Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-04-30
.ml TIE r. M s. 0si
(rNvARrABLY IN ADvANCE.)
Mr.. LINCOLN TO Mr.. HODGES,
Mr.. Lincoln Avows, and Attempts
i 10 Justify His Violations of
ca ~ the COnstitutIon.s
Read and Preserve the Letter

Read and Preserve the Letter
lFrom tho Frankfort, KY. Commonwealth
The circumstances which elected from
the President the letter, are as we under
stand them, about as follows: The Senior
of the Commonwealth, Col. Hodges, by invi-
tation, accompanied Governor Bramlette
and Hon. Archie Dixon, on their recent Wis
1t to Washington, and to the Executive
Mansion, when they had interviews with
the President and Secretary of War.
At the close of the interview between
President Lincoln and Governor Bramlette
and Senator Dixon, the President pleasant
ly remarked as the other gentlemen were
about retiring, that he was apprehensive
that Kentucky felt unkindly toward him,
In consequence of not properly understand
ing the difficulties by which he was sur
rounded, in his efforts to put down this re-
bellion; and that he would explain to the
gentlemen some of those difficulties, if they
felt inclined to hear him. A willingness
was at once manifested, and the President
explained to them the difficulties to which
he had alluded.
On a subsequent occasion, in conversa-
tion with Mr.. Lincoln, Colonel Hodges re-
marked that he was satisfied that the Pres
ident was greatly misunderstood by many
of the citizens of Kentucky, and that he
would greatly oblige him If he would write
out the remarks made to Governor Bram-
lette and Senator Dixon, in order that with
the Presidents permission, they might be
published in the Commonwealth; that if
published, the Colonel doubted not they
would remove much of the prejudice which
was attempted to be created against the
President in Kentucky.
The President took the matter into con-
sideratiOn; and shortly after his return
home the Colonel received the following
LETTER FROM PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, !
WASHINGTON, April 4. 1S64.}
A. G. Hodges, Esq, Frankfort, KY: ,.t
MY DEAR SIR: You ask me to put in
writing the substance of what verbally
said, Che other day, in your presence, to
Governor Bramlette and Senator Dixon.
1t was about as follows: lisa
" am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery
is not wrong, nothing is wrong. | cannot
remember when did not so think and feel.
And yet 1 have never understood that the
Presidency conferred upon me an unre-
stricted right to act officially upon this
judgment and feeling. 1t was in the oath
ity, preserve, protect, and defend the Con-
stitution of the United States. / could not
take the Office without taking the oath.
Nor was it my view that l might take All
oath to get power and break the oath in
using the power. / understood, too, that
In ordinary civil administration, this oath
even forbade me to practically indulge my
primary abstract Judgment on the moral
question of slavery. had publicly de-
clared this many times and in many ways.
And aver, that, to this day, have done
no official act in mere Difference to my alb
stract judgment and feeling on slavery.
II did understand, however, that my
oath to preserve the Constitution to the
best of my ability imposed upon Inc the
duty Of preserving, by every indispensable
means, that Government-that Nation, of
which that Constitution was the organic
law. Was 1t possible to lose the Nation
and yet preserve the Constitutions?
'.By general law, life and limb must be
protected; yet often a limb must be ampu-
tated to save a life; but a life is never wise-
ly given to save limb. felt that meas
ures, otherwise Unconstitutional, might
become lawful by becoming Indispensable
to the preservation Of the Constitution,
through the. preservation of the nation.
Right or wrong, assumed this ground.
aud now avow It. could not feel, that
to the best Of my ability, had even trie
to preserve the Constitution, If to save
slavery, or any minor matter, | should
permit the wreck OF Government country,
and Constitution, all together. When, ear
ly in the war, General Fremont attempted
military emancipation, I forbade It. because
! did not then think it an indispensable ne
cessity. When, still later, General Hunter
attempted military emancipation, again
nrh a hao ,,nf ts,I-
indispensable necessity had come.
4When, in March, and May, and July, |
1862 made earnest and successive appeals |
to the border States to favor compensated
emancipation, believed the Indispensable |
necessity for military emancipation and |
arming the blacks would come unless avert |
ed by that measure. They declined the |
proposition, and was, in my best judg- |
ment driven 10 the alternative of either sur |
rendering the Union, and with il the Con- |
stitution, or of laying strong hand upon the |
colored element. | chose the latter. In |
choosing 1t, hoped for greater gain than |
loss; but of this was not entirely conf /
dent. More than year of trial now shows /
no loss by 1t In oslr foreign relations; none
In our home popular sentiment; nonein our
white military force; no loss by It anyhow /
or anywhere. On the contrary, IL shows A /
gain of quite a hundred and thirty thou |
sand soldiers, seanen and laborers. These |
are palpable facts. about which, as facts /
there can be no caviling. We have the |
men; and we could not have had them with |
out the measure. ff ~ I'D a
sand now, let any Union man, who COM
plains Of the measure, testhimself by writ
ing downin one line, that he Is for subdu-
ing the rebellion by force of arms, and In
the next, that he Is for taking these hun
dred and thirty thousand men from the
Union side, and placing them where they
would be, but for the measure he condemns.
IL he cannot face his cause 30 stated, It Is
only because he cannot face the truth" IA
II add word, which was not In the verbal
no compliment TO my own sagacity. claim
not to have controlled events, but confess
plainly that events have controlled me.
Now, at the end Of three years' struggle,