The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-10-03

Interview or a Radical with Mr..
stephens---A New Reason Given for
the Collapse OF the Rebellion.
A few evenings since, I sent nv
card to Alexander H.. Stephens, not
with much expectation that he would
accede to the request of Republican
newspaper correspondent for an in
terview. l was disappointed, how
ever, for in few minutes I was
ushered into his room. Time does
not deal very gently with the ex-
Vice-President Of the Southern Con-
federacy, who so earnestly deprecated
secession and the recourse to force to
break up the Union. He appeared
feeble, almost decrepit. His voice is
shrill and cracked. His face is plow-
ed into thousand lines and wrinkles,
is pinched and scared-looking. His
uneasy eye belied the quietude of the
rest of his features, and told of
spirit still restless and active. After
replying to few inquiries relative to
his health, which he said was all that
he could expect at his period of life,
he opened conversation relative to
the South, and his own State more
particularly, by the remark that he
did not see much to be surprised at
in the condition OF affairs in that
section. He could speak with cer-.
tainty about Georgia. The people
there were anxious for peace; they
had had enough of war and blood
shed; they were weary with the clash
of contending political elements; they
sighed and lohged for repose. II
am, said he, "but o mere observer,
so far as politics are concerned. T
have retired forever from public life,
and what, I may say one way or the
other, is but. an individual opinion,
entitled to no particular weight. I
represent no party, no faction, no in
terest."
The old gentleman pleasantly gos-
slipped on in this strain for several
minutes, occasionally pausing to Whit
%he small pipe which he smoked in
cessantly.
'I have no doubt" said he, .that
time will heal all our difficulties and
troubles, and, that under constitu-
tional laws we shall be as happy rs we
once were."
This word constitutional, hit on,
perhaps, accidentally, started him on
new train of thought. His eye
frightened up, the tobacco wreaths
curled up faster and faster, and he
broke out rather impassionately:
The real causes-ideas-whi ami
mated and influenced the leaders of
the Southern people at the outbreak
and previous to it of the late war are
not, in my opinion, clearly under
stood. 1t is my belief that four-fifths
of the men who led the movement,
did not seriously contemplate the dis
ruption of the confederation of the
States. Their theory, my theory, at
least, was that if we could succeed in
obtaining from the North recogni-
tion OF the State sovereignty princi-
pie, we should all come together
again on equal terms and form a new
Union: After the fall of Richmond,
you of the North, even we of the
South, and the world generally, in
deed, were astoaished at the collapse
of the rebellion. 1t is mistake to
suppose that the South was physi-
cally beaten then, and that she was
utterly incapable of making any fur
ther effort or Of prolonging the con-
test almost indefinitely. Before the
war, the people of the South saw the
gradual Capitalization of power in
the whole country. We saw that the
Union, composed Of equal and inde-
pendent sovereign States, was drift
ing into something that hardly diff
fered from monarchy, except in
name. We placed ourselves firmly
against that tendency of the day.
We resolved to battle against it when
we saw that it could not be combat
ted by other means. AS / said be-
fore, we never, 1.-THE majority of the
leaders,) never contemplated absolute
independence. Well, war came.