The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-04-26

| many who gave aid ami encouragement t.
the enemy, by disatfecting our people t
that administration during the war 0
coercion, and refused to give counsel, o
counseled consent during the baser war O
reconstruction, have received high marks O
confidence from our enemies, and high posi-
| tions Of honor from our people! Crowds o
| intellectual Imbeciles like hOcks of nOis
blackbrds in harvest time, rush forward t,
secure, by personal scramble and trade, thOs
positions OF heaviest trust and responsibility
and thus murder all hope of having any vim
dication OF our dead, or justice for our liv
ing, in the councils of the nation. When
such State as Virginia, liz such a crisis a.
this, for such place as the Senate, repudi
ates such a statesman as Hunter-fanllial
with every fact of Federal history, intimate
ly familiar with every TACT in Confederat.
councils, trained in debate, learned in con
stitutlOnal law, courteous in manner accur-
ate IN statement, powerful in logic, and re
spected even by his eneinies-I think it is
time to despair of doing anything, in this
generation, to lift the South to her former
position of influence and power in the Con
gress of the United States To feed our PEG.
pie on frothy defamation now, however
blown by newspaper rutfs, is like feeding a
starving multitude on unsubstantial SNOW
flakes, however piled up by capriciOus Winds
There was never such a field for real profound
patriotic craftsmanship. The very inferior
lty OF Northern representatives. as compared
with those they sent to Con ress before the
war, but increased the chances for Southern
States to remove by proper debate in the
national councils the false theories and i'm
pressiOns which have been crowded into the
minds Of the Northern people, and thus re-
turn the General Government to it's consti
n yt,f =
free exercise of their reserved rights, and
rescue from destruction for our enemies as
well as for ourselves, those great principles
OF constitutional government which every
purpose of the Contederates sought to main
tain, and which every feature of coercion
must tend to destroy.
Thus, denied by our enemies the oppor-
tunity OF silencing, by the soler. N pigments
of their own courts, the fierce accusations of
in secession and denied, by our
enemies and the fOlies of our own people,
the glorious chance OF indicating our cause
in high debate, and face to face with the
chosen champions Of our accusers, we have
but one resource left us for defense or vind-
cation. That resource is history-im impartial,
NOTWITHSTANDING history. 1t
is to secure fair trial before this august
that this society has been organized
TO collect, prepare, anu perpetnate the
evidence. Our enemies are exceedingly
active in their efforts to get false presenta-
lion of the testimony for the judgment of
history. They are seeking to monopolize
the possession of our own records. They
readily pay more money for disiointed
portions of Confederate archives than they
lid for the Madison papers, giving All ac-
count Of the proceedings of the convention
hat framed the Constitution. 1t is shameful
10 see how much assistance they are receiv-
nS, III their efforts to pervert and falsify
our history, from those malcOntents who
keep up such restless assaults on the Con-
ederate administration. The men who
Inarreled more with their own side than
With the enemy during the struggle are
'mong the first after the war to rush to
writing books to give their account of the
government they did so much to break
Town. We owe it, therefore, to our dead,
% our living. and to our children to be
lctive in the work Of preserving the truth
md repelling the falsehoods, so that we
nay secure, for them and tor us. Just iudg-
nent from the only tribunal before which |
We can be fully and fairly heard.
The valor Of Que Armies.
If the full truth can be secured and pre-
erved, we shall have nothing to fear in the |
will make. The courage of our troops is
'eyond perversion. The fact that we killed,
Wounded and captured greater number of
he enemy than we had soldiers in our ar
Mes, is tribute to our gallantry and skill,
which the records Of no civilized war can
nrpass. With inferior arms, and limited
esources shut up from supplies from the
ntside world, and with unfortunate and
atal divisions between the Southern States
nd among ourselves, we made fight for
which no people ever equaled.
Equally wonderful were the achievements
our craftsmanship. In the beginning we
al neither government nor army, nor navy.
or treasury. All these we had to improvise
the very hearing of an arming foe, who
ad an established government, an or
news and appliances of war in extrava-
ant abundance. And yet when the enact
tents and measures of the Confederate
government shall be critically examined,
ley will be found to have sprung into ex-
tence with wisdom, vigOr, an aptitude {
n the crisis and strict conformity to all
he principles of free institutions, which
nst challage the admiration of the publ
SITS and statesmen for all time.
No people, ancient or modern, can look ,
18th more pride to the verdict which history ,
Ill De compelled to render upon the merits
nd characters of our two chief leaders-the -,
lie in the military and the other in the civil
rvice. Most other leaders are great be-
luse of fortunate results, and heroes be- ,
lnse Of success. Davis and Lee. because
qualities in themselves, are great in the
ce of fortune, and heroes in spite of de-
at. 4
Gen. II. f. Lee
When the future historian comes to survey
Re character of Lee, he will find it rising |
le hinge mountain above the undulating {
ain OF humanity, and he will have to lift q
s eyes towards heaven to catch it's sum- {
it, He possessed every virtue of the great G
without their Wees He was a a
e without hate; friend without treach- !
y; private citizen without wrong: a 7
.ighbor without reproach; Christian
lthont hypocrisy, and a man without guilt. c
e was "a Caesar without his ambition Fred '
lex, without his tyranny Napoleon, with e
It his selfishness, snd Washington without 7
$ reward. He was obedielt to authority t
servant, and royal in authority as a
ne king. He was gentle AS woman in t
e +: modest and DlIrp as a viruin in tbnu.bt "