The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-02-17

pose to the sufferers, under the mellow
ing influences of time and occasional
demonstrations at the North of a desire
for restoration Of peace and good will,
the Sou hern people have forgotten
much, have forgiven much, of wrongs
they bore. If it be less SO among their
invaders, it is but another example of the
rule that wrong-doer is less able to for
give than he who has suffered causelees
wrong. 1t is not, however, generally
among those who braved the hazards Of
battle that unrelentins vindictiveness is
to be found. 1t is not among the brave,
and generous, and gentle; it is skulkers
of the fight, the Blaines, who display
their flag on an untented field. They
made no sacrifice to prevent separation
of the States, and why should they now
be expected to promote the confidence
and good will essential to their union
When closely confined at Fortress Mon
roe, was solicited to add my name to
those of many esteemed gentlemen who
had signed petition for my pardon, and
an assurance was given that on my doing
so the President would order my liberia
ton. Confident of the justice of oul
cause, and the rectitude of my own con-
duct, declined to sign the petition and
remained subject to the inexcusable pri-
vations and tortures which DR.. Craven
has but family described. When, after
two years of close confinement, | was ad'
mitted to bail, as often as required ap'
peared for trial under the indictment
found against me, but in which Mr.
Blaine's fctions do not appear. The in
dictment was finally quashed, on no ap.
plication ofmine, nor have ever evaded
or avoided trial upon any charge the
General Government might choose to
bring against me, and have no view Of
the future which makes it desirable to
me to be included in an Amnesty bill
Viewed in the abstract or as a general
question, / would be glad to see the re-
peal of all laws inficting the penalty Of
political disabilities on classes of people,
that it might, as prescribed by the Con-
stitution, be left to the Courts to decide
the cause and to affix penalties according
to legislation. The discrimination made
against our people is unjust and i'm
polite; if the fact be equality, and their
purpose be fraternity among the citizens
of the United States. Conviction and
sentence without a hearing, without
jurisdiction, and affixing penalties by eT
post fdCtO legislation, are part of pro-
ceeding which had its appropriate in the
assumption by Congress of the executive
function Of granting pardons, to remove
political disabilities which there was not
legal power to impose, and was not an
act of so much grace as to form plausi-
BILE pretext for the reckless diatribe of
Mr.. Blaine The papers preserved by
DR.. Stevenson happily furnish full proof
of causes of the disease and death at An
dersonville, They are now, | believe, in
Richmond, and it is to be hoped their
publication will not be much longer de-
layed. l have no taste for recrimination
though the sad recitals made by our SOL
diers returned from Northern prisons
can never be forgotten and well remem-
Der the excitement those produced and
the Censorious publication which was
uttered against me because l would not
visit on the helpless prisoners in our
hands such barbarities as, according to
reports, had been inflicted upon our men.
Imprisonment is hard lot at best, and
prisoners are prone to exaggerate their
sufferings, and such was probably the
case on both sides. But we did not seek
by the reports of committees with photo
graphic illustrations to infame the pas
sions of our people. How was it with
our enemy2 Let one example suffice /:
You may remember a published report
OF Committee ofthe United Sti.tes Con-
gress which was sent to Annapolis to
visit some exchanged prisoners, and
which had appended to it photographs
of some emaciated subjects, which were
offered as samples of prisoners returned
from the South. When copy of that
report was received / sent to Col. 0uld,
our Commissioner for the Exchange of
Prisoners, and learned, as I anticipated,
that the phot graphs had been taken
from men when they We're in our hos
pitals, when they were liberated for ex-
change, and whom the Post Surgeon re-
garded as convalescept, but too weak to
be removed with safety to themselves.
The anxiety Of prisoners to be sent to
their homes had prevailed over the OBJ
jections of the Surgeon. But this is not
all, for l have recently learned from a
priest who was then at Annapolis that
the most wretched-looking of these pho
tographs was taken from a man who had
never been prisoner, but who had been
left on a sick list at Annapolis when the
command to which he was attached had
passed that place on its southwark march.
Whatever may be said in extenuation of
such imposture, because of the exigen-
cies of war, there can be no such excuse
now for this attempt of Mr.. Blaine by
gross misrepresentation and slanderous
accusation to revive the worst passions Of
the war, and it is to be hoped that, much
as the event is to be regretted, it will
have one good effect of evoking truthful
statements in regard to this little under
stood subject from men who would have
preferred to leave their sOrrowfll story
untold, if the subject could have been al
lowed peacefully to sink into oblivion.
Mutual respects needful for common in
terest, is essential to a friendly feeling,
and when SANDER comes from high
places public welfare demands that truth
should strip falsehood of its power for
evil. l am, respectfully and truly, your
E,s T. ~