The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1867-04-18
Opinions of Mere Military Men.

| lnsre is> IN our DumoIe OPINION.
something of" assuuacy "--as old Rill
Walker, in days that are past, used. TO
say---on the part of that portion of. the
press who see, in the opinions Of Lee.
Beauregard, Longstreet, and others of
";hat ilk," and in their advice to their
Southern fellow. citizens on t e"politi
cal si.uation," the opinions and advice
Of mere military men. which weighed
in the balance with theirs, would fail
ts even coun,erpoiss the scales. This is
sheer nonsense. Such men rs Lee,
Beauregard, and Longstreet, high as
their claims are recognized TO be npon
| the affections of'our people, on account
OF their military services. have other
claims which enut|e their opinion and
advice to AS much consideration, at least,
As that fany member of the editorial fra
ternity, or political essayist. They, are,
in the tiIst place, each and every one OF
them, men Of Southern birth, Of finish
el education, Of strong native intellect.
and. in Ahe second place, so deeply i'm
bned with the spirit Of patriotism and
love to their native South, that it were
folly not to recognize their opinions and
advice upon the "poli:ical situation
rs important, and As worthy Of consid
GRAFTON, and of being followed as those
OF any other profession o. class Of men
in the South. Washington was a mil.
itary man. and yet he was a statesman
Napoleon, the first, was military man,
yet he, too, was n statesman Yelling.
ton was q military man, and he was q
statesman. So may it be written Of
military men in ancient times-of
Cesar, and Of others, whose names are
inscribed upon hiSlory's page as com.
blnlng both the characteristics Of warri
ors aud s;a;e3men. We confess TO be
ing one Of those who pay much respect
to the counsel and advice Of such men
as Lee and his gallant compeers, espe-
cially i'll regard to the duty Of the peo
pie III :he p,esen: anomalous condition
of The Southern States, and we regret
to see efforts heirg made to resist or
weaken their influence with our people,
When BAIT was The order cf the DAY, the
headed the Confederate b.tlalons and
most noLly did their duty. If we do
not now respect the opinions and seek
the connsels Of such men, in the name
o: God whose opinions are We to respect
whose couusclS shall we seek 4
The correspondent of The New York
lIerall, writing from New O,leans
SAYS:
General J. B. Hood il now at the
head OF large commercial house in this
city. He received me very cordially,
and expressed his views in very candid
AMI clear manner. IF do not mistake
the tenor Of his conversation, he is in
favor Of cheerful and ready compi.
ancc on the part Of the South with the
terms Of the Sherman bill and the Act
supplementary thereto. He empha,i-
caIly declares that, from the Potomac
to the Rio Grande, the people earnestly
desire peace, prosperity and unity, and
that further resistance TO the Government
never enters their thoughts. At the
same time, he feels that the South can
never swallow the policy Of the radicals,
Which Is 50 diamelricnIly at variance
with the Constitution as interpreted by
those who framed it. He has never
considered that tho South should sur
render any right under the Constitution
excepting slavery, and that, having once
more become good citizens under the
Union, they should be protected in their
rights Of properly. and not be asked to
become parties TO the Acknowledgement
of men they bad selected 10 represent
them in the forum or the field.
While he is very glad tha; rhe South
has not had anything 10 do with giving
the negro the right Of suffrage, he is in
favor Of gracefully yielding to the Ge
mands of Con yre>s, and giving The ne
gro the pri,iIege Of voting.
General Buckner's views are some>
what peculiar. lie has always argued.
and silfl insists, that when any people
are oppressed, they should resist, and,
If necessary, use force for a redress Of
grievances. lie considers that the re-
,beliIon was begun at Washington, when
encroachmcnts were made upon the
Constitution. and efforts made TO oppress
the South. He declared that he enter
ed the service 10 resist usurpalion, and
he still adheres TO tbs idea that the re>
beIIion was ustifiable yet be is for
cheerfully accepting. the results, and
gracefully yielding to such demands as
the conquerors make, provided The man.
hood OF the people is not jeopardized.
The notorious Mrs. Lucy Stone, and