Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-05-09
Executive MASsIoS
Washington, April 4.

.s ! G
,.li t.,....si,a l, EXECUTIVE MASsIos3
Washington, April 4.
A. G.. Hodges. Esq Frankfsrt, Ky. s. ,sg.
Mr. DEAR SIR-You ask me to put in writing
the substance of what verbally said the other
day, In your presence, TO Governor BramIette
and Senator Dixon. 1t was about as follows:
Lam naturally anti-slavecy. If slavery is not
wrong, nothing is wrong. / cannot remember
when did not so think and feel And yet !
have never understood that the Presidency con-
| fer-eG upon me unrestricted right to act Off
cially upon this judgment and feeling 1t was in
the oath took. that would. to the best Of my
ability, preserve protect and defend the Cousti-
tuition of the United States | could not take
the Office without taking the OATH. Nor was il
my view that ] might take an oath to get power,
and break the oath in using the power.
Understand too, that in ordinary civil ad-
ministration, this oath even forbade me to prac
tically indulge my primary. abstract judgment on
the moral question of slavery. | had publicly
declared this many times and in many ways. And
/ aver that, to this day, have done no official
act in mere Difference to my abstract judgment
and feeling on slavery. did understand. how
ever. that NV 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. Was il poss-
BILE TO lose the nation, and yet preserve the Con-
stituton? cd mcfl -, 4aara is1
! By general law, life and limb must be protect
| ed; yet often alimb must be amputated to save
! life; but life is never wisely given to save a
limb \ feel that measures, otherioise unconstitu
tional might become iarful, By becoming indispen-
sable TO the preservation of the Constitution
| through the preservation of the nation. Right
or wrong. assumed this ground and no,c aUop
it, | could not feel that TO the best Of my abili
| ty had even tried TO preserve the Constitution
/ il to save slavery or any minor matter, should
permit the wreck of government, country, and
Constitution, all together When. early in the
war. Gen Fremont attempted military emancipa
tion forbade it because did not think il an in
dispensable necessity When. a little later. Gen.
Cameron, then Secretary of War. suggested the
armug of the blacks, objected because did
not yet think it indispensable necessity
When still later. Gen. Hunter attempted military
emancipation, again forbade it.. because | did
not think the Indispensable necessity had come
When in March, and NAV, and july 1862,
nude earnest and successive appeals to the border
Stites to favor compensated emancipation, be
leved the indispensable necessity for military
emancipation ard arming the blacks would come,
unless averted by that measure. They declined
the proposition, and was in my best judgment.
driven to the alternative of either surrendering
the Union, and cith IL The Constitution or of ayinq
a strong hand upon the eotored clement | chose
the latter In choosing IL hoped for greater gain
than loss but ofthis ,ras not entirely confident
More than year OF trial now shows no loss by il
In our foreign relations. none in our home popu-
lar sentiment, none in our white military force
no loss by it Aenvhow or anywhere. On the con-
trary, il shows gain of quite hundred and
thirty Thousand soldiers, seamen, and laborers.
i These palpable facts. about which, as facts.
there can be no cavfling We have The men.
and we could not have bad them without the
m easure- . ..-r
And now. let any Union man who complains
o: the measure test himself. by writing down in
one line that he is for subduing the rebellion by
force of arms, and in the next, that he is Tor TAX
] ing these hundred and thirty thousand men from
the Union side and placing them where they
would be hut for the measure he condemns If
he cannot face his cause so stlted il is only be-
cause he cannot face the truth
! | add word which was not in the verbal CON
versation In telling this tale. Iatempt no com.
! pment TO my own sagacity I ciam MOTTO hace
controlled eUents, but confess plainly that eUenfs
haue controlled me- Nov. at the end OF three
Years struggle, the nations condition is not
what either party any man devised or expected.
God alone can claim IT, Whittier il is tending
seems plain lf God now wills the removal of
a great wrong, aud wills also that we Of the
North. as well as you of the South shall paw
fairly for our completely in that wrung, impartial
history will find th,rein new cause to attest and
revere the ju tice aud goodness Of Col
Yours truly. A. LINCOLN