Year: 1865

have right to demand fair play; but this they


have not had from the Provost Marshal Gene


raj All the efforts Of our Supervisors and


other bodies to fulfil their obligations to the


government have been frustrated by the blum


dering Of this incompetent Official Nothing
but embarrassment, confusion and distraction
has met them IN carrying out their operations.
Therefore we conclude that Gen. Fry Is the
wrong man in tho wrong place, and we trust
that the President will see the wisdom and the
justice Of setting him right


The Question OF Peace-The Main OBJ
staole to Agreement Now Out OF the
Way.


The topic of paramount interest to the peo-
pie just at present is the endesvor TO negotiate
of q disposition to close the struggle in that
way. On our side, the country has Indignantly


refused to listen to the professional "peace


men"-those friends of the enemy who tried to


make peace by weakening the force of our
blows. But there is no doubt that real and
sincere peace movements would be regarded
with favor by the people, and that our real at
tempts to negotiate peace have been insensbly


stimulated, not by any consideration OF failure
| in our power TO make war, but by national
! magnanimity consistent with the greatness OF
our cause and with the greatness Of soul and
| thought that has grown up in our earnest ef-
forts for the success of thai cause. II is diff


cult to believe that the rebel attempts to


negotiate peace have any other origin than
| the consciousness of the rebel leaders
| that their cause is lost, and that while con-
tinued war will inevitably sweep down all


their hopes and ideas in general ruin, peace
may save a little. But efforts stimulated in
| that way may be as earnest as those that have
| a better origin. And the enemy has done
all in his power to mako them earnest
| and real by composing his peace delegation
now within our lines Of three men of dis
tinguished ability, who accurately represent
| the more important elements of the rebel power,
| and by sending them in the only way in which
| they could be received by our authorities.
If the leaders on both sides will aot in fair
spirit, the negotiation Of good and honorable
peace is now quite within the range Of possi-
bility. The difficulties that hitherto stood in
the way Of the negotiation Of peace arose from
three great obstacles-obstacles that seemed to
render it impossible to settle the terms Of peace,
and dangerous to try 1t. These were slavery,
confiscation and the question Of amnesty.
How would it be about slaverys Would
the government insist upon the forfeit
ure of all property Would It insist upon
| the punishment Of all who had borne
| arms against III These were questions 90
vitality important to the controlling political
power on our side, and Of such very direct


interest to every man on the other side, that It
did not seem possible they could be settled


satisfactorily by negotiation. Indeed, aside
from the evident difficulty that negotiaton
would have to agree in their views upon these
points-the points were SO exceedingly vital
that there were no public men whom the re-
spective sides would trust to settle them. There
were no men in whom they had sufficient conf
dence They were questions Of such general
scope that every one had to be in at the nego-
ton; and thus the respective embassies were 80
large that their debates were battles.


Slavery was the greatest difaculty-a Triton


to which the others were hardly more than
| minnows. Insuperable heights of objection
arose whenever North and South touched that
topic In argument 1t was to the South q
"corner stone," base without which there


could be no superstructure. 1t was the "uni-
versal posulate" of Southern reason. On the
other hand, the North justly considered that it
could not make peace and leave that institu-
| tion alone. Northern men saw that to make q
peace and leave slavery alive was TO threw
away all the grand struggles of this war, and
utterly waste all the blood and money that had


been spent in IT, The danger Of peace negotia-
ton was that the politicians would get their


heads together, and agree on less in this re-
spect than the war would give us If prosecuted
| only little longer. But now all this grand
trouble Is out Of the way. Slavery Is an issue
absolutely taken out Of the contest Congress


has sent II to the States which will settle 1t in
the natural way. The absence Of the Southern
representatives and Senators made this result
possible, but that absence was their own fault;
and the result Ia fact that we cannot 60 be-


hind. There are enough States on our side the
line to abolish slavery and they will do II


The difficulties that remain, then, are those Of
| confscation and amnesty. II u doubtful how


far Congress has the power 10 go in these matters
| The constitution declares that Congress shall


not pass any bill Of attainder or ca post tdcso
Law, and its conHsoation law II In its operation
both. Such matters must be len to the opera


ton Of our laws as they were when the war


broke out, and II we cannot conascate under


those laws we cannot at all. But not to press


the question Of the power Of Congress, 70 insist


upon an extreme policy on such points Is 10