Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-06-21
ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE SOUTH.

! The Tribune correspondent, now In
Georgia, whose interview with Toombs
we published on Tuesday, has called upon
Alex. II. Stephens, the Vice President Of
the Confederacy, and from his letter re-
porting the interview we extract the fol-
lowing, as showing the spirit Of this great
Southern Democratic leader. We invite
attention to it particularly for the purpose
of showing that the Southern leaders do
not endorse or accept the new milk and
cider policy of thew departures" so FASH
ionable just now, in the North, where
Democracy is more anxious for the loaves
and fishes of Office than they are TO main
tain their time-honored principles or the
consistence of their party record.
n Pertinent to these points are the follow
ing views of the Ex-Vice President
He spoke of tho Republicans as Jacobins
without conscience or consistency, whose pur-
pose was to establish centralized, despotc
government and to destroy the liberties OF the
people All of the reconstruction legislation of
Congress he believed to be unconstitutional,
fraudulent, and void. The Alllth Amend,
ment he admitted to be valid, because 1t had
been ratified by the rghtful Governments OF
the Southern States-the Governments dc 1Hre,
established by bayonets. The Alvin ana
XVth Amendments he claimed were no part of
the Constitution, because their pretended
ratification had been effected by force and fraud
They were not results of the war, as the Radical
leaders falsely claimed, but were conceived after
the war was over, as q part of the scheme OF
Capitalization which those leaders had con-
cocted to keep themselves in power. lie did
not hold the XVIII Amendment TO be Invalid
because he opposed negro suffrage, but be-
cause of the usurpations and outrages upon the
Constitution by which it was wrongfully adopt
ed He expressed the belief that the move
ment toward centralizing power in the General
Government, which he said was going on with
constantly accelerated rapidity, would end
in destroying all the power and Independence
of the States and next the liberties OF the peo-
pie. This, he said, was the deliberate purpose
of the Republican leaders, and he looked for
its speedy accomplishment rs. ~,
jeff. Davis, Gen. Toombs, and Vice
President Stephens, the chosen leaders of
the South, have all recently spoken out
plainly on the proposition to "aecept the
situation.n They represent the Democra-
cy in States where their voice in the COM
ing Presidential election will be all potent.
We must therefore look to them for indi-
cations of what the policy of the party will
be aOhen in poorer. The men who can car
7y their States in that election, are the men
who will dictate the party policy in the
hour of triumph. We look to them there
fore for the spirit to rule and not to Val
landighan, or John Quincy Adams, who
will have but little to contribute to victory,
for Ohio and Massachusetts, are certainly
Republican. Union men of Tennessee, read
the speeches of jeff Davis, the views of
Toombs and Stephens, and see if you want
such spirits to control in the councils at
Washington See if you can keep step to
their music and give your voice and infiu-
ence in carrying out their plans. ''''