Year: 1864

ID


have made a provision that the State


may receive accessions of territory from


other States. And thus the central pow


er may perfect its surrounding territory,
and a Gordon round Washington that will


become a decentralization Of bristlins


bayonets, thrOughWhiob no man may have
iEgress or egress without a pass from the
authorities. Now those questions Of
Peace Party and War Party seem utterly
out Of place. What is meant by Peace
Party2 We aA in the midst of war now.


What would a peace party do, if they
had the power? Would they recall the
troops and disbahd them, and thus aban=
dOn the controversy? That would be
consenting to dissolution-and If YOU
will consent to separation Peace, can be
readily had, for it is all the insurgents ask
to be let alone Is. that the Peace
Party? I do not understand it to meaA
any such thing, and I have seen no man
who declares for dismemberment. And
the most determined war man who thinks
We can succeed by fighting, and who is
bent on victory, may find himself con-
trOlled by the failure of credit, and ina
bility to meet the charges of such a con-
test without ruin to our own beobIs.Z
These questions are out Of place and out
of time We are in the midst Of war now
and We may not escape It if we would
How then are We to get out of it? an
swer, by electihg President Of the Uni!
ted States. Who it shall be, I will rot
undertake to tell you. What he shall Be
Iwiil tell you. He must be a man whom
you can all trust. Do not suffer him to
make pledges in advance, that may fetter
him in his action and bind him to action
that may be wrong when the time comes.
We want man of ability-Of acknoWl-
edged abiIity-whom we can all trust, to
decide on the case before him; and 4
man of resolution who viii faithfully ear
Try out his own will, and the public will,
which must be one with his. And what
shall such man do? I would say, let
him issue Proclamation of Universal
Amnesty-an utter forgiveness Of all the
past; abandonyour spoliation and piIlag5
propose Restoration; and invite our
fellow countrymeh to r6turn[give theH
complEt8 guarantee for all their rights;
in government, in laws, III property; and
in person. Give them courts again, With
power to decide all controversies. Erect
tribunals to do justice everywhere; asR
them to lay down thsir. arms and come
back. Then, if they will not do this, if
they still stand out against you, are you
ready now to say go2 Is that your
peace? If you do say So, y0d Bave the
right. But I do not think that that is
the national will If you make these Of
fers, and they refuse to obey the laws Of
the country, you viii have the decision
to make whether you will continue the
war-but without spoliation, without
emancipation, without dissolution as We
claim, Of We Will have to agree to Sepa-
ration. Have I confderc, that they
will come back on this invitation? I
ha45 confidence. They have suffered as
no people ever suffered before; they en-
dursa pri7atiols which we aid not expect
them to endure without a new revolt, and
they have horne it all without a murmur.
They were the producers of that com
modify which ruled the commerce Of the
World. Never before has the cOmbina-
ton cf soil and capital so promoted the
application Of labor, and so produced
material for the commerce Of the world
as that capital did. If that application
of labor be too long interrupted, the in
torruption will be permanent. Let it be
restored, and America will have power
against which nothing in the world can
stand in the way of contest. We have
now surprised the World with the great.
ness Of our means, and what is more, we
have surprised ourselves. No man sup


posed at the beginning Of this contest,
that we could command such bodies and


raise such loans Of money as we have.
successfully done at home, and this is as


true Of the South as it is Of the NORTH.


You have learned both North and South


not to underrate each other, and you


know that each deserves to be respected


by the other; and you know that neither
can rule the other with mere arbitrary
power, and you will not as men ask them
to submit to what you viii not bear your
selves. If all shall obey the law, there
will be peace; and if thereshall be peace
there will be prosperity. If you wish
for peace you must be absolutely just to
all men. Without that you cannot hope
tosueceed, or preserve your power if you
do succeed.


J do not attempt to address you upon
the probabilities Or the contingencies Of
the war in the future, for it is a question
which no man can solve. There are


military questions to be solved as we go; /;
but as a preliminary, It is indispensable