The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, December 12, 1889, Image 1

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$ 4J UWtIEIUI) 1411W 111W UU,. ISHED 1865. NEWBERRY, S. C.. ThuRSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1889. PRICE $1.50 A - YEAR ON D T AOIS, ~His face, always calm and pale, gained additional palor, and at 12:4, o'clock, ni this 6th day of December, death came to the venerable leader. There was nothing remarkable about AND'S HERO his death-bed scene. The departure of EST.Rthe spirit was gentle and utterly pain R S . less. There were no dry eyes in the little SSTATESHANQUIET- .assembly about the bed, and every AWAY IN THE heart bled with the anguish which pT CITY. found vent in Mrs. Davis' sobs and cries. BLIS DEATH AND MRS. DAVIS' GRIEF. HIS EVENTFUL ABLE SERVICES. Immediately after the death Mrs Davis was led up-stairs to the bedroom gusta Chronicle.] of Mrs. Fenner, where the ladies tried 2.30 o'cldck the fol- to assuage her grief. as recived from the She bore the awful blow bravely, bul ed aher breathing was labored, and her con vis died at12:45 to- dition so weakened that the two doe tors attended her. n announced from They pronounced her weakness to be late to get in press only the consequence of the strain and the grief, and said nothing was to be feared. HOW THE CHRONi SPEA PREPARING THE BODY. had closed, but In the meanwhile the body was be bound to get the ing straightened and bathed. It will be gh it was in New embalmed early this morning. In the limited time of last night nc ne to sleep without arrangements for the funeral could be of the great life that thought of. dt was to pass out Mrs. Davis signified her wish that ight w ts t Judge Fenner and Mr. Farrar should soar to its eternal take entire charge of all matters con nected with the burial. ECIAL NEWS. It is probable that the municipa) dents at New Or- authorities, acting conjointly with civil tely telegraphed to, associations, will decide to-day upon utes the news came the ceremony, the funeral procession and the place of burial. EXPECTED. His Life. Dec. 6.-Hon. Jef- Jefferson Davis, statesman, born in very suddenly at 12: that part of Christian County, Ky. -which now forms Todd County, June dily improving for 3, 1808. His father, Samuel Davis, ha is physicians to-day served in the Georgia cavalry durinj es as satisfied with the revolution, and, when Jeffersor was an infant, removed, with his fain fever and was little ily to a place near Woodville, Wilkin bronchial affection_ son County, Mississippi. Young Davi: im for some time. 'entered Transylvania college at Ken ONITIO\. 'tucky, but left in 1824, on his appoint no premonition ofkment by President Monroe to the Uni shortly eore 12 ted States Military academy. On hi: s taken with a fit graduation, in 1828, he was assigned t< athe First Infantry, and served on the ch completely ex- frontier, taking part in the Black Hawl that time he sank war of 1831-'32. He was promoted t< first lieutenant of Dragoons on Marci QUIET ONE. 4, 1833, but, after more service againsl ery quiet one, life the Indians, abruptly resigned on June 'thout the watchers 30, 1835, and having married, after i aware of the fact. romantic elopement, the daughter o KNEW IT. Zachary Taylor, then a colonel in the the city are aware army, settled near Vicksburg, Miss. as the afternoon and became a cotton planter. Here he dition was very fa- pursued a life of study and retiremen as not the slight- until 1843, when he entered politics iu te his death dur- the midst of an exciting gubernatorial contest. He was chosen an elector or on throuxghout his~ the Polk and Dallas ticket in 1844, t he was en his~ made a reputation as a popular speaker land in 1845 was sent to Congress, tak ~ing his seat in that year. He at onci UGGLE. ~ took an active part in debate, speakint ember 6, 4 a. m- o the tariff the Oregon question and uch bettei' during. military matters, especially with refer esterday, and his ence to the preparatioD for war witl> was remarked by Mexico. On the sixth of February, family. 1846, in a speech on the Oregon ques, the bowels durn tion, he spoke of the "love of Union it rious feature ap- our hearts,'" and, speaking of the bat. minutes before 6 tIes of the revolution, said: "They form a monument to the commor vE CHIL L. glory of our common country." 'ous patient was In June, 1846, he resigned his seat il estive chill. the House to become Colonel of the not present at the First Mississippi Volnnteer rifles, nner's family and which had unanimously elected himr rything to soothe to that office. Having joined his regi ment at New Orleans, he led it to rein ness after the chill force Gen. Taylor on the Rio Grande. ecovered his facul- At Monterey he charged on Fort Lene ria without bayonets, led his command AT H A ND. through the streets nearly to the Grand fore Dr. C. J.P.iek- Plaza through a storm of shot, anc of the board of ad- afterwards served on the commissior Charity hospital, for arranging the surrender of the place .Chaille, dean of At Buena Vista his regiment was of Tulane Univer- charged by a Mexican brigade of lancers most famous prac- greatly its superior in numbers, in , arrived and con- last desperate effort to break the Ameri ndition of the can lines. Col. Davis formed his mer in the shape of the letter V, open to. -- TH END. wards the enemy, and thus by exposinl -~ TH END, his foes to a covering fire, utterly surprise, totally routed them, though he was unsup hose in constant ported. He was severely wounded skilled eyes of the but remained in the saddle till the clos4 it the beginning of the fight, and was complimented for coolness and gallantry in the com. 'th the patient un- mander-in-chief's dispatch of March 6 and made every 1847. His regiment was ordered honmi id the inevitable, on the expiratic n of its term of enlist. -scIorsNEsS. menit, and on May 17, 1847, Col. Davit d in a comatose was appointed by President Polk tendants could se brigadier general, but declined the ness. Mrs. Davis commission on the ground that a mili y felt a return of tia appointment by the federal execu and she held, al- tive wvas unconstitutional. He was ap ither speak nor pointed by the Gov ernor of Mississipp to fill a vacancy in the United State: Senate in August, 1847, and in Janu. SCENE. a ry, 1848 the Legislature unanimousi' mn the sick chain- elected him Senator, and re-elected bin .The only va- in 18->0, for a full termi. He wvas mad< al of Mr. Edwin chairmian of the Senate committee or f Mr. Davis' niece military affairs, and here, as in thi .Charles E. Fen- House, was active in the discussion or sent for at the the various phases of the slavery ques tion and the important work of th< ND CAME. Sesionl, inicluding the fugitive slave law, and the other compromise meas en the end came ures of 18530. Mr. Davis proposed th< J. U. Payne, Mr. extension of the Missouri compromis4 es E. Fenner Mr. line to the Pacific, and continued Smith, a grand- zealous advocate of state rights. H< is, Mr. E. D). Fenner, a was the unsuccessful state rights, o: nner, Dr. C. J. Bick- "resistance" candidate for governor o aille- his State in 1851, though by his per fe waned low as the sonal popularity he reduced the Unior rrived, nor did it majority from 7:500 to 999. He had re tness of conscious- signed his seat in the Senate to tak gerly, yet tender- part in the canvass and, after a year o ed at the face of retirement, actively supported Frank lin Pierce in the Presidential onte of 1852. After the election of Mr. Pierce, Mr. Davis received the port folio of war in his cabinet, and admin istered it with great credit. Amon other changes he proposed the use of camels in the service on the Western plains, introduced an improved syste of infantry tactics, iron gun carriages, rifled muskets and pistols, and the us( of the minnie ball. Four regiment; were added to the army, the defences on the sea coast and frontier were strengthened, and as a result of experi" ments, heavy guns were cast hollow and a large grain of powder was adopted. While in the Senate Mr. Davis had advocated the construction of a Pacific railroad as a military ne cessity, and as a means of preserving the Pacific coast to the Union, and hf was now put in charge of the organiza tion and equipment of the surveying parties sent out to examine the variow routes proposed. He also had charge of the appropriations for the extensior of the Capitol. Mr. Davis left thE cabinet at the close of President Pierce'f term in 1857, and in the same yeai entered the senate again. He opposed the French spoliation bill, advocated the Southern route for the Pacific rail road, and opposed the doctrine of "pop ular sovereignty," often encountering Stephen A. Douglas in the debate or this question. After the settlement of the Kansas contest by the passage of the Kansas conference bill, in which he had taken a chief part, he wrote t< the people of this State that it was "thE triumph of all for which wecontended.' Mr. Davis was the recognized Demo cratic leader of the Thirty-sixth Con. gress. He had made a tour of the Eastern States in 1858, making speeches t Boston, Portland, Maine, New York nd other places, and in 18.59 in repl3 to an invitation to attend the Webstei birthday festival in Boston, wrote t I letter denouncing partisans who avow the purpose of obliterating the land mark of our fathers and containing strong union sentiments. He hac been frequently mentioned as a Demo cratic candidate for the Presidency and received many votes in the con vention of 1860, though his friends an nounce that he did not desire the nomi nation. Before Congress met, in the autumn of 1860, Mr. Davis was sum moned to Washington by members o: President Buchanan's cabinet to sug est some modifications of the forth coming message to Congress. The sug gestions were made and were adopted In the ensuing session Mr. Davis made n December 10, 1860, a speech it which he carefully distinguished be tween the independence, which thf States had achieved at great cost, ant the Union, which had cost "little time little money, and no blood," taking hii old state-rights position. He was ap pointed on the Senate committee o1 thirteen to examine and report on the condition of the country, and althougl at first excused at his own request finally consented to serve, accepting the appointment in a speech in whict he avowed his willingness to make any sacrifice to avert the impending trouble The committee, after remaining ir session several days, reported on thE thirty-first of December, their inability to come to any satisfactory conclusion On the tenth of January, 1861, Mr Davis made another speech on thi state of the country, asserting the righ1 of secession, denying that of coercion and urging the withdrawal of the garrison from Fort Suniter. Missis sippi had seceded on t.he ninth of Jan uary, and on the twenty-fourth of Jan uary, having been officially informie of the fact, Mr. Davis withdrew frort the Senate and went to his home, hay ing taken leave of his associates in speech, in which he defended the causi of the South, and, in closing, begged pardon of all whom he had ever of fended. Before he reached home he had beer appointed by the convention commian der-in-chief of the Army of Mississippi with the rank of major-general; but or the eighteenth of February, 1861, h< exchanged this office for the Presideni of the Confederate States, to which the provisional Congress at Montgomery had elected him on the ninth of Feb ruary. He selected for his cabinet Robert Toombs, of Georgia, as secre tary of state, Leroy P. Walker, of Ala bama, secretary of war; Charles G Memnninger, of South Carolina, secre tary of the treasury; Stephen R. Mal lory, of Florida, secretary of the navy Judah P. Benjamin, of Louisana, attor ney general, and lJohn H. Reagan, o: Texas, postmaster general. The las three continued in the cabinet as long as the Confederacy maintained its exis tance. jToombs, Walker and Meni minger were succeeded by others. Ii his inaugural address Mr. Davis assert ed that "necessity not choice," had le< to the secession of the Southern states that the true policy of the South, ai agricultural country, was peace, an< that "the constituent parts but not thi system," of the government had beer changed. The attack on Fort Sumte oin the twelfth of April precipitated thi wvar, and Mr. Davis, in his first mess -age to the Provisional!Confederate Con gress on the ninth of A pril, after a ri. view of events, (from the formation o the United!States constitution till 1861, which, in his judgment, had led to the contest, commended this act whill avow ing a desire to prevent the shed ding of blood. The message also con rdemned as illegal and absurd Presiden yLincoln's proclamiation calling fo -troops, and that announcing a blockade of Southern ports, and ended with thi -famous words, "All we ask is to be le 'alone" followed by a promise to resis subjugation to the direst extremity 7Shortly after the change of the Confed erote anital from Montgoeryr f Richmond, which he had strongly ad vised, Mr. Davis removed thither and was met on his way with many nark: of popular favor, every railway statior swarming with men, women and chil dren, who greeted him with waving 'handkerchiefs. Soon after his arriva the fine residence of James A Seddor was bought and put at Mr. Davis's dis posal by citizens of Richmond. His first days in the new capital were spent in reviewing troops and in speech mak ing. He exhorted his hearers to re member the dignity of the contest, and "to smite the smiter with manly arms as our fathers did before us," and de clared his willingness to lay down his civil office and take command of th< army, should the extremity of the cause ever warrant such action. Befor< his arrival in Virginia an army of abou thirty thousand men had been raised and as fast as new troops arrived thei: officers were assigned to a rank in th< Confederate service, regulated by wha they bad formerly held in the United States army. On July 20 Mr. Davi: sent his second message to the Pro visional Congress, then in session a Richmond. In this message he corn plained of barbarities committed by national troops, and again asserted the impossibility of subduing the South On the morningsucceeding the delivery of this message, he set out for Manassas where a contest was thought to be im pending, and arrived there in time t< witness the close of the battle of Bul Run-reaching the field when victory had been assured to the Confederates The battle of Bull Run was followe< by a period of inaction, and Mr. Davi: was blamed by many for this policy as well as for his "failure to organiz< the troops of the several states int< brigades and divisions, formed by th< soldiers of each, as the law directed. Ir answer to these complaints, he has ur ged the length of time necessary to or ganize "the terrible machine, a discip linary army," and protested that, a far as in him lay, he favored an ad vance and endavored to comply witl the legal plan of army organization The question of treatment of Confed erate prisoners by the national author ities soon demanded his attention. 01 April 17, 1861, two days after Mr. Lin coln's call for troops, Mr. Davis had issued a proclamation inviting appli cation for'letters of marque and reprisal The "Savannah," a private vessel com missiored in accordance with this offer was captured off Charleston, and he officers and crew were tried for pirac: New York and sentenced to death Later the captain and crew of the priv ateer, "Jefferson Davis," was similarl: convicted in Philadelphia. Thereupon in November, 1861, Mr. Davis orderec retaliatory measures to be taken, anc fourteen Union prisoners were selecte< by lot and held as hostages for the safety of the condemned men. ThE intt.er were ultimately put on the foot ing of prisoners of war by order of th< national government, and subsequent ly a cartel was adopted for the ex change of prisoners, which remaine< in force till its suspension in 1864 caused by disagreement as to the statu of negro soldiers. In November, 1861 a Presidential election was held in th: Confederacy and Mr. Davis was chosei President for six years without opposi tion. In his message to the Provisiona Congress at its last session, eighteentl of November, 1861, he briefly sketche< the situation at the close of the firs year of the war, alluding to the Con federate successes, the contest for th possession of Kentucky and Missouri and the "Trent aff'air." He urged th construction of another railway lin' through the Confederacy; asserted th improvement of the South in militar means and financial condition, and th inefficiency of the blockade, and said "If indeed it were a rebellion in whici we were engaged, we might find ampi vindication for the course we hay adopted in the scenes which are nos being enacted in the United States.' The first Congress, under the perma nent constitution, met in Richnmond o3 the eighteenth of February, 1862, ani Mr. Davis was inaugurated on th t wenty-second of February. The Cor federacy had just met with its firs serious reverses in the fall of Fort Henry anid Donelson; but in his inaug ural, after a vindication of the rights o secession Mr. Davis indulged in man; favorable hopes. "The final result i: our favor," said he, "is not doubtful Our foes must sink under the immens load of debt which they have incurred In the heart of a people resolved to b free, these disasters tend but to stimu late to increased resistance." In hi short messages of the twenty-fifth c February and the fifteenth of Augusi he suggested various measures for th improv ement of the Confederate forces The result of the reverses in the earl months of the year, to which had nos been added the capture of New Orleam Ibegan to show itself in a growing or position to Mr. Davis's administratiot which up to this time had seemed a] but universally popular, and this og position increased in force up to th -latest days of the war. One of the firs acts of the Congress was to pass a sweel ing conscription law, to which M1 Davis reluctantly assented. This wa Sstoutly resisted in some quarters, an led to a spirited correspondence be tween Mr. Davis and Governor Jos. I Brown, of Georgia, who disputed th constitutionality of the measure. Cor ~gress also authorized the suspension c ~the habeas corpus act for ten mile ~around Richmond and the formatio ~of a military police, for the allege reason that the government was cor tinunally in danger from the presencei Richmond of national spies and th conseqnent plots and intrigues. Mi TDnvis w:as present with Geaneal T.ee a the battle of Fair Oaks on May 31, and after the wounding of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in that engagement, assigned fLee to the command of the Army of - Northern Virginia, having previously, Kon March 13th charged him "under the direction of the President, with the conduct of military operations." Dur ing a visit to the army in the Western department in December, 1862, Mr. Davis, in an address to the Mississippi Legislature, defended the conscription law, and declared that in all "respects the Confederacy was better prepared for war than it was a year previous." The proclamation of emancipation by President Lincoln, to take effect Janu ary 1, 1862, called out from Mr. Davis a retaliatory proclamation, dated Decem ber 23, 1862, in which, after reciting among other acts, the hanging of Wil liam B. Munford for tearing down the United States flag at New Orleans after the city was captured by the national forces, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was l declared a felon, and it was ordered that all commissioned officers serving under him, as well as any found serv ing in company with slaves, should be treated as "robbers and criminals de serving death." These threats, how ever, were not generally executed, though supported by the legislation of the Congress. In his message of Janu ary 1863, Mr. Davis announced his in tention of turning over national pris > oners for prosecution in State courts, as I abettors in servile insurrection; but this proposition was rejected by Con gress, and provision made for their l their trial by military tribunals. The two long messages sent by Mr. Davis to Congress in 1863 consisted largely of discussions of the position of the for eign powers especially Great Britain, with reference to the war. The one t dated December 7th, announces the - fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and urges the "compulsory reduction - of the currency to the amount required by the business of the country," to - gether with other measures for improv k ing the finances, which had become hopelessly depreciated. They had never been on a sound basis, and the - currency had declined in value till it L was nearly worthless. In April, 1863, - in compliance with a request of the I Confederate Congress, Mr. Davis had - issued an address to the people of the South, in which he drew the happiest - conclusions as to the success of the Confederacy, from the way in which, in the face of obstacles, it had already organized and disciplined armies. "At no previous period of the war," said he, "have our forces been so numerous, so well organized, and so thoroughly dis ciplined, armed, and equipped as at i present. The disaster of July-at Gettysburg and Vicksburg-coming in the face of this assertion and the state of the cur rency just mentioned, emboldened the - opposition party in all parts of the Con. Sfederacy fiercely to assail the adminis - tration. Mr. Davis was held responsi ble for the advance into Pennsylvania, Iand accused of partiality in appointing Pemberton to command in the West. Charles G. Memminger, secretary of the ti-easury, resigned, and his place was filled by George T. Trenholm; but the new secretary was unable to stop the deprecation of the currency. The lack of coin in the country, the inabil ity of the people to bear more taxation, and the spirit of speculation, fostered by the cnormous issue of paper money, hastened the financial ruin of the Con federacy. Food, too, was scarce. Ken tueky and Tennessee, whence had come most of the meat supplies, were lost to the Confederacy, and the army Swas on half rations. A t this time there rwas a clamor against the commissary a general, Col. Northrope. A committee 'of the Confederate Congress investi 1 gated the matter and exonerated him; 3 but the opponents of the adnuinistra a tion have continued to hold him, and Mr. Davis through him, responsible for the scarcity of food in the Confed eracy, and therefore, indirect!y, foi Imuch of the sufferings of the Union prisoners during the war. The ex Schange of prisoners had been inter - rupted for some time by the refusal of the Confederate government to recog 9 nize negroes as national soldiers, and - after many futile attempts to come tc ran understanding with the national I government, "we offered," (says Mr. Davis, "Rise and fall of the Confed - erate gomernment," Vol. 2, page 601,": a "to the United States government theii -sick and wounded, without requiring Sany equivalent." - Trhe year 1864 opened with Confed' s erate successes in Florida, tihe South f west and .North Carolina, and Mr. ,Davis, in his message of May 2, said e "'The armies iln Northern Virginia and . Tennessee still olppose with unshaker F front, a formidable barrier to the pro ( gress of the invaders. That progress, ,however, was not long to be stayed - By an order issued on the seventeentl: ,of July, 18G4, Mr. Davis renmoved GJen. 1 Jos. E. Johnston from the command 01 - the army opposed to Glen. Sherman ii e Georgia. The cause and alleged in, t justice of this removal have not yei Sceased to be subjects for controversy, ii -being asserted by Mr. Davis's oppo s nents that personal reasons influenced I him against an officer, with whom h< had never been very friendly, whil .his supporters, denying this, fully jus e tify the act. The reasons given in Ad - jutant General Cooper's brief dispatel fwerethat General Jobhnston had "failec * to arrest the advance of the enemy t( > the vicinity of Atlanta and expressed i no confidence that he could defeat 0; - rep)el him." In answer to which Glen SJohnston wrote: "I assert tha e en. Sherman's army is much -. stronger compared with that of Ten t nessee, than Grant's comparet with that of Northern Virginia. Yet the enemy has been compelled to ad vance much more slowly to the vicinity of Atlanta than to that of Richmond and Petersburg, and pene trated much deeper into Virginia than into Georgia." General John B. Hood, successor of General Johnston, was obliged to evacuate Atlanta on September i. Mr. Davis then visited Georgia and endeavored to raise the spirits of the people there, and to restore harmony between the Confederate and State governments. Governor Brown, who had opposed the conscription act, continued to be hostile to the adminis tration, notwithstanding an interview with Mr. Davis, in which the latte tried to convince him that his com plaint was unjust. He reviewed and addressed Hood's army on Septembe is, and afterwards, in speeches made in Macon, Augusta, and elsewhere, strove to inspire the people with the spirit of renewed resistance, and to persuade them that anhonorable peac was impossible. As is evident from the tone of these and other speeches, .the peace party in the South was daily gaining strength. Besides those wh really desired peace, there were othe who hoped that a rejected attempt t treat with the national governmen might fire the South with in7ilgna::; As early as December 30, 18", Gov. Zebalon B. Vance, of North Carolina, had written to Mr. Davis urging neg tiation. The latter, in his answer, dated January 8, 1864, cited previou unsuccessful attempts to communica with the authorities at Washington, and concluded that another would undesirable. In January, 1865, how ever, after an interview with Franci P. Blair, Sr., who had gone to Rich mond, unofficially, in the hope o bringing about peace, Mr. Davis agreed to send three commissioners to confe with the national government. Th result was an unsatisfactory meetin on a steamer in Hampton roads. On the return of the commissioners, pub lie meetings were held at which the seemed to be a return of the enthu iasm of the early days of the war. Peace with the independence of the South was now seen to be impossible, and the horrors of subjugation by the North were painted in gloomy colors by the speakers. Mr. Davis, alway an able and impressive speaker, made what is called the most re markable speech of his life. But this outburst of enthusiasm was only temporary. The evacuation o Atlanta has been followed by Sher man's march to the sea, and Hood's disastrous campaign in Tennessee. Gen Hood himself said, in speaking of it, when taking leave of his army in Jan uary, 1865: "I alone am responsible for its conception." These reverses, however with Grant's steady advance on Richmond, and, above all, the re - elcction of President Lincoln, had pro duced a growing conviction in the South that defeat was inevitable. The Confederate Congress then met in No vember, 1864, was outspoken in oppo sition to the administration, and in January, 1865, the Virginia delegation urged a change in the cabinet, express ing their want of confidence in its members. As a consequence of this, James A. Seddon, then secretary of war, sent in his resignation. In his last message to Congress, dated March 13, 1865, while acknowl edging the peril of the Confederacy, asserted that it had ample means of meeting the emergency. On Sun day, April 2, 1865, while seated in his new pew at St. Paul's church, Rich mond, he was handed a telegram from Gen. Lee, announcing the latter's speedy withdrawal from Petersburg, and the consequent necessity of evacu ating the capital. That evening, ac companied by his personal staff, mem bers of the cabinet, and others, he left by train for Danville. On his arrival there he issued, on April 5, a proclam ation of which he afterwards admitted that "viewed by the light of subse quent events, it may fairly be said it was oversanguine." In it he said: "Re lieved from the necessity of guarding particular points, our army will be free to move from point to point, to strike the eunmy in detail far from its base." Danville was abandoned in less than a week, and after a conference at Greens boro, N. C., with Gens. Johnston and Beauregard, in which his hopes of con-1 tinuing the war met with little en couragement, he went to Charlotte, where he heard of the assassination of~ Mr. Lincoln. His wife had preceded~ him with a small escort, and it was just1 after he had overtaken her. while en camped near Irvinsville, Ga., that the~ whole party were captured on May 10~ by a body of cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Pritchard. He was taken to Fort Munroe and kept in confinement for t wo years. On Septenmber 21, 18655, the United States called on the President for in formation on the subject of his trial, andl in response reports were submit ted from the secretary of war and thel attorney general, their substance.being] that Virginia was the proper place for the trial, and that it was not yet pcssi-1 f)le, peacefully, to hold a United States court in that State. On October 12th, in reply to a letter from President John son, Chief Justice Chase said that he w.as unwilling to hold court in a dis trict still'under martial law. On April 10, 1868, the judiciary committee of the House of Representatives reported that there was no reason why the trial should not be proceeded with, and that -it was the duty of the government to *investigate, without delay, the facts Sconnected with Lincoln's assassination. On th May, 1866, Mr. Davis was in ~dicted for treason by a grand jury in .the United States Court for the district of Virginia, sitting at Norfolk, under, Judge Underwood, the charge of corn plicity in the assassination of the Presi dent having been dropped. On June 5th, at a session of the court held in Richmond, James T. Brady, one of Mr. Davis' counsel, urged that the trial be held without delay, but the govern ment declined to proceed on the in dictment, urging the importance trial and the necessity of pwsparation for it. The court refuse to admit the prisoner to bail. On May 13, 1867, h was brought before the court at Rich mond, on a writ of habeas corpus, and admitted to bail on the amount o $100,000, the first name on the list b ing that of Horace Greeley. Mr. Davis' release gave much satisfaction to th Southern people. The interest taken in him during his,imprisonment, and their prevalent idea that he was to suf fer as a representative of the South, rather than for sins of his own, "and was a nation's prisoner," had mad him more popular there than he w during the first days of the war. Aft an enthusiastic reception at Richmond he went to New York, then to Canada, and in the summer of 1868 visited En gland, a Liverpool firm having offered to take him in as& .a*er- withou capital. ThTs offer, after investigation, was .diined, and having visited rance, he returned to this country He was never brought to trial. A nol prosequi being entered by the govern ment in his case in December, 1868, and he was also included in the gen ral amnesty of that month. After hi discharge he became president of a lif insurance company at Memphis, Tenn. In 1879, Mrs. Dorsey, of Beauvoir,Miss., bequeathed to him her estate, whe he has since quietly resided, givin much of his time to literary pursuits. In June, 1871, in a speech at a publi reception in Atlanta, Ga., he said that he still adhered to the principle o State sovereignty, was confident of it. final triumph, and was not of thoe who "accepted the situation." In 1876, when a bill was before the House o Representatives to remove all the litical disabilities that had been im posed on those who took part in the in urrection, James G. Blaine offered an amendment, excepting Jefferson Davis, and supported it by a speech, in which he accused Mr. Davis of being "th author of the gigantic murders and crimes at Andersonville." Senator Ben jamin H. Hill, of Georgia, spoke in ply, defending Mr. Davis from thi charge. Again, in 1879, Mr. Davis w pecially excepted in a bill to pension veterans of the Mexican war, the ado tion of an amendment to that effect being largely the result of a speech by Zachariah Chandler. In October, 1884, at a meeting of th Frank P. Blair post, of the Grand Army of the Republic, in St. Louis, Gen. W. T. Sherman asserted that h had seen letters and papers showing that Mr. Davis had abandoned his state righ's doctrines during the war, and had become practically a dictatei in the South. Mr. Davis in a letter tc anewspaper, denied the charge, and Gen. Sherman then filed with the war department at Washimgton paper that, in his view, substantiated it. On April 28, 1886, Mr. Davis spoke at the dedication of a monument to the Con federate soldiers at Montgomery, Ala., and was enthusiastically received. Another Account of the Iast Xoments. Mr. Davis seemed much better during the early part of yesterday and his im proved condition was remarked by the doctors and his family. He suffered pains during the day, but the serious feature of his illness appeared justa few minutes before 6 o'clock. Then the illustrious patient was stricken with a severe congestive chill. The doctor were not present at the time, but Judge Fenner's family and Mrs Davis did everything to sooth the sufferer. It was 7 o'clock before Dr. Beckhanm and Dr Chaille, two of the most famous practitione~s in the South, arrived and consulted over the condition of the patient. His change was a surpriseto tally unexpected to those in constant attendance, andi the skilled eyes of the medical men saw in it the beginning of the end. They continued with patient attention until his death, however, and made every possible effort to avoid the inevitable. Mr Davis remained in a comatose c>nditiou, and the attendants couldi see no sign of consciousness. Mrs Davis said she occasionally felt a return of thel pressure of the hand she held, although he could neither speak nor miake a sign. This was the scene in the sick chamber as the hours passed. The only varia-] tion was the arrival of Edwin H.j Farrar, the hasband of Mr. Davis's niece, and of Judge and Mrs Charles E Fenner, who had been sent f.r at the opera. At the bedside when the end came were Mrs Davis, Mr. J. U. Payne, Mr. and Mrs Judge C. E. Fenner, Mr E. H. Farrar, Mrs Smith, a ganduiece of Mr. Davis, Mr. E. D. Penner, son of the Jnstice, Dr. C. J. Beckhanm and Dr S. E. Chailie. The lamp of life waned low as the hour of midnight arrived, nor did it flicker into the brightnes of conscious ness at any time. Eagerly yet tenderiy did the watchers gaze at the face of the dying Chieftain. His face always calin and pale, took on an additional pallor, and at a quarter of 1 o'clock of this 6th day of December death came to the 'renerable leader. There was nothing remarkable about the deathbed scene. The departure of Ithe spirit was gentle and utterly pain less, and there were no dry eyes in the l ittle assemtily about the bed and ever.y heart bled with anguish, which found vent In Mrs Davis's sobs and cries. Immediately after the death Mrs. Davis was led up-stairs to the bed room of Mrs Fenner, where the ladies tried to assuage her grief. She bore the awful blow bravely, but her breathing was labored and her condition so weak that the two doctors consulted about her. They pronounced her weakness to be only that consequent on strain and grief, and said that nothing was to be eared. LING THE BELLS IN NEW ORLEANS. tie illness of Mr. Davis had been watched with deep anxiety here, and *rrangements had been made to an nounce his death by tolling the fire bells. Word was therefore telephoned to the central station at 12.50 this morn ing, and in a few minutes the mournful notes of the bells conveyed the intelli ence of his death to the city. Many people gathered at the hotels, and at 3 o'clock hundreds were discussing the event. HE SYMPATHY OF THE WHOLESOUTH. Dispatches poured into Mrs.Wis from all portions of the South nearly a thousand being receiv show that the death of Mr s. created a profound impression u out the South, in Mississippi L cular. In th a en tirely suspended in all the towns, and all the Courts everywhere adjourned. Mass meetings of condolence and sym pathy were held in Jackson, West Point, Wesson, Macon, Port Gibson, Woodville and other towns, at which uitable resolutions were adopted and telegraphed to Mrs Davis. In all these towns the bells were kept tolling all day. At Port Gibson Sunday, Decem ber 15, was set apart as a day of mourn ing and at the other towns it was re ived to hold Davis memorial meet ings in all the churches. The citizens of Montgomery, Ala., telegraphed to Mrs Davis, asking that the body of her husband be interred in that town, on capitol hill, under the Confederate monument. Jackson also asked that Mr. Davis be buried in Mississippi soil. Atlanta and Macon, Ga, and a number of other cities, asked that the body of Mr. Davis be brought there, so that the people could be given last opportunity to look on him. At most of the Mississippi towns com mittees were appointed to visit New rleans and take part in the funeral ceremonies there. Among the messages of condolence received by Mrs. Davis were telegrams from Governor J. B. Gordon of Geor gia, who suggests that all the Southern vernors take part in the funeral, Governor D. G. Fowle of North Caro lina, Governor Robert Lowry of Mis issippi, Governor Frank Nichols of Louisiana, Governor L. S. Ross of Texas, Governor J. P. Richardson of South Carolina, and Governor H. P. Fleming of Florida, Justice L. Q. C. Lamar of the Supreme Court, Senators Reagan of Texas, Walthall of Mis sissippi, and others. Up to 9 o'clock no telegrams had been received from any persons of prom inence North. WEDNESDAY THE FUNERAL DAY. It had been first determined the funeral wvould take place on Sunday, but before the conference was over tek grams began to pour in from all parts of the South, asking for the date of the funeral and announcing that a num ber of persons desired to be present, nd suggesting that time be allowed for them to get there. This induced the conference to postpone the funeral till Wednesday noon, so as to give all who decided to come here ample time to do so. As soon as an agreement was reached Mayor Shakespeare telegraphed to all the Southern Governors, notifying them of the arrangements made and aking them to take part in the funeral ceremonies. The question of THE PLACE OF BURIAL was also discussed. The family bury ing ground of the Davis family is at the Briarfield homestead, just below Vicksburg. Here, in this beautiful spot, Mr. Davis' elder brother, Joseph Davis is buried, and here the Ex-Presi dent's remains will also ultimately lie. But, as it was impossible to hold the funeral ceremonies at Briarfield, it was decided to lay the remains temporarily at rest here in the tomb of the Con federate Veteran's Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, in Metaire Cemetery. THE BODY TO LIE IN STATE. As soon as the news of the death was circulated tbrough the town by the papers the Fenner house was visited by such a large number of prsons that it was determined that the boy should be removed to the City Hall to lie in state there in the council chamber un til the Ifuneral. Mrs. Davis asked that the corpse remain in her charge to-day, but consented to allow its tranfer to some public place to-night, provided it was made quietly and unostentatiously. THE DETAILS OF THE FUNERAL ceremony were placed in charge of a cmmittee, of which Col. Win. Preston Johnston, son of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, president of Tulane Univer sity and ex-aide of Mr. D)avis, is chair man, and one member of each of the following organizations: United Con federate Veterans, Grand Army of the Republic, Army of Tennessee, Army of Virginia and city council. The Washington Artillery will station a guard of honor over the remains. Telegrams were received from Mobile and Memphis, announcing that troops from those cities would like to take part in the ceremonies. The commit tee wlil arrange its progranmme of fu neral ceremonies on Sunday morning. Ladies have been at work athe City Hall all the evening draping it in mourning for the reception of the body of Mr. Davis, which will be in state there in the great central hall of the Sbuilding. The work, however, will not be completed until after midnight, and the body cannot be moved until an pearly hour to-morrow morning. Mr. ~Davis is clothed in the suit of Confed erate grey which he wore during his declining days.