Mr. Judd to Mr. Seward
Sir: Your despatches 44, 45, and 46, dated, respectively, December 1 and 13, 1862, and January 5, 1863, are received. Accompanying the last was your circular and the President’s proclamation of January 1, 1863, making freedom national.
The proclamation of freedom has reached the liberal heart of Germany, and I hear in various directions of preparations for congratulatory addresses.
I hail that proclamation with the deepest thankfulness, and with the feeling that the enormous expenditure of blood and treasure in this unholy rebellion has borne its fruit in the acknowledgment of man’s right “to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in his own way, subject only to the restraints which society for its own security demands and imposes upon all men alike, the powerful as well as the humble.
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I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.