Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1864-05-12

er yours, Hoosier and veteran.
+. j.. ."' 8 G. B. LiDEr.
.ai Co. D, 4Sth Ind. VOL
!
THE NEGROES AND FHE WAR.
Important Letter from the President.
The following noble letter from the
President appears in a correspondence
published in the Frankfort (Ky.) Com
monwealtb: a -
Executive MANSION.
WAsHINGToN, April 4. 1864 (
A. Hodges. Esq, frankfort. Ky:
My DEAR SIR-You ask me to put in
writing the substance of what / verbally
Said. the other day, in your presence, to
Gov. Bramlette and Senator Dixon. 1t
was about as follows:
Il am naturally anti-slavery. II slavery
is not wrong. nothing is wrong l can
not remember when did not so think and
feel. And yet. have never understood
that the Presidency conferred upon me an
unrestricted right to act officially upon
this Judgment and feeling. 1t was in the
oath 4 took. that wonld, to the best of
my ability. preservc. protect and defend
the Constitution Of the Uuited 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 that power. un-
derstood, too, in ordinary civil admins
tration. this oath forbade me to practically
indulge my primary. abstract judgment
on the moral question ofslavery. l had
publicly declared this many times, and in
many ways. And | aver that, to this
day, have done no act in mere Difference
to my abstract judgment and feeling on
slavery. ~ i...
/ did understand, however, that my
oath to preserve the Constitution to the
best of my ability, imposed upon me the
duty OF preserving. by every indispensable
means, that Government. that Nation, Of
which that Constitution was the organic
law.-Wss it possible to lose the nation
and yet preserve the Constitution?
By general law. life and limb must be
protected; yet oftena limb must be am
putated to save life; but life is never
wisely given to save limb. | feel that
measures, otherwise unconstitutional.
might become lawful by becoming indis-
pensable to the preservation of the Con-
stitution 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, l had
even tried to preserve the Constitution. if
TO save slavery or any minor matter.
should permit the wreck of Government.
Country and Constitution altogetheI.-
When early in the war Gen. Fremont at
tempted military emancipation, l forbade
it, because did not then think it an in
dispcusable necessity. When little la
ter. Gen. Cameron. then Secretary Of
War. suggested the arming of the blacks,
/ objected. because l did not yet think it
an indispensable necessity. When, still
later. Gen. Hunter attempted military
emancipation. forbade it. because did
not yet think the indispensable necessity
had come
When in March and May, and July
pesls to the Border States to favor COM
pcnsated emancipation, believed the
indispensable necessity for military enian-
cipation. and arming the blacks, would
come. unless averted by that measure.
They declined the proposition, and was,
in my best Judgement, driven to the al
tentative of either surrenderiDg the Union,
an with it the Constitution. or of laying
strong hand upon the colored element; l
| Il. L. ol Y h1,~hl
for xsss:.'er cain than loss; but Of this l
was no. entirely confident. More than a
year of trial now shows no loss by it, in
our foreign relations; none in our home
popular sentiment; none in our white mill
tary force--no loss by it anyhow or any
where. On the contrary. it shows gain
of quite hundred and thirty thousand
soldiers. seamen 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 without
the measure.
i And now. let any Union man. who
complains of the measure. test himself,
by writing down in one line that he is for
subduing the rebellion by force Of arms.
anu on tnc next t0at ue Is iOt taktuS one
hundred and thirty thousand men from
i the Union side, and placing them where
they would be, but for the measure he
condemns If he cannot face his cause SO
stated. it is only because he cannot face
tho truth. asai l.aesf slsia sf
= o. add word which was not in the ver-
bal conversation. In telling this tale
attempt no compliment to my own ssgaci
ty. Iclaim not to have controlled events
but confess plainly that events have con.
1'ttolled me.--Now, at the end of three
years struggle. the nations condition il
not what either psrty or any man devised
or expected. God alone can claim it
Whittier it is ten ding seems plain.
God now wills the removal Of . grea
wrong. and wills also that we of tn,
North. as we'll as you of the South, shall
pay fairly for. our eomplicity in tha
, wrong. impartial history will find therein
new cause to attest, and revere the justice
and godness OF God. Yours truly,
p ~ siss n isssns = A LINCOLN.