Mr. Seward to Mr. Pike.
Sir: Your despatch of November 5 (No. 65) has been received. I have communicated to the Postmaster General Mr. Van der Maesen’s note (which accompanied the despatch) on the subject of a postal convention.
Your proceeding in submitting to the minister for foreign affairs the proposition of this government on the subject of Africo-American colonization is approved.
It is not perceived how the European holder of bonds is affected by the temporary depreciation of the government currency. His interest is paid in gold. Perhaps, however, this class of capitalists is not the one to which you allude. If you refer to European creditors of individuals or corporations, it is admitted that they may suffer loss, but it is one which falls equally upon American citizens, and even upon the government itself, which protects their property and their rights. So long as the country remained at peace they profited by the high rates of interest received. Insurrection is a misfortune that some time or other inevitably befalls all nations, and certainly the existing civil war has not been instituted by the government, or wilfully provoked. If the government paper is temporarily depreciated it is a consequence of the civil war, and citizens and foreigners, all alike, may bear their losses and be thankful [Page 625] that the government maintains itself, and so preserves all private personal interests from ruin. Moreover, the depreciation is likely to prove only a temporary one. Congress is soon to assemble, and it will doubtless apply a remedy. Certainly the national resources are sufficient to furnish the means, and it is not to be doubted that the national legislature possesses the wisdom requisite to discover and apply them.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
James S. Pike, Esq., &c., &c., &c.