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~ PUBLISHED DAILY AND WEEKLY BY
JARED I. WHiTAKER
proprietor.
JOHN H. 8TE tL*E,
K I* I T O R.
ATLANTA, G-EOKGIA.
Wednesday, May 24, 1865.
KEW KATES.
Tin* prawnt condition of the countrv lias compelled a
clmog*-In ifUr r.tU-s of publication and for advertising.
Kvciy one will »ec and iiprerlati- flic necessity for this,
ami w hope otir friends ami patrons trill continue in tbe
future that suppo-l and patronage ulilch have Stern so
liberally.bestowed in the past. JJrlow will be found the
new terms referred to .
Daily for 1 month, I 2 (O
Dally for li months A 00
Dally tor 12 months, 12 00
Weekly for C iiionUia, 3 00
Hinjje copie. *.t. t.lie counter, 10 cents.
Advertising. ifl »H» per square uf 10 lines, and VA< cents
for eaeli tfulacijucul Insertion. ...
IiKGA I. ADVEKTISE.HEATS.
.Vales of band and Neemes, l»y Aibiiini.llr.itots, Kveeu-
toiv: or Guardians, are require I l»y law to he held outlie
first Tuesday lo each niuiith, between the hours of ten in
the forenoon and tbi -e In t''<- afternoon, at the Court
}I.iu.il* in the eouuty hi which the property Is shunted.
les m .at he given in a public g.i-
:i■ property must, he given
gli a public g.cz. tte, to days j.-revi-
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER.
EBBOR CEASES TO B« DAKOUBOUS WflKN MtASON IS UgT FREE TO COMBAT IT."—Jefferson.
VOL. IX.
ATLANTA, DA., MAY 24, 1865.
NO. 43.
LAW AMD ORDER.
Charge of Judge 0. A. Lochrane to the Grand
Jury of Bibb County, at May term, of Cir
cuit Court, 18G5.
Gentlemen of ttieGrand Jury:
You arc convened this "morning uuder
circumstances which invite your attention
to interests incomparably the most exten
sive and important that e^er engaged the
public mind. With all the elements ol so
man can shake off his opinions, like apples
from a tree. These opinions may remain
nay, will remain. The reason and judg
ment, however, of the people, will see the
necessity of subordinating them to the cri
sis. Ameliorations of condition may ex st
without systems of violence, and our reflec
lion teaches that liberty consists not in ab
stractions, but equalities—equalities politi
cal, civil and religious; equalities of order,
based on the respect ol all and each. The
practical must take the place of theory, and
ciety loosening beneath your feet, and all tC nnemy the place of politics.
Notice* ..f tins
z.-rtu dO ii'ri.V* previous.
Notice* of the sale of per
1 n like milliner, l!
nun f-> sub- d.iy.
Notice lo Debt.I
iiubliirlnd »<• d.i.v
ami Gredin
f an estate, must be
ill l*o made to the Court of
Didiintry bn I- nve t*. ell laud or negroes, must be pub-
Jhh dloi two lu *uUis.
t’ilatloiis to.- letters of Adii.lul.-tratlon, Guardianship,
Ac , iim-f be peSdhtlu-d :td days—for iVcwitssion from Ad
ministration, iftonUily six mouths—lor disinissiou from
Guardumsldp, -Id days.
Huh-: lor the foi edosurn of Mortgages must he puli
llslied umnthly for four luouths -for establishing lost pa
pers, for the loll span- of three months—for coujpellinj
Administrators, where bond h i
title
In
t:<
a tore
by the dcceascl, for the lull HpaCfe'of thre
Publications will a ways he continued according to
lltllH.
tli.-s^, tlir
iejrjtl ifMjuinfiiiciitti. uni- '* *
th«*nvi»e or
Id
dl,
Ht III* loll
RATES:
•Sli.-I-Ifi •« s
alos * er li*vy
>f ten lines or
less. ... . £
00
. 1..-1 ill . *
l .tInane A. fa
sa'cs, per 8i|U
ilIV,
fHJ
C .11.-
• Do *; Sales, pi
*!* SijU.T! .. ..
DO
* ItatioiH
oi* letters ol A
ilmlniatratlon
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or ielti-i a ol (
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Xoti< e <it
Tiupiii'alioti l<
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om Aiiujinis-
ti«in.. .
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N.itic* '.r
iipp leal ton lu
r iHsuviiisiou f
•om (luarai-
4
00
A1 .pill .111
in t . sr-ll lal.il
tii«l negroes,.
0
00
Ni.ll.-i- to
Debtors amt (’
reditors
.* . . .
8
IHj
i-'u o f.l 1.
iml or Veproe.
, per square,.
50
;-.ii<* k of i
erishable prop
•rty, 10 liiivs,
2
00
1 li ay N.
Does, .sixty <lu
)'S
4
(HI
Foicclosu
• Of Mortj'nK
-, per :-i|U!U-e,
r>u
For man
iilvvitiniip
wife, (iu atlvaucc.)
10
00
Mmi-iagc
Notice#
1
00
l’iiyinent at the above rates will be required in specie
or current notes. Country produce, such as Wheat,
l-’luur, Coin, Daccui, Poultry, jfce., (if deshed,) will be
taken ai Its market va’ue.
All persons writing to this office will please address
their letters or communications to Intelligencer, Atlan
ta, Georgia.
THE HAUNTED RIVEN.
BY M.UIY E. Bit VAN’.
Par down whore the shadows most gloomily bill,
And the wizard winds are wailing ;
Where the willows droop like a funeral pall.
Amt th-- long gray muss is trailing ;
Where no flower may bloom and no bird ruay sing,
Hut a silence broods forever,
Have when the Vulture flaps his dark wing,
Oi the gloomy death-owls shiver;
Far down in this lonely valley of shade,
Where ghastly moon beams quiver,
Rullenly, sluggishly through tire glade,
Flowelh the haunted river;
Mo.vdro lit:-' i:e lit atrouhn-d dream.
As on its black tide floweth.
And a legend wild of tills h.mipedjdreaiu
The way-side peasant Unowetli; •
A story that tells of a former lime,
WV-ii its waves were bright and golden,
Atid its dancing fed kept merry rhyme
With the birds in the forest olden;
Hut one night the shuddering stars turned pale
At a deed ot guilt and horror,
Ami tlie waning moon, in a cloudy veh,
Did her pallid lace in sorrow.
Tlier e was one low moan, deep and prolonged,
And a voice was hushed forever,
And a trusting heart, betrayed and wronged,
Lay cold 'neatli the forest river
And tlu* stain that its wat- rs still retain
Is blood, and the blood is human,
Atut the moan that it echoes again and again
Is the cry of the dying woman.
Hut the murderer fled with crimsoned hands,
And no vengeful toot pursued him—
And he wandered away to foreign lands,
And the smiles of fortune woo'd him.
Hut the vengeance of God is just ami-true,
And sleeping rr waking ever,
A'apertre, with wounds of cr imson line
Haunted his thoughts forever.
Amid the crowded marts, or pleasure's whirl,
Though he w -II and bravely Imre him,
• The face of tliat wronged and murdered girl
Rose fearfully before him,
And once, al the close of a night of storm.
At daw n a forest ranger, -
Discerned on the shore, the 1 feless form
Of a pale and dar.-liaircd stranger.
They put back the locks of raven hue,
Hi ill wet with the chilly water—
An.t a g-ay haired man among them knew
The. betrayer of his daughter.
From his dist ant home, from the smites of love,
Hy that Haunted spectre driven,
IK- ii ad come at length to this spot to prove
How true the vengeance of Heaven.
He sleeps on the bank of the lonely stream
\\ here the breezeless poplars quiver—
Where falleth the starlight’s pallid gleam,
And moaneth the haunted river.
THE NEW YORK MARKETS.
That ike people ol our good city ami our
renders everywhere may form some idea of
what il coals lo kve at the North, we .give
the ruling prices in Ihe markets of Gotham :
Flour raugca from $o,50 to $9,50, ac
cording to brand and quality; new mess
pot k, $29 50 to $50 per ‘parrel; sugar,
hrowu, 10* to 17*o; white, iSjfc per lb.
These are wholesale prices.
9 Family marketing seems to be a little
"higher in New York city than with us.
Beef is selling from 20 to 10c. as to choice,
veal, 14 to 30c; mutton, 18 to 23c. And to
tantalize the palates of gourmands—it there
tie auy such left amongst us, after four years
ot Codfederatc cruisun.—we give the quota
tions ol the game, fish and poultry markets:
Smpe, $7 per dez ;n; ducks $2 lo $2,50 per
pair. Fresh shad, 25 lo 5Ue each; Iresh
mackerel, 35 to 40 per lb; halibut, 25-'; eels,
15to20r; haddock, 3 ”, cod, 10 to 12; lake
pike. 15 ; sea bass 25c each; lolrsters * 1 * * * * * * * 9 0c
per lb; oysters,.75 * per quart. TV.rkies are
quoted al 40 to 452 per It-; spring chickens,
$3 per pair.
Butter selling at from 40 to 45* per lb;
cheese. 25e; eggs, 39c per doz>:n.— Macon
Herald 13t A.
The American Card Company,” of
New York, adveitise a new style of playing
cards, designed to supercede ihc old. The
advertisement concerning the merits of these
cards closes as follows :
‘‘Of how much more significance are our
national emblems than tiie homely, mean
ingless characters used to desiccate the suits
in the old style of cards. Kings, Queens
and Jacks are played out! Clubs and Spades
no more!!
••Colonels remove Kings; the Goddess of
Liberty scorns Queens; and the Major is
h ; gh to any Jack in Christendom. In order
to secure your interest in the general circu
lation of the Union cards, the following
prices have t>een established.” &c., &c.
the pillars ol the social public tottering, you
as representatives ol the civil order, are left
standing by virtue of powers inherited from
the great fountain ol the common law, and
flowing Jrom the sovereignty of tire State;
powers which have neither been acquired
or impaired by the conventions or the leg-
isla'ive enactments ot the last four years.
In January, in a published legal ar
gument, 1 held that the convention of Geor
gia "was not absolute over all rights—that
all acts of conventions outside the constitu
tions of the Slates demanded the people’s
sanction.” That “the sovereignty of the
people had been divided, its proper spheres
assigned, ns mode ot action directed by the
constitution of the S'ate. The judicial ieg-
is iaturc and executive departments were
the agents of the internal sovereignty, and
a convention called to resume the external
sovereignty, had no power to change, alter,
amend or impair ihem.”
This view L held when the first drops of
the storm ot war were Tailing upon us. and l
reiterate them to-day, and therefore regard
you convened, and this court in session by
virtue of legal anti constitutional right, un
der powers that are inherent iu the consti
tutional functions of the Slate.
The question as to wheiher there is a
constitutional officer to co-operate withyou
in transacting the business, is one delicacy
of position demands 1 shall neither raise
nor ejudge, for I do not coiue here to hold
court, lm to meet you and put the raaehia
cjy in order. -
in occupying this m, I cannot refrain
fronqlpoking back to the pleasing relations
we have borne in the past. Elevated to
the Bench at the outset of the war, it has
been my fortune to bold the scales of jus
tice, at a time when every prejudice of the
public mind was blazing with discord; pub
lic questions involving the most exciting
public interests were continually before tne,
and to have given judgments satisfactorily
to all, was more than I could have expect
ed. I can only' trust that those for whom I
administered law will credit me with inde
pendence in dispensing justice, and a deter**
ruination to protect the citizen from op
pression. My record as a judicial officer is
made up—my decision on every important
legal question arising during the war pub
lished. I have nothing to add, and nothing
to take away. With that rccosd my name
will go down among the memories of the
•ircuit, as one, I trust who never yielded
to necessity, nor bent his judgment to the
caprices ot power.
The maintenance ol law, I have always
regarded as the essential element of liberty
and to urgeupon everyman in this circuit the
necessity ol supporting the laws that now
govern the land, is the, object and purpose
ol my meeting you here this day.
This is an immense duty rising from a
great occasion, and if the opportunity is
Tost it may never return. It would be iu
tny judgment, the darkest outrage a man
could commit against humanity, to couusel
anv resistance to the restoration of peace
ready to flow through the channels ot the
lawconscience will sting in the grave him
who in this hour does not lend a willing
hand to restore the constitutional functions
of the country ; the voice of famity, country
ami posterity appeals to every one who
holds a place in the organization of power,
tc bring baric with cordial co-operation lhe
guardians of the public weal, to heal the
wounds, compose the dissentions and re
store the liberty of the people. “Nolem
Corinthum” was the remark of Cicero, when
teaching the principle of morality to his son
Marcus, illustrating that to be great, we
must forget the sensitiveness and selfishness
ot weak men, and with an ascension of rea-
on rise up to the level of great occasions.
We can admire the poetry of feeling that
loves a cause with all the idolatry oi a mis
tress, but the passion is not so lofty as the
reasoning and steady affection of a wife.—
We may go toe far, and when we lose sigl^t
of our own best interests, and involve the
future in disasters, we do go too far.
Love of country is evidenced by acts
which confer honor, prosperity and peace
upou the land; acts of wild and romantic
folly, resulting in crime, to serve a country,
evidences fanaticism. Like the husband
growing drunk toasting his wife, who at
home weeps for his return, is the love of
conutry some give, who never did ought
but talk, and whose sentiment, like the toast
of the drunken husband to his wife, brings
only tears and trouble. On this occasion,
gentlemen, I spes'i ay honest convictions
to you when I every man must put
down, by example and by counsel, every
motion of discontent, producing bickering,
strife and bloodshed, and every one be a
peace officer, aotiug on the determined pur
pose that every man who violates law, or
counsels its violation, shall suffer the penal
ly such disorganizer is times like these
should suffer. This is the love of country 1
enjoin ou you. Now, when the war is over,
and everythin tends to peace, let us have
it aud go to our peaceful pursuits iu lifo.—
Some may tbiuk that liberty of speech hits
become a mockery, if men are not allowed
to abase, and talk as they, please. Tins
matter has always in practice been misun
derstood. The liberty ol reason and ma
nia are not more distinct. The madman
does as he pleases, bnt it does not follow
that every sensible naa may act like he
was mad; the law restrains even passion.
Vituperative epithets on public men are not
evidences of liberty of speech; officials are
representative men embodying the dignity
and representing the power of position, and
the outpoulings of disappointment and ma
lice should be restrained. Liberty of opin
ion dots not consist in conceptions of hate
which rankle into crime. Opinions ripen
ing into acts must be in view of law, pacific,
and tolerance in opinion is tine of the ele
ments of peace; men may differ, like Poly
bius and Pliny, upon every subject, moral,
social and religious, aud remain, like them,
the warmest and most devoted friends,
When wesec the present condition of our
people, we are iorced to utter our earnest
convictions against all crimination and re
crimination. It is not to be hoped that the
teaching, education and training of an age
We learn by experience, that a too ovdr-
\v; tiling estimate of one’s self or country,
may produce pride aud obstinacy, and that
these, either in nations or individuals, gen
erally end in concession. In our condition,
however, I do not apprehend that pride
will be Auy obstacle in ibe path of progress.
Bui yet much has been achieved for history,
much for poetry to twine its arms ot song
around, much lor glory iu the inlure. The
world will recognize the grandeur of this
nation, its power be leit amid the courts ot
foreign princes' and its flag wave over the
destinies of our race. ~~
But with these, the people reduced to
poverty, must see the spirit in which their
intcresware to be protected, betore we can
anticipate either pride or enthusiasm. The
institutions ot the land will be reorganized,
the constitutions of the States changed,and
in the policy foreshadowed by the President
of the United Slates, the masses of the peo
pic will have a voice in fixing and settling
their own rights and destiny. The wisdom
of the heart, and the logic of necessity will
counsel their action. Though now tossed
upou the waves, we trust soon to see the
Dove over the waste ol waters, coming with
broken wing again to shelter in the Ark,and
the Blate launching forth to a new destiny,
will cany the freighted hopes and prayers
ot the people.
Cleared for action In the field of industry,
and enterprise, Georgia will soon resume
her position, and wealth and prosperity
pour again into her hip. The nation is
young. The dewe of its baptism * scarce
wet upon its forehead, and wc look to a
manly stride over the troubles of the past,
and an unwearied march l</ prosperity.
Our fields will soon resound with the hum
ol industry, our anvils ring with’the music
ol labor, our people won back' to peaceful
pursuits hy family associations, and the in
fluences ot religion give a new impetus to \
civilization; and uuder the inspiration of
fortune, the nation plume itsell and arch its
neck for a flight to immortality. Such, I
trust, will be our destiny, counselled by
“wisdom, justice and moderation,” and may
God in his iufiui’e mcicy send angels to lift
every shadow from our path to the destiny
that awaits us.
My prayer for the country, is the invcca-
iioji of .my heart, tor you have honored me
and with Georgia, as I would have shared
her glory, 1 will remain to share her fate.
To sit by her sick bed is a duty the ihstinct
of honor prump'M. To r-.,.-u«&*-t her ter pro*
sperity, the instinct of reason equally de
mands. I would ba untrue to duty, myself
and you, if I permitted pride to blend with
my counsels, or freeze the stream of conyic-
tten that 11 jws from the inmost recesses of
my soul.
I, therefore, counsel with all the ssserva-
tion of truth, obedience to the laws and
constituted authMilks; a cheerful acquies
cence to the designs ot Providence, an un
murmuring assent to the decree of fate,and
by our readiness to accept the position God-
has assigned Us, illustrate our desire for the
restoration of law, order and government,
that we may enter our career, aud save to
our children and children’s children, what
has been left by the storm that has swept
over us.
TIIE REBELLION.
THE SOUTH AND SLAVERY.
THE TERMS OF PEACE.
LEE’S DESIGNS FOR THE PiTTIIRB.
From the New York Herald of the 29 h
ult, we extract the folio wing interesting ac
count, of an interview between Gen. Robert
E. Lee and a Mr. Thomas M. Cook, the spe
cial correspondent of the Herald. We give
the article a9 wc find it, cautioning our read
ers to receive with due allowance anything
coming from Mr. Bcnneit’s sensational sheet.
The dispatch is dated Richmond, Va., April
2 lih: —Macon Daily Herald.
GICN. ROBERT E LEE.
•Iu order, if possible, to get some clear
light for the solution of the new complica
tions growing out of the muid.r of Presi
dent Lincoln, I yesterday sought and ob
tained an interview with that distinguished
soldier and leader of the rebel army, Gen.
Hubert E. Lee, and was permitted to draw
out his views on the very important quis
lions suggested. It is proper to say that my
reception was everything that could be ex
pected from a gentleman who has always
been considered a type of the once famous
chivalry, and, I had almost said, nobility of
Virginia. Pen aud ink sketches of Gen.
Lee have been so numerously made of late
by newspaper writers, that a‘ny attempt at
this time by me in that direction, would be
a work of supererogation. I may simply
say, that the firm step, the clear voice, the
bright, beaming countenance, the qnick in
telligence, the upright form, and the active
manner of the General, very strongly belie
the portraitures of him which are so com-
mou. A‘l the vigor, animation and-ability
ol ripe mauhood are prominently conspicu
ous in his beaiing. His venerable white
hair and beard simply inspire respect for
the mature ideas and deliberate expressions
that come lrom this conspicuous rebel leader
but in no wise convey au impression of de
cay or old age.
INTRODUCTION.
It was certainly emtafcassing to me, on
introducing the objectIBPmy visit, to say
that I intended to lay his political views be-
lore the public, as his military career had
already been. His reply—“I am a paroled
prisoner”—at once appealed to my sympa
thy. A trank, generous man, how far may
I properly question him without touching
upon his views of honor in reference to his
parole ? But when he added, ‘T have never
been a politician, and know but little of po
litical leaders—I am a soldier”—felt easier.
I assured him that I had no desire to offend
his sensibility, or tempt him lo violate any
presumable obligation under his parole ; but
that, being prominently identified with the
rebellion, his views on the question arising
„ w out of that rebellion would be of great in-
can be Thrown aside in an hoar, er that a j terest at the present moment, and doubtless
of great importance and influence in the
settlement of the troubles agitatin'* the
country, and with this vie v only I cal’ed
upon him. He replied that tb4 prominence
he ueld was unsought by himself and dig,
tasteful to him. That he preferred retire-
ment and seclusion. Bat was ready to make
any sacrifice or perform any honorable act
that would tend to the restoration ot peace
and tranquility to the country.
GEN* LEE, VIRGINIA AND THE REBELLION.
The General's attention was directed to
his written and spoken determination to
dray his sword in defence only of his na
tive State, and Iht inquiry was raised as lo
whi t he considered the defence of Virginia,
an4 what degree ol deliberation he had'
given to that expression. He stated that,
as £ firm and honest believer in the doctrine
ot C^tate rights, he had considered his nlle-
giatce due primarily to the State in which
he vas born, and where he had always re
sided. And, although he was not an advo
cate of secession at the outset, when Vir
ginia seceded he honestly believed it his
duty tar abide her fortune.' He opposed se
cession to the last, foreseeing the ruin it
was sure to entail. But when the State
withdrew from the Union he had no re
course, in lm views ol honor and patriot
ieru, but to abide her fortunes. Lie went
with her, intending to remain merely a pri
vate citizen. Whfeu he resigned his com
mission in the United States army, he had
no intention of taking up arms in any other
service, and letpit of all, in a service antag
onistic to the Uuited Suites. His State*
however, called for him, and, entertaining
the fixed (principles be did of State sover-
eignty, he had no alternative but to accept
the service to which he was called. When
he made use of the declarations that have
been so extensively quoted of late, -he had
accepted only a commission from Virginia.
Subsequently, when Virginia attached htr-
sclf to the Southern Con oderacy, the'same
political impressions impelled him to follow
her, aud when he accepted service under
the rebel Government, he did so on the
principle that ho was deftndieg his native
State. And yet, by the act of accepting
sifeh service, he was bound in honor to serve
in any part of the Confederacy where he
might be called, without reterence to S ate
lines; and the reconciliation with his former
avowal, if any were necessary, were found
m the fact that Virginia, standing or falling
With the other Southern States, m detend
ing them all he was defending the one to
which he considered his allegiance primari
ly due.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS SURRENDER.
As to the effect of his surrender, he was
free to say it was a severe blow to the
South, but not a crushing blow. It was of
military, not political significance. I asked,
was not that surrender a virtual surrender
of the doctrine ot State rights. By no
means, the General replied. When the
South shall be wholly subdued there will
v*n*Je»5»l»ly be a surrender ol that doc
trine. But the surrender of a single army
is simply a military necessity. The army
of Northern Virginia was surrendered be
cause further resistance on its part would
only entail a useless sacrifice of life. But
that army was merely a part of the force
of the South. When the South shall be
forced to surrender all its forces aud -returns
to the Union, it uudisputably, by that act,
surrenders its favorite doctrine of secession;
That principle will theu be settled by mili v
tary po’.;er.
STATE RIGHTS.
On this question -oi Stale sovereignty the
General contendslh at there exists a legiti
mate casus belli. Ia the convention lha
formed the organic law ot the land, the
question of dcfiuiug the relative powers ot
the States, and their relation* to the General
Gouernmcnt was raised, but after much
discussion was dropped aud left unsettled.
It has remained so unsettled until the pres
cat time. This war is destined to set it at
rest. It was unfortunate that it was 'not
settled at the outset; hut as it was not set
tled then, aud had to be settled at some
time, the war raised on this issue eancot
be considered treason. If the South is
forced to submission in this contest, it of
course can only be looked upon as the tri
umph of Federal power over State rights,
t}nd the forced annihilation of the latter.
THE SOUTH ANXIOUS FOR PEACE TWO YEARS
AGO.
With reference to the war in the abstract
the General declared it as his honest belief
that peacj was practicable two years ago,
and has been practicable from that time to
lhe present day, whenever the General Gov
ernment should see fit to seek it, giving any
reasonable chance for the country to escape
the consequences which the exasperated
North seemed determined to impose. The
S mill has, during all this time, been ready
and anxious for peace. They have been
looking lor some word or expression of c mi-
promise or conciliation lrom the Norih,
uoon which they m’ght base a return to the
Union. They were not prepared, nor are
they yet, to come and beg for terms; but
were ready to accept any fair and honorable
terms, their own f.oli'ical views bung .con
sidered. The qu stion of slavery did not
lay in the way at ait. The best men of the
South have long been anxious to do away
with this institution, and were quite willing
to-day to see it abolished.' They consider
slavery forever dead. But with them, in
relation to thifsul ject, the question has ever
been, “What will you do with the treed peo
pie ?” That is the serious question to-day,
and one that cannot be winked at. It must
ba met practically and treated intelligently.
The Degroes mast be disposed of, and il
their disposition can be marked out the mat
ter ol freeing them is at once settled. But
unless some humane courss -is adopted,
based on wisdom and Christian principles,
you do a gross wrong and. injustice to the
whole negro race in setting them free. And
it is only this consideration that has led the
wisdom, intelligence and Christianity of the
South to support and defend the institution
up to this time.
THE GENERAL A NATIONAL MAN.
The conversation then turned into other
channels, and fiially touched upon the
prospect for peace. And here a very no
ticeable form of expression was used by the
General. In speaking of the probable
course ot the Administration towards the
South, the General remarked that “if we
do” so and s>. I immediately called his
attention to the expression, and sought an
explanation of the sense in which he used
the pronoun “we,” bat obtained none other
than a marked repetition of it. It was no
ticeable throughout the entire interview
that in no single instance did be speak of
the-Southern Confederacy, nor of the Yan
kees nor the rebels. He frequently alluded
to the country, and expressed most earnest
ly his solicitude for its restoration to peace
and tranquility, cautiously avoiding any ex
pression that would imply the possibility of
its disintegration.
THE SOUTH NOT YET CONQUERED.
Throughout all the conversation, he man
ifested an earnest desire that such counsels
should prevail and such policies be pursued
as would conduce to an immediate peace
implying in his remarks that pcaoe was
now at our option. But he was particular
to say that, should arbitrary or vindictive
or revengeful policies be adopted, the end
was not yet Tncre yet remained a great
deal ot vitality and strength, which harsh
measures on our part would call into actioD-
and that the South could protract thestrug-
g’.e for an indefinite period. We might, ft
was true, destroy all that remained of the
country east of the Mississippi river bv a
lavish expenditure of men amt- means; but
then we would be required to fight ou the
other side of that river, and, after subduing
them there, we would be compelled to fol
low them inlo Mexico,- and thus the straggle
would be prolonged until the whole coun
try would be impoverished and ruined. And
this we would be compelled to do if exter-
miuat’on, confiscation and general annihila-
i ion and destruction are to be our policy.
For if a people arc to be destroyed, they
will sell their lives as dearly as possible.
Condemnation of the assassination of
PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
The assassination of the President was
then spoken of. The General considered
this event in itself one of the most deplora**
ble that could have occurred. As a crime
it was unexampled and beyond execration.
It was a crime that no goed man could ap**
prove from any conceivable motive. Un
doubtedly tlie effort would be made to fas
ten the responsibility of it upon the South ;
but lrom liis intimate acquaintance with the
leading men of the South, he was confident
there was not one of them who would sanc
tion or approve it. The scheme was wholly
unknown in the South, before its execution,
and would never have received the slight**
est encouragement had it been known ; but,
on the contrary, the most severe execration.
called the General’s attention, at this
point, to a notice, that had been printed in
the Northern papers, purporting to have
been taken lrom a paper published in the
interior of the South, proposing, for the
sum of one million dollars, to undertake the
assassination of the President and his Cabi
net. The General affiirmed that he had
never seen nor heard of such a proposition,
nor did he beileve it had ever been printed
in the South; though if it had, it had beelf
permitted merely as the whim ot some cra
zy person that could possibly amonnt to
nothing. Such a crime was an anomaly in
the history of our country, and we had yet
to learn th^t it was possible ot either ear
nest conception or actual execution
THE SOUTH NEVER HALF IN EARNEST IN THE
WAR.
It was a most singular and remarkable
expression tcTescape the lips ol such a man
as General Lee, that “the South was never
half in earnest in this war.” I cannot at
tempt to translate this remark or elucidate
it. Its utterance conveyed to me the im
pression that the South was most -heartily
sick of the war, and anxious to get back in
to the Udion and t<* peace. The General
added that they went off alter political
leaders in a moment of passion and under
the excitement of fancied wrongs, honestly
believmg that they were enteriug a strug
gle lor an inalienable right and a fundament
al principle of their political creed. A man
should not be judged harshly for contending
for that which he honestly believes to be
right. Such was the position of the vast
majority of the Southern people now. And
now that they are defeated they consider
that they have lost everything that is worth
contending for in the Government. They
have sacrificed home, Iriends, property,
health ; all on this issue. Men do uot make
such sacrifices for nothing. They have made
the sacrifice from honest convictions.
EXPATRIATION SCHEMES..
And now that they have lost in the issue
they feel that they have no interest lelt in
this cotiutry. It is the opinion of General
Lgejthat unless moderation and liberality
be effcrircised towards them, the country will
lose its best people. Already, he says, they
are seeking to. expatriate themselves, and
numerous schemes are started to go to
Mexico, to Brazil, to Canada, to France or
elsewhere. He is called upon frequently to
discountenance and Suppress such Undertak
ing. The country needs these young men.
They are its bone and sinew, its intelligence
and enterprise, its hope for the future, and
wisdom demands that no effort be spared to
keep them iu the country and parity them.
GENERAL LEti’s STANDPOINT. *
It was a moat noticeable feature of tho
conversation that Gen. I>e, strange as it
may appear, talked ihroGgliont as a citizen
of the United States. He seemed to plant
himself on the national platform, and take
his observations from that, standpoint. He
talked calmly, deliberately, earnestly., bnt
with no show ot interest oilier or different
from what might be expected from an hon
est believer in his peculiar opinions.
THE TERMS OF PEACE.
The conversation which had been greatly
protracted, so much so that I became um asy
for fear ot trespassing on time that I bad no
light to claim, terminated with some allu-’
sioc to the terms of peace. Here there was;
perhaps naturally and properly, more reti
cence than o £ any other topic. But it waspiain
lrom what transpired that the only quest ion
in the way ot immediate peace was the
treatment to be accorded the vanquished.—
Everything else, by implication, seems lo be
surrendered. Slavery, Slate rights, the doc
trine of secession, and whatever else of po
laical policy may be involved in the strife,
is abandoned, the only barrier to 'an Imme
diate and universal suspension ot hostilities
and retnrn to the Union being the treatment
the national authorities may promise those
who have been resisting its power an Apara-
mount authority. It is proper to say that
this was not so stated by Gen. Lee, but is
simpiy an inference from the conversation
that took_place on that topic. Oa the con
trary, the General seemed very cautious in
regaid to terms. Iu order to get at his
views, it possible, I suggested the conservai
tive sentiment of the North,wh!ch proposed
a general amnesty to all soldiers - and mili
tary officers, but that the political leaden
of the South be held to a strict accountabil
ity. “Would that be just?’’ headed. “What
has Mr. Davis done more ihan any other
Sou Jierner, that he should be punished ? It
is true he has occupied a prominent position
I agent of a whole people, but that has
| made him no more hot less a rebel than the
rest. * '
His acts were the acta of thcT whole peo
ple, and the acts of the whole people were
his acta He was not accountable for the
commencement of the struggle. On the
contrary, he was one of theTast to give in
his adherence to the secession movement
having strenuously opposed it from the out
set and portrayed its ruinous consequences
in his speeches and by his writings. Why,
therefore, should he suffer more than
others ?” Ofcourse, it was not my province
to discuss these questions, and as this illus
tration disclosed the bent of the General's
mind, it was all that I desired to know.
GENERAL LEE’S PERSONAL WISHES FOR THE
FUTURE.
In taking leave of the General I took oc
casion to say that he was greatly respected
by a very large body of good men at the
North, and that as a soldier he wa9 univer
sally admired, and that it wag earnestly
hoped that he would yet lead an army of
United States troops in the enforcement of
the Monroe doctrine. Ho thanked me for
the expression of Northern sentiment to
ward himself, but aa tor mere fighting he
felt that he was getting too old; his only
desire now being to be permitted to retire
to private life aud end hia days in seclusion.
It WH9,1 thought, an evidence of painful
sadness at heart that prompted the added
expression that he would have been pleased
had his life been taken in any of the numer
ous battle-fields on which he had fought
during this war.
THE CU3TIS SLAVES.
While talking on the subject of the aboli
tion of slavery, I remarked that it had late
ly been charged In some of the newspapers
of the North that the Custis slaves, some
two hundred in number, who had been left
in Gen. Lee’s enstody for emancipation,had'
not been emancipated. The General said
this was a mistake. Aa exeeutor of the will
lie was required to emancipate these slaves
at a certain time. That time had not ar
rived when ihe war broke out. It did ar
rive one or two years afterwards. At that
time he could not get to the courts of the
county in which Arlington is located to
take out the emancipation papers as pre
scribed by law. Bnt he did, takeout papers
from the Supreme Court of the State in this
city, liberating them all, and they are so re
corded in the records ol that court. He
sent word of their freedom to the negroes
at Arlington, and the necessary papers were
sent to.lhose at the While House, and to all
others that could be reached, and they weie
all thus liberated, together with a number
Who wore either the General’s or Mrs. Lee’s
private property.
TEMPERANCE LECTURES.
These discourses are of several kinds—
eloquent, common place and humorous.
It was our privilege to hear last summer, _
iu the vicinity of Horscneck, a village situ
ated on lhe Sound, a temperance lecture
which belonged to the latter category, al
though we are at this moment in doubt
whether its humor was intentional or acci
dental. The “orator of the day” was a
long, shingle-sided New Englander, with a
face that was all angles in its outline—just
as if nature had whittled it out with a dull
jack knife, and had lacked the necessary
fragment of glass or scrap of sand paper
to round off the corners. The location was
not the moat favorable one in the world for
the glorification of water, being on the edge
of a stagnant pool, bearing upon its surface
a coating of filth and feculence which
looked like the cicatrix of a healing ulcer.
We pluynograplimd the oration, and here it
is, verbatim: —Exchange.
Feller Men—I desire to say there’s no
safety in moderate drinking. When vice
takes a start it doesn’t often stop half way,
but generally goes on continually v cey wor-
scr. Whisky will wisk ye off before you
know it; brandy will brand ye with disgrace,
the commonest gin is a snare to the unwary,
aud even hydroym and oxygin is destruc
tive to human life, except when jined, in
the form of water; in fact, feller men, no
gin ought to be used except the cotton gin.
If the still men were all destroyed, we should
have quht in the land. Thousands are
brought to an early bier by the brewers, and
a little more grape is the death of many
Captain Braggs. The grain and fruits of
the earth were not intended to have the
liquor wormed out of ’em, and it ia a mis
take to suppose that the Horn of Plenty
should be converted into plenty of horns.
Every Jack must have his gill, the proverb
says, but there is no reason to believe that
it means a gill of applf-jock. Never drink
rum to drown reflection—you had belter
drown it in water, by jumping*off the dock.
If your inclinations should get such a
command over your legs as to carry them
to a porter house door, pause, think, reason
with yourself—you will theu put down the
fatal cup, and go off with rectified spirits.
Try—should you ever be tempted to im
bibe forbidden fl oids—not to persevere iu
so doing; for Saukespeare says, and I be
lieve it, that lha eighth glass shows you
many more. Therefore, teller-men, beware
ot the eighth glass. Drnnkeness, feller- '
men, is the officiel guide to poverty and the
devil. The temperance man redeems his
pledge—but the drunkard seldom gets bis
walcli out of pawn. If lie.has * any jewels
they go the same wav, and the carbuncles
he gets instead of Ym are neither eo orna
mental nor so valooble as these you read
about, in the TLbian Nights. Don’t for
massy’s sake,-take your bitters in the morn
ing before breakfast—if you da it will soon
be all day with you. But, a9 I said before,
I go for total abstemiousness—which means
as you are aware, the total absence of steam.
Look, lctlcT-men, at that teraptiog sheet ot
water— [[jointing to the scabby pool]—that
is your uateral element. [Here a percepti
ble twinge ran through the convocation.]
What says Isaiah ? You that thirst, come
ye to the waters and drink free gratis for
nothing; Think, feller-men, how much
cheaper it is to drink waler than alkihol—
and water’s a liquur that no man hankers
arter, which is not the case with the latter.
Do you suppose that if the rock Moses
smote with his pick had spouted hot
whisky punch, the children of Israel would
ever have been satisfied ? Never, my feller
men, I know it by personal ex -I mean I
know it by many uxcrooshiating scenes that
I have personally witnessed.
Feller men, I have nothing more to say,
except that the h it is going round for the
good of the Cause, and however mnch you
may drop in, it will not be a drop too
mnch.
Restoration of Virginia.—Governor
Pieipont (it ia stated by the National Intel
ligencer) has been authorized and empow
ered to establish the new Slate governmen
of Virginia at Richmond.
He will proceed to that Capital forthwith
and call together the loyal State Legislature
^The^State^wsis divided into Congressional
districts in If60, and under that division
preaentalives to the 39 A CoDg
duly elected.
