Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-03-23
RUTLAND HERALD.
TUESDAY, MARCH q, 1866.


manifesto 10 his "well beloved con-
stituents." He claims in the outset,
that he was and is Unionist; that his
constituents, in electing him to the rebel
Congress, knew of his opposition to the
schemes of the Disunionists, and elected
him as a Union man; that he constant
ly strove in the rebel Congress TO defeat
"the shameful efforts of Mr.. Davis and
his servitors TO undermine the public
liberties and establish despotism on
the ruins :" that he at last grew dis,
gusted with the gross and undeniable
Encouragement Of Davis and the
servility of his incompetent and snob-
bish Congress, and reached the cOnclu-
sion that an honorable peace must be
speedily effected, or the South would be
inevitably ruined He therefore intro
duced resolutions into the rebel House
of Representatives looking to immedi-
ate action by Congress in the direction
of peace. They were rejected, and Foote
left Richmond for that sequestered
spot" He sent his wife to Nashville,
was captured himself by the rebels, re-
leased, aud reached Gen. Sheridans
lines, where, assuming the character of
peace commissioner, he wrote long
letter to Secretary Seward, in which he
said that he represented a large number
- Tho ,,,O5+ tppnaptiol CT pf tba
South, and acted in his present capacity
at the wish of very large majority of
the people Of the Southern States" who
are ready and anxious to enter once
more into fraternal union with their
fellow citizens of the North. For the
settlement Of the vexed question of
slavery, he proposed the following
plan
Consider, if you please, that the fate
of slarcyy has been sealed by the operation Of
the way jtself that Maryland is now a
free State, and Missouri likewise; that
Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North
Carolina and Arkansas are sure in few
years, By their OiUH tOluntarv action, to
adopt a system of emancipation and
that in all probability before the close Of
the present cchttoy QagGtY tcW ao,ohe7e ernst
upon the continent. Can you not afford,
then, to leave it where the federal Con
stitutiOn lett it ? If, though circum-
stances exist which render such plan
of settlement impossible, then am pre-
parcel to say, IN behalf of those 1ohom / repre-
sent that we will agree to such a change
of the Federal Constitution as will Sc
cure the entire extinction of slavery on
the 1st day of January, 1900, and which
will provide also for the freedom of all
persons Of African blood who. shall be
born after the lst day of January,
1890"
Mr. Foote declared that he stood
ready
To make such further revelations,
both as TO toctS and persons, as will leave
no doubt upon the minds of President
Lincoln and his Constitutional advisers
that ample facilities exist for the bring
ing about, in the short period of forty
days too, such d co,sater-regOIsettoa as is
above referred to. All that desire is,
to receive assurance that the information
which | deem it proper, for reasons
alike of prudence and of honor, to hold for
the present in reserve, if impaired, will
conduce TO the restoration of peace and
the establishment of the Federal
Union, in a manner and upon terms con-
sistent with the present honor and fu-
ture safety Of the South, and | will at
once proceed TO make full disclosures. 5"
Mr. Seward acknowledged the receipt
of this communication, and stated that
any further communication which Mr..
Foote might think it proper to impart
to the Government might be cOmmuni-
Gated in the same manner as the first
He sent instructions to Gen. Sheridan
to allow FOote TO pass through to New
York, and then he was granted permits
sion to cross the ocean, in search Of the
sequestered spot aforesaid. He ad-
dressed another long letter to Secretary
Seward, and another to President Lin
coin, in which he again urges that
measures be taken for gradual, instead
of immediate abolition. The following
is the concluding paragraph Of Mr.,
Foote's manifesto
"On arriving in the city of London
sat down to draw up this address to my
valued neighbors and friends of Tennes-
see. 1t is not now my fortunate lot to
see you face to face; may possibly
never again have that satisfaction; but
l entreat you, my countrymen and fell
low citizens, VhateVer may be the action of
President Lincoln, and the politicians now
in power in Washington city, upon the
propositions submitted to them in this
correspondence, that you will your
selves lose no time in returning to the bosom,
of the Fedora! Union. 1t is far better, in
my deliberate opinion, that you should
do so, and do so at once, than to take
the chances of future military success
under Jefferson Davis and his present
official associates, and rely upon them
for the future restoration of your liber-
ties, after they shall have been once
completely surrendered to the most pn-
feeling and degrading despotism that has ex-
listed in the world since the days of
Dionysius OF Syracuse.
JEFF. DAVIS MBssAGE.-Jeff. Davis