The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-08-26
BLOOMINGTON, III. An9

DLOOMlN0lON, Ai<ASe <AAAc1s 49, !
NV Dear Sir: The training and
habits Of my life naturally lead me
/ to prefer civilians TO soldiers for the
great civil trust; but asuthe parties
are organized, ryoters must choose
between the candidates they pre-
sent, or must stand aloof, indifer-
ent or neutral, which no good citi-
zen ought to do Mt Presidential
election. g / have no hesitation in
supporting Hancock for the best Of
all reasons, to my mind, because his
election will put an end TO the sec
tional strife and sectional parties
and will revive patriotic sentiment
all over the land, which political
leaders and factions for sinister
ends have sought to prevent. There
can be no permanent prosperity
without pacification. Great as were
the achievements of General Ham
cock in war, his conduct in peace,
when in command of Louisiana and
| Texas, in 1864, was still greater, and
| Justly commends him to the conf
dence of the country. That was
when passion ruled in the public
councils, and military power was ex-
erted to silence civil authority. The
temptation was strong to sail with
the rushing current, for an inflamed
partisan opinion was too ready to
condone excess and to applaud OPP
preston. Gen. Hancock's order No.
40, in assuming charge of the Fifth
Military District. announced that
the right of trial by jury. the habe
as corpus, the liberty OF the press,
the freedom of speech, the natural
rights of property, must be respect
ed. These principles are the basis
of free government. and the procla-
nation of them by Gen. Hancock
stands out in striking contrast with
the action of his superior, who soon
after rebuked and drove him from
the command for uttering sentiments
worthy of a soldier The soldier,
l;elothed with. extraordinary power.
voluntarily uncovered before the civ
| il authority. sheathed his sword,
testified his fidelity to the Constitu-
tion, and sets an example of obedi-
ence to law which will pass into his
tory as his soundest claim to dis
tinction. The man who in the
midst of the eXcitements of that
stormy period, was cool enough to
see his duty clearly, and courageous
enough to execute it firmly, may be
trusted in any crisis.
His letter to Gen. Sherman, recent
" brought to light, lifts Gen. Han
cock far above the past appear
ance of the civil ability. 1t marks
him as one of the wisest of his time,
with a statesman's grasp of mind
and the integrity of q patriot whom
no sense of expediency could swerve
from his honest convictions.
A long aud unchecked position of
power by any party leads to extrav-
agance, corruption and loose practi-
ces. After twenty years of domina-
tion by the Republicans chronic
abuses have become fastened on
the public service like barnacles on
stranded ship. There is no hope
of reform by leaders who have crea-
ated a system of maladministration,
and who are interested in perpetua-
ting its evils. Nothing short of the
sternest remedy gives any promise
of effective reform, and the first step
toward it is a change of rulers. The
Government must be got out of the
ruts in which it has too long been
run. New blood must be infused
in the management ofpublic affairs
before relief can be expected. The
people demand q change, and, being
in earnest, are likely to be gratified.
a. ...,.t.s Very sincerely, r.
DAVID DAVIS.
To Hon. Jas. E. Harvey, Washing
ton City. a'' " '' +