Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-04-10
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
foME EXPRESSIONS PROM THE PRESIDENT
or TfiE LATE CoSrEDERACY.'

iiNhtS III lCICc , NbDIDcJ anu lHt
Mexican war Mr.. Davis is led to ex-
press himself upon the late rebellion,
saying: alt is generally believed in
the North that | am chiefly response
bic for that great calamity. | was
but one Of vast body Of the South,
and no more responsible than thous-
ands of others. The war would have
taken place without me as inevitably
as it did with me. 1t was one of the
things which was sure to come in the
progress Of events and III solving great
problems Of government upon this
continent" He conceded expressly
that the abolition of slavery would
prove an ultimate good to the country /;
that it WAS manifest advantage to
the white race, for it would led to the
development Of the South and multi
ply her manufacturing and mcchani-
cal industries. From advantages OF
climate alone the future Of the South
is more promising than any other sec
tion Of the country, but the condition
of the present generation of the black
race is all the worse By reason Of the
abolition of slavery.
Mr.. Davis doubts very much the
wisdom of an attempt 10 educate the
negro, and utterly disblicvcs in giving
him the ballot. 1t was his opinion,
that wherever the negro race was
found ii must be rs an inferior and
| scrvic race, aud in the long run
would give way to the superior race
under any aud all circumstance. Mr..
Davis acknowledged, however, that he
had changed his mind entirely upon
the one question viz, that the great
staples OF the Soulh-coiiun aud
sugar-could be produced Nth great
cr economy and in greater abundance
by paid labor than by the labor oi
( slaves. This ha, already been demon
s,rated and that fact alone goes far to
/ prove the advantage which the aboli-
ton of slavery has bcenJo the whites.
/ Referring to the political status Of the
negro Mr.. Davis said the freedmen had
naturally been mi,led by politicians,
thinking that Northern men were their
truc,t friends, but Of late years they
seemed 70 have reached the opposite
/ conclusion, and in the long run il
. would be found that the negro, hayiL z
but little sclfdcpendence, would vote
IN accordance with his wishes and the
wishes and the sentiments of those
who employed him. For this reason
( the negro vote would be less. impur-
tant factor in the politics of the fu-
I turc than the Northern men supposed.
Referring TO the oftrcitcratcd char
. gcs of coercion aud bulldoziDg Of he
7 gro voters, he said that he had uo
I doubt there were individual instance.
of cruelty and coercion on the part q:
I laNlc-s men IN some sections, but H.
I believed the prevailing sentiment
among Southern mcr was one of the
+ greatest kindncss aud good will to.
ward the former slaves. Speaking Of
national afIairs, he said he accepted
the situation a. decided BY arbitnmcnt
of the sword, and that he was very
| hopeful of the future Of the country.
/ He did not believe there was an exist
ing cause for sectional arrangement
or that there could be any hereafter.
/ One of the results of the war already
| apparent was that the South was los,
| dependent upon the North than here
tofore: for, while she could supply
great staples a. before, her people had
begun to produce n greater variety OF
| crops for their own use than ever be-
1 fore, aud they would eventually com
| pete with other sections, in manufac-
turcs and mechanical arts In this
connection he remarked that while the
South was destitute of money and the
value of real estate was greatly de-
| pressed, in very short time the price
of landed property would advance be
cause Of its intrinsic value in the pro-
duction Of staple articles Of commerce.
He remarked that the only disturbing
| elements TO be discerned now were the
efforts of extremists upon both sides
to keep alive animosi,ies and haireds
Of the past. If Congress would pur-
| sue moderate course, attend to its
legitimate duties of general legisla-
ton for the good of the whole country,
the great social and industrial qucs.
tions which were now source OF IN
much contention would settle them
selves, and the country would be at
peace.
In conclusion he said: You nav
assure your people that | have no un.
Kindness in my heart to them or any
of the people of the North. am not
the devil they have painted me- |
have neither horns nor hoofs, and ii
they knew me they would find | am
very much like one of themselves"
A MODEST TRAaP.-Thc gentle
| tramp mounted the landing and rang