The sun., 1895-05-09
Did Lincoln Hug Aleck stephens?

Brother WATTERsoN has provoked a
lively historical controversy by means of the
subjoined passage in n lecture which he has
been delivering in the West. II is the de-
scription of dramatic and significant incl
dent which Mr.. WATTERsoN says occurred
at the meeting of Mr.. LINCOLN and Mr..
SEWARD with the Confederate Commission
ers, STEPHENS, HUNTER and Campbell, at
Hampton Roads in January, 1868:
AFTER the formal Interview at that famous Hamp.
ton Roads Conference Mr. LINCOLN the friend. still the
| old Whig colleague, though one wns now President OF
the United States and the other N!c.frcsidsnt OF tho
| Southern Confederacy. took the slim pale.facrd.
consumptve little man. aside, and, placing lis arm
over his shoulder, pointed to sheet OF paper he held
in his other hand and said: STEPHENS, write mon at
the top OF that page and you may write below what
| ever you please
"In the preceding conversation Mr.. LINCOLN hnd in.
| timatcd that payment for the slaves not outside
| OF possible agreement for reunion and peace. He
based that statement upon proposal he had already
in hand to appropriate $500 900 900 to this purpose
am not going to tell any tales out Of school. am
not here for CONTROVERSY but when we are dead and
gone, the private memorabilia OF those who knew
what terms were really offered the Confcieracy',
within ninety days OF Its total collapse, will show
that In the individual judgment Of all OF them tho
| wisdom OF the situation said, 'Acccpt!'"
An elaborate reply to Mr.. WATTERsoN
has been published by Mr.. JOHN TEMPLE
GRAVES of tho atlanta Constitution. Mr.
GRAVES says in substance, that the story is
old and has been frequently exploded; that
it is ridiculous and II libel on the memory of
the Confederate leaders, because it repre-
sents them as preferring the continuance Of
n hopeless war to the acceptance of terms
which it would have been folly to
reject; that the testimony of Mr.
HUNTER, Judge CAMPBELL, and Mr.
STEPHENS himself, disprovcs the asser-
tion that LINCOLN made any such sweeping
offer rs is indicated by the remark, write
Union at the top of that page, and you may
write below it whatever you please" Final
| ly, Mr.. GRAVES produces an interesting letter
| which he has received from Judge REAGAN
of Texas, the only surviving member of JET
| FERsON DAvIs's Cabinet Judge REAGAN
expresses surprise that Mr.. WATTERsoN
"should have been mislcd by the false state
| ments referred to- Among other reasons
for disbclevng the story he offers the fol-
lowing statement:
| "Thc Official report OF our Commissioners to that
conference. Messrs STEPHENS, HUNTER and Campbell,
| which was published at tho time and which WAS
copied into many historic publications since makes
no mention OF any proposition to pay S40O. 900 900
lot Ot ny freSluent LINCOLN
| to Mr.. STEPHENS that II he would writ" the word
Union at the top OF the page he might write under
whatever he pleased Resides being present when
the report OF that conference read to the Confe
crate Cabinet, converscd with each Of our Commits
soners separately about what occurred in that con-
ference. and no mention was made by either OF them
of either Of these Incidents"
| Carefully examined, Judge REAGAN's tes-
| timony on this pGint will be found to be
/
seems. There was undoubtedly talk at the
Hampton Roads conference about the posi-
bility of payment for the slaves, and the
sum Of 100000, 600 was mentioned by Mr..
LINCOLN. Mr.. sSTEPHENs's narrative in the
second volume of his War Between the
States" leaves no doubt of this Mr.. GRAVES,
indeed quotes part of Mr.. STErnENS's ac-
count, but only to show that the slavc-pny-
ment proposition was an irresponsible cx-
preston of Mr. LINCoLN's personal views
on the subject, and in no sense an offer of
terms to the Confcicracy. AS is we'll
known, Mr.. STEPHENS went into that
conference with the idea that method of
accommodation between the North and the
South might be found in Louis NAPoLEON's
Mexican enterprise; that an armistice
would permit both the United States Gov
ernment and the Confedcracy to turn their
attention to tho enforcement of the
MONROE doctrine, allowing the passions
of war to cool rs between the sections, and
to be transferred to an attack in common
upon the foreign intruder The idea was
very attractive to Mr.. STEPHENS, but it did
not make much headway in the saloon of
the steamboat mt anchor off Fortress Mon
roe. Mr.. LINCOLN kept recurring to the
thought uppermost in his own mind,
namely, that the restoration of the Union
was the first and necessary condition of any
arrangement. Mr.. STEpIIENs's account rep
resents the President as stating this over
and over again in one form and another:
"Mr. LINCOLN said in substance. that there was but
one way he knew of. ami that for those who were
resisting tho laws Of tho Union to co,se that re-
sistancc. -" Inge a01,
| "Mr. LIScOLN slid In substance; Tho restoration
| of the Union Is q sine qua with me- "-PuOe Co.,
| MIR. LINCOLN replied with considerable earnestness
that he could entertain no proposition for ceasing
tive military operations which was not based on a
pledge hrst given for tho ultimate restoration OF the
| Union."-Inae Coz.
" He repeated that he could not entertain propos
ton for an arm!stice on any terms while the grea:
and vital question OF reunion was undsposed or
That was the first question to be seted."-Fn0c dos.
But when the conversation was nearing
its end, and Mr.. HUNTER had commented
with some asperity of words and tone upon
the uncertainty of the future of the Southern
people in case of the unconditional sub
mission which was demanded. Mr.. LINCOLN,
as reported by Mr.. STEPHENS, replied in
these words:
Mr.. LINCOLN said that, far as tho connscstion
acts and other penal acts were concerned. their
| fOrCCnent left entirely with him. n hat