Year: 1863

CHICAGO, Sept 2.-Thc following is
President Lincoln's letter to the Spring
field mass meetings:


Executive Mansion, Washington, Aug
ust 2S Hon James G. Conking. My
Dear Sir: Your letter inviting me to
attend mass meeting of the uncondi-
tional Union men, to be held at the cap
ital of Illinois, on the 3D. day of Septcm-
Der, has been received. 1t would be
very agreeable to me thus to meet my
old friends at my own home, but | cam
not now be absent from this city so long
as visit there would require.


The meeting is - be of all those who
maintain unconditional devotion to the
Union, and am sure my old political
friends will thank me for rendering, as
| do. the nations gratitude to those no.
Bile men whom no partizan malice Or
partizan hope can make false to the ma
tons life.


There are those who are dissatisfied
with me. TO such would say: You de-
sire peace, and you blame me that we
do not have it. But how can VIC attain
it?


There are but three conceivable ways.
First: To suppress tn, rebellion by
force Of arms. This I am trying to do.
Arc you for it If you are. so far we
arc agreed. If you are not for it, we
are not agreed. A second way is to
give up the Union am against this
If you are, you should say SO plainly
If you are not for force, nor yet for
dissolution, there only remains some i'm
aginary compromises. l do not believe
that any compromises, embracing the
maintenance of the Union, is now pos
sible. All that learn leads to directly
the opposite belief. The strength Of the
rebellion is its military-its army. That
army dominates all the country and all
the people within its range. Any offer
Of terms made by any man or men with
in that range in opposition to that arm y
is simply nothing, for the present, be-
cause such man or men had no power to
enforce their side of the omrromsc, il
one were made with them. 10 illustrate
suppose a refugee ,om the South and a
peace man of the North get together in
convention and frame and proclaim a
compromise embracing the restoration OF
the Union, ir what way can that com
promise be used to keep Gen. Lees ar
my out of Pennsylvania? Gen. Meade S
army can keep Gen. Lees army out of
Pennsylvania, and l think can ulti ate
ly drive it out of existence; but no paper
compromise to which the contro lcrs of
General Lees army are not agress can
at all effect that army In al effort at
such compromise we wculd waste time
which the enemy would improve to our
disadvantage, and that would be all -
"A compromise to be effective must be
made either with those who control the
army or with the people first liberated
from the domination of that army by the
success of our army. Now allow me to
assure you that no word or intimation
from the rebel army or from any of the
men controlling it, in relation to any
peace compromise, has ever come, to my
knowledge or belief: A charges and
intimations to the contrary are deceptive
and groundless, and promise you that
=, if any such proposition shall hereafter
come it shall not be rejected and kept
secret from you. .........--r
1 freely acknowledge myself to be the
servant Of the people. acco ding to the
bond of service-the Unit States Con-
stitution.-a that as such am respon-
siblc to them But, to be plain, are you
dissatisfied with me about the negro
Quite likely there is difference opin-
ion between you and mysel upon that
subject. certainly wish that all men
could be free, while you. suppose, do
not. Yet I have neither adop ID nor
proposed any measure which : not con
sistent with even your views, provided
you are for the Union. | suggested
compensated emancipation, to which you
replied that you wished not to be taxed
to buy negroes, except in such way as
to save you from greater taxation, te
save the Union exclusively by Other
means. You dislike the Emancipation
Proclamation. and perhaps, you want tc
have it retracted. You say it is uncon
X....I.o..t 7 tl:,1, th,t tbo Conet;fu