Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-08-21
POLITICAL.
- sIr,rsr.r.r n p i naNn1nATR Al roR noraHrss'

l-n5 zI POLITICAL ~
ANswER OF JUDGE LATHAM-HE Ayows
AImsELF A CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS.
Editors AppeaL-The question Is daily
asked me, Are you candidate for Con-
| gress7 and IL 50, does the letter OF Shell
| n.y. in the Sunday APPEAL, and the late
| editorials of the APPEAL and Ledger cor
rectly state your political sentiments
\ during and since the war;" g
l. can say, and say truly, do not Beek
the position, nor have Iany claim on the
people for IL. | 20 further. The respon-
sihiiities and lsboriouB duties of seat in
Congress, u fattlfstfty discharged, have no
CHAINS tor me; and in ell candor, am
not anxious for the burden. Nor Is it for
ms 10 say or feel even that em the man
gar ercstie ence to represent this district.
doubt II any aspirsDt for Office is ca
| peble Judge Of his own fitness, or that of
bis opponents. Entertaining these views,
] have made no effort 10 convince the
| people of mine, having confidence 10 their
capacity to Judge for themselves. This, 4
| trust, will be appreciated by my friends,
whom i meet hourly without naming The
/ subject. But for the urgent solicitations
| of those in whose judgment l repose the
| greatest confidence, and who seem so
| sanguine that can render efficient ser
\ vice to the people Of this district, assure
4
If they should determine that, in their
opinion, the public interests would be
best conserved by my election. my servi-
| COS are at their disposal. If nominated,
/ shall expect to canvass the District, and
If elected, can only pledge for my new
| duties whatever devotion have bestowed
1 on those incumbent on me for the past
three years. Such success as / have here
tofore met with, and such satisfaction as I
have given, Is all / have to offer as guar
| anty for my efficiency in the future.
2. 1t is insisted, that though native of
neighboriHg county, where | have
always resided till four years ago; that
having taken but little part in poll
| tics since my residence here, justice
to nay friends, and also to myself,
demands that / should briefly make
known not only my present po-
litical faith, but the sentiments that
have controlled my action during and
since the late war. have no hesitation
in making a hearty compliance, and in
doing so l am glad to know that for the
most part, can speak from the record.
| When the troubles of 1861 came on the
| country, / preferred q Constitutional
Union to disunion. and so continued
through the war. Firmly, conscientiously
| convinced that secession would lead TO
war; that the South could not succeed,
/ and that the destruction of slavery and
1
surely follow, / could not do otherwise
| than oppose il. Entertaining these convic-
tions, could not join the Southern army.
| To turn against my own countrymen
was equally revolving, and | remained at
home quiet citizen during the war. To
those VINO know me, need not say, no
! bitterness ever found lOdgment in my
breast against those who differed from
| me.
To the policy of the Lincoln admins
| tration, was openly ana uneompromis-
ingly opposed. On the Goth January, 1868,
| to friend in Washington City I wrote as
follows: 81 am glad 10 have it from you
that the hostility in the North TO the Lin
! coin policy is bitter. You know my
opinion of the effect of it. 1t is evil and
only evil. If his object is to abolish
slavery at any cost, not excepting the
perpetuity of the Government itself, thus
stultifying himself by an abandonment
of his own party platform, and by viola
ton of his oft-repeated pledges, then /
can understand his policy, but viewed as
| specimen OF statesmanshlp, emanatlng
| from a man professedly anxious for
| speedy restoration of peace on the basis
| Of the Union and the Constitution it
is truly astounding" Affairs grew worse
and the faith of the friends of constiturl
tional government was put to the severest
test. From letter written by me from
4
lished in the Chicago Times, l make the
following extracts:
"Let the government say to us, not
| with doubt and equivocation, but cor
daily and emphaticslly, Return 10 your
allegiance; take your position in the
Union as a sovereign State, with all the
rights and privileges guaranteed you by
the constitution, and on terms of perfect
eqality with the other States But, uR-
happily for the country, we are at present
controlled by class of politicians who
think they possess all the political and
military wisdom of the land. They not
only indorse each and every act of the
President and Congress. but claim the
| right to coerce "any other man" to do
the same. They exist all over the North,
and prominent among them are such men
as Lovejoy, Arnold, Stephens, and Chand-
ler. There is q little squad of them here
| in Memphis, led by Mr.. ]. NJ. Tomeny,
who became highly incensed at the scath-
ing letter of Mr.. Etheridge, and has had
the simplicity to attempt an answer
through the Memphis Bulletin. We stand
where we have stood from the beginning
of the war-'with whom is no variable
ness, neither shadow of turning For
this constancy to principle we are ira
duced as at heart false to the country
by those who have ANONYMOUSLY aban-
doned the very policy for which we are
|
the President 'can do no wrong
In 1866, when the question of restoration
of the civil government of Tennessee
arose, was most ardently opposed to all
distinctions and disabilities, and have
ever been open and unyielding in my op-
position to distranchisement. To the
first convention of my Congressional dis
trict, held in 1865, to organize party of
conservatism, 1 was delegate, and had
the honor of presiding over it. Every
other question, since the war, have con-
sidered subordinate TO that of enfranchise-
ment, because l regarded it as an outra-
geous act of pc fidy toward those who
had accepted the situation in good faith,
and l have never voted for a man whom
suspected to be in favor of prescription.
In the elections year ago, by letters in
| the Memphis press, l urged the obliteration
of all such cowardly legislation. From
one in the avalanche, quote: "Those
who 80 unrelentingly struggle for the
continued oppression of this people,
should remember there is point of endu-
rance, beyond which fOrbearance ceases
to be a virtue. They may seek to justify
thus far their oppression on various pre-
texts, and find therein, If they can, their
justification; but it will no longer avail
them. The issue is now directly made.
1t cannot be evaded. The cry of fear of
rebel rule,' danger to Union men, etc.,
can no longer be urged. There must be
i no more equivocation." Again, quote
from another, in which say: "Yote for
Senter, Cubbins, Jones, Townsend and
Sherrod. See that each and all of these
names are on your ticket. You cannot
vote any other, and be clsssed other than
with the ultra, proscriptive, vindictive
and malignant prosecutors of the white
| man."
The position have held for three years
is due not more to my Union sympathies
than to my conservatism since the war.
| The liberal sentiments of Chief Justice
Chase when he nominated me in Decem-
Der, 1867, are we'll known, as he was a
prominent candidate for the Presidency
| before the Democratic Convention. Be-
sides, Judge Trigg, conspicuous for
his conservatism, wrote the Chief Justice
in my behalf.
This reference to my record have made
for the gratification of those who, familiar
with it, desired its publicity. Reiterating
that the result of THE nominating Conven-
ton gives me but little solicitnde so far
as am concerned, L will add that I sim
cerely hope that all the friends of good
and purely administered government will
act harmoniousiy together, irrespective
of personal preference or old party
associations. Let principle alone guide
us, no matter under what name we go
forth to battle. Whatever it may be, it
is the name of new party. II called
whig, 1t would not follow that its OBJ
iect was the establishment of United
States bank and the revival of the re-
mainder of the dead issues of that grand
old party. II called Democrat, it would
not follow that its chief design would be
to urge an exclusively hard money cur
rency and to rescue the remaining planks
of its platform which have long since
drifted beyond their resch. The old
party issues are dead. New ones are be-