The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-02-10
IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DOCUMENT.


The annexed me. letter from Hon. Jeremiah
S.. Black q prominent member of Mr.
Buchanan's Cabinet, throws a great deal
OF light upon certain transactions occur
ring about the close of that administra-
tration. As a valuable contribution ll-1.G to
the history of those eventful days, be-
sides showing the political position OF the
late Secretary Stanton at that critical tefsl pc,
rod, this letter4will be found exceedingly
interesting: @
10 the Editor of the ". Y. Herald Z:
Since the death of Mr.. Stanton some
newspaper writers have revived the scan
dalous accounts which began to be propa-
gated. / think. In 1862, concerning his con-
duct while a member of Mr.. Buchanan's
Cabinet. 1t is asserted that he came into
that Administration with views entirely
opposed to those ofsthe President and the
men who were to be his. colleagues, all OF
whom, except Messrs. Holt and Dix, were
Ia favor of the Southern Confederacy, and
ready to sacrifice the Union; that sup
ported by these two he bullied the rest !;
that he terrified the President by threats
of resignation into measures which other
wise would not have been thought Of !;
that he urged immediate war upon the Sc
cedipc States to crush out the rebellion !;
that though hdefaated:inthissby the,treason
of. his associates, he carried with high
hand other5points of sound policy; that
by these hardy displays Of hostility to the
Administrations which trusted him he pro-
NOTED the interests and won;the gratitude
of its enemies. - - II.
This is the substance expressed in my
own PLAIN English OF many. statements
coming from various sources, extensively
circulated aud so generally believed that
If not soon contradicted they are likelyto
be received as authentic. history. They
are not only false, but they must be, inju-
rious to sStanton's reputation and they
are grossly unjust to others, dead as we'll
as living, s~s g -.
+ ain not the special defender of Mr.
Stanton, and l certainly would not assail
him. Before he fell away from the Demo
cratic faith our friendship was intimate
and close. There was no separation after
ward except the separation which is ineyi-
table between opersons who differ vide
ly on public subjects believed byEboth to
he vitallyimportants' Our correspondence
of last summer and autumn lbegans by
himselfl shows, that / was ablesto forgive
him my particular. share of the injury he
had done to the liberties of the country,
and he had my sincere good wishes for his
future health and. welfare. His political
attitude, to the Buchanan Administration
previous to his appointment as Attorney
General is wholly misunderstood or else
wilfully misrepreseated, He was fully
with ms at every stage OF the Kansas
question, and no man felt a more loathing
contempt than he did for the knavery OF
the abolitionists in refusing to vote upon
the Lecompson Gonstitution,s when moth
ing but, vote was needed to expel slavery
from the, new State, and thus terminate
the dispute by deciding it in the way
which they themselves pretended to wish.
He wholly denied Mr.. Douglass notions,
and blamed him severely for the nnrea.
sonable aud mischieIous schism which he
had created in the party. The Know
Nothingism of Bell and Everett found no
favor in his eyes. In the canvass OF 1860
he regarded the salvation, of the country
as hanging uponthe forlorn9 hope of Breck-
;nridee's election. We knew the Aboli.
tionists to be the avowed enemies of the
Constitution and the Union, aud We
thought the Republicans would necessarl-
ly be corrupted by their alliance with
them. As we saw the march of these
combined forces upon the capital, we felt
that the constitutional liberties OF the
country were in as much peril as Rome
was when the Gauls were pouring over the
broken defences of the city. Whether we
were right or wrong is not the question
now. 1t is enough to say that MIR. Stan
ton shared these apprehensionsf fully. lie
more than shared them; to some extent
he inspired them, for he knew Mr.. Lincoln
personally, and the account he gave OF
him was anything but favorable
The 5th of November came, and MIR.
Lincoln was legally chosen President by
the electoral machinery of the Constitu
fion. though the majority of the popular
vote was against him by more than mil:
lion. The question was now to be tested
bv actual Experiment whether party
Which ~ existed only in one section, and
which was organized on the sole prlnclple;
of hostility to the rights, interests, and
feelings of the other, could or would adj
min;ster the Federal Government IN
righteous spirit of justice, or whether the
predictions of all our great statesmen fol
thirty wears must be verified that the Ao
olitiouiists, when they got into power
would disregard their sworn duty to the
Constitution, break down the judicial au
thority, and claim obedience to their own
mere will as "higher law" than the law
of the land. The danger was greatly as,
gravated by the Criminal misconduct OF
large bodies in the South, and particularly