On the latter committee was William H. Seward, and he too sent to Mr. Lincoln for a suggestion. In reply, the President-elect sent Mr. Seward, by Thurlow Weed, a memorandum which was supposed to have been lost until a few months ago when it was discovered by Mr. Frederick Bancroft in course of his researches for a life of Seward. Two points are covered in this memorandum. The first that the fugitive slave law should be enforced, the second that the Federal Union must be preserved. In a letter to the Hon. E. B. Washburne, written on December 13th, Lincoln again stated his views on slavery extension:

"Prevent, as far as possible, any of our friends from demoralizing themselves and our cause by entertaining propositions for compromise of any sort on 'slavery extension.' There is no possible compromise upon it but which puts us under again and leaves all our work to do over again. Whether it be a Missouri line or Eli Thayer's popular sovereignty, it is all the same. Let either be done, and immediately filibustering and extending slavery recommences. On that point hold firm, as with a chain of steel."

These counsels were given while secession was still in its infancy. The alarming developments which followed did not cause Lincoln to waver. On January 11, he wrote to the Hon. J. T. Hale a letter published by Nicolay and Hay, in which he said:

"What is our present condition? We have just carried an election on principles fairly stated to the people. Now we are told in advance the government shall be broken up unless we surrender to those we have beaten, before we take the

offices. In this they are either attempting to play upon us or they are in dead earnest. Either way, if we surrender, it is the end of us and of the government. They will repeat the experiment upon us ad libitum. A year will not pass till we shall have to take Cuba as a condition upon which they will stay in the Union. They now have the Constitution under which we have lived over seventy years, and acts of Congress of their own framing, with no prospect of their being changed; and they can never have a more shallow pretext for breaking up the government, or extorting a compromise, than now. There is, in my judgment, but one compromise which would really settle the slavery question, and that would be a prohibition against acquiring any more territory."

It was not the North and the Republicans alone that appealed to Mr. Lincoln; the Unionists of the South urged him for an explanation which they might present to the people as proof that there was nothing to fear from his election. Lincoln had no faith that any expression of his would be heeded; yet he did, confidentially, express himself frankly to many Southerners who came to him in Springfield, and there are two letters of his published by Nicolay and Hay which show how completely he grasped the essential difference between the North and the South, and with what justice and kindness he put the case to those who disagreed with him. The first of these letters was written to John A. Gilmer, a member of Congress from North Carolina, who desired earnestly to preserve the Union, but not unless the opinions of the South were considered. Mr. Gilmer had written to Mr. Lincoln, asking his position on certain questions. Mr. Lincoln replied:

From photograph by A. J. Whipple of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Lincoln and one of his sons stand inside the fence. The Lincoln residence in Springfield was purchased by Mr. Lincoln from the Rev. Charles Dresser in 1844. It was built by Mr. Dresser in 1839. Originally it was a story and a half in height; it was painted white, with green window blinds and white chimneys. Though now near the center, it stood at the time of its purchase by Lincoln, on the very outskirts of the place. For many years after Mr. Lincoln moved away in 1861, it was occupied by numerous and often indifferent tenants. It was vacant much of the time. In 1883 Captain O. H. Oldroyd, now of Washington, D. C., rented the house and threw open its doors to the public. He maintained it at his own expense until 1887, when the State of Illinois, by the gift of Robert Lincoln, became owner of the place, and appointed Captain Oldroyd its first custodian. It has since been open to the public.

"Carefully read pages 18, 19, 74, 75, 88, 89, and 267 of the volume of joint debates between Senator Douglas and myself, with the Republican platform adopted at Chicago, and all your questions will be substantially answered. I have no thought of recommending the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, nor the slave-trade among the slave states, even on the conditions indicated; and if I were to make such recommendation, it is quite clear Congress Iwould not follow it.

"As to employing slaves in arsenals and dock-yards, it is a thing I never thought of in my life, to my recollection, till I saw your letter; and I may say of it precisely as I have said of the two points above.

"As to the use of patronage in the slave states, where there are few or no Republicans, I do not expect to inquire for the politics of the appointee, or whether he does or not own slaves. I intend, in that matter, to accommodate the people in the several localities, if they themselves will allow me to accommodate them. In one word, I never have been, am not now, and probably never shall be in a mood of harassing the people either North or South.

"On the territorial question I am inflexible, as you see my position in the book. On that there is a difference between you and us; and it is the only substantial difference. You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. For this neither has any just occasion to be angry with the other.

"As to the state laws mentioned in your sixth question, I really know very little of them. I never have read one. If any of them are in conflict with the fugitive-slave clause, or any other part of the Constitution, I certainly shall be glad of their repeal; but I could hardly be justified, as a citizen of Illinois, or as President of the United States, to recommend the repeal of a statute of Vermont or South Carolina."

A week later, Mr. Lincoln wrote to A. H. Stephens, of Georgia, in reply to a note in which Stephens had