Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1875-02-27
"sFILL FORBEAR.v
Address Of the Southern Members OF
Congress.
The Policy Of the Republican Majori.
ty.
The Southern People Advised to Beal
and F0rbear.
The Black Man to be Protected in All
His Legal Rights.
DiseOrd and Strife Deprecated.

His Legal Rights.
Diseord and Strife Deprecated.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1S.-The follow
ing address has just been issued by tn
: Democratic members of the South anc
Southwest :. -
To the people of the Southern States
You have confided to the undersigned
In this conjunction of affairs, the deli
cate and difficult task of guarding, il
In the Federal Congress, your public
interests, your rights and your reputa
ton. You will. therefore, pardon the
liberty we take of addressing you at 8
period so critical upon matter affect.
ing your destiny and that Of your
posterity. You cannot have failed to
observe the persistent efforts of some
leaders ofthe Republican party to re-
viye the animosities of the late war
which happily are fast giving place to
spirit of concord and unity in every
section of our common country. 1t is
impossible to predict with certainty
the effect of these appeals to passion.
We belive through the honest repre-
sentations of few upright and consci-
entious Federal officers and agents, an
Independent and able public press,
and of many citizens without regard to
party, the true condition of the South
ern States and the real sentiments of
the Southern people are being gradu-
ally made known to our fellow citizens
of the North We hope for their IA
vorable decision when fully apprised
of all the facts. The great ends of good
government will be reached when the
people of all sections forgetthatwe have
ever been enemies, and come together
again as in the early days of the repub-
lie, emulating each other only in de-
votion to the best interests ofthe whole
country. With this exalted purpose
in view, there is nothing inconsistent
with the honor and manhood of brave
people to resolve to suffer with heroic
patience, whatever their provocations
and wrongs, looking through the fear
full present to the hopeful future, and
repelling unjust epithets and gratuitous
insults with dignified moderation. Let
every white man in every neighborhood
in the whole South regard himself as
a commissioner of the peace, maintain
ing the kindliest relations toward the
black man, remembering that the re-
sponsibility for the extreme poverty to
which We have been reduced, and the
corrupt governments his vote has sub
iected us to, rests not so much upon
him as upon the bad men,
who with assurance of Federal support,
have, by appeals to his worst passions
sought to make him our enemy, while
we labor by all honest means to con-
vince him that our interest and his are
identical. and both must be preserved
by good governments, and that those
who stir up strife between us are the
enemies of both races. Let us at the
same time see that he is fully protected
in his guaranteed rights to vote as he
pleases in all elections. Let US contin-
ue to deal with him honestly and fair
ly, and let US continue to cordially in
vite to our midst those who of any po-
litical party seek the truth or to find
homes upon our soil. We do not ex-
aggerate when we admonish you ofthe
disheartening fact that every street dis
turbance, every homicide of whatever
character, By whomsoever committed,
by black or white, Republican or Dem
oerat, such as are incident to every
community upon earth, is perverted
into evidence of spirit of violence and
lawlessness and a purpose to accom-
plish political ends. We we'll know
the gross injustice of such charges,
which have weight only where ignOr-
ance of our true condition prevails.
Strenuous efforts are now being made
by those who represent you to induce
the passage, by Congress, of a most
dangerous measure in order to furnish
an excuse to irritate our people, to
drive them to despair, and provoke
them to violent outbreaks. in order to
furnish an excuse for applying for mil
itary interference. We express the
hope that a majority of the present
Congress will not be found ready TO
sanction such legislation. Ifit be ac-
eomplished, it would be against the
protest, not only of Democrats, but of
the moral worth and craftsmanship
here of the party in power, and of such
Republicans as Bryant, Evarts. Charles
Francis Adams and others whose pa
triotism and sense of justice are known
to the entire country. We may, how
ever, not mistake the most extreme,
oppressive and unconstitutional meas
ures that may be imposed upon you.
In such an event, we would appeal to
the wisdom and patriotism of long
suffering people, by every hope of the
future, for continued forbearance and
hopeful reliance upon the virtue and
sense of justice of the American people
for the ultimate yindicatiOn of our
rights, the protection of our liberties
and the safety of our republican form
of government.
Signed by Senators Goldthwaite,
Stevenson, Norwood, Cooper, Gordon,
Ransom of North Carolina, McCrary,
Bogy, Johnston and MerrimOn, and by
the following members of the House
of Representatives: Cook, Caldwell,
Bell, Bromberg, Atkins, Waddell,
Giddings, Herndon, Miles, Willie,
Hancock, Crittenden, John Young
Brown, Harris, Young of Georgia,
Whitthorne, Bright, Grassland, Bowen,
Beck, Bland, Adams, Clark, Arthur,
Comingo, Burnam, Hunton, Hatcher,
Gunter, Glover, Mclean, McLeach,
Vance, Robbins. Blount, Whitehead,
Standiford, Stone, Sloss, Wells of Mis-
souri,, Miliken, Read, Lamar.