Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1863-09-19
Letter OF President Line DIN to the Sprin e.
field Convention.
vsL Executive MANSION, !
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26. !


brs ....- WAsHINGToN, Aug &c. G
To HoN, JAMES G. CoYKLN:uo .ribrrf
DEAR SIR, Y our letter. inviting me to
attend a mass meeting Of unconditional
Union men, to be held at the Capital of IL
linois. ctr the 81 day Of September, ha'
been received II would be very agree
tble to me thus to meet my old friends al
my own home, but ] cannot just now bt
absent from this city so long as visit
there would require. 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 meIfor
rendering, as / do, the, nations gratitude
to those noble men whom no partisan malice
or partisan hope can make false to the ma
tons life '2 Illo4 Oh dido 90 ilalb
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 t2 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 we are agreed.
II you are not for it. q second way is to
give up the Union. i am against this: if
you are you should say SO plainly. If you
are not for force. nor yet for dissolution,
there only remains some imaginable com
promise do not believe that any com.
promise embracing the maintenance of the
Union, is now possible. All that l learn
leads to q directly opposite belief. The
strength of the rebellion is its military.
Its army dominates all the country and all
the people within its range, and any of. r
of terms made by any man or men within
that range 10 opposition to that army, is,
simply nothing for the present, because
such man or men hare no power whatever
to enforce the side of compromise if one
were made with them.
To illustrate. Suppose refugees from
the South, and peace men of the North,
meet together in convention, and frame aad
proclaim q compromise, embracing q res.
toraton of the Union. in what way can
that compromise be used to keep Gen.
Lees army out of Pennsylvania. Gen.
Meade's army can keep Gen. Lees srmy
out of Pennsylvania, aud think can ulti'
mstely drive it out of existence. Bat no
pal per compromise. to which the controllers
Of Gen. Lees army are not agreed, can a;
all affect that army. In an effort at such
compromise we woald-waste time which the
enemy would improve to your disadyan.
tage, and that be all.
A compromise, to be effective, must be
made either with those who control the
rebel army, or with the people first libe-
rated from the domination of that army by
the success of our army. Now, allow me
10 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 know.
ledge or belief.
All charges and intimatioDs TO the con.
trary are deceptive and groundless, and
promise you that il. any such proposition
shall hereafter come, Il shall not be reject.
cd aud kept secret from you. i freely ae-
Knowledge myself to be the servant OF the
people according to the bond Of the ser
vice, the United States Constitution, and
as such / am responsible 70 them. Bnt TO
he plain, you are dissatisfied with me about
the negro. Quite likely there is . diner.
ence OF opinion between you and myself
upon that subject. / certainly wish that
ali men could be free, while you. l suppose,
do not.
| have neither adopted nor proposed any
measure which Is Dot consistent. even with
your view, provided you are for the Union
/ suggested Compensated Emancipation
to which you replied that 20 wished not u
be taxed to buy negroes; but had no
ssksd yoa touibs taxed to buy negroes ex
cspt in sucn . way ~ to SAVE you ffon