Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-05-07

50 lDbg heluJ ana winch they then vol
unfairly surrendered, with 3 self.sacri-
hcing patriotism unparalleled in the his
tory 0i politics. For then they had an
undisputei majority in the State. And
what, we would now ask, has been the
result Of that surrender? We were mis-
conceived and misconstrued and ma
ligned by some from the ve5y beginning.
Some OF the men who were then hon
oTed by
THE OLD SECESSION DEMOCRACY
with power and place, turned upon US
before they Were warm in their seats,
aud in our broken condition poured out
their vials OF ridiCule and abuse upon US
aud insulted those who had voluntarily
moved from the front by tauntingly tell
ing them 'hey must take back seats in
the future. Aud men who Were put
forward TO represent US in the cOnven-
ton and legislature in 1865, and who
were then most ultra in their views OF
southern rights, afterward became lead
ers in the Radical camp, aud denounced
the Democrats for acts which they
had themselves committed. But for the
honor Of Mississippi, | am glad TO know
that all her union SONS were not paTtici-
pants in such course as this. The
genial, gifted and brilliant YeTger,
whose heart bled for the Union when
secession was accomplished; the ven
Grated Chief Justice Sharkey, whose
loyalty was unshaken, when arrested by
Confederate troops, and host of other
men, who are now acting with US, ac-
cepted the leadership rendered to them
without attempting to perpetuate their
power by tramping on the conquered De-
mOcracy. There were others who gave us
no credit for the concessions we made in
1865 and since; who lost no opportunity
to disparage and bring US into con-
tempt, and who then sought to
| Tivet upon us the chains OF con-
demnatiOn by holding us up to the
| public as the authors Of all their woes,
and by irritating the wounds OF the
people then bitterly suffering from the
fresh pangs OF defeat. But this miscOn-
! ceptiOn and denunciatiOn did not drive
! the Democracy from the course of con- |
| ciliatiOn they had determined to pur- |
! sue. In the presidential canvass of |
| 1868 We were not recognized as part OF |
| the Union, and in the canvass Of 1869 |
We held back our best men, and ac- |
! cepted as our candidate the brOther-in- |
! law to the President, that we might |
show our loyalty to the Union, and we |
| placed a cOlored man on our State |
| ticket, the first ever nominated by any |
1
| " might show how fully we accepted |
| the reconstruction measures. But for |
! this we were denounced as hyprocrites |
| and wolves in sheep clothing, seeking |
| to beguile the unwary cOlOred man, and |
| to bring ourselves into power. In
THE CONTEST OF 1872
We again gave evidance of our anx-
| iety for thorough reconciliation with |
10, - II, = f.,
more healthy union with the cOlOred !
men OF the south, by nominating and
supporting for the presidency, Horace |
| Greeley, the lifelong friend OF the col
OTed man, and the great exponent of
northern sentiment, before and during
the existence Of the war. But again we |
were denounced as:treacherOus and our
motives were impugned. No acceptance
Of long tried union men and no indorse-
ment of union principles, could satisfy
the masses OF the north or the freedmen
of the south OF our sincerity aud good
faith. We were required to bow down
and worship the nominees Of the Radi-
cal party and to take back seats in the
sanctuary Of Radical oflice-hoders, be-
fore we could be received into the house.
hold of the Union. Horace Greeley,
one of the fathers of abolitionism, and
one of the founders of the Republican |
party, received us with open arms, as |
the father received the prodigal son.
But it will be remembered that when the
prOdigal returned TO his fathers house
and was received with great rejoicing,
there was q jealous brother there who
murmured at his reception because his
envioTs and aVaricious soul was
filled with an uGholy longing for
the entire Inheritance, and he was
81. IL,
to share it with him. He would rather
have seen that brother continue to "feed
upon the husks which the swine did
e8t," and perish an Outcast upon the
dunghills, than see him restored to his
fathers arms to share in his fathers es-
tate; and, therefore, with the cunning
Of politician he sought, by crafty re-
heaTsal of his brothers. prOdigality and
his abandonment Of home, to arouse the
angry passions of his father against
him, that he might be driven out from
the feast that was prepared for him.
And the same foul spirit of envy and
aveTice fills the souls of the Radical lead
ers to-day, and Morton, Logan and But
Ter are the jealous brothers who are ut
tering the same murmurs of discomfort
at our reception and restoration to the
place we once held in the hearts OF the
people, and who are constantly rehears-
ing the story OF cur rebellion that the
anger OF the nation may be aroused
against us, and that we may be driven
from the feast which our Democratic |
fathers OF the north have prepared for
US. They would rather see every State
in the south held under military subiec-
ton, and
The CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF EV-
ERY STATE
in the Union trampled in the dust
than he themselves turned out Of office
and power They pretend to fear that
the Union will be destroyed and the
good results of the war lost if the De-
mocracy are again elevated to power.
But the only union whose destruction
they fear is the unholy union of the
Radical cTeW-the Otlice-holders and
contractors, the christian statesmen
and lobby kings, the military bullies and
camp followers, the harpies and jackals
of party-whO have filled themselves
with public plunder and like the foul
birds in Virgil's feast have polluted ev-
cry thing they have touched. And the
only result OF the war they fear to lose
is the mourDful result which placed
bloody shirt in every household, by the
skillfui use of which the Mark AnthO-
nies OF the Radical party have been
able to wipe out all their own sins and
to $50 ruffie up the spirits " of the
north and "put a tongue in every
wound" that the very stones rise up in
mutiny against us. They use these ar
guments as a scare-crow TO frighten the
people of the north from the Democracy
Just as they have frightened the free
men Of the south by the ridiculous
threat that they will be returned to
slavery if the Democracy are returned
to power. But to return to the line of
my; argument. These are not all the
sacrifices we have made in Mississippi
for the sake of peace and harmony, and
for a restoration OF our civil liberty. In
the last canvass of 1873 the Democratic
party disbanded its organization, that
its members might support a ticket
composed entirely Of Republicans and
men who were adherents of Grants ad-
ministrstion, and which was led by
our distinguished fell0w-citizen and
towDsman, Hon. James l.. Alcorn, who
was the first man in the government to
proclaim himself in favor OF third
Term. a gentleman whom we all es-
TEEN for his high social qualities, and
whom all admire for his ability and