The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-10-09
Mr. Davis Demohshes Lord Wolseley.


Mr. Jefferson Davis, ex-president of
the Confederate States, has the good
fortune not only to enjoy after quarter
of a century the respect of people
whom he led in losing cause, but also
to have lived long enough to hear and
confute innumerable criticisms respect
ing his official career that have their
origin in inventive malice OF in ignor-
":ce of facts. Few men have been
more maligned. but time and fact being
his vindicatorS. Mr.. Davis emerges
from every conflict with his calumnia-
tors with increased prestige. His arti-
Gle in the October number of the North
american RerieW upon Lord Wolse-
ley's Mistakes" is a conclusive and
crushing reply to the English generals
venomous attack on the Confederate
Executive in the May number of the
same publication, and shows that age
has not impaired the clearness or vigor
of his intellect. Relying upon the
Century's history of the civil war as
correct narrative of facts, Lord Wolse
ley has made number of statements
about Mr.. Davis, all of which the latter
is able to demolish most completely. AS
similar statements are sometimes made
on this side of the Atlantic by uninformed
persons it will be uninteresting to emu
merate them and add Mr.. DaviS'S COM
ments. Lord Wolseley'S first allegation
is that Mr.. Davis sbegan his high duties
with the ayowed expectation that 10, 600
Enfield rifles would suffice to overawe
the United States, and then refused the
services of $4,000 men and accepted
only fraction of them, because he had
not arms for more" There was no such
offer or refusal. There was no organi-
zation in the South numbering 1860
men to be offered and accepted. An Act
of the Confederate Congress of March,
1861, authorized the acceptance of 100,-
900 men by companies or regiments, to
be armed by the States from which they
came. The law made the possession of
arms the condition on which volunteers
might be accepted. Mr.. Davis states that
it was matter of record that he often
publicly predicted a long and bloody
struggle, and was far from thinking 10,-
900 Enfield rifles would suffice to over
awe the United States. AS matter Of
fact, the official report of General
GorgaS. chief Of ordnance of
the Confederacv, shows that the
Confederate government at its formation
had about $50, 900 serviceable arms, or
6fteen-fold more than Lord Wolseley
represents n" Davis as relying upon as
sufficient. Mr.. Davis shows further
that he was not remiss in the collection
of arms. One of his first acts as Presi-
dent was to send Capt. Raphael Semmes
North to purchase arms, ammunition
and other munitions Of war and ma
chinery for making them. Such pur-
chases were actually made. Major Huse
was sent to Europe in April, 1851, to
buy arms, and got nearly $5Q0,e00
worth The second charge made by
-1osd Wolseley-is thai Mr. Davis "neg-
lected to buy the East Indian fleet,
which happy chance and the zeal of sub
ordinates threw in his way" This story
first got currency in 1873. Gen. Beau
regard stated in an interview published
in the New York Suaa that he introduced
to the Secretary of War at Montgomery
a messenger of Fraser, Trenholm & Co.,
who offered to sell six large steamers
just built in England. Mr.. Davis knew
nothing of it; the matter never reached
his ears. Gen. L. P. Walker, the Con-
federate Secretary of War, writes to Mr..
Davis that he recollects no snch propo-
sal. Mr.. Memmlnger, Secretary of the
Treasury, says the same. Mr.. W. Tren-
holm, recollects that he proposed
the purchase to the Secretary of
the Navy and to the Secretary
Of War, but the great draught of
the vessels and want of money
caused those officials to decline it. Mr..
Trenholm has no recollection of seeing
Mr.. Davis on the subject. Captain
Bullock, who was sent to Europe in May,
1861, to buy cruisers and navalsupplies,
writes to Mr.. Davis to say that he knew
of no such proposition. He saw the
ships in question in 1862, and says to
have bought them would have been "a
senseless waste of money" as they were
too big to enter any Confederate port
on the Atlantic coast. If they had been
bought it would have been impossible to
arm, equip and man them in England,
or to send them off, as the Alabama
was, to secret place Of rendezvous. Mr..
C. K. Prioleau of the English firm of
Fraser, Trenholm & Co., whom General
Beauregard drew upon for his facts,
writes to Mr.. Bullock that he thinks the
ships ''were never offered to the Confed-
crate government at all" The blame
of not buying the East India feet to
keep the ports of the Confedcracy open,
evidently, therefor, does not lie on Mr..
Davis. The vigilance of the English
government in preventing ships in-
tended for the Confederacy from leaving
English ports was a difficulty LORD
Wolseley fails to take into account.
Lord Wolseley's final and most serious
charge is that Mr.. Davis rejected all
means proposed by others for placing
the finances of the Confederacy on a
sound basis" This Mr.. Davis under,
stands to be revival of what he terms
''the long-ago exploded theory that the
Conlederacy should have sent out the
cotton crop of 1s6O-'61 and placed it as
the basis of its credit in Europe" To
demolish it he quotes from a letter of
Mr.. Memminger written in 1874. Mr..
Memminger, after nofing that the Con-
federate government was organized in
February, 1861, and that the blockade
was instituted in May, observes that
there were thus out three months in
which to get control of a crop of 4,000,,
900 bales and ship it abroad. A feet OF
1000 ships of 1000 tons each would
have been required. Could they have
been had2 Private enterprise did all
that the government could have done.
Large sales were in fact made abroad
and the proceeds of the sales were IN
pooet oocoo co)S m tho Copfa1arocy IN