The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1863-09-17
from the domination of that army by
the success of our army. t-

lIOll LuC uOiliHuIlOl VI IiioV al ihiJ pJ
the success Of our army.
Nor, allop me to assure yOu that no
word or intimdtion from the rebel army or
from any ofthe men controlling it, in re-
latton to any peace compromise, has ecer
come to my knowledge or belief. AU
charges and intimdtionS to the contrary,
are deceptive and gromdleSS, and IprOm-
iSc you that If any such proposition shall
hereafter come, 1t shall not be rejected and
Kept secret from you freely aclznowl-
edge myself to be the servant Of the
people, according to the bond of the
service, the United States Constitution,
and that as such / am responsible to
them. But to be plain, you are dissat-
isfed1 with mo about the negro. Quite
likely there is difference of opinion
between you and myself upon that sub
jcct. I certainly wish that all men
could be free, while you, I suppose, do
not. Yet / have neither adopted nor
proposed any measure which is not
consistent with even your views, pro
vidcd that you are for the Union. f
y / suggested compensated emancipa-
ton, to which you replied that you.
wished not to be taxed to bay negroes.
But had not asked you to be taxed to
buy negroes, except in such a way as
to save you from greater taxation, to
save the Union exclusively by other
means. r
You.disliko the Emancipation Proc
lamation, and perhaps, would have it
retracted You say it is unconstitu-
tional. l think differently | think
that the Constitution vests its Com
mander-in- n-chief with the law of war
in time of war The most that can be
said, if so much, is, that slaves are prop
erty. Has there ever been any ques-
ton that by law Of war property, both
of enemies and friends, may be taken
when needed. and is it not needed
whenever taking it helps us or hurts
the enemy? Armies, the world over,
destroy the enemy's property when
they cannot use, and even destroy their
own to keep it from the enemy. Civ
ilized belligerents do all ia their power
to help themselves or hurt the enemy,
except few things, regarded as bar
barous and cruel. Among the eXcep-
tions are the massacre of vanquished
foes and non -combatants, male and te-
male But the Proclamation law is
valid or it is.not valid. If it is not
valid, it needs no retraction; if it is
valid, it cannot be retracted, any more
than the dead can be brought to life
Some of you profess to think that re-
traction would operate favorably to the
Union. Why better after the retrac-
ton than before the issug2 There was
more than a year and a half of trial to
suppress the rebellion, before the Proc
lamation was issued, the last one hun
dred days of which passed under an
explicit natice that it was coming, un-
less avertcd by those in rebellion re-
turning to their allegiance.
The war has certainly progressed as
favorable to us since the issue Of the
proclamation as before. | know, as
| fully as one can know the opinion of
others, that some Of the commanders
of our armies in the field, who have
given us our most important victories,
believe the emancipation policy and
the aid of colored troops constituted
the heaviest blows yet dealt to the re-
bellion, and that at least one of these
important successes could not have
been achieved, but for the aid Of black
? soldiers. Among the commanders hold
ing these views are some who have
never had any affinity with what is
called Abolitionism, or with Republic
an party politics, but who hold them us
purely military opinions. | submit
their opinion as being entitled to some
weight against the objections often
urged that emancipation and arming
the blacks are unwise as military meas
urcs, and were not adopted in good
faith.
You say you will not fight to free ne
groes. Some of ii EN- seem to be will
ling enough to fight for you. But nc
matter. They fight, then, exclusively
to save the Union. l issued the proc.
lamation on purpose to aid you in say.
ing tho Union. Whenever you shall
have conquered all resistance to the
Union, if shall urge upon you to con
tinuc fighting, it will be an apt tim(
then for you to declare that you will
not fight to free negroes. | thought
that in your struggle for the Unior
to whatever extent the negroes shoulc
/ cease helping the enemy to that extern
, it weakened the enemy in their resist
ance to you.
Do you think differently? L though
o that whatever negroes can be got t.
I do as soldiers, leaves just so much les'
for white soldiers to do in saving tho
Union. Does it appear otherwise t.
you? But negroes, like other people
act upon motive. Why should they
e do anything for us if we will do moth
/, ing for them? Ifthey stake their live'
for us, they must be prompted by The
, strongest motive, even the promise o
r freedom, and the promise, being made
!. must be kept. aeH ..".ae't
/. The signs look better. The Father
a Of Waters again goes unvexed to thu
b sea, thanks to the great Northwest fol
Q it: nor yet wholly to them, for three
2 hundred miles up they met New Eng
7 land, Empire, keystone, and jersey
> hewing their way right and left. Tho
? Sunny Sonth, too in more colors thar