Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-09-02
GEN. PIKE.
THE READERS OF TIE APPEAL

lam not apprehensive that any one
whose opinion is woFth regarding vii
deny my right to speak to you for the
last time, or think that in doing SO, Of
fend against any rule Of propriety.
Iretired, unexpectedly to myself, from
the editorial control Of this Journal, be-
cause, after disposing of the interest i'll
it, which was my compensation for g
years labor, the new propFietors thought
that they could not afford to pay me
what I regarded Is an adequate salary,
| Other engagements, also, recently con-
trscted, made NE willing to retire, in
stead Of remaining in the Editorial
Chair, as L had inteDded3 until Decem-
Der.
do not, IN this letter, propose to cen
sure any one, nor, certainly, to dispute
the right OK any one to advise or adhere
to such measures as they may deem wise
and polite, and best calculated to relieve
US ali from the odious despotisms under
which we grOan.
I propose only to express my own
opinions, in words at which no one can
justly taks offence. This every one has
4 right to DO, observing the rules of pro-
priety and decOrum, unless freedom Of
thought and opinion is to be discounten-
snced by those who are of The great
party devoted to the restoration Of con-
stitutionsl liberty, and the government
Of intelligence and virtue.
II any one, instead Of replying tenn
Perstely to my arguments, should prefer
to insinuate or charge unworthy motives,
such as snger or pretence to the right
of dlctation or, disloyalty to the cause
which is as much mine as it is that OF
any other man in the nation, the nature
of the response will make 1t Unne cessary
for me to say a word by way CT rejOindeF.
l have bsen assailed and my motives
not with toe much generosity impugned,
and propose simply to vindicste my
self,-nO more.
Lord Hinton said, in 1879, ia the Eng
lish House of Lords:
"It has often been the fate Of this
House, my Lords, to Withstand unrea-
sonabie prejudices that have been art
fully raised among the people; and the
more general or violent such prej0dices
may grow, the more Jealous ought we
to be for preventing the dangerous effects
they may produce, either in the nation
or upon our happy Constitution. For
this reason, so far from yielding to any
popular OutcTy on account of its being
general, l shall always be for examining
cOOlly into its foundation, and where l
can ind no solid foundation, / shall
never be for rearing g new fsbrick, or
any addition to the oId.n
1t is my misfortune to differ with very
many, perhaps the largest number Of the
members of the Conservative party of
this Congressional District ia regard to
the policy to be pursued towards the ne
gr0es to whom the Legislature Of Ten
nessee has unwisely entrusted the ballot,
while disfrsnchising the large majority
of the white men Of the State.
In the Convention lately held at
Brownsville, II was deemed wise and
polite by large majority OF the mem
beTs, (the vote Of the Delegates from
Shelby county being divided, but the
majority I'm favor Of the ResOlution), to
adopt 3 Resolution in the following
words:
EsE q f"REsOLNED
"Thst il the freedmen CT this State
unite with the Democracy, and by their
votes secure the enfranchisement Of the
white men that are now disfrsnchised,
that common justice and com mon graft
tude. demand that We should not disturb
n raFf II q.
posse So
had endeavored TO prevent the intro
duction into the Convention Of any reso-
luton on this subject, upon which seven
or eight gentlemen, OF whom was one,
had, upon a conference st Memphis, Ut
terly failed TO agree. When the Fesolu-
ton was introduced, l intended TO debate
and attempt to defeat it, for deemed IL
mtschieVous IN the extreme; but after il
bad lain on the table for 3 time, I con-
cluded, upon reflection, that 70 discuss il
might perhaps be q greater Injury to the
cause, than to let it pass without debate,
after it had been once introduced. And
/ knew that, IL it were defested, and the
negroes Of the district should vote as they
done before, it would be charged upon
those Of US who were opposed 90 it, that
but Tor rs and its defeat, the negro vote
could have been secured to our side.
l do not assume to speak for any one
but myself, although ana quite sure that
q large number Of the Democrats of the
district are Of the same opiBion. Speak
ing for myself, emphatically say, that
l would infinitely rather be defeated by
the negro vote thsn succeed by means
OF it, il to gain it, it is necessary to pledge
ourselves to- con tinue TO them the
right to vote. A victory so gained,
am sure, would be in the end far worse
than q defeat. The continuance of ne
gro suffrage cannot, it seems to me, but
work the utter ruin of the State and the
country 1t Is useless TO say that the
white voters, when all are enfrsnchised,
will outnumber the blacks for these will
be numerous enough to hold the balance
Of power, and when the whites divide
into parties, as they will soon do, each
will bid for the negro vote, until an utter
political Generalization will be the con-
sequence. "A little leaven lesveneth
the whole lump" and forty or fifty
thonsand nagFO Xotaa- all IN tha r,nariraf