"You then believe, and again express the opinion, that the peculiar nature of the contest is such that its loss is almost inevitable, and lest any pretext for a charge of injustice against the Government be given to its enemies, you propose to extend to the people of those States standing by the Union, the choice of payment for their Slaves or the responsibility of loss, should it occur, without complaint against the Government.
"Placing the matter in this light, (a mere remuneration for losses rendered inevitable by the casualties of War), the objection of a Constitutional character may be rendered much less formidable in the minds of Northern Representatives whose constituents will have to share in the payment of the money; and, so far as the Border States are concerned, this objection should be most sparingly urged, for it being a matter entirely of their 'own free choice,' in case of a desire to accept, no serious argument will likely be urged against the receipt of the money, or a fund for Colonization.
"But, aside from the power derived from the operations of war, there may be found numerous precedents in the legislation of the past, such as grants of land and money to the several States for specified objects deemed worthy by the Federal Congress. And in addition to this may be cited a deliberate opinion of Mr. Webster upon this very subject, in one of the ablest arguments of his life.
"I allude to this question of power merely in vindication of the position assumed by me in my vote for the Resolution of March last.
"In your last communication to us, you beg of us 'to commend this subject to the consideration of our States and people.' While I entirely differ with you in the opinion expressed, that had the members from the Border States approved of your Resolution of March last 'the War would now be substantially ended,' and while I do not regard the suggestion 'as one of the most potent and swift means of ending' the War, I am yet free to say that I have the most unbounded confidence in your sincerity of purpose in calling our attention to the dangers surrounding us.
"I am satisfied that you appreciate the troubles of the Border States, and that your suggestions are intended for our good. I feel the force of your urgent appeal, and the logic of surrounding circumstances brings conviction even to an unwilling believer.
"Having said that, in my judgment, you attached too much importance to this measure as a means for suppressing the Rebellion, it is due to you that I shall explain.
"Whatever may be the status of the Border States in this respect, the War cannot be ended until the power of the Government is made manifest in the seceded States. They appealed to the sword; give them the sword. They asked for War; let them see its evils on their own soil.
"They have erected a Government, and they force obedience to its behests. This structure must be destroyed; this image, before which an unwilling People have been compelled to bow, must be broken. The authority of the Federal Government must be felt in the heart of the rebellious district. To do this, let armies be marched upon them at once, and let them feel what they have inflicted on us in the Border. Do not fear our States; we will stand by the Government in this work.
"I ought not to disguise from you or the people of my State, that personally I have fixed and unalterable opinions on the subject of your communication. Those opinions I shall communicate to the people in that spirit of frankness that should characterize the intercourse of the Representative with his constituents.