"Would convene Congress and declare war against them.

"But whatever policy we adopt, there must be energetic
prosecution of it.

"For this purpose it must be somebody's business to pursue
and direct it incessantly.

"Either the President must do it himself, and be all the
while active in it, or

"Devolve it on some member of his Cabinet. Once adopted,
debates on it must end, and all agree and abide.

"It is not in my especial province;

"But I neither seek to evade nor assume responsibility[202]."

Lincoln's reply of the same day, April 1, was characteristically gentle,
yet no less positive and definite to any save one obsessed with his own
superior wisdom. Lincoln merely noted that Seward's "domestic policy"
was exactly his own, except that he did not intend to abandon Fort
Sumter. As to the warlike foreign policy Lincoln pointed out that this
would be a sharp reversal of that already being prepared in circulars
and instructions to Ministers abroad. This was, indeed, the case, for
the first instructions, soon despatched, were drawn on lines of
recalling to foreign powers their established and long-continued
friendly relations with the United States. Finally, Lincoln stated as
to the required "guiding hand," "I remark that if this must be done, I
must do it.... I wish, and suppose I am entitled to have, the advice of
all the Cabinet[203]."

This should have been clear indication of Lincoln's will to direct
affairs, and even to Seward would have been sufficient had he not,
momentarily, been so disturbed by the wreck of his pacific policy toward
the South, and as yet so ignorant of the strength of Lincoln's quiet
persistence. As it was, he yielded on the immediate issue, the relief of
Sumter (though attempting to divert reinforcements to another quarter)
but did not as yet wholly yield either his policy of conciliation and
delay, nor give up immediately his insane scheme of saving the Union by
plunging it into a foreign war. He was, in fact, still giving assurances
to the Confederate commissioners, through indirect channels, that he
could and would prevent the outbreak of civil war, and in this
confidence that his ideas would finally control Lincoln he remained up
to the second week in April. But on April 8 the first of the ships
despatched to the aid of Sumter left New York, and on that day Governor
Pickens of South Carolina was officially notified of th