The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-03-24
FRIDAY. MARCH q, 1865
Henry S. Foote'S Manifesto.
The Rebel COHgFessmaH's Explanation
or His Flight from Richmond and
America.

I leave the reDei States, ana IN DONG TIL
he intimates that "the actual condition
Of things in both sections of his owl
dear native country land not Mr.. Lin
coln) forced him to seek refuge in
foreign land before he could communi
cate said reasons and divers other mat
tiers, which be assures his "w.slI beloved
constituents are vitality associated
with their honor and happiness"
He begins by endeavoring to show
that he was and is q Union man. Hi
facts are not strong, his argumen IS are
weak and his success rather lame. His
assertions are worthy of notice however
from the fact that he couples them with
the statement that his opposition tc
the disunion schemes which had eul
minated in the Montgomery rebel gov
eminent and Congress were well known
10 his constituents when they elected
him in 1861, without solicitation on his
part, or, in other words, that he was
elected to the rebel Compress SIS a
"Union man. He refers to his course
in that body, and claims to have early
and peTsistently opposed "the shameful
efforts Of Dir. Davis and his servitors to
undermine the public liberties and es.
tablish q desp0tism ON its ruins He
claims credit for his efforts TO effect the
remodeling Of the Wretched Cabinet OF
Davis; the exposition Of rank official
corruption the earnest and seasonal
bic indication Of certain meritorious
military commanders when hearsIessly
and wickedly assaulted by n Davis and
his employees" and the untiring in
dustry which he had displayed in the
arraignment Of incompetent Generals,
with q view to their dismissal" He
states that be at last grew Disguised
with the "gross and undeniable mis-
management Of Davis, and ethe SER
Witty Of his incompetent and snobbish
Congress" and so, with "the advice ofhis
discerning friends, he cama to the sage
conclusion that the "South would be in
eVitably ruined if an honorable
I peace was not speedily effected Know
ing Davis was selGshly bent on furth-
er prosecution Of the war for his vile
purposes, Foote says that latter consult
ING icith The best and ,cisest men rh0sn Nhe)
ne" he resolved to lose no time in in.
Producing resolutions into the rebel
House of Representatives looking to
immediate action on the part Of Congress
ITSELF They were rejected, as is well
known, much to Foote'S modification
which is expressed in the manifesto in
areview Of Davis administration. While
this disgust was still on him, Foote left
Richmond, sent his wife through tc
Nashville, got captured, was released
and escaped to Sheridan'a lines and an
nounced himself as a peace commits
sioner in q long letter 10 Mr.. Seward
chiefly remarkable for the assertion
that he represented in that capacity {
large number OF the most weighty anc
influential Statesmen that the Soutf
contained, and at the wish of a verI
large majority of the people of tn,
Z
Southern S tates, whom he assures Mr.
! Seward are ready and anxious to enter
once more into fraternal Union will
our fellow citizens Of the North.
He has plan for the settlement o
what he considers the chief difficult,
in the way Of bringing the war to q
close-namely, slavery. He begs tht
North to deal with the South on tina
point "liberally and kindly" and says
Consider, If you please, that the fat
OF slavery has been sealed by tie opcratio
Of he trqr Itself that Maryland Is now
free State, and Missouri likewise; tina
Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Nortl
Carolina and Arkansas are sure in
few years, 6g thar oign voluntary action Il
adopt a system Of emancipation; ans
that in all probability bJore ne elase Q
tie present century slagSry eli E0sohSre erii
upon he continent Can you not afford
then, 10 leave il where the Fedora
Constitution left it2 II, though, cir
cumstances exist which render such (
plan Of settlement impossible, then
an prepared 70 say, in bsh15 Of those s0ho7
IrsDressAf that We will agree to such
I change Of the Federal Constitution 8
az viii secure the entire extins
ton Of slavery on the LIST day Q
! January, 1900. and which will proVid
also for the freedom Of all persons G
African blood who shall be born ate
the FIRST day Of January, 1890.
In reply to this letter and his appl
. cation to be allowed Il come to Wash
ington, Seward sent orders to Geners
Sheridan to send Foote to New Yorl
On arriving in New York permissio
was granted him to leave the ccuntE,
and he did so in February, 1865, afte
addressing another letter to Mr. Sewar'
following it with one to Mr.. LincOll
Taking his cue from The fact that b
! writes FROM on board the steamer !
mid-ocean, he compares Mr.. Lincoln
Neptune, begs him 70 'look the god, q
sumo the tiaani Of psafsatioa and con
, pose the discordant elements Of thi
vexed land" He s also generor
: enough to tell him how to do this, r
: commencing Is the most potent spell
J 10 allay the fury Of the contending ps
sious Of the two ssctions The ado
> ton Of measures for grAdui
emancipation in lieu Of imm
date abolition, anG the remorsele
i, enforcement Of the Monroe Foot do
I trine. and not forgetting that his 8
questered spot Is comfortably, not
say luxuriously, located in the boso
! Of the British nation Foote process
z in a foot note 70 saow that Englar
could very consistently join in the e
forcement Of the Monroe doctrine,
J improved BY FoOts snd present Il
: sublime spectacle o. the Anglo-SAxS
= race driving the rest Of creation off 4
= face Of the globe.
The method Of sfr. Foote's ms
= nessT Is probably obtained in the &c
!, GLIDING paragraph Of his manifes
which has 81 she iirtuous ooaeisens