Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-10-13
AZ Gle DIE IssUEs nRAD,
IS THE sUBvERsIoN or THE C0NsTITU
TIoN AN ACCOMPLISHED FACT?

Mr.. Bendleton, OF Ohio, thus conclude
his great speech at st. Paul on the lit
ofJuly, 1867:
They tell US we democrats will cling
dead issues. The integrity of the repul
lican government, the preservation {
; liberty, the maintenance Of our constitJ
tiOn and government, the hsppiest {
mankind! Are these dead Issues? Ou
z love for them may be dead, our fidelt
! may be dead. our worthiness for then
: and our enjoyment may bedead, but tR
issues will live till they are settled il
their full fruitiOn and the principle
which underlie them are as durable q
the eternal throne.
They tell Us that Ike the BourbOns W
will forget nothing and learn nothing
We will not submit 10 accomplished facts
IL is 3 mistake. It We're q wicked foil
TO resist the inevitable, We would boV
reverenHy In its presence. But who shal
open the book Of fate, and say of any
course Of events or of any condition O
things, it is fixed forever. Who shall
with prophetic power, read the secrets o
the Almighty, and repeat in another
connection the words which once uttered
throughout al the ages TeverberateC
| along the course of eighteen centuries
| " II Is flushed" The human mind ha.
no power TO discern the Interchangeable
The DEGREES Of destiny are hidden from
! its view, that its aspirations may not bt
! checked, its efforts may not be p2isied
! When William Pitt came back to the
ministry, he formed with incredible en-
/ ergy and eXeTtion the continental ALI
ance. It required thelab0rOf two years
| Napoleon broke up his camp at BOulogne
marched his heroic legions to the Dap
/ ube, and in one hundred days captured
! Gn army at Ulm, and shattered the Goa
litiOn on the bloody field OF AUsterlitz.
| The great statesman was bowed to the
eaTth-his hope was gOne-lIs courage
brOken-h's efforts at an end, Broken
hearted, be exclaimed, "R7l up the map
of Europe for half q century, and died,
I believing that Napoleon rad attained TO
universal dominion. r.
Austria was despO.iod Of her fairest
Possessions; Jena followed snd Prussia
was humbled to the dust ; Friedland fol-
lowed, and the monarch of the north
bowed his naughty head before the i'm
perial eagles. Napoleon was mighty.
He pronounced the sentence, "The
House OF Braganzs has ceased to reign"
and that family went fugitives from POr-
tugal to Brazil. Louis was king of HOl-
lard, Joseph was king of Spain, Murat
was king Of Naples. The confederation
OF the Rhine guarded his frontier. The
dukedom Of Warsaw and the kingdom
of Westphalia We're the props Of his
throne. Here seemed to be an accom-
plished fact. But England refused to
"accept the situation" and ia less than
Iree Y rs Austria was in arms, Prussia
was recuperat d, Russia had become hos
tile, and in less than six years the empire
of Napoleon had passed away; the fabric
of his power had been dissolved; Europe
Yves re-C Cstablished within its original
limits, and he himself languished p
prisoner on the island Of st. Helena.
In 1850 the comp 'Omise measures were
passed. They consisted OF the admission
Of California, the amendmentoft the fugi-
tive slave law, the establishment OF gov
ernment in the territories. They com
maHded the support Of toe leading states
men OF both political parties. They were
declared to be an honest, honorable, final
settlement Of the issues Of slavery as con-
nected with the federal government.
The national convention Of 1852 both ap-
proved them. The people thoroughly
indOysed them. But Chase and Sumner,
and Hale, ana Giddings refused TO accept
the situation, and on the repeal of the
Missouri compromise they recommended
the agitation, which ended in war, and
has oOliteT3ted from the statute book not
only those laws, but the very principles
on which those Jaws were based.
Who shall dare TO say what facts are
Who shGll predict the
% ways which are past finding out ~ To
q accept the situation" If il be wrong, is
the cOwaTdice of timid spirit, OF the
Of q Yesried one.
Error is never fixed; wrong is never
the curses Of evil are never
Truth wages against them
war. It never Wearies. It's
strength never fails. It's spirit never
flags, aud it is immortal. " The eternal
years Of God are hers"
Let US he her soldiers and emulate her
virtue. Let US accept nothing as accom-
plished unless our Judgments and con-
sciences approve the result as right.
Let us stand by cur constitution, which
we believe to be right, and maintain our
form O government which we have
found to be beueficent. Let US accept no
result as final which accomplishes their
overthrow. Let Us be unwea led in this
contest, and I believe we shall save our
to bless our children even as
hey have blessed our fathers. If we
fail, we shall at least have deserved well
Of our countrymeu, and shEu have dOre
that which, like the seed after being hid
den in the frosts and SHOWS, and dark
ness of winter, shall bear fruit; and if
this land aud government must follow
the footsteps Of the past, we shall be able
then to comfort ourselves with the refiec-
ton that if nations, ike individuals are
not destined to imm0r. ality, and if in
their virtues equally as their vices, in
-heir grandeur as in their weakness, they
bear ~ their bOsOms the seeds of mortal |
y-neveFtheless, ia the ps sions which
elevate them to greatness equally Fs
Hose which hasten their decay, is to be
iiscerned the Hnceasiug operation Of
hose principles at once OF corruption and
IF resurrection which are combined in /
and which, universal in COM
Gs in single men, compensate
he necessary decline Of nations by the
vital fire which has given U1decaying
youth to the human race.