Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-10-14
Give Inc Derrl Els nue.

To the Editor Of tho Ledger;
Your reporters is somewhat mixed him.
self in his criticism of Governor Porter
quotation from Shakespeare. l heard the
Governor distinctly, and be said nothing
Of Banquo, Macbeth or Macduf; but
speaking Of the iron.clad oath taken by
Dorsey B. Thomas in 1869, and his cir
cular to the people of Haywood in 1861,
be said the circular rose to confront
Thomas, and sat heavy upon his soul like
the ghost of the murdered Clarence upon
King Richard on the morn of Bosworth-
field. The a~llusion was historically cor
rect. On the night before the battle Of
Bosworth6eld, in l4S5, Richard lay in
his tent dreaming and racked by horrid
visions Of his murdered victims, when the
ghost Of Clarence appeared to him and
said:
"Let me sit heavy on thy soul Tomorrow;
l that was washed to death with fulsOme wine,
Poor Clarence by thy guile betrayed to death:
Tomorrow in the battle think on me-,
And fall thy edgeless sword; despair and die"
1t will be remembered that the young
Prince Clarence was thrust into a butt Of
Malmsey wine and drowned.
Had Governor Porter stopped here it
would have been well for him, but ia
criticising Dorsey Thomas vote on the
bill to exempt the property OF manici
pal corporations from attachment and
execution, the Governor descended to
demagoguery unworthy of himself. He
pictured a poor lsborer, living In a rent
ed shanty on the bayou, With wife aud
children. The laborer after toiling hard
for the city two months, goes to the city
Treasurer with his oertifc cate Of the
amount due him and asks payment, and
is told by the Treasurer be cannot pay
him. But saya the man in pleading
tones: II must have the money. My
wife and children are starving, and the
landlord thyeatsns to drive them oct into
the street because | have not paid my
rent" The Treasurer, annoyed by his
importantly, rndely orders the man 10
leave his Office, saying he has no time to
listen to speh stories. The man, stung
to resentment and despair by such inias-
lice and cruelty, seeks q lawyer to bring
suit against toe city and tells his piti'ul
tale. The lawyer sympathizss with the
poor felloF distress, but tells him il is
useless to sue the city, because Dorsey
Thomas has made q isw exempting all
city property from execution, The
Governor thea said no Democrat would
approve such a law. In the face Of this
/, read the following act passed by a Dem
ocratic Legislature on the 10th Of March
1875, aud approved by james D. Porter
{ Governors
p Chapter s2, section 70. The public
property OF every municipality Of ever
character and description, used to
0 strictly municipal purposes, shall be ex
: enpt from seizure by attachment, exc
q cuGou, or other legal process; nor shsl
0 its funds in the hands Of its Treasure
! or depository be subject 10 gsrpishmen
or other legal process"
o The exemption Of property used 70
y municipal purposes from execution wa
" a we'll recognized principle Of law befor
% Dorsey Thomas was born, and is the Law
| believe, Of every State in the Unior
= u is right and proper and no municiDa
% government could exist without it. Tn
city owns 3 few fire engines and horse
to draw them, and a few articles Of ofic
furniture and engineers instruments
o this is about ell. Ii these were subjeC
to execution, is it not manifest the cit
government could not discharge its fun'
tions2 This SOFT Of argument froI
Governor Porter will not convince q tai
e ridden people that they must submit {
mortgage their labor for generations I
g pay the interest on an extortionsfe deb
- MINOR MERIwErHER