Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1864-09-02


It's indeed and for thA. reason we have
come to see Mr.. Davis. Can we see hisl, SIR
DO you bring any oyertures to a;in from your
Government p
No, Sir We bring no oyertures and hare no
authority from our Government We state Chat
in our note. We would be glad, however, to
know what terms VIII be acceptable TO Mr. Davis.
If they at ali harmonic with Mr.. Lincoln views,
we vii report them to am, and open the door
for offcial negotiations
sAre you acquaiated with Mr. Lincoln's
views p
/ One of US is, fully.
! lid Alr. Lincoln, IN any acag, authorize you
to come here ~
no, Sir. We came with his pass, but not by
hisrequest We say distinctly, we have no official,
or unoficial authoigty We come as men and
christians, not as dfnlomatIes, hoping, in frank
1 talk with Mr. Davis, to discover some way by
which this war may be stopped 2
Well, gentlemen, | win repeat what you say
/ to the President, and If he follows my advise -
and | think he viii, wiH meet yon He viii
be at church this afternoon; so, suppose you call
at nine this evening If any thing should occur
III the mean time TO prevent his seeing you; will
/ let you know through Judge 0uld
Throughout this interview the manner Of the
Secretary was cordial but with this cordiality
was strange c0nstra2nt and ditfidence, almost
amounting to tIInidIty, which struck both Hyeon-
pafion and myself Contrasting his manner with
the quiet dignity Of the Colonel / almost fsnced
our positions reversed that, instead of our be-
ing In his power, the Secretary was in ours, and
In0menty expected TO hear some nnwecome SEN
tenee from our lips There is something, after
all, IN moral power Alr. Benjamin does not pos
sess it, nor Is he great man He has a keen,
shrewd, ready intellect. but not the Stamina 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 passers-by in the
street, would ike to tell who they were, and
how they looked but such information Is, just
now, c0rtraband, we called again at nine clock,
at the State Department
Mr. Benjamin occupied his previous seat at the
table, and at his right sat spare thin-featured
man, with iron-gray hair and beard and a clear.
gray eye full of life and vigor He had broad,
massive forehead, and mouth and chin denotng
great energy and strength of viii His face was
emaciated, and much wrinkled, but his features
were good, especially his eyes,-though one of
them bore scar apparently made by some sharp
instrument He wore suit Of grayish-brown,
evidently of foreign manufacture and, as he rose,
/ saw that he was about five feet ten inches high,
witha slight stoop iH the shoulders His manners
were simple easy and most tacinating and there
was an indescrbable charm in his voice, as he ex-
tended his hand and said to rs
Il am glad TO see you, gentlemen. You are
very welcome TO Richmond
And this was the man who was President Of
the United States, under Franklin Pierce, and
who is now the heart. SOUL and brains of the
Southern Confederacy
His manner put me entirely at my ease:-the
Colonel would be at his if he stood before Cesar
and | replied
We thank you Mr. Davis Tt is not often that
you meet men OF our clothes and our principles
in Richmond
Not often,--not 50 often as / could wish and
] trust your coming may lead TO a more frequent
and more friendly intercourse between the North
and the South y
we sincerely hope it may.
Mr. Benjamin tells me that you have asked to
see me To-
And he paused. as if desiring we should finish
the sentence The Colonel replied
Is, sir We have asked this interview, in
the hope that you may suggest some way by which
this war may be stopped. Our people want peace
your people do, and your Congress has recently
said that Eo9 do. We have come TO ask how il
can be brought about
In a very simple way Withdraw your armies
from our territory, and peace will come OF itself
We do not seek TO subjugate you. We are not
waging an offensive war, except so far as 1t Is of
that is, so far as are forced
to invade you to prevent your invading US. Let
uS alone, and peace will come at once.
But we cannot let you alone so long as ypp re-
pudiate the Union. That IS the one thing the
Northern people win not surrender.
/ know. You would deny to US what you exact
for yo1rselyes-the right of self government
t'No sir, | remarked We would deny you
no natural right But We think Union essential .
to peace and Mr. Davis could two people, with I
the same language. separated by only an imagina
ry Fne live at peace with each other2 Would
not disputes constantly arise and cause almost
constant war between them2
'Undoubtedlg.-wit this generation. You (
have soWn such bitterness at the SOuth, you have
put such an ocean of blood between the two see
tions that dspair Of seeing any harmony IN my
time. Our children may forget this var, but zee
cannot
Il think the bitterness you speak Of sir, sad
the Colonel, does not really exist w meet and 4
fraternize with each other and | feel sure that /
if the Union we're restored, more friendly feel I
ing would arise between US than has ever existed I
The war has made us know and respect each other 4
better than before This is the view of very many
Southern men have had it from many Of them,
your leading citizens.
They are mistaken, replied Dir. Davis
They do not understand Southern sentiment. =
How can we feel anything but bitterness towards /
men who deny us our rights2 If you enter my |
house and drive me out OF 1t, am notyour Eattir-
al enemy
not fight forever the war must end at some time;
we must finally agree upon something; eanwe not I
agree nov, and stop this frightful carnage2 We T
are both Christian men Mr.. Davis. Can gou, as
a Christian man, leave untried any means that
may lead to peace z
''No, / cannot. | desire peace as much as you |
do. deplors bloodshed as much as you do but |
/ feel that nel one drop of the blood shed in this
war is on ma hands,-I can look up to God and 1
say this. | tried all in my power to avert this I
war. saw ii coming, and for twelve years |
worked night and day to prevent il, but | could /
not. The North was mad and blind itwould not /
let us govern ourselves and 50 the war CAME and |
now it must 20 on till the last man of this genera
ton falls in his tracks, and his children seize his
musket and fight our battle aatess yog dckroact /
elqe our riqht to selfgouanmeat We are not |
fighting for slavery. We are fighting for Inde. /
pendenee, and that, or extermination, We loiH
have
And there are, at least, four and half mil |
lions of us left so you see you have work be |
fore you, said Mr.. Benjamin, with decided |