In
the State of New York the partial political reaction of 1862 had caused
the election of Horatio Seymour, a Democrat, as governor. A man of high
character and great ability, he, nevertheless, permitted his partizan
feeling to warp and color his executive functions to a dangerous
extent. The spirit of his antagonism is shown in a phrase of his
fourth-of-July oration:
"The Democratic organization look upon this administration as hostile to
their rights and liberties; they look upon their opponents as men who
would do them wrong in regard to their most sacred franchises."
Believing--perhaps honestly--the conscription law to be
unconstitutional, he endeavored, by protest, argument and administrative
non-compliance, to impede its execution on the plea of first demanding a
Supreme Court decision as to its legality. To this President Lincoln
replied:
"I cannot consent to suspend the draft in New York, as you request,
because, among other reasons, time is too important.... I do not object
to abide a decision of the United States Supreme Court, or of the judges
thereof, on the constitutionality of the draft law. In fact, I should be
willing to facilitate the obtaining of it; but I cannot consent to lose
the time while it is being obtained. We are contending with an enemy
who, as I understand, drives every able-bodied man he can reach into his
ranks, very much as a butcher drives bullocks into a slaughter-pen.
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