The Portland daily press., 1864-10-22
The Rebel Press on JEFF. Davis Speech at
.eg Monnn

The Rebel Press on JEFF. Davis Speech at
Macon.
The remarkable speech of JEFF. Davis AZ ma
con, In which he so recklessly betrayed tne
desperation of the rebel cause. is being oi''er
ly commented upon by the Southern Journais'
"The least the President says about Inc cam
paign in Georgia. the better" exciaims the
Montgomery Null; and it further complains
that he is "sapping the confidence OF both peo-
nile and army by his wisdom, encouraging our
.rn;es and paving the way for what we shud-
der to reflect upon" The Lynchburg Virgin
ian considers portions of his speech unworthy,
undienified, ill-timed and reprehensible. The
Charleston Mercury expresses the Hprofound
regret that such speech should have been de-
livered by the Chief Magistrate of the Confed-
eracy." In word, Jefferson Davis, by de-
claring that nearly two.thirds of his soldiers
have deserted, that his armies at all points are
outnumbered, that there are few men left be-
tween the ages of Is and As, that the boys are
going 10 the field, and that the old men must
fight, has alarmed and amazed the South.
The most .signihcant article called out by,
the speech is the following from the Richmond
Enquirer-the journal most intimately con-
uected with the rebel government:
5 We are panied to note the tone in which Mr..
Davis addressed the people of Georgia. 1t is
SO different from the calm and well-weighed
language with which he greets the public. He
seems to have found it necessary to vindicate
his devotion to the whole interest of the coun-
try. He justifies the propriety of his military
appointments, explains the comparative diff
cnlties of the situations in Virginia and Geor-
gia, and abjures his auditors TO save their
country from bondage. There are some dec
larations wrung from him in his defence
against the anonymous and unfounded charg-
es OF having abandoned Georgia, which we re-
gret to see. The serious depletion of our ar
mics will read badly at the North and in Eu-
rope, We are sorry to see the President so
far lose his temper as to denounce personally
the authors of harsh and unwarrantable impu-
tations upon Linn, and even to talk of Butler
ia the language in which he deserves to be
talked of by any one else than the head of a
powerful Confederacy. The speech has been
probably thought by the friends of the Presi-
dent essential to indicate him and themselves
from censure. We take leave to say it had
better been borne in silence.
We would cite single instance, in which
man, placed in the foreground of another rev.
olution, was likewise tempted to vindicate him
self, and yet stood firm until events brought
refutation to calumny. When the Conway
conspiracy was formed, with the object of SUI
perseding Gen. Washington in command Of the
American army, he was charged with an I'M
becility amounting almost to cowafdice. To
these imputations he made them no defence.
At subsequent period he said that his alleg-
ed inaction proceeded from the want of arms,
o10tnnO ouh enpnlica # q annl6 QQcilV hQVQ
vindicated himself, but his country must have
suffered; he thought it better to sacrifice his
own military reputation than that the cause
should be endangered. y = r-s, 20 ~
The speech of President Davis has, howev-
er, a meaning and moral 1t imports phase
of public sentiment unfavora5le to the cause.
1t has been, perhaps, extorted by the extrava-
CANT and causeless charges against him.
We utter but. the transcient words of a jour-
nal, but we cannot forbear adverting again to
the apparent controversies in the Southwest.
We lament to perceive, in many particulars,
indications that they exist The change in
Sherman's tactics; his invitations for confer
ence-spurned, as we are glad to see, by the
| Governor of Georgia-his adroit civilities to
individuals, to counterfeit his wholesale exile
of the people of Atlanta; his rewards and
I temptations to our men to enlist under the
flag OF the United States-all these things
show that the enemy is aware of discomfort
| and controversy among us. We have no word
of censure where either the parties or the con
troversy are before us; but we have right tt
adjure those who participate in the feeling tc
which we advert to remember the ground up
on which they stand. The antagonists of the
President may be right in their objection tc
his policy. What then? Is it of profit to di
vide and exasperate the country at this time
upon such questions? These questions are O
! Importance to show the incompetency of the
| President or the defects of the Confederate
| Constitution. 9.s9a Dag a7oA Na4 p9f 9Fl
In either case it is better to postpone theil
decision until the country shall be better pre-
pared to examine into their merits The
President can only be reached by impeach
ment in the Senate or by a counter revolution
Are we prepared for counter-revolutionf
In such case we must put some other man al
the head of affairs. Is the country willing to
displace the President? If so, who are they
willing to put in his place? The inquiry
shows the absurdity of supposing that dscon-
tent or violence are our remedies. We write
with the knowledge that our army had beer
driven back from Chattanooga, and that a tri-
Numphant enemy pretends to dictate terms In
the heart of Georgia--with the knowledge
that the enemy has driven our forces up the
valley and are ravishing the fields upon which
we rely for subsistence with the sound Of {
heavy cannonade in our ears, and the news
that the enemy has carried an outpost of the
defences of Richmond; and we assure ou
readers Of the southwest that the partisan
i controversy to which we have alluded, gives
US more concern than all these mishaps put
together. 90 ad