Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-05-17
nennrnflon DnI.

graves IN tnal CITY, NASSAS Sf~~~S -
"the increlib sweetness Of Aristo'
ties diction," but the diction of the
great philosopher would have been
but words, simply words, but for the
gems of profound philosophy that isy
imbedded in them. We may net onlS
commend the beautiful style Of Mr.,
Busbee, but it strike, US that nothing
has been said upon these interesting
occasious-nOw regarded as heart
holidays 10 the Scuth-thst SO aptly
evokes the philosophy of the war, and
its logical effect upon the autonomy OF
the States, which instead Of tumbliug
to fragments upon the pedestal the
fathers built is now, as q result OF the
war, more securely anchored than ever
before. 1t vas, as Mr.. Basbee says, q
protest against centralizatiOn-but the
recent utterances of the Judicial and
legislative departments show that the
true equipOise between the Federal
and the State governments has at last
been attained, and there will be DO
dissenting voice to the sentiment that
the New South" has a stronger and
more vigorous civilization by reason
of the fact that no slave breathes with.
in its territory. Mr.. Busbee closed
his speech as follows:
Eighteen years have passed since,
amid the foot hills of the great nouns
tain ranges of Virginia, the broken
aud eniesbled ranks of the Army of
Northern Virginia grounded its arms
before the victorious hosts of the
North The battle flags of the van.
pushed army, torn by the storms of
many contests, were laid away forever.
Amid the tears of battle Scared vet
Grams the hopes of people were for.
ever buried. The war was over; the
surrender Of Johnston was but
question Of a few hOurs-the blood so
freely shed, the privations so patiently
endured, the strife aud agony and sac.
rifces, had been jn vain. The national
unity Of the States had been preserved,
and the soldiers OF the Coafederacy,
poor, ragged, sick with disappoint-
meut, crushed by defeat. yielding to
resistless destiny, turned their faces
toward their desOlated homes to be.
gin anew the battle of life. 1t seems
50 needless, so barbarous, this war be-
tween the States; this sacrifice Of hu
man lite, this holocaust of death.
But was il SO? | conceive that in all
history DO revolution against the
tide Of eneroaehing power AGAINST cen
trailing control in a republic, is ever
fought in vain. We could not in the
gloom of defeat. before ADVANCING
years began to lift the fog, scrutinize
the result and extract the good. But
50 surely as the struggle, its incidents
and outcome, come to be written in
the cold light OF history, SO surely will
it be seen that people who 20 to war
in defiance of a principle do not fight
in vain although they fight without
final victory. The war was not with
out It's benefits to US and even now we
can discern them. 1t was inevitable
Sooner or later it had 70 come. Itcould
no more have been avoided than you
could have stayed the movements OF
the tides 1t ought not to have been
unavoidable, to be sure, just as a man
ought not to become diseased. but it
was. So long as society remains ir-
rational, so long as human govern.
ments are imperfect, will the sword be
the final arbiter. 1t is a survival oil
the savage nature that the refining
hand Of time has never obliterated, 4
remnsnt Of the ages long ago. | say
that the war with all its dark cata.
logue Of horrors brought in its train
many compensatory blessings. 1t de-
veloped the manly virtues Of our PEG
pie. their inherent fortitude and self,
sacrifice 1t is something to have il.
lustrated the valor OF "a people; to have
carried a nations flag without dis
honor through hundred battles; Il
have set an example to coming ages o.
what unsel6sh heroism can accom-
plish; to have immortalized a State
to have accepted defeat with forti
tude--and this We did.
1t destroyed the institution of slav
cry. / believe that in the history o.
nations there is ne comparable exam,
pie Of the destruction of great socia
landmark that was so freely given W
as slave property in the Southern
States. Embedded as it was in tn,
constitution, and fostered in the con
sciences of our people, yet when i
persisted as one of the results of th,
war We speedily and willinglyacceptet
the event, and now we can see that ii
overthrow removed from our human
ity what had been an incubus and
blight. And the South Of to day, tn
new South as it is frequently termed
has a stronger and more vigorous civ
ilization by reason Of the fact that n
slave breathes within its TERRITORY
Again, the war built upon more cef
taiL- aud enduring foundations tn
government of the United States.
was a protest against Capitalization
1t has established the true equipois
between the government aud the SOY
ereign States. The pendulum, it
true, during the war and for yea
afterwards swung far towards tyrann,
But as the years go by and IL
times are becoming tranquil it
swinging back. The legislation
Congress, the decisions Of the Supreu
Court Of the United States, ate
this fact. And to-day the governmel
stands upon a broader and strong,
basis than it has ever occupied befor
| do not elaborate these thoughts.
merely mention them as some amor
the many resultant benefits of the wa
Nor have | time to mention othe
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