Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-05-27
GEN. SHERMAN.

GENs SHEkuANs
HIS Letter to Joe confident
that the Memorandum Bargain will
be Ratified-Doub as to its Meaning
!. His Distrust of Lawyers.
HEADoUARrERs MIL. DTv OF THE MIss.,l
In THE FIELD, RALEIGH. N. c.. April II. !
Gen. j. e. Johnston, Commanding Con-
federdte Army:
n GENERAL:-I sent you q letter for
Gen. Wilson, which, If sent by telegraph
and courier, will check his career. He
may mistrustt telegraph; therefore better
send the original, for he cannot mistake
my handwriting, with which he is IA
miliar He seems to have his blood mp,
and will be hard to hold. If he can buy
corn, fodder and rations down about
Fort Valley, it will obviate the necessi-
ty of his going up to Rome or Dalton.
1t is reported to me from Cairo that
Mobile is IN our possession, but it is
not minute or official.
Gen. Baker sent-in to me, wanting to
surrender his command, on the theory
that the whole Confederate army was
surrenJh red. explained to him or
his staff officer, the exact truth and left
him to act as he thought proper. He
seems to have disbanded his men, de-
POSTED d few arms about twenty miles
from here, and himself awaits your ac-
tion. L will not hold him, his men, or
arms subject to any condition other
than the final one we may agree on.
Il shall look for Major Hitchcock back
from Washington on Wednesday, and
shall promptly notify you of the result.
BY the action of Gen. Weitzel In rela-
ton to the Virginia Legislature,
feel certain we 1cM haze no trouble on
The score Of recognizing esisting STATE gor-
eynne1ts. 1t may be the lawyers will
want us to define more minutely what
is meant by the guarantee of rights of
person and property. Hmdy be construed
into n compact for as 10 undo the past
as 10 the rights Of slapes, and ''leases of
plantations" on the Mississippi, of va
can't and abandoned" plantations I
wish you to talk to the best men you
have ON these points, and, If possible,
let us in out final convention make these
points so clear as to leave no room for
angry controversy. 80
/ believe that if the South would
simply and publicly declare, what we all
feel, that slavery is dead, that you
would inaugurate an era of peace and
prosperity that would soon. efface the
rayages of the past four years of war.
Negroes would remain in the South, and
afford Won abundance of cheap labor,
which otherise will be driven away; and
it will save the country the senseless
discussions which have kept us all in
hot water for fifty years. 4
Although, strictly speaking, this is
no subject of military convention, yet
/ ann honestly convinced that our simple
declaration ofaresult will be. accepted
as good law everywhere. OF course, i
have not single word from Washington
on this or any other point of orr agree
ment, but / know the effect of such a
step by us viii be universally accepted.
1 am, with great respect, your obedl-
ent servant w. Il. SHERMAN,
Major General, u. S. A.
The above letter was written to the
rebel General after the memorandum"
had been signed and before he had heard
of liz reception in Washington. He
scenes perfectly confident that the ex-
traordinlry agreement would receive
the sanction of the Government. de
admits that. it may be construed into
d compact for us to undo the past as to
the rights of slaves, &C., and then wish
es that Johnston would ''talk TO the
best men you have on these points. .
Tie best men With whom he would talk
were breckenridge, JEFF. Davis, lseDJa=
min, Vance, and shareholders of that
TX. Docs any one doubt how they
would interpret the memorandum"
which recognized the legality snq Vac
lidity of the ''existing rebel State gov
ernments, and declared that the laws
of the Slave States in respect to persons
and property, should be continued and
enforced? .rE9
General Sherman refers TO the action
of WeitZel in relation to the Virginia
Legislature, as furnishing a precedent
for his extraordinary course. But he
neglects to mention that President
Lincoln had publicly revoked that ac-
ton several days before he was essassi
mated, and that it had been published
In all the papers some ten days before
the date of the above letter of Sher-
man TO Johnston, and of course he
must have known of the reEocation
when he wrote the letter. He knew of
the assassination two days before the
memorandum was signed, apd FIVE days
before this letter was writer's and knew
also something of the character of the
nsw President. 1t will be observed
that Gen. Sherman admits that his
memorandum covers ground he had no
business or authority to touch, and that
he was interfering with matters which
did not belong TO him. Chicago Iri-
buRe. ssh - a. EloJ ss3
What Regimes Of Mexican siiyer.-We'
find the following pertinent particulars
touching this inquiry in the True Delta
of New Orleans: 'Fhis question islask.
ed, Where do all the specie dollars go
The receipts at New
York are very trifing. We, however,
can give eome information on the sub
iect. The British West India mail
steamer, the February packet, landed ut
southampton with about Si,9S5, $50
early in March. The greater part of
this was Mexican dollars received from
Vera Cruz. We also observed another
shipment of nearly one million of dol
lars short time SINCE. Englandreal-
ICES all the profit and advantages nom
her Gordon Of mail steamships ranaifying
in every quarter of the world, under
subsidies for mail service. The steam