The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-08-25
jeff. Davis and his Trial-G0od Sense
from the London Times.
Correspondence of the London Times I

As the time of Mr.. Davis trial draws
nearer the interest which is felt in its
result increases. II was thought that by
postponing the event public opinion in
the North would soften toward Davis.
but there il no indication of such II
change. On the contrary, circumstan-
stances are always occurring which
strengthen the desire to see the heaviest
punishment fall upon his head. Moth
ing will satisiya very large portion of
the people but Mr. Davis life. Even
the most moderate men express feeling
of anxiety lest the Government should
| be content with his Punishment. This
| eager craving for vengeance on an indi-
viduai, notwithstanding the awful wish
tation which has fallen upon the entire
South, and which might seem enough,
to appease the demands of the most vim
t!iotivc, may appear very reprehensible
to people in England, but it Is not 50 ,t9t-
reosoHu6{e rs ii i0ohS at q distdRce. Not
OaiY can IL be cfptained, INT .jusfifcd.
II does not arise iron, any party passion,
6ut from the remembrance Of deCfis
3pHich are more horri6Ie than the Eng
Hsh pabiic can hare any idea Of, and IL
is constantly .te&Jy ne,C proofs OF bar
bdriW peapetrdted upon Federdt l)ri-
| s0ners.
If there is any bitterness entertained
| by the Northern people towards the
| Southland very rarely indeed have
seen evidences of tit springs from the
same cause which makes them talk OF
Davis as of being scarcely human.
| That cause is the incredible and infa-
nous treatment which the Northern
! captured soldiers received in Southern
| prisons.
The evidence upon which the charges
Of cruelty rests is overwhelming and IN
dasWcr0ble. a Sanitary Commission
was appointed by the Government to in
quirc into the circumstances, and the
members of il examined a great many
men who had been prisoners in the
South, some of whom were at deaths
door when they told their story. The
testimony has been published by official
sanction, and photographs of a few of
the prisoners are prefiXed to the nara
tive. Photographs do not lie, and these
pictures of living skeletons, covered with
horrible sores and wounds, speak for
themselves. But still more painful wit
nesses against the prisons of the South
are to be met with in almost every viii
lage in the presence of poor young fel
lows who have returned in state of
idiocy, or paralyzed, or eaten up with
ScurVy.
4 Wretched object was pointed out 20
me the other day. There were still the
traces of a robust and strong man about
him, hut he was physically wreck and
his mind was utterly gone. When ii is
considered that at Andersonville the
Couicdcrates put the Northern prisoners
on piece Of land without even tent 10
cover them, that a tropical sun beat down
upon their heads, and that they had not
food enough given them to keep a dog
alive, it cannot cause surprise that mind
and body alike broke down. II is a fact,
and an awful one to realize, that around |
that prison-field of Andcrsonyille, |
$1,000 Northern soldiers, taken captive, |
lie buried. Fever and starvation laid
them all low. In the regular prisons,
where ut least shelter from heat and cold
was provided, the men were huddled TO-
oether so that ii was almost impossible
10 brcuihe in the rooms. When they
went to the windows TO get a little fresh
air. thew were shot down from outside
by the scntinels. This crime is proved |
10 have been committed in scores of |
eases. a.l |
The evidence, as | have said, is before |
the world; the Southern leaders do not
attenpt 10 contradict it. They only say
they did as well as they could, and oU
oae's acisheS and hopes 'coald lead one
In beHere them. Bit here dgoif, uafoy.-
f,tnQteiy, tie erideace is too st,'0pq ia
dispgoof Of their sCortts. At Libby.
close to Davis house, the prisoners were
literally starving. Their friends i'm The
North heard Of this, and sent them
boxes of provisions. These boxes were
stored in sheds directly i'm front of the
prison, so that the men could see them
from their windows, but the authorities
to distribute them. The priso-
ners died from hunger i'm the sight of
plenty. The Southern defence is that
this was retaliatory measure, used be-
cause there had been a complaint about
the tFeatmento of Southern men i'm the
North; but it is proved beyond all doubt
and every Confederate soldier, private
or officer, who is questioned on the sub
Ject, admits it-that in the Northern
prisons no distinction whatever was
made between Federal and Confederate,
0oM acre carefully looked after, and a. |
aodys had clothing and food. =
. | is very easy for you Engiislmle,n' /
to talk about mercy and forgiveness,
said a lady, talking of this subject, nuI |
how would YOU have felt toward the
Russians if they had starved or muir
dered $4,000 of your soldiers IN one
prison ?n 1t is this feeling when eA-
tends through every class OF society IN
the North. TO condemn IL withouo
duee Il IS to do less than justice to q peo-
3,le srbo dregeady. to shake hands nth
every Southern man, and to help h'De
seith money, provided he acas not q
leader among them. As body the
Northern people are impatient to be
friends with the South. 1t is only