Birmingham age-herald., 1895-05-08
BIT OF UMWRlTTEN HISTORY
YoF SN TRUST ME AND l TRUST YOU"
S ,sS,- the Rail Splitter to the Georgian. { cS.here Was Carte Blanche After the Word "Union"-Mr Stephens In-
 structions Were Specific.

Atlanta. May 7.-Col. E. P. Howell of
 the Atlanta Constitution adds another
 interesting chapter to the controversy
 over what occurred at the Hampton
 Roads conference between President
 Lincoln and Hon. Alexander Stephens.
 vice. president Of the Confederacy.
 It will be remembered that Mr. Wat
 terson recently stated that at that con-
 ference President Lincoln presented
 sheet of paper to MT. Stephens, saying:
 q will write the word union at the top and you may write what you please" a statement which is taken as meaning that MT. Lincoln was ready and willing
 to pay the south for the slaves. In last
 Sundays Constitution John Temple Graves endeavored to show that MT.
 Lincoln made no such proposition, and
 he quotes from Messrs. Stephens, Rea-
 gan, Hunter and Campbell to sustain
 him in the issue thus made.
 The Philadelphia Times, in an edito-
 rial written presumably by Colonel Me
 Clure, threw additional light on the sub
 ject, claiming that MT. Lincoln would
 have proposed to pay the south $40O,000-
 900 for her slaves, but did not make the
 proposition simply because MT. Stephens had stated tt the outset that he could not entertain any proposition that did not embrace the perpetuity of the Con- federacy.
 Colonel Howell's letter gives the de- tails of conversation he had with Alex ander H. Stephens on the subject under discussion.
 Shortly after MT. Stephens was inau- gurated governor of Georgia, in the year 1882, he spent day as the guest of Col onel Howell at his home. After dinner the talk turned to the Hampton Roads
 conference, and MT Howell asked MT. Stephens if he ever had any hope that the conference would turn out differently from the way it did. MT. Stephens said: q had great hope when the question was first agitated about the Soference- 1 was always In favor of sethe the war and preventing further bloodshed, and when the conference was suggested l by MT. Blair and others l took very active part in pushing it. There was very bitter opposition to it on the part of friends of President Davis in the Con- federate congress, but finally 1t was au-
 thorized, and commissioners were se-
 lected to attend the conference. Much
 to my regret, these commissioners were
 given specific instructions, which pre-
 vented them from negotiating for peace on any other basis than that which
 guaranteed the independence and au-
 tonomy of the Confederate states.' MT. Stephens went on to tell of his conference with MT. Davis, in which he urged that the commission be not ham pered with instructions, but he gave no encouragement. On the other hand, the day the commissioners left they were pointedly informed that no settlement could be considered that did not recog- nize the independence of the Confed- crate government. MT. Stephens told of the meeting with MT. Lincoln and his associates and the cordiality of MT. Lincoln's greeting of the representatives
 of the Confederacy.
 After we had returned to the saloon
 of the steamer continued MT. Stephens,
 "Mr. Lincoln was very talkative and
 pleaded with all of the commissioners.
 He seemed to be in a splendid humor
 and was in excellent spirits. After a
 while I joined him and we went apart from the others and sat down at a small
 table where there was writing material.
 This was before any formal discussion
 had commenced. He preached the sub- ject of the conference Rnd expressed
 pleasure at the fact that I was one of the commissioners. He said to me with
 great earnestness: believe you and I can settle this matter. I know you, and you know me. l have confidence in your integrity and believe you have in mine. do not think you would ask me to do anything improper, and I would not re- qu1re your consent to bEything which believed unjust Picking up a piece of paper and pushing 1t toward me he said: will write one word at the top of this sheet of paper and that word will be "union," and with that as basis you may write out the terms of settlement and on that will use all my influence to have congress settle as we agree
 T then told him what our instruc-
 tions were from President Davis, and
 when I did a cloud came over his face,
 his chin dropped to his breast and for
 several minutes he did not say word.
 After pause he raised out of his seat
 and said to me, with hands up-lifted,
 Then I am not responsible for any
 further bloodshed. had hoped that the
 war would end with this conference, but
 it is impossible to make any settlement
 with the instructions you are bound
 I trust you will consider confidential
 what has occurred between us.'
 If we had been empowered to nego-
 tiate settlement with the preserva-
 tion of the union as basis, the south
 would have been paid for it's slaves and
 we would have got any just and reason
 able recognition at the hands of MT.
 Lincoln. Of course our instructions
 binding us to recognize only the inde-
 pendence of the south prevented our
 accomplishing anything, for at the threshold of MT. Lincoln's desire for peace was his determination that it must be based upon niOn."