The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-02-28

forth between North and South there
could Ito no fraternity and no com.
mon country. He adiured his fellow citizens
OF Georgia never 10 permit the Federal Gov.
eminent to pass into Republican hands. LIS
ten." lie said. Ito no vain babbling; to nc
treacherons jargon about overt acts-overt
acts have already been committed. Defend
yourselves! The enemy IL at your door; walt
not to meet him at your hearthstone: meet
him Mt the door-sill and drive him from the
Temple OF Liberty. or pull down It's pillars aud
involve him In common ruin" Notwfthstand-
In: the vehemence OF this speech. Mr.. Toombs
took no part In the ensuing Charleston Conven-
tion. and. on the rupture OF that body. advised
TINT the seeding Georgia delegates should
meet with the Convention at Baltimore. In
the Presidential campaign which followed.
Mr. Toomhs and Mr.. Stephens parted COM
nany for tho first time since the election OF
Harrison in 1870 The former supported
breckenridge. while the latter headed the
Douglas ticket The Bell ticket. In the samo
contest. was advocated by Benjamin II. Hill.
1t Is worth recalling that the vote In Georgia
| was. for breckenridge. o.. 1903: for Bell 1850.
and for Douglas. IL. $50 The biographer deems
It not improbable that Mr. Toombs had cher
ished IA vague hope that at the Baltimore Con-
vcntion he might be made the nominee OF
united Democracy. We can now sec that had
he been nominated ne would have been elect
ed. the combined majority OF Mr.. Lincoln's
opponents being nearly q million votes.
1t was on Jan. Z. 1861. that Robert Toombs
delivered his farewell speech to the United
states Sennte. Mr.. Blaine has said that It was
tho only speech made by n spokesman Of the
seeding States which specified the grievances
OF the South and named the conditions under
which the States would stay In the Union.
Nine DAYS later he took part In the convention
OF his State which met In Milledgeville. A
resolution being offered in secret session
to the OBJECT that It was the right and duty Of
Georgia to secele from the Union. the yeas
wete 1C5 and the noes 100. Mr.. Toombs
voted yes" and Messrs. B. H Hill. II. Y.
johnson. and A. Fl. Stephens no" An ordi-
nance OF secession having been reported on
the following day. Messrs. Toombs and Hill
were recorded in the affirmative. and Mr..
Stephens in tho negative. There Is no doubt
that. So FAR rs Georgia was concerned. Mr..
Toombs was tho chief personal force behind
secession. The old Union sentiment was
perhaps stronger in Georgia than in any
other southern state Next to Virginia she
was called upon TO mako the largest sacrifices.
Her a2Rregate wealth ut the time when she
passed. the ordinance OF secession was $e72.-
OOO.OOO. or about double what 1t Is to-day. Her
voting population was In 1880 barely 100000.
yet she furnished 100000 soldiers to the Con-
federate army. 1t was supposed that the sup
port Of Georgia assured to Mr. Toombs the
Presidency OF the Confederacy. but whom he
learned that tho delegates from four States
had agreed on Mr.. Davis. he forbade any pros
ecution Of his own claim. It appears that old
party antagonisms arose to confront the cam
didacy Of Mr.. Toombs. His boast that he had
saved the Union In 1850 probably cost him the
Presidency Of tho new Confederacy. He was.
CkzA-
provisional Confederate Government organ
lied at Montgomery. and he continued
to hold that office until July Fl. 1851.
when. having been commissioned Driga-
der General. he Joined BeaureRard and
Johnston at Manassas He explained this step
by saying that too many prominent men we're
seeking bomb proof positions. He was also
dissatisfied with the methods Of the Confed-
crate Government He considered the flnnn-
cial management OF the Confederacy failure.
He declared that 80 per cent OF war was bust
ness. and that the South must organize VIC
tory rather than trust to fighting.
I've could have whipped the fight" he used
to assert, IN the first sixty days The contest
was haphazard from the first. and nothing
but miraculous valor keptt going" His biog.
rapher thinks that Mr.. Toombs made q mis-
tAke in sinking himself in the routine Of
brigade commander 1t was suggested that
he should have ken the War Department or
have done his best to sustain the struggle from
the floor Of the Confederate Senate. The note
worthy fact is mentioned that during his alb
serce In tho field Gen. Toomhs co0perated
with Gov. Joseph f. Brown and Alexander H.
Stephens In opposing the conscription acts Of
the Confederate Administration. In all respects.
indeed. Toombs supported Gov. Browns war
policy. but in the days Of reconstruction polit-
ical Iiffpranpps hpfwapD than which
almost deepened into personal feud.
vi.
Robert Toombs was ono OF three men. JEFF
ferson Davis and A. H. Stephens being the 9TH
ers. for whose arrest Secretary Stanton issued
specific orders. He evaied arrest. however.
and. after successfully concealing himself for
sume time in Georgia. took ship Mt New Orleans
on board Il steamer boundto Havana From
Cuba he proceeded to Paris. and. finding him
self short OF money. was fain to sell one OF his
plantations. obtaining for it about SIS an acre.
He used to explain to Frenchmen during his
residence abroad that he ate an acre
of dirt day Keturning to America
In 1857. no stayed for u time In
Canada. proceeding thence to Washington.
where no had long interview with President
Andrew Johnson. From Washington he was
permitted to go to his homo In Georgia. and
was never again molested.
He was never restored to citizenship. and
would never petition for relief from his politi-
cal disabilities. Once when Senator Oliver p.
Morton asked Gen. Toombs why he did not
petition Congress- for pardon. the latter quietly
answered: Pardon for whatp Ihave not par
doned YOU all yet"
When Gen. Toombs returned to Georgia he
found that the greater part OF his fortune had
He set himself to earn another.
1t ia estimated that he made more than q mil
lion dollars by his law practice after the war.
The money thus earned. however. was spent
freely. and he kept no account OF his income
and expenditures We are told. nevertheless.
that when he diod he left an estate worth
100000. 1t is well known that as he grew
old he fell into convlvial habits. although
no man needed the stimulus OF wine less
than he did and although he was easily affect
ed by the smallest Indulgence. Yet the imme-
diate effect Of his excess was short. The next |
morning his splendid vitality would assert it. |
SELF and he would seem bright and clear as |