•B. F. McNEIL, Editor and Proprietor. Che -f.ftlf.tml fafjiiim IS px BLIvSH£D trery Friday Morning en Juliana Street, OPPOWfI; THE ItFAGKL HOrSE, BEDFORD, BEDFORD COUNTY, PA. TERMS: t2.00 a pVftrMf paid strictly in advance, R. 25 if not p&ld within three months, $2.50 if not paid ij the year Rates of Advertising. 8. Jqsiare, throe weeks or less : $1 r. One Soy?re, each additional insertion less than three months : ;3< 3 Month*. <5 Months, 1 Year Due Square..:..;.. * $3 60 $4 IS $8 01 Two squares.. 5 00 7 00 10 Ot Three squares 8 00 9 00 15'01 h Column 12 00 20 00 35 0. One Column -29 00 35 00 65'01 Administrators' and Executors' notices 92.50, Auditor, notices 81.50, if under 10 lines, Estrays $1.25, if bat on. head is advertised, 25 cents on every additional head. One square is the SPACE occupied by iefe lines of mill ien. Fractions of a square under five lines count as i half square! and aill over fire lines afull squafe. Adver tassmeots charged to persons handing them in. PROFESSION AI, AND BUSINESS CARDS. r. H. A KERN. ATTor.yar ar LAV, aanroas, FA. 'Nil! attend promptly to all buhies entrusted to hi ar. Military elainis speedily collected. Office on Jul. aaa Stt eM two doors north of the Inquirer Office. April 1. J 664—tf. ESPY*. AMIP, j|_rix>BsT AT LAW, Bedford. PA., Will faitbfnl, ▼ promptly attend to all businefs en trailed to bis cat a."ft Bclford and adjoining counties. Military claim*,- l*cu?ions, back pay. Bounty, Ac. spee ffil; collected. Office with Mann A vpsnj, on Juliana street, 2 ddor aentb ofthe Menge! Ij'oi***- April 1, 1 SAL—tf. _ —— - .tBOIIItOW, AVTORSBI* AT LAV-*.- BSftrORD, FA. •Be* one door south of the "Wengel House,' Will attend promptly-to all h usincss intrusted to his car. Csllectionj mudeoti the aborts It notice. Having, also, boon regular!v licensed to prosecut. ttaims against the Government, particular attention wi, be given to the callertk.n of Military claims of al Iliads: Pensi.ms. Back Pay, Bunil t>' Bounty Loans, Ac. Bedford, apr. 9,1104—tf, ALI I. Kl3(i, ATTORKKy I.T I-AW. Amfi agent ft>r pwuring arrears of Fay and Bourn saeaer. Office on Juliaua Straw, Bedford, Pa. April 1. 1464 tt. ' KlMV£ £ ]l a . E*FEI.TER, ATTORSBV* AT LAW. BBDFOR! > , FA. Mars furmod partnership :u the practice of tbe Law. •fier oa Juliana Street, ,ao doors South of the Mengel Xiih. April 1,1564 —tf. JOJIV niiJOR, JOSTTCB OF TBB FB ACS, SOVSWgtt, BS WORO C6CSTT. Eeiieotiocs and all business pertaining to his oHce will V attended U> promptly. Wi4 also attend to the sa:e oi mating of real estat*. Instruments of writing carefully Hrenerod. Alse settling np partnerships and ether ae- April 1, IJ64—tf. KUWEK, ATTORNEY: AT LAW. Brorsr f., PA., Apsfi 1, IMA—tf v ■ ■ I I - ~ " JOSFI'H V. TATE, ATTCnsnr AT LAW, Bedford P*. •*iT""ILL prompt.lv attend to collections and all boeinc" W en; rusted to his care in Bedford and adjoining enc: dies. Money advanced on ju-lgmer. J. Notes and obei tflAios. lias for sale Town Lots, in dates*.He, an 1 bt on Bedford Railroad. Farms and uaita wvsTad'land in quantities to suit purchasers. OiJee opposite the Banking House of Reed A Schell. HTBf. IS, 1864 10 D* - , JOHNI.ITZ, ATTOBSBT AT LAW, JLSt> Regularly licensed agent for the collection c-f Govrrn- VWI claim's, bounties. < aek pay. pcut: i ... *..1 give prompt attention to ail business entrusted to bis care. Office with J. R. Durborrow, Esq., on Juliana Street, Bedford Pa. August 19th, IS64.—tf. Bedford, Pa., BANT OF DISCOUNT AND DSPQSIT. €OLLISOTIONS made for the East. West. North at i South, and thegeneral business of Kichange, ;ran aeted. Notes and Accounts Collected, and Remixtaucc* jprompily made. REAL ESTATE bought and sold. . *r. 15, IS4—tf. DANIEL BORDER. fmr STREET, TWO DOORS WEST OF THE BEDFORD HOTFL. Bedford, Pa. Viatel! mater <* Denier in Jewelry. SpectacW Oc4 HE KEEPS ON HAND A STOCK OF FTNT GOLD AND SILVER WATCHES. SPECTACLES o>- Brilliant Double Refined Glasses, also Scotch Pebble #. lassos. Gold M atch Chain*, Brea.-t Pins. Finger Hutgs, "best quality of Gold Pens. Hs will supply t# order any thing in his lme net on band. apr. 6, 2664 —rr. I'UYSICIANSi |T DEN tist R Y7 It V. BOWSER, Resident Dentist of Wood bir*. WILL sr.end the second Monday, Tuesday, and Wbd nesdiy. of each month at Hopewell, the remaining day* at Bloodj Ban, attending to the duties of hi* ffcfa*iion. At all other times he can he found in b*9 of ea at Woodh-urr, e*eeptifijt the last Monday and Tues day of the same month, which he will impend iB MArtins- Biair eounty, Pcana. Persons desiring operations should oall early, as time i* limited. All operatiotfs war raated. Anf.fi,lß64, tf. s- a C. N. HICKOK DEXTIhT. •FFICE IS BANK Bl ILDIKC, BEDFORD. PA. April 1,1*84. —tf. DR. B. Fv HARRY. ivjiafftilij .eadsr* his profrsional services to the ititan* of Bedford end Office and residence on Pitt Street, in the building foriuTlj occupied by Dr. J. II- Rod as. AprUl, 1564 tf. TTLTMARBOURG, m. D. Naviag permanently located respectfully tenders his Viprefesfionai services to the citizens of Bedford and vi einitT. Office on Juliana Street, opposite the Back) one 4tor north of Hall A Palmer s office. April 1, 1864--tf HO'fELS. _ BXCH A?f T &E HOTEL, HUNTIXCtDON. PA. JOHN S. Si*QULEK, Proprietor. .* April th, 1864.-ft. UNION HOTL'-L. YAJLENTINE STKCKMAN. PaopßirrCß. Wfevt JPitt Strevt, Bedford, P (Formerly <A Glob* H >te(.) TSE pnMie are assured that he has m* de ample ar raagsaentv to aooojirao date all that may* f*v° r hiiu with thoir pstronage. _ A ipisadii Livßry Stable attached. i*p r ' °* A lOOAL AND GENERAL NEWSPAPER, DEVOTED TO PO EI TICS, EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND MORALS. s- elect 'l'ocfrii, THESONG OP THE FARMER. And prr be ready love, at eight o'clock. Yon r ay tell of yonr beautiful cities, Of buildings all gaudy and new." Of pleas urea, of joy? without number, Ah, jtt, una It all may ?eem true ; But giie me a Kfc in the greenwood. Kept free from the city's harsh strife, For sooner than go from the eountry, I'd rather scratch dirt all ray life. I'd rather awake in the morning, And hear the birds' acheing song, Than list to the din of the cartwheels That rattle your gay streets along. I'd much rwther stroll through the greenwood Than crush through our crowded Broadway. Oh ! girc me a lite in the country I If I have th scratch dirt day. You may WP.UI with year belles and your beauties, Or brass-buttoned swells at your balls: ' m You uiay pass every night at the ooneert, Or with soma dear friend, '"making your calls" You may lite to the tp of the fashion (And fashion is only a lie !•) Ah 1 sooner than ihe in your fevers, Fd father scratch dirt til! I die. You may stay up all night . t gay paAies, >'oc leave them'fill daylight shall dawn, And creep up to bad i the morning, When I'm in Ike lot hoeing cam; And when you awake about noontime; When the" *a shines to bright in the sky, You will find, at tits eo:t ot a headache, That your 'pleasure is only a lie. JIES. HOOPER'S I'OEUS.—F. Levpoldt, of Philadelphia, has published. In a small voluthe of some hundred pages, '•Pdcme, with Translation! from the German of Geibel and Others," by Lucy Ilamiitoe Hooper. We subjoin a few of the poems as specimens ol the writer's power ; Ml* SONGS. Goldnt Br'ktn ttien Alle Li fit i- mt'r. y Bridges, golden bridges Are these songs of mine. O'er them J.ovc (loth travel From my heart to thine And the'wines of dreaming Shall, in joy and smart. Every night stilt bear me To thy faithful heart. ON AN OLD PORTRAIT. Eyes that outsmiled the morn. Behind your goiden lashes, What are your fires now ? Ashes! Cheeks that out hludied the rose White arms and snowy bust, What is your beauty now ? Oust! THE DUEL. You need not turn so pale, iove; I'm unhurt, We quarrelled at the opera ias* night About some trifle. Nay I scarce knou what. We men will quarrel for the merest s lght. We settled time, place, weapon ou the spot! Boi be Lougiogne, this morning, pisiola—well, I fear that you arc cold, you shudder so ; At the first shot my adversary L glut through the heart, stone-dead—nay, now don't faiiit J 1 hate a fainting woman. Here's your fan : A little water ? £o you're better now. Pray Near my :firy out. love, if you can. I think he uttered |om"thing as he fell : A women's name—l scarcely caarbt the sound : It passed so qnicklv that I am not sure. For be was dead before he reached the ground. f Ah poor de Bon r oy Handsome was ha not? A favorite with the ladies, 1 beiieve. Thev')! miss him vadiy. More man ono fair dame J Will o'er his sud,bsn fate in secret grieve. How well ha looked this morning, as he sfoad Waiting my fire wit h "tea a careie<r grace. The breezes playing w'th his raven curia. The Eunshine lighting up his gay. bright face Suppose my band had trembled ! It it hat, I would have fallen instead of him. You're white At tho bare thought. Nay. here ! am, quite well,. And ready for the opera to-aiglit, Rooeaai p!v. and I would like to see "Marie de Rohan"' once or tw.tc aga o. His acting as l>t Cherretur is ;>MiiitC: How he portrays the jealous husband's pain ! All husbands have not such a wife as you: Fair as the sun, and chaste as At inter ■ moon ! How very pale you still are, dearest wife ! There is no danger of another swoon ? How wrong was I to till you I had fought: I think you've scarce recovered from the shook. One kiss upon your brow and then I'll go ; j THE INT F K VIFW AY ITU JEFF. DAVIS. Col. Jaqiies and "Edmund Kirke" in Rich mond. The following narrative makes a pfirt of an arti- , cle in the September number or The Atlantic Monthly, and of a closing chapter of a new vol- ! ume entitled ''Down in Tennessee by Edmund Kirke, about to be published by Sheldon : IN RICHMOND. The next morn'nit after breakfast, whicli we took in our room with Mr. -Javins, wo indited a j note—of which the following is a copy—to the Confederate Secretary of State ; SrorrswooD Hoes*, RICHMOND. V A., \ July 17, 1864. j "HON. J. P. BENJAMIN. Secretary of State. "Dear Sir :—The undersigned respectfully so licit an interview with President Davis. They visit Richmond only as private citiiens, and have no official character or authority ; but ; they are acquainted with the views of the United i States Government, and with the sentiment of the , Northern people, relative to an adjustment of the differences existing between the North and South, | and earnestly hope that a free interchange of views i between President Davis and themselves may open the way to sueh official negotiations as will result in restoring PEACE to the two sections of our distracted country. "They therefore ask an interview with the Pres ident and, awaiting your reply, are ~ "Truly and respectfully yours. | This wrts signed by both of us: and when the I Judge called as he had appointed, we sent it—to- ; get her with a commendatory letter 1 had received j on setting out from a near relative of Mr. Davis j —to the Rebel Secretary. In half an hour Judge j Ould returned, saying: "Mr. Benjamin sends you his compliments, j and will be happy to see you at the State Depart ment.'' We found the Secretary—a short, plump, oily little man in black, with a keen black eye, a Jew face, a yellow skin; curly black hair, closely trim med black whiskers, and a jrondarous gold watch chain—in the northwest room of the "United States" Custom House: Over the door of the room were the words: "State Department." and about its walls were hung a few maps and battle plans. In one corner was a tier of shelves tilled with books —among which I noticed Ileadley a "History." Uossing's "Pictorial, ' Parlous "Butler/' Greeley's Amenean Conflict, a com plete seat of the "Rebellion Record," and a dor en numbers and several bound volumes of the ' "Atlantic Monthly,"—and in the center of the apartment was a Mack-walnut table, covered with greets cloth, and tilled with a multitude of "fitate Papers." At this table sat the Secretary He rose m we entered, and, as Judge Ottid introdn- I eed us. took our hands and said r "I am glad very glad, to meet you gentlemen. I have read your note, and"—bowing to uie — "the letter you bring from . Your errani commands my respect and sympathy. Pray be seated. I As we took the proffered seats, the Colonel j drawing off his "duster," and displaying his uni- i fbrtn. said ' j "We thank yon for this cordial reception, Mr. j Benjamin. We trust you will be as glad to bear I t V m:i>lY>Kl>- Pa., FRIDAY, JSKPTKNIHKK 9, 1864. us as you are to see us." "No doubt I shall be, for you come to talk of peace. Peace is what we al! want." * "It is, indeed : and for (ha. reason we have come to see Mr. Paris. Can V.*e see 'htpi, Sif: "Do you bring any overtures to hiiri 'iron; y6ur Government ?" "No, Sir. We bring no overtures and hkr-. no authority from our'Go,ernmeftt. We stati; that ifi our note. We would be glad, however, to know what terms will be acceptable. to Mr. Davis. If they at all hannonLe with Mr. Lfucoln's views, we iwill report them to idaa, and so open the door for official negotiations; " "Are you kequcisrted with Mr. Lincoln's views ?" ~'*one of us is, fully." '"Did Mr. Lincoln, m any %cay, authorize you to come here ?" "No, Sir. We came with his pass, but not by his request. We say distinctly, we have no official, or unofficial authority. We come as men and christians, not as diplomatics, hoping, in a frank talk with Mr. Davis, to discover some way by which this war may he stopped." "Well, gentlemen, I will repeat what you say to the President, and if he follows mj' advise, — and I think he will.—he will meet yon. He will be at church this afternoon ; so, suppose you call at nine this evening. If any thing shonid occur in the mean time to prevent his seeing you : I will j let vou know tbromrn Judge Onld " Throughout this interview the manner of the Secretary was cordial ; but with this cordiality ; was k strange constrarnt an ! diffidence, almost amounting to timidity, which struck'both mvCom pstrion and myself. Contrasting hi manner with the quiet dignity of the Colonel. I almost fancied our positions reversed, —that, instead of our fie j ing m his power. the Secretary was in ours, and momently expected to hear some unwelcome sen tence from our lips. There is something, after all. in moral power. Mr. Benjamin does not pos sess it. nor i he a great man. He has a keen, shrewd, ready intellect, but not the rtamina to ! originate, or even to execute any great good or } great wickedness. After a day spent in our room, conversing with the Judge, or watching the pa-sers-bv in the street. —I would like to tell who they were, and how they looked ; hut such information is. just now. contraband.—we called again at nine o'clock, at the State Department, j Mr. Benjamin occupied hi- previous seat at the j table, and at his right sat a spare thin-featured j man, with iron-gray hair and beagd and a clear, j gray eye full of life and vigor. He bad a broad, j mAssivi forehead, aud a mouth and < hin denoting j great energy and strength of will His face was emaciated, ami hiuch wrinkled, but his features ! were good, especially his eyes,—though one of j them bore a scar, apparently made by sooie sharp j instrument. He wore a suit of grayish-brown, i evidently of foreign manufacture, and, as he rose, I saw that he was aDjut five feet ten inches high, i with a slight stoop in the shoulders. His manners were simple, easy, and most facinating; and there ' was an indescribable charm in his voice, as he ex j tended his baud aud said to n*; "I am glad to -ee you. gentlemen. You are ! very welcome to Richmond, ' ] And this was the man who was President of i the United States, udder Franklin Pierce, and I who is now the heart, soul, and braius of the j Southern Confederacy! | Hi- manner put me entirely at my ease;—the ; Colonel would be at his if he stood before Caesar, I —and I replied ; "We thank you Mr. Davis. It is not often that i you meet men of our clothes and our principles j in Richmond." "Not often, —not So often as I could wi-h: and ; T trust your coming may lead to a more frequent and a more friendly intercourse between the North i and the South." "We sincerely hope it may." "Mr. Benjamin tells me that you have asked to see me to — ' 1 And he paused, as if desiring we should finish the sentence. The Colonel replied : V'es, sir We have asked this interview, in the hope that you may suggest some way by which this war may be stopped. Our jeople want peace —your people do, and your Congress has recently said that y<>u do. We have come to ask how it can be brought about." "In a very simple way. Withdraw your armies from our territory, and peace wiil come of itself. We do no*seek to subjugate you. We are not waging ah offensive war, except so far as it is of fen-ive-defensive. —that is, so far a- we are forced to invade you to prevent your invading us. Let u.-* alone, and peace will come at once. "But we cannot let you aiohe so long as yoji re pudiate the Union. That is the one thing the Northern people will not surrender." "I know. \ou would deny to us what you exact for yourselves—the right of self-government." "No. sir," I remarked. We would deny you no natural right. But we think Union essential to peace : and, Mr. Davis, could two people, with the same ianguage. separated by onlv an imagina ry line, live at peace with each other? Would not disputes constantly ari-e. and caus? almost constant war between them?" "Undoubted!.. —with thi generation You have sown suett bitterness at the Sonth : you have put such an ocean of bio i between the two sec tions, that 1 d-pair of -eeing any harmony in mv time. Our children may forget thi- war, but we cannot." "I think the bitterness you sj>eak of, sir." -aid the Colonel, "doe 9 not realty ex f-t. HV meet and fraternize with each other; and I feel sure that if the Union were restored, a more friendly _ feel ing would arise between us than hs . ; ver existed. The war has made us know and respect each other better than before. This is the view of very many Southern men ; I have had it from many of theni, —your leading citizens. "They are mistaken, replied Mr. Davis.— "They do not understand Southern sentiment.- How tan we feel anything but bitterness towards men who deny us our rights ? If you enter my house and drive me out of it, am I not your natur al enemy?" "Vou put the case too strongly. But we can not fight fdrever; the war must end at some time; we must finally agree Upon something; can we not agree now. at id .-top this frightful carnage ? Me are both Christian men, Mr. Davis. Can you, as a Christian man, leave untried any means that may lead to peace ?'' "No, I cannot, I desire peace as much as vou do. 1 deplore bloodshed as much as you do ; but I feel that not one drop of the hlood shed in this war is on my hands. —I cart look up to God and say this. I tried all in luy power to avert this war. 1 saw it coming, and for twelve years I worked night and day to prevent it, hut I could not. The North was mad and blind: it would not let us govern ourselves, arid so the war ouue and now it must go on till the last man of this genera tion falls in his tracks, and his children sei2e his musket aud fight our battle, unit** you ticknowl edge our right to srlf-gtteernmcit. We are not fightirtg for slavery. We are fighting for InJe- Kuden x, aud that, or extermination, we will ve.'' "Ami there are. at least, four and a half mil lions of us left; so you see you have a work be fore you," said Mr. Benjamin, with a decided sneer. 'We have no wish to exterminate you. an swered the Colonel. "I believe what I have said —that there is no bitterness between the Northern and Southern people. The Ncfcth, I. knov, the South. When peace comes, it will pour out money and means into your hands to repair the waste caused by the war ; and it would now wel come you back, and forgive you all the loss and bloodshed you have caused. But we mwsf crush your armies and exterminate vour government.— And is not that already neaily done ? Vou are wholly without money, and at the end of yourre bourcee. Grant has shut you up iu Richmond.— Sherman is before Atlantk. Haul you not, thett. bettor ticccpt honorable terms while you tan retain your prestige; and save the pride of the Southern people? Mr Davis smiled. I respeet your earnestness, (lolohel, but you do not seem to understate the situation. If your papers toil the truth, it is your capital that is in danger, not oars. Some becks a go, (y rant c oss ed the Aapulan to whip liee, and take Richmond. Lee drove hilt in the first battle; and then Oram executed what your puopie cail a. 'brilliant ficnk movement.' tr.d fought f.Ai again. Lee drove him a second tkae. and then Grunt made uuother 'flank movement; aud so nicy kept ou—Lee rhip uiuy and Grant nuukin tnti] Grant got when he is how. And what is the net result? Grant has lost seventy-five or eighty thousand uie.i, or. than Let hod at the outset, ami is no uearer'tairirig Richmond than at the first; and Lee, whose from has nerer been broken, holds him completely in check, auc lias men enough loft to invs lc-. Mary land and threaten Washington! Shermkh, to la sere. is befoft Atlanta : but suppose he is, and suppose he tikes it? Yo& know the farther he goes froui the We of his supplies, the weaker lie prows, and the more disastrous defeat will be to him. And defeat may cone. So. in a military vieW. I should itertaiuly say our position Was bet ter than yon re.- "A* to mem-v; we are richer than you are.— You smile- boh admit that our pajier money is worth nothing—it answers as a circulating medi um, and we hold it all ourselves. If every dollar of it were lost, we should, as we have uo foreign debt, be none the poorer. But, it worth some thing ; it has the solid Wis of a large cotton crop while yburs rests on nothing, and you owe all th> world. As to resources ; we do not lack for arm or ammunition, and we have still a wide territory from which to gather supplies. So, you see. wa are not in extremities. But. if we were, —if we were without money, without food, without weap ons, —if our whole country were desolated, and our armies crushed and disbanded,—could we with out giving up our manhood, give up our right to govern ourselves? Would you not rather die,an 1 led your.seif a man. than Hve, aud be subject to a foreign power? ' ''From your -tand-point there is force in wlu.t von say," replied the Octbuel. "Bur, we did not come here to argue with yon, Mr. Davis. We -am*-, hoping to find some honorable wiy to peace, but I am grieved to hear you say what you do. — When I have seen your young men dying on the battle-field, and your old men women and child run star vine in their homes 1 have felt I cooM risk my life to save them. For that reason lam here; and I am grieved,—grieved,—that there is no hope.' "I know you# motive* Colonel Jacques, and I honor you for them ; btffwim: can ! do m-.re than 1 am doihg r I would give mv poor Kfe gladly if i t would bring peace and good will to the two coun tries ; but it would not. It is with your own peo ple yon should labor. It is they who desolate our nomes. burn our wheat-fields, break the wheels of wagons earning away our women and children, tnd destroy siinfdiesinc'im for our sick and wound ed. _ At your door lies all the misery and the crime if this war. and it is a fearful, —fearful account. " "Now all of it. Mr. Davis. I admit a fearful ITO tint bu; it is not Mat our door. The pas dons of both sides are aroused. Unharmed men re hanged. ere : hot down in cold blood, by yourselves. Elements of barbarism are enter ng the war from both sides, that should make us —you and me, as Christian men—shudder to hink of. In God's ?ame, then, let us stop it— 1/ t Us do --mcthing r-oacedc something, to bring ibont peace. You aftaot expect with only four nd a half millions Benjamin says you have, to hold but forever against twenty mil lions." Again Mr. Davis smiled. "Do you suppose there is twenty millions at the North determined to crush us ? "I do.—to crash your Government. A small number of our people, a very small number, are oar friends, —set -ionist-. The rest differ üboat m asures and candidates, hut are united in the leterniination to sustain the Union. Whoever is leeted in N<>vendier, he must Is* committed to a rigorous prosecution of the war." Mr. Davis still looking incredulous. I remark •d— ; "You give no offence," lie replied, smiling very leasant!v. "I wouldn't have you pick your vords. This is a frank, free talk, and I like you he lietter for sdying what you think. Go on. "I was merely going to add. that let the North rn people onto really feel the war—they do not eel it yet—and they will insist on hanging every me of vour feeders." "Well, admitting all you say. I can't see how t affccto our position. There are some things vorse than hartginz or extermination. We -n giving up the right of self-govemnlent one of hose things." "By self-government you mean disunion — ■mufhem Independence. "Yet." "And slavery, you say, is no longer an element n the (Sontest r* 'No. it is net. It never was an essential ele neilt. It was only a means of bringing other •onflicting elements to an earlier culmination. It ired the musket that was already Clipped and oaded. Then are . ssential difference* between he North and the South, that will, however this var ma end. make them two nations." "You a-k me to say what I think. Will von iliow me to say that I know th _ South pretty cell, and never observed those differences t ' 'Then vou have not used your eyes. My sight - poorer than yours, but I have seen them for ears." The laugh was upon me, and Mr. Benjamin en oyed it. "Well, Sir. be that as it may, if I understand , ou, the dispute between your government and uirs is narrowed down to this: Union or JHsun on," "Yes; or. to putin other words Independence ir Subjugation." "Then the two governments are irreconcilably ipart. They have no altarnatire but to fight it jut. But, it is not so with the people. They ire tired of fighting and want peace: and, as riiey bear all the burden and suffering of the war, t is not right they should hdve peace, and have it on such terms as they like?' li l don't understand you \ bc a.uttlc iubro ex plicit. ' ''Well. Suppose the two governments should igree to something like this: to go to the people with two propositions says: Peace, with Disun ion and Soutnern Independence, as roar proposi tion ; and: Peace, with Union, Emancipation. No Confiscation, aud Universal Amnesty, as ocre. jjet the citizens of all the T nited States (as they existed before the war) vote 'Ybs,' or 'No-, on these two propositions, at a special eftctwn with in sixty days. If a majority vote Pi-union, our government is to be bound bv it. and to let yoil go in peace. If a majority tunc Union, yours to Be bound by it. and to let you go in peace. It a niajdrity vote Union, yrtdrs to be bound by it, and to stay in peace. The two governments can u ntnvt in this way, and the people though con stitutionally unable to decide on peace or war, can elect which of any two propositions shall gov ern their rulers. liet Lee and Grant, meanwhile, agree to an armistice. This would sheathe the . w ,,rd : and. if once sheathed- it would never again be drawn by this generation. ''The plan i--altogether impracri'able. If the South were ohlv one State, it might work ; but, as it is, if one Sothcrn State objected to emanci pation, it would nullify the whole thing, for you are aware the people of _Virginia _ eannot vote slavery out of South Catolina vote it out of \ ir- three-fourths of the States can amend the Constitution, Let it be doue in that way—- many way, so that it be done by the people. I am Aot a statesman or a politician, and I do not just "know how such a plan could be carried 'out; but you get the idea—that the PBOVI-E shall de cide the question. "That the majority shall decide it you mead. We seceded to rid . ourselves <Jf the rule of th< majority,. and this would subject us to it again." 4 Bat the majority must rule finally, either V itli bullets o^-ballots." 'lan?hot h> -ore of that. Neither current events nor history- -hows that the majority rule? or ever did rule. The contrary, I think, is true. Why. -ir. the man who .shall go 'nefore the South ern people with such a proposition —with hnj ptbpo. 1 fewi which implied that the North was tc L ve a voice in determining the domestic relation? of the South—could not lire here a day! Hi would ha hunged to the first tree, without judg< criiny." , , " Allow me to doubt that. I think it more like b' he VQbld be jjur. jed if he let the Southern peo ple kntre the majority could n>it rule," I replied smiling. "1 have nofe.ir of that," rejoined Mr. Davis, also smiling mo :t good Luuicredly. "I glide yot leave to preckuu it from every house-top la tk< South. "Cut, seriot:.;ly, .Sir, you T et the mejority rub in a single State; why not Lt it rule in fee"- rhek country?" "Because The States are Independent and sov ereign. The country is no*. It is only a confed eration of States: or rather it teat: it is now ttcc confederations." "Then we are not a peopl:— we are only a polit ical partnershio ?'' "That ie allr' '"Your yery name. Sir. l Umited States,' implies that," said Mr. Beujamin. "But, tell ma, are the terms you have named—Emancipation No Confiscation, and Universal Amnesty—the terms which Mr. Lincoln ruthorized you to offer us ?" *'NJ, Sir. Mr. Lincoln did not author ire Tie to offer you any terms. But I think both he tnd the Northern people, for the sake of peace, would assent to some such conditions." "They are very generous," replied Mr.. Davis, for the first rime during the interview t&owing some angry feeling. "Bat Amnesty. Sir, applies to criminals. V-,- i.ave committed no crime.— Confiscation is no account unless you can enforce it : and Emancipation! You have already eman cipated nearly two, millions of our slaves, audit you take care of tliem. you may emancipate the rest. I had a few when the war b gan. I was- i f some use to themthey never were of any to me. A.gain.4 their will you 'emancipated' them; and you may 'emancipate" every negro in the Confed eracy, but we will be free! We inU do it: if we have to see every plantation .a -ted, and every Southern city in femes!" "I see. Mr. Itevi*. it is useless, to continue this conversation." I replied; "ahd you will pardon us if we have seemed to press our views with ton much pcrtenaeity. We love the old flag: and that must be cur apology for intruding upon you at "You have not intruded upon me," he repli ed. resuming his usual manner. "I am glad to have met you, both. I once loved the old flag as well as you do. I would have died for it; but now it is W me only the c-mblem of oppression." "I hope the day may never come. .Ir. Dnvi', when I say that," said the Colonel. A hail-hour's conversation on other topics—hot of p'4>he interest—ensued, end then we rose to go. As fje did so the President gave me his hand, and. bidding me a kindly "good bye," expressed the hope of seeing me again in Richmond in hap pier times—when peace should have returned— but with toe Colonel his parting was particularly cordial. Taking his hand in both of his, he said to him: ''Colonel. T respect your character and your molives, and I wish you well—l wish yon erejry good wish I can wi? it you. consistently with the interests of the Confederacy." Che qaiei. Straightforward bearing, and Ec> :.t mora! courage of our "fighting parson" hnl evidently impressed Mr. Davis very favorably. As we were leaving the room he added : Say to Mr. L'neo.bi from me, that i >hall at any time be pleaded to receive proposals for peace on the basi of our independence. It would be use ess to approach me with any other." "It is so. Sir. Whoever tells you otherwise, leeeive# you. I think I know Northern senti ment, and I assure you it is so. You know we lave a system of iyceum-lecturi.ng in our large owns. At the close of these lectures, it is the ustoiu of the people to come upon the platform tmi taik with the lecturer. This gives him an ex .ellent opportunity of learning public sentiment, dast winter I lectured before nearly u hundred of -uch associations, all over the North, —irotu Du buque to Bangor,—aud I took pains to ascertain he teGing of the people. 1 fouud a unanimous ieteroii nation to crush the rebellion and save the L'nion at every sacrifice. The majority are in fa vor of Mr. Lincoln, and nearly ail of those who ire opposed to him are opposed to him because :hey think he doss not aght you with enough vig or. The radical Republicans, who go for slave •uffrage and thon sigh confiscation, art those who will defeat him if he is defeated. But if he is de feated before the <•;<.!, the House will elect a worse mau —worse 1 mean for you. It is more 'adieal than lie i.-, —you can see that, from dir. Ashiy's reconstruction hi 1 !.—and the people are more radical than the House. Mr. Lincoln, J know, is about to trcJM oat five hundred thousand more men, and I deb t see how you can resist much longer ; but if you do. you will only deepen he radical feelmg of the Northern people. They wuuid now give yon fair, honorable, ghttroa* terms ; but let them suffer much more, let there ;>c a dead mau in c-ve-y house as there, is now in .very village, and they will give rou no terra*,- - they wilt- insist on hanging every rebel south o: i'ardou my terms. I mean no ■ rhmce." TRUE CONDITION OF THE SOUTH. Letter from Genera? Trnifi.nU R. Eavmourl The following letter frdUi Oeti Trunmn R. Sey mour was written to fir Win. I?. Dodge, of this aty : - MY DEAR SIR—YOU for toy impressions of the present condition of the Southern Confedera cy, arid yoi shall have them. For the benefit of jur cause I wish they might be impressed Upon jvery soul in the laud, that the confidence begot ten of my three months' observations in the ill te rn r of the South might !> • shared by every man who has the least connection with the responsibili ties df this struggle; and I am sure that these ipinions are not peculiar to myself. Every one of :he fifty officers jc-t exchanged will express the ,;une : every one of our men, whether from the ails Of Charleston or the pens of Macon and An icrsonviße. will confidently tell the same story. The rebel cause ta fast failing from exhaustion. Their two graud armies have been reinforced this Summer from the last resources of the South.-- From every corner of the land every old mtlu iud every boy capable of Waring a rifle has been impfesstil, willing or unwillingly, and hurried to the front Lee's army was the first so .strength ened. it was :•! the expense of Hoods. Gover nor Brown told the truth with a plainness that was very bitter, hot it was none the Jess truth iA't tue extract a few prominent statements tjom his proclamation of duly y, addressed to the re served militia of Georgia : "A late correspondence with the President -of tlie Confederate States satisfies my mind that Georgia Is to be left to her own resources to sup ply the reinforcements to G ?u. Johnston's army which are indispensable to the protection ot At lanta. and to prevent the State being overrun w the overwhelming number.- now under command of the Federal General upon our soil. "But there is no n-.-ed otTurtLerreinfbrceni'-nt.*, as will be seeu by the accompany uig letter of* Gen Vol. 87: No. 86. f-ral Johhsibti. * * * And it becomes my du ty to call on even* man Iti the State able to bear arms, as fast as they can be armed, to aid in the defence of otr homes and altars, and the grave* of oar ancestors. "If the Confederate Government will not send the large cavalry force now engaged in raiding and repelling raids, to destroy the' long line of rail roads over which General Sherman briugs his sup plies from Nashville, and thin ooifepel him to re treat, with the loss of most of his army, the peo ple of Georgia, who have already been drawn up on bore heavily ih prrtf>orti6n to the- population than those Cfany other .State in the Confederacy, must , at ail hazards and at any sacrifice, rush to the front There musts indeed, have been desperate weak ness when Georgia, and the Southefti cause with it, were so neglected that Lee's array might be made equal to the task of holding Grant to the Potomac or the James; and the people of the iSoutlx are intelligent eilough to understand and to appreciate the fact, and they have, lost heart accordingly. The following is from a letter written by cne rebei to another, that aecideudy fell into the liands of one of iuy fellow-prisoners, and for the authenticity of which I vouch : "Very few persons are preparing to obey the late call of the Governor. His summons wiil meet With no response here.. The people are soul-sick sud heartily tired of this liateful, hope less strife. " I hey would end if they could ; but our would be Tilers would take good care that no opportuni ty b eirea the people to rote against it. By lies, by frahd and by chicanery this revolution was in augurated ; by toree, by tyranny and by the sup pression. of truth it is sustained. It is nearly time that it should end; arid of sheer depletion it must end before long. We have had enough of want aud woe, enough of cruelty and carnage, enough of cripples a,id corpses. There is an abundance of bereaved parents, weening widows and orphan children in the land. If we can, let us not increase the number. The men who, to aggrandize themselves, or to gratify their own po litical ambition, brought this war upon a peaceful and prosperous country, will have to render a fear ful account of tneir misdeeds to a wronged, rob bed and outraged people. Earth has n> punish ment sufficiently mete for .their viliany here, and hell will hardly be hot enough to scathe them hereafter." There is certainly no small proportion of the Southern people—despite the Iving declarations of their generals. a° we had good occasion to learn —that only favor- the progress of oar arms, but that daily prays that this exterminating war may soon be brought to a finality by our complete and perfect suoeesi They have had too much of despotism, not enough of the triumph promised them. Many intelligent Southern gentlemen do. indeed, express strong hopes of their ultimate independence: but such hope is not -hared by the mas see. Disap pointed from the first in not being acknowledged by foreign jtowers. more bitterly disappointed in their general expectations that Northern coward iee, or dissension, would secure their ends, but a single cLance remains, and that is the result ot our next election for President. If a Democrat succeeds to Mr. Lincoln, they profves to feel sure of negotiations am their Confederacy. They be lieve a I >emocrat will be elected. In Mr. Lincoln's re-election they see only subjugation, annihilation; for the war must then continue, and continuance is their failure and join. In military affairs it is an excellent rule never to do what the enemy desires. Is it not equally true in politics? Certain it is that the remaining hope of the South lies in Mr. Lincoln's defeat. Now, I u D a politician tu Know whether the election of a Democrat can result as favorably to the South as it anticipates. Their wish alone may be the parent of their belief. But I assure all who express that belief, that the North, as a mass, is as united as the South ; that no Democrat could be elected on a peace platform, a id that any President who would inaugurate any measure leading to peace, on the basis of a South ern independence, would be promptly hung, by loyal acclamation, to the lamp post xn front of his own Presidential mansion. and sons of freemen. If these fail to support their country's cause in her hour of peril, they are unworthy of coutinucing freemen, and should Musa ever to exercise a freeman's privileges.— But if bounties be paid, let it be in Southern land, not in Northern gold, and arrows of emi grants. whose sons may aspire to win the rule of the nation, will cross the seas to win the broad acres that disloyalty has forfeited to the State.— To every intelligent soldier who has fought through all these indecisive campaigns, on almost numberless indecisive fields, the question contin ually arises, with touching fcroe, why we do not overwhelm our enemies. Tees of thousands of lives are lost because our array of strength is so lose thaii that a.vninst which wa battle. Everywhere we meet on nearly equal terms, when we might well hsve I'onr to one. Th e cost to us in blood and treasure r.i a prolonged war can hardly be foreseen; ihe economy is infinite of sach an effort as tha glorious North should put forth. The South will fight as loDtr as the struggle ie equal. It witi submit to such preponderance as we should show in every field. Glance at the Summer s campaigns. If Sher man h;.u but fifty or s. wnty-uvc thousand more men the South would be lost, because Hood would be annihilated. If Meade had moved in the Spring- with reserves of seventy-five to one hun dred THOUSAND E> B. Lee would have been ho;>e le&slv crushed. Even at this moment a third col umn of forty to fifty thousand men. rightly moved, would give unopposed blow* to the Confederacy from which she could never rise. What felly, thea. to struggle on in this way, when we can send to the field five times the force already there. What we ak acts tc thick we can <iot conquer the South. Behind the James, only boy- sr. a old rritn ar-j to!. seen, while here idee buy and sell a- in the olden days of quiet, and re giments of able-bodied citcKOa aruwd the streets <>f our cities. _ t There i- oat qne <*>:£•*• coasislent *ith Northern safety and honor, Let the people awake to a Sense of their dignity and strength, and a leit months of eomparr,tiv: triniug exertion of stich ct'ort as alone is worthv of the great Noi:lt, and the re bellion wiil crumble before oft , Fill this draft promptly and vrilllosdy with good and true men, send a few spare thousands over rather than Un der the call, and the Summer suit of I**63 will shine upon a regenerated laud. -There are some wkp s;>€ak of peace. Of all Yankees the South nth most scorns those who do not fight, bfit h-t ghat onnnrb to employ them, as they dr> fheir slaves, to perform their dirty work. Peace for the South jrill he sweet indeed; for us, execpt. through Southern but anarchy arid War fqrever. The Pacific, the Western, the Eastern States would at once fall asunder. The South would he dominant, nnd the people of the North would deserve to be driven afield. upon ne gro owners, to hoe eora and eotton for southern masters. But no faint-hearted or short-sigh ten policy can ret aside the eternal decrees of the Almighty, who ha- oi.in - d no line of division between tbe Atlan tic and the Western desert* —between the great and the Qnif of Mexico—that ngn'fy Ilia wilf that we should be separatoa: and artless so separated peace is a delusion, and it- advocacy a treason against ttie wise* interests and holiest in terest of onr country. It has lieen with a trust, that renewed bore and vigor might be given—when vigor and hope are needful-— that I have written, and you have my consent to using this as you pleace, and I am very truly, yours. TRX'MA>' Sgrmtm, Brigadier-General laited States Volunteers. To W. E. DOPOK, J a., Esq.. Now York.
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