1. If looking at the entire passage from which the quote comes, Lincoln is not referencing the Confederate States, he uses the term "District" (capitalized), suggesting a military district- or those areas already under Union mililtary command- and he mentions "Border States" or Lincoln's slave States. He also mentions "a vote of the people"; how could he get the people of a nation he was at war with to vote? No, he was not talking about the Confederate South, he was talking about the Union controlled South and their slaves.
2. This letter does not appear within the Library of Congress Lincoln online archives, but is credited to be held by the Pierpont Morgan Library, NY, NY.
3. The lateness of the publication of this letter suggest it is a private letter and not a statement found in public documents of the period.
The sentence after the snippet "we should urge it persuasively, and not menacingly, upon the South" goes as follows...
"I am little uneasy about the abolishment of slavery in this District, not but I would be glad to see it abolished, but as to the time and manner of doing it. If some one or more of the border-states would move fast, I should greatly perfer it; but if this can not be in a reasonable time, I would like the bill to have the three main features- gradual-compensation- and vote of the people- I do not talk to members of congress on the subject, except when they ask me. I am not prepared to make any suggestion about confiscation."
It is interesting because none of the things he suggest he wants to happen, happen. The EP did not free the slaves in Lincoln's slave States or in his Military Districts- all under his control.
It also puts a question in my mind- why didn't Greeley publish this in his papers?
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David Upton