Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1862-07-25
Correspondence Between the Presi-
dent and the Border Slave State
Members.

Correspondence Between the pFeSi-
dent and the Border Slave state
Members.
The Representatives and Senators of
the Border Slayeholding States having,
by special invitation of the President,
been convened at the Executive Mansion
on Saturday morning, the 18th inst. !,
Mr.. Lincoln addressed them from a writ
ten paper, wherein he regretted that
they had not all voted for the resolution
Of the gradual emancipation message Of
March last; the adoption of which be
considered would have substantially end
ed the war The President still urges
the plan therein proposed" as "the
most potent and swift measure of ending
it," ana asks whether " discarding pune
tttto and maxims adapted to more man
ageable times, and looking only to the
unprecedented stern facts Of our case,
can you do better in any possible event p
He continues: +" II the war continues
long, as it must, if the object be not
sooner attained, the institution in your
States will be extinguished by mere fric-
ton and abrasion the mere incidents
of the war. 1t will be gone, and you
will have nothing valuable in lieu of it. T"
x = How much better for you,
as seller, and the nation, as buyer, to
sell out and buy out that without which
the war could never have been, than to
sink both the thing to be sold and the
price Of it in cutting one another's
Threats | do not speak of emancipation
at once, but of decision at once to
emancipate gradually. Room in South
America for colonization can be obtained
cheaply, and in abundance, and when
numbers shall be large enough to be
company and encouragement for one
another, the freed people will not be so
reluctant to 60"
The President then refers to the diff
Guilty he is obliged to encounter in the
fact that divisions exist among leaders
as to the proper mode Of treating the
slavery question, and refers to the case
of Gen. Hunter. In conclusion, he again
begs 5" their attention to the message of
March last" and says: " As you would
perpetuate popular government for the
best people in the world, | beseech you
that you do in no wise omit this"
At the conclusion Of the President
remarks, some conversation was had be-
tween the President and several mem
bers of the delegations from the Border
States, in which it was represented that
these States could not be expected to
move 10 so great a matter as that brought
to their notice in the foregoing address,
while as yet the Congress had taken no
step beyond the passage of resolution,
expressive rather Of sentiment than
presenting substantial and reliable basis
Of action.
The President acknowledged the force
of this view, aud admitted chat the Bor-
der States were entitled to expect sub
stautial pledge of the pecuniory aid as
the condition Of taking into consideration
proposition 50 important in its rela-
tons to their social system.
On July l4th, Messrs. G. A. Wick
life, Garrett Davis, r. Wilson. j. j
Crlttenden, John ). Garlic, j w. Girls
field, j. S. Jackson, II. Grider, John
;. Phelps, Francis Thomas, Charles II.
Calvert, q. i. L. Leary, Edwin II Web
ster, Il. Mallory, Aaron Harding, james
). Rollins, j. w. Menzies, Thomas i,
Price, G. w. Dunlap aud William A.
Hall replied, wherein in reference to the
message Of March last they say:
In the first place, it proposed rad-
cal change Of our social system, and was
hurried through both Houses with undue
haste, without reasonable time for con-
sideration and debate, and with no time
at all for consultation with our consiitu-
ents, whose interests il deeply involved
II seemed like an interference by this
Government with aquestion which pecu-
liarly aud exclusively belonged to our
respective States, on which they had not
sought advice or solicited aid Many Of
US doubted the constitutional power Of
this Government TO make appropriations
Of money for the object designated, and