The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1863-09-11
LETTER OF PRESIDENT LIN
COLIN TO THE SPRING.
FIELD CONVENTION.
He has Received no Word or Init
nation from the Rebels in
Favor Of Compromise.
He Promises that if any PROPOSE
tons shall Come from them,
they will not be Kept Sc
cret and Rejected.
HIS DEFENCE OF THE ENIANCIPA-
TON PROCLAMATION.
THE PRESIDENTS LETTER.


New York, September 2.-The follow
ing is President Lincoln's letter:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, August &c, 1861
To Hon. JAMES c. CoNKL1N:
My DEAR SIR: Your letter inviting me
to attend mass meeting of unconditional
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, bnt I cannot just now be alb
sent from this city so long as visit there
would require.
The meeting isto be of all those who
maintain unconditional devotion to the
Union, and l am sure that all my old po-
litical friends will thank me for rendering,
as l do, the nations gratitude to these
other noble men, whom no partisan malice
or partisan hope can make false to the ma
TONS life.
There are those who are dissatisfied with
me. To such would say, you desire
peace, and you blame me that you 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 l am trying to do. Are
you for it? If you are, so far we are
agreed. If you are not for it, a second
way is to give up the Union. l am against
this If you are, you should say so plainly.
If you are not for force, nor yet for disso-
luton, there only remains some imagin-
able compromise.
do not believe that any compromise
embracing the maintenance of the Union
is now possible. All that I learn leads to
directly opposite belief. The strength
of the rebellion is it's military-its army.
That army dominates all the country and
all the people within its range. Any offer
of terms made by any man or men within
that range, in opposition to that army, is
simply nothing for the present, because
such man or men have no power whatever
to enforce their size 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 and proclaim a
compromise embracing a restoration of
the Union, in what way can that compro-
mise be used to keep Gen. Lees army out
of Pennsy lvania. Gen. Meade's army can
keep Gen. Lees army out of Pennsylvania,
and, | think, can ultimately drive it out
of existence. But no paper compromise,
to which the controllers of 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 i'm
prove to our disadvantage, and that would
be all.
A compromise, to be effective, must be
made either with those who control the
rebel army, or with the people first liberia
ted from the domination of that army by
the success of our army. Now, allow me
to assure you that 10 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 knOwl-
edge or belief AL charges and intima-
lions to the contrary are deceptive and
groundless, and | promise you that, if any
such proposition shall hereafter come, it
shall not be rejected and be kept secret
from you. l freely acknowledge 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 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 I have neither
adopted nor proposed any measure which
is not consistent with even your view, pro-
vided you are for the Union. I suggested
compensated emancipation, to which you
replied that you wished not to be taxed to
buy negroes. But l 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
You dislike the emancipation proclama-
ton, and perhaps would have it retracted.
| You say it is unconstitutional. | think
that the constitution vests the Comman-
der-in-C Chief with the law o. war in time
OF war. The most that can be said, if so
much, is, that slaves are property. Is
there, has there ever been, any question
that, by the law of war, property, both of
enemies and friends, may be taken when
needed? And is it not needed when our
taking it helps US or hurts the enemy +?
Armies, the world over, destroy the enc
mys property when they cannot use it.
ana even destroy their own to keep it from
the enemy. Civilized belligerents do all
in their power to help themselves or hurt
the enemy, except few things regarded
as barbarous or cruel. Among the excep-
tons are the massacre of the yannuished
foes and non-combatants, male and female
But the proclamation is law and valid. or
is not valid. If it is not valid. # needs
no retraction. If it is valid, it cannot ho