The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1871-01-18
tn, LEE MEMORIAL.
I'm THOMAS G. MANNING,
COMMEMORATIVE OF THE
,,fe and Character Of General Rob-
hA ert e. Lee.
rrrryERED AT ALEXANDRIA, La, De
DEL cEMBER 2, 1870.
ADDR HISS
OF THE
rNr,,oRATIvE OF THE

The greatest soldier OF recent .ihi'S
Ion horne to his rest. Th S is the
,r;ef and expressive announcement by
~ English writer of the event wecom-
.asn,rate to-day. From the earliest u
.;mes it has been usual to nations to
.nder p,ortuary honors to their he
.oes A rude people in barbarlc age /
.;sn,av their veneration by deifylng
~, whom they have lost, and even the
.,;,bea cultivation of the Greek and
Roman yielded to this spontaneous I'M
mise of the heart in an apotheosis
which elevated to the rank OF deml-
Id wboever had won the afft ctions, or
seeured the admiration of his people,
T. Is meet and right then that we, who
bpt little while ago passed through
conflict, the magnitude and grandeur
Of which we were not able to appren-
otto until we had emerged from the
binding influence of its passions anu
its hopes, should unite in rendering to
our own great Dead that homage which
orr hearts suggest, and which the APP
,,.pdino voice of contemporaries APP
nroyes. For when the swlft-wmsea
messenger announced that Robert Ed
ward Lee had been gathered to his ia
thers. it was not alone they whose
cause he had made his own that bowed
their heads in grief, but throughout the
realm of civilization the wall that went
nm from peoples soul mourning the
loss of their Chieftain found respoh-
sive echo in all lands, where virtue and
uobIeuess of character are appreciated,
or where genius is admired and ven
Grated.
II has often been said the race OF
great men has disappeared, ana IL Is
curious to observe how this VEN OF
self-depreeiation runs through history
how persistently it has been main
tanned at various periods and III al
countries, that their golden age had al
ready passed, and there were LETT ON!
Grand models whom it were vain to at
tempt to equal or initiate, whose bill
liant deeds she'd halo OF glory owe
their degenerate descendants, the en-
nobling influence of which might arotls
enthusiasm, but could not stimulate t
their repetition. And yet it is yer
certain that within the hundred yeal
inst passed, the world has been stal
tied by prodigies as great as any pre-
vious century of its existence can e,
hibit. During that time America alor
nay l will confine myself by fu
Their geographical restriction-tf
Southern States of America have pr
duced two of the greatest characte
with which any age has been adorne
He who was first in war, first
neace. and first in the hearts of i
countrymeu," extorted the admirati'
of his contemporaries, and has pr
served that of posterity by a Srande
of soul, which it is rarely given
man to attain, and is enthroned on
moral elevation, which will cast
shadow of his fame upon remote gen
atoms. The country that claimed
native allegiance and contemplation
STYLED him ..rebel," now mentions
name with eomplacent pride, and al
eating to itself the merit of his bl1
listens with gratitied self-adulation
the plaudit of one of her recent hi:
riaps. who declares it to be the grea
merit of England that she gave b
even amid TRANSATLANTIC wilds to
man.
If we assign to Lee niche not in
ior to his great predecessor, do
think our judgments can he accuse
partiality or irreverence, for meas'
bv their work, they differ not in
magnitude of their efforts nor in thu
splendent qualities those efforts evln
but only in the results which were
complished. Each bore upon his
shoulders the fortunes of peop
Each confronted the perils OF rebe
against a great Power with calm l
ism, and each with the light OF sc
coruscating around his brow crap
with the stein duties of the hour
the resolution and conscientious
that such lofty natures alone can k
And do they differ in the result
complished SO much as at first g
appears7 Washington founded 4
public-a government wherein the
pie were essentially the depositor
power, the foundation stone OF VIII
that it's authority rests and del
upon the fact that it is adopted D,
consent of the governed. Ihls
the leading thought in that Stat
per. once received as the political
pei of this country, and its ausno.
cidated it by adding, that whe
any form of government ceases
tain this essential element and be-
destructive of the ends for Win
governments are instituted,
among which are life, liberty, III