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

slavery" ''nn'n' VI
! AS compared with the declaration of 1859 II
shows that the time has now come Whom ~ -
cording to the Presidents own admission
and consent, such OF his countrymen as are
fighting exclusively for the Union y and VIII y
conscentiUusly deny the right of the Govern,
ment to fight for any thing e.se NAV aptlv saw
that the new terms on which the President in
sists are such that if the negotiations were
broken down by his persistence on this point.
they might fairly claim, according to his own
theory of their duty, an exemption from fight
ing to free negroes"
1t will thus be seen that, by applying TO the
late declaration of the President. the principles
announced by him in the years 1861, 1862, and
1868, we are able to measure the effect and
purport of that declaration by his own stand
ards. And when the President thus becomes
his own critic and cOnfutOr it would be idle in
us to add any words on the subject
But this latest declaration is impo rtant in
other aspects. 1t serves to show that the Pres
| ldent has overcome any scruple5 he may have
| previously had on the subject of recognizing
the confederate military authorities. He now
| makes it o condition of receiving and consid-
ering any proposition that it shall come and
with an authority that can control the armies
| now ut war against the United States" On
this point he paid little heed to the resolution
of the Baltimore Convention, when, in renom-
mating him it declared:
| " Resolced, That we approve the determine.
| ton OF the government of the United States
| not to compromise with rebels, or to offer anv
| terms of peace except such as may be based
| upon an unconditional surrender of their hos
| tllitv and return to their first allegiance to
| the Constitution and laws of the United States:
| and that we call upon the government to
maintain their position, and to prosecute the
war with the utmost possible VigOr to the com
| plete suppression of the rebellion in full re-
| hn al Fcnn
heroic valOr, and the undying devotion of the
American people to their country and its free
| Institutions"
| The President it seems, is now willing to
| compromise with rebels" for he saws that if
they Will accept the terms prescribed they will
| be met 10y Liberal terms on other substantial
and collateral points"
| But Mr. Lincoln must have been aware that
| the President of the so-caled Confederate
| States (WhO is the authority that controls the
armies now at war against the United States'O
is not empowered by any of his prerogatives to
| stipulate for the abandonment of slavery"
| and therefore in specifying this as one of the
terms of proposition to come ''by and with
such an authority" he asked what General
| Jefferson Davis, even with the fullest DISPOSE
| ton to do so had no right or power to grant
| slavery being under the Constitution of the
Confederate States, as of the United States, ex-
clusively an institution OF the separate States,
|
| jurisdiction or control.
We do not doubt that the people of the
| United States will see in the impossible requis-
| ition OF the President as condition prelimina-
| ry to peace, only new illustration of the mex
tricable arrangements into which the Pres-
| dent has suffered himself to be drawn by de-
parting from the original theory of the war
And if he desires to know the universal i'm
| preston that is likely to be produced by the
attitude in which he has placed himself, he
may, we think, read it in such comments as
| the following from the only one of the New
York journals which was originally in favor of
| his denomination. We allude to the New
York Times, which says
| 1.-The President made but two conditions to
| the reception and consideration of any propO-
sition for the restoration of peace, which should
| come to him from competent authority: first,
that it should embrace the integrity of tie IN
| ION; second, that it should embrace the obdp-
| dOnnent of Stdrery We believe he might have
| gone still further than this; he might have
! omitted the second of these conditions al O.
gether, and required the first alone as essential
| to the reception and consideration of proposals
| for peace We do not mean to say that it will
| be eventually found possible to end the war
and restore the Union without the abandon
| ment OF slavery; but we do say that this aban-
| dOnmenI need not be exacted by the President
| as condition without which he will not re-
ceive or consider proposals for peace The
| people do not require him to insist on any such
condition. Neither his oath of office, nor con-
| stitutional duty, nor his personal or official
consistency, requires him to insist upon it,
| That is one OF the questions to be considered
and arranged when the terms of peace come to
| be discussed. 1t is not q subject on which
terms can be imposed by the government,
without consultation, without agreement, or
| without equivalents.
And we suppose that it was in presage ofthe
| obstacles q n ha in tba of
| by the theoretical position which the President
| had assumed on these and other subjects that
| the New York Tribune was induced to oppose
his denomination, and in reiteraton of which,
even after his denomination, it held the follow
| ing language:
1--WE cannot but feel that it would have
| been wiser and safer to spike the most service.
able. guns of our adversaries by nominating
| another for President, and thus dispelling all
motive, save that of naked disloyalt., for fu9-
| ther warfare upon this administration. We
believe the rebellion would have lost some
| thing Of its cohesion and venom from the hour
| in which it was known that new President
would surely be naugurated on the fourth of
March next; and that hostil ty in the loyal
| states to the national cause must have sensiblv
abated or been deprived of its readiest, most
| dangerous weapons, from the moment that all
were brought to realize that the President,
| having no more to expect or hope, could hence
forth be impelled by no conceivable motive
| but desire to serve and save his country, and
| thus win for himself an enviable and enduring
| fame"
1t was singular coincidence that the friend
| " editor. who held this frank language after
the Presidents denomination, shouldhave been
called to act so prominent part in the nego-
tiations which have just given the whole coun-
| try abundant reason TO concur WI b him in his
opinion
The President solemnly declared in the year
1861 in his message to the Congress of the
United States, that loyal citizens everywhere
had the right to claim that the government
should e preserved THAT it might te al min.
stered for all as it was administered 10y the
men who made it." As loyal citizens we enter
our claim" in these words. Ard the Presi-
| dent said at the same time that the govern
ment had no right to withhold or neglect" this
| claim. Then we ask that he shall not with
hold or neglect" what he has authorized the
nation TO demand.
| Mother and a SON.