The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-09-09
Views Of President Lincoln Oa he
Important Questions of the Lay.
HIS LETTER TO spRINGrrEID.
ExEcrrlyE MANsros,l

Wan .t1Os, August 2G.
Hon ms. G. ConL,m:
MY DEAR SiR--Your letter, inviting rue TO at
tend a mass meeting Of unconditional Union men,
to be held at the capital Of Illinois, on tho 3D. dav
OF September, has been received. II would be very
agreeable TO me thus TO meet my old friends at
my own home, but can not just now be absent
from this city SO long as visit there would
quirc.
The meeting is to be Of all those who maintain
unconditional devotion TO the Union, and am sure
that my old political friends will thank me for
rendering ns do, the nations gratitude to those
other noble mon whom no partisan malice or par
tSan hope can make false to the nations life, There
are those who are dissatisfied with me. To such
would say, you desire peace and you blame me
that we do not have it," But how can we attain
| III
There are but three conceivable ways First, to
suppress the rebellion by force of arms This am
trying 10 dO--arc you for it2 If you arc, for we
are agreed. If you are not for it, second way is,
to give up the Union. ] am against this. If you
are, you should say plainly. If you are not for
force, nor yet for dissolution, there only remains
som, imaginable compromise. do not believe
/ that any compromise embracing the maintenance
/ of tho Union is now possible. All that learn
leads to n directly opposite belief. The strength
/ of the rebellion is its military-itS army. That
army dominates all the country and all the people
within its range.
| Any offer Of terms made by any man or men
within that range in opposition to that army, is
simply nothing for the present, because such man
! or men have NJ power whatever to enforce their
side OF compromise il one were made with theu.
/ To illustrate Suppose refugees from the South
and peace Of the North met together in cOnven-
| ton and franc and proclaim compromise. enr-
! bTicing a restoration Of the Union, III what way
can that compromise be used to keep General Lees
army out Of Pennsylvania? General Mcadc's army
can keep General Lees army out of Pennsylvania,
aud think can ultimately drive it out of existence.
/ But no paper compromise to which the controllers
OF General Lees army are not agreed can at all
! effect that army.
In an effort TO make such compromise we would
! waste time which the enemy would improve to our
disadvantage, and that would be all. compro-
misc to he effective must be made either with those
who control the rebel army or with the people
/ first liberated from the domination Of that army by
| the success of our army. Now, alow me to assure
you that no worl olnmatiOn from the rebel army,
from any of the men controlling it, in relation to
nny peace compromise, has ever come to my knowl
edge belief. All charges and intimations to the
contrary are deceptive and groundlcss and prom
ise you that it any such proposition shall hereafter
come 1t shall not be rejected and kept secret from
! you. | freely acknowledge myself to be ths SER
want of the people according to the bond OF tile ser
vice, the United States Constitution, aud that as
such, am responsible to them But to be plain,
you are dissatisfied with me about the negro.
Quito likely there is difference of opinion between
you and myself upon that subject. | certainly
wish that all m>n could be free, while you, suppose,
do not. Yet have neither adopted nor proposed
| any measure which is not consistent with even
! your view, PROVIDED that you are Tor the UnlOn
| suggested compensated emancipation to which
you replied that you wished not to be Ia Xcd to buy
negroes. But | had not asked you to be taxed to
buy negroes, except in such way as to save you
from greater axation to save the Union exclusively
by other means.
You dislike the Emancipation proclamation, and
perhaps would have it rctractel You say it is un-
constitutional; | think different. think that the
Constitution vests its Commander-in- Chief with
the law of war in time Of war The most that can
| be said, if so much, is that slaves are property.
Is there any question that by the law of war the
property, both of enemies and Friends, may be taken
when needed and is tnot needed whenever taken
| it helps us or hurts the enemy?
Armies the world over destroy the enemy prop
Crtv when they not use it, aud even destroy
their own to keep it from the enemy. Civilized
bclhgcrcnts do all in their power to help themselves
or hurt the enemy, except few things regarded
AS barbarous and cruel. Among the exceptions
are the massacre Of a yunquished foe and Of nom
combatnts male and female.
But the proclamation is law and valid, or it is
not valid Ii it is not valid it needs no rctraction
il is valid it can not be rctracthd any more than
the dead can be brought to life. Some Of YOU
profess to think that the retrhctou would operate
hvoraby to the Guun. Why better af,cr the rr.
traction than before the issue ? Vh,ra was more
than year and half of trial to suppress the re.
bcliou before the proclamation was iSSucd-tlc
last one hundred days Of which passed under an
explicit notice that it was coming, unless avcrtcd
hv those in revolt returning to their allegiance.
us since the issue OF the proclamation as before.
know as fully one can know the opinion Of 9th.
crs, that some ol the commanders of our armies IN
the field who have given us our most important
victories, believed the emancipation policy and
he aid of cololad troops constituted the heaviest
blows vet dealt to the rebellion, and that at least
one OF these important successes could not have
been achieved whom it was but for the aid of black
soldiers. Among the commanders holding these
views arc some who have never had any affinity
with what is called AbolitioniSm with Ropub
| can party politics, but who hold them purely mil
ilary opinions. | submit their opinion as being
entitled to some weight against the objections Oft,
= urged that emancipation and arminG the blacks ar
unwisc rs military measures, and were not adopted
; DO such in good faith.
I You say that you will not fight to free negroes
Some of them seem to b. willing enough to iigh
foryou. Butno matter. Eighth exclusively t.
j. save the Union, | issued the proclamation ON pur
pose to save the Union.
Whenever Won have conquered all resistance t
II the Union, if shall urge you to coCtinue hghtu!
/ it will be an apt time then for you to declare tina
& YOU will not fight 10 free negroes. thought that
: in your struggle for the Union, to whatever exteu
e the negroes should cease helping the enemy, I
e that exent it weakened the enemy in his resistanc
u to YOU.
It Do Won think differently? thought that what
. ever negroes can be got to do as soldiers, leave
. Just much less for white soldiers To do in saviu
a the Union. Does it appear otherwise you? BIZ
q negroes, like ether people act upon motive. Wh
should they do any thing for us if we will do no
y ing for them lCthey stake their lives lorus, the
p must be prompted by the strongest motive eve
= the promise Of freedom, aud the promise beiu
= nude must hc kept. The signs look better. Tn
l. Father of Waters again goes unvrNed to the sea
thanks to the great Northwest for It ;nor vet whell
Ia them. Three hundred miles up they met th
New England, Empire STATE, Keystone State, am
d New Jersey, hewing til 'ir way right and left.
The sunny South, too, in moro colorS than one
also ent hand Ou the spot their part of the his
D. tory was joted down in black aud white. The 10
;, was great one, uational, and let none be barre
' who bore an honorable part in it, and while thos
m whohave cleared the great river my we'll be proul
/, even that is not all.
- II is hard to say that any thing has been MOI
l. bravely and better douc than at Antetam, Murrec.
m boro', Gettysburg andoN many fields of less not,
" nor must Uncle Sans wcbbcd feet ba forgotten
~ AT all the waters margins they have been pre-;
Ia out Not only ON the deep sea, the broad bay an
the rapid river, but also up the narrow, mudd
n. bayou and wherever the ground was little dana
~, they have been and made their tracks.
Thanks TO all tor the great Republic, for II
principles by which 1t lives aud keeps alive I,
a mans vast tuturS, thanks 70 all. Peace docs N
appear So distant As Il did, ! hope it will con
N soon and To stay, and come as 10 be- wor,
m the keeping in all future TIM.
Ii will then have been proved that among FIRE
I men there can be no successful appeal from Il
nt ballot to the bullet and that they who take SUE
appeal, sure To lose their case ard pay Il
o. costs and then there will be SOM black man, wi
Il / can remember that with silent tongue, and Wi
cleuchcd teeth and with Seadycye, and we'll -poiS,
II bayonet, they have helped mmkind on tn ul
great consummatiou; while fear that there will
some white men unable to forget that with mali
). nant heart aud dcccitrm speech they have stry,