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April 1,1564 —tf.
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April 1, IJ64—tf.
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Apsfi 1, IMA—tf
v ■ ■ I I - ~ "
JOSFI'H V. TATE,
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HTBf. IS, 1864 10 D* -
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JLSt>
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August 19th, IS64.—tf.
Bedford, Pa.,
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€OLLISOTIONS made for the East. West. North at i
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I'UYSICIANSi |T
DEN tist R Y7
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nesdiy. of each month at Hopewell, the remaining
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ea at Woodh-urr, e*eeptifijt the last Monday and Tues
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April 1,1*84. —tf.
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ititan* of Bedford end Office and residence on
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Rod as.
AprUl, 1564 tf.
TTLTMARBOURG, m. D.
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April 1, 1864--tf
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.* April th, 1864.-ft.
UNION HOTL'-L.
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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.