, 1865-08-30
MISSISSIPPI REVISITED.
4 Horseback Ride Through the
State.

jackson After the WRr-Tlc Ex.Rct,-
els and Their Policy-Conndcnttal
Remarks by 1scconstructfonIst-sn
Old Planter and His Nesroex-MissIS-
ssppl Discipline for Refractory Ne
sroe<-TAe Scloolmaxter Abroad;
I Correspondence Of ,he Chicago Tribunal
MERIDIAN, Miss, Aug. :, 1865.
Ny last letter left me at jackson, the capi,
tai Of the state Of Mississippi, and the place
where JET. Davis made the defiant speech
which secured him the Presidency of the bo-
/ gus Confede.ucy. From the capitol steps he
proclaimed to the tnft,riatcd, half-drunken
crowd before him the probabilities Of war
with the North, and then declared that when
that event Ind come the field Of active hostn-
titles should be north Of the Ohio; that the
cities to be besieged were Chicago, Cincinnati,
New York. Philadelphia, and even Boston
and that no invading Yankee would ever set
foot upon the "sacred soi1'' of Mississippi.
There are those who suppose that JEFF. Davis
was not honest when he made these declara-
ti0ns, that he did not believe all he said but
l dit1er entirely from such men. haXe no
doubt but he believed every word he uttered.
Reared amid slavery, and imbihing: from
| childhood, all the odiDus aristocr1ttc feelings
which slavery generates, be had most pro-
found contempt for al who laborcd TO live,
and he corld not possibly conceive Of spark
Of nobleness, courage, or beroism ~ the
character Of the working man, be he white or
black. He looked upon all as cronching COW
aids, whom the chiyalry Of the South could
crush at their pleasure. Such feelings are es
naturally generated by slavery, as caloric is
rcncsnted By fire. The head Of the slave
holder is TUNED his Judgment is so disturb
Cd that " conclusions arc ever erroneous.
The politician Of the South has ever been
shrcwd, but he has seldom shown the quail
ties Of statesman.
MATTERS IN JACKSON.
found opinion considerably modified In
jackson as compared with that of other por-
lions Of the State: Aetrong guard had cvi-
dent1y done much in that direction at least
ifit did not modify the opinion, 1t changed
tho action Of the people. As this was the
centre OF political influences for the State, it
was quite necessary that these should be di.
rectcd by few thinking 1ayoncts; md
hence the garrison at that point was stronger
then at any other interior town. ! remained
u jackson till the e6.h, mtngling freely with
The people and rs my dress, rs already re-
lated, was TINT Of q country planter, my real
charaetcr-n Northern adycnturcr-w2s sell
dom suspected, and heard mach that ortlfn-
] ary newsSntherers wo1tl1 never catch.
! Nevertheless great caution prevailed among
the people, rs to what they said in the pres
cree Of any one not personally known 10
them; for they dreaded being reported to the
authorities. They did not anticipate m ar
rest, unless their language wills truly Outrage
cccdingly strict; but what they dreaded was
this: If they htntcd too strongly that their re-
! penteDce was not sincere, those who wanted
| pardon, or expected to take advantage OF the
Presidents amnesty, II within lis promises,
would be excluded, and 'conGscat;on might
follow and what was more they would BE-
excluded from all participation IN the reor.
| gauization Of the States, by which they ey-
pccted, in some way or another, to manage to
hold their negroes, either as actual or nomi1-
al slaves; Willie those already pardoncd, we're
AFRAID those parf1ons would he revoked, if
they were too bold IN their opposition to The
government. ..,
| THE REAL POLICY.
A careful survey of Inattcrs, up to the time
left jackson, convinced me that there wcrc
four parties In the State, Us follows:
I. Unconditional and uncquirocal Union
| men;
$. Violent scbcls;
8. Policy rebels;
4. Floetcra.
The first of these arc all ralicals; but they
lumber not more than 4 tenth Of the popula-
tiou; and it Is to be hoped that tie little
leayen may soon affect. the whole lump. I
cnn myself remember when Abolitiouists 1856
were Jared and feathered, even on the West
e,n Reserve of Ohio; and when l remember
the progress Of liberalism there, ! am not
without hope, even Of Mississippi. I know
the parry. weak rs II Il, Is horribly dreaded
BY the rebels, for they art aware h0w rapidly
the opinions Of such men gain ground. whcu-
ever They atc nliowed free scope, and when
the press and the forum are uutrnmmcl}ed.
Hitherto, this class have been hcpt In strict ST.
1cnce, by an irresponsible, but complete censor
ship; and the stTictncss Of that censorship Is
evidence strong aa Holy Writ to show how
much The spread of liberalism was dreaded,
und how CREST was the zeal power Of uu-
checked thought But now the whole thing
Is changed. Men sny and write what they
will, and while gar1isons Of Union troops are
kept there, they will do 30, and perhaps, BY
The time they are Withdrawn, the liberals will
be able TO protect themselves; at least
hope 20. -
The second c1asa Is not now numerous, for
by violent rebels mem those who will listen
10 no policy, who refuse NIL amnesty, and will
take no part In the reorganization OF the GOV
eminent, prcler7tns 70 let eseryth'9g e. rather
South. These mcn-re-haps tspeople" would
be more proper, q majority Of the class being
NC men-are homeless, They make some
noise, let every ono know Just. where to find
refuse TO qualify themselves for part In
tlem-their influence Is nothing Of couse-
qucnee-
The third class is the really dangerous one,
and cannot give their Views and Intentions
@ e a1 ~ psoab m ss ba1 n' 5e4en e
us, In a hack room Of y cof!ce housc, on the
next day afte- reached jackson. His words
made deep impression IN Inc, and as Was
| sitting by the table-tnasblc tnpped-pencIl
in hand, 1 took them down on IL, In short
hand, without any one suspecting what was
doing, and then at the first opport unity trims.
eibed than On paper. He did not suspect
any one present, though know myself that
1t least two in The crowd, beside myself, were
Northetnezs; but were ill dressed in plantation
II 4r.fn 3Sa .1~ fill
IT tell yon what It IS, boys, We ART In a Pc
culiar pohition, and We must resort to pecu-
liar tactics to get out Of It mud hold our own.
Hut we can do It and do Il easily. The North
Is sick OF this fuss, but the people there are
TO a niger, and they will fight us on this
slavery question as long as they can. They
have LIS now, and we tnust get out of their
power, as the first thing We must apparent.
1y acquiesce in the abolition Of slayery, and
the wise men ut send to Congress must be
| just such as will secure seats and the recnEni.
lion Of orr Slate authorities, and then We will
! have the advantage. Once back, they can't
drive us out, and We caneleet whom We plea Sc
, | TO oiIlce, and ] believe, IN conjunctiun with
Northern Democrats, We will yet make !etfcr.
con Davis President Of the United States,f for we
can secure his pardon II We play a very hum.
BILE part for while Then, with men in Of
. tlce, both at home and in Washington, VIC will
4 renew our old claims, {that property Is above
and our Slate Co courts viii So so decide, that the
abolition Of slavery. whether b. the anproach,
; ing State Convention or by the proposed
! amendment TO the Federal Constitution, is q
: aeafn: We:must be polite, iii masters Of iii
Situation. md fhrn uss am noEer.,'
= The ofher Sontherners pTesent concurrei
: with the gentleman, and feel confident that
;u,rotann n NE heefmc1. nnicss the strone
: arm The Government Is extendcd constaatlj