The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-08-03
Horace Greeley.
Iii, Letter 10 TIE Union Leasue

The Union League Club having 2 Proposition
pending to consider the ease of Horace Greeley. q
member. Mr.. Greeley writes = letter to the Club.
from which We make q tew extracts:
81 THESE PRESENTS, GREEIxct
To Messrs. Gen. II. Blunt, John 4. Keansdy.
JShE o.. Stone. NcDherI HIATT. and thirty
ofhers. nienJers gf The UHion Leogne Cut.
Gen5l,men-I wa- favored on the 10th inst. by
an oineial note from our evercOurteOus President.
John JAY, notifying Inc that = requi-ition had
been presented 10 linn for "a special meeting Of
the Club. At an carly DAY. for the purpose Of
taking into consideration the conduct Of Horace
Greeley. a member Of the Club, who has become
a b,rt-man for jefferson DAVIS. late chief officer
Of the RrJe! Government"
In nav prompt reply. | requested the President
70 give y0H reasonable time tor reflection. but
assured him that ! wanted none since | -h1uld
not attend the meeting, nor ask amy friend To do
-. AMI should make no defence. nor offer aught
IN The way Of Standardization. I am sure my
friends in the Club will not cOnstrue this a. i'm
plying disre-Iect, but IL l. not INV habit 10 take
part III any discussions which may rise among
other gentlemen IL 10 my fitness TO enjoy their
society. That = their affair altogether. and to
them / leave it.
The single point whereon | have any occasion
OF wish u address You l. your virtual implication
that there l. something novel, unexpected. a-
founding, in my conduct in the matter suggested
by you a. tie basic Of YOUR action. / choose not
10 rest under thi- assumption, but to prove THAI
YOU. being persons Of ordinary intelligence, must
know better.
Mr.. Greeley then quotes from articles in the
ITI5lHe, of April 10, IL. - and Il. 1865. after
Lees surrender. IN which he advocated cleinencv
to the rebels, AMI add
The evening of that day (April 49, witnessed
that most APPALLING calamity. the murder Of
President Lincoln. which seemed in an instant u
cuTdIe all the milk VI human kindness IN twenty
millions 81 American breasts. At once. insiGi-
GU eiiJrt- were set On tsOt 10 turn the fury thus
engcDdeTct again-t Me. because Of INV p-rtina-
ei0as advocacy of mercy 10 the yan1ui>hed.
CHANGING To- enter tie club house the next (Satur-
Iayl. evening. j received a full bradsiIc of v0ur
scOwl-, ere we listened Ia u clerical haransue ill
tended To prove that Mr.. Lincoln had been proyi-
dentIIlly removed because Of ms notorious lear
ing toward ~ciemency. in order to make way for a
successor who would give the rebels 4 full measure
Of stern Justice. | was soon made u cunurchenl
that ! had no synIathizers-or none who dared
seem -uch-in your crowded asscmblasc. And
some mlladrOst adnircr having. Il few DAYS after
ward, made the Club u present Of INV portrait.
it, bare reception was resisted Ia a sIecch from
the Chair by your then President speech whose
vigorous invecriye was justified solely bv the
Headings for lenity To- the rebels.
Ut once. a concerted howl OF denUnciatiDn and
rage was sent up from every eide against me by
the little creatures whom God, for some inscrura-
bic cause, permits To edit a majority of our minor
journals, echoed by q veil of Z. Stop INV IaJer,"
from thousands Of imIcrfectly instructed readers
OF the Tribune. One impudcnt puppy wrote Inc
10 answer catesOrically whether | was or was not
in favor of hanging JEFF. Davis, adding that |
must stop his PAPER If were not, Scores yOlun-
tecTed assurances that | was dcfying public opin-
iOn-that most Of my readers were against Inc
a. If ! could be induced 10 write what they wished
said ruther than what they ncelcd to he told.
never before realized - wildly tie basencss of the
editorial vocation according IL the vulgar concer-
tiOn Of It. The din raised about my ears now is
nothing to that / then endured and despised. |
Inundated by the reflection that il l. Tor was)
in the power of such insects 10 annoy me. even by
pretending Ia discover with surprise something
that ! have for years been publicly, eInphatically
rruclaiIning.
Gentlemen. | shall not attend Your meeting
this evening, | have an engagement out Of town.
and shall keep it. | do not recognize YOU a. CAP
able 81 judging. or even fully aIprehcnding me.
lou evidently regard me a. a weak scntimcntali-t
mi-led by a niaudlin philosophy. / arrIign YOU
~ narrow minded blOckhcid-. who would like To
be useful To- a great AMI good eause. but don't
know how. Your attempt To base u great. endur-
ing party ON the hate and wrath necessarily
enscndcred 10y a bloody civil war. Is ~ though
You should liant Il colony ON an iceberg which
had somehow driited into II tropical ocean. tell
you here that, out Of a life earnestly devoted t.
the good Of human kind. YOUR children will select
going o. Richmond and signing that hail bond
n the wisest act. and will feel that il did more
for freedom and humanity, than all of You were
competent 10 DO, though you had lived t. the age
Vi Mcthu-elIh.
] ak nothing Of YOU, then, but tia; YOU pro
ecei q your end by u direct, frank. manly way.
idle of into a mild resolution of ccn-urc.
move tie expulsion which you parIo~ed. aud
! deserve II | dcscrye any rcIraltch what
EVER. All | care for l.. that YOU make this a
-4uaTe. -tand-up fight. and record your Judgment
by yeas and nav. ! care not how icw vote with
nc. nor how many vote against me for l know
that the latter will recent il in dust and ashes
before three YEAR, have Jas>ed. Understand.
lnce for all, that I dare YOU and defy yOu. and
hat ! proI.-e To- fight it out ON the line that I
have held frDm the dly Of Lees surrender. ~
n any man was seeking u overthrow our
IiuyernnIent. be was my enemy from the hour in
which be- laid down his arms, hc was INV formerly
-rTIng cDuntryunan- ~ long a. any j. at heart
'II0-@d O the rational unity. the Federal author
~, or 90 that assertion Of the equal rights 0f all
men which has become practically identified with
gyulty and nationality, I shall do my best o. de-
rive him Of power but, whenever lie ceases to
- thus. ! demand his restoration to all the pTiyi-
Of American citizenship. | give YOU fair
IutIrc that ! snail uTgc the northumberland Of
hoe now prescribed for rebellion - son ~ I
hall feel confident that this cOur-c J. consistent
with the freedom Of the blacks and the unity Of
he RepUblic. and that | -hall demand n recall Of
III now in exile only for participating III the rebel
ION. Whenever the country shall have been -
thoroughly IaeIhed that it, safety will not thereby
g endangered. Aud -, gentlemen, hoping that
heuocEorth will comprehend me somewhat
,etter ttan YOU have done, | remain. Yours.
liOKACE GREELEY.
New York, May -. 1867. q,