The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-09-04
VA, A. III. stephens ON the Sftua.
ton.

rr-oN. We give his most striking re-
marks:
"pov do YOU regard the present condi-
.;,n Of the country, Mr.. Stephens ?" COM
mcnced. ,,, MI, a.,
,..;res Of constitutional freedom are ra-
,;},r disappearing, and we are fast verging
decentralization and despotism. Unless
,,,,o wonderful change takes place-unless
w. rconlc of the North exercise that wis
I,,, FIR which Americans have been so re-
-aTIable in the past, though they seem to
h,rs los, il latterly--the world shall ere
' 1r witness the establishment Of On en-
.,;rc m the ruins Of this once great repub-
f.. The measures iYaugurated by the do
r,;napt party are the surest Indications Of
.,r,;nv iespotism. Without a political re-
clinton occurs mean time the Government
viii he merged into a espotism-an empire.
!. Grant is elected next November | never
o,no,t 10 see another Presidential cleo
ton
What is your opinion of Grant, person
ally ?"
THAT he is entirely moderated by the
country and the press. know him very
we'll. He is O remarkable man, and one
that few appreciate; of decided military
genius, indomitable energy and determined
will just the man for q coup d'etat such as
the present Emperor Louis Napoleon per-
formed when he placed himself on the
throne of France"
"Do You know the other candidates; and
what would result from the election of Sey-
mour and Blair ?"
" Blair know Colfax know Seymour
! don't know. They are all very clever,
good fellows. Blair and Colfax | served in
Congress with, and, personally, | have no
objection to any Of them. Blair is a man
Of ability, integrity, and character; so is
SEYMOUR, as far as know and Colfax may
be placed in the same category. But it is
not the men 1t Is not Grant and Coltax,
i is not Seymour and Blair, that are to be
REGARDED in the next election. 1t IS the
principles they represent that are ut issue.
The fight is not against Grant and Coltax,
hu, against the iniQuity Of the dominant
narty that has brought the country to the
verge of ruin, and threatens finally to de-
stroy it.
"How would the southern people act with
regard to universal suffrage in the event of
the success of Seymour and Blair ?"
"They would abide by judicial decisions;
md there is little doubt that all this party
legislation to secure power would be over
thrown. Conventions would be called, and
the people would regulate suffrage as
best they thought proper. l believe q
system Of qualified suffrage on an educa-
,;onal basis would be generally adopted in
the South in such an event"
DO you anticipate any trouble during
the Presidential election between the races
in the newly-reconstructed States"
No; except when it is provoked by the
unprincipled whites who have associated
themselves with the negroes to get office.
The whites will remain, as they have been,
peaceabe and quiet, relying mainly on the
North for dellverance from the frlghtful
condition in which they are placed. The
cry Of the Radicals, Let us have peace,
means let us have war. They desire II,
and to make political capital inaugurate
riot and bloodshed, if not thwartcd by the
forbearauce of the whites. They raise the
CRY that the South wants war. They lie
when they say it. The southern people
have no means TO make war; no disposition
10 fight; no enemy to meet. Peace is all
thew wish for, and the civil liberty which
as citizens of this Republic they are enti-
tied to-"
Would the negroes resort TO arms in
case they were deprived OF suffrage? ?"
"If they would and did, and fought for it.,
they would then certainly be entitled to it.,
Int as a body or people they would not
DO il. An occasional instance there might
he among them of men who would, under
the inspiration and guidance of whites,
clamor for the right of suffrage; but SO rare
rs to be scarcely noticeable. As race, q
people, they do not appreciate liberty. 1t
is not in their natures. They are simply
children Of the sun, with none Of the genu-
inc aspirations of the whites to be free.
Iut if an evidence of what ! say were
wanted, can point to Tennessee, where
10000 whites-Anglo-Sax ons-have been
distranchsed, and they do not resort to
arms. In Georgia there are $4,000, and
throughout the South in the same proper
ton but we hear of no inSurrectlon or re-
telion on this account. Therefore it is
clear the negro will scarcely fight under the
same circumstances, Notwithstanding that
II may be said, And the colored troops
fought hravely.'"
How do you regard the finances of the
country, and are the southern people in
favor of paying the national debt %
- am precisely Of the same opinion as
Mr.. Pendleton on the subject of the finances.
His views accord with mine fully. Deal
frankly with the bondholder without specu-
a,ing on him, and without allowing him to
speculate on the public. Keep good faith
with public creditors, and thus sustain it.
But first restore constitutional freedom, re-
duce taxation, abolish the Freedmen's Bu-
rcau, and all other channels of corruption,
and entranchise every white man now dis
iraNchioel, and then you will find public
credit good and gold at par. AS to the pay
ment Of the debt, with a reduction Of the
annual expenditure from $500, 900, 900 to
10000, goo, it would soon be paid, and 10
people would he more anxious 10 sustain the
national honor than would the southern
people. 4 noted fact in our history has
been that, however lavish southerners were
N their personal expenditures, they were
always stingy and economical in public pc
cuulary affairs, and always jealousy
guarded their public honor. Some might
HUemp, to refute this by saying that Mis-
s!sSlPpi refused to pay her bonds but they
we're lev who knew the character OF the
Class Of bonds she repudiased, and the cir
V01stance8 under which it was DONE"
Have the southern people any desire to
pay the Confederate debit"
None that am aware of. First, be-
cause Of their inability and next, because
Inyy have already repudiated it. Two
Wlhgs that the United States Government
were Ycr. fnnl;rh In ao;nr OF tho closa of