Year: 1863

WAsIIseroN, Aug. 26, 1863.


Hon. James C. Conklin:


Ny DEAR SIR Your letter, invit-
ing me to attend mass meeting of un-
conditional Union men, to be held at
the Capital of Illinois, on the Sd day
of September, has been received.
1t would be very agreeable to me, to
thus meet my old friends, at my own
home, but l cannot just now be: absent
from here, so long as visit there
would require.


3 The meeting is to be of all those
who maintain unconditional devotion
to the Union and l am sure my old,
political friends will thank me for ten
dering, as l do, the Nations gratitude
to those other noble men, whom no
partisan malice, or partisan hope, can
make false to the nations life.


There are those who are dissatisfied
with me. To such would say: You
desire peace, and you blame me that
we do not have it. But how can we
attain itr There are but three con-
ceivable ways. First, to suppress the
rebellion by force of arms. This am
trying to do. Are you for itr If you
are, so far we are agreed. If you are
not for it, second way is, to give up
the Union. / am against this. Are
you for it ? If you are, you should say
so plainly. Ifyou are not for peace,
nor yet for dissolution, there only re-
mains some imaginable compromise.
l do not believe any compromise en-
bracing the maintenance of the Union,
is now possible. All learn leads to a
directly 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, within that range, in opposition
to that army, is simply nothing for the
present because such man, or men,
have no power whatever to enforce
their side of compromise if one were
made with them. To illustrate: Sup
pose refugees from the South, and
peace men at the North, get together
in convention, and frame and proclaim
a compromise embracing restoration
of the Union, in what way can that
compromise be used to keep Lees army
out of Pennsylvania? Meade's army
can keep Lees army out of Pennsyl-
vania, and l think can ultimately drive
1t out of existence. But no compro-
mise to which the controllers of Lees
army are not agreed can, at all, affect
that army. In an effort at such COM
promise We should waste time, which
the enemy would improve to our dis
advantage; and that would be all. A
compromise, to be effective, must be
made either with those who control the
rebel army, or with the people first lib
Grated from the domination of that
army by the success of our own army.
Now allow me to assure you that no
word or intimation from that rebel army,
or from any of the men controlling it,
in relation to any peace compromise,
has ever come to my knowledge or be-
lief. All charges or insinuations to the
contrary are deceptive aud groundless;
and l promise you that if any such
proposition shall hereafter come, it shall
not be rejected and kept secret from
you. freely acknowledge myself the
servant of the people, according to the
bond of service-the United States
Constitution and that, as such, l am
responsible to them.


But to be plain: You are dissatisfied
with me about the negro. Quite likely
there is difference Of opinion between
you and myself upon that subject. I
certainly wish that all men could be
free, while l suppose you do not. Yet
/ have neither adopted nor proposed
any measure which is not consistent
with even your view, provided you are
for the Union. suggested compensa-
ted emancipation to which you replied
you wished not to be taxed to buy ne
groes. But had not asked you to be
taxed to buy negroes, except in such q
way as to save you from greater taxa
tien to save the Union exclusively by
other means.


You dislike the Emancipation Proc
lamation, and perhaps would have it
retracted. You say it il unconstitu
tional. ! think differently; think the
Constitution invests its Commander.in-
Chief with the law of war, in time of
war. The most that can bs said. if so
much, is, that slaves are property. II