The life and public services of Abraham Lincoln ... together with his state papers, including his speeches, addresses, messages, letters, and proclamations, and the closing scenes connected with his life and death. By Henry J. Raymond. To which are added anecdotes and personal reminiscences of President Lincoln, by Frank B. Carpenter.

STATE PAPERS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

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difficulty of its suppression. The Administration and
Congress had, therefore, avoided, so far as possible, any
measures in regard to slavery which could needlessly excite the hostile prejudices of the people of the Border
States. The Confiscation Act affected only those slaves
who should be " required or permitted" by their masters
to render service to the rebel cause. It did not in any
respect change the condition of any others. The President, in the Executive Department, acted upon the same
principle. The question first arose in Virl'inia, sitmultaneously at Fortress Monroe, and in the we,-tern part of
the State. On the 26th of May, GenlIeral McCl('e11lan issued
an address to the people of the district under his command, in which lie said to them, "Understand one, tllilng
clearly: not only will we abstain fiom all intlerflrence
with your slaves, but we will, on the. contrary, with an
iron hand crush any attempt at insurrection on their part."
On the 27th of May, General Butler, in command at
Fortress Monroe, wrote to the Sec(retary of War that he
was greatly embarrassed by the number of slaves that
were coming in froim the surrounding country and sfeeking
protection within the lines of his camp. He had dete-rmined to regard them as contrabalnd of war, and to enmploy their lalbor at a fair compensation, against which
should be charged the expense of their support-tll
relative value to be adjusted afterwards. The Sc r(etlary
of War, in a letter dated May 30th, expressed tllh appr<,val
by the Government of the course adopted by General
Butler, and directed him, on the one hand, to ",lprmit
no interference by the persons under his command with
the relations of persons held to service under tllh l;rws of
any State," and on the other, to "refrain from surlendering to alleged masters any such persons who might
come within his lines."
On the 8th of August, after the passage of the Confiscation Act by Congress, the Secretary of War again wrote
to General Butler, setting forth somewhat more fully the
views of the President and the Administration upon this
subject, as follows: