The Post announced this morning that the Steamer had arrived from America without despatches or information. It looked official and turned out wholly false. These are incident to troubled times. Mr Parkes and Mr Evans both came in. The former to tell me that he had information which led him to conclude that the ministers considered the difficulty as settled. The latter wished to get from me a letter upon the tenth article of Jay’s Treaty. I promised I would write after seeing his inquiry. He did not press it. Both are very fearful of the meeting of Parliament, and showed me letters from Mr Cobden urging the rescinding of the blockade. I replied that we might as well be asked to give up our struggle altogether. The consequence of such a policy in England would be war, and the desolation of the cotton country. They seemed to agree to this. So if we get rid of this affair, we have a worse left on our hands. Mr Weed came in afterwards, and we talked it over. My day was rather quiet. Mr Reuter came to beg, if I should have a private telegraph from the American government that I would give him such part of it as might be communicated. He said that he had from all quarters of Europe anxious solicitation for it. He little imagines how entirely my government keeps me without information. Nothing of the Steamer. I followed up Lord Malmesbury to the time of his success at the Hague.4