and shall continue ready to receive any agent whom he or any other influential person now resisting the national authority may send to me with the view of securing peace to the people of our one common country.
Yours, &c.,
Hon. R. M. T. Hunter:
Sir: In compliance with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing is a copy, you are hereby requested to proceed to Washington city for conference with him upon the subject to which it relates.
With great respect, your obedient servant,
[The above draft of letter to Mr. Hunter was amended by the President, and the letter as amended and signed by him was as follows:]
In conformity with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing is a copy, you are requested to proceed to Washington city for informal conference with him upon the issues involved in the existing war, and for the purpose of securing peace to the two countries.
Your obedient servant,
