to be no other patch of the earth's surface upon which he could be securely landed.

Less than two years later, still in the same spirit of thoughtful care for the welfare of the freed black men, he was ready to say, and said, to a personal friend whom he had appointed to an important civil post in one of the seceded States which was first to be reconstructed: "I am glad you are so strongly in favor of giving the colored men the ballot. Do all you can to have it done now. I urge you to push the matter. Once the

war is over, the ballot will soon be about all the protection they will have. We must fix it so they can protect themselves. They must have it now, and then it can't be taken away from them."

That was in September, 1864; but he could not have said as much in the winter of 1862-3, even if the belief and purpose had then existed in his mind and will. Emancipation itself, by the act of a "military despotism," was about as heavy a burden as the political fortunes of the Administration were just then able to carry.

It was staggering a little under its accumulated load, for this included the entire military and diplomatic situation; the battles in Virginia; the bad look of the recent fall elections; the necessity of increasing taxes; the reorganization of the national finances; and the imperative need for more men to be expended as soldiers.

On the first of January, 1863, according to his covenant in September, the President issued the final Proclamation of Emancipation, as follows:

“Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves in any State, or designated part of a State, the people

whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

'That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State or the people thereof shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States, by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.'

"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day first above mentioned, order and designate, as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

"Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemine, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Marci, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans),

Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkely, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

And, by virtue of the power and for the purposes aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and henceforward shall be, free; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

"And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to them that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

"And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States, to garrison forts, positions, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

"And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

"In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

"Done at the city of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixtythree, and of the independence of the United States the eightyseventh.

"By the President:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

"WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State."

The last door of possible compromise with Slavery was shut and bolted firmly. All men knew that the institution could not be maintained in a few detached States and parts of States. Legislation might or might not provide remedies for these, but the President had done his whole duty by them. Especially is this true in view of the consideration, which so largely affected the course of Congress, that the "loyal" population of the districts in question consisted mainly of those who had no slaves to lose. There were exceptions, many and honorable; but, as a general rule, wherever one found a slaveholder, in those days, he found a person whose heart, if not his open deeds, were with the Southern Confederacy.

CHAPTER XLVI.

DARK DAYS.

A Tax Payable in Men-The New Financial System-The States and the Nation-Reconstruction Begun-A Flood of Calumny-Freedom of Speech and of the Press-A Sarcastic Present to the Confederacy— Opposition Taking Form at the North.

THE results of the fall elections had been sufficiently unfavorable to warn so experienced and shrewd a political manager as Mr. Lincoln. It was manifestly needful that the North should be reorganized for war purposes as completely as any army at the end of an exhausting campaign. He had already prepared for the work, and a host of busy and eager hands were co-operating with him. The Union League was spreading fast and wide. It had already accomplished excellent results, and promised still better things in the future. The suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus had given a stern and ominous suggestion to the more noisy malcontents; but a measure was now preparing which was to fall with terrific force upon them and their supporters.

No other request made by Mr. Lincoln of Congress for any legislation at any time was ever met with so intense and bitter

partisan opposition as that which was overcome in the passage of the "Draft Act." By this law the entire "militia" of the country, up to that time in the several control of the States as such, was placed in the hands of the Federal Government, as a general fund of fighting humanity. It was to be enrolled under rigid provisions that swept in the whole population supposed to be capable of carrying arms. It was to be drawn upon, pro rata, at the will of the Executive, subject only to the