Mr. Wilder, of the firm of Maury & Wilder, is here in Boston and a native of Massachusetts, his farther being a manufacturer in the town of Lancaster, Mass. He can be seen at my office at any time and will give with pleasure any information in this or any matter that will assist the Goverment. He has been to Washington once in reference to affairs in Texas and will probably be on again before long. The firm of Maury & Wilder had all their property that is left them in the shape of cotton in the hands of George M. Barnard, of Boston, and one small consignment to Liverpool. The debts here will probably exhaust the funds if a settlement is ever made and I am not aware that Maury has any other pecuniary interest in any matters that the Government can reach. Mr. Wainwright (Henry C.) is acting as receive for the firm and for that reason and his previous acquaintance probably he acted as the agent for receiving and transmitting Maury's correspondence. Mr. Wainwright says he never directed or requested the letters forwarded to him for the Maurys by the Post-Office Department and if he did of course that Department has his letter or letters on file. It may be that Maury signed his name without his knowledge or authority. I should like to know the facts. Will you see how the matter is in the Post-Office Department?

Yours, truly,

WM. L. BURT.

NEW YORK, November 22, 1861.

Honorable WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

MY DEAR SIR: I inclose a letter from Mr. Haury. He feels very bad. Can't you give instructions as to his letters? Certainly he is a loyal man and has so conducted himself all through these troubles. He is business in this city and has many correspondents in England. The detention of his letters is a serious matter and may couse him much trouble.

I am, very truly, yours, &c.,

M. H. GRINNELL.

[Inclosure.]

NEW YORK, November 22, 1861.

Honorable WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington.

SIR: When I returned to my office (Maury Bros.) two days ago after an absence of about two hours I found that two policemen had been there ransacking my papers and a tin bank box (which I held for another party and which contained about $80,000 of bonds and stocks), acting under an order from you or Superintendent Kennedy as I understood from the youth in my office. They carried off a number of letters, memoranda, &c., for which they gave no receipt. Superintedent Kennedy on my personal application has returned to me a quantity of papers and letters which he says are all that were taken except some letters which he has sent to you, but the truth of which I may be unable to ascertain for some time to come.

Among the letters sent to you are some dead letters which came to us from Boston and a portion of a quantity of letters received from Europe to be forwarded to the South and which have been accumulating for months (wihtout our having forwarded any) though we wrote to England that we should not forward any until we could do so legally. Be good enough to return all these letters and any other papers to us.

67 R R-SERIES II, VOL II.