Year: 1870

hldncch Dluhc war iIc uuu htithol
authority nor means TO do that, anC


Congress would not give him the on,
or the other. Should he compromise
the disputeY He could offer no term'
and make 40 pledges which would moi
be repudiated by the new admlnistra


ton. Could he mediate between thC
partiesl Both would refuse his umpi
rage, for both were as hostile to him
as they were to one another. Never
thelcss, he was bound TO do them The
best service he could, in spite Of theil
teeth; and that service consisted il
preserving the peace of the nation
IL was his special and most imperative
duty not TO cmbroiI the incoming
administration by civil war which
his successor might be unwilling to
approve or to prosecute. II was un-
doubtedly right TO leave the Presi
dent elect and his advisers in a situa-
tion where they could take their
choice between compromising and
fighting. In fact Mr. Lincoln was in
favor of the former, if his inaugural
be any sign of his sentiments.


The mind of no man was more
deeply imbued with these opinions
than Mr.. Stanton's. The idea never
entered his head-certainly never
passed his lips-that the President
ought TO make war upon States, or
put the whole people out Of the pro
lection of the laws, and expose them
all to indiscriminatc slaughter as pub
lie enemies because some individuals
among them had done or threatened
TO do what was inconsistent with their
obligations to the United States. He
knew very well that no such thing was
eiter legally or physically possible
Gen. Scott had reported officially that
five companies constituted the whole
available force which could be sent to
the South for any purpose offensive or
defensive. Is it possible that Mr.
Stanton would have undertaken TO
conquer the South with half a
regimentg He was so thoroughly
convinced that war at that time
of that kind and under those circum-
stances would not only "fire the South.
ern heart but give the seoessionists
the sympathy of all the world and
ultimately insure their success, while
it could not help but cripple, disgrace
and ruin the cause ofthe Union. Nor
did he feel pleasure in the anticipation
of any civil war between tho two
sections of his country. From the
standpoint which he then occupied
he said that war was disunion it was
blood, con1agration, terror and tears,
public debt and general corruption Of
morals, all ending at best not in the
union OF the States but in the subiu-
cation of some TO the despotic will OF
the others. He was apt TO take n
sombre view Of things, and he looked
at the dark side of this subject. The
glory, profit and plunder, the political
distinction and pride OF power which
brighten it now, were not included in
his prospective survey.


On the Goth of November / answer
ed the Presidents questions concern
ing his legal powers and duties, hold
ing that the ordinances of secession
were mere nullties; that the seeding
States were and would be as much in
the Union as ever; that the federal
Executive was bound there as well as
elsewhere to execute the law, TO hold
the public property and TO collect the
revenue that if the means and ma
chinery furnished by law for these
purposes were inadequate he could not
adopt Others and usurp powers which
had not been delegated; that neither
the executive nor legislative depart
ments had authority under the Con-
stitution TO make war upon a State
that the military power mightbc used,
If necessary, in aiding the Judicial au-
thoritics to execute the laws in col
lecting the revenues, in defending or
re taking the public prperty, but not
in acts of indiscriminate hostility
against all the people of State. This
is the "opinion' which has since been
so often, so much and so we'll abused
denounced and vilified. Mr.. Stanton
did not stnltify himself by denying
the plain, obvious and simple truths
which it expressed The paper was
shown him before il went TO the Pres.
ident, and after slight alteration
suggested by himself, he not only ap-
proved but applaudcd il cnlhusias
tically.


1t disappointed the President. lie
had hastily taken it for granted that
Congress might make secession cause
for war; and in the draft of his mes.
sage already prepared he had submit
ted the question of war or peace to
their decision. But the advice of the
Law Department, supported by n pow
crfdl argument from Gen. Cass, con-
vinced him of his error, and that part
of the message was rewritten. The
substance of tho message so modified
received Mr.. Stantons hearty endorse.
mept in everything that regarded Sc.
cession and the treatment il ought to
receive.


Soon after this Gen. Cass retired. |
was requested to take the State De.
partment and Mr.. Stanton was ap
pointed Acknowledgement upon my
declaring that ! was unwilling TO
leave the care of certain causes then
in the Supreme Court TO any hands
but his. This appointment alone,
without any other proof, ought to sat.
isfy any reasoning mind that all have
said OF Mr. Stanton's sentiments must
be true. No man in his sober senses
can believe that / would have urged,
or that Mr. Buchanan would have
made the appointment, it we had not
both known with perfect certainty
that he agreed with us entirely on
those fundamental doctrines of consti-
tutional law TO which we were com
mitted. The faintest suspicion Of the
contrary would have put the Attor-
ney-Generals Office as far beyond his
reach as the throne of France. We
took him for what he proiessed to be
"A true friend of tho Ilnion n devout