Russell House, Detroit,
December 26,1 861.
To the Editor of the Detroit Free Press:
I am very sorry indeed to inform you that, in view of the unfortunate complications which have so suddenly arisen between England and the United States, caused by events about which it would be out of place for me here to express an opinion, I feel constrained from a sense of duty, not only as a British subject but as a member of the Canadian Parliament, to withdraw from the service of the United States and return to Canada, my native land, determined to share the fate of my countrymen, whatever their destiny may be.
You are aware that, when I proffered my services to the President, I did so in the spirit of a friendly neighbor not us a dissatisfied or discontented subject of her Britannic Majesty, and, although I could have devoted myself to the cause of the legitimate government of this nation, in their efforts to suppress the Southern rebellion, with a zeal and earnestness not inferior to that of any citizen of the Republic, under no circumstances could I be induced to occupy an attitude of hostility to my own country.
No one could contemplate the probability of a rupture between two countries having so many interests in common, with more profound regret than I do. Still, every honorable mind will appreciate the motives which prompt me to pursue the course I have adopted, and, if war must come, I trust it will be conducted in a spirit becoming the enlightenment of the age, and that we, who are still neighbors, and have so long been friends, may be found at all times anxious to mitigate its austerities.
Arthur Rankin.
Chicago Daily Tribune, Chicago, IL