The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-01-21

| A''so III kIlc pOutu the
plan adopted, and that other Senators
should remain in Congress so as to pre-
vent any Legislation that might hinder
or delay the proposed measures. II
that was not conspiracy what in the
name Of God was it? Gen. Sherman
had also produced n letter from Alcck
Stephens, the associate Of Mr.. Davis in
which Mr.. Stephens says that Mr.. Davis
had abandoned his States Rights doc
trines, and that he was seeking to subvert
thcvcry Government established by the
Confederate States. The letter was cap
tured in the hands Of IIcrschcl V. John
son, Of Georgia, to whom it was ad-
dressed. Senator Sherman had seen the
original and knew it to be Stephens
handwriting. Again, Gen. Sherman had
produced letter from Mr.. Davis to the
Confederate Congress marked "secret''
kept in the Rebel archives and found by
an officer Of the United States army
when Richmond was captured. In this
MIR. Davis had demanded the suspen-
sion OF the writ of habcas corpus.
Senator Sherman asked should not these
papers be printed? Did they not show
! the motives that led to the great civil
war? Did they not tend to show that
the probable termination Of the rebel
lion, even if the United States arms had
not suppressed it, would have been the
eventful establishment of dcspotism in
the Southern States.
Mr.. Davis was now an old man. SEN
ator Sherman did not desire to saw any
thing unkind Of him, did not desire to
wound his feelings, but, Great God,
SAID the Senator, will it ever be disputed
Ill this country Of ours at any time with
IN thousand years that in the war and
before the war jefferson Davis was a
conspirator and traitor to his country ?
Never, trust.
Later, Senator Sherman added:
"Whencver, in my presence, Jefferson
Davis is treated rs patriot | must enter
my solemn protest. Whenever the mo-
tlves and causes Of the war are called in
question l must assert that it was q
causclcss rebellion, entered upon with
bad motives, and that all the men who
led in that movement were traitors to
this country Of ours"
Senator Lamar said no had but lust
stepped into the chamber and had not
heard the resolution read lie presum-
ei 1t referred to the publication Of some
papers relating to the war now on file
in the war department.
Without knowing. he said, the posi-
tion occupied by his friends, he would
say that he had no objection to any pub
lication that would throw light upon the
true character Of the movement for the
separation of the States Of the South
from those Of the North. He would
havc.siven his vote silently on the rcso-
luton had it not been for the remarks of
the Senator from Ohio (Sherman
That speech was marked by fragrant in
| loSSaAoS III thC Ol INC issue
between General Sherman and Mr.. Da-
Wis. The issue between those two dis
tinguished men was not that which the
Senator from Ohio had represented, and
the issue between them had not by that
Senator been brought to the attention of
the people Of the North. According to
the publication in the press, and which
went not only to the extrcmitics of civ
iliZation, the question was not merely
that the secession Of the Southern
States was the result Of conspiracy.
That question, as the Senator from Ohio
(Sherman) had properly remarked, was
a question of historical truth, and was
to be asccrtained and decided by the
facts of history as read by future gener-
ations. Whether it was the conspiracy
OF few ambitious individuals or the
uprising Of whole people to preserve,
as they thought, their autonomy and
their institutions, was question which
Mr.. Lamar was willing should be remit
ted to the verdict of postcrity. No Sen
ator had kinder feelings for Gen. Sher-
man or more respect for his military sa-
gacity or genius than had Mr.. Lamar,
but General Sherman had been betrayed
by his feelings and by misinlormation
into an allegation and charge against JEFF
ferson Davis WHICH he could not sus-
tain. which no man could ever sustain
and which was not the truth. That al
legation was that he saw letter from
Jefferson Davis asserting that if a
Southern State should secedc from the
Confedcracy he would put it down by
military coercion Of the Confederate
Government. There was no question of
historical fact in relation to the charac-
tor Of that movement as between Mr..
Davis and Gen. Sherman. It was out
side the record, and when the Senator
| from, 0hio ce;J fhoro ,r,, ~ ,