The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-07-24
ALEXANDER II. STEPHENS HIS
CHARACTER.
HIS CONDUCT IN THE LATE WAR.


| (SwINTON, the accomplished author OF the
popular book on the campaigns Of the
Federal army of Northern Virginia,) has
written to that journal highly interesting
account of his visit to ALEXANDER II. STE
pHESs in. his home at Crawfordville, Geor-
gia. 1t contains so much that is interest
ing as we'll as instructive that we feel it
due to our readers, since we have not room
for the whole letter, to gather from it the
most entertaining ard important Of its
contents, which will be found below:
ALEXANDER II. STEPHENS.
Mr.. Stephens is we'll known here. Near
six feet, with Students stoop in the shoul-
ders, pale aud wrinkled face without
beard and careworn, and an appearance
of unearthlineSs which "moves one," says
Swinton, "partly with awe and partly
pity" Having been described as having
the face of boy covered with burrows Of
grief, our author says:
"To me, it is rather the face Of a
woman-of mother who has borne many
sutferings, who has met these sufterings
with gentle resignation, and whose resig.
nation Heaven has rewarded by that inward
peace which illumines the countenance
with an eranescent light from beyond the
tomb. In his physique he has just enough
Of the material 10 make him subject to the
law of gravitation. There is pair OF
scales on the balcony; l took the fancy to
stand on it and weigh myself. Stephens
with little laugh, stepped on after me
how much do you suppose he weighed
| Ninety .toar pounds avoirdupoiS!
Swinton then speaks Of his head as fine,
his hair 1" silky y''-originally brown, now
turning gray-his marvellous dark, liquid
eyes, and his age Of ffty-tive; and says Of
his character:
81 can say never saw more pure,
gentle, lovcable, human soul. He is as
free as we ever get to be in this world
from the frailties and passions and selfish
ness of our earthly nature, and he has laid
up treasure yonder by life filled with
good deeds. He has, for many years
spent the greater part of the largest pro-
, fessonal income Of any man in Georgia il
helping the needy, in educating poor young
men, and in other multifarious bcncvo
lences, and have heard from his neigh.
bors innumerable stories that bring tears
to ones ewes of how he has befriended ana
defended and upraiscd the wretched, and
the ignorant, and the criminal. Though
far from rich (the value Of his estate would
be under $l0,0O0), he yet spares, by
abridgiue his own modest wants, Won
derful deal for charity, and is the almoner
of unnumbered poor people, and espe-
cially, as l have seen, Of poor, helpless,
shiftless blacks, who seem naturally to
flock to sMassa Alech' in every time OF
need"
sTEPHESs's HISTORY OF THE WAR.
Mr.. Stephens is engaged in writing a
work on the "War between the StateS,'
which eswill treat only Of the special
points in the causes, conduct, and results
of the war;" Mr.. Stephens, according to
Mr.. Swinton, said "no right hearted Con-
federate can write the history of the war ;
it would be like a man rakiug up and ex-
rosing TO view the fol(ieS and errors of his
brother" Mfr. Stephens's work is not to
be looked for soon. Says our author, it is
ain no considerable degree of forward
ness"
MR.. STEPHENS ON SECESSION.
He regarded secession as prodigious
political blunder. I must now add that
he believed in the perfect right of seces-
sion.
This brought up in our talk the whole
vexed question of the sovereignty Of the
States, theory firmly held by Mr.. Ste
phens. and believed by him to be the sole
conservative principle in the American
| Government, without which it runs into q
mere government Of the numerical majori-
ty, and ending one easily sees where, since
! all simple forms of government ultimate IN
despotism. He went over the whole sub
ipct. tracing it through the debates in the
Constitutional Convention of 1887, and so
down through the earlier and later times.
Among the authorities he brought up were
| Calhoun and Webster, whose great debate
| he asked me to read. lie looks upon these
two speeches as the most perfect preSenta-
tion and summation of the whole question,
and as such he intends to print them en-
tire in his book. Calhoun he thinks ut
terly annihilated his antagonist, who, IN
deed. never replied, and he says that Web
ster afterward, at Capon Springs, in Vir-
pinia. confessed that the States aoere sove-
reign.
THE COURSE OF GEORGIA.
In the conversation as related by " LII
bra the course of proceeding in Georgia
relative to secession is given. the hesl-
tation. the strong Union feeling that pre-
vailed. SO much encouraged by Mr.. Ste
nhens's speech at Milledgeville in Novem-
her. 1860. which Robert Toombs applauded
although opposed to 1.-THE declarallon vi
Mr. S. that our government was inc oesl
government the world ever saw W"-that Tue
evils were not present, but anucipaleo' >
and that it was better to bear inc Ills we
had than to fly to others that we knew ho1
of-he proceeds to state how the people
were infatuated, and that it was as posi-
BILE to stop the swine possessed OF oeFiiS
from running into the sea as to Keep Ile
people from running into secession, De-
Iieying in the right of secession, he deter-
mined to go with his State. lie sa.o 10
Swinton: "I did just as | should nave
done had I been in the convention thal
formed the Constitution in 'S7. Ihousn
I should then have wanted union; YET II
it had been rejected / would OF course
have been compelled to yield"
WHAT CAME OF RAIN STORM.
Mr.. Stephens informed "Libra " that
but for a rain storm Of great violence on
the day Of the election of members to tne
Georgia Convention-lst day Of January
large majority of Union men would have
been returned, and the State been under
the control of Union men. But the rain
falling in torrents kept the people from the
nolls. and the elections were in the hands
IF the inhabitants, of towns and villages,
who were strongly for secession.
But for this rain Mr. S. contended the