Part 19 (1/2)

When he was in congress, in 1846, the famous Wilmot Proviso came up

This was to provide ”that, as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from the republic of Mexico by the United Statesneither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the said territory” By reason of amendments, this subject came before the house very many times, and Lincoln said afterwards that he had voted for the proviso in one form or another forty-two times

On the 16th day of January, 1849, he introduced into congress a bill for the emancipation of slavery in the District of Coluave justice to all, and at the saathered all the fruits of emancipation in the best possible way The bill did not pass, there was no hope at the time that it would pass

But it compelled a reasonable discussion of the subject and had a certain a that, thirteen years later, April 10, 1862, he had the privilege of fixing his presidential signature to a bill siress had ned the bill, he said: ”Little did I dream, in 1849, when I proposed to abolish slavery in this capital, and could scarcely get a hearing for the proposition, that it would be so soon accoress he left political life, as he supposed, forever He went into the practise of the law in earnest, and was so engaged at the time of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise which called him back to the arena of politics

In the early part of the war there were certain attempts at emancipation which Lincoln held in check for the reason that the time for them had not arrived ”There's a tide in the affairs of men” It is of prime importance that this tide be taken at the flood So far as eerness of Generals Fre, and in thewhat he could to help matters on The difficulty was that if the Union was destroyed it would be the death-blow to the cause of emancipation At the same time not a few loyal men were slaveholders To alienate these by premature action would be disastrous The only wise plan of action was to wait patiently until a sufficient nuency of e

The first part of the year 1862 was very trying The North had expected to march rapidly and triumphantly into Richmond This had not been accomplished, but on the contrary disaster had followed disaster in battle, and aftereach other and alton, while the soldiers fro in the Southern camps Small wonder if there was an impatient claer arising from European sources The monarchies of Europe had no sympathy with American freedoress” in the war, and at this tinize the Southern Confederacy This cae of Carl Schurz, minister to Spain By permission of the President he returned to this country--this was late in January, 1862--to lay the matter personally before him With the help of Schurz, Lincoln proceeded to develop the sentiment for emancipation By his request Schurz went to New York to address aof the Emancipation Society on March 6th It need not be said that the speaker delivered a most able and eloquent plea upon ”Emancipation as a Peace Measure”

Lincoln also raphed to Schurz the text of hisemancipation in the District of Columbia,--which resulted in the law already e of Lincoln was read to thethe speech of Schurz, was overwheluine expectations This was not a coincidence, it was a plan Lincoln's hand in _the whole ave a marked impetus to the sentiment of emancipation

To the loyal slaveholders of the border states he reat disappointment they rejected this It was very foolish on their part, and he cautioned theht find worse trouble

All this tier spirits of the abolitionists, he was preparing for his final stroke But it was of capital importance that this should not be premature McClellan's failure to take Richmond and his persistent delay, hastened the result

The coe beca that so radical must be done, and that quickly

But it was still necessary that he should be patient As the bravest fire structure, so the wise statesman must hold himself in check until the success of so important a measure is assured beyond a doubt

An event which occurred laterwhich Lincoln always had in regard to slavery

The iteiven to the newspapers for publication under the heading,

”THE PRESIDENT'S LAST, SHORTEST, AND BEST SPEECH”

”On Thursday of last week, two ladies fro the release of their husbands, held as prisoners of war at Johnson's Island They were put off until Friday, when they caain put off until Saturday At each of the interviews one of the ladies urged that her husband was a religious man On Saturday, when the President ordered the release of the prisoners, he said to this lady: You say your husband is a religious man; tell hie of religion, but that, in ainst their governovernment does not sufficiently help _some_ men to eat their bread in the sweat of _other_ ion upon which people can get to heaven”

As the dreadful summer of 1862 advanced, Lincoln noted surely that the time was at hand when e the possibilities of this measure he seemed to take the opposite side This was a fixed habit with hihts of other people He was enabled to see the subject from all sides Even after his ue against it But in any other sense than this he took counsel of no one upon the emancipation measure The as his work

He presented his tentative proclamation to the cabinet on the 22d of July, 1862 The rest of the story is best told in Lincoln's oords: --

”It had got to be one on from bad to worse, until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations we had been pursuing; that we had about played our last card, and ame I now determined upon the adoption of the emancipation policy; and without consultation with, or knowledge of, the cabinet, I prepared the original draft of the proclaht called a cabinetupon the subject I said to the cabinet that I had resolved upon this step, and had not called theether to ask their advice, but to lay the subject-estions as to which would be in order after they had heard it read”

The estions, but none which Lincoln had not fully anticipated Seward approved the ht the time not opportune There had been so many reverses in the war, that he feared the effect ”It may be viewed,” he said, ”as the last overn forth its hands to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching forth her hands to the governested that the proclaiven to the country supported by estion, and he acted on it The document was laid away for the time

It was not until September 17th that the looked-for success came The Confederate ar the North They were met and completely defeated in the battle of Antietam Lincoln said of it: ”When Lee came over the river, I made a resolution that if McClellan drove him back I would send the proclaht Wednesday, and until Saturday I could not find out whether we had gained a victory or lost a battle It was then too late to issue the proclamation that day; and the fact is I fixed it up a little Sunday, and Monday I let them have it”

This was the preliminary proclamation and was issued September 22d The supplementary document, the real proclamation of emancipation, was issued January 1, 1863 As the latter covers substantially the ground of the former, it is not necessary to repeat both and only the second one is given

EMANcipaTION PROCLAMATION

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of Septeht hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, a, to wit:--

That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward and forever free, and the Executive Govern the nize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom

That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid by proclanate the states and part of states, if any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any state, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such state shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such state and the people thereof are not then in rebellion against the United States:--