Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-02-10

4
: ers Of the peOple-the stern censors t
7 rebuks the excesses Of party spirit-th
! stillers Of the storms raised by psrty ex
[ element Ia our last great political con
trOversy we have seen all classea of on
people engaged, and literary men
quiet scholars, and even divines b.
{ thousands, descending into the arena I
, combat, like gladistOrs, hand 10 han
, and body to body, with their opponents
Errors have been committed ant
z wrongs been done by all parties. I be
long to neither, have ceased to vote, Ant
z shall be neither the aecuser nor aDOlogis
: Of this party or the ether. II pOin
out errors Of policy or judgment, it vii
! not be to assail the person or party VIII
] committed them, but TO do what little
can to prevent their repetition or tn
: commission Of kindred errors in tn
! fu ure. Surely l lay claim to no supe
risr wisdom or far-sightedness, nor {,
any originality Of opinion; nor do
expect 70 give utterance TO any though
I which others have not had and ex
pressed before me ; nor do imagine tina
/, what 1 write will be possessed Of any
peculiar or considerable value. But thu
; truth, to be needed, must be necessarily
and endlessly repeated; and l am salts
fed with doing that humble Office, anC
am only fearful that what shall repeat
though undoubtedly it seems to me 70 bs
the truth, may not indeed be so, and
may in that b. deceived.
To mark and Indicate she mistakes anC
errors of the past is the only Certain way
tO avoid like errors in the future. By
whom they have been committed is not
sn element to be considered. Let that
remain undehat d T; since to assail them
= revenge, and the directest means o
defeating the only legitimate purpose
for which those errors should be defned
and set in the light for all mems inspec-
ton. The occurrences Of the past a-e as
distinct from the persons who brought
them 4bOut as the coral islands are rom
the myriads Of living creatures that
huilded them. The lessons that the past
uesches To the present snd the future de
rive none of their impressivenrss rom
the persons whore errors or Grim those
lessons are Every man, also, did yes
Z rerday that which he would not DO, be-
1 cause be il too wise 10 do it, to-day and
each Of Us does to day what he will be
too wise to DO tomorrow.
Certainly, v hen one looks over this
I great country OF oIrs, be beholds sucb a
/ scene Of peace, prosperity, comfort, and
Independence, within the law, as has
never before, in any age or country Of
I the world, been witnessed by human
eyes. The human race hss been Ell
| teavoring for six thousand years or more
I o. s-ceri ain whether self government
was practicable, and could exist con-
/ ! unity with peace, law, and order. So
I far, our country answers that QUESTION
1 the affirmative. With q national
! government that preserves peace with
( foreign nations enables Us TO respect
I ourselves End be respected by others
has hitherto prevented wars between the
states msiutsins no standing army to
overswe tie citizen enfOrces the OBJ
! -ervauce Of the laws; knows not what it
! is To have obedience refused to the man
dates Of its Judicial tribunals-the masses
Of the people do not feel, and never have
( felt, that anything has been taken from
their pockets to support and maintain
that mild and yet efficient government.
The country, with its immense domain,
gives wealth to states and individuals
No soldiers are posted as sentinels in or
cities no passports are needed to enable
Us to 90 from state TO state; and between
state and state, commerce flows in its
uatursl and artificial channels, without
the let or hindrance of toll or custom
house.
The poorest boy in the country, the
am Of nobody. may rise TO be its chief
magistrate. The poorest man in the
country has bis vote, the right so and
otherw ise TO express bis opinions. The
people are taxed by themselves alone,
and those taxes are nowhere burden
some, except in cities that have repro
duced with mbelishments the official
corruption and progigaey Of the old
world. In almost every state, schools
are every where open to all. The gov
ernmeut employs no secret police for pO-
EJical purposes, and pays no spies.
There is no established church allied 10
the state and no law muzzles the press,
which is indeed, u anything too free. The
courts are open to all; aud Justice is
neither sold, denied, nor delayed TO any
one. No hereditary mobiles are peD-
stoned on the people; and no man, eX-
cept a few in efice, fears to express
openly his opinion, however unfayora
bic il may be of the government; nor
would it be safe for the chief magistrate
to offer a personal insult to the poorest
gentleman in the nation. Everywhere
there is ample room for the development
Of intellect; everywhere ample oppOTtu-
nitv is afforded the poor 10 rise.
Let alone by the government, the peO-
ple have everywhere attained a degree
Of prosperity and comfort, so often de-
picted in colors though glowing, yet
never tsO dattering, that | need not re-
produce them here, further than TO say,
As perhaps the DGst expressive fact of ali,
that the condition Of even our laborers
for life, or slaves in the south, of an in
ferior race and another color, and whose
sueestors two hundred years ago we're
naked barbariaDs, is, so far as cOrporeal
comfort goes, very tar superior to that
not only Ofthe masses OF the people in
unciviliZed countries, but Of niEertenths
Of the loSsr elRsses IN the civilized
countries OF Europe.
If the deity Lad offered to the enlight-
ened r man under Tiberius, Domitian,
or Caligula, to the man Of thought Of the
dark anu middle sges, to the Fleming
under The reDlOrseiess Alva, to the
HUguenOt under TIE butcher Of the Eve
Of 81. Bartholomew, 10 tho ElgiishmSn
under the Eighth Henry or Elizabeth,
the privilege Of at once placing his cOun-
try Ina condition precisely like that
Uhich ] have family and imperfectly
ictuFed, subject only to whatever evils,
real or imaginary, affiiet and yex US,
would IL not have seemed incredible To
him thsi one in g condition Of freedom,
prosperity and happiness SO unexsm-
pied could complain Of evils Sc slight and
incondkershis aud would be not eagerly
have seized the CDOn. agreeing without
an instRnps hesitation u he perpetuity
Of tne touditioD
III We VGsld but compare our condition
with that Of the nations that have gone
before u, and that coexist with US, and
not With s0me ideal Of perfection that
~ 81 H.
imagination, we should be more than
con tent; and eur lives would be one
coBtihual hymn Of thanksgiving to God. !
II We would but remember that so long
as men are men, and have senses and
passians, instruments of good or evil
accoHiing ss they use them, evils and
impetiments na1sS exist, snd God means |
they shall exist that virtue, 10 its old |
sense Of 1lcnLiness, may have oppoFtl- 1
nity to bear or vanquish them we
shoald see that the present condition Of
thiTgs ia our country, at which we re-
pine so much, and e-pair 80 much, ls |
probably as near perfection as viii ever |
De lhe case in any age or country and |
tbtt we ought to thank God for the very |
ills and wrongs that give occasion for the |
existence Of az the manly, heroic ana |
pstFloEig TiFtaF, and alone beget great
men.
If we would bat ioOk back to the |
several ages and countries when and |
where slaves we're fed by lAmpreys, en- |
perors were gtds, debauohery was uni |
versal in It's mlst disgusting forms, hu- |
man lives werecheap as the lives Of in !
sects or when the noble took the first |
fruits Of the maFiage-bed Of his yassal, |
the serf wore ID, iron collar and fed on |
aeorns, the Jew was roasted at slow |
FIRE till he disclosed in bis sgonies in
what secret plase he had hidden his |
treasures when there was q broad i'm |
passable gull between the people and the /
nobility. and the brmer had no rights, |
and the latter wen subjected TO no law
but their own rude wills; when
every castle was dungeon when
every " here the tOors CT the inqusi-
Han yaYDed. the ple biased. the atake /