Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-08-17
REPLY OFF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
Executive MANSION, WAsHtSor0x
August Q. IcbJ.
His Ercricney. Horotio Seymour. GoUernor Of
Nee XnrL AIhnnu N "

Aukuot q lCOOs
His Ercelency. Horotio Seymour, Governor of
Nep York, Albany. ". Y:
Your communication Of the I'd Instant has been
received and attentively considered / can not
consent to suspend the draft in New York, as you
request, because. among other reasons, time is
too important. BY the figure you send. which
| presume are correct. the twelve Districts repre-
scented fall in two classes of eight and four re
s7ectively.
The disparity of the quotas for the draft in
these two classes is certainly very striking, being
the diFerance between an average Of 2.2OO in
one class and 1854 in the other. Assuming that
the Districts sre equal to one another in entire
population, as required by the plan on which
they were made, this disparity is such AZ
to require attention. Much Of it, how
ever, suppose, will be accounted for
by. the fact that so many more persons fit for
soldiers are in the city than are in the country.
who have too recently arrived from othar parts
Of the United States and from Europe 10 be
either included in the census Of 1860 or 20 have
voted in 1862. Still, making due allowance for
this, | am yet unwilling to stand upon il as an
entirely sufficient explanation OF the great die
parity. | shall direct the draft to proceed in all
the districts. drawing. however, at first from each
Of the four districts-to wit: the Second. Fourth,
Sixth and Eighth-only Two thousand two hun
dred being The average quota of the other class.
AFTER I0lS UFuNlOB, t1tSt IOuT ulStIiCtt, anu alcO
the Seventeenth and Twenty ninth. shall be care
fully re enrolled; and. IL you please. agents of
yours may witness every step OF the process. ANY
deficiency which may appear nv the new enroll
ment will be supplied by n special DIR # for that
object, allowing due credit for volunteers who
may he obtained from districts respectively during
the Interval. and at all points, so fnr as consistent
with ~practic,.l convenience. due credit shall be
given for volunteers. and your Excelleney shall
- .,ttG.I - Ike str.A E.aI e. n
draft in each district.
| do not object TO abide the decision of the
United States Supreme Court. or OF the Judges
thereof, on the consritutionnlity OF the draft law.
In fact, l would be willing to facilitate the OBJ
tanning of il; but ] cannot consent To loose the
time while il is being obtained. We are con-
tending with an enemy who. as | understand,
drives every able bodied man he can reach into
his ranks. very much ass butcher drives bullocks
into y slaughter pen. No time is wns,ed. no ar
eument used. This produces nm army which will
soon turn upon our now victorious soldiers al
ready in the field. if they shall not he sustained
by recrcits "a they should be. 1T produces an
army with a rapi6ity not to be matched on our
side. If We first waste time TO re experiment with
the volunteer system. already deemed by Con
gress. and palpably, in fact. so far exhausted as
to be inadequate, and then more time to obtaina
court decision ms 20 whether a Law is ~constitu
| UOIil WHICH itQuiE5s ptIt VI tuyoc INV W
service 70 go to the aid Of those who are already
in il; and still more time to determine with abso
lutte certainty that we get thoso who are TO go in
the precisely legal proportion TO those who are
not to go. MY purpose is to he in my action Just
and cnnstituiional. and vet practical, in perform.
ing tie important duty with which Ian, charged.
of maintaining the unity aud the free principles
of our common country.
Your obedieut servant. A. LIscoLS,
.
A coLp BIoopsp AND ArRocsors MURDER -
One OF the most cold blooded and atrocious muir
ders ever perpeirated In this country occurred al
the Democratic basket meeting in Orange town.
ship last Saturday. Benjamin Mccoy, of that
township. walked deliberately up TO Nathan
Kuotts. of Walker township. and shot him down.
The particulars of the case are these: The
elitor Of this paper had been speaking
for about half an hour. when Mr.. Knots. who
came to the meeting in n state of intoxication.
and who was then on the outskirts of the crowd.
hurrahed for JEFF Davis. Mccoy got up from
his seat. unpercieved except by a few. walked up
10 Knotts, aud taking him by the right arm, at
the same time drawing his revolver. said; take
that back" Kuotts gave a drunken smile when
the internal fend deliberately fred. the ball en-
tering Knots body a little below and 20 the
left Of his navel. II was a cowardly.
dastardly act, this shooting down an un
armed and drunken man. snch as only a
coward would do, and none but towards would
approve. The crowd who were listening to the
speech did not know what had occurred. until
McCoy, who ran as soon as he had fred, had got
some seventy Eve or one hundred yards start. and
and even then they had no opportunity of firing
at him without shooting Innocent persons who
were betweeen them and him.. As soon Nc the
coast was clear. however, some thirty shots were
fired at Nc Coy. and alarge crowd took after
him. Seeing himself holly pursued. Mccoy ent
loose William Kenning's horse and bounced on
his lack. A number Of our friends seeing pur-
suit ON foot hopeless. returned and got their
horses. but thoagh we ha9 y heard nothing from
the pursuers. We greatly fear that the murderer
will escape them. he. was finely mounted and
had a good start No effort will be spared, how
ever. to insure his capture. ers
Knots Is not yet dead. but bis physicians say
he cannot live longer than two or three days. He
leaves a wife and four young children. The
poor woman. who mas ssnf for as soon IS he was
shot. vas almost crasy with grlef-[Rusaville
! Jacksonian. shack nd 20 saos CO..