enemy. Autumn had come but nothing had been accomplished.
The friends of the Union who favored a speedy and vigorous prosecution
of the war, besieged the President with letters, memorials, and
addresses to "_do something_." But intrenched behind his
"constitutional views" of how the war should be managed he heard all,
but would pot yield. On the 13th of September, 1862, a deputation of
gentlemen, representing the various Protestant denominations of
Chicago, called upon the President and urged him to adopt a vigorous
policy of emancipation as the only way to save the Union; but he
denied the request. He said:

"The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree. For
instance: the other day, four gentlemen of standing and
intelligence from New York called as a delegation on business
connected with the war; but before leaving two of them earnestly
besought me to proclaim general Emancipation; upon which the
other two at once attacked them. You know also that the last
session of Congress had a decided majority of anti-slavery men,
yet they could not unite on this policy. And the same is true of
the religious people. Why, the Rebel soldiers are praying with a
great deal more earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, and
expecting God to favor their side: for one of our soldiers, who
had been taken prisoner, told Senator Wilson a few days since
that he met nothing so discouraging as the evident sincerity of
those he was among in their prayers. But we will talk over the
merits of the case.

"What good would a proclamation of Emancipation from me do,
especially as we are now situated? I do not want to issue a
document that the whole world will see must necessarily be
inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet. Would my
word free the slaves, when I cannot even enforce the Constitution
in the Rebel States? Is there a single court, or magistrate, or
individual, that would be influenced by it there? And what reason
is there to think it would have any greater effect upon the
slaves than the late law of Congress, which I approved, and which
offers protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel masters who
come within our lines? Yet I cannot learn that that law has
caused a single slave to come over to us. And, suppose they could
be induced by a proclamation of freedom from me to throw