New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-05-12
NEW LINCOLN MATERIAL.
A VOLUME BY L. E. CHITTENDEN.

United States Treasury in President Llncons
Administration having been appointed by Olase'
then Secretary of the Treasury. MIR. Chit'ehueh
became intimate with Lincoln, who acquired ,he
habit of visiting the Office of the Register when ne
wanted to avoid the opportunities by whlch he
was continually beset and in this way MI Ohlu'en-
den had many opportunities OF studying ."e
Presidents character, and OF OBSERVING Ills We
hayior under various mental conditions "e
writes Of lincoln from first to last with love and
admiration. which arc the more impressive because
founded upon full personal knowledge of Their
object: and he writes with the best ana nooiesC
of purposes namely, to clear away misconceptions
IN correct errors which some bioSraphers OF Lincoln
have fallen into, and to demolsh some injurious
traditions which have grown up no one knows
how. The observations of such man as MI
Cbittenden. fortified by full notes taken at the
time. possess high historical value, ana Ills
literary skill is of so marked CHARACTER that all
he writes is invested with q new interest arising
from graphic force vivid cOoring, and descriptive
mower Of very uncommon kind lie begins
with an amusing sketch of the elections which
brought Lincoln to the head of national AFFAIRS ana
in the campaigns preceding which the author HIM
self filed an arduous role as speaker so much in
demand that Ole was hurried from place to place
until at the end of the campaign he was ht lor
nothing but TO 20 to bed and stay there
Then follows a short and not satisfactory eN-
perience in ofice-seeking When he applied to
his friends, they began with one accord 10
make excuse" and not being accustomed TO post
election reputation of pledges, direct or Indirect,
he soon withdrew from the pursuit. Then he was
chosen delegate to the abortive Peace Conference
that met at Washington during the closing period
of Buchanan's Administration, and here some con-
tribulations to history are made which Will doubt
less provoke controversy. Mr.. Chittenden asserts,
ms a demonstrable fact that the Secesslonlsts had
determined to seize the Government before the
4th of March that they had brought great
crowd of armed and prepared ruflians to the
capital for this purpose that the real ana so'e
object of the Peace Conference was to occupy the
attention of the North and kill time until every
thing was ready for the coup detat"; and that
this plot was foiled by the viglant and immovable
loyalty of General Winfield Scott, who hurried to
Washington such troops as he could get together,
and made il known that he was prepared to resort
to the most severe measures upon the first sign OF
overt treason Asked by q SOutherner whether
under given circumstances lie would dare to arrest
q Southern United States Senator, the old veteran
answered: "No! l would blow him to hill"
His disposition of the Federal forces became
known and his language was so frank that no
further illusions as TO his purpose could be IN
duleed. The Secessionists were furious and de-
nounced the Virginian as o traitor TO his State
Their rage, however, Intellectual, and they
were forced to realize that the coup d'etat" was
impracticable. They next thought of preventing
the counting of the electoral votes in the House;
but Scott garisoned the capital with his troops,
and body of minute men raised from the loyal in
babitants of Washington was at hand ready to
act at a moments notice. Vice-President Brock
cnrdgc, too, declared that the vote should be
counted, and the announcement of the result duly
made and te stood like rock between the traitors
and their purpose.
Next came the Baltimore assassination plan,
and Mr.. Chit:enden had personal knowledge of
this, for he was summoned TO Baltimore just be-
fore the Presidentelect was expected there to
boar evidence which il was hoped would convince
the Presidents friends of the reality of the danger
taat mcnaced him. This evidence consisted
maiqiy III the confession of one Of five men who
had been hired to murder the President The
rufian who played traitor TO his comrades had been
entonglcd by woman, TO get even with whom he
"gave away" the plot According TO him every
dctaik was arranged At that period the cars
drawn through Baltimore by horses. AT an
agreed point a mob of Plug Uglies was TO swarm
down upon the train, stop it, and then, while the
cupied their attention, the five assassins were to
enter Iincolns car in the rear pass through it in
Indian file, and each man stab the Presdent-elect
as he went by him. Going cut at the other door
the murderers were 10 find instant means of escape
in a swift schooner which was waiting near by, in
tow OF powerful tug with steam up. How
Lincoln avoided this danger is well known, but it
is not so well known that when his arrival at
Willard's was made known in the Peace Con-
ference two Southern men of distinction showed
their guilty knowledge Of the assassination plot by
expressing thor surprise that he should have got
through Baltimore.
Mr.. Cbittendcns account of the Peace Confer
encc is full of interest. The Republican members
had been put on their guard by mysterious char
actcr known as Adam Gurowski, a Pole. who
seemed 10 know every movement of the Secession.
lists in advance. He was a devoted Republican a
man of deep insight and he told the Republicans
their arrival in Washington that they were
called there for no other purpose than TO furnish
time for the ripening of the Southern conspiracy
that nothing could avert war; and that if the
North did not wake up the Capitol and the ma
chinery of Government might fall into the hands
of traitors. Another telling story is that of the
reception by President-elect Lincoln of the mem.
bers of the Peace Conference, and specially of the
failure of the SOutherners to entrap him or to
penetrate his purposes. In a'chapter ON Winfield
Scott and Robert L. Lee, the author projects q
bombsbell into the camp of the Southern Gen
erals worshippers by demonstrating, apparently
conclusivey, that Lee became Secessionist only
few weeks after declaring his adherence OF
secession and his final intention TO be loyal to the
Union. The description of Lincoln's inauguration
bus of course been often essayed but nowhere have
SCOTS two batteries of artillery, ready for action
and planted so as TO command the crowd massed
about the Capitol, appeared TO fill so significant
and influential role. Treason was in the air
OF that no doubt has ever existed. But perhaps
few understand how narrow was the margin that
day between Peace and Revolution. For the
actual result, Mr. Chittcnden holds that the coun-
Try is chiefly indebted 10 one man. General Dix