Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-12-15
Tn. Psso, Of Despotism.

Ia bad for the ruled, and when the whirii-
gig az time brings about is revenges, Il
Il had for the rulers also. The peace that
desnotism effects is not pence, but only
suppressed rebellion. II Is Samson
boand. but still possessing the latent
strength TO pull down temples. Napo-
leon preserves a faultiess and lovely
peace--viewed outwardly-by the aid OF
n million aud quarter OF breech-loaders,
and there are shrewd surmises that his
object In raising this immense force was
TO keep down the elastic up-spring'ng
French people quite as much as TO night
the Prussians. Our national good
friend, tho Gear, maintains a Sc
rene death in life in his Polish
provinces by planting huge
mailed foot sauarely on the breast OF
Polish liberty. In Austria, while the
Kaiser is paying complimentary visits to
nearly all parts Of his mongrel empire,
and throwing himself on the bosom OF
his people, be keeps his army ranks full,
ana Is ready to trample out the first
spark Of revolution that shows itself
All these governments-and that oil iur,
kew. too, which should not be omitted
from the roll-call OF European despot-
isms-never cease to felictate themselves
on the peace which reigns within their
borders. So did the King OF Naples
boast of the complete subsection into
which he thought he had forced his PEG
ME. until one day they rose, and with
(iaribaldi's aid, drove him into perpetual
exile, The Queen Of Spain has hattered
herself several times on the pacihc state
ne her kingdom. She has thought that
bv powerful armies and navies she
could suppress the spirit of liberty
which is inextinguisdable IN the spanish
breast. The miserable experience OF
repeated revolutions, which have barely
missed success, could not rid her narrow
mind of this delusion. To-day she is
paving the penalty Of her mistake by the
loss of her throne. Thus powerful and
terrible are the agencies for mischief
which monarchs only foster into strength
and action when they put standing armies
in every province and call the deceptive
ouiet by the mocking name OF peace.
That is not peace which is preserved by
standing armies. 1t is really war-war
in all that is deadly to industry and en-
terprise, to the free scope OF human en-
deavor-but war without the few compen-.
sating qualities of patriotism, national
enthusiasm and exalted courage. In the
revolutions which burst forth and sweep
away the incubus Of standing armies from
the breast of nations, and substitute real
war for its base counterfeit called peace,
is the only hope of human progress
against tyranny.
Heaven save Us from peace OF des-
potism in this country. Such peace
could be had temporarily all through the
South by quartering enough thousands
of troops there. 1t is only a question OF
men, cannon and muskets. There is
nothing so essentially different between
human beings in the United States les
pecislly after the taste we have had OF
recent "strong governments } and
human beings elsewhere, that great
masses of soldiery could not keep !
Americans down as we'll as Frenchmen,
or Poles, or italians. More troops might |
be required to do it, but 1t could be done |
temporarily. The experience that we |
have had of military government should |
take cut of US whatever conceit we
have on that subject. This fact
of the seeming tranquility, which
results from military rule in several
parts Of the South, is the chief
source Of our present danger. A party
which believes in strong government, in
centralized administration, adopting
without reflection the very language
familiar to European tyrsnts for centu-
ries past, might easily be led to institute
the experiment on q greater scale than
has hitherto been attempted here. Ii
negro suffrage, negro equality, negro
supremacy, whatever we may call II, rs
persisted in, as ultimatum to the South,
and is turbulently resisted by the whites
of that region, what more natural for
strong goyernment" than to secure
peace" and torpid acquiescenee in
government policy by the means Of bay
ouets7 To some extent this has been
done already; but not to the extent to
which we now refer as among the posi-
bilities of the future. If Louis Napoleon
Ends it much easier and pleassnter TO
overawe the discontents by his repres-
siye military system than to placate
them by a kind and moderate civil
policy, why should not strong gov
eminent" here do the same thing
The temptations-the great prizes to be
gained-are the same in both cases. Ma
poleon keeps himself on the throne By |
his standing army. 4 party which was
unscrupulous enough to resort to the |
same means in this country to the same
extent that he does, could secure itself,
for long time. continuance of power.
1t is because the opportunity to do this
ia so inviting-and stranger still, because
SO many thousands Of American citizens
are so warped liz ell their ideas of real
liberty and its blessings-that we are
obliged to look the contingency in the |
face
The only security against an event so
fatal TO the republic, is to bring about |
peacefully change in the present pol |
lev of the government toward the South, |
The scheme Of forcing unqualified negro |
suffrage on the South, while it is refused |
by the people of the North, must be
abandoned. 1t is illogical, unjust and
totally untenable.
The Railroad Fever.
The railroad fever is red hot in West |
Tennessee. always excepting Dyer |
county, which is msgnanimous enough |
to build up towns and railroads in other
counties, to the injury Of herself and at
great loss to her citizens.
Huntingdon is going to have another
railroad, aud so is Jackson. The Browns
vile Bee is advocating the Brownsville