Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-01-23
TrtaIs OF Jsn Dawn
From the RIobmop5 6i.n,.ob Ion 10

We have never been of those who at.
tempted to make demigod or Wash
ington of the President of the Confederate
States. We know that, like other men.
he is fallible; that he can err-has erred
But we will not, in this dark hour of
national distress, felt by him as keenly,
we doubt not, as by the most sensitive
of his countrymen, help to add to his
Affections by the voice of reproach and
denunciatiOn. We will not make him
the scapegoat of the nations misfortunes.
We must have the evidence all before us
that he ordered this and that unfortun-
ate movement before we bring in verdict
of guilty against Jefferson Davis. "They
say" and the "reliable gentlemen" will
not do for us. 'They say" is a notori-
Gus liar, and "the reliable gentleman" is
posing the President not to be the man
for the times, who put him where he is {?
Who made him President by acclamation?
Who fabricated this idol? The very
people who are now called upon to chop
it into frewood. How do we know that
any other idol which the same hands
construct will be any more of a god z
Jefferson Davis is the creation, not the
creator of the revolution; and if the revo-
luton fails, tits as fair to attribute it to
its own inherent weakness as the incom-
potency of its chief agent; neither Of
which would be true. 1t will be time
enough to discuss the cause when the
effect is produced, and if we are faithful,
united and determined, that we can new
er be. In any event, this dark hour is
the last in. which we will saddle the
President with, the responsibility of all
our misfortunea In the first place, we
do not believe he is responsible; in the
next, whilst Abraham Lincoln, fancies
he has his clutches upon his throat, we
will not say,-we cannot say with truth:
"Yes, Father Abraham, that is the chief
sinner; accept him as a victim, and re-
store US to thy favor" On the contrary,
we can tell the President of the United
States that we are all as great offenders
as the President OF the Confederacy, who
is but our servant and our agent; and
that if this war of defence has been cons
Quoted with as signal humanity and
moderation as skill and valor, tits be-
cause our servant and our. agent has
steadily maintained, under the'most ex-
traordinary prOvocation, the humanity
and moderation of the Southern characc
ter. .1z --.7"7f 'a 'a 81
But if Jefferson Davis cannot claim
the credit of inaugurating this revolution;
if he is but the honored instrument se-
lected by the people themselves for their
chief; if he has manifested persistent
desire to harmonize and alleviate the
horrors of war, he has conducted his
administration of affairs with as much
Judgement energy and devotion to the
cause as any other man who could have
been selected for his position. Who
could have done betteF2 Let us hear
the name of the man, and also the rea~
son why the public Intelligence did not
select that man for the Presidency inS
stead of the present incumbent? We
have no doubt that we did the best we
could in making Mr.. Davis President,
and that he has tried to do the best he
could in the Presidency. We see no
more reason in attributing to him all the
disasters in the West than all the glories
in the East If we are true to ourselves
the ship of State will yet ride the waves
buoyant and victorious; but if she goes
down let us refrain from spelting the
helsman, whom we ourselves put at the
wheel of the ship which we ourselves
built and launched, and meet our fate
with at least the fortitude and resignaS
tion, of Turks, ifnot of Christians.
b