Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-02-25


matter under consideration.
Yours respectfully,
| VIZ. F. PERRY.
MEMPHIS, TENN Feb. 5, 1875.
WIN. F. PERRY, EsQ.-MY DEAR SrR /:
Yours Of the 23rd ulto. has been re-
ceived and the letter as well as the ac-
companying newspaper slips have been
carefully noted. You viii please ac-
cept my thanks for the vindication you
have made of myself and Of the cause
we together strove to maintain. 1t has
been a rule with NE to leave criticisms
upon my public conduct to be tested by
the record of my official acts, which
many years of public service has made
quite full, and which has the merit or
dement, as others may decide of thor
ough consistency. Adherence to this
rule has been confirmed by the fact,
that my assailants take such opposite
grounds that one set might be left to
answer and be answered by the other.
I cannot, however, under existing cir
cumstances, hesitate to comply with
your request for information bearing on
the issue you have Joined.
The specific allegation, the truth of
which you have denied, is that in Feb.
1861, at Stevenson, Alabama, I said,
1--WE will carry the war where it is easy
to advance, where food for the sword
and torch awaits our armies in the
densely populated cities" This the
writer interprets to mean a general con-
fiagration and indiscriminate slaughter.
1 have no recollection of ever having
made speech at Stevenson, and have
examined a file Of newspapers of that
day containing such matter, but could
not find any reference to a speech made
by me at Stevenson. At the time men,
toned, 1 was going from my home in
Mississippi to Montgomery, Ala, in
consequence of notice received that I
had been chosen by the Congress to be
the President of the Provisional Gov
eminent of the Confederate. States
At many railroad stations on the route,
the people assembled to manifest their
good will, and often went out on the
platform of the car to make due ac-
| kytStGISOu WIS one
Of those stations, and I may there, as
at other places, have returned thanks;
but neither there or elsewhere, neither
then or at any other time, could I have
used the language attributed to me, or
any language that could be fairly con-
strued to have such meaning. Though
| may not claim to remember what
said on those occasions, do know what
were my thoughts and wishes, and
therefore can be positive as to not hav-
ing said what never thought or con-
templated. Very soon, say on the Sec
ond day after my arrival at Montgome-
~, the Inauguration took place, and the
address on that occasion will show what
were my hopes and purposes, surely
more fully and more accurately than
the speeches made at II. r. stations,
even if they could have been supposed
to be correctly reported. A copy of
that inaugural address has been OBJ
tanned and is enclosed herewith.
Deprecating war on every account,
and resolved if possible to avoid it, my
wishes in that regard much exceeded
my expectations. If, as unprecedented,
the attempt should be made to coerce
the seeding States, and war should en-
sue, certainly did prefer the defensive
offensive policy, and in that event hoped
it might be possible to have the cam
paigns and battle fields in the enemy's
country. When our army marched into
Pennsylvania it was not to pillage, to
burn, and to slaughter, but to compel
the vast hosts which after proportion
ate preparation had invaded Virginia
to counter-march for the protection of
their own territory. The means en-
ployed were those best adapted to the
end, the defence Of our country against
invasion. The conduct of our armies
on every occasion, when beyond the
limits Of their friends, demonstrated
the views of their Government, and
challenges comparison with that of their
adversary.
For answer to the general arraign-
ment of a purpose on my part to excite
sectional hostility. initiate war, and
thus destroy the Union of the States, /
can, in the absence of any specification,
only refer you to deeds as well as pub
lie avowals of devotion to the Constitu-
tional Union of our Fathers. They who
when entering into high official stations
took the oath to support the Constitu-
ton with mental reservation to vio-
late a part of it; they who denounced
the Constitution in bitterest terms, and
prayed for dissolution Of the Union
of which it was the compact; they who
exhausted prose and took to verse to
revile the emblamatic flag of the Union,
might readily ''evolve from their inner
consciousness" accusations against me,
90 appropriate themselves.
A short time before leaving the q. s.
Senate, in obedience to the mandate of
the sovereign State / represented, / was
placed on Committee organized to test
the possibility of devising means of pac-
ifcation which would prevent the pas
sage Of ordinances to revoke the grants
made to the General Government as
then shreate.ei in many of the South
ern States Wha> NY conduct was on
that Committee, and w&.s ,ra. that ~
the "Republican" members - 4 NAV