The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1870-01-22

(
Outset-knew that the course |
took was not calculated to make
me popular candidate for office
or extend the circulation Of my
journal. We had just closed in
complete triumph along, exhaust
ing, bloody war, which had carried
mourning into nearly every house
hold; and | fully realized the per
il invoked by him who interpoSes
between an irate, bleeding victor
and his PROSTATE, defenspless foe.
l assure you, General, that if i
had deemed it the chief end of
man to obtain Office, enjoy pOpu-
larity, and bask in the sunshine of
power, | should have taken a very
different course. If / had not
loved my country, and the party
which had her honor in keeping,
more than loved Office and hon
orS, | should have chimed in with
Andrew JohnSon'S sin g-song,
'TreaSon is crime; traitors must
he punished" and called with YOU
for examples to be made of the
leaders OF the cruShed-out rebel
lion.
LESSONS OF HISTORY.
But | had read some history.
and one OF the lessons | CLEANED
from it was the duty OF resisting
and if possible restraining the
passions of party completely
triumphant in the issue OF a drs-
perate civil war. | did not find
that the severities of Phillip Ii.
and his licutenants had saved the
Netherlands to Splin-that the
''bloody asSizeS" of Jeffieys after
MOnm0uth's overthrow had but
trpSSed the throne of james IL. |
saw that the execution of Louis
XVI. and his Queen had not saved
the French Republic-that the ex
ecution of Marshal Ney did not
pcrpptrdte he throne OF the B0ur
b0ns-that he banging ot Macy
Sandor and twelve more Ilunga-
rian GennrilS alter Gnr.-y's sur
render dit 10. prevent the recOv-
cry Oh their cOuntry'S ancient
liberties. III short, il there be one
lesson written all over the farp of
OF history, it seems to me that
''pride goeth before deStructionn :
that the c0n1nertr III civil teud who
has giutted his vengeance stands
often very near his final downfall.
| should have known, if Shlk-
Speare had not said it, that "b.Ooly
instructions" quite commonly "re-
turn to plague the inventOrs."-
And, as had stood by the cradle
OF the Republican party, and fond
ly believed that its mission OF be-
nefcence is not yet exhausted, ]
sought to save it from a fatal blum
der, even though at some personal
cost. judge that the hanging OF
JEFF. Davis would have cost that
party one hundred thousand votes
while it would not have saved it
even that OF the original mouth
piece of the vindictive policy, Mr..
Andrew Johnson; and | did not
believe it had so many voters to
spare.
THEBENEFlCENT ANIENDMENTX XIV.
III. | regret that you should
misunderstood me as regarding
this matter in the light of party
policy alone. Such was never my
thought nor my expression. |
opposed the policy of vengeance
because I deemed it intrinsically
wrong and penicious; / advocate
the XVIII amendment because |
deem it essentially just and bene
ficent. If the former were not
wrong, it would not be impOlitic:
if the latter We're not eminently
right, we might survive It's fail
ure. Ipresented the party aspects
| of the case in my former letter
I. not as the most vital, but as those
in which the error of your policy
could be most clearly demonstrat.
ed. If | were ever SO good Gre
clan, | might not talk Greek to a
Choctaw. My objection to youl
policy as suicidal hy no means
precludrd nor beiittled other Oh
jectionS; it simply affirmed that, il
there were no other, this would
} suffice to condemn it. Let lis re
view the ground i'll the light ola
complished facts:
THE ABSOLUTE POLICY IN TEN
NESSEE.
IV. Tennessee WAS thoroughly
reconstructed, under the sway o
! Andrew johnson and of ParsOI
, Rrouninu a. thn Arin, ,sit.lo nuuu