Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-07-14


vantage to be gained by keeping him longer the witness
stand.
Mr.. PEKDLETos. desire. when the gentleman fror
says that event occurred Wednesda
on the contingency OF which the proca nation wa
not to be issued to know what that contingency was
Mr.. STEVENS. Before the gentleman from Massachu
setts answers that want to make motion.
Mr.: PENDLEToN. beg that the gentleman will wal
until this matter is settled.
Mr. STEVENS. But the gentleman from Massachusetts
persists in saying that he will not be examined and all the
gentleman's questions therefore will avail nothing
Mr. PENDLEToN. desire to ask the gentleman from
Massachusetts upon what event happening on a certain
Wednesday the issuing Of the Presidents emancipation
Mr.. BOUTWELL, The wisdom OF the remark with which
pTefaced my first statement is more and manifest
as proceed The questions put to are not founded
states that the event was to happen on Wednesday.
Mr. PENDLEToN. 1t did happen on Wednesday
Mr. BOUTWELL, have already stated to my friends
that side of the House that do not intend TO answer
that question With all due respect to them do not in
tend to answer that question stated just exactly what
wanted to say for the purpose of repeng far as
could the mputaton that the President controlled in
issuing his emancipation proclamation by any assembly
men any where If what the gentleman from Kentucky
Mr MALLORY has asserted be true, of which have no
knowledge, then 80 much higher is my opinion of the
Presidents wisdom that he abandoned policy which had
brought nothing but disaster upon the country and raised
himself to the contemplation Of the supreme truth that
utice to the ensaved involved in the contest and
that neither he the country could hope for the
of God until they the injustice Of slavery and deter
mined by one supreme decree to strike down slavery and
Shareholders
Mr PENDLEToN. Will the gentlemen yield to me-
Mr.. BOUTWELL,. Certainly
Mr. PENDLEToN ask the gentleman ,ohether the issu
ing Of that proclamation did depend upon uictory
being obtained by the Union forces ,oiU be satisfied i
any dnscer, but 4 todnt an ans,oer.
Mr.. BOUTWELL, In regard to these questions, / have
already said ts0ud not ans,cer.
The SPEAKER. Whenever the gentleman declines to
yield the Chair will protect him in bis right to the oor
Mr.. PENDLEToN. The gentlemen yielded to me to put
the question and he declines to answer it.
Mr.. BOUTWELL, / made the declaration in the begin
In reference any particular statement mads that
tended to make statement and leave it there for what
was worth have yielded to the gentleman many times
an excess Of courtesy which has borne heavily upon the
patience OF the House, and yet he still persists in putting
the same question to me.
Mr. PENDLEToN l understood the gentleman to say
that that proclamation did not depend the meeting Of
any set DO Understand tie gentleman to sav that
In ais broadest and fullest extentp
Mr.. BOUTWELL,. Having met the inquiries and decla
ratons OF the gentleman from Kentucky in reference to
the Governors at Altoona with the consent of the Chair
this business of interruption is at end
Mr.. PENDLEToN. Certainly / will not persist in my
interruptions if not agreeable to the gentleman.
Our readers know that the battle of Antietam
was fought and won by Gen. Mcclellan on the
/" Wednesday preceding the 22d of September,
1862" and it was doubtless to this fact that MIR.
Peudeton alluded when he asked Mr.. Boutwell, if
the issuing Of that proclamation did not depend
upon victory being obtained by the Union forces
And he had good reason for suspecting that that
was the contingency" to which Mr. Boutwell,
Mr.. Owen Lovejoy, of Ohio, in letter published
during the last winter, and which was never con-
tradicted, stated that the President had informed
him that the proclamation was held in reserve to
be issued on the occasion of victory, when its
utterance would come with authority and not seem
be cry of despair extorted from conscious weak
ness in an hour Of extremity. To this effect Mr..
Lovejoy wrote:
Recurring to the President there are great many
reports concerning him which to be reliable and
thentc which, after ALL not 1t currently re-
ported among the anti slavery of Illinois that the
emanc patton proclamation extorted from him by the
outUard PRESSURE and particularly by the delegation from
the Christian Convention that met at Chicago Now tie
fact is bis had II from his ps He had written
the proclamation in the summer early June, think
but will not be certain to the precise time and called
hs Cabinet together and informed them he had written t
aud he meant TO make it, but wanted to read it them
for any criticism remarks 10 its features details
After having done Mr. Seward suggested whether it
would not be we'll for him to withhold its publication untl
alter had gained some substantial advantage the field
at that time had met with msuy reverses, and it
might be considered cry Of despair. He told me he
thought the suggestion wise one and held to the
proclamation until after the battle of Antietsm."
IL is in the presence Of the statements made by
Mr.. Boutwell, and by Mr.. Lovejoy that the mys-
terry which broods over the motive and origin Of
the emancipation proclamation becomes only more
and more inscrutable. Mr.. Boutwell, informs uf
that it is within his own knowledge that, previou.
to the date of its uttersnce, the President "haG
decided in certain contingency, which happened
upon tho Wednesday preceding the 22d of Sep
tember, to issue the proclamation )" and Mr.. Love.
joy informs us that this contingency" was
|" Union victory" But if this be true, how did
1t come to pass that only nine days before the eman-
cipation proclamation officially promulged, the
President, in reply to the urgent pressure of the
Chicago deputation, assigned at such great length
and with such earnestness the reasons which
demonstrated to his mind the impolicy of any
such measure on general grounds If we are
to believe Mr.. Boutwell, and Mr.. Lovejoy, the Pre-
sidcnt had determined to issue this proclamation,
in certain contingency, at the very time when
he was arguing against it to the Chicago memo
rialists in this wise:
nwhat dSod would proclamation Of emancipation from
me do, especially we situated do not want
In issue document that the whole world will must