GDG- "Loose Bolts Sink....."

[Tom Ryan]

<<Proof of involvement in an attempt to capture
>President Lincoln that had gone bad and led to his assassination is another
>matter altogether, however.>>

<<I continue to   look for the evidence to support this. Confederate
expatriation was neither unusual nor evidence of a tie to the assassination.

             The assassination has spawned much speculation, and
circumstantial evidence was used for many years against Stanton
himself.  Absent any evidence that links these men to the assassination,
this seems to fall in that same category.>>

Dennis,

	The point under discussion was not that there was proof of Confederate
involvement in the assassination, but what was the motivation for Benjamin
to leave the country and never to return.  This is the type of thing that
fuels the speculation.  At the same time, some assassination experts have
come up with evidence that links Davis, Benjamin and other government
officials to the plot to capture Lincoln.

	If that in fact is the case, in the minds of many people (and perhaps in
legal terms as well), when a kidnap effort goes sour leading to the death of
the target, then all involved have to share at least some of the guilt.

	My personal opinion is that Benjamin was not taking any chances on this
very issue, and decided that prudence dictated that he seek safer shores
following the assassination.  He was the only one of the highest officials
in the Confederate government to take such drastic measures, which would
lead one to conclude that he was the most culpable in directing the kidnap
plot and, therefore, the most vulnerable to retaliation.

	Just my gut feeling.

Tom Ryan