Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-08-03

POI rNAaAH Ahc4i VlHGf unUeE klIA scheme
as that a man will fail who attempts 70
dwell ia the air, or drown who makes
his home under water. Such q govern
ment would be unnatural-a political
monstrositY, and cannot possibly last
but you may destroy the forms as well as
he principles Of free government, and
you viii have a monarchy, an autocracy,
an empire, or = ~despotism, as the case
may be.
This very scheme was attempted Ia
Rome by much better men than You rad
iesls are, and for q much better reason
than you give. 1t Is not original with
you. You are but plagidriztag traitors ~
best, and get your scheme from the GRIM
inals OF long ago. If I did steal, / would
try tc steal something better, and from a
more respectable source.
II you will examine and compare with
former times, the productions of such
men as Stevens, Phillips and Summer
and their lesser followers and second
hand ~plagalrizers down south, you will
find all their miserable iargon about
liberty and equality" the "naturRl
right of man, and the g born right of
manhood suffrage,n are borrowed rom
the men who fOmented social and civil
wers 10 Rome, and which have been re-
peated in every age since, by those who
have no craftsmanship but the devilisb
ability OF exciting ignorant men to cut
each others throats. Republican Rome
had an immense number of slaves and
freedmen and n~On-vOting citizens. She
had a landed aristocracy embracing com
paratively few Of her people.
An sgrarisn law was proposed, and for
q time was Immensely popular, but it
failed and its first author was slain. His
brother renewed the law and enlarged il
by proposing suffrage to the slaves and
freedmen with equal political rights. 1t
was said There could be no freedom
without equality" But the brother also
persisted. Then a great general became
the leader of the radicals Of that day. and
he bad more fame and merit and ability
ard honesty than all the radical party Of
this day combined, but he also failed.
And why did they Gll fail? Because
they were attempting to eDgraft a gov
eminent Of force and robbery upon re-
publican housekeeping the absurd
task Of making equal things which God
had made unequal-sttempting equality
by taking that which industrious and
frugal men had made and giving it to
thriftess vagabOnds, and by depOsiting
in the keeping Of ignorance and vice,
powers and trusts which intelligence
alone can know how to exercise and pre-
serve.
But by the struggle republican Rome
persisted AID never knew liberty again.
Nor was this all her history from the
beginning Of the ~egrarian attempt was
u Of blood and faction and waste and
ruin, until the goal of empire was reached.
IN the social and civil wars which
marked the struggle, more than seven
] VdFE fhnnGann nf har haaN afffuana
were slain, and besides these, whole pop
ulations OF some of her most populous
territories were exteTminated.
II may be that we of the United States
have been SO crazy in leaving the eonsti-
tutiOn-the only ark Of safety-that our
Heavenly Father has doomed US to per-
ish, but l am gratified with q hope that
it is not SO. Ii not, there is but one
method for our rescue, and that is by a
prompt restoration of the constitution.
Will it come? Will we escape an agra
Tian war, with resulting despOtism, and
save u institutions for our children? l
hope we shall / believe we shall.
Though q great effort is being made-a
designed efort-to destroy US as Rome
was destroyed, I believe the effort will
fail. I have great faith in the Anglo
Saxon blood. / derive great encourage
A4EhE HUH AnEAO-DhAOu ul5LQINs OuE
liberty was not born in a day. It is not
the work of one generation. 1t is the
fruit Of a hundred struggles, and its
guarantees have been perfecting for eight
hundred years. Many have beer the ef-
forts to destroy it. Often the English
constitution va trampled on. Often
traitors sought to substitute arbitrary will
for well established law, ADD often have
the people for a time been misled. BUT
thus far they have always walked up and
called the traitors and f~aotiOnistS to &C
count. Charles I. trampled on the con-
stitution. He had judges who decided
that his will was the law, and ali who
resisted that will and defended the con-
%stitutiOn were punished as disloyal. And
it did seem as If his power was irresisti-
bic. No dOuOt if y9u weak-kneed radi-
Gals Of the south had lived 10 that day
you would have said " the constitution is |
dead, and we must consent to what We
cannot resist" But John Hampden
would not consent. He resisted. He
was tried IS a criminal for resist |
ing, and was condemned. But what
was the sequei9 The people finally as
serted their power. Charles and his
ministers persisted. The very judges that
condemned Hampden were themselves
tried aud condemned as criminals. and
the very officers, even the sherifs, who 1
executed the orders of Charles and his |
court, were sued byVthe citizens for dam
sges' and had 10 pay nearly a million Of
dollars loF executing the processes OF a
void, unconstitutional law For a time
traitors held the power and trampled on
rlghta, but vengeance anne and Derpet-
usl iniany followed.
So Cromwell and his parliament vio-
lated the constitution, and though they
also hUutishe4 rOr season, they too were
.oVsftlrOWn. So James II. trampled on
the constitution, and had to fly from bis
Kingdom q fugitive for lifo. ia all these
struggles good men, fF a time, suffered,
and g men, for a time, ruled, but the
English race have never yet failed to
their constitution from the power
both Of traitors and fanatics.
tell you the American PEOPLE viii not
always be deceived. They will rise in
defense OF tAelr constitution, and traitors
will tTeAOle. They who rallied three
strong 10 defeat what they con-
ar armed assault on the eonstitu-
ton and union, will o sleep until a few
hundred traitors from behind the masked
battery of congressional Oaths and de-
~pretenslOCS ofioyalty shall utterly
batter down the constitution and union
forever. L warn you, bOastful, vindietive
radicals, by the history of your own faith
ers, by every instinct Of manhood, by
every right OF liberty and every impulse
justice That the day is coming when
you will feel the power of an outraged
and betrayed people. [Appiause.l Go
on coDhscatingi Arrest without war
or probable cause; destroy habeas
deny trial by jury abrogate
tate governments; defile your own race,
HlppahtiY say tue Constitution is
lead On, on, with your work Of ruin,
sc heil-cOfn rioters in sacred things brit
remember for all these things the people
will call you TO Judgment. Prolonged J
applause All what an issue you have ,
made for yourselves. Succeed, and YOU !
Destroy the constitution fail, and you
have covered the land with mourning :
succeed, and you bring ruin on your
and all the country fail, and you Z
bring infsuy upon yourselves and sll ]
your deluded folloReTsl Succeed, and $
you are the periursd sEsassins OF liberty
.ail, and you are defeated, despised trait
BE mrever! Ye who aspire to be radical
governors n judges in Georgia, l paint
before You this day your destiny. 1Un-
pounded applause You are but towards l
knaves, and the time will come ;
you will call upon the rocks and
noQnta}u2 10 nail on you and the dark.
less 70 hideyou from an outraged people. e
Applause '
lTo BE c~OSTIEUED1 9
Al the last visit Of GuiIianma 20 .