Year: 1866




This Of course refers to the cores
pondence between Hon. Edmund
Cooper and his friend and relative
Senator FriersOn of Maury cobnty


We have hitherto refrained from motto
! ing it, but now that a great deal of pub
licity has been given it, we will say q
word We do not intend TO publish it,
for the reason that we would therby
/ sanction breach of faith unprece-
/ dented IN the annals of political his
tory. True, there is upon the part of
Mr. Cooper, nothing particular in the
| cOTrespOn understanding but what he
has openly aVowed time and time
again But as it showed upon
its face that it was intended as private,
Senator FriersOn had no right to pub
lish il without the consent of Mr..
| Cooper. Mr.. Cooper regarded the re-
ply of Senator Frierson as a private
letter from a friend and relative, and
never once thought of seeing il in
print. Even Senator Frierson at the
outset regarded the correspondence IS
a private affair, and it is to be regret.
ted upon his part that he did not con-
tinue in the same opinion. The truth
of the matter is, that in private life
Senator Frierson is a most estimable
christian gentleman, but he is totally
unsuitable to battle with the intrigues
Of politicians He is too good man
to enter upon the stormy sea of poll
tics. He has treated Mr. Cooper badly,
and the only excuse for him, is his total
ignorance of the cunning and even
rascality of professinsl politicians Like
a great many other things, politics is
trade. Senator Frierson has not
learned it and never will. Let him
abandon politics and return to the
"Frierson neighborboOd" in Maury
He will then be contented and happy,
and he will never again allow himself
to be persuaded so far TO forget him
self as TO be induced to publish private
correspondence. Neither Mr.. Cooper
nor his friends care much about the
matter any way, except that they are
mortified at seeing so good man as
Senator Frierson made q tool OF by
reckless gamesters in politics. There
is not single line, letter, syllable or
word in Mr.. Cooper's letters Of which
he IS aS1dmeU-uOb u bluSl0 B6HIlu6uL
he is afraid to avoW. He assumes no
new position; Utters no new sentiment,
and in short, his whole correspondence
from beginning to end, is but the re-
iteration of bis public speeches when a
candidate for Congress in this district.
Indeed they are more than this. They
but express what he has said more
than a thousand times in private to
his friends in Tennessee. The publi-
cation of the correspondence was, there
fore, as useless as it was unjust. But
this does not relieve Mr.. Speaker Fri !
erson Of the censure which must inevi-
tably attach to his name forever. He
has, without cause, without reason,
without excuse, published private let
ters without the consent of their au.
thor, and must suffer the penalty.


If Mr. Cooper was to publish some !
private letters in his possession, written |
to him about the commencement of |
the war, he would make some of our
radical friends feel ridiculous. The |
writers OF them, however, need not be |
for with him private CORES
pondence is sacred.


Having said this much, and with no |
wish to criticise the peculiar style of |
Senator Frierson's production, we now
drop the subject.