Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1864-01-22
Correspondence OF the Free Press
Letter from Pennsylvania.
HARRlsBURGH. Jan. I6. 1864


HARRIsBURGH, Jan. 16, 1864
Dear Free Press:
write from our State Capitol, as prom
ised. moments leisure, and an incident of in
terest induces me to write.
The lock on the Senate is still maintained by
the allies Of JEFF. Davis. Each day the Senate
meets and after few efforts to obtain results by
voting, and the only result being 10 ayes and
l6 noes, they adjourn to meet again. On Tues
day Of this week the reyolutionists were COM
PEELED 10 surrender part of their ground 1t
was the day fixed by the Constitution for count
ing the votes for Governor; and they had not
the courage to vote against meeting in the Hall
Of the House. to do that; and so they permitted
the resolution for that purpose to pass without
call Of the ayes and noes-thus virtually voting
for it, for the Rules declare that without a call
of the yeas and nays, the presumption is that
therefore they admitted what they have so long
denied, that the Senate was an organized body.
To-day however they returned to the party role.
Last evening We had view behind the scenes
o. Rebellion. Gen. CAN'T Of Arkansas ana
late Of the Rebel army, told Us # Pennsylvania
what he knew Of the Rebellion, its cause. its
purpose, its hopes, and its friends lie ,cas
once a Shareholder and rebel in arms. He
had met the armies Of our nation in the shock
Of battle. He had mingled with the leaders Of
the rebels, in council and in the field, and they
all, and at all times admitted and declared that
slavery was the sole cause OF the War. They
saw that the onward march Of freedom and her
institutions would soon destroy slavery; the
prosperity and power Of the North must shortly |
overwhelm them, and to save that institution.
they must get rid Of the North-must be indie |
pendept-must secede, or slavery would die If |
they stayed in the Union it would die, it could |
only die if they Matchmaking could save it 1
but the overthrow Of the Government. Their
purpose was to establish new government. with
slavery as its basis. Their hopes were, that
Foreign nations would recognize them-that the
Government Of the L. 5 would become bank
rupt; that our laborers would from very want
excite a riot, and thus breed anarchy; that
their friends in the North would aid them
with their sympathy, and if necessary with
their arms. He then showed that every hope
had failed them, ercepi Northern sympathy.
He then gave an account Of how the Presi-
dents Proclamation had affected them At first
they laughed in derision at Old Abe's efforts to
proclaim freedom to their negroes. How could
his proclamation get inside of their lines At
asst they saw and felt the power of the advance
# freedom. The Proclamation was Numbered
rom the cannon at Vieksburg and Port Hudson,
md along the banks Of the Great River, it
lashed from the bright bayonets and keen sa-
res of Freedoms army as it swept rebellion
from its shores; and its crushing ,
thousands overwhelmed their hosts on the hills
f Tennessee then the Proclamation reached i
hem. He knew the fierce despotism which !
rove the people out of the Union and into the j
sbel army. He had led their thousands on the
ield Of blood. He had been a rebel in arms
lat he had had courage to prove his faith by
lie offer of his life in the ranks where death
'aped his harvests; but he had nerer been his
'uHtry's oO'oard foe to strike in the dark a
e had seen his error. and hoped to be forgiven +
He begged every honest man to cease their aid Il
the Rebel Government Their pleas for slavery "
ere pleas for the rebellion. He had heard the r
bells in arms assured by their commanders,
at if their friends at the North should. at the n
II election. turn out the Lincoln Administra-
N, their independence would be acknowledged .
their northern friends.
He then said that the only hope of the nation
" was the utter humiliation Of Slavery. Once
of the curse, the fertile and beautiful South
uld be filed with the industry, energy and
-erprise of the North, and our nation the larg-
the freest and best on earth-our people
our country one-our destiny one And
rejoiced to be able to say that Arkansas would
in the Union without slavery, in time to vote
an unconditional Union President in 1866.
There was with Gen. CAN'T delegation from
kansas, on their way to Washington, to devise
way to accomplish the result above stated;
they all regretted to find in Pennsylvania.
d who wanted the curse of slavery to be pre-
we'd, to deluge our land in blood, at some fu-
e day. A.W