rebellion without the use of the emancipation policy, and every other policy calculated to weaken the moral and physical forces of the rebellion.

"Freedom has given us 150,000 men, raised on Southern soil. It will give us more yet. Just so much it has subtracted from the enemy, and, instead of alienating the South, there are now evidences of a fraternal feeling growing up between our men and the rank and file of the rebel soldiers. Let my enemies prove to the country that the destruction of slavery is not necessary to a restoration of the Union. I will abide the issue."

Remarks on Inequalities of Taxation, Made to the 164th Ohio Regiment.

On August 18, 1864, in an address to the 164th Ohio Regiment, President Lincoln referred to the bearing of Union success on future generations, and appealed to his hearers as patriots to bear incidental inequalities in administration of government, especially those of taxa

tion.

Soldiers: You are about to return to your homes and your friends, after having, as I learn, performed in camp a comparatively short term of duty in this great contest. I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country. I wish it might be more generally and universally understood what the country is now engaged in.

have, as all will agree, a free government, where every man has a right to be equal with every other man. In this great struggle, this form of government and every form of human right is endangered if our enemies succeed. There is more involved in this contest than is realized by

every one. There is involved in this struggle the question whether your children and my children shall enjoy the privileges we have enjoyed. I say this in order to impress upon you, if you are not already so impressed, that no small matter should divert us from our great purpose.

There may be some inequalities in the practical application of our system. It is fair that each man shall pay taxes in exact proportion to the value of his property; but if we should wait, before collecting a tax, to adjust the taxes upon each man in exact proportion with every other man, we should never collect any tax at all. There may be mistakes made sometimes; things may be done wrong, while the officers of the government do all they can to prevent mistakes. But I beg of you, as citizens of this great republic, not to let your minds be carried off from the great work we have before us. This struggle is too large for you to be diverted from it by any small matter. When you return to your homes, rise up to the height of a generation of men worthy of a free government, and we will carry out the great work we have commenced. I return to you my sincere thanks, soldiers, for the honor you have done me this afternoon.

Remarks on the Value of American Citizenship, Made to the 166th Ohio Regiment.

On August 22, 1864, in an address to the 166th Ohio Regiment, President Lincoln spoke in a similar strain to the foregoing address, laying stress on the inestimable worth of free government.

Soldiers: I suppose you are going home to see your families and friends. For the services you

have done in this great struggle in which we are all engaged, I present you sincere thanks for myself and the country.

I almost always feel inclined, when I happen to say anything to soldiers, to impress upon them, in a few brief remarks, the importance of success in this contest. It is not merely for today, but for all time to come, that we should perpetuate for our children's children that great and free government which we have enjoyed all our lives. I beg you to remember this, not merely for my sake, but for yours. I happen, temporarily, to occupy this White House. I am a living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has. It is in order that each one of you may have, through this free government which we have enjoyed, an open field and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise, and intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations. It is for this the struggle should be maintained, that we may not lose our birthright-not only for one, but for two or three years. The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel.

An Appeal to Soldiers to Resist Disaffection, Made to the 148th Ohio Regiment.

On August 31, 1864, in an address to the 148th Ohio Regiment, President Lincoln made an earnest appeal to soldiers as patriots to resist the wiles of those who would persuade them that they were discriminated against by the government.

Soldiers of the 148th Ohio:

I am most happy to meet you on this occasion. I understand that it has been your honorable

privilege to stand, for a brief period, in the defense of your country, and that now you are on your way to your homes. I congratulate you, and those who are waiting to bid you welcome home from the war; and permit me in the name of the people to thank you for the part you have taken in this struggle for the life of the nation. You are soldiers of the republic, everywhere honored and respected. Whenever I appear before a body of soldiers, I feel tempted to talk to them of the nature of the struggle in which we are engaged. I look upon it as an attempt on the one hand to overwhelm and destroy the national existence, while on our part we are striving to maintain the government and institutions of our fathers, to enjoy them ourselves, and transmit them to our children and our children's children forever.

To do this the constitutional administration of our government must be sustained, and I beg of you not to allow your minds or your hearts to be diverted from the support of all necessary measures for that purpose, by any miserable picayune arguments addressed to your pockets, or inflammatory appeals made to your passions and your prejudices.

It is vain and foolish to arraign this man or that for the part he has taken or has not taken, and to hold the government responsible for his acts. In no administration can there be perfect equality of action and uniform satisfaction rendered by all.

But this government must be preserved in spite of the acts of any man or set of men. It is worthy of your every effort. Nowhere in the world is presented a government of so much

To the humblest and

liberty and equality. poorest amongst us are held out the highest privileges and positions. The present moment finds me at the White House, yet there is as good a chance for your children as there was for my father's.

Again I admonish you not to be turned from your stern purpose of defending our beloved country and its free institutions by any arguments urged by ambitious and designing men, but to stand fast for the Union and the old flag. Soldiers, I bid you God-speed to your homes.

Remarks on Venezuela, Made in Receiving Minister Bruzual.

On September 5, 1864, President Lincoln extended a welcome to the new minister from Venezuela, Señor Blas Bruzual. In it he paid a tribute to Venezuela as a leader in South American civilization.

Mr. Bruzual: It gives me pleasure to receive and welcome to the United States a representative of Venezuela.

Venezuela, almost centrally situated among American republics, holds a position commercially advantageous and politically important. Endowed by nature with capacity for rich and varied production, it extends over a broad territory, embracing vast resources yet to be developed. Guided by the principles of republican government and advancing civilization, it adopts institutions which have contributed largely to the growth of the countries of this continent in the past, and which form the basis of high and cherished aspirations for their future.

The government and people of the United