St. Mary's beacon., 1862-07-24
The President and the Border State Confab b.

cal status.
The President and the Border State Confab
His excclency. the President, and those
eminent patriots. the Border State dele
gates to Congress. have recently met in
council and had n solemn confab about
slavery matters within the supposed ju-
risliction Of the latter We are only
ALE to give the speech which the Pres
idcnt stood mp and delivered "from
written paper held in his. hand" and,
unfortunately, we are able to give only
an imperfect report even of this.
His Exccllcncy opened his discourse
with the declaration, that the ''patriots
and statesmen" around him, possessed
'morc power for good than any other
equal number of Congressman he had
ever met" The compliment implied by
this declaration, he next proceeded to
qualify by assuring his listeners that, if
the war had not been Substantially en-
ded'' up to present speaking. they
themselves had been the cause. IF they
haG voted for the resolution recommend.
ed in his Emancipation Message of
March, there would hare been poaco il
July. lie did not propose. however, to-
hang or in,prison any body before Civ
ing him last chance to put himself right
upon the record The emancipation pro-
ject was still open for adoption. What.
ever the impression Of others, the con-
victions of the President were settled
that the only way left to restore the
Union was to free The negroes Of the
Border State people. Upon this point
he was very emphatic. lie (he Presi-
denD had very high regard for the Border
States, and he desired that they, like
Caesars wife, should be above suspicion.
Unfortunately, this they never could be,
as long as they held on to negro slave
ry. He did not desire to be offensive,
but for one he must say. that he could
not believe in the loyalty of any such
States. As long as slavery existed in
their midst, the so-called Confcderacy
would cherish hopes Of an ultimate con-
junction. Moreover, he did not wish
that the virtue Of the Border States
should be any longer tempted. He was
not BY nature suspicious, but he was
quite old enough to know, that much
billing and cooing generally ended in no
good. No, sir. no. sir. The more he
had reflected on it, the more he was
convinced. that the only way to make
the Border States loyal was to rob them
ut once and be done with it. This would
not only prove blessing to these States,
but i. could not fail 10 have the hapri-
est effect upon the Rebel States theun-
selves. 1t would show them plainly
what they had to expcc, when the Un-,
ion was restored in all its vigor. Eth
er, argued the President. Negro Eman-
cipatiun, as I recommend, OF friction aud
abrasion. Either he admitted, was rob-
berry, but the alternative, he contcnded,
was between half a loaf or no bread
at all. But if an election was 10 be
made between these alternatives. it should
be made at once. Delays were always
dangerous, especially in money matters.
Tu this connection, The President was
understood to impcach prospectivclv the
integrity Of his own treasury issues. 1t
is certain that he advised the Border
State patriots to sell out the peculiar in
stitution before the premium on gold
had advanced above twenty per cent
With regard to colonization, the Presi-
dent apprehended little or no difficulty.
Room enough could be found for the
Eegroes in South America. Once per-
suade them. he insisted, that in that de-
ligltful rcgion they will be free frum
work as we'll as from slavery. and the whole
difficulty is settled. He was candid
enough, however, to say, that whether
they 60 or stay, he would undertake to