NATIONAL DEBT-CURRENCY DEPRECIATION. 663 feeding them mainly by requisitions, | The amount first provided for was they were able to prosecute the con- $150,000,000; but the aggregate istest after their credit was gone and sued was increased, under subsequent their currency worthless; whereas, acts, till it exceeded $433,000,000, behad the time ever arrived when side a very large amount in notes. 'greenbacks' would no longer buy ba- which bore interest and were payable con, at some not absolutely intolera- at a specified early day. ble price, that circumstance must have ended the War. The South was not so rich nor so populous that an invading army might there support itself, however amply provided with arms and munitions. The rapid growth of our National Debt is summarily exhibited in the following table : 1860-June 30-total.... 2,749,491,745 The general suspension of specie payment was instantly followed by a depreciation of the Currency—in other words, the bank notes which formed the usual, recognized circulating medium wherein payments were made, sank in value below the coin they represented-the disparity being indicated by the premium at which gold could be purchased with irredeemable $64,769,703 paper. Throughout Janu90,867,828 ary, 1862, this ranged from 1 to 5 514,211,871 per cent.; in February, its range of 1,097,274,360 1,740,036,689 fluctuation was within those extremes, 2,423,437,001 or from 2 to 4 per cent. In March, April, and May-though the 'Legal Tender' act had meantime been passed and the issue of treasury notes (or 'greenbacks') commenced-the range was from 1 to 3 per cent. ; but in June it mounted to 9; and in July (after McClellan's failure before Richmond) to 20 per cent. In August, it fell off-varying from 121 to 15; but in September it mounted to 241, and in October to 36 per cent. In November and December, it ranged between 29 and 334; but, in January, 1863-under the disheartening influence of Burnside's misfortunes at and near Fredericksburg-it went up to 60 per cent. Here are its highest and lowest rulings during the two following years of anxiety and doubt-of alternate hope and despair: To make treasury notes, or any form of Government promise, a legal tender, is an exercise of sovereign power which only a great public exigency will justify, and which a statesman will hesitate long before resorting to; but there are cases wherein no practical alternative exists; and ours was such a case. The banks of the loyal States were forced to suspend specie payments in December, 1861-followed, of course, by the Treasury, whose heavy demands had been the primary cause of suspension. The act of Congress that authorized" an issue of treasury notes, which should be a legal tender as money throughout the United States, was a natural consequence. "Virtual close of the War. But the paying off and mustering out of our vast armies, the settlement of outstanding bills, &c., required— as the next item indicates-nearly Four Hun- .154. 14. .260 December .1467 . .167 ...167 929 185 ..189 .2093 2431.. ..211 avowed anti-Davis and virtual reunion candidate for Governor, and that his triumph would be a staggering blow to the Confederacy, were urged as affording special reasons for treating the Niagara overture in such manner as to strengthen the Peace Party in that and in other revolted States. The "Plan of Adjustment" which he suggested that the President might advantageously offer, in case he should decide to make any offer, was as follows: By the pecuniary gauge thus afforded, it appears that the very darkest hours of our contest-those in which our loyal people most profoundly despaired of a successful issue-were those of July and August, 1864; fol. lowing Grant's repulse from Cold Harbor, the mine explosion before "2. Slavery is utterly and forever abolishPetersburg, and during Early's un-ed throughout the same. punished incursion into Maryland, and his cavalry's raids up to Chambersburg and McConnellsburg. Two abortive efforts to open a door to accommodation between the belligerents were made during this gloomy period. One of these originated with certain Confederates then in Canada, one of whom wrote " to the author of this work, averring that Messrs. Clement C. Clay, of Alabama, James P. Holcombe, of Virginia, and Geo. N. Sanders (the writer) would proceed to Washington in the interest of Peace, if full protection were accorded them. Being otherwise confidentially assured that the two former had full powers from Richmond, Mr. Greeley forwarded the application to President Lincoln, urging that it be responded to, and suggesting certain terms of reunion and peace which he judged might be advantageously proffered to the Rebels, whether they should be accepted or rejected. The facts that an important election was then pending in North Carolina, wherein William W. Holden was an 16 "1. The Union is restored and declared perpetual. offenses, with a restoration of all the inhabitants of each State to all the privileges "3. A complete amnesty for all political of citizens of the United States. "4. The Union to pay four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) in five per cent. United States stock to the late Slave States, loyal and secession alike, to be apportioned respectively, by the census of 1860, in compro rata, according to their slave population pensation for the losses of their loyal citizens by the abolition of Slavery. State to be entitled to its quota upon the ratification by its Legislature of this adjustment. The bonds to be at the absolute disposal of the Legislature aforesaid. Each "5. The said Slave States to be entitled henceforth to representation in the House on the basis of their total, instead of their Federal population: the whole being now free. 6. A National Convention to be assem bled so soon as may be, to ratify this adjust- tainable, though I believe it to be so. But I "P. S.-Even though it should be deem ed unadvisable to make an offer of terms to the Rebels, I insist that, in any possible case, it is desirable that any offer they may be disposed to make should be received, and either accepted or rejected. I beg you to July 5, 1864. PEACE OVERTURES AT NIAGARA AND RICHMOND. invite those now at Niagara to exhibit their credentials and submit their ultimatum. "H. G." "EXECUTIVE MANSION, "WASHINGTON, July 18, 1864. "To whom it may concern: 66 665 Government of the United States, and will be met by liberal terms on substantial and collateral points; and the bearer or bearers thereof shall have safe conduct both ways. "(Signed) ABRAHAM LINCOLN." Messrs. Clay and Holcombe made the most of this in a public manifesto, intended to 'fire the Southern heart,' and to disaffect those in the loyal States who were anxious for honorable peace at the earliest moment. And there was a very widespread impression that the overture of the Confederates had not been met in the manner best calculated to strengthen the National cause and The President hereupon saw fit— Any proposition which embraces the alike to the surprise and the regret of restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of Slahis correspondent-to depute him to very, and which comes by and with an auproceed to Niagara, and there com- thority that can control the armies now at war against the United States, will be remunicate with the persons in question.ceived and considered by the Executive He most reluctantly consented to go, but under a misapprehension which insured the failure of the effort in any event. Though he had repeatedly and explicitly written to the President that he knew nothing as to what the Confederates in Canada might or would propose as a basis of adjustment, and did not greatly care (since the more unreasonable their proposition, the better for the National cause), and had neither purpose nor desire to be made a confidant, much less an agent in the premises, it was expected on the President's part that he was virtually and substantially to nego-invigorate the arm of its supporters. tiate and settle the basis of a pacification with them; so that their visit to Washington was in effect to be the result, and not the possible occasion, of adjustment and peace. This expectation was indicated in a final note from the President, transmitted by his Private Secretary, Maj. Hay, with the message that sent him to Niagara; but its purport was misapprehended in view of his explicit, repeated refusals to do more in the premises than be the means of bringing the Confederate agents to Washington, provided they should prove to be responsibly accredited. The whole matter thus terminated in failure and disappointment, with some exasperation on the Rebel side, and very decided condemnation on the part of the Opposition, because of a final missive from the President, couched in these terms: In other words, it was felt that— since the overture originated with them-they should have been allowed to make their own proposition, and not required in effect to make one dictated to them from our side, however inherently reasonable. But, happily, another negotiation even more irregular and wholly clandestine-had simultaneously been in progress at Richmond, with a similar result. Rev. Col. James F. Jaques, 73d Illinois, with Mr. J. R. Gilmore, of New York, had, with President Lincoln's knowledge, but without his formal permission, paid a visit to the Confederate capital on a Peace errand; being allowed to pass through the lines of both armies for the purpose. Arrived in Richmond, they addressed a joint letter to Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of State, requesting an interview with 1 President Davis, which was accorded; and a long, familiar, earnest colloquy ensued, wherein the Confederate chief presented his ultimatum in these terms: "I desire peace as much as you do; I deplore bloodshed as much as you do; but I feel that not one drop of the blood shed in this War is on my hands-I can look up to my God and say this. I tried all in my power to avert this War. I saw it coming, and for twelve years I worked night and day to prevent it; but I could not. The North was mad and blind; it would not let us govern ourselves; and so the War came: and now it must go on till the last man of this generation falls in his tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight our battle, unless you acknowledge our right to self-government. We are not fighting for Slavery. We are fighting for INDEPENDENCE; and that or extermination we WILL have." Again, at parting, Mr. Davis bade them "Say to Mr. Lincoln, from me, that I shall at any time be pleased to receive proposals for peace on the basis of our independence. It will be useless to approach me with any other." Thus it was not only incontestably settled but proclaimed, through the volunteered agency of two citizens, that the War must go on until the Confederacy should be recognized as an independent power, or till it should be utterly, finally overthrown. The knowledge of this fact was worth 17 John B. Jones, formerly editor of the Southern Monitor, Philadelphia, who returned to his native South at the outbreak of the Rebellion, and obtained a clerkship in the Confederate War Department, in his 'Rebel War-Clerk's Diary,' thus records an incident of Mr. C. L. Vallandigham's brief sojourn in the Confederacy under the sentence of Gen. Burnside's courtmartial: "June 22d, 1863.-To-day, I saw the memorandum of Mr. Ould, of the conversation held with Mr. Vallandigham, for file in the archives. He says, if we can only hold out this year, that the Peace party of the North would sweep the Lincoln dynasty out of political existence. He seems to have thought that our cause was sinking, and feared we would submit; which would, of course, be ruinous to his party. But he advises strongly more than a victory to the National cause. For, though the Confederate chiefs had ever held but one language on this point—had at no time given any one reason to believe that they might be reconciled to the Union-it was habitually assumed by the Opposition in the loyal States that they were fighting not against the Union, but against Abolition; and that they might easily be placated and won to loyalty, were but the Democratic party restored to power." The Democratic National Conven tion had been originally called" to assemble at Chicago on the 4th of July; but its meeting was, in June, postponed to the 29th of August; on which day, it there assembled, and was fully organized, with Gov. Horatio Seymour, of New York, as President. The States not absolutely in the power of the Rebellion were fully and strongly represented; but, in addition to the delegates, there was a vast concourse of the master-spirits of the party, especially from the Western States, where hostility to the War was more pronounced and unqualified than at the East; while the 'Order of American Knights,' 'Sons of Liberty,' or by against any invasion of Pennsylvania; for that would unite all parties at the North, and so strengthen Lincoln's hands that he would be able to crush all opposition and trample upon the constitutional rights of the people. "Mr. Vallandigham said nothing to indicate than that the Union would be reconstructed unthat either he or the party had any other idea der Democratic rule. The President indorsed, with his own pen, on this document, that, in regard to invasion of the North, experience proved the contrary of what Mr. Vallandigham asserted. But Mr. Vallandigham is for restoring the Union, amicably, of course; and, if it can not be so done, then possibly he is in favor of recognizing our independence. He says any reconstruction which is not voluntary on our part would soon be followed by another separation, and a worse war than the present one.' 15 Jan. 12. THE SPIRIT OF THE CHICAGO CONVENTION. 667 whatever name the secret, oath-bound | FAILED!!!! Such a failure had never leagues of thorough-going sympathizers with Slavery and the Rebellion chose to be known to each other, were, by evident preconcert, on hand in extraordinary strength and in immeasurable virulence. Gov. H. Seymour-who seems to have nursed secret hopes of achieving a nomination for the Presidency-made an extreme anti-War address on assuming the chair; but his polished sentences seemed tame and moderate by comparison with the fiery utterances volunteered from hotel balconies, on street-corners, and wherever space could be found for the gathering of an impromptu audience; while the wildest, most intemperate utterances of virtual treason--those which would have caused Lee's army, had it been present, to forget its hunger and rags in an ecstasy of approval-were sure to evoke the loudest and longest plaudits. For example, the ex-Rev. C. Chauncey Burr, of New Jersey, thus set forth his sympathy with the insurgents: "We had no right to burn their wheatfields, steal their pianos, spoons, or jewelry. Mr. Lincoln had stolen a good many thousand negroes; but for every negro he had thus stolen he had stolen 10,000 spoons. It had been said that, if the South would lay life had never been seen since the destruction of Sennacherib by the breath of the Almighty. And still the monster usurper wanted more men for his slaughter-pens. been known. Such destruction of human * * Ever since the usurper, traitor, and tyrant, had occupied the Presidential chair, the knife, and the knife to the hilt!' Blood the Republican party had shouted War to had flowed in torrents; and yet the thirst-of the old monster was not quenched. IIis cry was for more blood." Such was the spirit of the harangues which were poured forth on every side throughout the sittings of Their substance that Convention. was tersely though coarsely summed up in the remark of Judge Miller, of Ohio, that "There is no real difference between a War Democrat and an Abolitionist. They are links of one sausage, made out of the same dog." None can say how many of the vast gathering who yelled assent to such utterances knew that they were surrounded by and mixed up with Rebel officers fresh from Canada, who had been sent here expressly to cooperate with certain domestic traitors, high in office in the secret organizations aforesaid, in the sudden mustering of a force, mainly of 'American Knights' (locally known as 'Illini'), which should first liberate the 8,000 Rebel captives then held in Camp down their arms, they would be received back into the Union. The South could not Douglas, near that city; thence rushhonorably lay down her arms, for she was ing with rapidly augmented numbers fighting for her honor. Two millions of men had been sent down to the slaughter- to the achievement of a similar sucpens of the South, and the ariny of Lincoln cess at the prison-camp near Indiacould not again be filled, neither by enlist-napolis-thus raising the siege of ments nor conscription. If he ever Richmond and Atlanta by 'a fire in the rear-but that such a conspiracy had for weeks existed; that many a prayer, it was that no one of the States of the Union should be conquered and subjugated." Rev. Henry Clay Dean, of Iowa, then in Chicago were heartily ensaid: "For over three years, Lincoln had been calling for men, and they had been given. But, with all the vast armies placed at his command, he had failed! failed!! FAILED!!! gaged in it; and that, but for the extraordinary astuteness, vigilance, and energy, of Col. B. J. Sweet, then in command over Camp Douglas-there |