BENJAMIN, Secretary of State to John Slidell , Commissioner, October 17, 1862

Mr. Benjamin to Mr. Slidell.

Sir: Since my No. 6 of 26th ultimo, of which duplicate is herewith forwarded, some circumstances of a very remarkable character have come to the knowledge of the president, to which your earnest attention is invited.

On the 7th instant the president received from Governor Lubbock, of Texas, a letter, of which a copy is annexed, marked A, with enclosures Nos. 1 and 2.

The very singular nature of this correspondence initiated, as you will perceive, by Mr. B. Théron, French consular agent and Spanish vice-consul at Galveston, naturally excited a lively interest, but we had not yet arrived at any satisfactory conclusion as to the nature and extent, nor the source of the intrigue evidently on foot, when, on the 13th instant, the president received from the Hon. W. S. Oldham, senator from Texas, a letter, of which a copy, marked B, is herewith enclosed.

The concurrent action of two French consular officers, at points so remote from each other as Galveston and Richmond; the evident understanding which exists between them; the similarity of their views and conduct; the choice of Mr. Oldham as the party to be approached, he being generally considered as identified with the party opposed to the administration, while Mr. Wigfall is its supporter; all concur in satisfying us that there is not only concert of action between these officials, but that their conduct has been dictated by some common superior. In plain language, we feel authorized to infer that the French government has, for some interest of its own, instructed some of its consular agents here to feel the way, and if possible to provoke some movement on the part of the State of Texas which shall result in its withdrawal from the confederacy. It is difficult, if not impossible, on any other hypothesis, to account for the conduct of these agents.

I have, in accordance with the instructions of the president, expelled both Mr. Théron and Mr. Tabouelle from the confederacy, and have forbidden their return without the previous permission of the government. I enclose you copies of the orders of expulsion, marked C and D.

In endeavoring to account for such a course of action on the part of the French government, I can only attribute it to one or both of the following causes:

1st. The Emperor of the French has determined to conquer and hold Mexico as a colony, and is desirous of interposing a weak power between his new colony and the confederate States, in order that he may feel secure against any interference with his designs on Mexico.

2d. The French government is desirous of securing for itself an independent source of cotton supply, to offset that possessed by Great Britain in India, and designs to effect this purpose by taking under its protection the State of Texas, which, after being acknowledged as an independent republic, would, in its opinion, be in effect as dependent on France and as subservient to French interests as if a French colony.

It is more than probable that both these considerations would have weight in the councils of the French cabinet, and we are not without suspicion that the tortuous diplomacy of Mr. Seward may have had some influence in inspiring such designs. The desire to weaken the confederacy, to exhibit it to the world as “a rope of sand,” without consistence or cohesion, and therefore not worthy of recognition as an independent member of the family of nations, would afford ample motives for the adoption of such a course by the cabinet of the United States, which is driven to a diplomacy of expedients in the desperate effort to avert the impending doom which awaits the party now in power in Washington.

One other suggestion occurs to me, which you may receive as purely conjectural on my part. It is known to me personally that at the date of the annexation of Texas to the United States, Mr. Dubois de Saligny, the present French minister in Mexico, and who was at that time French charge d’affaires to the republic of Texas, was vehemently opposed to the annexation, and was active in endeavoring to obstruct and prevent it. Even at that date the despatches of Mr. Guizot, which I had an opportunity of reading, were filled with arguments to show that the interests of Texas were identical with those of France, and that both would be promoted by the maintenance of a separate nationality in Texas. The intrigue now on foot, therefore, accords completely with a policy in regard to Texas that may be almost said to be traditional with France; and it is not impossible that the movement of the consular agents here has received its first impulse from the French legation in Mexico, instead of the cabinet of the Tuilleries.

These movements are not considered as having the slightest importance so far as their effect on Texas is concerned. The answers of Governor Lubbock and the letter of Mr. Oldham will satisfy you how little those gentlemen were disposed to encourage such attempts, while the popular feeling in Texas is best evinced by the fact that she has seventy regiments of volunteers in our army. But the evidence thus afforded of a disposition on the part of France to seize on this crisis of our fate as her occasion for the promotion of selfish interests, and this too after the assurances of friendly disposition, or, at worst, impartial neutrality, which you have received from the leading public men of France, cannot but awaken solicitude; and the president trusts that you will use every effort to discover the source, extent, and designs of these intrigues, and whether the United States are parties to them. It may perhaps be in your power to make use of this discovery also by awakening the British government to a sense of the fact that designs are entertained of which that government is not probably aware, and which it may be unwilling to see accomplished.

An enlarged and generous statesmanship would seem to indicate so clearly that the establishment of southern independence on a secure basis (and with a strength sufficient to counterbalance the power of the United States as well as to prevent extensive French colonization on our southern border) would promote the true interests of Great Britain, that we find it difficult to account for her persistent refusal to recognize our independence. The knowledge of a secret attempt on the part of France to obtain separate advantages of such vast magnitude may perhaps induce a change in the views of the British cabinet. I speak of the attempt as secret, for it is scarcely possible to suppose that the action of the French agents is taken with the concurrence or connivance of the British government. If you come to the conclusion that these conjectures are well founded, you are at liberty to make known to her Majesty’s government the facts herein communicated, either through the British minister at Paris or by concert with Mr. Mason. It is deemed desirable that in either event you should advise Mr. Mason of the course you may adopt, as it is very probable that the English government will learn from Richmond the fact of the expulsion of the consuls, and the cause of the action of this government, which, from its very nature, is accompanied with some degree of publicity.

I enclose to Mr. Mason, for his information, a copy of this communication.

Your obedient servant,