The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1863-01-14
From the North British Review (Anstslsvery,,

Tho Presidents Proclamation.
Viewed in connection with his anteced
cnt proceedings, his proclamation throws
curious light upon the character Of the
| President. Viewed as q ir easure of politi
cal and bel'i ,er-nt policy, it appears to Us
| ~ singulary injudicious, even indefensiblc
| Viewed as an adoption of anti. slavery
principles. it is perhaps III, most grotesque
ly illogical and inconsistent decree ever
issued by government. Mr.. Lincoln came
from lllinoi,-a State, perhaps more pure.
fy and angrily free soil than any other
| strongly anti. slavery. but as strongly anti
negr!.. All blacks, whether slave or ec,
are, we believe, by an act Of the Lcgisla
ture, excluded from that inhospitablc dis
ttrict Mr.. Lincoln was chosen "a the Re.
publican champion--as the embodiment OF
the policy which, while fully recognizing
and sanctioning slavery wherever it existed,
and wherever the citizens Of constituted
State might choose to establish it, forbade
its introduction into territories which were
still Union property. and sought to proven,
the future multiplication Of slave States. -
lie, Of course, at once accepted the aboli.
ton Of slavery W the District Of Cplu Ebia
as natna al corollary Of the Republican doc.
trinc, as soon as the Republican party had
lined the aScendancy. But he does not
appear to have shared, in the faintest de-.
gree, in the feelings or opinions Of the ab
olitionistS. From first to last he applied
his own unassisted intellect to the Difficult,
problem before him. with meritorious sim
plicity, honesty. and patience; and that
intellect. though originally shrcwd, vigor
Gus, and sagaciouS, is wholly unframed in
ratriocinatpn. une!acatei, and i'll informed.
lie first brought out his plan for giving
| compensation to the owners OF slaves in
those States which would consent to libcr
ate tn, m. by which plan he hoped to gain
| over the Border and wavcring States, sucl,
as Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and
Maryland. There was much sagacity in
the scheme, aud 4 really honest, practical
design; hut it was not cal culatcd at tha,
particular time to produce much effect, and
up to the present moment it has been pure
'ly imperative. The further workings o!
his bothered Train were shown in his veto.
ing the unwarrantrd steps o! Fremont and
Hunter tos ards the partial emancipation
and arming Of the slaves in tile quarters
into which they had penetrated and in his
''"''S anu outSp"Ncu announcement u
Horace Greeley. that he would deal with
the negroes, aud act for or against them.
precisely as in his juigmen. would be, not
the most JUS, and benevolent towards them.
but most conducive to tue restoration OF
the U"i"n. The notions Of the old explod
cd Colonization Society, then for a whil..
took possession of his mind; aud h" en-
'lcavorcd to organize schem. for expatri
ating the negro population under leadership
OF free color d men, to some rem tie and
, unacHn'rcd district in Central America.
Tor getting them out Of the way,--in short.
" plan which any reading. any knowledge
"f the e'ins> and character Of the people.
and almost any arithmetic, should have
S"!tred to negative III once. Then. on the
18Th Of Septs mher. he told the Chicago
'erutation that their plan Of proclaininy
emancipation in the rebel States would tp
simply imperative because it could no,
reach the slaves. and that their plan of
armng them would merely and practically
be t" arm th"ir masters; and finally, fort
night later. he adopts this very condemned
pan, and declares tn, slaves Of rcb is and
in rebel States free after the LIST Of .Tanuar,
1868. That he does tb,s with the saadeSt
mi>s wing is plain from his speech to the
>errnaicrs a few days after when he said
he trusted in God he had not made mis-
take \ strange spectacle Of an earnest,
well meaning simple, but feeble mind, Starv
ing. striving to grapplc with a problem
which might well baiiia the subtlest intel
lects. and to discharge functions to which
in such crisis scarcely any genius would
be equal, has seldom been given to the
world.
That the Constitution gives the PreSiden,
ne authority whatever to issue su.h dc.
cree as the cm. ncipation proclamation, and
that the decree legally regarded. is simply
null and vOd, is a min,r conSiderat on
SINCE it must be looked upon as measure
Of war, aud not Of civil policy. But is it.
in aEy point Of view, a wise anl warranta
bic measure? Hardly, VIC think. 1t may
gain him the more active and cordial ca op
Grafton Of ths New England aboli,ionsts;
but they are not very numerous though in
crcasins party; and they are for him pccu
iinry dangerous allies, because their OBJ
jects and his arc altogether distinct, and
only casually and not necessarily connect
ed. They would sacrifice the Union to
extinsuish slavery. He would perpetua,c
slavery to restore the Union. They ca.
only act steadily q" loyalty together 50 lon.
AS abolition Measures offer, or are thought
to oIer. the best chance Of suhwgaiing and
reannexinS the south. The great mai ,rty
Of the people in the north are no friends to
emanci patton, and no partiSans Of the
negro; they may ultimately consent to 60
in for abolition. but they will only do so -
their last card, and as an evil only less
than acknowledging the Independence OF
the sonth. The pro lamatinn, therefore, at
first sight, seems ~ likely to divide, Us
to rcanilnate the supporters Of tn. govern
ment. But this, time will show As I,
the actual operation of the edict in the
south. We ourselves believe that except in
few iii trictS near towns or ports in the
nci ghbn, hood Of the Federal camps. it will
prove mere brutcm fulmrn; that the
slaves dare not riSc, do not wish to rise, do
no, hate their masters. and except for the
sake Of idlenesS and on special occa a>ion~.
do not desire freedom. Bat this canno'
have been Mr.. Lincoln's conception. lie
must have believed that it would be the
vsry strongest and most effective measure
of hostility which he conli adopt towards
the confederate States that it would terrify
some back to their ALLEGIANCE; that it
would weaken the armies Of his antagon
lists by the detachments which it would
render necessary to keep down the blacks;
in word. that it would rouse against the
shareholders formidable force of do,ne>.
tic foes. He must have designed, one
would suppose = il he had any definite &C.
s gn ut all-and expeclrl-if he had any
distinct hopes Of benefit from his decree.
that his proclamation would ra.e Il 0
black race ag inst the white; would turn
the arms Of 'uur millions Of half barbarous
Africans against their former masters /;
would, ut the very least, di>organizc the
entire social system in the south, a,d put