The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1878-12-12
Davis. Lee audLumnr.

VIC VIC SPuco "o "ouiu puulibH tle Ell =
tire speech:
Bat we need'not go back to the land
of pyramids and ancient arts, the vines
clad hills of sacred Jerusalem, or to the
long-ago history of imperial Rome, to
find examples, in every respect, worthy
of our profoundest admiration and
strictest imitation. We have them in
three men of the nineteenth century, all
of our own, beautiful South, and two
of them Mlssissippians. / refer to Da
Wis, Lee, and Lamar. I am not dis.
ciple of he~ worship, but the first of
these staAds out one of the grandest and
sublipest types of honor and integrity,
whoae fame is carved upon the tablets
of time-=a mighty conception of
manhood, in whom, are harmo
nlously blended, the characters of pa.
trict, soldier, statesman aud Christian
a noble monument of all. more last.
ing than Parian marble. No trial
through which he has passed, can break
ms eFant sFigit. no Temptations. Of
pou@ * k141ance, 144r Ills spotless ina
tegrity. UndI 6mk1s7 81 Tnisfortune,
he met the obloqu ia 1uyfcf and final
defeat az be has Ssinoe, .Ke haunting
sncers OF his--if n1k uithAsA eo,nraenf,
SAVE II The bald, of dignified language,
Christian conqueror and statesman.
dnided by principles he believed to be
right. he fell sacrificed victim to
might; yet true to principle no matter
what befell him. Only within the last
few months. we hear him declaring his
uhshaken faith in the right of state to
secede from the Union of which it was a
member by compact, voluntarily made,
and asserting that he shall die, as he
has lived, firm advocate of this inner,
cut right of the people. Though he &C
cepts the present situation in all that
is just, he advises his people to ''raise
no penitential plea for the past, by say
ing they believed they aoere right, but
to let it be transmitted to coming gen
erations, untarnished by cowardly cons
cessions, leaving time to justify, as it
surely will, the righteousness Of our
cause. And just here I will say, by
way of parenthesis, that no Southern
man who took part in the late war, stood
at his post through all those dark days,
and has remained true to his people
since, is ashamed of his record ard his
deeds. 1t is only the deserter, the seal
awag, the traitor to HE country, who
joined her enemies il her sorest trial,
that cannot look back with pride to the
part he bore in the past. IT'S he only
who dislikes 10 hear it referred to-.
The face of the old soldier who nobly
did his duty, will flush and blaze with
pleasure at the mention of it; for, while
he may regret the necessity, he can new
er deplore the action. He acted from
true principle. Than the South me Ell
nation rose so bright and fair, Nor fell
so pure of crime.
Aud when the prejudlcEs of men die
out, the truth of history is vindicated
and set forth by philosophic reason,
she will be recognized among nations
as the real exponent of civil liberty, and
the name OF her much beloved champion
be placed at the head OF the apostles OF
popular freedom, where it will shine
none the less bright because he who
bore it was not crowned with success
"Trnth crushed to earth shall rise again,
The eternal years of God are hers;
But error, wounded, writhes in pain,
And dies among bis worshippers.
GSuural I.po, Though very different in
temperament from Mr. Davis, combiR-
ed in his character every element that
is truly great, as soldier, citizen, or ed /,
ucstor of the young, he was ever the same
steadfast lover of principle, an. irres
proachable gentleman. Twas he who
said that duty is the snblimest word in
our language aud how closely .se obey
ed its exacticus; only those who know
his character best, can ever realize. 1t
was in obedience to its demands that he
resigned his commission as a Federal
officer, aud cast his fortunes with his
own people; and lie was no less it's ser
want when he offered his sword to the
conqucring enemy Of Appomatox and
entered the college halls of Lexington.
1t was the principle of his life; aud, dy>
ing, he left a name that shines by its
unbIemshed purity, the contumely of
his most vindictive enemies.
Mr.. Lamar, ever noted for his
transcendant integrity, while filling the
position of statesman, has proved him
self great under somewhat different
circumstances. from the other two exam.
Piles have just mentioned. 1t was his
to be at variance from the views of his
own people, and TO forfeit in the dis
charge of his duty, the appreciation of
those he most loved. the history of
the silver bill in Mississippi is too re-
cent to have been forgotten by many of
you. Being instructed by our Leglsias
ture to vote for the bill in Congress,
and not recognizing in it any right to
instruct him to vote against his own
convictions of duty, his action is best
explained in his own words. Standing
in his place before the Senate, after the
resolutions of instruction had been read,
he said:
"Mr. President, between these reso~
lutons and my convictions, there IS
great gulf 1 cannot pass it. My love
to the State of Mississippi | will not
speak; my life alone can tell it. My
gratitude for the honors her people
have done me, no words can express.
I am best proving it, by doing to~day
what think their true interests and
character require me to do. During
my life in that State, it has been my
privilege to assist in the education of
more than one generation of her youth;
to have given tho impulse to the wave
of young manhood that has passed into
the troubled sea of her social and polit-
cal life. Upon them, I have always en-
deavored to impress the belief that
truth is better than falsehood; honesty
better than policy;cou better than
cowardic,. To-day, must be true or
false; honest or cunning; faithful or
unfaithful to my people. Even in this
hour of their Legislative displeasule and
dlsapprobation, I cannot vote as these
resolutions direct cannot, aciH not
shirk the responsibility which my posi-
ton imposes. My duty, as see it, l
will do, and vote against this bill.
When that is done, my responsibility is
ended"
It had been the custom, under such
circumstances, for Congressman to Ell
Their violate the sense of their convic'
tions, or resign. But Mr.. Lamar chose
to do nobler part. He believed his
vote to be important, and he dared to
H.. oxyap ~, oorSaQifynu tD