Year: 1864

The PREsIDENT's DEFENCE OF THE ENAN-
CIPATIoN PoLICT. Judge John f. Mills Of
Missouri reports a recent conversation with
President Lincoln upon politics and the war,
in which the President stated and defended
his position with great force The President
said to Judge Mills


81 don't think it IS personal vanity or ambi-
tion, though am not free from these infrmities,
but cannot but feel that the veal or woe Of
this great nation will be decided in November
There is no programme offered By any wing Of
the democratic party but that must result in the
permanent destruction Of the Union


But, Mr. President, Gen Mcclellan is in
favor Of crushing out the rebellion by force. He
will be the Chicago candidate


"Sr," said the President, 1.-THE slightes,
knowledge Of arithmetic will prove 70 any man
that the rebel armies cannot be destroyed with
democratic strategy Ii would sacrifice all the
white men Of the NortL to do it, There are
now in the service Of the United States near
200, 900 able-hodied colored men, most Of them
under arms, defending and acquiring Union
territory. The democratic strategy demands
that these forces he disbanded, and that the mas
tiers be conciliated by restoring them to slavery.
The black men who now assist Union prisoners
TO escape, they are 10 he converted into our enc
mics in the vain hope Of gathering the good will
Of their masters. We shall have to fight two
nations instead Of one You cannot concihate
the South if you guaranty to them ultimate
success and the experience Of the present war
proves their success Is inevitable if you fling
the compulsory labor Of millions Of black men
into their side Of the scale. VIII you give our
enemies such military advantages as insure sue
cess, and then depend on coaTing, fattery and
concession 10 get them back into the Union
Abandon al the posts now garrisonei by black
men, take 2U0, 900 men from our side and put
them in the battlefield or cornfeld against Us,
and we would be compelled 10 abandon the war
in three weeks. We have TO hold territory in
inclement and sickly places Where are the
democrats TO do this II was a free fight, and
the field was open to the war democrats TO put
down this rebellion by fighting against both
master and slave long before the present policy
was iuaugurste1. There have been men base
enough TO propose to me TO return TO slavery the
black warriors Of Port Hudson and Olustee, and
thus win the respect Of the masters they fought.
Should do so, should deserve to be damned
in time and eternity. Come what will | will
keep my faith with friend and foe My enemies
pretend | am now carrying on this for the
sole purpose Of abolition. So long as | am Pres
ident, it shall be carried on for the sole purpose
Of restoring the Union. But no human power
can subdue this rebellion without the use Of the
emancipation policy, and every other policy cal
culated 20 weaken the moral and physical forces
Of the rebellion. Freedom has given Us 2UO.-
600 men raised on southern soil. Il viii give
Us more yet. Just so much it has substracted
from the enemy, and instead Of alternating the
South, there are now evidences Of a fraiernal
feeling growing up between our men and the
rank and file Of the rebel soldiers. Let my en-
emies prove to the country that the destruction
Of slavery IS not necessary to a restoration Of
the Union. | will abide the issue


Ii those who find so much fault with the
Proclamation would in a straightforward
way attempt to answer the arguments OF the
President, what they have to say would be
worthy of consideration. But they do not
attempt such an answer, because the Presi-
dents reasoning is too conclusive to admit Of
it. They talk OF the Constitution and ad-
herring to its provisions, as If to save the
country from destruction were a secondary
affair. The President on the other hand
mqkes the salvation of the country the
prime object, and reasoning from this as a
starting point, his argument is incontrovert-
able.