The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1862-07-01

ri
A delegation from the rsclirious Society OF
Progressive Frienda consissisf of Tbos. Gar.
rett, Alice Eliza Hambleton, Oliver johnson.
Dinah Madenball, VIM. Barnard, and Eliza
Agnew, appeared before the President on Fri
day morning, to present memorial, praying
him to decree the emancipation Of the slaves.
The deputation was introduced by Senator
Wilmot. and accompanied by Messrs. Kelley.
Davis and Campbell Of the Pen nsy lvania del
egation in the House. Mr.. Wilmot having
announced the objects Of the delegation, Oil.
yer Johnson said:
DIR. President: We appear before you
by your kind permission, not TO solicit office
for ourselves or our friends, nor to ask for any
party or personal favor. but in the interest Of
the country and Of humanity. Our clients
are 100000 slaves, who cannot speak for
themselves, but only lif up their chained
hands in mute hut sgonizrng supplicaiion f"r
he freedom which il is in yonr power in this
solemn crisis Of the nations fate TO confer up
on them. Mr.. Johnson then read the memo
rial.
The memorial embraced the following
point:
That in his speech delivered al Sprinefield.
istrate, the President expressly- declared, IA
house divided against itself cannot stand. I
bel eve bis Government cannot endure per.
mar'ntly hall slave and half free. | do not
expect the Un on 10 be lissolved-I do not
expect the house to fall-but 70 expect il
will cease TO be divided. 1t will become all
one thing, or all the other"
The New York Tribune has the following
report Of what followed:
The President said lhst, as he had not been
furnished with a copy of the memorial in ad.
vance, he could not be expected to make any
extended remarks. 1t was relief TO b. as
snred that the deputaiiop were not applicants
for office for his chief touble was from that
class OF persons. Tue next most troublesome
subject was Slavery. He agreed with the me-
morlalls's, that Slavery was wrong, but in re
gard TO the ways aud means of its removal,
his views probably differed from theirs The
quotation IN the memorial, from his Spring
fed speech, was incomplete. 1t should have
embraced another sent nee, in which he ndi-
Gated his views as 10 the effect upon Slavery
itself OF the resistance to its extension.
The sentiments contained in that passage
were deliberately uttered, end he held them
now. liza decree of emancipation could abol.
isb Slavery, John Brown would ave done the
work cffectually. Such decree could not be
more bin log upon the South than the Con-
siltution, and that cannot be enforced in that
part Of the country now. Would a procla
nation Of freedom be anv more effective!
Mr.. johnson replied as follows:
"True, Mr.. President, the Constitution can
not now be enforced at the South, but you do |
not on that account intermt the effort to en-
force 1t, and the memorialists are solemny |
that the abolition Of Slavery is in
dispensable to your success"
The President further said that he felt the .
magnitude of the task before him, and hoped .
to b1 rightly directed in the very trying cir
cumstaIces by which bs WAS surrounded.
VIM. Barnard addressed the President in
few words, expressing sympathy for him 10
all his embarass men.s, and an earnest desire
that he might, under Divine guidance, be led
to free the slaves and thus I'VE the nation
from destruction. In that case nations vet
unborn would rise up 10 call him tlessed, and
botler still, he would secure the blessing of
God.
The President responded very impressive.
y, saying that he was deeply sensible of his
necd Of Divine assistance. Hs had sometime.
hought that perhaps he might be an iustru
nent in Gods hands Of accomplishing a great
Su'k, and he certainly WAS not unwilling TO
,e. Perhaps, however, Gods way of accom-
olshng the end which the memor alis,s have
n view may be different from theirs. 1t would
20 nj earnest endeavor, with finn reliance
upon the Divine arm, and seeking light from
above, to do his duty in the place TO which he
lad been called.
The deputation thereupon withdrew. much
,rallfied by the character of their reception.