Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-04-17

) r~-N--tHr~ - 49, - - = AE~AT :
WAsEucros. AK, April 8, Isa7.
Ed tors Memphis Appeal;
Bfav0s Yea are doing . good work
( pray that your sledge-hanaer blows
3 may fall upon the intellect and heart OF
: every citizen Of Arkansas. Your posi-
fion b the only true one We have no
hope elsewhere than In the constitution
II We abandon that foofh0id we are FaBt
away IN the torrent and lost forever.
There Is no light In any other direction,
assIlutely none. Faint as the giimmers
may BE- 10 the direction Of holding on to
tne continual claim Of our civic rights
under tlIst instrument, making our ap-
peal TO the ncrth and the world from
that stand point, 10 Is assuredIy the east;
elsewhere Is dishOnor, darkness and dos
pair. Surely the constitutional guaran-
tees Of civil liberty are worth something
I to the people Of the north, also, and they
must sooner or later, come TO appFehend
that II they sustain its infFaetion, they
east away its blFthFight Surely the ab-
normal madness Of passion and preiu-
dice cannot last forever, aud with the
I return Of reason, which God may send |
them any hour, they must admire the I
position OF proud people who have 4
yielded all else 20 the fortunes Of war, T
and seek only to preserve their honor, 1
e-aAN AlE AAAE4L HlEMtDitbH 1tfCItNl the D
minds Of their own children, born Ofthaip 1
bodiesI There must be a reaction Shall I
|e not merit their thanks by acting
"a such manner in these trying times,
that the reaction may not come TOO late
TO save them from the consequences Of
their madness
how shall that reaction find us Pro-
testing against the infraetion of that
charter, which shields them as well Is
ourselves Refusing our ea-operatlsn Ia
is deatruetlopq UNFOLDING our state
governments, and sustaining the works
OF its otieers2 Making continual claim
ot cur manhood az all times and before
every, trtbanalf Preserving under ali
oastfsetions.of bayonets, what we can Of
our forms Of state gavernments2 II so,
the country will be saved. The dire
nightmare OF the military and supple
mental bills, VIII float away. The ship
OF state viii right itself after the storm.
Civil liberty, not only for the south, but
the whole broad scOne Of the union, will
be pge4sHved-t Republican go-1 Ament
w1l have yindieatsditself and the spirits
Of Washington and the circle of revoiu-
tionary heroes may smlls TO zee theig
country escape fron a peril more deadly
than tse clash Of arms in civil war.
\ ayr more II we struggle for the
right with manly diguigy, We will our
I lives bring about that rsae ion. We
alone can keep alive the contest for
principle. If we abandon it, We sweep
away al gEoVnds upon which the north
eTn conservatives can stand. How can
they maintain their contest for the civil
rights Of people, who accept their deg
rsdation What an enormous power in
their favor will be the moral force OF our
protest sustained by our enndact, more
eloquent than all their presses and their
orators? =
Shall it find Is already enslaved degra-
dedipolluted3 Our true state governments
allowed to float away, whilst We, struck
with panic, have struggled terrifiedly
for what hope Of favor might lie ia slow
ish cooperation with palpable wrong
and insult3 Shall it find US with gov
ernments actually imposed upon and
accepted by Is, violative of every princi-
pie for which our fathers bled, and none I
so poor as TO do reverence to the eonsti-
tuition they established And shall We
have done thus solely under fear Of bit
terer consequences , 1t would be too /
late. We can no more go back and re-
sume our constitutional rights. That 1
paradise will be visible only in the past,
nnattainahle again forever. History
will record the reaction, only to mourn
over the sad spectacle of once proud
and noble people who lost their rights |
for want of patient endurance and civic (
fortitude; az good angels mourn for
those who lose their confidence in God.
curse him and die.
What can we hope by active COM
pliance9 Suppose we protest, and ever
so lOudly3 We are not compelled to /
wade into the mire, and squabbIe for
negro votes We have the option at
least OF reticence. We have more the
power OF appeal to the tribunals. We
are not compelled to brand our brethren |
with iniamF. We may assert the high
privilege Of sharing their fortunes, to
plunge into this vortex whirling with
the debris Of constitutional liberty, in
the hope 10 control it to wallow in the
cesspOol for the the sake of off'aI, and
protest against it, is not sthe kind Of pro-
test that excites the admiration and stirs
the sympathy of the world. Such protest
with such action will not command re-
spect, and ought not. Why protest at
all against a thing which we ourselves
accomplish, and fix with the seal of the
irrevOcahle2
but how can we control events by par
Futile thought! Could
every southern candidate be elected to
the conventions, what then? They
would not go up as freeman to delieer-
ate-ouly as slaves to obey dictation.
Such conventions would be a mOckery
of deliberate assemblies. OF what avail
would it be 10 IS to control the negro
vote and elect the men of our choice
How could they help US ? Would we
not impose upon them rather the bumil-
iatiug task of making them the instru-
ments Of their own and our disgrace
For Gods sake and humanity's, sum-
mon all your energies for this contest.
How proud the record OF the southern
people may yet become! A brave peo-
Pile conquered by physical force, pros
trated in physical resources, Overelouded
with mourning, 9nd tempted to despair,
retsiuing yet sufficient fortitude aud
moral courage 10 maintain a different
but n greater struggle, and save from
destruction by temporary insanity the J
civil liberties of the very people,
conquered them in arms, and reduced
them to beggsry! History hsa no page
sublime rs that-aud that is within our
power. Truly yours,
= J. p. Z 500.