The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1864-04-21

Letter from the President to the North
American Review.
Reports were current a month or
two ago that the publishers of the Re-
view had received a letter from tho
President of the United States, called
forth by the article in the January
number on the "Presidents Policy"
This letter was represented as being
complimentary and sometimes as a
letter of criticism and correction. The
letter itself is now printed in an edito-
rial note at the close of the April num-
ber, and has an interesting bearing
upon Mr.. Lincoln's views upon ain i'm
portant point of political theory. 1t
is as follows:
"EXEcUTIvE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, January 16.
"Messrs. Crosby & Nichols:
"GENTLEMEN: The number for this
month and year of the North Ameri-
can Review was duly leccived, and for
which please accept my thanks. OF
course | am not the most impartial
Judge; yet with due allowance for this,
L venture to hope that the article en-
titled, "The Presidents Policy will
be of value to the country. | fear |
am not quite worthy of all which is
therein kindly said of me personally.
"The sentence Of twelve lines. COM
mencing at the top ofpage 252 lronid
wish to be not exactly as II . In
what is there expressed the writer has
not correctly understood me have
never had theory that Secession
could absolve States or people from
their obligations. Precisely the CON
trary is asserted in the Inaugural Ad-
dress; and it was because of my belief
in the continuance of these obligations,
that l was puzzled, for time, as to
denying the legal rights of those citi-
zens who remained individually inno-
cent of treason or rebellion. But |
mean no more now than to merely
call attention to this point.
"Yours respectfully,
"a. LINCOLN"
The sentence in the January num-
Der, referred to by Mr.. Lincoln, is as
follows:
Given so long ago as when Mr.. Lin
coin, not yet convinced of the dan ger
and magnitude of the crisis, was en-
deavoring to persuade himsclfof Union
maioritics at the South, and to carry
on war that was half peace, in the
hope of peace that would have been
all war-while he was still enforcing
the Fugitive Slave Law, under some
theory that secession, however itmight
absolve States from their obligations,
could not escheat them Of their CLAIMS
under the Constitution, and that slave
holders in rebellion had alone, among
mortals, the privilege of having their
cake and eating it at the same time
the enemies of free government were
striving to persuade the people that
the war was an abolition crusade. To
rebel without reason was proclaimed
as one of the rights of man, while it
was carefully kept out of sight that to
suppress rebellion is the first duty of
government"
To this the editors of the Review
append note as follows;
"Nothihg could have been further
from the intentions of the editors, than
to misreprcsent the opinions of the
President. They merely meant that,
in their judgement, the policy of the
Administration was at first such as
practically to concede to any Rebel
who might choose to profess loyalty,
rights under the Constitution, whose
corresponding obligations he repudia-
ted" .r5- an ,
d r.n.a. ~ o,1y. aOynhon o,aa enxya that |