left Paris, and will not probably return until fall. The legation of the United States is, I suppose, the only one wholly remaining here.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
His Excellency William H. Seward, Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c.