Wilmington journal., 1876-02-11
Il " k'isESl ENT DAVIS ON
BLAINE.
His Effous in Behalf Oh an Ex
Ity in Federal and Confederate


Mr.. james Lyons. of Richmond,
Va, having addressed letter to Mr..
Jefferson Davis begging him to an
swer the recent speech of ex-Speaker
Blaine III the House on the amnesty
bill, Mr.. Davis has responded. We
give Mr.. Davis's letter in full:
New ORLEANS, Jan. 81, 1876.
Hon. JAMES LYoNs: hIy Dear
Frieud-Your very kind letter of the
14th Instant was forwarded from
Memphis, and has been received at
this place.
have been SO long the obj ct Of
malignant slander aud the subject of
INSCRIPTIONS falsehood by paitisans
of the class of Me-. Blaine that, though
cannot say it has becoma to me mat
ter of ind ference, it has ceased 20 ex-
cite my surprise even In this Instance.
when it reaches the extremity Of ac-
cusing me of cruelty to prisoners
What matters it to one whose object is
personal and party advantage that the
records, both Federal and Confedar-
ate, disprove the charge; tha5 tn
country is full Of witnesses who bear
| oral testimony against it. aud that
the effort to revive the bitter animo5i-
ties of the war obstructs the progress
| toward the reconciliation of the sec
| tions It is enough fol him if his
self-seeking purpose be promoted.
It would, however, seem proDable
that such expectations must be dsap-
| pointed, for only those who are wilful
| ly blind can fail to see in the circum
stances of the Sc the fallacy of Mr..
| Blaine's statements. The published
fact of an attempt to suborn Wirz,
wnen under sentence of death, by
promising him pardon if he would
criminate ne in regard to the Ander
sonvile prisoners, is conclusive as to
The wish of the government to make
such charge against me, and the fail
ure 70 do so shows that nothing could
be found to sustain it. May we not say
the evidence of my innocence was such
that Holt and Conover, with their
trained band of suborned witnesses,
| dared not make against me this charge
the same which Wirz, for his life.
would not make. but which Blaine. for
| the Presidential nomination, has made?
Now let us review the leading facts
pf this case. The report of the Con-
| iederate commissioner for exchange OF
prisoners shows how persistent and
| liberal were our efforts to secure the
relief of captives. Failing in those at
tempts. / instructed General r.. E Lee
to go under flag of truce and seek an
| interview with General Grant, to rep
resent to him the suffering and death
of Federal prisoners held by US, to ex-
plain the cases which were beyond our
control, and TO urge in the name of
humanity the observance of the cart el
for the exchange of prisoners. To
this, as to all previous appeals. a
deaf ear was turned. I will moi
attempt, from memory, to write the
report made to me of the incidents of
this mission. Lee no longer lives to
defend the cause and country he loved
so well and served SO efficiently; but
GeneraI Grant cannot fail to remem-
Der so extraordinary a visit. and his
objection. to executing the C ,rtei are
well known to the public Bat who
ever else may choose to forget my eff
.orts in this regard, the prisoners al
AndersUnville and The delegates ] per-
mitted them TO send to President
Lincoln to plead for the resum ptioa OF
exchange of prisoners cannot fail &c
remember how willing [ was to restore
them to their homes and to ,he com
forts of which they were in need, pro
vided the imprisoned soldiers of the
Confederacy should be in like manner
released and returned to Us.
This foul accusation, though direct
ed specially against me, was no douI
intended as, and naturally must bg
the arraignment of the South, by
whose authority aud in whose behal1
my deeds We're done. 1t may be pre-
sumed that the feelings and the habits
of the Southern soldiers were under
stood by me, and in tx at connection
auy fair mind would perceive in my
cougratulatory orders to the army
alter a victory, in which the troop:
were most commended for their ten
dcrness and generosity to tle wounded
and other captives, as Well the instinct.
of tie person who issued the orders a.
the knightly temper of the soldiers x
whom it was addressed. It is admit
ted that the prisoners in our hand
were not as we'll provided for as We
: would, but it is claimed that we did al
well for them as We could. Can tht
other side say as much
To the bold allegation of i'll treat
ment of prisoners by our side, and
human treatment and adequate sup
plies by our opponents, it is onl,
necessary to offer two facts-frst, il
appears from the reports of the United
States War Department that slough W,
had sixty thousand more Federal pris
!, oners than they had of Confederates
SIX thousand more of Confederate
died in Northern prisons than died o
Federals in Southern prisons; second
the want aud suffering of men IL
, Northern prisons caused me to ask fc
permission to send our cotton and buy
supplies for them. The request wa
granted, but only on condition that th,
cotton should be sent to New Yorl
and the supplies be bought there
General BeaIe, now of st. Louis, wa:
aul borized to purchase and distribute
the needful supplies.
, Our symp tthy rose with the occa
sion and re e:ponded to its de
nsands-not waiting for ten years
then to vaunt itself when it coulC
serve no good purpose to the suffer
ers.
) Under the mellowing influence O
time and occasional demonstrations a
the North of q desire for the restora
! tion of peace and good will the South
. ern people have forgotten much of tn,
wrongs they bore. If it be less 81
among their invaders, it is but anothel
example of the rule that the wong
} doer is less able to forgive than b.
6 WIO mas suffered cauSeleSS wrong.
is not, however, generally among those
who braved the, hazards of battle tha
unrelenting vindictiveness is to bt
found. The brave are generous anC
gentle. It is the skulkers of the fight
the Blaines-who display their fags
on an untented field. They made nc
r sacrifice to prevent the separation oi
the States. Why should they be ex
pected TO promote the confidence anC
!, good will essential to their union.
When closely confined at Fortre 81
Monroe was solicited to add my name
to those of many esteemed gentlemen
who had signed petition for my par
don, and all assurance was given tina
ON my doing so the President woulG
order my liberation. Confident of the
Justice of our cause and the rectitude
of my own conduct / i. cIined To 81 OF