Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-10-11
Samuel the Jew, and Grant the
GENTLE.

GENTLE.
And Samuel said unto all Israel:
"Behold, here am; witness against me
s' before the Lord and before his anointed;
" whose OK have / taken? or whose ass
&c have 1 taken? or whom have l de-
" frauded? whom have / oppressed? or
" of whose hand have 1 received any bribe
1" to blind mine eyes Herewith? and / will
g restore it to you. And they said, Thou
'' hast N Ot defrauded us, nor oppressed us,
1" neither hast thou taken aught Of any
&c mans hand. And he said unto them,
" the Lord is witness against you, and his
anointed is witness this day, that We
g have not found aught in my hand. And
" they answered, He is witness
Such was the verdict Of all Israel, as we
find it recorded in Holy Writ, upon
Samuel, their old and gray-headed ruler.
And Samuel had walked before them all
the days Of his life.
Now Samuel was jew!
But all rulers are not like Samuel was.
Indeed, we are told that his own sons,
whom he had made judges over Israel,
''walked not in his ways, but turned aside
after lucre and took bribes and perverted
Judgment Alas for poor human nature,
depravity has characterised it in every age,
and generation and country From the
fall of Adam to the present day, men, no
matter whether Jew or Gentle, Greek or
Barbarian, have turned aside after lucre
o,,J 1,oyo oE
We had indeed fattered ourselves that,
in America, the air Was too pure for Off
cial corruption to have its being in. We
had boasted to ourselves and to others, that
we had so far advanced in moral progress, i'll
social reform and in human development,
! that official corruption and official oppres
sion were crimes unmentioncd in the annals
of our country. And it did really seem,
until late years, that there was good reason
for the boast There have been many rI-
lerS i'll America who could call the people
to witness, aud confidently ask, whom have
we defrauded or oppressed, or Of whose hand
have we received any bribe to blind our
eyes Herewith? Indeed, 10 the honor of
! America be it said, there was time when
| the invariable rule was, that our officers
| were honest aud obedient to the law.
! But we can 10 louger make this boast.
American rulers no longer obey the laws ;
no longer regard the truth, and no longer
practice even common honesty.
! President Grant has ruled over the pee
! pie for near four years, and seeks TO rule
| over them for four years longer. Hc comes
| before them with his record in his hand,
and seeks their suffrages. Like Samuel,
he calls the people TO witness against him.
! He asks them whom has he defraude d =
They answer and say we bid you remem.
Der ex- Mayor Bowen, of Washington City,
to whom you sold house and then refused
to make title, after having received por-
ton of the purchase money.
He asJ-s whom has he oppressed, and
they answer and say you have oppressed
millions of people in the South until they
| curse the hour in which you were BORN
Under your rule the halls of justice have
been closed, and judges have been 81
fenced; under yOnr rule the houses of the
Lord have been closed, and Ills ministers
have been sileneed; under your rule citi-
zens have been arrested, have been impris-
oned, and have been shot without any war
rant, save that of military law, in a country
! in which, by the Constitution, the civil law
! is supreme
He asks of whose hand has he received
any bribe to blind his eyes herewith ?
And the people answer and bid him re-
member that he made Alexander L. Stew
art his Chief Treasurer after receiving from
his hand large gift; they bid him remem-
ber that he made Adolph Borie the Chief
over the Navy after having received from
his hand large gift; they bid him re-
member that he made E. r. Hoar his
Chief law officer after having received from
| his hand large gift; they bid him re-
member that he made Thomas Murphy
his Chief of Customs at the great port OF
| New York after having received from his
hand large gift.
Now Grant is Gentle!
How different is the verdict of the
American people upon their ruler, Grant
the GENTLE, from that OF all Israel upon
their ruler, Samuel the Jew! The one
had walked before his people from child
hood to old age, and when he called upon
them to bear witness against him before
the Lord and before his annointed there
was not found aught in his hand!
Scarce four years has the other walked
before his people, and yet when he calls
upon them to bear witness concerning him
they cry aloud, he is a defrAuder, he is an
oppressor, and his hand even now holdeth
the gifts wherewith his eyes are blinded!
And yet this is the man who took i;
upon himself few years ago to revile "the
Jews as a Glass;" in the mos insulting
terms.
Will the people choose this man TO rule
over them again?