The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-08-05
The Peace Negotiations.

from HiStOry...Eerms on which
J War will Cease-.-The Presfden
, Disposed to Recognize the Rebe
Authorities EBa fillmore Convention
Resolutions Unhceded-- What hi
Friends yhink OF his Conduct.
From the National Intelgencer, July &C.
In his first message to Congress, called tC
meet in extraordinary session on the 18th o.
July 1861 President Lincoln held the follow
ing language:
Lest there be some uneasness in the minds
of candid men as to what is to be the course
of the government toward the Southern States
after the rebellion shall have been suppressed
the executive deems it proper to say it will be
his purpose then, as ever, to be guided Jy the
Constitution and the td,cs and that he probably
will have no different understanding of the
powers and duties of the federal government
relatively to the rights of the States and the
people, under the Constitution, than that eX-
pressed in the inaugural address, He desires
to preserve the government that it may be ad-
mlnlstered for all, as 1t administered By the
men acho made 1t. Loyal citizens ererywhere hare
the right to claim this Of the government, and the
government has no right to ctthhold or neglect It.
1t is not perceived that in giving it, there is
any coercion, any conquest or any subjugation,
in any just sense of those terms"
On the 23d of August, 1862, in his we'll
| known letter to Mr.. Greeley. as Orig inally pub
lished in our columns, the President wrote as
\ follows:
"My paramount object is to save the Union,
and not either save or destroy slavery If /
could save the Union without freeing any slave,
/ would do it; if could save it by freeing all
the slaves l would do it. and if | could save
| it by freeing some and leaving others alone
would also do that What do about slavery
and the colored race. do because I believe it
helps to save the Union; and what forbear, |
f,rN ha< a. Ill
| to save the Union. | shall do less whenever
shall believe what am doing hurts the cause :;
and shall do more whenever / believe doing
more will help the cause"
In the opening words of the preliminary
Proclamation OF Ere dom :" issued on the 22d
of September, 1862 the President, as if anxious
| to preclude the inference that he meant thereby
to change the object of the war, was careful to
declare THAT hereafter as heretofore the war
| VIII be prosecuted for the object of practically
restoring the constitutional relations between the
United States dnd each of THE STATES and the
| people thereof i'll which States THAT RELATION IS
or may be suspended or disturbed" This is
| the OBJECT OF the war as the President I'M
| derstandS ito restore the constitutional reio-
| ton between the United States and each of the
states IN Which the re,atiOn is now suspended or
disturbed
In reply to communication from the Hon.
Fernando Wood CT New York, who, in De-
some information to the effect THAT the South
ern 81 ties would send representatives to the
next Congress, provided that full and general
amnesty should permit them to do So" Mr..
| Lincoln under date of December II of that
year, held the following explicit language:
strongly suspect your information will
| prove to be groundless; nevertheless l thank
you for communicating it tome. Understand
| ing the phrase in the paragraph above quoted
| = the Southern States would send representa-
tives to the next Congress-to be substantially
the same as that the people of tn Southern
States would cease resistance and would rein
| augurate, submit to, and maintain the nation
al authority within the limits of such States,
under the Constitution the United States
say that IN such case the acdr should cease ON the
part of the United States, and that If, mithim q
reasonable hme a. full and general amnesty were
Necessary to such end, 1t acouidnot be withheld."
| Early in the autumn of 1868. in his celebrat-
ed letter addressed to the Springfield Repub-
lican Convention, the President wrote as fol-
| lows, as if to exclude the cavil or objection on
The part of political opponents that he had any
design to continue the war for The purpose of
emancipation, after the declared object of the
war Onld Rave been reached in a restoration
of the Union. To this effect the President
said:
"You say you will not fight to free negroes.
Some OF them seem willing to fight for you.
But no matter; fight you then exclusively to
save the Union. issued the proclamation on
purpose to aid you in saving the Union.
ance to the Union. If shall urge gnu to continue
fighting, 1t Diu be an apt time then for you to de-
clore you aciU not fight to free negroes"
| We have arranged these declarations of the
President in the order of their chronology for
the purpose of shOwing that his declared poll
| cy under this head has been uniform, delibe-
rate, definite and Leterminate.
In the month of Univ 1891 ha dac1erpd If
his purpose to preserve the government that
1t might be administered as it was administered
| by the men who made it, and he added, ''loy-
al citizens ever ywhere have the right to cl i'm
this OF their government, and the government
has no right to withhold it,"
In December, 1862, he said that if ''the peo
pie of the Southern States would cease resist
ance and would reiDaugurate, submit to, and
maintain the national authority within the linn
is of said States, under the Constitution of
the United States, IN such case the acar uould
cease on The part of the United States"
In Septemper, 1863 directing his remarks to
supposed dissentients from this negro policy,
he said: Fight you then exclusively for the
Union. Whenever you shall have conquered
all resistance to the | Mon, If shalt urge you
to continue fighting, 1t ujH be an apt time for you
to d ctdre yoa uiA not fight. for III negro"
Ii is in the light OF these Presidential dec
laratiOns that the reader is prepared properly
to appreciate the latest terms on which the war
will cease. as far as the President is concerned
and without which he purposes to continue
fghiing." We allude. of course, to the stipu-
lations announced by him few days ago as
the Necessary conditions preliminary to nego-
tiaiions with the Confederate authorities. as
follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, July 1S
To @hom 1t may concern:
Any proposition which embraces the restOra-
ton of peace the integrity of the whole Union.
and The abandonment Of surrey and uh ch comes
by and ocuh an authority that cum control the ar
mics mov U ,car against tie United !Stat s. aoiH be
receiced a"d considered By the executive gouern-
menf of the United States, and will be met by
| liberal terms on other substantial and cOllat-
er points, and the bearer or bearers thereof
shall have safe conve, ance both ways.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
This declaration is. important in MANY as.
poets. 1t shows, in the first place, that. ac
cording to the principles propounded by the
President in the year 1861, the time has passed
when he proposes Ito preserve the govern
ment that it may be administered as it was ad
minsteren by the men who mace t." for no.
body pretendS that the men who made the
| .,oyar,,meutn supnOspd that tha d os;<l,,rt 80