The New York herald., 1862-03-07

| Important Message from the .'resfoe~s-
| The Emancipation Question.
| TIE President laid before Congress yes
terday most important Message ON the
| subject Of the emancipation question, sug-
gesting the adoption of a joint resolution
TO the effect that the government oughs
to cooperate with any State which may
adopt gradual abolition of slavery, giving TO
such State pecuniary aid, to be used, IN IT'S dis-
cretion, to compensate for tie nconvenences
s.producei by such change of system" If the
proposition contained w the resolution does
not meet the approval Of Congress- then, says
| the President. there is an end oil the mattef.
| But il it does, then it is important that the
| States interested should know the fact In
other words, If the border States, now redeemed,
or partially redeemed, from the clutches OF re-
bcllion, should be disposed to cmancipate their
slaves, it is proper that Congress should an
nounce to them, by the adoption OF such reso-
luton, that the government is willing to aid
them by paying q just value for the slaves SO
liberated
Such measure would most probably prove
agreeable to the conservative feeling OF the
North and The South alike, substituting, rs 1t
docs. moderate and practical view of the
question of emancipation in place of the ex-
| treme and impract;cable views OF the aboli-
tionists.
The progress of the debate on the Confsca-
ton bill is developing the conservative, constr
tution-loving sentiment in Congress. 1t is
struggle of law and order against anarchy and
| revolution. The observations of Senator
McDougall (opposition), of California on Mon
day and Tuesday, arc well worthy of. the atten-
tive consideration of the whole people, and
their endorsement by Mr.. Cowan (republican),
of Pennsylvania is most gratifying evidence
of patriotism amidst the fierce passions Of party
spirit "Shall we," says the latter gentleman,
"stand by the constitution, or shall we open
wide the field of revolution, and go back to the
doctrines of feudal ages, and introduce feuds
which centuries cannot quiet? That is what
this bill proposes. The passage Of such bill
will make the whole Southern people our enc
mics. The scheme of colonization is entirely
impracticable And further, the bill is directly
in conflict with the constitution, for the preser-
vation of which alone the war is waged. The
bill is unnecessary, impolitc and totally use
less. The bill is unconstitutional, because the
constitution provides that no bill of attaindcr
shall be passed, and no person punished for
crime without regular proceedings in court
This bill is in fact bill Of attainder, and Con-
grcss has no power to pass it,
This covers tAe whole ground. And what is
Mr.. Cowan's opinion about emancipation? He
says:-eI protest against that section Of the bill
for freeing the slaves as an entire departure
from the principles Of the constitution, and es-
pec;ally impolitic at this time. Pecause we are
in war we ought not to make law which was
unconstitutional before "What have the
negroes done to secure freedom at this time,
when the course Of their mastc seems espe-
cialIy to invite them to strike for liberty
Nothing. They simply rely on their masters,
like domestic animals, with a sort Of blind in
stinct" He concludes with ga hope that the
bill would not pass, but that Congress would
? attend to the measures necessary TO secure sue
cess in the great struggle in which we are en-
gagged"
This is the language of a patriot; and
if all men in Congress had only 80 spoken
and acted from the beginning neither civil
conyulsion nor disunion would exist to-day
There is one great result produced by
this war The eyes Of millions 0i
men at the North are opened to tie real char
acter of the negro, and they have discovered
from the experience of our troops and generals
what we have so long proclaimed to them in
vain-thc natural inferiority of tho negro to the
white man. which can no more be removed
|, than the color Of his skin by any amount ol
} legislation. 1t is the negros nat,re to be tie
: servant Of the Caucasian race He "relies on
his master" says Mr.. Cowan, with sort Of
, blind instinct" 1t is evident, therefore, that
) that part of the bloody programme which con.
tcmplated scrvile instruction Is already ex-
t ploded. The negro is happier and better Off
physically, morally. socially and roligiously,
, under Tao mid Christian scrvitudc OF his white
r master at The South, than lie ever was in any
other condition since tic dawn Of creation or
ever will be till The coming of the millennium.
TO haye the negro 10 himself, and put him into
competition with the white man, is TO destroy
him as cacctually az our civilization has ds
s.i Dyed the rcd man OF the forest Seryitule is
the ncgro's normal condition. II is calculated
to preserve the race from extinction and to
render it happy and at the same time subser-
Went to the happiness of the white man. That
white men should wage war Of cxtermi-
nation against white men to change
the condition Of blacks for the worse
is an absurdiiy too great for the common sense
Of any people, and much more Of tte in.elli-
gent aud practical people Of the United States.
hIr. Lincoln recognizes Tho fact; and therefore,
even If the fanatics in Congress should succeed
in carrying their bill IL will be met with his
veto.