The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1864-05-04

facsorv, were b. request OF Colonel
Hodges reduced to writing. Wepublish
the Presidents letter below, simply
remerking that it is manly, dignifed,
clear, and so explicit as not to be capable
of misconstruction.
EXECUTIVE MANSION.
Washington, April 4, 1864
A G. Hodges, Esp. Frankfort Kentucky:
My DEAR SIR-You asked me to put in
writing the substance Of what verbally
said, the other day in your presence, to
Governor Bramlette and Senator Dixon.
1t was about as follows:
Il am naturally anti slavery. IF slavery
is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can
not remember when / did not so think
and feel. And yet, l have never under
stood that the Presidency conferred upon
ne an unrestricted right to act officially
u,,on this Judgment and feeling. 1t was
, in the oath l took, that / would to the
best of my ability, preserve, protect, and
defend the Constitution of the United
States. / could not take the office without
taking the oath. Nor was it my view,
that / might take an oath to get power,
and break the oath, in using the power
/ understood, too, that in ordinary
civil administration, this oath even for
babe me to practically indulge in primary,
abstract judgment on the moral question
of slavery: l had publicly declared this
many times, and in many ways. AID l
aver that, to this day, 1 have done no
official act in mere Difference to my alb
stract judgment and feeling on slavery.
Il did understand, however, that nv
oath to preserve the Constitution to the
best OF my ability, imposed upon me the
duty of preserving, by every indispen-
sible means, that Government-that
Nation, Of which that Constitution was
the organic law. Was it possible to lose
the Nation, and yet preserve the Consti-
tuition?
sBy general law, life and limb must be
protected; yet often limb must be am
putated to save a life is never wisely given
to save a limb. felt that measures,
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, and now
avow it. l could not feel, that to the
best of my ability had even tried to
preserve the Constitution, if, to save
slavery, or any minor matter, | should
permit the wreck ofG Government Country
and Constitution, altogether. When,
early in the war, Gen. Fremont attempted
military emancipation, l forbade it be-
cause / did not then think it was an
indispensable necessity. When, little
later. General Cameron, then Secretary
Is .s,ssas; Sssns rs ass''Rg s Il rs
! emancipation, | again forbade IT: because
I did not vet think the indispensable
necessity had come.
..Whcn, IN March, and May, ana JuIx,
ts6:s tystrS ~65oTder States to favor com
1 pensatei emancipation, l believed the
indispensable necessity for military
emancipation, and aiming the blacks
would come, unless averted by that
measure. They declined the proposition:
and was, IN my best Judgment driven
4 to the alternative, of either surrenderino
/ the Union, and with it the Constitution,
| or OF laying a strong hand upon the col
1 ored element. l chose the latter. In
choosing it, hoped for greater gain than
! loss; but of this / was not entirely con
! tident. More than wear of trial now
shows no loss by it, in our foreign re-
latlon; none in our home DO ular senti
/ ment; none in our white military force
1 no lpss by it, any how, or any where
On the contrary. it shows a gain of quite
hundred and thirty thousand soldiers,
! oN''AiNh s'iid AapolttS. neSe are DaipaDIe
facts, abont which, as facts. there can he
no caviling. We have the men. and We
could not have had them without the
measure
And now, let any Union man. who
complains of the measure, test himself.
by writing down in one line. that he is
Tor subdning the rebellion bv force of
arms, and in the next, that he is for tafxino
these hundred and thirty thousand men
from the Union side, and placing them
where they would be. but for the measure
he condemns. If he can not face his
cause so stated. it is only because he can
not face the truth
Il add word, which was not in The
verbal conversation. In telling this tale.
L attempt no compliment to nav own
sagaclty- | claim not to have controlled
events, but confess plainly that events
have controlled me. Now, ut the end of
three years struggle, the Nations con
dltlon Is not what either party or any man
devised or expected God alone can
claim it Whittier it is tending seems
plain. If God now wills the removal of
great wrong, and wills also that we Of
the North, as well as YOU of the South.
shall pay fairlyfor our completely, in that
wrong, impartial history viii find there
IN new causes to attest and revere the
justice and goodness of God
Yours truly.
\. LINCOLN.