The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-01 00:00:00

Letter from the Vice• President of the

Confederate States.

The following letter from the Hon. Alexander H.
Stephens, giving his views upon the peace move-
ment, was written in answer to a letter addresed to
him by several of his fellow-citizens of Georgia :
Crawfordsville, Ga., Sept. 22.
Gentlemen,—You will please excuse me not answering
your letter of the 16th instant sooner. I have been absent
nearly a week on a visit to my brother at Sparata, who has
been quite out of health for some time. Your letter I found
here on my return home yesterday. The delay of my reply
thus occasioned my regret.
Without further explanation or apology, allow me now to
say to you that no person living ern possibly feel a more
ardent desire for en end to be put to this unnatural and
merciless war upon honourable and just toms than I do.
But I really do not see that it is in my power or yours, or
that of any Lumber of persons in our positim, to inaugurate
any movement that will evar tend to aid in bringing about
a result that we and so many more desire.
The movement by our leg slettu-e at its lest session, at the
suneetion cf the executive, on this eubject, was by autho-
rity properly constituted for such a purpose.
That movement, in my judgment, was timely, judicious,
and in the right direction. Nor he 9it been without results,
The orgerisation of that party in the Nor.h to which you
refer may justly be claimed es a part of the fruits of it.
These, it is to be hoped, will be followed by others of a
more marks d character, if all in both sectior '3 who sincerely
desire peace upon correct terms will give the movement
thus inaugueated all the aid in their power.
'the resolutions of the Georgia Legislature, at its last
session upon the subject of peace, in eny judgment embodied
and set forth very clearly those principles upon which alone
there can be permanent peace between the different sections
of this extensive, once happy and prosperous, but now die.
tracted count) y.
Easy and perfect solutions to all present troubles, and
those far more g.ievous ones which 'corn in prospect, and
portentously threaten in the coming future, is nothing more
than the simple recognition of the f'undamental principle
and truth upon which all American constitutional libel ty is
founded, and upon the maintenance of which alone it can
be preserved—that is, the sovereignty, the ultimate abso-
lute sovereignty of the States. This doctrine our Legis-
lature announce—to the people at the North end to the
world. It is the only key note to peace—permanent, lasting
peace - consistent with the security of the public liberty.
The old Confederation was formed upon this principle.
The old Union was afterwards formed upon this principle.
No league can ever be formed or maintained between any
State, North or South, securing public liberty, upon any
other principle.
The whole framework of American institutions, which in
so short a time had won the admiration of the world, and
to which we were indebted for such an unparalleled career
of prosperity and happiness was formed upon this principle.
All our present troubles sprung from a departure from this
principle, from a violation of this essential law of our poli-
tical organisation.
In 1776 our ancestors, and the ancestors of those who are
waging thia unholy crusade against U 9, together proc!aimed
the gnat and eternal truth, for the maintenance of which
they jointly pledged their lives, their Lrtunes, and their
sacred honour,thatgovernments are instituted amongst men,
deriving their just powers Lora the consent of the governed
—and that whenever any form of government becomes de-
structive of those ends for which it was formed, it is the
right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute a new
goverment, laying its foundations on sues principles and
organising its powers in such a form as to them may seem
most likely to effect their safety end happiness.
It is needless here to state that by " people," and
"governed," in this annunciation, is meant communities
and bodies of men capable of organising and maintaining a
gove_nment, not individual members of society. The con-
sent of the governed refers to the will of the mass of the
community or State in its organised form, and expressed
through the legitimate end property constituted organs. It
was upon this principle the colonists stood justified before
the world i r effecting their separation from the mother
counts y. It was upon this pi nciple that the original 13
co-equal end co. Sovereign States formed the Federal com-
pact of the old Union in 1787, It is upon the same principle
that the present co-equal end co-sovereign State of ouc con-
federacy totaled their new compact of union.
he idea 'hat the old Union, or any union between sove-
reign States, consistently with this fundamental truth, can
be maintained by force, is preposterous. This war springs
from an attempt to do this preposterous thing. Superior
power may compel a xi-ion of some sort, but it would not be
the union of the old constitution or of our new,
The subjugation of the people of the South by the people
of the North would necessarily involve the destruction of
the constitution and the overehrow cf their liberties as well
as ones. The men or party at the North to whom you refer
who favour le ace, mu,t be brought to a fu'l realisCion of
this truth in all its beer:ngs, before their efforts will result
in much practical good. Any peace growing out of a union
of States established by force will ha r s ruinous to them
as to us.

The action of the Chicago convention, so for rs its plat-
form of principle goes, presents, as I have sftid, on another
occasion, a ray of light which, tt Tier Providence, may prove
the claw,' of the day to this long old cheerless night, the first
ray of light I have seen from the Not tit since the war began.
This cheers the heart, and towards it I could ulmost
" Hail, holy light, offapriqg of heaven, first-born of
the ete.atal co-ete..ial L 'am. May I express thee un-
blamed, since God is light."
Indeed, I cou'd have quite so excfarnied, but for the sad
reflection that whether it shall in:ng healing i a its beams or
be lost in a dark and 0111'110113 eclipse ere its good work be
done, depends so much upon 'he action of others who may
of regard it and view it as I do. So at best it is but a ray,
a small and tremulous ray, enou3h only to gladden the
heart and quicken the hope.
The imminent and 1, ading idea of 'hat conven ion seems
to have been a desire to reach a peaceful adjustment of oar
present difficulties and strafe through the medium of a con-
vention of the States. They proposed to suspend hostilities
to see what can be done, if anything, by negotiations of
some sort. This is one step in the right direction. To such
a convention of the States I have no objection, as a peaceful
confetence and interchange of views between equal end
sovere4,a Powers, just as the convention of 1757 was
called and assembled.

The properly constitutel autholitie3 of Washington and
RitshmoLd, tho du'y authorised represTn'at:ves or the two
confoderacics of States now at wen w:th each other, might
give their essent t ) such a proposition. Gaod might re-
salt .rom it. It would be en appeal on both sides from the
sword to rea3on rld justice. All wars which do not result

in the extinction and extermination of one side or the other
must be ended sooner of later by some sort of negotiation.
From the discussion or interchange of views in such a
convention, the histoty as well as the title nature of our in-
stitutions, end the relation of the S .tes toward each other
and towards the Federal head, would doubtless be much
better inderstood, generally, then they nowt re; but I
should faveur such a proposition only as a peace.ul confer-
ence, as 'he convention:of 1787 was. I should be opposed
to leaving the questions at issue to ihe absolute decision of
such a body.
Delegates might be clothed si:th powers to consult and
agree, if thy cou'd, upon some ph n of a ijastment, to be
submitted for subsequent ratification by the sovereign State
whom it tffected, I efore it should be obligatory or binding,
and then binding only on such as should so ratify it. It
becomes the people of the South, as well es the people of
the North, to be quit.) as watch.al and jealous of their
tighZs as their common ancestors were.
The maintenance of liberty in all ages, times, and coun-
tries when and where it has existed, has required not only
constant vigilance and jealousy, but it has often required
the greatest privations, end sufferings, and sacrifices that
people or States are ever subjected to. Through such an
ordeal we are now passing. Through a !Hie and even
severer ordeal our ancestors passed, in their struggle for

the principles which it has devolved upon u 9 to defend and
maintain.

But great es our sufferings and sacrificze have been and
are, to which you allude, they ere as yet far short of the
like sufferings and sactifices which our fathers bore with
patient), courage, and fortitude, in the c_isis that tried
men's soul's in their day. These ere the virtues that sus-
tained them in their hour of need. Their i'lu-Zious end
glorious example bids us not to under-estimate the priceless
inhcni'ance they achieved for us at such a cost of treasure
end blood.

Great as are the odds we are stiuggl:ng egging, they are
not greater thin those against which they successfully
st aggled. In point of reverses our condition is not to be
compared with theirs. Should Mobile, Savalnah, Charles-
ton, Augusta, Macon, Montgomery, and even Petersburg
a-id Richmontrfell, our condition would not then be worse
or less hopeful than theirs was in the darkest hour that
rested on their fortunes.
With wisdom on the part of those who control our destiny
in the cabinet and in the field, in husbanding and properly
wielding our resources at their command, end in securing
the hcarts and affections of the people in the great cause of
right and liberty for which we are struggling, we could
suffer all these losses and calamities, and greater even, and
still triumph in the end.

At present, however, I do not see, as I stated in the
outset, that you or I or any number of persons in our posi-
tion, can do anything toward inaugurating any new move
sent looking to a peaceful solution of the present strife.
The war on our part is fairly and entirely defensive in its
character. How long it will continue to be thus wickedly
and mercilessly waged against us depends upon the people
of the North.

Georgia, our own State, to whom we owe allegiance, has
with great unanimity proclaimed the principles upon which
a just and permanent peace ought to be sought and ob-
tained. The Congress of the Confederate States has fol-
lowed with an indorsement of these principles. All you
and I, and others in your position therefore can do on that
line at this time is to fustain the movement already in-
augurated, and to the utmost of our ability to hold up these
principles as the surest hope of restoring soundness to the
public mind of the North, as the bre z 3n serpent was held up
for the healing of Israel in the wilderness.

The chief aid and encouragement we can give the peace
party at the North is to keep before them these great