Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-04-13

IL is impossible to read the speeches or State
papers Of President Davis without recognizing
in them the mind Of man sgusl to the emer
gency the first man bev0nd all comparison. IN
AmeTics, and one Of The foremost men in The
world II The darkest hour Of his eountv's fo7-
tunes Immediately after the fall ~ Foot DonAI
son, when the West seemed to lie open TO the
invader and the C1nfederafe srmv, with aef
ciani numbers and seanty supplies rad fallen
hack, by forced fparehes, into Mississippi, the
Prssi enPs cslm tone and resolDte action--his
frank confession Of an Inevitable error snd his
promise Of strict inquiry into the acts which hsd
made that error 50 mischievoH8-Testored the
| confidence of his own people, aud won the ad-
miTation Of all mon not 50 blinded By party pas
I siOns as to be incapable Of justice and eOmmOa
! sense. When the fortune of war had changed
when, after the most tremendous struggle re-
corded in history, the grand army Of Virginia
had been hurled back, shattered and demoralized
/ from Richmond and driven into the swamps
of the James river, Mr. DAVIS Displayed a spirit
ab iHsOtsHti temperature laettiH; slitte exultant
/ IN prosperity as he had been dismayed in cs-
/ lamIty. Those who know him all speak of him
with profoundsst confidence aud re beet those
who have merely seen him have been compelled
/ to recognize him the nssteT-mind Of q great
! people; those who can only Judge him by the
Published records Of his past career, and the ut
tersnees which have been eicited from him BY
the various exigeneies Of the present struggle.
must admit that few men ever seemed so well
fitted to preside over q nations birth, and guide
the destnes of their country in one. of the most
| terrible trials chat any people ever endured
The Confederate States are as fortunate in their
President as the United States are unhappy
IN theirs; and in each case the choice Is charac-
teristie of the people which made Il The NORTH,
swsyed by vulgar, ignorant selfish and mon
grel mob, elects man of whom nothing was
known but that he was one Of the dominant
faction, and was not statesman. q gentleman.
q man Of education, social standing. or distin-
guished ability. It chose him as it has always
chosen, IN the words Of its own satirist-him-
self vehement Republican
asafe esnderdates that no one amt afssrd on,
Cos they're so thunderin eminent FOR ben never heard
on
The South, always controlled by the men of
property and eduest;On, always anxious to send
Its best men to Congress, and 70 keep them
there, selected at once the best man it had as its
first President-a soldier, statesman, and 3
gentleman, man Of moderate views and sober
Judgments unlike as any man could be to
the brswling demagogues and rough bsckw0ods-
men who are the hopes of the Northern States
Abraham Lincoln would hardly fndin England
constituency to send him to Parliament Mr
Seward would rank far below the Brights and
OConnes, would hardly be listened to bS the
house, and would obtain but few brief lines
from the reporters; and not one of his colleagues
would ever be heard Of st all, save as Mr. Cox
and Mr. Peter Taylor sTe heard of-to be treated
with universal ridicUle and contempt
The leaders Of the Southern Confsderaev are
men who would rank high in any country and
Mr Jefferson Davis, had he been born British
subject, might fairly have sspired to tbe highes.
place that subject can hold. Well might such
men as these, and such a nation as that which
they worthily represent, revolt from their de-
grading connection with thevulgar snd dsmoral-
lied Democracy Of the North, and refuse 10 be
ruled BY the Stewards and the Buffers, the !
Chsses and Camerons, the Summers and the |
Loveioys, for the profit Of a people which can /
choose such governors and such representatives. |
Well might the chivslry Of the Palmetto State /
the proud, true-hearted gentleman of the Old /
Dominion, the higa-spiritsd planters Of the Cult /
States, prefer the worst extremiEes of war to the
humiliation Of submitting themselves to ths rule /
Of rabble which can applaud Turehin aad 4
obey a Lincoln
Mr. Davis entered Mississippi with no inten- /
ton Of making speeches. and when called np1u
to address the Legislature Of bis native S,a3
he seems carefully to have avoided al explsna
ton OF the policy snd conduct Of the Admiai--
trstion; alleging the Inconvenience of vindica-
tons which must inevitably sff)rd useful infar-
nation to the ensmy- Unlike his adversary. be
chooses rather TO endure obloquy sld ceasuro I
than either to repress opinions by force, or to /
clear himself at the expense of the public scr
vice. The only points Of politics on which be
dwelt wore connected with the eonscripsjou ana
exemption laws; and here ha was dsfsniing not
bis own setioa, but that Of the Confederate Con-
grass, and endeavorIng te preclude, by timsiy
explanation, the possibility Of suy serious diss-
greene # between she central snd STATE suihor-
hes. His speech was directed chiefly to mill
AIRY questions He expressed his admiration Of
he hero'e defense Of Vicksburg which had pre-
served for the COnfedersey the command Of the
Mississippi, and prevented the enemy from cut
'ng Oft the communication between the States
aast and west of the river In a few cautious ,
words he referred to the disappointment he hsd
elt at the easy capture Of New Orleans and /
feeliUg which is very general in the
Confederate States, where, il is believed, :
Ightly or wrongly, that the Crescent City !
could have been held if its inhabitants had not .
7alued their property more tbsn their freedom .
be devoted some TINS to an urgent appeal on 8
behalf Of the army. he complained of sirsg- I
yling, and urged the women to drive back to !
heir duty those who, on any plea Whatever
their countrys service in her present f
leed. Struggling is always to be expected q
where large army has heen suddenly collected d
rom seif-dependent population; and especially {
Ehen, as IN the South, majority Of those who \
nlisted thought that the war could only be a h
hort one DesertioR had probably done more 4
hsn disease, certainly far more than the Con n
ederate cannon, to thin the ranks Of the North !
m army. II could not be expected that the /
south should be altogether exempt from it +
again, Mr.. Davis explained the necessity for !
urther efforts to recruit the ranks Of the armies
which have 50 resOlutely maintained, sgainst y
bTeetold OF fOurfold numbers, the indepeud- i
nee and honor of their country, and expressed q
hope that those exempted from the conserip- b
ion would not be backward 10 tima of need to i
10 military duty in deniense Of fortified places, \
a order to set the troops free for active opera
ions in the field y
Throughout the speech, as throughout every 4
apeT and every speech that has emanafsd from 4
he Confederate President, runs q current Of IN
thoroughly English thought aud feeling. His
Wn duty to the country aud that of the couu- N
y to herself, IS evidently the one ides shat IS a,
yer present to his mind. He does not talk ike y
krenehman, Of conquest and glory; he does fo
OF boast, ike a Eortherner, of victories shat N
ere defeats, and successes that are yet TO be II
chieved by armies which have still to be erea Ia
ID. BE speaks IS Wellington or Primes Albert fs
light have spoken, Of confidence TO be placed in %
le government for the sake Of the national K
sase, and OF services TO be rendered and saeii- N
ces to be made by every citizen IN the mama Of to
lty aud Of patriotism The contrast between a
e feelings to which be appesls and the pas 5a
ons that are invoked by Northern orators, re- az
sets the contrast between the character Of the he
70 nations, and the nature Of the claims for br
hich each is in arms. Sober, sad and resoluta,
here the North is fsnateal, furious, and vssci n
ting lighting for the grave reality Of inde N
'ndenee, while the North fights for fhe phan- r,
sm Of union and the dream Of empire, the &,
,uth, on al occasions and in every place, rii
owes herself manfully, calmly, terribly in vi
rnest 5o
To her people, from the President and the Il
mmsnder in chief down 10 ths poorest citizen Al
Southern soil, aud the lowest soldier in the M
uthern army, the war is too serious and the ~
use too scored for extravsgapes of language M
boInbsstie menscss, for wild Thspsodes and M,
lntic denuneiations They know their own n.
eDgth and do not care to boast Of it. they -,
low the magnitude of the task before them ~
d neither shrink from it nor make light Of it
icy are behaving, in fact, ss We believe snd
lst that Engiishmen would behave if so fear prt
~, s.N