Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-02-06
THE DEAD SECRETARY.
Hon. Iere. S. Black Wings the Soaring
AtiOrHey-6eneFal.

/ The following letter has been au-
/ dressed by Hon. Jere. ). Black to
/ Attorney General Hoar:
WASHINGTON. January ls, 1870.
Sir: / was not present in court yes
/ terday to hear your remarks on Mr..
! Stanton, but to-day / was shown a
newspaper report OF them, which |
/ presume to be perfectly accurate. The
/ following paragraph has struck me
with surprise:
- But it is not of the lawyer, emil
nent as he was in the science and
practice of the law, that men chiefly
/ think as they remember him. His
/ service to mankind was on a higher
/ and wider field. He was appointed
! Acknowledgement by Mr.. Buchanan,
/ on the 10Th Of December, 1860, in one
of the darkest hours Of the cOunry's
! history, when the Union seemed
| crumhling TO pieces, without an arm
raised for its support; when without
] the public cOuuseis was doubling, and
/ within were fears;' when feebleneSs
and treachery were uniting To yield
! whatever defiant rebellion might de-
mand, and good men everywhere
were ready to despair of the Republic.
/ For ten weeks Of that winter of Da-
/ tional agony and shame, with patriot
/ ism that never WaVered, and courage
/ that never quaiied, this true Ameii-
can, happily not alone, stood man
fully at his post, between the living
and the dead, gave what nerve be
/ could 10 rimid aud trembling imbe-
! ciiity, and met the secret plOtters OF
! their country's ruin with an uudaunt-
ed front, until before that resolute
presence the demons of treason and
evil discOrd appeared in their own
/ shane. as at the touch of Ithurieps
/ spear. and fled, baffled and bowling,
away"
This statement was carefully and
! deliberately written down before you
deIiveredit. You spoke for the Amer
lean bar a. its organ and official head,
and you addressed the highest trlbu-
nal in the world, knowing that your
/ words were to 20 lPpn It's record and
/ there remain forever. / take it lOr
granted, under these circumstance,
/ that no earthly temptation could make
YOU defect d hairs breadth from the
facts Is you understand ami believe
! thrm. Tie inevitable conclusion Is
( that YOU must have ia your possession,
or within your reach, some evidence
which cOuglnces you that what you
said is the ruth, and nothing but the
ruth. l am sure you viii excuse me
! for asking you to say what that evil
/ dence is. The paper / have trans
crihed from your address sounds like
/ the authoritative summary of his
torian as ne closes Jhs most interest
ing chapter Of his book. EGl can
hardly consider the curiosity imPeTtl-
nent that prompts an American citi-
zen 10 inquire what your Judgment Is
/ founded upon. Besides / have some
I friends whose regulations are deeply
I involved in the Affairs You pronounce
uDuu with 50 much confidence. More
/ over, I have a persona! concern IN
! v0ar remarks. for L was one of Mr.
! Slsnton's colleagues, and am as liable
/ a. any of them 10 be taken on your
! statement iOr one OF the "secTet plot
ters OF their couHtTy's ruin" BE
. pleased, Therefore, 10 give me the III
( formation Fseek.
Dl Wa tlud on the records Of your
Office any lining which shows that Mr..
stanton was IN violent or dangerous
contiic. with demons o. treason and
civil discOrd," Or any other descTip-
ton OF demons? Did Mr. Stanton
himself ever lay claim TO the heroic
character you ascribe 10 him, or de-
clare that he had performed those pro-
digiOus leafs of courage while he was
in Mr.. Buchauan's Cabinet? Has any
other person who was In condition
TO know the facts ever given you that
version Of them which you repeated
to the court" L. yes, who are the
/ witnesses? What Particular danger
was he exposed 10 which tested mas
yaIOraud made his "undaunted 'front.'
n thing so wonderful IL the desCrip-
ton OF 1t? Whose 'feeblene5s and
treachery" was It that united 10
Weld whatever defiant rebellion might
! derna2d?" And how did Mr.. Stan
! toms courage dissolve Tie cOm0lna-
ton OF defeat its purposes?
| You say that Tor ten weeks 'Ec stood
manfully at his post, between the liv-
ING and the dead" Now, when the
first law officer OF the United States
addresses the Supreme Court on spe-
cial occasion, and after elaborate pre-
| parat:0n. he is presumed TO mean
/ Something Dy what he says. How Is
this to be understOOdY You certainly
aid not intend 10 assert merely that
he stuck tC his commission as long as
+ he could, and gaze IT up only when he
cGuld not help it. Stai,.!ng HldlBWty
at a pCst Of any kind, and especlaliy
when the stand IS made between the
lirifg and the 0edd," has doubtless a
j deep significance, if one could but
! manage TO lind out what ii is. Who
were the dead, and who were the liv-
ing? and how did it happen that Mr..
Stanton got between them? What
business had he between themS and
why did he stay there for ten weeks Z
/ These questions YOU can easily an
swer; and the answer Is needed, for
ia the meantime the cOujectural inter
uratations are various, and some Oi
fhem iuiurious to the dead and living
aforesaid. as weH a. 20 Mr. Stanton,
who. according tOyOUr representation
stood before them.
/ can comprehend the time-wOrn
siDlRe of lthuTiels spear; but do mol
see what on earth Was the use Oi lt,
unless YOU thought iJ ornamental and
original, for YOU make Mr.. Stanton by
his mere presence, ana without 9
smear. do what Ithuriel himself cucid
not do with the aid Of that powerful
instrument. The angel with the
epear compelled~a demon 10 lay aside
his disguise, while mortal man dealt
with many demons and not only
made them all appear in their proper
ahape, but drove Jbcm "bahied ana
bowling away" out OF mas ''resoiute
presence" / do not object 70 this BE-
cause the figures sre mixed or be
~, use IL Is an extTavagant outrage on
crood taste; the custom OF the times
sIloUs men who make euiOgie5 on
tbeir poIiticai friends TO tear tbeli
| rbetaric into ragsg and If you ike tht
tsttors vo,1 are welcome to tiaunl
tbeoo but I cail your attentiOn TO Il
i'm tho hope that sou viii tax hSs 8
( man of this world, aud give US II
plain. or al least inteiilgibie prose, q
particular account OF the very impor
faut transactions to which you refer
, together with the attendant circum
stances. I suppose y0u nave ni
thought OF being taken literally YOU
: description OF Mr.. Stanton con3Urht
demons IS only a metAphOricaI way
YOU have Of saying that lac iFiShtehe,
certain bad men. / beg you 10 lei
+ ln. who they were and how he scared
J them.
RI ] repeat, that YOU are not charged
= and. in 10y opinion, could not b
Justly charged, with the great sin o
, mbricating statements ike these. YoI
nave. no doubt, seen or heard Uha
. vou regard as sufficient proof of them
What fear is, that you have beel