The proposed motion was now one for recognition instead of
mediation, a temporary change of plan due to Palmerston's answer to
Hopwood on June 13. But whatever the terms of the motion favourable to
the South, it was evident the Government did not wish discussion at the
moment, and hesitancy came over pro-Southern friends. Slidell, in
despair, declared that for his part he intended, no matter with what
prospect of success, to _demand_ recognition from France[649]. This
alarmed Mason's English advisers, and he wrote at once strongly urging
against such a step, for if the demand were presented and refused there
would be no recourse but to depart for home[650]. He thought Lindsay's
motion dying away for on consultation with "different parties, including
Disraeli, Seymour Fitzgerald and Roebuck," it "has been so far reduced
and diluted ... as to make it only expressive of the opinion of the
House that the present posture of affairs in America made the question
of the recognition of the Confederate States worth the serious
consideration of the Government. It was so modified to prevent the
Ministry making an issue upon it...." There was "no assurance that it
would be sustained ... even in that form." Lindsay had determined to
postpone his motion "for a fortnight, so that all expectation from this
quarter for the present is dished, and we must wait for 'King Cotton' to
turn the screw still further[651].
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