Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-03-19

Ct H - A. GL-
class Of cur people. I refer more particularly 20 'He
fm1oas because I am ieash TO believe a feeling 50 nar-
row minded could dnd 8 place IN the minds Of the eau'
caied men Of this sge. sN
IN Whist an shout to say on this subject I presume
no man win expect to fad an apology fer or . defense
Of the people Of Israel. an too mindful Of inc Teth
az the Preach proTerb, grs FsreEss Faeeuss TO venture
10 defend 3 people certainly as free from rsproaeh es
other classes. But I think may, without iHproprety'
venture to protest agsiust g eourse slke untrue, imgoh
te and un0snerous Il is essentially and radically
wrong to seek to make a class responsible for the siua Of
a few-and this IS prscisely what Is Praetiesd at this
time in the case Of the Jews Why is this course pur-
sued with reference to this sect exelusivelyi Among
those who fail at sine when failure is criminal viii, Of
course. be found some Catholics, but who Is silly and
bsse enough to denounee ali Of this respectable class 81
our people beessss Of he ds%relictson Of 8 few. So
also with reference to Presbytsrians, EPiseopslians and
other sects yet 20 just man outside Of an insane
asylum attempts 70 fasten upon th'ss people tAe INSIDE
meanors OF a minority of their members.
ia class il to be held responsible for all who compose
that class, then 3 sense Of justice and pr9priety should
credit the sect with the virtues q its Individuals aud
when a Jew sacrifices his life and his property as many
have done. the world should be as ready to praise all
I~sraelites fer his acts as they are always too willing TO
esrsure ali for hscrmeE The fact Is IT Is difficult to
eradicate traditional p~reladiees wise nea can snd do
rise above thems-Sosls, never.
In the middle ages, in Europe. VIXEN the mass Of the
people were slaves to Feuial BsrOns, whose time was
employed in assazsinating each other who eould neither
read or write, and whose morality and religion were
borrowed from = corrupt priesthood, Jews were perait-
I'D no profession, and their talents were limited to the
pursuits OF commerce An earnest and energetic PEG
nIs combining their ever active minds to a single channel,
botb broad and deep, in g shor. period acquired for
themselves q reputation for skid and success. Their
enterprises taking root at one point, sooR extended their
-aaieestious to the most distant psrts Of the globe.
The nobility, devoted to robbery and assassination,
professed to desplse the men whom they eoHhnsd to
commercial pursuits, and it soon became fashionable
smong esurtisra and parasites TO perseeute these who
we're the prop Of the nation As an illustration lock at
the history Of degenerate Spain after these people we're
driven from her shores. In what I hsye related VIII De
found the principal cause q the prejudice existing
ssslust the I~sraeltes They were a trading people
because they were limited to traffic BY the laws Of Eu-
rope at q 5lgoted and fsnatesl period, But be has
studied human Bsturs to little purpose, If he supposes
the Jew qualified for no higher destiny than that, OF
petty trader With the renewal of the cause the erect
a. DISAPPEARED With the enlightenment Of the world.
most restrictions on these people have been removed
and. with the removal, they have sprung to the FIRST
places among statesmen, orators and literary men In
eourss Of til their genius was as much fels IL the arts and
sciences as it had been IN tiade and commerce. They
,e remarkable not only as traders. The game energy
and sarnestnes that plaee hen among The leaders Of
merchants now lead them 10 the Ike position in c'her
feds. Wbo Is new among the first Of men in the Csb.
met Of Nspoleoaf N. Fould, minister Of finances
- -. - -,-. f-auerca IN tia eouurflH of Great
Britain than DJsraslL states nan, orator and Hteratear,
and condemned BY 3 few, IS he i) who has been
sslsr, braver, trEer and mOFe brilliant than the leader
OF our Cabinet oar distinguished Secretary Of State ?
IN whatever aeld you move you will 6nd these men Tts-
ing to high plaeesin spite OF persecution, and So lang
as genius shall be valued, so long will they continue to
riss. do not profess to remember the 1.-THE Of The great
men thisraee hes produced within the last two centuries,
but the memory Of the most superficial reader viii
furnish here besides the names Of Fould, DIsraeli aDd
Bsnjsuin, those Of Mendslsohn, Halevy, NeyerbesT. the
elder DIsraeu Lever, and many among the great phi.
losophers Of Germany and he statesmen Of the French
revolution. when II Is ~remombered Whist > Fmsl pro-
portion the Plumbers Of thess people bear 70 the Chris
tisa ssctE; when It Is horne in mind how mach their
genius has been restrained and especially how bitter the
prsjudicas CT The igaora1t have been asainst them, every
candid person viii al once eoncede that ss = elsss thry
must possess uncommon genius, wonderful saergy, as
wen 81 great virtue, 70 ensble them TO surmount the
obstacles with which they are surrounded, and mount to
the highest places among the Learned nations Of the
world.
Idesirs to present one mo illustration Of the truth
Of the position for which I an contehding. Tan a eth
zen Of Louisiana, and I aHd in that State not more L.
raeIiss than 1 see elsewhere. Ihave heard it frequently
said thst these people are devoted 10 trade, are aysri-
cious aud unpatrledc, But in rejecting on the subject
/ find Louisiana Jews were represented before the war
in the u. S. senate, in the Offices Of heutenant-gover
nor. attorney general, state senator, in the house Of rep
resentatves, in the assistant city atiorneyRhip, snd in
the local position of chief Of Ere department From
this fact / dedues several important conclusions. First
they are NOS ezeluslYely devoted to trade, a. no portion
Of the people Of Louisiana held more positions of honor
Second, they are not svsricious, because no people sac.
rihced more peeunisrily in ticking once than they dtdi
and third, ] viii show from the course pursued by
these officers that no people could haye been more pat
ristIe. The fnt case Is that Of Mr.. BENJAMIN Bis
course is j too well known to require mention here, but
it viii be remembered that at the risk Of arrest on
The charge Of treason he made within the
halls Of the United ststes senate the most
brlliant speech in favor Of secession ever heard with
in the precincts Of the capitol Since then, sacrificing
al MS ptrH0uNa properly - PtEnuntA
has sisters made the victims Of Buffers brutality IN de-
pHvirg them of their home, he he's suees sively and
during a period Of u unparalleled difficulties
hnsd the high and responsible eaces Of Attorney Cen
ersl, Secretary Of Wa, and now Is Premier in the ohos
Of Secretary Of State. The Lieutenant Governor Of.
has lost a large private fortune, has sent 8
brother and two noble sons to the army who have
fought with General Price during the whole Ct his bril-
liant campaign The late Attorney General Of Louisi-
ana Is now Confederate Judge, and Of course Is not in
the army. The S ate senatos. united hy inhrmiiy
from rendering military service, has defed Butler, and
taken In New Orleans the certificate Of enmity to the
United States, thus sacrificing his property, and IN the
battle sf Shiloh he was represented by hissnly sen who
fought like a veteran. OSe Of the members Of the
house from Red river, has been colonel Of a regiment
since the war began, aH6 the other is colonel command
ing ht Xicksburg The Assistant City Attorney, q
u hr. Benlamin) Ignoring his uRolss ipau
e1ee, eszly volunteered as a private in The Warrington
Artillery, and the chief Of the fire department wasrsp
ressated By two sons in the Ricbnond battles, one Of
whom, at the head Of hls regiment, was taken 6 prisoner
BY he Yankees. and the other, & captain, only eighteen
years old, fell Al the head Of bis company, shot through
the brain IN the hstsls Of Malvern Bill. take these
names At random Il is evident from the context that ]
have not selected them. InoW ask the candid resder 70
to me a fsirer record amoug any class Of our peo-
ple-Cathalies or Protestsnss, Americas, French, Bn.
gHsh or Dutch. Other States can probably show as
an example Of patriotism for the Jews 81 have
szhIblteafsr Louisiana
Il is true that among traders some Jewish spectators
be found. Irsgrst st but they are generally for
signers, exempt from duty, aad without Interest ia the
country, and what nation, sect or class is free from men
disgrace those with whom they are oonneesed. but
IN no other instance known, Of which I am aware, are
le whole Of a class made responsible for The sins Of
few in no other case has any sect bean punished
with such relentless bitterness, such unjust prejudice
and such untring and bigOted persecution
Ttsmust be eonsoling, however,, 10 these people 10 re.