The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1876-04-14
BIN HILL


Hon. Ben. Hill in reply to letter
from J. NJ. Davidson, of Monm nulh,
Illinois, in regard to how the Radical
leaders had mutilated his speech and
distributed it in pamphlet form il
New Hampshire, concluded his let
ter as follows:
A Southern Representative cannot
say anything in Congress which il
not Instantly misreprssented by Q
thousand lying pens and tongues
from this city, | never in my life
felt or uttered a disunion sentiment.
opposed secession as no northern
man ever did opposed also subin-
CATION and reconstruction as but
other forms disunion, and as tending
to destroy our free institutions. =
| have made one speech in Congress
forced to do so in defence of the
manhood of my people. | made the
defence chiefly from the official re
cords. Perhaps no speech has ever
so brought out the bitterness of mis-
representation in press and leaders
of the republican party. They have
not only mutiated and CARRIED the
speech, but they have filled their
papers with the most unmitigated
falsehoods as to my life, habits, chars
acter and antecedents. + =" All this
prove the correctness of my theory
of the present and future of The Re-
publican party. | maintain that
that party has accomplished all the
work it was organized to accomplish,
and no party can live, after its work
is done, and not become corrupt
No Successful party in civil war
can administer free institutions on
the passions of the war, and after the
war was ended, and not destroy the
liberties Of the people No party is
entitled to be trusted with power for
what it has done. The only title a
party can have to be trusted must
rest in what it proposes TO do. The
Democratic party is now only emit.
tied to trust because events and the
nature of existing issues compel it
to antsgonize the Republican party,
and thus necessarily to become the
party of retrenchment, reform and
sectional reconciliation. No truly
great statesman can remain in the
Republican party, for the plain reas
on that It's work is in the past, and
not in the future. You might as
we'll expect a man to satisfy his huns
ger and support his system on the
memories of past feasts, as to expect
a statesman to lead party and main
tain the prosperity of his country
on the mere memories--now passions
of past achievements. | doubt
not, if Mr.. Lincoln we're living, he
would be now jealous Democrat.
So would be Chase and Sumner and
Greeley and Seward. Such living
statesmen and patriots as David Da~
Wis, Lyman Trumbull, Carl Schurz,
Chares f. Adams and Nathaniel p.
Banks. cannot remain in the Repub
ican party. am watching to see
who, in defence CT his self respec' ,
will leave it .next. They will be
compelled to go. Thieves and dem
ogogues are takiug natural, logical
possession Of the Republican party
not to acc mplish great works, but to
have a general carousal. They will
drive statesmen and patriots out OF
it, as decent, virtuous women would
be driven out of house which had
become brothel. If, under such
leaders as will remain, the Republl-
can party will so influence the pas
sion8 of the people as to renew its
lease of power, it will bring disgrace
on its past history as certainly as
the passing of events, and it will be
miracle if, in the riot that must
follow, our republican system shall
not perish.
Never had any people such a test
of their capacity for self>governmen'
as the American people will have in
1876. They will be crammed with
reckless falsehooIs and piled with
appeals for sectional hate, az never
before disgraced any year in human
history.
viii they be able to detect, resist
and despise these assaults upon then
intelligence, patriotism and virtue
II so, we shall live on as free peo'
pie, and prosper as no people ever
did. If not, we shall die in more
shame and disgrace than ever befel
republic.
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