Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-06-02


which they cOntended, still move and
will once more be felt If you will but
be true to the right. Let no one say
that I counsel q recovery and an
enjoyment of these principles by
the red hand of battle. 1 trust
that 1 may not be misrepresented
upon this point. 1 shall die in the
firm faith and belief that the era OF
true liberty viii ere long dawn upon the
! South. If they who carried the vic
tOriOus banner sand eXulted in the
strength of their triumph, could have
known, when you came forward and
said that you had given up your arms
and were now ready to submit to the
laws of the land and could have un-
derstOOd how true your word was,
how high were your principles Of hon
or, it would not have been necessary
to exact harsh pledges and to pass op-
pressive laws to bind you. Applause e.
| Force should never have been eXerted
when the unimpeachable word of q
Georgian was pledged, for thej world
cannot furnish bayOnets enough to
make a Georgian prove more faithful
| to his obligation than his oath could
do. CApplause]. Peaceful then you
are desiOrOus Of being to-day. Peace
full you have been, peaceful you are
| even when human patience has some
| times given way. There are those
/ who sometimes take the law into their
own hands because there is no justice
to be secured in any OJher way; but
these are mere accidental occasions.
There is no organization in the South,
there never was, whose purpose is re-
/ sistance to the government A voice,
''That's So" Though we are COM
PEELED to submit to the presence of
power, yet our manhood and our self
respect can be preserved. Peace is
what we hope for, peace we desire,
and peace we will have.
I have nothing to say to you to-
night Of politics, and, my friends,
hope you have nothing to do with
them. You have political power, and
its exercise is only postponed until
the coming Of that event which l GER
tainly anticipate-the restoration of
your constitutional rights. T Applause. ]
Let US then stand still and quietly
await developments. The men of the
North, like yourselves, love their
Government and understand their
rights, and the men Of the North have
no idea Of surrendering, in their own
country, those great bulwarks Of con
stitunOnal liberty, the right to trial
by jury, the right to elect their own
officers, and the right to determine
their own internal policy, and as soon
as their prejudice and hatred against
the South are removed, and they see
that by the unlawful action Of those in
power toward the South, these sacred
rights Of theirs are in danger of being
invaded, they will become your ad.
juncts, and you will hold the balance
Of power; and in that hour your power
will be great and your success will be |
great. Applause.
1 have said, and l repeat it, that l !
despair not Of the restoration of our
liberties. They are not ours only, !
they are equally the liberties of the |
people of the North and the South, |
And when they at the North see that
laws are made for their oppression, |
do you not believe that the men who |
have descended from revolutionary
sires will raise their voices against |
them? Do you not believe that when |
they come to look calmly upon the /
question between the North and |
South, they will form parties and plat |
forms upon which you can stand? |
And when that hour comes, then will |
come the fulfllment of the promised |
era Of constitutional liberty which I /
so confidently anticipate and honor |
to-day. L may not live to see it, but |
II l do not, shall die confidently |
believing that it will come.
know, my friends, that in this l 1
run counter to the feelings that are /
prevalent in different portions Of our
country, but believe this is the true
policy for the South to pursue at pres
ent. The South cannot hasten the day
of her deliverance by attempting to /
assume leading part in the politics /
of the country to-day. Let her peO-
pie quietly and earnestly devote them. |
selves to the work of improving and |
building up their material prOsperi- |
ty, leaving those who have the power |
to settle these questions among them.
selves, simply saying to them we
know our rights, know they are in
vaded; and then wait patiently until |
we see them divided and at issue with
themselves, and join the party and
support the candidate and the plat
form that promises restoration of /
constitutional liberty. 1t is then that /
you will hold the balance of political |
power in your own hands, and it is
then that all your rights will once
more be restored and guaranteed.
[ Applause
have shaken hands with politics.
! am now engaged upon matters Of
life Insurance. Laughter and ap-
plause. l would like to insure all |
your lives for a hundred wears.
| Laughter and applause. 1 have, |
therefore, my friends, very quietly |
presented this opinion which l enter
tain upon the subject that has been
the study Of former but not Of recent |
years. L know can do you no good.
l am not engaged in public affairs,
but hope to do you some good by
showing the world that though I have
retired from active public service, vet
1t Is my purpose to serve you with
head and heart and hand as long as I
live. Your interest is mine, not in
mere abstract and general sense, but in
that devoted care which have for
your welfare and happiness, and the
only reward l ask or seek is that l |
may live to seea all your political rights
restored, and the whole South pros
porous, independent and happy.
[ Applause. ] Therefore in what l have
said l have only spoken of what I
consider the best policy for the
people Of the South, under the
present circumstances, to pur-
sue. Let the people Of the North
take care Of themselves. You went
to war upon the same question for
which your ancestors and theirs con-
tended in the first revolution against
the government of Great Britain
the right of communal independence,
or State sovereignty. You secured it
in that first war, and State sovereign
ty must again be restored or else the
republic OF America is failure. Des-
pOcsm cannot be exercised under a
republican form Of government. And,
my friends, II you can but wait, all
VIII be well. If any Of US die before
the day Of peace and liberty daWns,
let US die in the faith that it will come
at last. The people of the North will
never surrender their rights, and
when they see the danger at home,
then they viii need your aid and will
come to you, and then you will be
with victory and triumphant
success. Applause.
/ am not Of those who &" accent the
situation" 1 accept nothing. These
cant phrases that we hear so much of
about " accepting the situation and
about our rights having been submit
ted to the arbitrament of theswOrd. ;,
are but the excuses Of towards. TAp.
plause, 1 admit that power prevails
over truth. admit that that mower
Is so great that IL WOuld he fC,llv 10 -