The war had scarcely begun before slaves escaped into the Union lines. 在奴隶逃奔到联邦阵线之前，很少有大的战役打响。

One day a Confederate officer came to Fortress Monroe and demanded his runaway slaves under the Fugitive Slave Act. 一天，缉私官员来到门罗要塞要求按照《逃亡奴隶法案》将那些逃跑的奴隶归还给他，

General Butler refused to give them up on the ground that they were "contraband of war." 巴特勒将军拒绝交出这些奴隶，理由是他们是"战争走私品"，

By that phrase he meant that their restoration would be illegal as their services would be useful to the enemy. 他使用这个短语的意思是说归还这些奴隶不合法，因为他们的劳动对敌方有用。

President Lincoln approved this decision of General Butler, and escaping slaves soon came to be called "Contrabands." 林肯总统赞成巴特勒将军的决定，于是人们很快都把逃亡的奴隶叫做"走私品"。

408. First Steps toward Emancipation, 1862. 408．走向解放奴隶的前期步骤（1862年）

Lincoln and the Republican party thought that Congress could not interfere with slavery in the states. 林肯和共和党认为国会将不会干涉各个州的奴隶制，

It might, however, buy slaves and set them free or help the states to do this. 然而，国会可以购买奴隶并把他们变成自由人，也可以帮助各个州来做这件事。

So Congress passed a law offering aid to any state which should abolish slavery within its borders. 因此，国会通过一项法律支持各个州在本周废除奴隶制，

Congress itself abolished slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation to the owners. 国会在哥伦比亚特区以补偿奴隶拥有者的方式废除奴隶制，

It abolished slavery in the territories without compensation. 而在其他地区对奴隶制的废除则没有补偿。

Lincoln had gladly helped to make these laws. 林肯高兴地帮助制定这些法律，

Moreover, by August, 1862, he had made up his mind that to free the slaves in the seceded states would help "to save the Union" and would therefore be right as a "war measure." 而且到了1862年8月，林肯坚信，解放那些在已经脱离联邦各州中的奴隶将有助于"拯救联邦"，并且，这个举措将因此而成为一项正确的"战争措施"，

For every negro taken away from forced labor would weaken the producing power of the South and so make the conquest of the South easier. 因为从压迫劳动下每解脱出一名黑人都会削弱南方联盟的生产力，都会使得征服南方联盟更为容易。