Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1862-05-23
TIE PRESIDENT on HUNTER.

Mr.. Lincoln, by public proclamation, an
nounces that the order Of Gen. Hunter &C.
clarIng free the slaves in his Department,
WAS wholly unauthorized, and declares the
same to be void and of no effect.
Gen. Hunter is a graduate of West Point,
who las been steadily in the regular service
far ne,rly forty years. and it Is reasonable to
surpa=e. las shared the d" conservative"
spirit # the regular army. He is under
stood - he an intimate personal friend Of Mr..
Lincoln, whom he accompanied from Illinois
TO Washington PREVIOUS to the Inauguration.
lie was selected 20 supercede G n. Fremont
in the D ;artment of tue " est, and in con-
perli,u with that matter must have had his
attention d. wl considerably to the subject
IF emancipation p.aclanatious and Tie views
o. th- Administration thereon. Eojoying
tie 81 -i. c1nfie.ca Of the CIV rnmeut.
he W. a.As sen. & zurercsde q n. Sherman
in the i4.4saat Department Of the South.
Ji- ..- c..cam-5.Eses, W. csAf=s that it
har.Iq s-sl.ll possible ID US that he could
h4ya issued AS order freeing the slaves,
without either special instructions os dis
creti.u-ry auIh4rity. And If, in the op.n-
ION Of tie administration and q capable
General on the ground, the time had arrived
when such proclamation was necessary and
proper. we were content to have the expert
nun- tiled.
Bat It appears that General Hunter acted
without authority or consultltio D. any
kind with has suTerior-. or for that matter, it
Is stated, with ms inferior officers. The
President has therefore very IroI zig re-
tuagd, aa4 " lr5aably recall Geo. Hun
t. Tor bis uaiDe assumption Of authority.
Mb.u scrl "a Ii assure shall become neces-
sary the President viii take the responsible !
" OF she deed, and doubtless set fo.th the
reasons ioT the sane, and this, At must be
obvious, IS the only proper way in which
SO radical AM important step can be IT,
ken
There have been enough, 1t strikes us, Of
these unauthorized proclamati1ns. to wall
rant the administration in Issuing some sp,-
cifc instructions to the Generals of the v
rious departments, defining the attitude they
are 10 take toward the slaves. l. General !
Hliieck's policy had been in force there, the
eontFaband who brought valuable steamer |
and cargo Of riaed cannon to us at Charles. |
ton the other day, and who is now rend ring |
valuable service as a pilot in those waters,
would have been excluded fr m our lines and |
compelled to fall back on the tender mereies |
Of his rebel master ; while by Hunters poll
cy al the slaves are freed wholesale and those |
available are armed and drilled for actual |
service. The difference between the two
modes Of treatment Is considerable. Ii a |
uniform policy on the subject en- now be
adopted let us have it.-and no more pro-
clamatiOas from the Generals in the field.
While reversing with posItIveness AMI de-
c'sion, Gen. Hunters order, President Lin
coin is careful to indicate that be does so not
i, the interest CT slavery but of Freedom.
Ills action, as in the modification of General
Fremont's PROCLAMATION, is taken with re-
ference u the situation and Interests of tne
Border Stat,s-and he makes it the occasion
Of a solemn md even beseeching appeal to
them to adopt his former recommendation Of
the gradual abollshmentof slavery. He again
asks them TO make the gradual change which
"would come gently as the dsws OF Heaven,
not rending or wrecking anything" and
urges them to it by pointing to the signs Of
the times not the leas; Of which lie evident
ly considers TO be these repeated procama-
iions of freedom to the slaves made as mat
tiers Of military expectancy or necessity by
his Generals in the field. There are indica-
tons that the leaven # the Presidents reso-
luton, endorsed by Congress, is already
working in the border states, and this pro-
slamation must speed the work.