Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-04-22

lican. He was appointed judge of the su-
preme court of the United States by Mr..
Lincoln, and has been-what was most
needed on that bench-not only an
upright, but a perfectly fearless magls-
trate. Judge Field never lodged. On
all constitutional questions arising out of the
war and reconstruction, Judge Field blew
the dust of political prejudice from the scales
of justice, and held them with stern and
even hand. He never attempted to evade a
great question of right or law, as some OF
his brethren did, by sending the case off on
q technicaity, or finding an excuse for refus-
ing q hearing on the very merits. He always
went straight to the heart of the matter, an /
IN every case, whether relating to the rights
of States or of persons, he has boldly taken
the responsibility OF declaring the constitu-
ton, without regard TO the interests of polit-
ical parties, or to the claims of extraordinary
powers by the congress or the administration.
A volume of Judge Fields opinions In the
cases arising out of what were called war
measures, would prove monument to his
name, more honorable and durable than the
decisions Of any English judge that ever
bearded The king, or resisted the threats and
bltndisk lnHnts of corrupt court. de was
with tn chief Justice on the legal-tender
clser: he was with Clifford and Nelson IN
every ease under the so.called reconstruc-
ton laWs, and in every case involving the
liberty of the citizen. Some of these de-
cisions were rendered at a time when service
Judges all over the land were cringing to
power and when it required not only the
calmest Of judicial tempers, but the highest
order of manly courage to deny the right OF
the government to deal with the conquered
States as it saw ct, or to arrest political OPP
ponents without warrant, try them by mill
tary commission, and shoot them to death
with musketry. Judge Field would have as
a candidate none Of the disadvantages Of a
long political or legislative record, requiring
explanation and defense, HIS nomination
would put tbs party on the aggressive, and
the enemy would find in his life and charac-
ter no means of putting it on the defensive.
He is from the far west, and should be ac-
ceptable to the western States. He is from
the gold State, State where specie payments
were never either suspended or resumed; and
should be acceptable to New York and the
east. His nomination would give the Democ-
racy the three Pacific States without their
striking a blow for them, and enable them
to concentrate their efforts on In
diana, Ohio and New York. The
romance of his life. the spotless purity OF
his private and judicial character, the
absence of any record upon which he could
possibly be assaulted. and the electoral votes
of the three Pacific States-otherwise worse
than donbtful-with which he would start in
emlnently available. Should the Pacific coast
present his name, the Democrats will, if they
are wise, think twice-yea, thrice, before they
eject him. Either Stephen j. Field or Sam
uel J. r. ndall would carry the country with
ease against any candidate the Republicans
can name; but with the two on the same
ticket, the opposing party would be annlhl-
lated. Yet we must not suppose that the
sense OF justice in the American heart is dead.
The cipher dispatches have not injured Mr..
Tilden a particle On the contrary, they
have rather strengthened him. 1t is clear
that if Mr.. Hlden had chosen to purchase,
or to permit his friends to purchase, the le-
gal naturalization of his election, he might
have had his own for comparatively lnsig-
nifcant sum-a sum which might have been
taken from his large fortune and made no
appreciate difference in its bulk. But he
spurned the proposition, and Indignantly
stopped the negotiation. If the Presidency
is 10 be put up at auction, | will not be a
bidderr How many rich men would have
resisted the supreme temptation as he did
Had the expression which he uttered fallen
from some virtuous candidate for the purple
of imperial Rome, it would have been handed
down to us by history as a saying OF lmuor-
tai worth. The important question with re-
gard to Mr.. TiIden is of another kind. If it
shall appear that in the winter of 1867,
he shared the weakness of Bayard and Thur
man, and that at crisis when courage and
decision would have saved the country from
the shame of spurious and fraudulent
Presidency he was violating and timid, the
people will be inclined to let him lie in the
bed that he has made for himself. OF Mr.
Hendricks We may say the same he was
Just as bold, and just as true as Mr.. Tilden
white the count was in progress, and nc
holder and 60 truer. The measure that is
melted out to the one will be me'ed out tc
the other"