Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-10-09

they would be whipped. But Lee is not
a good Judge of Southern opinion; he
did not believe there would be secession
in 1861, and was opposed to it, till he
went with his section" as he will
again, whenever it decides upon vio-
lence.
You say that at the end of two years,
if the Democrats don't prove themselves
worthy, we can put them out. Oh, my
dear sir, if the elections were all subject
to be controlled by you, or such men as
you, this might do; but, unfortunately,
we know that they are not, and that, In
fact, good men have no more influence
than the bad ones. The rebels and their
old allies, the locofocos of the North,
once in. power, they may retain it until
all we gained by the war is thrown away.
The Republican majority in Congress
has been too large, and, in consequence
of this, and the folly of the President,
extreme and unwise measures have been
adopted. But, in any event, there will
not be such majority in the next Con-
gress; and with man of the 6rmness
and will Of General Grant, and his we'll
known generosity, we may expect, with
great confidence, wise and judicious
administration of affairs. After all,
what great evil can result from the recon-
struction acts? They constitute an awk-
ward and dangerous method of recovery
from this disorganizstion of civil gov
ernment caused by the rebellion. The
evil will be but temporary. Look at
Georgia, where the white people have
acted like men of sense. Have we not
here, even under these acts, substantial
, and fair government established The
negroes are to vote. Well, suppose they
are !? Is it right that so large a part OF
the population should be counted in rep
resentation and yet have no actual repre-
. sentation? Neither voting themselves
nor others for them. as in the case OF
women and children ?
There ought to be restoration to civil
and political rights; but am not willing
to say, as the rebel Generals claimed, and
as seemed to be conceded at the New
York Convention, that they were "as
good as any of the men they fought
aganstp l am not willing thus to for
get the glory of the cause our men fought
for, to say nothing of their reasonable
rebellionl Nor, my dear sir, Wilt do to
say that this is an unwise prejudice. JUS
tice, alike to. the living and the dead,
requires that at least this distinction
should be kept fresh in our memories
By the way, did you notice the peculiar
aud carefully selected rhetoric in which
Vallandigham spoke of the military fame
of General Grant, After speaking of
him as the candidate of the Republicans,
and therefore as the representative of
their doctrines, etc., he adds Beyond
this he represents nothing to me but the
cold lava of the burnt-out volcano of the
late civil war" There is great deal of
cool impudence in this, but think it cor
rectly represents the feeling of the leaders
of the Locofoco party in regard to the
record of our brave men in the war
against the rebels-their desire that, in.
stead of being forever remembered with
gratitude by the country, they should, as
soon as possible, be forgotten, as repre-
senting the most appalling evil, instead
of the glorious deeds of patriot fighting
for his country.
/ do not know that fully understand
your idea in regard to the payment of the
national debt. If in a moral point OF
view the nation, as a debtor, in paying
borrowed money, is bound only to pay
the real value of the money borrowed,
instead of the number of dollars called
for, the same rule ought to be observed in
settling loans between individuals-thst
is, it ought to be regarded as inequitabie
to demand more than the actual value OF
the thing borrowed. But how is this to
be ascertaned ? / believe that in 1864
gold was as high as 2s0. Shall we, there
fore, say that for every 81 80 loaned to
the Government only 81 in gold should be
paid2 The fact is, that at that very time
. paper dollar was, for many purposes,
worth more than paper dollar is now.
The price of labor and the price of land
are much higher now than in 1864 in
paper, and if the creditor had at that time
invested his money in land, instead ofthe
public securities, the investment would
have been equal, probably, to the FIVE
twenties payable in gold. But your state.
ment leaves undisposed Of the real and
all-absorbing question involved in this
matter. What is the Government to do
with the carrency2 Are we to have a
currency that shall be a standard OF
values, or are we, for an indefinite period,
to have an irredeemsble and deprecated
currency Your friend,