The National tribune., 1900-05-24

OF saves.
"In witness whereof, 1 have hereumto. sci
my hand, and caused the seal OF the United
States to be affixed.
"Done at the City of Washington, this
22d day of September, in the year of our
Lord 1862, and of the Independence OF the
United States the S7th.
BY the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
William II. Seward, Secretary of State
MIR. LINCoLN'S ACCOUNT OF THE PROC
LAMATION.
A most interesting account of this proc
| lamatiou, and of the steps that led to it,
is given by Mr.. +. B. Carpenter, in Mr..
| Lincoln's own words: at had" said Mr..
| Lincoln, got to be Midsummer, 1862.
| Things had gone on from bad to worse,
until felt that we had reached the end OF
our rope on the plan of operations we had
| been pursuing; that we had about played
| our last card, and must change our tactics
| or lose the game. | now determined upon
| the adoption of the emancipation policy;
and, without consultation with, or the
knowledge of, the Cabinet. / prepared the
original draft of the proclamation, and,
after much anxious thought, called a
| Cabinet meeting upon the subject. This
was the last of July, or the first part OF the
month OF August, 1862. This Cabinet
meeting took place, / think, upon n Satrlr-
| day. All were present, excepting Mr..
/ Blair, the Postmaster-General, who was
absent at the opening of the discussion,
| but came in subsequently. | said to the
| Cabinet that had resolved upon this step,
and had called them together, not to ask
| their advice, but to lay the subject-matter
| OF proclamation before them; suggestions
as to which would be in order, after they
| mad heard 1t read. Mr.. IovejOy was in
error when he informed you that it excited
| no comment, excepting on the part Of
Secretary Seward. Various suggestions
/ Il
the language stronger in reference TO the
armlng OF the blacks. MIR. Blair, after
he came in, deprecated the policy, on the
ground that it would cost the Administra-
ton the Fan elections. Nothing, however,
was offered that ! had not already fully
anticipated and settled in my own mind,
until Secretary Seward spoke. He said in
substance: Mr.. President, / appove Of the
proclamation, but Iquestion the eXpediency
OF its issue at this juncture. The de-
preston of the public mind, consequent
upon our repeated reVerseS, is so great that
fear the effect of so important a step. 1t
may be viewed as the last measure Of an
exhausted Government, {. cry for help; the
Government stretching forth its hands to
Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching
forth her hands 10 the Government His
idea, said the President, was that it would
be considered our last shrek on the retreat
ems was his precise eXprcSSion.) Now
continued Mr.. Seward, while ! approve
the measure, | suggest, sir, that you post
pone its issue until you can give it to the
country supported by military success,
instead OF issuing it, as would be the case
now, upon the greatest disasters of the
war Mr.. Lincoln continued: "The
wisdom of the view of the Secretary of
State struck me with very great force.
1t was an aspect Of the case that, in all
my thought upon the subject, had entirely
overlooked. The result was that put the
draft OF the proclamation aside, waiting for
a victory. From time to time / added or
changed a line, touching it uD here and
there, anXiously waiting the progress of
events. Well, the next news we had was
OF POpe'S disaster at Bull Run. Things
looked darker than ever. Finally, came
the week Of the battle Of Antietam.
determined TO wait no longer. The news
came, | think, on Wednesday. that the
advantage was on our side. | was then
staying at the Soldiers Home three miles
out of Washington. Here / finished
writing the second draft of the preliminary
proclamation; came up on Saturday;
called the Cabinet together TO hear II: and
1t was published the following Monday"
At the final meeting of September 20,
another interesting incident occurred in
connection with Secretary Seward. The
President had written the important part
OF the proclamation in these words: THAT
on the first day OF January, in the wear of
SiXty-three, all persons held as slaves within
any State or designated part of State,
the people whereof shall then be in rebellion
against the United States, shall be then,
thenceforWard, ard forever free; and the
Executive Government Of the United States,
including tic9 military and naval authority
thereof, VIII recognize the freedom Of such
persons, and viii do no act or acts to repress
such persons, or any Of them, in any efforts
they may make for their actual freedom"
when ! finished reading this paragraph"
remarked Mr.. Lincoln. "Mr. Seward stop
ped me. and said, i think, Mr.. President,
natyou should insert after the word 'recog-
niZc,' and maintain" ] replied that ]
had already fully considered the import
OF that expression in this connection, but
| had not introduced it, because it was
not my way 70 promise what was not
entirely sure that | could perform, and |
was not prepared 10 say that | thought we
were exactly able TO maintain this. But
Seward insisted that We ought to take this
ground, and the words finally went in"
Hon. George S. Boutwell,, Of Massa-
chusetts, says that MIR. Lincoln stated to
him personally: when Lee came over
the river, | made u resolution that if Nc
Clellan drove him back / would send the
proclamation after him. The battle of
Antietam was fought Wednesday. and
until Saturday could not find out whether
We had gained a victory or lost a battle
IL Was tIlcl tOOldIt 10 issue tlle proclamation
that day; and the fact is, fixed it up a little
on Sunday, and Monday l let them haveit.
PREPARING FOR THE FINAL ACT-HIs
MIND WAS MADE UP"
In his second annual message to Com
greSs, transmitted to that body in Decem-
Der, 1862, Dir. Lincoln touched, in CON
clus,on, upon the great subject Of the
ena cipation IN these words OF deep i'm
port:
81 do not forget the gravity which should
characterize q paper addressed 10 the Con-
gress OF the Nation by the Chief Magistrate
Of the Nation. Nor do | forget that someof
you are my seniors, nor that many of YOU
have Tore experience than in the conduct
Of public affairs. Yet / trust that in view
OF the great responsibility resting upon me,
you will perceive no want of respect 10
yourselves N any undue earnestnesS NAV
seem 10 display. > The dogrnas
Of the quiet past are Inadequate 10 the
stormy present. The occasion is piled
high with difficulty, and we must rise with
the occasion. As our case is new, SO we
must think anew and act anew.
"fellOw citizens, we cannot eScaDr his
tory. We Of this Congress and this Ad-
minsiratlon Will be remembered in spite
OF ourselves. No personal significance,
OF lnSlgnIllcance, can spare one or another
OF US The fiery trial through which we
pass viii light us down, in honor or dis
honor, 10 the latest generation. We say
we are for the Union. The world will not
forget that we say this. We know how to
save the Union Tho WORLD I-r,,,,, ,,-, i