The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-09-08

ber il il takes all the offices in the State
to feed him on, aud keep him quiet.
With me there ia something more So
cred in this life than mere Office. holding.
Officers. however are necessary in or
ganized society, and in this instance I
propose to do my whole duty as a citi-
zsn and do my hest to furnish the State
for the next four years, the best that
are now offering in the political mar
ket. / have chosen to support the
Lowry tickle: as a Republican. as
against the other composed of political
mougrels, half breeds and no breed at
all, without even asking the permission
of the bronzed idol of the dark wing of
our party, who has been furnished a
chair in the United States Senate
Chamber in which to o and idle
away his valuable ~ time for six years
at public expense. and who is now wri-
ting his letters, and sending his dis
patches to old Republicans ito support
the ticket headed by Ben. KING" If
anything were wanting to insure the
the defeat of the:Ben. King ticket. the
interference of b. X. Bruce IN the af
fairs of this canvass, has done the busi~
ness. He carpet bagged himself into
this State into 1S70-after the Repub
licans who are now here had made the
fight aud won the victory-and he
wasn't here ten days before he got an
office on his color. He has been in Of
flee ever since. And while pretending
to represent Mississippi in the United
States Senate, he abandoned the State,
ard has been within its borders but
once i'll sever years, and then for a few
hours only. AS compliment to his
color, he has reaped the reward of 9th
er's labor in the field of politics in this
State. AS lie has rendered no 6quiva-
lent for the emoluments he has enjoyed,
but has left Ms i'll the hour of danger to
fight our own battles while he has been
consorting with Hayes for the complete
annihilation of his party in the South.
l can say to the gentleman in his safe
retreat IN Ohio, on behalf of myself,
and many Others of the Old Guard,
you have compelled us to get along
without aid or comfort from you as
Senator; now W. respectfully decline
your advice as to how we shall act in
this c~anvasss, and spurn your dictation
as to how we shall vote. or which ticket
We should support. This we do as Re-
publicans OF full age, and much longer
experience in the party than yourself.
Now, MI. Editor, / will bring this
somewhat lengthy letter to a close by
aiding, that L have deliberately cho-
sen my courss in this State campaign
Aud being satisfied with the wisdom of
my choice as between the tickets in the
field, propose to fight it out on this
line to the end Of the canvass. / shall
speak to the voters OF the State, from
~ Republican standpoint, and as a Re-
publican whose political record from the
birth of the party III 1856. down to
this hour, cannot be successfully i'm
peached. l have tonight the battles of
my party in this State for the last tif-
toen years with a zeal and e~arnestness
born of conviction and honesty of pur-
pose.
L have stood my ground while others
have fled, carrying with them the fruit
of my honest endeavor to build up a
Republican party here that would at
tract to 1t a fair share of the intelligence
and solid worth of the State. That ob:
iect failed, and why it failed let those
who ale now londest in support of this
non-descrpt tick~t headed by Ben.
King, answer. | have my own notions
about it; bnt an intelligent public hav-
ing long since passed upon the cause of
failure. and found justification IN the
party's overthrow as TINS constituted, l
accept the party's verdict, and have no
comments to make. | had not the pow"
er to make the party what | desired it
to be, and | was equally powerless to
save its life when the crisis came. 1t
was a revolution; nothing more nor less.
And believing in the right of revolu-
tion as a cardinal doctrine of the Re-
public, | have no right to complain, and
L do not complain
In conclusion l would invite my old
Republican friends whom I know think
and feel as l do in the matter, to come
QUE boldly ana take an open stand in
support of the ticket feaded by Gener>
oil Lowry. Let the ball be opened right
here and now. Our course is not only
defensible before the people. but is jns-
tiiable before the grand council of the
Republican party of the nation. And
certainly we have the approval of our
conscience in the step, aud our self-res.
pect, and the welfare and honor of the
State, prompt us to go forward on this
line of action without regard to the
jeers of the mendlcant, or the frowns Of
the opulent. Respectfully,
E. STAFFORD.