" Mr. Greeley then went to Niagara, and
wrote from there to the alleged commissioners, Clement C. Clay and James
P. Holcombe, offering to conduct them to Washington, but neglecting to
mention the two conditions--restoration of the Union and abandonment of
slavery--laid down in Mr. Lincoln's note of the ninth and repeated by
him on the fifteenth. Even with this great advantage, Clay and Holcombe
felt themselves too devoid of credentials to accept Mr. Greeley's offer,
but replied that they could easily get credentials, or that other agents
could be accredited, if they could be sent to Richmond armed with "the
circumstances disclosed in this correspondence."
This, of course, meant that Mr. Lincoln should take the initiative in
suing the Richmond authorities for peace on terms proposed by them. The
essential impossibility of these terms was not, however, apparent to Mr.
Greeley, who sent them on to Washington, soliciting fresh instructions.
With unwearied patience, Mr. Lincoln drew up a final paper, "To Whom it
may Concern," formally restating his position, and despatched Major Hay
with it to Niagara. This ended the conference; the Confederates charging
the President through the newspapers with a "sudden and entire change of
views"; while Mr. Greeley, being attacked by his colleagues of the press
for his action, could defend himself only by implied censure of the
President, utterly overlooking the fact that his own original letter had
contained the identical propositions Mr.
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