, 1875-06-05
GEN. BHERMAu AND JEFF DAVIS.

W. IAAAk A4Q4 AAHk u ACkttA ny p&+81 I
DAVIS commenting on passage In suEa- |
uAss momors touching Tho assassination Of
President LINCOLN. The particular passage |
which has o1citod tho ire Of DAVIS occurs on
page 0 10 Of volume Of the momoirs. by
an arrangement, Gen. SEERaAN was to meet
Con. JOHNSTON, then commanding tho Rebel
army in North Caroliua, Oh the 17th Of April.
As ho was entering the car Mt Durham on hia
why to this interview, the telegraph oporntor
told him that m Important dispatch in cipher
was Just thon coming over the limo. Ho
waited until tao dispatch was received md
translated. It was from Mr. STANTON. an-
nouncing tho aBassinntion Of NJ. LINCOLN,
tho attempt on tho lives Of Alr. SEWARD md
his son, md Baopicion that like fato WAS
designed for cton. GRANT and all the princi-
pal officers Of the Government. Gen. 6l1ER-
stAS directed The opcrntor u diyrlgo tho con-
tents Of the dispatch to no one Until 1is re-
tnrn. Flo kept tie matter secret. He met
JonssTos at tho place appointed, and he
tins describes whnt followed:
IA aoon wo wero hloEo toge:ter, showed him
The dispatch announcing Mr. L,acoLNs assassination,
sud wntohed hl cosely. Thd preparation canno out
In large drops+,n lila forehead, and 10 did not ot-
tempt conceal hIa dsa.ros,. Nc denounced tho act
disgrace +, tho ngo and hoped did not charge Ii
10 tho CUnfoicrsts Government. l told him
could not bcItrs that 1o Gen. Lrn, tho officers
Of tho Confed erAto army, could possibly hh prvy to
acts Of assaPt iuatEon tt tcoM not sIvs much for
JxYT DAvts- aEoRaE aAxpKEs and nlcn " that stss.
This renlark OF Gen. SnEnaAN was mado
within f1,w hours after he had heard Of tho
assassination Of the President, and, consider
ing all tho circumstances OF tho case, WAS
rather mild exproasion Of whnt Was at tho
TINA widespread bolief. DAVIS was the
recognized CA1111sE Of tho Confeaeracy. 1t
was ho who inspired the whole Rebellion. It
was ho who had drawn the Southern poll.
ticians into hin scheme, His b%.ief that ho
Ind succeeded to tho mantle Of CALHOUN,
and l,is ambition to be tho founder Of new
nation, led him on until he Ind engutfod
tho country, North aud South, in q war Of
blood. Ho uover at any time gave evidence
Of the lenst kindness Of heart, aym-
pathy for suffering humanity, Or tho slightest
disposition to end tho dreadful strife sov0 in
4 recognition Of Ills own ohleftiuship. lie
was m embodiment of arrogance and selfish.
moss. His favorito Gonora distinctly pro-
posed tho general massacre Of all opponents.
DEAunEaARp, who enjoyed tho special favor
OF thh man DAvs, proposed to mako assessi-
nation distinguishing feature Of the War,
| and to raiso the black flag. The Northern
people had witnessed tho dreadful massacre
Of their couutryn,on by assassination md
tho oven moro dreadful death by starvation
learued OF tho moro wrotohed condition Of
tho Union prisoners At Richmond, where tho
mon were crowded.land packed into small
rooms; whore they wore starved or poisoned
by rotten food, and deliberately shot II they
approached window for fresh mir; whero
they died by p1atoons md their corpses wero
left to keep company with the ltving.--al1
this they knew had taken place under tho
very oyo Of JEFF DAVIS, who was deaf to
eyory appeal for the amelioration Of their
condition. Naturally, they looked upon him
- an nnfceling, sol6sh man, capable Of tho
most oold.biooded cruelty in the matter of
war, and, iu his defeat and overthrow, eapa-
bio ut any not Of revenge or violence
prompted by disappointed ambition.
Gen, SHERMAN, In hia remark TO JonNsroN
At the first hearing Of the assassination OF
LINCOLN, but expressed in very mild form
an opinion very general throughout the
country, that DAVIS w&a capable Of many
things which soldier and man OF generous
and nobla impulses would spurn with horror,
Mr. DAv1s has 9unk In general sstima-
ton at the South almost ~ low a. he IL held
at the North and hsz wild and absurd at-
tsmpts to keep himself from merited obliv.
ion but add to ths contempt which this par.
| tloular Latter actually invites.