The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-08-01
OH A r L e S Il O n
WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST /, 1896.
JEFFERSON DA VIS IN CONGRESS.

connected with the late war, and the acts and
jobs arising out of it, will be veracious
narrative of the pursuit and capture of JET
FERsoR DAvIs,--ifi it is ever written,--the story
of his imprisonment, the unsorupulous and
disgraoeful means resorted to to procure evil
denoe sufficient for his conviction, the numer-
GUS vexatious delays to prevent his trial, the
persistent malignanoy with which the entire
Radical press have never ceased to slander
his name and heap obloquy upon his head
and finally, the nine months labor of the Ju-
dioial Committee of Congress, which, on
Friday last, resulted in the birth of report,
seven solid columns in length, in the small
type of the New York daily papers. From
lhe fact OF this report being brought in only
the day before adjournment, we h ave a right
to infer that Congress prolonged its session to
this late date solely to give the committee
time to hatch up strong case against the arch
rebel
And now let us examine the nature of the
brood thus painfully and tediously brought
into being. Have they proved anything that
we did not know beforep Havo they brought
to light any completely with the murderers of
LINcoLN9 No, they do not even pretend to
this; and yet this was the only task of the
Committee. >,g
1t should be remembered, toe, that this
Committee was vested with the largest powers,
far exceeding even those Of the Executive;
could and did send for persons and papers !;
was not limited as to time, and certainly
lacked not the will to make out O strong case
against the prisoner. No case was ever
brought into court SO we'll "gotten up" no
prosecuting officer ever exerted half the zeal
and energy in preparing testimony to insure
the conviction of the prisoner, Us did the men,
bers of this Committee i'm the present case
1t was, indead a labor of love with them.
DAVIS wanted Justice, bnt the judiciary UuIu-
nittee (strange misnomer) thirsted for ven
geance. ~
Detectives were employed in all parts of
the country to ferret out everything that could,
by the remotest possibility, be made to have
any bearing upon the case. Unsuccessful in
this, the detectives were discharged, and
others employed, whose busin ess it was to
find testimony that shall convict Mr..
DAVIS Of completely with the murder of Mr..
LINCOLN. AS in duty bound, the detectives
went to work and found the necessary wit
nesses. Their afidsvits were taken, and
they proved everything the Committee could
wish. UNDERWOOD also, as we have recently
seen in the papers, testified before the Com
mittee that he thought q jury might be packed
TN Richmond 1Dho aDouid convictNr. Dauis
The Committee rubbed their hands with
glee. They had it a sure thing now, when
just at the very moment when they felt GER
tain Of their gene, several of the aforeuamed
witnesses reoanted, telling the Committee that
they had been induced by large promises to
make the affdavits nut that the same were
false, and as to Mr. DAVIS they knew nothing
at all about him. All this was published In
full in the New York Herald. The pubIioa.
tion raised row in the Committee, and in the
Radical ranks generally, but there has been
no categorical denial of the allegation. The
N. Y. Tribune, in its review of the Commit.
tees report very feebly says: "The Committee
have properly rejected the testimony of the
witnesses who evowed their own falsehood,
with what motive does not appear"
DR.. LJEBER's archives furnish proofs first,
with regard to DAVIS DEGREES regarding ne.
groes bearing arms. This was mere retalia-
tory war measure. not upjustifable under the
circumstances. But as it was never put into
execution, and as even the Tribune passes it
by, we will not lose words in its defence.
The second, third and fourth part of the
report all relate to tho treatment of Union
prisoners in the several Confederate prisons.
There has been great deal said and written
on this subject, much that is, alas! but too
true, and great deal more that is false, and
written, too, by men who knew they were
lying. After looking over tho documents
here adduced, we are On the whole very we'll
satisfied that they have been brought to light !;
for they will at least show that our officers
were not indifferent to the sufferings of the
prisoners. The fact of their privations (by
no means as great as is attempted to be made
out in the host Of Yankee sensation books ON
the subjoot) attracted the attention of the
officers in charge, who sought to do oil they
could to emeliorate their condition. That
many letters and ndorsemsnts were frequently
written, producing but yery inadeouate re.