The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-05-03
emancipation Question.
The Presidents Policy Explained.
Speech OfCol. Blair,
OF MISSOURI.
Delivered in the House of Representatives..

Delivered in the House of Representatives..
The charge has frequently been heard
here and elsewhere that the President is
without policy in his administration
I shall endeavor to show that this i'm
puta,ion is unfounded, to explain my
conceptions of his policy, and 10 demon
stra.e that it is wise in every aspec:,
and commcnds itself to the lovers of the
Union and of freedom. There can be no
dispute wi respect to the object of the
war so far as he is concerned. lie says
in his annual message that he has been
anxious that it "shall not degenerate
into a violent and remorselcss revolu.
tionary struggle. l have, therefore,"
he adds, " in every case thought it pro-
per to keep the integrity of the Union
prominent as the PRIMARY object Of the
contest" No one can refuse belief to
this utterance. If the President stood
on his mere declaration, his life has been
so marked BY integrity that all men
yield implicit fai to his words as the
index of his heart. But the language
truly charactcrizes his conduct. 1t has
not been attempted to show that he has
not cndeavored in every way to prevent
the ruggle from degenerating into a
violent and remorseless revolutionary
struggle, and, as its first great object,
to main ain the integrity of the Union.
But it is objected by sou,e of those
who aided in his election that he has no,
in aid of this object made the war,
upon the cause of the war, and
decrecd emancipation by an order as
Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy, as an effective agency in suppress
sing the rebellion.
This measure might PROFESSIONALLY
be justified if it were deemed necessary
or expcdient for the purpose of accom-
plishing his object, and if it could be
shown that he knew this to be true, be
might be arraigned for failing to use this
means. But when the record of his
opinions is examined, it is easy to under
stand that he does not consider the
measure, which is regarded as SO omni-
potent BY portion of his friends, as
likely to be effective for the purpose,
and think it can be shown that his
judgment is probably the most correct.
In his canvass for the Senate with Mr..
Douglas, his views respecting the sub
ject of slavery were very fully developed,
and though not speaking with reference
to the present aspect of affairs, his posi-
ton then led logically to his present
titude, and shows far deeper weight IN o
the relations ofthe subjec: than any other
man of the day had then attained. In his
declaration, that above all things he
desired "a separa ion of the black and
white races he showed that he knew
that the excitement occasioned at the
South by the idea of emancipation was
not due 10 the fears of the loss of pro-
perty it would occasion to those holding
slaves. His birth in slave S ate, and
subject residence in Indiana and Illinois,
among people large proportion Of
whom also sprung from the slave States
and from the non-slaveholders of the
slave States, taught HIM that the
greatest rcpugnance to this measure
was to be found amoung men who had
no such property interest at stake. He
knew, also, that these men were for the
most part, ardeutly attached to the
Union, and especially in those regions
OF the country where military opera ions
would be difficult.
To superficial observers who believe
that the rebellion grew out of slavery,
and is, as they term it, shareholders
rebellion, and when it is known to be
true that the non-slaveholding regions
of the South are for the Union, it is
natural that 1T should occur to them that
the proper course to carry all the non
shareholders against the rebellion would
be to decree emancipation. But closer
scrutiny demons rates the contrary to be
true: such scrurity demonstrates that
the rebellion originated chiefly with the
non-slaveholders resident in the strong
holds Of the ins tuition, not springing,
however, from any love Of slavery, but
from an antagonism of race and hostility
to the idea Of equality withthe blacks
involved in simple emancipation. This