The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-04-09

meuuOneo, makes my narrative his own.
George w. johnson drew up the formal
handwriting, lhave in my possession, and IL
as follows:
lstrictly CONFIDENTIAL
George d. Prentice, Esq, Louisville, KY:
~, DEAF an sIE-rou have long since expressed
the ,, opinion that the southern states could
their subjugation 1, impossible and wrong,
this war should not be sustained, unless 1t is a
Southern States the idea of waging war, ex-
cept In self-defense, is not even talked of, and
ton Of the North would be secuted as a fool.
The terms on which.the Southern Confederacy
desire peace are the union Of the Is slave
the United States they viii con-
wit: Reciprocal free trade between the two
nations In the products of each. In Other
the southern Confederacy" all OF its products,
free OF duty, and in like manner the Southern
Confederacy shall import into the United
States Its products, free of duty. This will
leave each Government to lay its own tariffs,
exempting the products OF each, reciprocally,
Such Gterms OF peace would be materially
beneficial. and highly calculated to produce a
give to Northern manufacturers the full ad-
vantage OF the Southern tariff, and to South
ern sugar, wool, hemp and provisions the adj
ate alith difficulties as to the navigation Of
the Mississippi and its tributaries, and a long
line of inland custom houses.
If there is any obstacle in the way of your
advocating these positions, in the ownership
of the stock of the Journal, 1 will furnish in 10
days, in New Orleans, s50,O 900 in gold to pur-
chase that amount of its stock. II no such
difficulty as this exists, but others involving
personal obligation and responsibility on your
part TO party or friends, / will in like time-l0
days-pay to you in gold S25,0OO to be disposed
any way you wish, as your absolute property,
SO as to secure your release from all personal
obligations interfering with the advocacy of
In this contest our friends have fully en-
barked not only their lives, but their proper
only thing now needed to secure a union of
parties in Kentucky, and that opinions held
and expressed by you frequently heretofore
We think that the advocacy by you of such
terms of adjustment as are desired by the
large amount of property, and prevent a
civil war between citizens of the State.
ditions. on my part, viii be performed with
the perfect con iction that we will have thus
secured the union of all good men in Ken
agent of heralding to the whole nation accept
able, honorable and mutually advantageous
GHoseF yoas oSdi
P.S.-I.have for some time been absent from
soon as possible, and would be glad to have
your decision as early as possible. The South
will only propose peace after victory, Now, is
JULY %, 1861.
1t will be observed that this was written
on the day it was kno wn that the battle of
Manassas was victory to the South, which
will explain the nature of the postscript. At
first it was proposed to submit the written
proposition alone; but Mr. Richards says
that George W. johnson, in his characteristic
way, said he would go to Prentice in person;
and though IL was then nearly II o'clock,
he, accompanied by Richards, went to Mr.
Prentice's private office in the Journal
building, where they found hun. The inter
view is described as one of great interest
and earnestness. George w. Johnson did
not visit Prentice for the purpose of bribing
him, and Prentice did not regard it in that
light. 1t was the act of an earnest, peace
loving citizen, who seemed to have pro-
phetlc vision of the terrible struggle i'm
pending, in which he lost his own life, and
who was striving to bring all the best agen-
cies to bear for the accomplishment of peace
upon terms which he believed would be
advantageous and honorable to both sections
The end in view was all to him, and was his
main object; the matter of money was the
mere incident which he regarded as neces-
sary to enable Prentice to control his paper.
There was nothing sordid in the offer, he
being a man incapable of becoming an in
strument or agent for corrupting any one
1t will be seen that his appeal is an elevated
one, similar In tone, and identical almost in
friend Robinson, whom he held in the lofti-
est esteem, and to whom he would not have
made q proposal, the acceptance OF which
would have compromised him in his own
estimation or that of his friends. In fact, in
looking back upon the events passing at the
time of which write, we are apt to forget
that there had then never been any public
expressions OF a positive, unconditional
Union sentiment in Kentucky. No one, not
even the Journal. had ever spoken of the
Federal army as "our army" Not a Union
soldier had ever been recruited on Kentucky
soil. Horace Greeley had said, LET our
Southern sisters depart in peace" Even
such men as James Speed atterward attorney
general, had lately issued an address, an.
nouncing their adherence to the doctrine of
neutrality, and declaring that while Ken
lucky would take no part in the war, but
endeavor to command the peace be.
tween the sections, as soon as ii
became evident that it was Mr.. Lincoln's
purpose to subjugate the South, or make it q
war for the abolition of slavery, she would
promptly unsheath her sword for the South.
This was the nearest approach to Unlonisn
to which public utterance had been given,
though few men like Garrett Davis, Gen
eral William Nelson and General Rousseau
were in secret CO communication with Mr.. Lin.
coin, with q view to recruiting troops and
the ultimate occupation OF the State.
While, therefore, everybody was advocat.
| Ah6 hSdIdilty-tnc OOQLucTu syIupdtulZeIs
because it was, Is ME-. Davis said, worth more
than $4,000 soldiers to the Confederacy, since
/ it protected 100 miles Of border, and gave
Tennessee and the States South time to arm
and the Northern because 1t proved a tenn
porary check to secession. and offered the
only possible hope of saving Kentucky te
the North ct a critical time, when her acces
sion to the South would have turned tn;
scale-it is not at all strange that man like
George w. Johnson should make such
] proposition as the one submitted, or tina
Prentice, or any one acting with him, should
give 1t respectful hearing. Prentice dis
1 cussed the matter in all its bearings will
great seriousness; he feared that secession
meant war beyond any remedy excep
submission or conquest. He could see nj
hope in two Confederacies. johnson
was fresh from Richmond, and sketched tn,
determination which prevailed there, ant
cited the victory just won to show the powe
OF the South to win her Independence, a
also the danger Of conquest or prolonged wa
| 1T hOstllities were NOT terminated on tn