Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-09-03
PREsIpENT LINcoLN,s LETTER.


tenda mass meeting UtunCOnditiOnal union men
to be held at the capital of Illinois ON the Sd
day of September, has been received. 1t
would be very agreeable to me thus to meet
my old friends at my own home, but cannot,
just now, be absent from this city so long as
Il visit would require. The meeting is to he
of all these who maintain unconditional deyo.
ton to the Union, and am sure that my old
political friends will thank me for rendering,
as | do, the nations gratitude to those other
noble men whom no parlizan malice or par
tizan hate can make false to the nations life.
There are those vino 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 it? There are but
three conceivable ways. First, to suppress
the rebellion by force Of arms. This | am
trying to DO. Are You for it? If you are,
SO far wr are agreed. If you are not for it,
second way is to give up the Union. | am
against this. Ii you are not, you should say SO
plainly. If You are not for force, nor yet for
dissolution, there only remains some imagina-
bic compromise. l do not believe that any
compromise embracing the maintenance of
the Union, is now possible. All that learn
leads to 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 Of
fer or terms made by any man or men within
that range, in opposition to that army, is simp-
ly nothing for the present. Because such
man or men have no power whatever to en-
force their side OF a compromise, if one were
made with them.
To illustrate-suppOse refugees from the
south and peace-men of the north get together
in convention and frame and proclaim a COM
promise embracing restoration OF the Union.
In what way can that compromise be used to
keep Gen. Lees army out of Pennsylvania?
Cen Meade'S army can keep Lees army out
of Pennsylvania, and | think can ultimately
drive 1t out OF existence; but no paper COM
promise to which the controllers of Gen.
Lees army are not agreed can at all affect
that army. In an effort at such compromise
we would waste time, which the enemy would
improve to our disadvantage, and thar would
be all. compromise to be 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 allow me to assure you that
no word or intimatiOn from the rebel army or
from any OF the men controlling it, in relation
to any peace compromise, has ever come to
my knowledge or belief. All charges and in
.lmatl0ns to the contrary are deceptive and
groundless, and promise you that if any such
proposition shall hereafter come it shall not be
rejected and kept secret from you.
freely acknowledge myself to be the SER
want Of the people according to that bond of
service, the United States constitution, and
that as such / am responsible to them. But
to be PLAIN, you are dissatisfied with me about
the negro. Quite likely there is difference
OF opinion between you and myself upon that
subject. l certainly wish that all men could
be free, while you | suppose do not Yet |
have neither adopted nor proposed any meas.
ure which is not consistent with even your
view, provided that you are for union sug-
gested compensated emancipation to which
you replied that you wished not to be taxed to
buy negroes. But had not asked you to be
taxed to buy negroes except in such way as to
save you from greater taxation to save the
Union exclusively by other means. gu dis
ike the emancipation pro elamatiOn, and per
maps would have it retracted. You say it is
unconstitutional. l think differently think
that the constitution invests its communicating
chief with the law of war in time of war. The
most that can be said Off SO much) is that
slaves are property.
Is there, has there ever been any question
that by the law Of war, property, both of enc
mics and friends, may be taken when needed?
And Is 1t not needed whenever taking it helps
US or hurts the enemy? Amies the world
over destroy enemies property when they can
not use It, and even destroy their own to keep
1t from the enemy. Civilized belligerents do
all In their power to help themselves or hurt
the enemy, except in few things regarded as
barbarouS or cruel Among the exceptions
are the massacre OF vanqushed foes and nom
combatants, male and female. But the pro-
clamation, as law, is valid or is not valid. if
it is not valid it needs no retraction; if it is
valid it can not be retracted, any more than
the dead can be brought to lite. Some of YOU
profess to think that Its reracton would op-
crate tavorably for the Union. Why better
after the retracton than before the issue?
There was more than year and half of tr-
al to suppress the rebellion, before the proc-
lamation was issued, the last one hundred
days OF which passed under an explicit notice
that it was coming, unless averted by those in
revolt returning to their allegiance. The war
has certainly progressed as favorably for us
since the issue of the proclamation as before.
know, as fully as any one can know, the
opinions of others, and that some of the COM
manderS OF our armies in the field who have
given us our most important victories, believe
the emancipation policy and the aid of colored
troops constitute the heaviest blows vet dealt
to rebellion; and at least one of those impor-
tant successes could not have been achieved
when 1t was, but for the aid of black soldiers
Among the commanders holding these views
are some who have never had any affinity
with what is called ''abolitionism," or with
republican party politics., but who hold
them purely as military opinions. | submit
their opinions as being entitled to some weight
against the objections often urged, that eman-
cipation and arming the blacks are unwise as
military measures, and were not adopted as
such in good faith.
You say that you will not fight to free ne
groes. Some of them seem to be willin0 IN
light for you; but no matter. Fight Won
then exclusively to save the Union? ISSUED
the proclamation on purpose to aid you in
saving the Union. Whenever you shall have
conquered all resistance to the Union, if I
shall urge you to continue fighting it will be
an apt time then for you to declare that YOU
will not fight to free negroes. | thought that
in your struggle for the Union, to whatever
extent the negroes should cease helping the
enemy, to that extent it weakened the enemy
in his resistance to you. Do you think differ
emily? | thought that whatever negroes can
be got to do as soldiers leaves just so much
less for white soldiers to do in saving the
Union. Does it appear otherwise to you?
But negroes, like other people, act upon mo-
tives. Why should they do anything for us
if we will do nothing for them? If they stake
their lives for us, they must be prompted by
tine STRONGEST natives avon the nr0miSa of