Lincoln's conduct of affairs during the Civil War is a.
mine of practical wisdom and justice, and scarcely a week passes without recalling some opportune and illuminating instance of his sagadity. The latest of these " finds " is a. hitherto unpublished document in the U.S.A. archives, to which Mr. Frederic Harrison has had access, and which is printed in the Morning Post of January 28th. In 1SG4, Don Pedro II., Emperor of Brazil, addressed animperious summons to Lincoln" in the name of humanity and the neutrals of South America." The Confederate States, he declares, had assured him in the most friendly way that they were quite ready to discuss terms of peace :- " They seek merely to be let alone. . . . Wien the aggressive Federal can show the same paeille spirit, peace will be made. And it is incon- ceivable that the mighty State of which I am Emperor should play no part in that enterprise. My purpose is to add my-authority and my power to guarantee peace and justice throughout the vast American continent. To do so, I must have a voice in determining the conditions on which such peace shall be made permanent. No pease that does not include the Brazilian Empire can keep the future safe against a renewal of this uncalled-for war. . . . There must be a peace / . without victory. Do not keep bad blood. Shake hands and be frien13 all round. . . . Both of you want the same object.; and neither of you can get all you want. The foundation of peace is the equality of States, whether they be slave-holding or not,"
It only remains to be added that the Emperor of Brazil got no answer from Lincoln, who directed his Secretary of State to take no notice of the letter. Our Pacificiets, and especially those who declare that "Germany must not be humiliated," will doubtless find pleasure in the Emperor's letter.
Previous page
