acted upon but avowed, and, "To the victors belong the spoils," and before the civil service reform was undertaken, or that better maxim had been announced in an inaugural, that, "He who serves his country. best, best serves his party." And trained and practiced in such a school up to his old age, perhaps it was too much to expect that he could ever change his principles and habits to meet any emergency however dangerous. And so this one of our Presidents retired from public life the object of charitable judgment and almost of pity from the country, rather than of high honor or grateful remembrance. CHAPTER VII. THE BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR. Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet and the Views Held by its Members and by Him-The Bombardment of Fort Sumter-The Purpose of South Carolina Accomplished. Mr. Lincoln appointed the following cabinet officers :- Montgomery Blair of Maryland, Postmaster General. It will be noticed that Mr. Lincoln selected Mr. Seward, his chief rival in the Republican convention which nominated him for the presidency, for the most important position in his cabinet, and the three next appointments were the three who received the next largest votes for the same position. This was not only magnanimous, but fitted to secure the confidence of the North in the new administration, though some of its members were distrusted on the slavery question, and it was feared that some of the others would compromise matters without settling that question properly. But it was an able and trustworthy cabinet, especially after Mr. Stanton went into it a little later. The exact position of the President and his cabinet was not at first understood. When Mr. Buchanan was asked what he thought of the inaugural address, he is said to have replied: "I cannot say what he means until I have read it. I cannot understand the secret meaning of the document, which has been simply read to me." * Senator Douglas replied to a similar inquiry: "Well, I hardly know what he means. Every point in the address is susceptible of a double construction." It is not strange, perhaps, that the secessionists hardly knew what to expect from the new administration, when the President stated its position and policy in such guarded terms and with such evident reluctance to resort to force. True, he claimed for the government the right of coercion, but he might never exercise it any more than Mr. Buchanan did, who, though he gave up the right of coercion with reference to the secession of a State, did make it a duty "to collect the public revenues and to protect the public property," and claimed the right "to use military force" for such a purpose, but he never exercised that right nor discharged that duty. Under the shelter of such impunity, South Carolina had already declared itself out of the Union, seized the Federal arsenal in Charleston and was collecting forces and constructing batteries with which to subdue Fort Sumter, one of the fortifications of the general government and held by a Federal force. And Mr. Lincoln, while he claimed such a right and admitted such a duty, might be afraid to undertake, or find himself unable to accomplish, such a difficult task any more than his predecessor. The truth was that no other administration had ever come into power beset by such obstacles and perplexities as this must encounter. Looking back upon that period, and understanding better than any one could at the time, what agencies were plotting the overthrow of the government, and what influences were at work at the North, as well as at the South, to allow * For the numerous and remarkable suggestions made by Mr. Seward in respect to that paper, and as to such as were rejected, or adopted, or modified, it is worth while to refer to them as given in full and compared by Nicolay & Hay iu their history of Mr. Lincoln. And not the least interesting of them is the close of that address, as suggested by the one and wrought out by the peculiar genius and glowing patriotism of the other.-The Century, Dec. 1887, p. 278. them to become successful, it does seem as if the prospect was about as dark and threatening as it could be. Let one ask himself now, what should have been done, or could have been done better than was done, and he will find himself unable to furnish any satisfactory answer. Seven of the fifteen slave States had already seceded and organized a government of their own. What if all the rest should join them, as Virginia was preparing to do? Would the North be united in sustaining a vigorous and coercive policy, even though it brought on war? What would the business interests of Pennsylvania say to it, or the democracy of Connecticut and of the country, whose long ascendency in the national government had depended on the united support of the South? And, amid the divisions of the North, what would that portion of the public press think of it which was willing to let these "erring sisters" go, sure that they would soon be glad encugh to come back? or the leaders of the old Abolition party, who were distinctively. peace men, and would not approve of war in any case? Then again, if the South were united and the North were not, could the rebellion be put down? and if it was, what kind of citizens would the Southerners make as conquered subjects? Such was the position of the new administration. And if ever men needed the rarest wisdom, the firmest principle, the kindest and most reasonable disposition, such as Mr. Lincoln possessed, and "that Divine assistance without which we cannot succeed, and with which success is certain," which he besought his neighbors to pray might be given him, as he left them to enter upon the presidency, that administration required it. For just then the nationone part of it insane in its passion for slavery and dream of building upon such a basis a permanent and prosperous empire, and the other part incredulous that it would ever be attempted and utterly unprepared to prevent it—was suddenly struck by that dark thunder squall of war which 80. proved to be the prelude to such a long and terrible storm. The crisis came in this way. Mr. Lincoln and his cabinet, while asserting the right of the government to use force to prevent sccession, and retain its forts and public property, were naturally reluctant to resort to this. So they delayed, used only careful and conciliatory language, were ready to make any adjustments that would not give up free territory to slavery, and do away with the spirit of the Constitution, and the provisions of solemn ordinances, which made slavery an allowed local institution, while freedom was to be the characteristic of our republic, and rule whereyer slavery had not been permitted. Then the struggle which had been going on over this subject ever since the government was fairly established, and especially over every accession of new territory, had finally been fairly settled by the election of Mr. Lincoln, and ought to have remained Still the new administration, and the party behind it, were well disposed towards any reasonable concessions that would conciliate the South and prevent war. Secretary Seward, abolitionist as he was, was ready, we believe, to let the Fugitive Slave Law, the most objectionable of all measures put upon the free States, stand, if the fugitives might only have a trial by jury. Secretary Chase, as pronounced an anti-slavery man as Mr. Seward, advised the free States to repeal their Personal Liberty Bills, which were most offensive to the slave States, and as to which there was doubt about their constitutionality. The President, for his part, was extremely anxious to have the government purchase and emancipate the slaves of Virginia to prevent her joining the Confederacy, and leading off the other border States in the same direction. But nothing could be done to avert the issue. South Carolina was provoking an attack. She had fired upon and driven off the "Star of the West," an unarmed steamer sent with supplies to one of the forts in Charleston harbor. General Bragg, in command of the |