The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-01-28

| crnmcnt, the Commander-;n- Chief Of
its armies. His character was al c,c
mcnt in the problem Of the war for put
ting down the rebellion, in which at the
time | was an important factor. The
cost of the war was then n matter Of in
tense interest to Mr Lincoln, Er. STAN
ton, Mr.. Chase and other leaders i'm
Washington. On the 18th Of Scptcm
ber 1864, telcgraphcd to General Hal
leck, in Washington ''Ciovcrnor Brown
has disbandcd his militia to gather the
corn and sorghum Of the State. have
reason to believe he and Stephens want
to visit nc, and have sent them 4 hearty
invitation" Two days after received
from President Lincoln this dispatch :
81 feel great interest in the subject Of
your dispatch, mentioning corn and sorg-
hum and the contemplated visit to YOU,
On the same DAY ! answered him direct,
by telegram: 81 will keep the Depart
mont fully advised Of all the dcvelop
mcnts connected with the subjects in
which YOU feel Interested. Mr.. Wright.
former member Of Congress from Rome,
Ga, and Mr.. King OF Marietta, are now
going between Governor Brown and NV
self. | have said to them that some of the
people Of Georgia arc engaged in rebel
lion, begun in error and pcrpctuatcd in
pride; but that Georgia can now save
herself from the dcvastations of war
preparing for her, only by withdrawing
her quota Of the Confederate army and
aiding me to c1pcll Hood from the bor-
dars Of the State in which event, in
stead Of devastating the land as We pro-
grcsS, | will keep our men in the high
roads and commons, and pay for the corn
and meat we nccd.'
DAVIS sUsrECTlSu GEOHGIAHs.
Mr.. Lincoln with his wonderful ga.
gacity, saw that JEFF. Davis visit to
Georgia in September, 1864. was rather
OH account Of Stephens and Brown than
Hood. He was statesman, | mere
soldier. who watch the desperate move
for its military chances, and was abso-
lutely convinced that Davis then sus
pcctcd the fidelity Of Stephens and
aBrown to him as tn. head and front
OF the ''Richmond Confcdcracy," for it
hal ceased to be Il conrcd"rsry of "sov
crcign StatcS.' The "ScceSSion'' Of 1861
i:! become separate State action, in
1861, an" Davis Was opposed to it. rs he
well might be. (Spc his letter to Tie
Georgia Senators, page POI, American
Annual Cyclopmdia, 1861 Had Gcor-
gia withdrawn in 1864, the Confederacy
would have collapsed rs Il bubble, and
Georgia, South Carolina aud North Car
oiina would have escaped the dcvasta-
ton which necessarily followed.
ME-. STEPHENS OPINION OF DAVIS.
When in Atlanta, had possession Of
i vast amount Of captured letters and
newspapers, which enabled me to trace
the current Of public opinion in the
South, which is rs much an clement of
force rs that Of muskets. | have now
before me an original letter from Alex
and"r II. Stephens, Vice President of
the Southern Confcdcracy, to IIcrschcl
'. Johnson, Of almost equal fame, dated
Charlottesville, Ga, April s, 1861.
This letter was printed in full in the
Herald a few days ago.] have never
spoken or written Of Mr.. Davis rs plain
ly rs Mr.. Stephens did in April 1864,
after he had been associated with him
:hrcc years in the Government Of the
Confcdcracy. At the time ofmy remark
at the Frank Z. Blair Post was not in
possession of this particular letter hut
knew Of the opinions Of Mr.. Stephens,
which were then shared by many Of the
most intelligent men of Georgia. And |
also copy slip cut ont Of n Southern
newspaper in March, 1864, and pre-
served by one Of the officers Of the army
as sample Of those referred to by Mr..
Stephens, as published under Davis
very nose by editors recognized as organs
of the administration
Estate SOVEREIGNTY PLAYED ouT.'
"rhc Richmond Enquirer was the or
gan Of the extreme States rights party
Of Virginia for many years. We be-
lieve it was the original publisher and
advocate Of the doctrine Of '9S. The
following from late number of the
Richmond Enquirer shows the States
rights idea in full blossom: No con-
vcntion is needed; for what is the SOW
ereignty Of a State needed in the con-
vention =? Has not State sovereignty
been the weakness Of the cause? If
during the life and death struggle with
the compress Of common danger to
hold together. these States this princi-
pie Of State sovereignty was continually
obstructing itself, delaying and prevent
L