make. The Germans plead that, square mile for square mile, the territory to be ceded is exactly of the same extent as that which France, in 1859, required from Italy, so that, as to square miles, France would be of exactly the same contents as by the treaty of 1815. With regard to Metz, I hear it sometimes said that Luxemburg was the proper defense of Germany on that side against France; that so late as 1867, Germany, rather than engage in a war with France, consented to give up that fortress and retire from Luxemburg, surrendering a German territory, in old times a part of the empire, and since 1815 a part of the German Union, entirely to the King of Holland. I do not suffer myself to express any opinions on these questions, and hardly to form any. My object is simply to keep the Department accurately informed on questions as they arise. I remain, &c., No. 163. GEO. BANCROFT. No. 195.] Mr. Bancroft to Mr. Fish. AMERICAN LEGATION, Berlin, February 23, 1871. (Received March 15.) SIR: The expectation of immediate peace continues, though the moment of decision is awaited not without anxiety, and troops are still going forward that every contingency may be provided for. The progress of the negotiations will reach you by way of London sooner than I can report it, even by telegraph from Berlin. To understand the condition of France, it is only necessary to note the course of military events by which Gambetta hoped in the month of January to establish his dictatorship. General Roye with his army, supported by troops from Havre, was to drive the Germans from Rouen. General Faidherbe was to cut the connections of the Germans in the Northeast and East. Bourbaki and Garibaldi were, by menacing Belfort, to attract the forces under Prince Frederick Charles; and so the way was to be left open for General Chanzy from Maus to relieve Paris. But General Roye was beaten back with a loss of 12,000, taken prisoners; General Faidherbe, with a like loss of 11,000; Chanzy, 24,000; Bourbaki, 30,000, and more than 80,000 driven into Switzerland. In killed and wounded the loss of these armies, with those who fell in the sorties from Paris, amounted to 41,000; so that, apart from the losses of Garibaldi and the franc-tireurs, France suffered a loss of its active men in the field of about 200,000 outside of Paris, in the month of January alone. Add to this 150,000 troops that surrendered at the capitulation of Paris, without counting the national guard; and it appears that the effective force of France was in the month of January diminished by at least 350,000 men. The loss of the Germans to be set against this was about 10,000. In this way the dictatorship of Gambetta came to an end, and France was driven to the necessity of making conditions of peace which almost seem like a capitulation. Your instructions to No. 293 (except 237) have been received. I remain, &c., GEO. BANCROFT. No. 296.] No. 164. Mr. Fish to Mr. Bancroft. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, February 24, 1871. SIR: I have received your No. 183 of the 21st ultimo, accompanied by the original of a letter from Count Bismarck replying to my note of November 21 to Baron Gerolt, and also a translation of the same. I am happy to think that the question discussed in my note, and in Count Bismarck's reply, is no longer one of practical application to any probable occurrences. It is therefore quite unnecessary to consider whether the approach of a hostile force, and its military preparations for the capture of a city which has been for ages the seat of government and the capital of the country, where the political head of that country is and has been established, where its minister of foreign affairs has his office and his archives, where the representatives of other powers have been and are resident, can so convert that city into a military fortress as to apply to it the rules of war applicable to fortresses as distinguished from other towns. Or whether such approach and military demonstrations of a hostile force impose upon the diplomatic representatives of other and neutral states the alternative of abandoning their posts and their duties, or of privation of the right of free and uninterrupted correspondence with their government, which public law, no less than international comity, accords in the interest of peace. I inclose herewith copies of a correspondence between Mr. Washburne and Count Bismarck on the subject of the transmission of Mr. Washburne's dispatches. You will observe that in this correspondence Count Bismarck, under date of January 15, admits that the delay to which the transmission of the correspondence of this Government with its minister in Paris was subjected depended upon the principle adopted by the general staff of the German army, allowing no sealed packages or letters to pass through their lines in either direction without a stoppage of several days, and he cautiously disclaims one act of immediate transmission being taken as a precedent. The President desires to make all proper allowance for the military exigencies which are represented to have led to the withholding and detaining of the official correspondence of the minister, and is gratified to receive the recognition in Count Bismarck's letter of 28th January to Mr. Washburne of the right of correspondence contended for in my note to Baron Gerolt of 21st November last, and his assurance that the delay to which it was subjected proceded from causes which he could not remove. Recent events, it is confidently hoped, have removed the probability of any recurrence of the interruption of free correspondence. And Count Bismarck's assurance to Mr. Washburne that "the delay occurring now and then in the transmission of your dispatch bag is not occasioned by any doubt as to the right of your Government to correspond with you, but by obstacles it was out of my power to remove," confirms this Government in its confidence of an entire agreement between it and North Germany on the question of the right and the inviolability of correspondence between a government and its representative, and of the absence of any intentional interference with that right in the case of its minister to Paris. I send, herewith, a copy of a dispatch of this date to Mr. Washburne. in As Count Bismarck's recognition of the right for which I contended my note to Baron Gerolt is subsequent to his letter to you of 15th January, and admits what I felt it my duty to claim, there does not appear to be any necessity for continuing the discussion, unless the subject be again referred to by the German minister, in which case you are authorized to read to him this dispatch. I am, &c., HAMILTON FISH. (For inclosures see correspondence with United States Legation, Paris.) No. 197.] No. 165. Mr. Bancroft to Mr. Fish. AMERICAN LEGATION, Berlin, February 27, 1871. (Received March 20.) SIR: The telegraph will have brought you news of the preliminaries of peace between France and Germany, signed last Sunday evening, on the basis of the cession to Germany of Alsace without Belfort, and of German Lorraine, with Metz, together with an indemnity for war expenses of 5,000,000,000 francs. The fortress of Belfort commands the pass south of the Vosgian mountains into central France. To a German power desirous of offensive war against France, its possession would be of the greatest value, since it would open the way at once to the richest parts of Burgundy. As a defensive position for Germany, it is of less importance. True, therefore, to the principle of demanding no territory except what is necessary for defensive purposes, Germany has very wisely restored Belfort to France. That city is essentially French, and has been so for ages. The fortress of Metz is retained by Germany, because the German military authorities insist upon it as essential for the line of defense, but the position was of so much importance to France, for its own protection, that its cession could hardly have been claimed had not Germany, four years ago, been compelled by France to give up the fortress of Luxemburg. The pecuniary indemnity demanded will weigh very heavily on France, for the money is to be raised and paid in three years, and the war has given to the credit of France a shock from which it cannot soon recover. The council of the German Empire, which most nearly resembles our Senate, is now assembled in Berlin, collecting here a large body of the most distinguished statesmen of the empire. The time for the opening of the first diet of renovated Germany is fixed for the 16th of March. The Emperor is expected to return sooner. It is said of him that he feels very deeply the loss of so many brave officers and men in the war; that he will return to his capital as quietly as possible, and that instead of exultations for victory, one of his first acts will be to propose a public mourning of the whole land. When that is over, and when most of the army is recalled, there may be a triumphal march into Berlin, in which the Emperor will take part. The Emperor has probably before now announced to the President his increased dignity and jurisdiction. If so, I shall hope very soon to receive the President's letter in reply. I remain, &c., &c., GEO. BANCROFT. No. 206.] No. 166. Mr. Bancroft to Mr. Fish. AMERICAN LEGATION, Berlin, March 22, 1871. (Received April 12, 1871.) SIR: Before leaving Versailles the Emperor of Germany addressed a letter to the President of the United States, informing him of the new title which he had assumed on the occasion of the union of the Southern German States with the Northern. The German minister at Washington was also instructed to communicate to the President the cordial response of the German government to the words of sympathy in which the President announced to Congress the union of Germany. To this I can add that the state paper has attracted attention from one end of Europe to the other, and that I am constantly receiving evidences of the satisfaction which it has excited in every class of Germany, from extreme liberals to extreme conservatives. The new empire contains a little more than forty millions of people, who are almost exclusively of one nationality; even in the new provinces of Alsace and Lorraine 1,350,000 are Germans, and only about 300,000 are of French descent. In Posen, in the eastern part of the empire, a majority of the people are Polish; and about half a million of Jews are scattered through the country, but these all speak the German language and have for centuries been resident in Germany. This unity of nationality already gives evidence that it will control the policy of the empire. It is held in memory that in centuries long gone by the German Emperor professed to be the successor of the Roman, and as such was constantly involved in foreign, especially Italian, wars, to the ruin of the country. No plans of future conquest are now cherished, but, instead of it, the culture and development of the homogeneous population are the great ends which are proposed. The unity of nationality shows itself already as a guarantee of a policy of peace. I have met no one who wants territory occupied by men of another race and language. Another guarantee of peace is the character of the army, composed as it is of the people, and, as with us, disinclined to any war except for self-defense. Still another guarantee is found in the federal constitution of the empire, the several governments having reserved to themselves the right of being consulted before war can be declared. The President in his message to Congress expressed his confidence that the body which represents the people would be marked by a love of liberty, and it has proved so. The Grand Duchy of Baden is entitled to twelve representatives in the German Diet, and, though the majority of the people of Baden are Catholics, the national party has elected ten of the representatives, the ultramontanes only two. The victory of the liberal national party in Wurtemburg is still more remarkable. Three years ago it did not elect to the German customs parliament one single national member, while in the present election, out of seventeen to which Wurtemburg is entitled, all are national and liberal except two. Bavaria was looked upon by the ultramontanes as their stronghold, and in Bavaria, where the Catholics compared with the Protestants, are as five to two, the ultramontanes and the separatists combined are left in a decided minority. Thus South Germany comes into the German Parliament with all of its states on the side of union, and with a great majority for the development of the country on the principle of freedom. Yesterday the Parliament of Germany had its first sitting. The day began with divine service in the royal chapel, after which the speech of the Emperor was delivered in a large hall in the palace to the members of the two houses of Parliament, of whom nearly every one seemed to be present. It was addressed to them as the representatives of the German people, who have at last attained to consciousness of life and unity; and the object of the constitution was declared to be the protec tion of justice in Germany and the fostering of the welfare of the German people. Next to the recognition of the union of Germany as the result of the efforts of the nation, the most remarkable point in the speech is the pledge which it gives for the maintenance of peace, for respect for the rights of all other powers, whether strong or weak, and for emulation in the victories of peace. Before the day closed the Emperor, as King of Prussia, not as Emperor of Germany, raised Count Bismarck to the rank of prince. Berlin, April 8, 1871. (Received April 27.) SIR: This afternoon I delivered to the Emperor the President's letter of March 16 congratulating him on attaining the dignity which makes him the representative of German Union, and expressing the cordial good wishes of the United States for the most friendly relations with Germany. With reference to his new position he said: "I have neither sought for it, nor expected it, nor desired it. The movement that was manifest in the history of a long period of years could not be unobserved; but I had no thought that the end would be attained unless it might be in the time of my son or of my grandson." With respect to the United States, the Emperor most cordially réciprocated the good feeling which the President had expressed; and as all the world gives him credit for being a man of his word, the President may be certain that the declaration was made with deliberation and sincerity. He expressed particularly his wish that the two nations might continue to cultivate mutually those good and friendly feelings which have been so apparent ever since Germany began to unite itself anew. His expressions to me personally were as friendly as possible. No. 319.] GEO. BANCROFT. No. 168. Mr. Fish to Mr. Bancroft. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have received, and perused with much interest, your dispatch of the 22d ultimo, No. 206. Your statement in regard to effect produced in Germany by the message of the President to Congress announcing the union of South |