y held in Hampton Roads,
I have the honor to state that on the day of the date I gave Francis P.
Blair, Sr., a card, written on as follows, to wit:

December 28, 1864.

Allow the bearer, F. P. Blair, Sr., to pass our lines, go South, and
return.

A. LINCOLN.

That at the time I was informed that Mr. Blair sought the card as a means
of getting to Richmond, Va., but he was given no authority to speak or act
for the Government, nor was I informed of anything he would say or do on
his own account or otherwise. Afterwards Mr. Blair told me that he had
been to Richmond and had seen Mr. Jefferson Davis; and he (Mr. B.) at the
same time left with me a manuscript letter, as follows, to wit:

RICHMOND, VA., January 12, 1865. F. P. BLAIR, ESQ.

SIR: I have deemed it proper, and probably desirable to you, to give you
in this for in the substance of remarks made by me, to be repeated by you
to President Lincoln, etc., etc.

I have no disposition to find obstacles in forms, and am willing, now as
heretofore, to enter into negotiations for the restoration of peace, and
am ready to send a commission whenever I have reason to suppose it will be
received, or to receive a commission if the United States Government
shall choose to send one. That notwithstanding the rejection of our former
offers, I would, if you could promise that a commissioner, minister, or
other agent would be received, appoint one immediately, and renew the
effort to enter into conference with a view to secure peace to the two
countries.

Yours, etc., JEFFERSON DAVIS.

Afterwards, and with the view that it should be shown to Mr. Davis, I
wrote and delivered to Mr. Blair a letter, as follows, to wit:

WASHINGTON, January 18, 1865.

P. P. BLAIR, ESQ.

SIR:--Your having shown me Mr. Davis's letter to you of the twelfth
instant, you may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and
shall continue ready to receive any agent whom he or any other influential
person now resisting the national authority may informally send to me with
the view of securing peace to the people of our one common country.

Yours, etc.,

A. LINCOLN.

Afterwards Mr. Blair dictated for and authorized me to make an entry on
the back of my retained copy of the letter last above recited, which entry
is as follows:

January 28, 1865

To-day Mr. Blair tells me that on the twenty-first instant he delivered
to Mr. Davis the original of which the within is a copy, a