" It was most
grave and dignified in language, but in substance bluntly told
Mr. Lincoln that after a month's trial the Administration was
without a policy, domestic or foreign, and that this must be
remedied at once. It advised shifting the issue at home from
slavery to the question of Union or disunion; and counseled the
adoption of an attitude toward Europe which could not have failed
to rouse the anger of the principal foreign nations. It added
that the President or some member of his cabinet must make it his
constant duty to pursue and direct whatever policy should be
adopted, and hinted very plainly that although he, Mr. Seward,
did not seek such responsibility, he was willing to assume it.
The interest of this remarkable paper for us lies in the way Mr.
Lincoln treated it, and the measure that treatment gives us of
his generosity and self-control. An envious or a resentful man
could not have wished a better opportunity to put a rival under
his feet; but though Mr. Lincoln doubtless thought the incident
very strange, it did not for a moment disturb his serenity or his
kindly judgment. He answered in a few quiet sentences that showed
no trace of passion or even of excitement; and on the central
suggestion that some one person must direct the affairs of the
government, replied with dignity "if this must be done, I must do
it," adding that on affairs of importance he desired and supposed
he had a right to have the advice of all the members of his
cabinet.
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