the appointment of which you have done me the honor to speak to me; that Major-General Butler yet acts as military governor, and that foreign consuls are still in official connection with him. if this supposition is erroneous, if the letter published in the New York Times are apocryphal, you will much oblige me, sir, having the goodness to apprise me thereof; for it cannot, I think, be indifferent to the King's Government to know whether the consul of the Netherlands (Mr. Counturie or another) would remain or not, in case of having official connections with Major- General Butler.

In conclusion, sir, neither the King's Government nor the royal legation have any motive for sustaining beyond justice either Mr. Couturie or any other Netherlandish consul; and whether it be a question of Mr. Couturie or of another functionary of the Netherlands whose conduct shall be censurable, no personal consideration will ever restrain the Royal Government from listening to the sentiments of its own dignity and from the consideration due too foreign governments; it will hasten always to remove from service every person who shall have seriously violated his duty or gratuitously offended authority or functionary of a friendly Government.

I have the honor, sir, to renew to you the assurances of my high consideration.

ROEST VAN LIMBURG.

[Inclosure-Translation.]

NOTE.] NEW ORLEANS, August 11, 1862.

The second paragraph of the communication of the Secretary of State of the United States to the minister of the Netherlands, dated the 5th of June last, is thus conceived: "The statements," &c.

In his letter of the 9th of June the minister, referring to this passage, says to the consul: "I invite you to write to me about it."

A few lines are sufficient to explain all.

Mr. Couturie is a wine and liquor merchant. His stores and cunting room are at Numbers 33 Gravier street. The Netherlandish consulate, where the silver and all the articles seized and carried off by order of General Butler were found, was on premisses Numbers 109 Cana; street. The localities are distinct, and the distance which separates the two establishment is near about qual to that between the White House and Willard's Hotel at Washington.

On the 10th of May last, at about 2 o"clock in the afternoon, Mr, Couturie was at the consulate. Hitherto he had no idea or suspicion of the lamentable acts which were going soon to blaze out. Hearing a voice in the office say that a Federal officer had come to see Mr. Couturie, he stepped forward, saying that he was Mr. Couturie, consul of the Netherlands. The Federal officer exhibited no order from General Butler; he put no question concerning the articles which might be found in the keeping of the consul; he asked no information or explanation on any subject, but confined himself to saying and doing what has been stated in the report of the consul.

These are the preliminary facts, plainly reported; the rest are stated in the consular report. Mr. Couturie asserts that if information of the character of that spoken of in the communication of the Secretary of State had been asked of him in the name of General Butler, or on the part of any other established authority, e would have hastened to furnish it, because no reason or cause can be imagined for refusing it, since acts of deposit were recorded in the books of the consulate.