National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-01-12

| you, for 10 Is conclusive evidence TO mo
that such are your opinions, and allude
| to these matters for the sole purpose of
correcting an erroneous impression on
your mind.
assure you have no antipathy to Mr..
Davis. nor am ! hostile to him, and II
there is an object, or intontion, or wish
with any to organize party In opposi-
tion to tho administration know nothing
| of it-have heard nothing of it, Ast0
tho lato movement on tho action of
Georgia upon the subject OF the haboas
| corpus, and the resolution in relation to
the terms on which poaco should bo
sought, l think i know as much as any
body else. If any one is responsible for
1t no ono is moro so than myself II Is
true that those resolutions were not
drawn up by me. but they wore prepared
by Linton after full oonsultatl on--pre-
pared at his house before he went to
Milledgeville-and rs for Mr.. Davis or
his administration, thoy had but little TO
do with it-nOthing in tho world except
In 80 far az they fall within the scope Of
tho point rs stated. They did not rise to
tho dignity Of n moments serious consid-
GRAFTON or thought one way or the other.
Greater objects by farwero thon engrossing
my attention aud Linton's too. think.
As for Mr.. Davis. repeat again hayo
no feeling of antipathy, much loss hos
tility. What opinions you may think
entertain o: him, as you intimate, know
not but have no hesitancy in stating to
| you, freely and frankly, and most conf
| don't I'y, what my opinions of him arc.
The, ,re much moro akin to suspicion
and jealousy than Of anirhosity or hato.
| While do not and never have regarded
him asa great man or statesman on q
large scale, or man Of any marked
| Qoning | huun rla fn,
of good intentions, weak and vacillating,
timid, petulant, poevish, obstinate,
but not firm. Am now beginning to
doubt his good intentions. say doubt
for after Watching him closely am mob
satisfied in my own mind, or arrived AZ
any conclusion, whether some Of his
shortcomings are to be attributed to
weakness or bad purp lsos. These are my
real sentiments, and my reasons for them
aro these: Since his first elevation to power
ha has changed many of his former
states rights principles, as in case Of
conscription. His whole policy on tho
organization and discipline of the army
Is perfectly consistent with tho hypotho-
sis that he Is aiming at absolute power.
| Not u word has come from him of military
usurpation In the orders for martial law
by Bragg and Van Dorm on the whole
system of passports aud provost marshals,
which Is utterly wrong and without
authority of law. After all that may be
said or written by myself and others
against these usurpations, not one word
has escaped Mr.. Davis showing his dis
approval of them. Again, it Is we'll
known that the subject of dictatorship
has been mooted, talked of, and discussed
in private and in the public journals, aud
that the most earnest advocates Of such O
course, the virtual doing away with con-
gress and the constitution, have been
editors noar him-right under his nose;
editors of journals recognized at the time
to be the organs of the administra-
tion. Now 1t seems to mo
strange that this should be so and mon
holding and advocating such sentiments
for months should hold noar relations I o
him If such sentiments were distasteful
to him. These are bad signs to me, yet
they are not conclusive evidences of bad
objects or intentions on his part. They
leave mo In doubt but certainly awaken
my suspicion aud watchful Jealousy.
They teach me to be on my guard, and
they should, in my opinion, put the
whole country on their guard. The price
of liberty is eternal vigilance. But again
l assure you / feel no more hostility TO
him than do to you, and great numbers
l meet with who see no danger In these
things. My hostility and wrath land
have enough of 1t to burst ten thousand
bottles) Is not against him or any man or
men, but against tho thing, the measures.
and the policy which SOC is leading us
to despotism. If you can understand and
appreciate this position and these feelings
then you can understand me,
and II you cannot then you
do not understand me and cannot.
But trust you do. How could you have
got the impression, or entertained tho
thought, that had antipathy to Mr. Davis,
or was hostile to him, Is strange and un-
accountable to me. You surely have
heard me in conversation speak of his
weakness aud imbecility. but certainly
with no bitterness of feeling, and what L
have said on this subject has always been
more In sorrow than anger. had no
moro feeling of resentment toward him
for these than | had toward the defects
and intirmities Of my poor old blind and
deaf dog that you saw when you were
here. Poor old Ris; he 10 dead now and
gone to his long rest. Peace to his asher
aud honor to his memory. While |
deplore his inhrmities certainly
have no feeling of unkindness to him,
AS to what you say about administration,
one word. l hardly know what idea
you attach to this term as used by
you. If you mean the cabinet, then
they arc sustained by neither the
congress nor country, and whom theii
recommendations were rejected by con-
gress, If they had had any self-respect
they would have resigned their places.
II you mean the acts and messages Of con-
gress, then am confident not one tenth
of the people of this country approve
them. / would stake my head upon the
issue that not ten districts in the conted-
eracy could be carried in congressional
election for candidate running on tho
advocacy of the four leading measures of
the last congress, and pledged to sustain
them as the settled policy of the country.
This cry OF sustaining tho administration
you will allow me to say with all due re-
spect to you, is nothing but q stupid,
senseless cachinnation. Nobody approves
1t. heard that Gen. Cobb, In his speech
at Nilledgeyille, said all these acts of
congress were proper, wise, and just; and
yet do know that Gen. Cobb spoke very
differently to me of some of them before
, they were passed. Why will men thus
/ degrade themselves by attempting td
, bamboozle the people, aud how are we ia
, get better laws IL bad ones, that all feel
and know TO be bad, are not denounced
and true principles proclaimed.
l said but little about the tax and cur
rency question in Milledgeville because
money at best, in my destination, is but
tIubus pIchboi duh LioAo Nitoi ihtcionJa
, were in jeopardy.
, Now am done with all these matters
with you. wished to put myself right
. with you on certain points. / hope L
have done so. Hereafter / will write on
other matters. do not know yet when
/ can get to SOC you. 1t still continues to
, rain, and can not get my corn in tho
: ground. / must 500 after that before I
! can leave home, But 1 must add, In
! conclusion, that you are, l think, mis-
taken in supposing that the late move.
2 ment in Georgia was started with any
/ view toward the organization of q party
: against Mr.. Davis or his administration.
L know all about that mnvamnnt LIZ