Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-08-04
TOTHELAwYERs or TENNESsEE.

and aDxieusiy inquiries /" what next'?"
when the sale guards Of liberty are being
ruthlessly torn down; when no man
feels safe in person or property; when
the great charter OF our liberties is openly
derided, spit upon and trsmpled under
| the feet Of revolutionary tyrants IN
word, when the Government which cost
our fathers 30 much blood and treasure,
aud which wEs our pride and boast and
the wonder Of the world, lies before US
shattered and broken wreck, and ruth
Hess fyrsnts rsVeling iR orr legislative
halls whilst the Executive and Judicial
functionaries OF the Government, both
Federal and State, either join in the
work Of demolition or timidly shrink
from the task Of preserving the Govern
ment Of our fathers, it becomes the duty
of slI classes TO come to the rescue. This
is no ordinary political struggle. 1t is a
contest for political and social existence.
With the success Of the reYolutienists
next November closes the history Of lii.
erty on this continent It's race will
have been run. It will present to the
gazing world its lifeless corpse, and no.
thing viii remain to te done but to bury
Ii out OF sight and then submit our necks
ard the neeks of our widows and our
sons snd daughters to the CALLING yoke
of the usurper. 1t will then be seen and
felt that Tom Moore gave utteFanee to a
philosopbic truth and not q poetic beauty
| when he exclaimed, In the bitterness OF
his heart, over the misfortunes of his be-
loved Ireland:
80, Freedom once Thy hsme hath aed,
Is never lights again"
| To you, gentlemen, do not attribute
more of personal integrity or of tlus
patriotic fsrvor than belongs to your fel-
] ioW-men; but it il asource of just pride to
the legal profession, that in ali ages, from
the earliest records OF history to the
present time, its mem bers, as g body,
have been the friends Of liberty aud the
foes Of tyrauts. Lsooring daily as you
do in a profession that involves the in
vestigation OF the principles of govern
ment, you are necessarily brought to see
1 things from q stand point inaccessible to
other classes OF the community, and
can clearly discern danger 10 public free
/ dom which other men do not
see until the mischief is upon
them. The great principles of political
and social order, tbs rights OF
! persons absolute and relative, the
rights Of property and its regulation by
rules of law thoroughly siited by search
/ ing analysis, and illustrated by long
/ train Of judicial decision having been
with you the study of lifetime, hsve
unavoidably made you the repositories
of the learning so closely and directly
affecting the happiness and repose or So
! afafry upa1 lypraf K-g htT fha -
| habit more keenIy alive TO the iDroads of
revolution upon the laws and customs Of
society and the Safeguards of public lib
| erty than any other class. These results
| of our social and political organization,
| affording you their increased facilities, 1
! certainly carry along with them CORES
pondibg duties and responsibilities.
/ Hence, in all ages of civilization you
have been the craftsmen ofour laws and
NGBstitptioDs, and, to great extent, the
Nfts and trainers of foTmS Of govern.
ment. ta-a.-.ra ,ho Iii;
Ane Ia"yN Of the G0kes sud H0lts, |
the Somers and Ca. "Su " S tne i4osIef IutS
country; and Of the A, 60 orJ ~
sons, the Hamiltons Mao. iii sIiiI ~ ~
shalls Of the early Fathers, a. eii Ii,a1,e S9 OI
the great Websters, Clays, and CA -,
of the nearer past, and while you L. ,, |
justly boast Of this renowned professional
descent, its illustrious connections are not
without its corresponding dnties. The
Constitutions, both State and Federal, of
your country have gone down In blood,
and the murderers still hold it under foot
with sword in hand. Above you, be-
meath you, around you as far as the eye
can reach or the voices of your suffering
fellowmen can be heard, is one wide world
of woe. The wreck Of viOls rights, OF
broken laws, the unburied bones of the |
slain, and the charred remains Of once /
happy and lovely homes salute your
eye. The cries of distressed millions,
wandering like sheep without shep- |
herd, seeking for the tree OF liberty |
planted by their fathers, aud for the |
constitutional rights which have been |
Lost in the storm salute your ears. New |
er, gentlemen, until the tide of tilue,- |
never in the darkest hour of freedCm's |
struggle in any country, in any age, nss |
there been such q call upon the brafB |
and nerves-upon the patriotic heroism /
OF your profession to become the sworn
champions Of freedoms cause than now.
Society exists In distinct classes, az the 1
classes do Of iudividusIs. The voices Of /
the individual members Of society I
when united become potent But 4
when the people come forth IB .
Y cause by classes, and each class !,
/ rings out its full strength woe be- TO the
q ly wight who steps across their path.
l appeal, then, to you, gentlemen of the
bAl;, rs clsss looking to your illustrious
pro 6ssional ancestry, and to their clear, 1
bold ADd heroic record, to come forth l
and hand together to rescue the country .
from ruin. Without disturbing your re-
spec. able membership in the different |
clubs OF the city, form one of your own !
and V1ndft'Rte the justice of you- claim !
TO be 'egsr1ed as the friends OF liberty /
and the fONs Of tyIants. No matter |
wheth or you meet often or seldom, meet |
and organize and peal out to the country |
in notes not to be mistaken, your warn |
ing against the approach of anarchy and /
despotism- r......E
The people feel that they are ruined,
but they know NIT the hand that did it. !
They feel the blow, they reel and stagger
under the loss Of Liberty, but they know
not how or when 1t was done. They /
know that things sre not as they used TO
be. They don't see the old faces ia the
halls of legislation or on the bench.
Things are not done like they were, but
they can't tell the why and the where
fore. They don't know the changes that
have been made in the organic and stat
ute laws Of the Federal and State gov
ernments. They feel that they are
hurt, crushed and impoverished, bro
ken In spirit and fortune; but they
know not the sgents or the instruments.
Your profession has led you 10 watch
these LhiDgs. You know the breaches
whichy have been made in the
Constitution. You saw tie insidi-
Gus rascal Is he laid the Az to
the root of the tree of liberty.
You saw and heard the blows. You saw
its leaves Wither and its fruit dry up and
drop. You know the secret Of the poor
maa's fruitless toiI, and you know W by bis
children cry for bread, and his wife
droops In despair. You know why the
bonds Of society are loosened. and Luur-
der and robbery and rapine stalk abroad.
You know IL is because the people have
been misled by hesrtless demagogueS,
who either did not know or did not re-
ware ha abarfaF of lIDpFtV. the