The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-08-27

The North, know, loves the South. When
peace comes, it will pour money and means
into your hands to repair the waste caused
by the war; and 1t would now welcome
you back sand forgive you all the loss and
blOodshed you have caused. But we mus1
crush your armies and exterminate your
government. And is not that nearly dones
You are wholly without money and at the
end OF your resources. Grant has shut you
up in Richmond. Sherman IL before At
lanta. Had you not, then. better accept
honorable terms while you can retain your
prestige. and save the pride of the South
ern people p
Mr.. Davis smiled. h
II respect your earnestness, Colonel, but
you do not seem to understand the situa.
ton. We are not exactly shut up in Rich.
mond. If your papers tell the truth, it ie
your capital that il In danger, not ours
Some weeks ago, Grant crossed the Rapi-
dan to whip Lee and take Richmond. Lee
drove him In the first battle and then Grant
executed what your people call . brilliant
flank movement and fought Lee again.
Grant made smother flank movement :
and 30 they kept on-Lee whipping, and
Grant fanking-until Grant got where he
is now. And what is the net RESULT Grant
has lost seventy-five or eighty thousand
men-m0re than Lee had at the outset t-and
is no nearer taking Richmond than at the
first and Lee, whose front has never been
broken, holds him completely In check,
and an has men enough to spare to invade
Sherman, to be sure, is before Atlanta, but
suppose he is, and suppose he takes 1t !
You know that the farther he goes from his
base of supplies the weaker he grows, and
the more disastrous defeat will be to him.
And defeat may come. So, in q military
view, / should certainly say our position
was better than yours.
"As to money: We are richer than you
are. You smile; but, admit that our paper
is worth nothing-it answers as a circufat.
ing medium, and we hold it all ourselves.
If every dollar of it were lost, We should,
~ we have no foreign debt, be none the
poorer. But, 1t Is worth something; it has
the solid basis Of large cotton crop, while
yours rests on nothing, and you owe all the
world. As TO resources: We do not lack
for arms or ammunition, and we have still
plies. So, you see, We are not in extremi.
ties. But, II We were,-if We were without
money, without food, without weapons Iii
our whole country were desolated, and ouy
armies crushed and disbanded. d.-could We
without giving up our manhood, give mp
our right to govern ourselves? Would you
not rather die, and feel yourself q man,
than live, and be subject to foreign pow
err"
'.From your standpoint there is force in
what you say" replied the Colonel. "But
we did not come here to argue with you,
Mr.. Davis. We came, hoping to find some
honorable way to peace, and am grieved
to hear you say what you do. When ]
have seen your young men dying on the
battlefield, and your old men, women and
children starving in their homes, have
that reason I am here; and am grieved, -
grieved,-tha there is no hope"
II know your motives, Colonel Jacques,
and honor you for them; but what can
do more than am doingf would give
my poor life gladly, if 1t would bring peace
and goodwill to the two countries; but il
would not. It il with your own people
you should labor. 1t is they who desolate
our homes, burn our wheat-fields, break
the wheels of wagons, carry away our wo.
men and children, and destroy supplies
meant for our sick and wounded. At your
door lies all the misery and the crime Ol
this war, and it is fearful, fearful &C.
count"
..Not all Of it, Mr.. Davis. admit fear.
ful account, but it is not all 1t our door
The passions of both sides are aroused
shot down I'M cold blood, by yourselves
Elements Of barbarism are entering the
war from both sides, that should make us
you md me, ~ Christian men-Shuddel
to think of. In Gods name, then, let Us
stop 1t. Let us do something, concede
something, to bring about peace. You
cannot expect with only four and hal
millions, ~ Mr.. Benjamin says you have
to hold out forever against twenty mill.
ions.''
Again Mr.. Davis smiled.
"DO you suppose there are twenty mill
ions at the North determined to crush us?
II do,-to crush your Government. A
small number of our people, . very small
number, are your friends, ds,-Secessionists
The rest differ about measures and candi.
dates, but are united In the DISCRIMINATION
to sustain the Union. Whoever is elected
in November, he must be committed to .
vigorous prosecution Of the war;
Mr.. Davis still looking incredulous, re-
marked
ut is SO, Sir. Whoever tells you other
wise, deceives you. think know North
ern sentiment, and assure you it is so.-
You know we have q system OF lyceum
lecturing in our large towns. At the Close
Of these lectures, it is the custom Of thu
with the lecturer. This gives him an ex
cellent opportunity Of learning public sen
timenr. Last winter lectured before near
ly q hundred Of such associations, all ovel
the North,-from Dubuque to- Bangor
and took pains to ascertain the feeling o
the people. found q unanimous deter
mination to crush the rebellion and saw,
the Union at every sacrifice. The major
itv are in favor Of Mr.. Lincoln, and nearly
ali Of those opposed to him are opposed Il
him because they think he does not 6gh
you with enough vigor. The radical Re
publicans, who 60 for slave-suffrage ant
thorough confiscation, are those who viii
defeat him il he is defeated. But If he j!
defeated before the people, the House vii
elect q worse man-worse mean for you
It is more radical than he is,-you can set
that from Mr.. Ashley's reconstruction bill
and the people are more radical than th'
House. Mr.. Lincoln, I know, is about t
cali ont Ave hundred thousand more men
and don't see how you can resist mucl
longer; but II you do, you will only deeper
the radical feeling Of the Northern people
They would now give you fair, honorable
generous terms; but let them suffer mucl
more, let there be q dead man in every
house as there is new in every village, ant
they will give no terms.-they will insis
~nI,o1 sos,fh nf- -Pard0Y