is influence gave rise, in the early
part of 1864, to the Peace Resolutions of Linton Stephens, who sustained
Governor Brown in his policy, to inaugurate State action for "the
preservation of rights and the attainment of peace." Linton Stephens, in
a strong letter to General Toombs at that time, called attention to the
fact that since the war began neither side had made any effort to stop
the effusion of blood. He believed that the professional soldiers and
West Point generals would never permit the cessation of hostilities.
Such men, he thought, would not, in human nature, desire peace. "How can
it be explained," he wrote, "that both governments have fought on during
these long years of blood and tears and desolation, without either one
offering terms of peace, and with both running a swift race of rivalry
in usurping the most despotic power under the ever-recurring and false
plea of necessities of war? Have both governments formed designs that
cannot be accomplished in peace, and which seek opportunity and shelter
in the confusion and panic of war?"

Mr. Linton Stephens was a leading lawyer and legislator in Georgia. He
was a man of great ability. He had started the practice of law in the
office of Robert Toombs, and had been a political follower and close
friend of the great Georgian. He had served upon the bench of the
Supreme Court of his State, and at the close of the war his political
influence was probably greater than that of any man at home. He was
fearless, inflexible, high-toned, and full of power. He did not hesitate
to condemn the legislation asked for by Mr. Davis, and joined Mr. Toombs
in opposing the appointment of General Bragg as supervisor of all
military operations. Mr. Stephens believed that the next step after the
Impressment Act would be the organization of all labor into a military
system under government control.

The result of the policy of Mr. Davis justified the protest of the
Georgians, but there is nothing to warrant the belief that Mr. Davis was
moving toward military despotism or that he relished the continuance of
strife. He saw that the South was in for the war. Desperate situations
required desperate remedies. He grasped the government with a strong
hand, and lacked neither nerve nor patriotism. The principles of this
policy were unsound, but the motives of Jefferson Davis were pure. Nor
was there reason to sustain the wholesale denunciation of West Point.
That school of soldiers was