Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-16
4 CURToTs nOCUmENT.

Many OF cur readers retain some Tecol-
lection Of letter addressed to President
Lincoln in 1868, by some Italian s'com-
patriots in which the late lamented was
apostrophized as the successor of Jesus
Christ and of John Brown" In a recent
French work entitled "The international
and Jacobinism under the ban of Europe"
we find among other documents, letter adj
dressed to President Grant. It seems that
on Feb. y, 1869, the French Branch Of the
International celebrated in London the
anniversary Of the Revolution of 1913.
Felix Pyat assisted, ard duly predicted the
inevitable fall Of Napoleon. This meeting
addressed a letterto our military President,
of which we preserve the salient points:
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY.
"Ihe French Republic 10 President
Grant-Cilizen: From time to time
Europe sends forth a cry of distress which
is UNDECIDED by America. She is contin-
Ually weighed down under her double yoke.
Rome and Paris are the chief
cities of the twO-headed beast Of the
Apocalypse, of the double tyranny, crowned
and mitred, of the CathOlicO-M OnarchicaI
Janus, the Pope and the Emperor. Fraud
and force are the hyphen Of these Siamese
twins Of divine right"
And 50 on, in the style of Victor Hugo,
until we strike this compliment to the party
addressed:
"BUt you are a man of deeds, and not of
words. To action. The Emperor occupies
Rome. Let the President drive him forth.
He win go hence. He yields where he
must. 4 word forced him to evacuate
Mexico. A mere syllable will drive him
from Rome. He is the Emperor Of evacu-
atisn as well as of INVASION"
We cannot help remarlling en- PEASANT,
how wonderfully these words have since
been verified by the rapid succession of
Civita Vecchia, Woerth, Sedan and Metz.
But our document proceeds:
"The republic has already forced back
the Empire. Go on. Stretch forth the
hand to Garibaldi rs TO Juarez. Grant and
GaIibaldL Rome viii be feed as Mexico.
We viii attend 10 Paris
These fellows did "attend to Paris" with
a vengeance, less than two years subse-
quently. But we are breaking the thread of
compliment to the Great Ulysses:
Hero of the New World, you may prove
so of the Old. Chosen of the American
Republic, you may become so of the Uni
versal Republic. LiberatOr of the African
race, yOu may be so Of Mankind. You can
by clearing Pandemonium merit the graft
tude of mankind. Washington proclaimed
1;hortyy f,r tEa ITvitnJ Gtotgc. 10
clared it for America; President Grant, pro-
claim it for the entire world! You can and
YOU should do it. Do not answer us as
the Pharisee, in thanking God you are not
a European. Do not answer this fraternal
appeal with that unclean saying: Each one
for HIMSELF
This queer letter then proceeds TO demol-
ish Grants organ, the New York Times
An editorial is quoted from that paper to
the effect that the mission of America is
merely to give the example Of free govern
ment to other peoples, without helping 9TH
ers to secure it. ''If we go forth ike crazy
fools, says the Times, ''tO fight for Italy and
Spain, for Ireland and for Poland, our real
power would soon be erded." In response
to this, the Internationals ask sarcastically,
"What benefit is an example Of strength to
the weak, or an example of health to the
sick?"-and conclude in the same line Of
argument:
1--WE fear not to say to you, in the lam
guage of Lafayette, that if France had sent
to the Greeks copy of Plutarch instead of
a feet to Navarino, Greece would still be
Turkish. II, in place of an army to Ma
genta, France had sent the Italians De Viri-
6us HlustribuS, Italy would still be Aus
TRAN. Finally, if France, instead of dis
patching, in aid of the Americans them
selves, her army and her feet to Boston,
had sent them a picture of Jeanne dare
driving out the English, the great republic
would have neither power to lose in the
present, nor even a name to hand down to
posterity."
In what manner, if at all, Grant replied
10 his International admirers, the compiler
of these documents, NJ. Testut, neglects to
inform us.