Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-05-13

III AAc1amOcE n. StCRmck9 4t 1AOhmes
| Few men stand higher in the esteem
of the intelligent public than ALExkN-
DER H. STEPHENS. His ability is universal
lly admitted to be of the highest order. and
sincere and Conscientious he is to the last
Idegree. Hence, his speeches and his say
Iings are read with great avidity. For this
reason it is that we this morning lay be-
fore cur readers an account of an inter-
IIview "MAcK, the special of the Cincinnati
Commercial, had with Mr.. STEPHENs a few
Il lsiaESry being aOolished, Mr. M sTaif 3 anas
does net believe that any conside derable por-
ton Of people Of Georgia would re-es-
tablishs It egen If they had itin their power
to do so. Free, the Negroes are not getting
along very well, because they miss the
controlling and directing influence of the
Whites. At the end of the year they will
be in debt, no matter on how favorable
terms they may work. In a word, they
arc improvident. Not only did Mr..
STEPHENS regard the going into War a
fearful mistake; but the manner in which
it was prosecuted he regarded as a chapter
of mistakes. He had always regarded a
permanent epafation Of the Union impos-
sible, and he is firm in the belief that had
South Carolina and few other States been
allowed peaceably to withdraw from the
Union, their people would soon have
grown tired of the Independent Confedera-
cy business. Great discomfort was begin
ming to arise by reason of the 20 per cent.
tax levied upon everything by the Mont
gomery Congress, and the Secessionists
were rapidly losing ground ineonseddence
and would have continued to lose ground
had not the $4,000 troops been called out.
That turned the tide in favor of the Separa-
tionists. 1t was that that induced Vir-
ginia, as well as some other States, to adopt
the ordnance of secession.
Undoubtedly, Mr.. STEPHENS is correct in
this. Probably day or two before the
firing on Fort Sumter, the Washington
correspondent of the PHILADELPHIA North
AnseFican wrote, that everybody at Wash
ington, save President LINCOLN, was dis
posed to let South Carolina and its confed-
crate fire-eating States try the expert
ment of an independent Government; but
that LINCOLN alone took the respon-
sibility of attempting to provision Fort
Sumter, and thus challenge to combat the
South. Evidently, he was satisfied that if
he could provoke the South to the first act
of armed hostility to the Federal Govern
ment, it would arouse the Northern people
to an extremity that would enable the Abb
olitionists to consummate the work at
which they had been laboring persever-
inglyl for years. And he, calculated with
an accuracy that proved mathematical.
It win be seen that Mr.. STEPHENS seems
clear in his views, that if Peace Demo-
crat could have been elected to the Presi-
dency in 1854, the Reconstructionists South
would then have gained the mastery and
compelled a peace on the basis of reunion.
On this point we give the words of
ssMACK:"
"But," said 1, sin the North, the people
could not be pursuaded that the peace par
ty was not the secession party.
''There's where you made a great mis-
take" said Mr.. STEPHENS. "Jef DGuis
aodnted Lincoln elected HE TOLD NE So
The reconstructionists of the South want
ed you of the North to elect a peace man,
and zoe aooatld then haze overttros0n the DdUis
War party Of the South and made terms Of
reunion aoithout any difficulty"
Here we have more testimonys and dam
aging testimony it is to the Aboiitionists
and Fire7eaters. who brought upon the
country the late War, and per consequence
the present excessive taxation and distress
In business, that j EFF. DAVIS and his back
ers played into the hands of the Abolition
ists-just as some Confederates and Federal
officers played into each others hands in the
cotton business. rs 500