Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-11-13


The Liverpool Hsrcuig, of October IS, cor
t2ias a speech Of Ex-Governor Morehead, {
Kentucky, on the secession of the Souther
States The following part of it is an impOrtar
contribution to the history Of the months prc
osding the outbreak Of the civil war Mr.. More
head, after sssuring his audience that he Wa
originally Union man, and opposed to seces
sion, continued
When she legislature Of Kentucky, in my Sd
sence, elected ma unanimously to 60 as one o
the delegates TO the peace conference. accepted
the Office and went 30 the city of Washington
hoping, a. our old mother State, Virginia ha,
made tie call, and as 81 the slaveholding States
that then remained in the Uaion would send del
egates, and perhaps those in tho Hertb woul(
also send delegates, that we might be able tC
obtain such guarantees as would avert, st lestt
q hairicidal war. We failed in tbas. Every
offer thas-was made on the part Of the South
was Indignantly spuned by the Representative:
from she Northern Ststss. Mon ssid i1 that con
venti0n that they would see the Union shattered
into ten thousand fragments before they would
give one solitary guarantee. In thai state OF
affairs, and knowing the course thst mr Sew
o.
be the Premier Of the incoming sdministraton-
had pursued, met him and l do no. deem II
improper to say hers, as have said on other oc-
casions, that he pledged his sacred honor that
there ERoaid be no collision between the North
and the Souh. Hear hear Nay, said he,
" Governor Morehead," laying his hand on my
shoulder to make It more emphatic, g let me
once hold the reins Of power fEnly II my hands,
and if l don't settle this matter to the entire
satisfaction Of the South in sixty days, I will
give you 5ly hand for football" Hear, hear ]
Although l confess ths. I had bat Ettls conf
denca in Mr. Seward, thought it Etterly impos-
sibe that sn honorable man could make pledges
Of that kind and 50 shsrtly afierwsrd violate
tbsm in the most shsmsless manner. Shortly
after that bir. Lincoln came to Washington
City in the manner that you have all read Of,
and bis particular and intimate friend, Judge
Logan, called 70 see ma before breskfast one
morning before I bad got out Of my bsd, and
announced TO me as secret the fact and manner
Of his arrival IN the city of Washing ton, speak
ing in terps of Indignation sgainst those who
had advised a course of that ssrt, and
stated az the same tine that Mr.. Lin
coln-with whom had served in Congress, and
rith whom I wss upon very intimate terms
meutioBsd my name hrai Of all after ne had mat
hiTa, and desired an interview with ne. l said
TO Judge Logan shst would prefer shat other
geHtIsmen should be With me-, aud not have the
interview alone, and he stated that Ar Lincoln
hsd 30 Ham.d other gentlemen. The gentle
men selected as the persons to meet him were
M ". G Rives. of Virginia, formerly United
States miuis-or 30 France; Judge Sumner ffoH
the Same STATE; GsusTsl Donovan, from Mis-
sour, who distinguished himself in the Mexican
war, and myself and Hr. Guthrie, who had been
SecretGry Of the Treasury IN Mr.. PieTce's ei-
ministrstion. At II o'clock his political friends
mad ssesrtained that he was in the city, znd the
room was filed, and Judge Logan came to Us,
sud informed Us that we must defer the meeting
until we could have it with him alone Several
days elapsed We did meet MIN about 9O'clock
st night and hsd conversation Of several
hours duration with him. I took occasion shortly
sGerrard, As we'll as I could, to write down that
conversation. The substance Of It vas about
thu: Mr.. Lincoln commenced the conversation,
after receiving rs very kindly, by stating that
he was accidentally elected President Of the
United States; that he had never lspired to 8
position of that kind; that il had never entered
his head; but that from the fact Of his having
made 3 race for the Senate Of the United States
with Judge Douglas, in the State of Illinois, his
name became prominent and he was accidentally
selected aud elected afterwsrd As President OF
the United States; that running that race in .
local election his speeches had been published ;
and that any enc might examine his speeches,
ard they would find that he had said nothing
against the interests Of the South He dehed
them to point ont any one sentence in all the
various sdlress9s shat he had made in thst can
vsss that could be tortured into enmity sgsinst
the South, except, he remarked enc expression,
namely, that a house divided sgainst itself
must fall; they must either be all slave or all
free States and he said that be explained after
ward that that VEs an sbsireet epihion, and
never intended % be made the basis Of his po-
Etjca' action He remarked a. tho same tins
that the clause in the Constitution Of ths United
5 Sates roqnirirg fugitive slaves 10 be delivered
up was d constitutional provision, Wss a part
Of the organic isv If the land, and that he
would execute that with more fidelity than any
Southern man that they could possibly End, and
thas he could not imagine what was the Cause
Of ths deep snd apparently settled snmity shat
existed toward him throughout the South, look
ing At ne sJ the Tins as if 90 invite an answer
from me I replied thst he Was very much mis-
taken if he supposed that the deep psTvaiing
feeling throughout the South originated in asy
personal enmity toward himself; that did not
suppose that there was any feeling Of that kind
on the part of an individual in the South that
be was the representative Of a great perty-3f q
merely sectional party-elected on a platform
which they considered would, if carried out, be
destructive Of their dearest and best rights; and
that II was on that account, and that alone-the
attempt 10 throw = common government, the
government for all the States, in Conism 20
the interests Of portion Of the very States
whose government it wes-Whieh was tbs cause
of the deep aud settled feeling which existed
throughout the entire SSulh. We appealed 10
him then give the guarantees which were de-
ma1dei by the Southern men in that peace con
ference representing to him that it was in his
power, that he was at shat time power in the
State that he held in ths hollow Of his hand
the destiny Of thirty millions Of people; that, if
he said that the guarantee should be made and
would make t. there would be no difficulty IN
carrying out AIRY pfogTsmme that might be
adopted He said that he wss willing to give q
constitutional guaTantes thai slavery shsuld not
BE- molested in any way, directly or indirectly,
In the States; that he was willing TO 90 further,
and give guarantee that il should not be mo-
les.ed in the District of Columbia; that he would
20 SSH further, and say that it should not be
disturbed in the docks, aTsenals, forts, and other
Dsces within the slaveholding States but, as
for slavery in the Territories, that his whole life
was dedicaifd in opposition to It's extension
there; that be was elected by party which
had made that portion of its platform, and be
3EOulQ Cou6uef tflAl ne " - Dbti eb0t
if he ever agreed, under any state of the case,
TO allow slavery to be extended in the Terri
tories We pointed out to him there was not al
acre Of territory belonging to the United States,
where slavery could exist there were natural
laws which would forbid slavery gsiHg into NSw
Mexico, mountainous region, and the colder
regions of the North and that it was utterly
impossible that slavery could ever extend there
sud we denied that a common government had
power to make the prohibition, and asked him
why, il he was really true sincere Union man,
have sn empty prohibition when the laws Of
nature were e stronger prohibition, than any
that could b5 passed by act cf Congress 7
Hear, bear That he waived By saying thai
he was committed on this subject Then it was
thst replied tn him. Elr. President, you say
YOU were accidentally selected, and elected by a
party You were the candidate of the party
bu, when you were elected, sir, / thought
bove kaar taught to beGeve-tbat Won were tho