Thanks for the information. I wasn't aware of it. Turns out he told Confederate congress leaders of his intention. [Link]
I suspect if the reply from abroad had been favorable, Davis would have pursued emancipation through Congress and the states. I don't know whether he would have gotten it.
For the benefit of others on this thread, the link above gives a favorable, perhaps overly favorable, description of Davis.
Oh come on, Mike Griffith? He repeats the old Jim Limber fairy take for Pete's sake.
In any case even if Mike's right, what is evident is that Davis sent Kenner abroad to make promises he had no way of filling. And if Mike's correct and Davis did tell the confederate congress he intended to end slavery then he was overstepping his constitutional authority. Not that something like that would have bothered him.