The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-29
ALEXANDER Al. STEPHENS.
Interview OF Radical with the Ex.
Confederate Vice. President A New
Reason Given for the Collapse of the
RebpIliou

HlA
Confederate Vice. President A New
Reason Given for the Collapse of the
Rebellion.
In the Washington correspond dence of the
Raleigh IN. C.) Standard, OF September %, we
find the tolowing:-
few evenings since sent my card to Alex.
ander II. Stephens, not with mucn expectation
that he would accede to the request of Repub-
lican newspaper correspondent for an intervle W.
was disappointed, however, for in lew min
utes was ushered into his room.
Alter replying to Il few inquiries relative tn
hs health, which he said was all that he could
expect at his period OF life, he opened q CONVEX
satlon 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
certainty about Georgia. The people there were
anxious for peace; they had had enough of war
and bloodshed; they were weary with The clash
OF contending political elements; they sighed
ana longed Tor repose. II am," said he, "but a
mere observer, SO far as politics are concerned.
have retired tor ever from public life and
what may say one way or the other is but an
individual opinion, entitled to no particular
weight. l represent no party, no faction no
interest.
II have no doubt" said he, 'that time will
heal all our difficulties aud troubles, and that
under constitutional laws we shall be as happy
as we once were.r
accidentally, started him on new train OF
thought. HIS eye frightened up, the tobacco
wreaths curled up faster and faster and he
o%roke % out rather impassionately:-
1.-The real causes ideas-which animated 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 understood. 1t
Is my peheI that iour-hiths OF the men who led
the movement did not seriously contemplate
the disruption of the confederation of the
States. Their theory, my theory at least, was
That II we could succeed in obtaining from the
North recognition of the State Sovereignty
principle we should all come together again on
equal terms and form new Union. After
the fall OF Richmond you of the North, even we
OF the South, and the world generally, indeed,
1. 10 a meteko 10 euppoeo thut tho eUutil was
physically beaten then, and that she was utterly
Incapable OF making any further effort or of
prolonging the contest almost indefinitely Be-
lore 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 independent sovereign States. was
drifting into something that hardly differed from
monarchy except In name. We placed our.
selves firmly against that tendency of the 1ay.
we resolved to battle against it when we saw
that 1t could not be coinbated by other means
as said before, we lthe majority of the leaders)
never contemplated absolute independence.
wen, war came. Year followed year, bringing
10 us and to you more and more bloodshed and
misery and desolation and ruin. By and by the
more thoughtful of our people saw that
we were arriving precisely at that state
OF things to resist and ward off which
NC looh up Tins, duu lnat tue experience OF
Europe and of the Old World was to be learned
by us. A comparatively fe " men at Richmond
ruled the entire South. We battled for an idea
aeainst despetism, and battling on in fancied
security we awoke one morning and found tnat
we had the most terrible despotism in the
world ourselves. From that moment while
Lee was still commanding armies ofteuer
victorious than defeated, the Confederacy was
b, aten. Wv"
ut was much the same with us as it was with
you Ia Washngton-power had become central
ized and the reins were held by one or two men.
When We on our side saw this. our people lost
heart, we asked what are we fighting for and
we gave up the contest. There was no arrange
ment, no misunderstanding; the sword was laid
down by sort of tact consent that we had
departed from our first ideas of the war. We Rad
aoandoned the course we had mapped out and
there was no return TO it,"