Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-02-11


gether on Mr.. Davies side, and is the
most convincing and overwhelming an
swer yet made TO Blaine and Garfield,
the former Of whom, it will be seen, is
held responsible by all the papers Of the
country, of whatever shade of politics,
as altogether responsible for cOntro-
yersy which the south will not shrink
froni, however it msy be deplored or un-
fortunate 1t may be deemed II these
Centennial days:
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
New York sun, Sth instant.
There is probably no man in America
who is the object of such intense aver
sion, on the part of so many persons, as
Jefferson Davis. This is due partly to
the position he held during the civil
war, aud partly to certain peculiarities
of his character; and when Mr.. Blaine
recently made bis feIociols attack upon
the proposition to include him in new
amnesty bill, that shrewd politician
knew very well that he wss addressing
very strong and very deep sentiment,
and that the EXTREMIST bitterness and
viruIence which he might display would
meet with an earnest response in the
minds Of an immense body OF people.
That such q feeling exists toward Mr..
Davis, more than toward any other one
anon g the men conspicuous in the south
ern Confederacy, ought not, however, to
prevent the candid and the thoughtful
from rendering entire justice to him
both as a public fdnctiOnaTy and as
man; and his letter TO Judge Lyons, OF
Virgins, which we published yester-
day, contains an &eppesl WHICH
we do notA> disregerdh, y This lettG
shows clearly, W. think, tkat
the Confederate authorities, and es-
pecially Mr.. Davis, ought not to be held
RESPONSIBLE for the terrible privations,
sufferings, and injuries which our men
had to endure while they were kept in
the Confederate military prisons. The
fact is unquestionable that while the
Confederates desired to exchange prison
e's, to send our men home and to get
back their own, General Grant steadily
and strenuously resisted such an ex-
change. While in his opinion the pris:
oners in our hands were well fed and
were in better condition than when they
were captured, our prisoners In the south
were ill-fed and would be restored to US
too much exhausted by famine and dis
ease to form fair set-oH against the
comparatiVeIy vigorous men who would
be given in exchange. "It is hard on
our men held in southern PRISONS" said
Grant in an official communication,
"not to exchange them; but it is hu-
name to those left in the ranks to fight
our battles. II we commence system
of exchanges which liberates all
prisoners taken, we will have to
fight on until the whole south
is exterminated. If we hold those
caught, they count for no more
than dead men," "I did not" he said,
on another occasion, "deem it advisable
or lust to reinforce the enemy; and al
| immediate resumption OF exchanges
would have had that effect without any
corresponding benefit" This evidence
must be taken as conclusive. Ii proves
that it was not the Confederate authori-
| ties who insisted on keeping our prison.
ers in distress, want and disease, but the
commander of our own armies. We do
| not say that his reason for this course
was not valid; that is not now the ques-
| ton; but it was not Jefferson Davis or
| any subordinate or associate OF his who
| should now be condemned for it. We
were responsible ourselves for the con-
| tinued detention OF our captives in mis-
| ery, starvation and sickness in the
| south. Moreover, there is no evidence
whatever that il was practicable for
| the Confederate authorities to feed our
prisoners any better than they were
led, or to give them better care and
attention than they received. Ihe
food was insufficient; the care and at
tention were insufficient, no doubti
and vet the condition OF our prisoners
was not worse than that OF the Con-
federate soldiers in the field, except in
30 far Of the condition Of those In prison
must, ofnecesslty, be worse than thal
of men who are free and act1ve outside
| Again, in reference to those cases OF ex'
| tIeme suffering and disease, the photo-
graphs of whose victims were go exten'
sively circulated among US toward tne
end of the war, MIR. Davis makes, il
seems to US, good answer. Those very
| unfortunate men were not taken from
prisons, but from Confederate hospitals,
where they had received the same
medical treatment as was given TO sick
and wounded Confederate soldiers. The
fact mentioned by Mr.. Davis that while
they had sixty thousand more prison
ers Of ours than we of theirs, the number
of ConfedeIates who died in our prisons
exceeded by six thousand the whole
number of Union soldiers who died IL
southern prisons, though not entirely
conclusive, since our men were gener
ally better fed and in better health
than theirs, still furnishes strong
support to the position that, upor
the whole, our men were not useC
with greater severity or subjected t.
greater privations than were inevitable
In the nature Of the case. OF thi
charge, therefore, of cruelty to prison
ers, go often brought against Mr.. Davis
and reiterated by MIR. Blaine in hi
speech, we think be must be held alto
gether acquitted. There are other thing
In his letter not essential to this quee
ton, expressions of political opinion
and intimations OF views upon large
subjects, which il is not necessary tha
we should discuss. We are bound, how
ever, to say that in elevation OF spirit, il
a sincere desire for the total restoration
Of fraIernsl feeling and unity betweel
the once warning parts Of the republic
Mr.. Davis's letter is infinitely superio
and infinitely more cTeditable to him
both as q statesman aud a man, ths
anything that has recently fallen fror
such antagonists and critics OF his 8
Mr.. Blaine.
New York Tribune.l
S* When MIR. Blaine proposed {
i. distinguish Jefferson Davis by refusin
TO include him in general amnesty,
msiority of the Republicans Of th
north believed that he made great NH
take. More than half of Davis's lettel
however, is taken up IN showing ths
Mr.. Blaine was right. Whatever ma
7 be the feeling,of the rest of the south,
; ia plain that Davis at least is unchanged
D = Aud finally he lays the who
: blame of the horrors Of the prison pc
/ upon General Grants refusal to e.
T change. Thus Mr.. Davis throws dow
: q gage which the north can hardly svoi
2 taking up. The living witnesses
whom he appeals will be called upon f
, their testimony. We shall have th
official reports on both sides, if bothsid'
can be obtained.
: New York Herald.
The primary respons
bilIty for raking the cinders of the d
: csying embers and blowing them into
: flame must rest on Mr.. Blaine, vi
= recklessly provoked all the wild az
: mad things which have been said ia T
!, ply. Jefferson Davis has played u
! part Of q political lunatic In writing b
passionate answer. The pretext that