The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-07-29

/ gracious personal filings at me- am
only concerned in the settlement of the
historical question.
Replying to my denial that President
Lincoln. at the Hampton Roads confer
| ence, offered to the confederate commits
! sioners S4OO,OOOOOO to pay for the slaves
to secure peace and the return of the
southern states to the union, Mr.. Waiter
| son says:
''Since no one that we have ever heard
| of has ntimated that Mr.. Lincoln did,
| it is difficult to understand just why
! Judge Reagan should be so inconsistent"
Let us see as to this. My letter of
| July was Il reply to Mr.. Il. III. Baker,
who questioned the truthfulness of my de-
NAL that such an offer was made. 1t is
also true that considerable portion of
| the people of the southern states have
| been induced to believe that such an Of
| fer was made and was rejected by Pres
| ident Davis and the confederate author
| tiles. And since the delivery of my adj
dress at Nashville, and the publication
| of my letter of the 18th instant, l have re-
| ceived many letters from persons in Il
number of states. thanking me for hav-
ing shown that no such offer was made
| And in a lecture delivered by Mr.. Wat
tersOn in Kansas City, some two or three
years ago, he said, under the heading
New Birth of Freedom" that
| "1n the preceding conversation Mr..
Lincoln had intimated that payment for
| the slaves was not outside of a possible
agreement for reunion and peace. He
based that statement upon proposal he
already had in hand to appropriate S4OO.-
100000 for this purpose. | am not GO
| ing to tell any tales out of school. l am
not here for controversy; but when we
are dead and gone the private memOra-
bila of those who know what terms
were really offered the confederacy, with
in ninety days of its total collapse, will
show that in the individual Judgment of
all of them the wisdom of the situation
| said Accept"
Accept what? Why, surely he means
| the 500, 100000. Had Mr.. Watterson
forgotten this? Does not this language
show that he meant to charge the con.
| federate authorities with having refused
| this offer, and what postcrity would say
the offer ought to have been accepted
| think il safe to say that Mr.. Waiter
son. whether he meant to be so under
stood or not, is, through his newspaper
and lectures. more responsible than any
| other living man for the belief by Others
of the truth of this able about the Offer
of 500, 100000 by Mr.. Lincoln and it,
rejection by the confederacy.
How does the above question agrc,
| with Mr.. Wattersons statement that II,
had never heard it intimated that Mr.
Lincoln did make such an offer! If Mr.
| WattersOn agrees with me that no sucl
offer was made, why did he write fOul
or five columns of editorial to combat my
| statement on this question! In that
said nothing about Mr.. WattcrsOn or lii
views. | was discussing an interestin:
historical question. Was he indu gin;
in mere display of dialec,t
to show how skillfully III
could avoid II real issue, or did he meal
by it to controvert what had said!
| Mr.. WattersOn states that the day after
Mr.. Lincoln returned from the Hampton
Roads conference he submitted To his
cabinet the form of joint resolution EN-
powering him to pay. on the terms pro-
posed, 100000. 600 for the slaves if the
confederate states would abandon the
war. And he follows the quotation OF
that proposed joint resolution by the fol-
lowing statement:
"Thus it will be seen that Mr.. Lincoln
did. at the Fortress Monroe conference
intimate that payment for the slaves
might be considered rs II basis for re
union and peace. and Mr.. Lincoln did
embody the proposition in an otficia
document Notwithstanding Judge Rca
gans confident assertion that neither
President Lincoln nor any other man ol
the federal side, would have dared tC
make such an offer at that time.
| must call attention to two views il
reference to the foregoing extraordinary
statement The first is that Mr. Waiter
son assumes that because Mr.. Lincoln
submitted the form of n joint resolution t,
his cabinet, proposing to pay S4OO,WOOW
for the slaves. that this is evidence thai
he did intimate. at the Hampton Road,
conference. payment for the slaves. Is
the one evidence of the truth of the
other? What connection is shown be
tween these two facts? Was this not q
mere play on words intended to misleadi
The other is that the submission by Mr.
Lincoln of the form of such a joint reso
luton to his cabinet was refutatiOn OF
my statement that no such offer was
made at Hampton Roads. What sort OF
logic is this coming from great editor
and an experienced writer? Does Mr.
Watterson expect his readers to believe
that because Mr.. Lincoln may have sub
mitted such a form of joint resolution tC
his cabinet that this is evidence of his
having made such proposition i'll the
conference at Hampton Roads!
Let MS look at another piece of Mr.
Watterson's logic and facts. He says
"Now, let us see how much more accurate
and authoritative Judge Reagan is wher
he fatty contradicted the statement thai
Mr.. Lincoln. in his private interview with
Mr.. Stephens at Fortress Monroe. said tC
Mr. Stephens: 'Let me write Union
at the top of this page. and you may
write whatever else you please
| have never found it necessary to dis
pute anything which has been said about
private interviews between Mr.. Lincoln
and Mr. Stephens. My position was and
is that no such statement was made tC
the confederate commissioners as an in
ducement to bringing about peace.
: have only combatted the statements that
such offer was made. and such as tht
payment of $4O0. 100000. were ever made
as any part of an offer to influence the
action of the confederate government
Il Mr.. Watterson quotes very lengthy
statements made by Mr.. Howells of At
lanta. Ga, and Mr.. Felix q. DE Fon
taine of Fifth avenue, New York. i'll re-
lation to conversations purporting &c
have occurred between Mr.. Lincoln and
! Mr.. Stephens. 1t will be remembered
that no one has said. and that there il
not a particle of evidence to prove, that
Il the private conversations said to have
i taken place between Mr.. Lincoln and
Mr.. Stephens. We're known TO the other
commissioners, or in any way MADE
known to President Davis.
If these gentlemen correctly remember
i what Mr.. Stephens said. as to facts oc
i curing thirty years before their papers
were written. it does not prove that any
such offers were made to the confederate