“Well, Mr. Vance, we will suppose the Mississippi opened; New Orleans, Mobile, Charleston, and Richmond captured,—the Rebellion on its last legs;—what then?” “With the capture of New Orleans and Vicksburg, and the opening of the Mississippi, you have Secessia on the hip, and her utter subjugation is merely a question of time. When she cries _peccavi_, and offers to give in, I would say to the people of the Rebel States: ‘_First_, Slavery, the cause of this war, must be surrendered, to be disposed of at the discretion of the victors. _Secondly_, you must so modify your constitutions that Slavery can never be re-established among you. _Thirdly_, every anti-republican feature in your State governments must be abandoned. _Fourthly_, every loyal man must be restored to the property and the rights you may have robbed him of. _Fifthly_, no man offensively implicated in the Rebellion must represent any State in Congress. _Sixthly_, no man must be taxed against his will for any debt incurred through rebellion against the United States. Under these easy and honorable terms, I would readmit the seceded States to the Union; and if these terms are refused, I would occupy and hold the States as conquered territory.” “And could we reconcile such a course with a due regard to law?” “Surely yes; for the people in rebellion are at once subjects and belligerents. They are public enemies, and as such are entitled only to such privileges as we may choose to concede. They are subjects, and as such must fulfil their obligations to the Republic.” “But you say nothing of confiscation, Mr. Vance.” “I would be as generous as possible in this respect, Mr. President. Loyal men who have been robbed by the secession fury must of course be reimbursed, and the families of those who have been hung for their loyalty must be provided for. I see no fairer way of doing this than by making the robbers give up their plunder, and by compelling the murderers to contribute to the wants of those they have orphaned. But beyond this I would be governed by circumstances as they might develop themselves. I would practice all the clemency and forbearance consistent with justice. Those landholders who should lend themselves fairly and earnestly to the work of substituting a system of paid labor for slavery should be entitled to the most generous consideration and encouragement, whatever their antecedents might have been. I would do nothing for vengeance and humiliation; everything for the benefit of the Southern people themselves and their posterity. Questions of indemnification should not stand in the way of a restored Union.” “Undoubtedly, Mr. Vance, the interests of the masses, North and South, are identical.”