Year: 1862

The Hisws of President Lincoln as set fortl


By f. p. Blair, T.-Prosscation Of M'


War for tho abolition of Slavery De


nosnced-The Wn not Shareholders


Rebellion, but Caused by the Agitation O


tho Negro Question or Emancipation.


SPEECH OF =. r. BLAIR, JR., IN THE HOUSE


OF REPRESENTATIVES,, ON THE 11TH, on


THE BILL TO EMANoIPATE THE SLAVES IN


THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.


Mr.. BLAIR, of Missouri. The charge
has frequently been heard here and else
where that the President is without q
policy in his administration. / shall en-
deavor to show that this imputation is
unfounded, TO explain my conceptions OF
his policy, and to demonstrate that it J:
wise in every aspect, and commends itself
to the lovers of the Union and of free
dom. There can be no dispute with re-
spect to the object Of the war so far as
he is concerned. He says in his annual
message that he has been anxious that it
"sball not degenerate into violent and
remorseless revolutionary struggle. /
have, therefore" he adds, "in every case
thought it proper to keep the integrity Of
the Union prominent as the primary object
Of the contest" No man can refuse belief
to this utterance. If the President stood
on his mere declaration, his life has been
so marked by integrity that all men yield
implicit faith to his words as the true
index of his heart. But the language
truly charscterizes his conduct 1t has
not been attempted to show that he has
not endeavored in every way to prevent
the struggle from degenerating into a
violent and remorseless revolutionary
struggle, and, as its first great object, to
maintain the integrity of the Union.


But it is objected by some of those
who aided in his election thathe has not,
in aid Of this object, made the war upon
slavery the cause of the war, aud decreed
emancipation by an order as Commander
in-Chief of the army and navy, as an eff
fective agency in suppressing the rebel
lion.


This measure might unquestionably be
justified if it were deemed necessary or
expedient for the purpose of accomplish
ing his object, and if it could be shown
that he knew this to be true, he might be
arraigned for failing to use this means
But, when the record of his opinions is
examined, it is easy to understand that
he does not consider the measure, which
is regarded as SO omnipotent bya portion
of his friends, as likely to be effective for
the purpose, and l think it can be shown
that his judgment is probably the most
correct.


In his canvass for the Senate with Mr..
Douglas, his views respecting the subject
of slavery were very fully developed, and
though not speaking with reference to the
present aspect of affairs, his position then
led logically to his present attitude, and
shows far deeper insight into the rela-
tions of the subject than any other man
Of the day had been attained. In his de-
claration, that above all things he desired
separation of the black ard white
races" he showed that he knew that the
excitement occasioned at the South by
the idea Of emancipation was not due to
the fears of the loss Of property it would
occasion to those holding slaves. His
birth in slave State, and subsequent
residence in Indiana and Illinois, among
people large proportion of whom also
sprung from the slave States and from
the non Shareholders of the slave States,
taught him that the greatest repugnance
to this measure was to be found among
men who had no such property interest at
stake. He knew, also, that these men
were for the most part, and the best part,
ardently attached to the Union, and es-
pecially in those regions of country where
military operations would be difficult.


To superficial observers who believe
that the rebellion grew out of slavery,
and is, as they term it, shareholders re-
bellion, and when it is known to be true
that the non-slaveholding regions of the
South are for the Union, it is natural that
il should occur to them that the proper
course to carry all the non-slaveholders
against rebellion would be to decree
emancipation. But closer scrutiny dem
onstrates the contrary to be true; such a
scrutiny demonstrates that the rebellion
originated chiefly with the on-slavehold-
ers resident in the strongholds Of the in
stitution, not springing, however, from
any love Of slavery, but from an antag-
onism of race and hostility to the idea OF
equality with the blacks involved in sim.
pie emancipation. This idea among non.
shareholders was naturally of greater in.
tensty in proportion to the number oi
slaves about them, and its force in extin.
gushing Union feeling diminishes as we
approach the high and mountain regions
where the slaves are few.


Every man acquainted with the facts
knows that it ia fallaaious to call this Q
shareholders rebellion" If such was the
fact, two divisions of our army could
have suppressed it without difficulty


the negroes themselves could easily pu,
down the two hundred and fifty thousand
slaveholders but it is matter of history
that the slaveholders, as body, were tn,
last and most reluctant to Join the re
bellion. The representative men Of tina
interest st-like Badger, of North Carolina


Aiken, of South Carolina, and Alexande


II. Stephens, Of Georgia-struggled a
| lono aa there WAS hone AGAINST the re