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is, my friend. I value him none the less for agreeing with me in the general wish that all men everywhere could be freed. He proclaimed all men free within certain States, and I repudiated the proclamation. He expected more good and less harm from the measure than I could believe would follow. Yet, in repudiating it, I gave dissatisfaction, if not offence, to many whose support the country cannot afford to lose. And this is not the end of it. The pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is increasing. By conceding what I now ask, you can relieve me, and, much more, can relieve the country in this important point. "Upon these considerations I have again begged your attention to the message of March last. Before leaving the Capitol consider and discuss it among yourselves. You are patriots and statesmen, and as such I pray you consider this proposition; and at the least commend it to the consideration of your States and people. As you would perpetuate popular government for the best people in the world, I beseech you that you do in no wise omit this. Our common country is in great peril, demanding the loftiest views and boldest action to bring a speedy relief. Once relieved, its form of government is saved to the world, its beloved history and cherished memories are vindicated, and its happy future fully assured and rendered inconceivably grand. To you, more than to any others, the privilege is given to assure that happiness and swell that grandeur, and to link your own names therewith forever." The gravity and importance of this address demanded corresponding care in the reply. Accordingly, after some conversation on the subject, the members left to meet in council and prepare a written answer. Formal replies were made by the majority and minority of the representatives. The former, twenty in number, including Wickliffe, Davis, and Crittenden, of Kentucky, Carlile, of Western Virginia, Phelps, of Missouri,

while they tested the proposition by various searching questions in regard to the Constitutional power of the government to make the necessary appropriations, and the difficulty in the way of the extent of the sum required, and deprecated any interference with slavery in the States, as likely to aggravate and prolong the war, coldly expressed their willingness-if the President, and their brethren of the loyal States, sincerely believed that the retention of slavery by them was an obstacle to peace and national harmony, and were willing to contribute pecuniary aid to compensate their States and people for the inconveniences produced by such a change of system-that the people themselves shall "consider the propriety of putting it aside." It was calculated in this document, which was drawn up, with no little ingenuity, by a member of the House, Crisfield, of Maryland, that if the proposition, as its terms indicated, were practically extended to all the slave States, there would be, at least, four millions of slaves to be purchased, which, at the price fixed by the emancipation act for the slaves in the District of Columbia-the low average of three hundred dollars, greatly below their real worth-would require $1,200,000,000, and to deport them at $100 each, would require $400,000,000 more. pay the interest on these sums would require a tax on the country beyond its willingness and its ability to bear. "Stated in this form," was the shrewd language of the report, humorously reducing the question to an absurdity, "the proposition is nothing less than the deportation from the country of sixteen hundred million dollars' worth of producing labor, and the substitution in its place of an interest-bearing debt of the same amount." If the proposition were to be accepted only by the border slave States, Ken- . tucky, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Missouri, and Tennessee, the cost would be over $478,000,000-a large sum to be added to existing burdens. The

To

INCREASE OF THE ARMY.

minority report, signed by Noell, of Missouri, and six others, was a protest against the carping and indifferent tone adopted by the majority. They expressed their desire to meet the address of the President "in the spirit in which it was made," and would ask the people of the border States "calmly, deliberately, and fairly" to consider the recommendation. The President, feeling the force of the suggestion that the recommendation, to be worthy of consideration, should be accompanied with some more definite pledge on the part of Congress, on the 14th, sent the following communication to both Houses: "Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives-Herewith is the draft of the bill to compensate any State which may abolish slavery within its limits, the passage of which, substantially as presented, I respectfully and earnestly recommend.

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ceived, said bonds so received by said State shall at once be null and void in whosesoever hands they may be, and such State shall refund to the United States all interest which may have been paid on such bonds."

It was now within a few days of the end of the session, and no action was taken in the matter. The emancipation and confiscation act was the practical answer of Congress on the present relation of the State to slavery.

The war being thus recognized in its breadth and extent, with new developments in the future, it was, of course, necessary to provide proportionate means of men and money for carrying it on. A new militia act was passed extending the term of service of those called out to nine months. The President, in addition, was authorized to accept the services of one hundred thousand volunteers, as inBe it enacted by the Senate and fantry, for the same period, and volunHouse of Representatives of the United teers were to be received for twelve States of America, in Congress assem- months in sufficient numbers to fill up the bled, that whenever the President of the regiments in the field. By another secUnited States shall be satisfied that any tion the President was authorized to reState shall have lawfully abolished slav-ceive into the service, "for the purpose ery within and throughout such State, of constructing entrenchments, or pereither immediately or gradually, it shall be the duty of the President, assisted by the Secretary of the Treasury, to prepare and deliver to each State an amount of six per cent interest-bearing bonds of the United States, equal to the aggregate value, at dollars per head, of all the slaves within such State, as reported by the census of one thousand eight hundred and sixty; the whole amount for any one State to be delivered at once, if the abol-act ishment be immediate, or in equal annual installments, if it be gradual, interest to begin running on each bond at the time of delivery, and not before. And be it further enacted, That if any State, hav-ply to the slaves of loyal owners. ing so received any such bonds, shall at any time afterwards, by law, reintroduce, or tolerate slavery within its limits, contrary to the act of abolishment upon which such bonds shall have been re

forming camp service, or any other labor, or any military or naval service for which they may be found competent, persons of African descent, and such persons shall be enrolled and organized, under such regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws, as the President may prescribe." In case any person thus employed was the slave of a rebel owner, it was provided by the same

that "he, his mother, and his wife and children, shall forever thereafter be free, any law, usage, or custom whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding." This provision, however, was not to ap

On the 1st of July, the President, in concert with a request signed by eighteen governors of the loyal States, who urged "in view of the important military movements now in progress, and the reduced

condition of our effective forces in the fleld, that the time has arrived for prompt and vigorous measures to be adopted by the people in support of the great interests committed to your charge," announced his decision to call into the service an additional force of 300,000 men. He recommended that they should be chiefly of infantry, and that the whole force should be enrolled without delay, "so as to bring this unnecessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion." The governors, of course, responded in emphatic terms, and earnestly set about the work of forwarding enlistments, and recruiting the regiments in the field.

The great financial measures of this session of Congress were the treasury note bill, approved on the 25th of February, authorizing the issue of $150,000,000 of United States notes, of denominations not less than five dollars cach, not bearing interest, and creating the same a legal tender in payment of all debts public and private, within the United States, except duties on imports, and payments by the government of interest on bonds and notes, which was required to be paid in coin. Fifty millions of the sum, thus authorized, were to be in lieu of the "demand notes" of the previous session, which were to be taken up as rapidly as possible, and to which, by a recent act, $10,000,000 had been added. As the latter were receivable for duties, they were, of course, now held about the price of gold. This new "circulation" was to be received by the government in payment for any loans which might be negotiated by the Secretary of the Treasury. To fund the debt thus created and enlarged, the issue of coupon or registered bonds to the amount of $500,000,000, bearing six per cent interest, and redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after five years, and payable twenty years from date, was authorized. These bonds, which were known as the "Five-Twenties," became,

as the currency was enlarged, and the hostile efforts of the rebels were checked, an eagerly sought mode of investment. All bonds, stocks, and other securities of the United States held within the country, were, by the act, to be exempt from taxation by or under State authority. On the 11th of July an act was passed authorizing an additional issue of $150,000,000 of notes not bearing interest, similar to those just described, of which thirty-five millions of dollars might be of less denominations than five dollars, but none of the fractional part of a dollar. The legal tender clause in these acts met with much opposition in the protracted discussion on the bills in Congress, but the demands of the war were urgent, and it was adopted as the only practicable method of meeting the public necessities. The government was also authorized to receive United States notes on deposit, for not less than thirty days, in sums of not less than $100, for which certificates would be given bearing five per cent interest. By such provisions the country was relieved of an immediate pressure upon the currency, and the government provided with the means of carrying on the war without the aid of foreign capital. Gold, as a necessary consequence, rose in value, and the price of gold regulated the price of commodities in general. The facilities, however, given to trade and credit, in a great measure, for the time, at least, lightened the financial difficulties produced by the war.

To provide internal revenue, to support the government, and to pay interest on the public debt, a voluminous tax bill was passed and approved on the 1st of July. It embraced a comprehensive system of excise duties, licenses, special taxes on articles of luxury, as carriages, yachts, billiard tables, and plate; a widely extended system of stamp duties, legacy and inheritance duties, and an annual tax of three per cent on all gains, profits, or income, of every person residing within the United States, exceed

THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.

ing the sum of six hundred dollars. Incomes exceeding $10,000, and those of citizens residing abroad, were taxed five per cent.

Three other bills may be mentioned for their importance in the legislation of this period. An "act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," gave to any person the head of a family, or of the age of twenty-one, a loyal citizen of the United States, or one who has legally declared his intentions to become such, the privilege of entering upon one hundred and sixty acres of land, the full title to which would be secured by five years' residence and cultivation. This measure looked to a future increase of the emigration which had been so fruitful a means of developing the wealth of the great West, and was now proving an important aid in maintaining the war. A second act, providing for aid in the construction of a great railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, bore a certain relation to the last in its sphere of operation. A third declared the voice of the nation on a scandal to modern

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civilization. It was the act leveled at the ordinance of the Mormons or Latter Day Saints, of Utah Territory, annulling all laws in that region "which establish, maintain, protect, or countenance the practice of polygamy, evasively called spiritual marriage, however disguised by legal or ecclesiastical solemnities, sacraments, ceremonies, consecrations, or other contrivances." Polygamy in the Territories was, by this act, made punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, and by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

To adapt the organization of the navy to the new requirements of the service, an act was passed to establish and equalize the grade of line officers, by which the active list was divided into nine grades, in the following order: Rear admirals, commodores, captains, commanders, lieutenant commanders, lieutenant masters, ensigns, midshipmen. The number of rear admirals was limited to nine; of commodores to eighteen; of captains to thirty-six ; of commanders to seventytwo; and the other grades to one hundred and forty-four each.

CHAPTER LXXIII.

GENERAL POPE'S CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1862.

THE entire month of July was passed by the army under General McClellan on the banks of the James river, at the camp at Harrison's Landing, twenty-five miles distant from Richmond. In a military point of view, the troops held an advantageous position; they were well protected by batteries on the adjacent heights, while the depth of water in the river afforded every facility to prompt support, if needed, from the gunboats, and a ready communication to the transports. The enemy, in force, around

their capital, respected these advantages, and mindful of the disastrous encounter at Malvern Hills, made no further serious attempt to disturb the army at its new base of operations. Reconnoissances, however, in the direction of Richmond, showed that the onward movement to that city would meet with resistance. It was General McClellan's conviction, nevertheless, that this was now the true route to the enemy's capital, and he steadily called for reinforcements to carry his plans into effect. No little solici

tude, meanwhile, was felt for the protection of the national capital, and the line of the Potomac, which had so lately felt the hand of the enemy in Jackson's vigorous movement against Banks. The "Stonewall," indeed, had been forced to retreat; but he had managed the movement so cleverly as to baffle the combination of the Union commands set in motion against him, and his liberated force had told with crushing effect upon the army before Richmond in the Seven Days' Battles. The new "change of base" of McClellan had placed the army of the Potomac farther than ever from Washington, and cut off any prospect of coöperation with the several detached divisions of the Union forces between the Rappahannock and the capital. Reinforcements, indeed, might be sent to him by water, but what reinforcements could be spared in sufficient numbers to bring the army on the James to a sufficient strength for active operations without so impoverishing the other army on the Potomac as to endanger its safety? The question was anxiously discussed at Washington, and while every effort was made to strengthen the force on the James, it was felt that something was due to the army of General Pope, who, as we have stated, had been called from the scene of his exploits in Mississippi, at the end of June, to command the corps of Fremont, Banks, and McDowell, now consolidated in the army of Virginia. Measures, however, were early taken to strengthen the wasted army of McClellan. General Burnside, with a considerable part of his force from North Carolina, early in July, joined the army on the James. To assure himself of the actual condition of affairs, President Lincoln, on the 8th, visited the camp, by way of Fortress Monroe. He arrived in the afternoon, and after a conference with General McClellan, proceeded, in the evening, to a review of the troops. As he rode along the lines of the several divisions, he was greeted at each by a

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salute of artillery, and the vociferous cheers of the men. Coming into the trenches," says a correspondent, "he dismounted, and ascending the ramparts of the newest fortifications, briefly addressed the soldiers. He said he had come to see for himself, and to know, the situation of affairs, and that he should back satisfied. It was said they had been whipped. It was not so, and never would be. He knew the men he saw around him would prove equal to the task before them, and never give up without going into Richmond. He had been unable to sleep from anxiety, but after what he had seen and heard, he should go back to Washington satisfied that it was all right with the army of the Potomac.' President Lincoln left the camp the next day, and, on his arrival at Washington, more favorable accounts of the army were diffused through the country. It was said that he found the losses in the recent battles, in killed, wounded, missing, and prisoners, did not exceed 10,400, and that the army, still strong in numbers, was in excellent heart, and eager for a forward march. On the 20th of July the official returns of General McClellan's army, including the corps of General Dix, in command at Fortress Monroe, showed 101,691 present for duty; 17,828 on special duty, sick, and in arrest; 38,795 absent-a total of 158,314.†

When General Pope was assigned to the command in Virginia he found the effective movable force at his disposal of infantry and artillery, consisting of about 38,000 men, unequally divided between the corps of Fremont, Banks, and McDowell. Of these McDowell's was the largest, numbering over 18,000; Banks had but 8,000. The cavalry-an arm of the service, as the country was effectually taught, too much neglected in these operations in Virginia―numbering

*New York Tribune Correspondence. Fortress Monroe, July 9, 1862. Report of Committee on the Conduct of the War.

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