Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-08-26

VI
tempt. 1t friendly settlement until tho
contest vas evidently hopeless, when
he voted for the ordinance OF seces-
siopJanuarys IL, 1861 Aeswas elect
ed q delegate sto the Montgomery
conversions of February4, not with
out some grpmbling, on The part OF
the original secessionists. aud subse-
queutiy vas chosen one OF Georgia's
two s~euatorssin the confederate con-
gress, defeating Teombs. who angrIiy
decffiaed the secoud senatorship. A.
firM . tfeaders of the oppostiion to
Frsside nt D4vis' administration, Mr..
Hill sooH sbecsmes pr0minent as its
leading. supporter ~ congress, and
during the44st two Yearaof the war,
a historian has told was, ssMr. Davis
constant aud devoted personal friend
aud official adviser, intrpsted with
frequent andsiiDpeftant missions OF
deiscacy, and5a brilliant aud earnest
defender aud exponent of the con-
tederate policy" In the famous con-
scription controversy iu 1862, Mr..
Hill took up the cudgeis for the DAVIS
policy. being resisted by Governor
Rrown,.whe did not fail to. make tho
moet Of the fact that Mr.. Hill had
first opposed the measure of which he
became the especial champion. In
the fall of 1864 MI Hill accompanied
President Davis Oh his tour through
Georgia to urge q supreme effort III
he went with him on that Welt to
Hoods headquarters which resulted
IN tho Inflated expedition into Ten
nessee. To the literature of this
angry and calamitous' period Mr..
Hiif contributed a long letter, which
will be found in Nj. Davis .'Rise
and FALL" In the last hours of the
coptederacy he was active aud elo-
qnent In urging q desperate resist
ance.a- It will. be@remembered that
upon Mr.. William L. Yaucey's return
from England. bearing the unwelcome
news that misslOns II favor of the
south were unsuccessfuls because Of
the Opposition in Europe to slavery,
Mr.. Hill opposed him in a heated de-
bate in which he gave the commas
sioher the lie, following it UP with a
stunuing blow from an inkstand. In
May, 1865, Mr.. Hill was arrested,
together with Messrs. Stephens, Cobb
aud Brown, and sent 10 Fort LafaY.
cite, whence be was released on parole.
III Jolly, returning to his home at La,
Grange. q ,.= ,.ita g !
In The reconstruction period Mr.,
Hill, as usual, took a prominent part
in Georgian politics, and as usual
found himself arrayed III opposition
to Governor Brown. In July, 1867,
me took the field against reconstruc-
ton with All eloquent and passionate
address. followed up by the "Notes
OH the Situa.ion," q series Of viudic.
tive philippines which brought his old
opponent into tho iisls. La the demo-
cratic convention which me- at Macon
in December. Mr.. Hill presided aud
led the fight for resolutions denOuuc-
ing the advocates Of reconstructieu az
criminals, aud he was the principal
orator al the convention in July,
1868, when these ''unnameable crea-
lures" were consigned To "ths mex
ttingnishabie hell Of. their con-
sciousness Of infamy." Two years
later Mr.. Hill came in for his turm of
abuse by the people he had led and
stimulated, hi. letter oL4ecember g.,
1870, insisting that the amendments
were in iact parts Of the constitution
aud wOnld be held so III law, and
urging the Southern people to obey
thei., protect negro suffrage and
make the best OF the new relations
betW erp the te.ter Il and state govern
ments. being the signal tor al out
bnrat OF adverse criticism log sus-
tanned, It, being alleged that he had
turned radical anu was to receive the
sehatorship from the republicans as
The price OF his treachery. LIZ 1872
MIR. Hill was a Jealous supporter of
the Greeley movement. General John
Is. Gordon defeated him aud Mr..
Stephens for the sematurehip in 1873,
ami in 1874 Mr.. Garrett Mcmillan
secured the congressional nomination
In the ninth district, despite Mr..
Hills most energetic efforts. In May,
1875, however, upon Mr.. McMiiian's
death, Mr.. Hill was nominated and
elected to fill the vacaucv, being re-
elected in 1876. In congress he Scrv-
ed IN the committee on ways and
means and particularly distinguished
himself by his speech OF January IL,
1876, on the Amnesty bill, in reply to
Mr.. Blaine, defending the south from
the attack of the e~x-speaker aud
pleading for an abandonment of the
republican policy of sectlonalism, and
his plea, January IL, 1877, in favor of
the Electoral Commission. On the
10Th ne was elected to the senate, to
%succesd Mr.. Thomas NJ. Norwood, his
most formidable antagonist. 1t NAV
be said here that in tho spring OF
1874 Mr.. Hill became involved In a
warm newspaper controversy with
MIR. Stephens (who accused him of
incorporating certain facts in the
history OF the war. especially ic re-
lation to the Hampton Roads confer
| ence. II Mr.. tanha attitnda