Year: 1861

" considered it as nothing more in effect than
the promise of highly honorable gentlemen"
as an obligation on one side without CORES
pondng obligation on the other, it must be
remembered Gf we are rightly informcd) that
you were pledged, if you ever did send rein
torcemcnts, to return it to those from whom
you had received it before you executed your
resolution.


You sent orders to your officers commanding
them, strictly to follow line of conduct in
conformity with such an understanding. Be-
sides all this, you had received formal and
official notice from the Governor of South
Carolina that we had been appointed Commits
sioncrs, and were on our way to Washington.
You knew the implied condition under which
we came cur arrival was notified to you, and
an hour appointed for an interview We ar
rived in Washington on Wednesday, at three
o'clock, and you appointed an interview with
us at one the next day. Early on that day
(Thursday) the news was communicated to
you Immediately, and you postponed our meet.
ing until halfpast . o'clock on Friday, in or
der that you might consult your Cabinet On
Friday we saw you, and we called upon YOU
then to redeem your pledge You could not
deny it. With the facts we have stated and
in the face of the crowning and conclusive
fact that your Secretary at War had resigned
liis scat in the Cabinet, upon the publicly
avowcd ground that the action of Major An
dcrson had violated the pledged faith of tho
government, and that unless the pledge was
instantly redeemed he was dshonored denial
was impossible.


You do not deny it now, but you seek to
escape from its obligations on the grounds :
lSt That we terminated all negotiation by
demanding, as preliminary the withdrawal
of the United States troops from the harbor
of Charleston; and I'd, That the authorities
of South Carolina, instead of asking explana-
ton, and giving you the opportunity to vindi-
cate yourself, took possession of other property
of the United States. We will examine both


In the first place, We deny positively that
we have ever in any way, made any such de-
mand. Our letter is in your possession it
will stand by this on record In it we inform
you of the objects Of our mission. We say
that it would have been our duty to have as
surcd you of our readiness to commence ncgo
tiations, with the most earnest desire to settle
all questions between us amicably and to our
mutual advantage, but that events had rem
dcrcd that assurance impossible. We stated
the events, and we said that, until some salts.
factory explanation of these events was given
us, we could not proceed, and then, having
made this request for explanation, we added,
And, in conclusion, we would urge upon you
the immediate withdrawal of the troops from
the harbor of Charleston. Under present cir
cumstanccs, they are standing menace which
renders negotiation impossible" &c. "Uudcr
present circumstances !" What circumstan-
ccs? Why, clearly the occupation of Fort
Sumter and the dismantling of Fort Moultrie
by Major Anderson in the face of your plcdg-
es, and without explanation or practical dsa-
vowal. And there is nothing in the letter
which would or could have prevented you
from declining to withdraw the troops and
Offering the restoration of the status to which
you were pledged, if such had been your de-
sire 1t would have been wiser aud better,
in our opinion, to have withdrawn the troops
and this opinion we urged upon you, but we
demanded nothing but such an explanation of
the events of the last twcnty-four hours as
would restore our confidence in the spirit with
which the negotiations should be conducted


In relation to this withdrawal of the troops
from the harbor, we are compelled, however,
to notice one passage of your letter. Refer
ring to it you say, This cannot do. This
will not do. Such an idea was never thought
of by me in any possible contingency. No
allusion to it had ever been made in any COM
munication between myself and any human
being"


In reply to this statement we are compelled to
say it, that your conversation with us left upon
our minds the distinct impression that you did
seriously contemplate the withdrawal of the
troops from Charleston harbor And in sup.
port of this impression we would add, that we
have the positive assurance of gentlemen of
the highest possible public reputation and the
most unsulhcd intcgrity-men whose name
and fame, secured by long service and patriotic
achievement, place their testimony beyond
cavil--that such suggestions had been made
70 and urged upon you by them, and had
formed the subject of more than one earnest
discussion with you. And it was this knowl-
edge that induced us to urge upon you poli-
cy which had, to recommend it, its own Wis
dom and the weight of such authority


AS to the second point, that the authorities
of South Carolina, instead of asking explana-
tions and giving you the opportunity to vindi-
cate yourself, took possession of other property
OF the United States, we would observe, first,
that even If this were so, it does not avail you
for defence, for the opportunity for decision
was afforded you before these facts occurred.
We arrived in Washington on Wednesday.
The news from Major Anderson reached here
early on Thursday, and was Immediately COM
municatcd to you. All that day men of the
highest consideration men who had striven
successfully to lift you to your great Office
who had been your tried and true friends
through the troubles of your Administration,
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