Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-08-15

he is unwaleome, but with the purpose
to annoy; and the knowledge that this
is fully understood, 50 far from Fastening
his departure, gratihes his malignlty.
Like the misshapen monster In the play,
he derives his chief pleasure from the
consciousness Of being the instrument Of
torture to Others.
Such is one view Of Stanton's char
acter. There is a second, which, while
it in no degree relieves bis moral deform-
ity, presents another line Of motive. 1t
has been said that cowardice Is the pom
trolling motive which keeps him In q
position where he is conscious that he is
regarded with aversion. Inflated with
an Idea Of his Importance, and bewil-
dered at the vastness Of the power which
his Office gave him during the war, and
its irregularities, his vindictive nature,
dOgmatie temper, bullying ~propensities
and intolerant arrogance prompted him
to sway the scePter Of the despot. In
der his orders the prisons in various
parts Of the country were filled
with victims arrested for no
crime and tortured In defiance
Of all law. So relentless was his
sway, and 80 indiseriminate his perseeu-
tions, that no citizen was safe from his
spies, his infOrmers and his armed mis-
creants. Neither age or sex could find
refuge from his malice. Selling the IN
offending, he would throw them into
prisons reeking with filth and ~eOntagion,
and there they were frequently left for
weeks and months, to pine and decay,
without accusation or any form Of trial.
At other times his courts martial or mill
tary commissions, "~Organized to try and
ordered to convict,n would send inno-
cence to the scafiold or doom it to be
shot. With a sneer peculiar to
all such natures he would utter q
chuckle when told that his victims had
constitutional or legal rights, and exnlt
in the idea that his. Obedient bayOnets
were stronger than the civil ministers of
Justice. No commissioned ministers of
Satan eve did the work Of wickedDess
with a reader will or a keener gusto.
But as active war ceased, his power to
tyrannize departed. Since then he has
had leisure to review his conduct and to
count its cost and consequences to him
self; for self is ever uppermost ia
such a mind. 1t is not wonderful
that the ghosts Of some Of his
victims should haunt his imagination {;
for the Great Supreme has so ordered
His moral economy that guilt shall
bring its own tOrtuTes, as virtue its own
rewards. He is, under these circum-
stances, too great a coward TO return TO
private life, because he feels that his
official position, in a considerable degree,
shields him from the chastisement which
he fears from those whom he has
wrOnged, or some of their friends. It is
said that, so much was he tormented
from such apprehensiOns, be constantly
kept an armed sentinel, at the expense
Of the government, ia front Of his house,
to protec. him from real or imaginary
danger. Upon no other terms dare he
retire to rest. Aud such is the sleep Of
the guilty
And now, say u dispatches, Stanton
will not resign, though requested to do
50 by the president, Notwithstanding ne
is treated with cold neglect or positive
aversion by the rest Of the cabinet. The
poor, conscience stricken man clings to
his office, under such humiliating cir
cumstances, as the only refuge for his
fears as the only remaining shield from
that chastisement, legal and physical,
which his guilt constantly a~pprehends.
But. whatever the precise nature Of
and induce him TO hold on to his place,
IL j. CtILdlu LuaL he IeuldluS 81 the eX-
pense of every honorable sentiment
which can influence the conduct of men.
No "a of ordinary decency would re-
main in 3 gentleman's household
after being advised that bis pres
ence wss offensive; and certainly, by
like reasoning, nc nan with the ordinary
instincts Of manhood would seek to re-
main in the cabinet Of the president,
where the relations are strictly cOniden-
tisl, after being advised hat neither the
president nor his council desired his pres
ence. But Stanton does remaini