ington was a slaveholding city, in the midst of a slaveholding region, and any number of desperadoes could be summoned there, at a few hours' notice, from Maryland and Virginia.

"James Buchanan, an intimidated old man, was then in the Presidential chair, having been placed there as the candidate of the slaveholders, and the nation could place but little reliance, in that crisis, upon his efficiency and reposed but little confidence in his patriotism. But, providentially, General Winfield Scott, the veteran and universally revered head of the American army, had drawn to the Capital the batteries which won the field at Buena Vista. Their frowning guns, ready to sweep the streets, overa wed the conspirators. At 12 o'clock, Mr. Pennington, Speaker of the House, called the House to order, when the Chaplain, Rev. Thomas Stockton, offered an impressive prayer, closing with the following words:

"Bless the outgoing Administration. May it close its labors in peace, without further violence, and without any stain of blood, And we pray for the incoming Administration; that thy blessing may rest on the President elect, in his journey hitherward; that thy good Providence may be around him day and night, guarding and guiding him at every step; and we pray, that he may be peacefully and happily inaugarated, and afterwards, by pure, wise, and prudent counsels, that he may administer the Government in such a manner, as that thy name may be glorified, and the welfare of the people, in all their relations, be advanced, and that our example of civil and religious liberty may be followed in all the world."

"A message was then sent, informing the Senate that the House was waiting to receive them, in order that, in joint body, the Electoral votes might be opened and counted. As the Senate entered the Hall of Representatives, the House rose, and remained standing until the Senators took their seats in a semi-circular range before the Speaker's desk. Vice-President Breckinridge, who was one of the candidates for the Presidency, and who, by virtue of the office he held, presided over the Senate, took his seat at the right of the Speaker. As soon as order was restored, Vice-President Breckinridge rose, and said :—

"We have assembled, pursuant to the Constitution, in order that the electoral votes may be counted, and the result declared for President and Vice-President, for the term commencing on the 4th of March, 1861; and it is made my duty, under the Con

stitution, to open the certificates of election in the presence of the two Houses, and I now proceed to the performance of that duty." He then took the package of each State, one after the other, broke the seal, and handed it to the Tellers to be counted. "The scene then and there presented, was one which has never been paralleled in the United States. The galleries were crowded with the most distinguished personages in the land, who had been drawn, by the momentous occasion, to the city. Some looked cheerful and hopeful; some, with compressed lips, were pale and anxious; while many notorious conspirators were seen in groups, gloomy and threatening. There was deathly silence as the result was announced, which was as follows: One hundred and eighty votes were cast for Abraham Lincoln. Seventy-two for John C. Breckinridge. Thirty-nine for John Bell. Twelve for Stephen A. Douglas. This gave Abraham Lincoln a majority of fiftyseven over all the other candidates. Whereupon the Vice-President, rising, said:

"Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, having received a majority of the whole number of Electoral votes, is duly elected President of the United States, for the four years commencing on the 4th of March, 1861. And Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, having received a majority of the whole number of Electoral votes, is duly elected Vice-President for the same term."

"He then announced, that the business being completed, for which the two Houses had assembled, the Senate would return to their own chamber. The members of the House rose, and remained standing until the Senators had left the Hall. The five thousand spectators crowding the galleries silently retired, and Abraham Lincoln stood forth before the world, the constitutionally elected President of the United States.

By means of the telegraph, it was known throughout the Union, on the 7th of November, 1860, the day after the election, that Abraham Lincoln had been elected President of the United States. This result had been perfectly foreseen and foretold, ever since the several presidential nominations. The slaveholders had insisted on such a platform and presidential candidate, that no political party could yield to their demands, and live as a party, for a moment. They deliberately drove the democratic party to a double nomination, Douglass and Breckenridge, for the avowed purpose of electing the Northern candidate, who was especially nominated

on the platform of freedom, which at that time contemplated nothing further than to prevent the extension of slavery into territory then free. The slaveholders, for a long series of years, had laid all their plans, and used their best endeavors to bring about a crisis, such as had now arrived, unless they could, inside of the general government, mould it to its own views, and make it the perpetual defender of the institution of slavery. Yet these unscrupulous upholders of this most inhumanly vile institution, made the fact of the election of a Northern man as President, the pretext for secession and the disruption of the government, and for commencing the most causeless and cruel civil war, that ever afficted any civilized nation.

Lincoln was elected in November, but he could not enter upon the execution of the duties of his office till the 4th of March following. In the mean time, the General Government was thoroughly in the hands of the slaveholders. They had still four months, in which they could make all their preparations, and launch their daring conspiracy upon the startled country. Never did villains work with greater zeal, or more effectually. James Buchanan, the President of the United States, had been elected to office on a platform dictated by the slaveholders, pledging him to pursue the general policy required by them. He was surrounded by men of far greater ability than himself, and he dared not assert his independence, and stand by the flag of his country. He was like a babe, in the fatal embrace of the conspirators.

The majority of his cabinet were unscrupulous and arrant rebels and knaves. In their hands he was "like a reed shaken in the wind." In his feebleness and vacilation of mind, he was, clay in the hands of the potter"--they moulded him at will. Howell Cobb, a slaveholder of Georgia, was Secretary of the Treasury. When he entered upon his office, the treasury was full, to overflowing, and the nation was in the full tide of prosperity. It was very necessary, to the full success of the conspirators, that it should be depleted--that the incoming administration should find the treasury beggared, and thus it would be without pecuniary means to resist a rebellion. This was accomplished in an incredibly short space of time. When the new administration came into power, it found an empty chest. More than six millions of dollars were stolen, and no doubt went into the treasury of the rebels. The Treasury being thus rendered harmless to the rebellion, Mr. Cobb resigned his office, and hastened to take office under the conspirators.

Jacob Thompson, a slaveholder from Mississippi, was Secretary of the Interior. It was his role in the great conspiracy to prevent the reënforcement of the fortresses of the nation. If the forts should be reënforced, they could protect themselves from surprise or capture by the rebels, and could control the commerce of the ports, and hermetically seal them, if necessary. Effectually did he perform this ignoble and wicked work. After much consultation, the Star of the West was privately sent with supplies for the garrison in Fort Sumter, which was on the verge of starvation. Mr. Thompson, aware of the fact by virtue of his office, immediately notified the armed conspirators in Charleston, and this steamer, which was without arms, was driven back by the rebel batteries. In a speech which he subsequently made to the rebels in Oxford, Miss., he boasted of this abominable act of treachery, in the following words :

"I sent a dispatch to Judge Longstreet, that the Star of the West was coming with reënforcements. The troops were then put on their guard, and when the Star of the West arrived, she received a warm welcome from booming cannon, and soon beat a retreat."

"We have here the unblushing avowal of a member of the Cabinet, that he betrayed, to those who under arms were seeking to destroy his country, information derived from his official position. In consequence, that frail vessel was met by hostile batteries, the lives of two hundred and fifty men, in the service of the Government, were imperiled, and the heroic little garrison of seventy-five men in Fort Sumter were abandoned to their fate. Secretary Thompson, having accomplished this feat, resigned his office, and joined the rebels, where he was received with open

arms.

"The subsequently notorious John B. Floyd, a slave master of Virginia, was Secretary of War. It was the well-matured plan of some of the conspirators, to assassinate President Lincoln on his journey to Washington to be inaugurated. They designed, in the panic which would ensue, to pour in troops from the adjacent Slave States of Maryland and Virginia, and seize upon Washington, with all its treasures, that it might become the capital of their new Confederacy. In the accomplishment of this plan, it was important that the army of the United States, but a few thousand in number, should be so dispersed, that they could not be rallied for the defense of the Government; and that the arsenals at the

North should be so despoiled, that the free eitizens could find no weapons to grasp, by which they might rush to the rescue. John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, did this work effectually. The army was so scattered in remote fortresses in the far West, as to leave all the forts in the slaveholding States defenseless. Thus fortifications containing twelve hundred cannon, and which cost over six millions of dollars, were seized and garrisoned by the rebels. "At the same time Secretary Floyd, by virtue of that power which his office gave him, and in infamous violation of his oath, disarmed as far as possible the Free States, by emptying their arsenals, and sending their guns to the Slave States, where bands of rebels were already organized and drilling, prepared to receive them. One hundred and fifteen thousand arms, of the most approved pattern, were transferred from Springfield, Mass., and from Watervliet, N. Y., to arsenals throughout the Slave States. In addition to this, he sold to different Slave States, United States muskets, worth $12 each, for $2.50. A vast amount of cannon, mortar, balls, powder and shells, were also forwarded to the rebels. Having accomplished all this, Floyd sent in his resignation as Secretary of War, and, joining the rebels, received the appointment of general in their army. Thus General Scott, when the hour of trial came, and Washington was threatened with assault by a sudden rush from the slaveholding States, found it difficult to concentrate even a thousand troops for the defense of the Capital. Washington was saved from capture only by the almost miraculous interposition of God.

"Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, was Secretary of the Navy. Our fleet then consisted of ninety vessels, of all classes, carrying about 2,415 guns; and was manned by a complement of about 7,600 men, exclusive of officers and marines. It was a matter of the utmost moment, at this critical hour, that this fleet should be in our own waters to aid the Government. It was a matter of the utmost moment to the traitors, that this fleet should be dispersed, where it could do them no harm. It was accordingly dispersed. Five of these vessels were sent to the East Indies, three to Brazil, seven to the Pacific Ocean, three to the Mediterranean, seven to the coast of Africa, and so on, leaving, of our whole squadron, but two vessels, carrying twenty-seven guns and two hundred and eighty men, in Northern ports.*

"On the 21st of February, 1861, a select committee of five, ap

*Report of Secretary of the Navy, July 4, 1861.