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x...,i;ii (lOLFAX, 
 
 AND 
 
 
 AVITII THE 
 
 LETTER OF PRESI 1)1*:;NT LINCIOI-N. 
 
 TO 
 
 > A. G. HODGES, OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 WASIilNUTON : 
 
 ITJXTEJ? AT THE OFFJCK OF THE DAILY CIIUOXICLE. V»i .\1XT1I STItEUT. 
 
 1864. 
 
 v.. i, iv^c 
 
 % 
 

 *v 
 
 
SPEAKER COLFAX AN]) llIE IMON LKACJl E 
 
 COjMMTT'IEE. 
 
 A Committee of the I'nion League, Poloninc Council — ^Ilon. 1). P. 
 Holloway; President — cousistinu- of Messrs. Lewis, Cook, Foster, Wood 
 and Etter, waited on Speaker Colfax, Avit]j resolutions unaninioiisl y 
 adopted by tlie Council, ajiproving tlic course taken by liim in reference 
 to the treasonable utterances oC Alexander Long, M. C, of Ohio. 
 
 Mr. Lewis, Chairman of the Committee, tendenvl ihc rcsolutious with 
 remarks well suited to t1ie occasion. He saiiL 
 
 Mr. Speaker: — We come to convey to you resolutions approving oi 
 your course in moving to expel from the 1 louse of .Rejn'eseutatives Mr. 
 Long, of Ohio, for his treasonable hmguage and conduct; and to say to 
 Vou, our a]iproval was unanimous, and even more ardent than is ex- 
 pressed ir. the resolutions. Wc only regr(;t that there were not a con- 
 stitutional number like-minded to have fully accomplished the work. 
 We have to complain not only ol" the treason of these sympathizers 
 with rebellion, but that they are continually raising false issues to 
 deceive, and thus try to regain the ])ower and inlluence they have lost. 
 Hence, they clamor for "free speech," and ])retend to be advocates for 
 "constitutional liberty,"' keeping out of sight tlu^ fact that free speech 
 ends where wrong speech begins. Words are tlu; best index of the 
 heart. Tf there were no tvensou within, lhev.> would be none on the 
 tongue. 
 
 "Out o{' the abunjlanei- ol tlx- heart the mouth spcaketh." Eternal 
 truth has decided ihc question. Wrong speech can no jnorc be tolera- 
 ted than wrong action. '•r)y thy word thou shalt be condemned," an< I 
 "by thy words thou shalt l)c justilied." "Out of thine own moiith \vill 
 I Judge thee." We have had enough of such free speech, and it must 
 be stopped. Davis, Ttjombs & Co. were also great advocates of free, 
 speech, and it soon culminated in free stealing, free robbing, freebootiug. 
 and tree murder; and such will always be the result if wrong speech or 
 action be permitteil; it will soon overcome all right speech and right 
 action, and then, of course, there is an end to all true liberty. 
 
It lias long been our boast — and justly — that ours Avas a free country: 
 but it is a country in winch persons arc free to (ley right and not to do 
 Avrong either in word or deed. 
 
 The proposition of the gentleman — of sejoaration — caunot be euler- 
 tained, None but base and wicked men could propose it, because we 
 are forever bound to <juarardec to every State a republican government; 
 and therefore can never sanction such a despotism as the rebels seek to 
 perpetuate; but if a majority could be base enough to consent, it would 
 only prove their ruin, as "there would be Avar all the days of Jeroboam, 
 and forever after. 
 
 If we do not subdue the rebellion, it will subdue us. li' with all the 
 rivers in rebeldom sealed ; and the whole coast girded as with fire, we 
 find the task no eas}'' one, what could we do if Ave AA^ere to alloAV them 
 to fill their rivers, and surround the coast Avith Merrimacs, Florida^, 
 rams, and torpedos ; there can be but one result, and the sooner this is 
 understood and acted upon, the better. 
 
 No treaties can eA''er be made Avith them. Heaven never sanctioned, 
 nor did man ever devise a more sacred and just compact than that made 
 by our fathers; Avhich they — Avithout cause — haA'e broken in every 
 particular, and proved by their atrocities, that they arc Avorse than 
 saA^ages. 
 
 Every means, to the last man and the last dollar, if need, must _ be 
 used to restore the triumph of law and true liberty, Avith God, justice, 
 and multitudes of true men on our side, Ave must succeed, and in this 
 good AA'ork Ave Avish you and your compatriots God s])eed, and a full 
 share in our final, and Ave trust, glorious triumph. 
 
 Mr. Colfax replied, in substance as folloAvs : 
 
 Gextlemex: — Sincerely as I value the approval of my felloAV- 
 citizens generally, I value in the highest degree the testimonial you 
 present to-night, in the resolutions adopted by the Union League of 
 this city, of Avhich you are a committee. Gratifying as they are as an 
 indication and endorsement of my recent course, by those Avho have 
 been witnesses of the act itself, they have a double value, Avhen I con- 
 sider the unconditional devotion to our country's cause, of those 
 enrolled in your organization. And to this is added the speech of your 
 cliairman, Avhoso patriotism, theology, ''in^d logic, are so harmoniously 
 blended. 
 
 . The speech AA^hich elicited the resolution you endorse, seemed to me 
 an experiment, to ascertain AA'hat loyal people Avould bear in that direc- 
 tion ; to be folloAved up. if unrebuked, by public meetings all over the 
 country, eclioing Avhat had thus been declared as to the death and 
 destruction of our liei)ublic. and the recognition of the Traitor Con- 
 
Ibderac}', under tlic very rooi' (>i' the Capitol. Ami though the .sle[) L 
 took might have been regarded as one of grave resi^ousibility, as it 
 Avas; yet as it seemed to be demanded by duty to the country, and the 
 country's defenders hi the field, it Avas taken unhesitatingly ; and your 
 hearty ap)ux)A'al, as aa-cII ns my oavu conscience, assures me thai it Avas 
 right. 
 
 What Avould folloAV the abandouuieiit <)(' this struggle li>r the preser- 
 vation of the Union, and our consent that upon the ruins of the 
 destroyed republic, another government might be planted, and admitted 
 Avith our consent into the Family of Nations, I need scarcely recapitu- 
 late. But most painful to the patriot's heart Avould be the rctlcctiou, 
 that the martyrs for the Union. Avho had died on so many battle-lields, 
 had died ui vain; and that their survivors Avould return, not to be 
 Avelcomed Avith enthusiastic acclaim, as the saviours of the Union, but 
 trailing behind them their dishonored Hag, abandoning forever to trai- 
 tors the hirge scope of the Confederacy Avon back to the Union by their 
 A'alor. Thev Avould go doAvncast and humiliated to their homes, not t<> 
 rejoice there over their campaigns, but to lament for the rest of their 
 lives, that they ever went ibrtli to the dangers of Avar at the call of a 
 country Avhicli had so basely abandoned its OAvn sacred cause. Our 
 Kevolutionary patriots, Avho dared all the perils of that era, to Avin for 
 us the nationality that our heroes seek noAV to ])reser\'e, coukl speak 
 Avith exultation and pride to child and grandchild, and friend, of their 
 sacrifices and privations so Avillingly suffered foi- the Union, and each 
 succeeding generation have added more and more glory to their 
 immortal feme. But with (jur sokliers called back by a disgraceful 
 abandonment of our cause and country, no future honor Avould recom- 
 pense them for their sufferings. AVe cannot disgrace them. If Ave do, 
 jjosterity Avill curse us as unAA'orthy of the Be]uiblic Ave thus ignomini- 
 ously surrendered. 
 
 We are told, it is true, ol the great cost of this Avar and our enemies 
 seek to appal us by frightful figures of the magnitude of our iSTational 
 Debt. I knoAv it Avill cost heavily to save the country ; but it AA-ill cost 
 less to save it than to lose it. With its destruction comes endless 
 anarchy, and endless Avar ; a long boi'dcr line, thousands of miles in 
 extent, and thousands of stiifes on either side; a cordon of custom- 
 houses on the border; a standing army to guard the frontier av<' 
 concede ; still further division of the ruins of our country ; the right 
 to appeal from the ballot-box to the bullet, transplanted from Mexican 
 soil to ours, by our OAvn consent ; until at last, after a generation ol' 
 anarchy and revolution, avc fall undei- the yoke of some foreign despot, 
 Avho, either aided by our '' estranged brethren," or not, tramples imder 
 toot Avhat little semblance of liberty may be left. No, gentlemen, our 
 
6 
 
 country iniist be Siived, at whatever cost. It it takes every dollar ol' 
 tlic nation's Avealtli, we shall, if successful, be no poorer than onr fathers 
 :it the end of the rcvolutionar}^ war. Indeed, throughout that struggle, 
 llie}' were liaukrupt in all but liope and coni-age, faith in the right and 
 devotion to liberty. And, for niyseli', 1 would Jiot hesitate, if our 
 country can certaiidy be saved, to sacrilicc every dollar .1. possess. 
 Without it, but witli a preserved country, I should be rich indeed. 
 With the country destroyed, and the reign of revolution following, let 
 Mexico answer as to whether proj)ei1\' is not as worthless as the (b)v- 
 crnment that was powerless to jwotoct its own existence. 
 
 Xor can we surrender, exce]>t a1 I lie voluntary sacrifice of all that 
 is honorable in iiations and in nioji. If a\'(3 idlow the sword of treason 
 to sever the Eepnblie, every frieml of liberty in llu^ Avorld will turn 
 their backs on us ^nth scorn and contempt. Lf we abandon the graves 
 of the loA'cd and the lost, all over the sunny south, front ]\[anassas and 
 Kichmond, across by Chicaniauga and Yicksburg to Sabine Pass and 
 Galveston, so that in all future time, you shall not drijj) a tear of alfec- 
 tion on their hallowed resting-place, except by permits begged from 
 that incarnate traitor, Jefterson Davis, we are not worth}- of the braA'c 
 men who sleep there in their bloody shrouds. If we allow the flag of 
 disunion to lloat OA^er the grave of the Father (jf his Country, on 3-our 
 own Potomac, the sIoav, unnio\'ing finger of scorn, should be jtointcd at 
 all of us Avhile we live in the country Ave haA^c thus disgraced. 
 
 Hut it Avill not be. AVe aa411 keep faith AA'ilh the dead of the Rca'^oIu- 
 tiou. We Avill foUoAv the flag of our fathers as the tribes of old did the 
 iiery pillar. AVe Avill not yield the contest till every MalakolY of treason 
 is reduced, and every suffering IjucknoAV of the South shall hear the 
 slogan of deliA'erance. And trusting in that Providence Avho Avas the 
 God of our fathers, Ave will look forward hopefully t(^ His ansAver to the 
 ])rayers that ascend morning and evcMiiug, irom :i milliciu he.'irtlistone.s, 
 :ind Avhich Ave can all join in to-night. 
 
 •'rxO]) .SAVE TKK AMERICAN KElUrBLIC." 
 
Ctttcr of jf.) resilient Lincoln to %. (!\ iioliqrs. (I'sq, 
 
 Executive Mansion. \\\vsitfN(iToN, April 4. isiM. 
 .4. a. Hodf/es, Esq., Fra/il/'orl. A'//.: 
 
 My Dear Sir: — Yon ask luf to put in uriliiig the. .subsLiiucc of what 
 I \-erbally .saul the other (hiy. iu joiir jjreseuee, to Governor Bramlette 
 and Senator Dixon. It vvas about as follows : 
 
 •'Tarn naturally antislaverv. If slavery is nut wrong, iiothiug is 
 wrong, I cannot remember when I >li(l iK-t so think and feel. And 
 yet I have never understood that tlir jii'esidency eoirferred u[)on me an 
 unrestricted right to act officially iijton this judgment and feeling. It 
 was in the oath I took, that I -would to the licst of my ability preserve, 
 protect, and defend the Constitution ol' the United States. I could not 
 take the onice without taking the oath. Xor was it my vit-w, that I 
 might take an oath to get power, and break the oath, in using the power. 
 I understood, tow, that, in ordinary civil administration, this oath even 
 forl>ade me to practically indulge my primary, abstract judgnn-nt on the 
 moral (piestion of sla^'ery. I had publicly ileclared this man\' times, 
 and in many ^^•ays. And 1 aver that, to this day, I have done no official 
 act in mere deference to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery. 
 
 " T did understand, however, that my oath to preserve the Constitution 
 to the best of my ability imposed upon me the duty of preserving, by 
 evci-y indispensable jucan^. that <iovernment--lliat Nation — oi' which 
 that Constitution was the organic law. Was it po.^siljle to lose tlu- 
 Xation, and yet preserve the Constitution? 
 
 " Dy general law, life and limb must be protectetl ; }'et often a limb 
 must be amputated to save a life ; but a life is never \Yisely given to save 
 a lind). T felt that measures, otherwise uncon.stitutional, might become 
 lawful, by becoming indispensable to the prese]'\-ation of the Constitutiori 
 through the ] )reservation of the Xation. Right or wrong, I assumed 
 this ground, and now avow it. I could not feel, that to the best of in}' 
 ability, I had ever tried to preserve the Constitution, if to save slavery, 
 or any minor matter, I should permit the wreck of Ciovcrnment. (\)uutry 
 and Constitutio]!, all together. 
 
 " Allien, early in the war. Gen. I'remont attempted luilitary emanci- 
 pation, I Jbrbadc it, because I did not then think it an indi.spensablc 
 necessity. When, a little later. General Cameron, then Secretary ol' 
 AYar, suggested the arming of the blacks, I objected, because I did not 
 3''et think it an indispensable necessity. AA^hen. still later, General 
 
.liHo^v^^i^^-^'^w'^?^ emancipation, I again Ibrbade it. 1)ceau.e ! 
 wf ^^^ .° *^^ mdispensahle necessity had come 
 •• When, in MarcL. a^id May, and July., 1«02, I made earnest .uid suc- 
 l''Me^.nt '■' v' """ i^r ^''''' '^ ^^'^^' compensated emancl^do^, 
 l^Si ' I" '^''r^'^' '"''T^'y ^'^^ "^^^^^^^^'^^ emancipation, and 
 am ino the blacks wonld come, unless averted by that measure ThcN- 
 
 •^eSSL^^rar'""' ^f ' "^?' "^^ l>est udgment, dri^^n to t^ 
 t o'wfol ll-n '''"T'^^^^^^^^ ^' the Constitu- 
 
 f :, I ? " "^'^"? ^'"''^^ "P"*" t^^*^ ^'•'•l^i-f'<l element. T chose tlic 
 a te Jn clioosmg it^ I hoped for .renter ..in (hanlos.: bnl o^hi. i 
 ^\ as not entirely eonlident. 
 
 "More than' a year of iriaJ ,iou .huu. uo lu.s l.y u m our loreic,, 
 
 nil itai J force;-no ioss by it, jimdioAv. or any Ayhere On the contrm - 
 
 tS?Z^r^:!^ ^ hundred and tlnrty ti.ousa.1 sohllS^riS; 
 
 e no cTyn n^^ rf ? ^'^ /^'^'''^ ^^^^'^•'^- ;^^«^^t ^^'^^i^^^^ «« f^cis, there can 
 
 oiuci IX but loi the measuix; he condemns. Tf he cannot (hce hi^ r.n« . 
 -s<^sta ed, ,t is only because lie cannot face the trutJi 
 
 this ?^e VnT '''^' ''''"' v°^ ^'^ ^^^^ ^'^^^^'^^ conyersatioH. in telliu- 
 tins tale, I attempt no comphment lo my own sao-acity I dniin in ot to 
 
 ^Sd£r^ ^ ;!;;T^'''r .^^T^^^^' ^^^^ ^^^or^^ condition is not 
 wi .? ^ V •> ^V-^ '''''" deyised or expected. God alone can claim 
 It. Whitlicr It IS tending seems plain. If God alone ANVllslhprr.^m^^^^ 
 o a great u.-oiig, aud wills also that .ve of th^^^U T' we^ .^^'o 
 &niS^^^"'^ ""^^"^ complicity in thai Un., imp^i^ 
 
 VoLii's, IruJy, 
 
 A. LINCOLN. 
 
 V60 
 

 
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