Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-01-10
THE SCOPE OF THE EMANCIPATION EDIcr


1t may be remembered by some of our regular
readers that in an article under the title Of Eman
oipation an Expedient, and not Principle" We
sought several weeks ago, to show that in his
Proclamation Of last September I'D, denouncing the
contingent and future emancipation Of slaves, the
President had committed himself to no fixed and
necessary line Of policy in this regard. We then
quoted former declarations of Mr.. LINCOLN in sup
port Of the statement that he has consistently re-
fused in any way or in any degree to take into
account the rights or interests of the slaves in
volved in our struggle He treats them simply as
an element Of power which may be made to subserve
the cause of the Union, to save which, he says, is
his paramount object in this struggle" In his
letter. for instance, to Mr. Greeley, contributed
to our columns, he held the following language:
my paramount object in this struggle is to rave the
Union and it 10 not either TO destroy slavery Il
could the Union without freeing any slaves would
do it, and il / could it by freeing all the slaves
would do it; and il could do it by freeing some and
leaving others alone, would also do that What do
about slacery and The c0orcd lido because 6eiec
helps The Union, and hat fortsar toT6ear be-
cause do not beliere ioonid help tie Union
shall do less whenever shall believe that what doing
hurts the cause, and shall do whenever believe
dong more will help tho cause. shall try to correct
errors when showS be errOrs ard shall adopt
views fast they shall appear to be true viewa"
1t was in view of this declaration, as applied to
the Interpretation Of the Presidents possible line
Of conduct under the terms Of the proclamation of
last September 22d that we wrote as follows in our
number of October 3lst:
II then, on the ls Of January next or at any sub
sequen date the President should be convinced that the
rebellion could be easily and certainly subdued BY
demanding the condition of slavery the class whom he
had proposed berae he perfectly free to do in
sistency with the rat oDae of his conduct thus far dis
closed by his words and developed by his actions He is
committed to irrevocabe policy III this matter. For
protesting to act simply in obedience to considerations of
military necessity, he must adapt his to the
military situation Of the hour when the let Of January
comes And it, the lat of January next, Mr. Lincoln
conceiyes that he better snbdae the rebellion by
ceding from his proclamation than by persstng in it. the
colored race, according 10 his own theory Of his official
and military duty, has right 10 freedom which he is
bound 10 respect And in go sayog it ia our purpose
neither to condemn approve the theory which he
acts. We simply state it in The terms and conditions
defined by himself, and which to be forgotten by
those who suppose that he has necessarily committed him
self any defuve policy in the matter OF slavery and its
relations to the war"
The President, in his proclamation issued on the
LIST instant, has entirely confirmed view Of the
theory on which he would probably act. Having
deliberately announced in his letter to Mr. Greeley
that whatever he did about slavery and the colored
race he did because he believed it helped to save
the Union, and that he would do "less" ;" more"
according to his convictions of expedieney, he
was perfectly free to exceed or ofal below the line
Of conduct marked out in his preliminary procla
nation of September ed. In point of fact he has
chosen to fall below it, for in that paper he PRO
claimed" as follows
On the first day Of January 10 the year of Lord
thousand eight hundred and sixythree all persons
held siaucs Dithin any State desgndtd part Of
State the people ,chereof shall sn be rebellion against
the United States shall be then enc}oroard, and forcuer
free and the Executive Government OF the United States
including the military and naval authority thereof, viii
coeuse and maintain the freedom OF such and viii
do act to repress such OF them
10 any efforts they may make for their actual freedom
The Executive will the fret day of January aore
said by proclamation, designate tho States and parts of
States il any, in which the people thereof respectively
sha then be rebellion against the United States and
the fact that any State reope thereof shall that day
be good faith represented IN tho Congress OF the United
States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein
majority OF the qualified voters Of such State shall have
participated SHALL in the absence of strong countervai
ing testimony be deemed conclusive evidence that such
State and the people thereof not then in rebellion
against the United States"
1t will not be denied that the people Of Teunes-
see are now in rebellion against the United
States" and that this State totally lacks the evil
dence of loyalty prescribed by the President as the
proof which he would accept as sufficient, in the
absence Of strong countervailiDg testimony to the
contrary. And yet this State is excepted from the
scope Of the threat denounced in the proclamation
Of September I'D.
Nor does this involve any Inconsistency on the
part of the President. He has been persuaded
that to "forbear" in this respect, regards Ten
nessee, will "help to save the Union" And,
therefore, he spreads over slavery in this State
the shield of the national authority From not
understanding the Presidents theory Of his own
duty and action, some of his peculiar political
friends have made this departure from his original
programme the ground of grave objurgaton. For
instance, the New York Tribune holds the follow
ing language on this topic, after quoting from the
September proclamation the paragraphs in which
the President promised that the first Of January
he would emancipate the slaves in all the States
and parts Of States " the people whereof shall then
be in rebellion" The Tribune says
''These the Presidents conditions AMI lin tatons
not odrs He FIX them precisely be ft ard pro-
claimed Internationally that he would the lat instant
declare free all slaves held in State. which should
then be 10 rebelonDot such OF them he should at the