The Portland daily press., 1877-03-13
Warm approval.
William Lloyd Garrison 10 Senator
Blaine.

Blaine.
The following letter of approval has been
transmitted by Mr.. Garrison to the Hon. James
G. Blaine:
Boston, March 8, 1877.
Hon James G. Blaine:
Dear Slr-rbough am not one of your con-
stituents, desire most heartily tn thank you
for your recent manly, eloquent and patrotlc
utteranCes il the Senate, wnile justly asserting
the validity of Senator Kellogg's election, and
the legitimacy of th claim of Gov. Packard of
Louisiana. aud of Gov Chamberlain of South
Carolina, to the recognition and support of the
general government. Be assured, to you will
be accorded the warm approval of all those
tried and true souls in the laud who remember
too vividly the awful consequence that have
resulted in the past from cowardly compromises
with the despotic and rtbelliOus spirit OF the
South to sanction any more such insane at
tempts to draw out leviathan with hook, to
harmonic radically hostile elements, and to
pacficate disloyalty by treating it with special
Consideration. OF coarse you will be most fu-
riously assailed by the pseudo Democratic Or
gans North and South; but this will be sure
proof that you have sagaclously struck the right
keynote, in the right place and at the right
time, and manfully met the issue presented by
the incorrigible enemies of equal rights and le-
gitimate government. So they writhed and
howled at the delivery of your nobly patri-
otto speech on the amnesty BILL at former
session of Congress- speech that proved as
potent as the spear of Ithuriel when it touched
the assembling toad, and evoked the demon in
his real shape-a speech to which the only rea-
sonable objection could be made was its sur
passing clemency to the whole rebel mass,
making but single exception in the person of
the arbitrator of them all, Jefferson Davis,
and he excepted only because of his official re-
sponsibility for the unparalleled horrors of An
dersonville-a speech which, by the vials of
wrath it brought upon your head, notwithstand-
inc itg nycpSsiVa mappanimltV damOD9tra ted
that nothing will ''concilIate the South but to
put the control of the federal government and
the destiny of the nation into her hands as in
the days of her oligarchal supremacy.
You will be blamed in another quarter.
There is a weak, timid, purblind, oompromis-
ing element in the Republican party which
your out-spoken words of sound reason and
timely warning will greatly disturb. because its
panacea for all our national divisions is ''cen-
cilistion' meaning thereby trucking to the
South as in the days of yore, and a stold in
difference to the fate of her colored population.
TIE elimination of this element from the party
would greatly add to its strength and efficiency
as it is ever drag in any great emergency.
That which it seeks to 'c0nciliate" by sacri-
ficing principle to expedency-is devoid of all
sense of honor, every pulsation of patriotism,
every feeling of nationality. Its wishes are
neither to be gratifed nor consulted. The tru-
ly loyal at the South need no conciliation; to
the dislOyal no concession should be made.
If President Hayes shall be true to his inaugu-
rsl professions, his administration will be a
shield of defence to the oppressed against their
lawless oppressors. God grant he may be
equal to his responsibilities! He cannot do
better than to respond in word and deed to your
noble eclaration-"W hoover else shall halt or
grow weak in maintaining it, so long as have
the strength, will stand for the Southern men
ofboM colors; and when cease to do that, be-
fore any presence North or South, may my
tongue cleave to the root of my mouth, and my
right hand forget its cunning!'
Yours to uphold justice,
VIM LLOYD GARRISON