Year: 1874




had been O man of great wealth pri-
or to the war, of high character,
we'll known and esteemed every.
where. When that gentleman re-
piled to the invitation.to join in this
convention he was compelled to re-
ply that, despite the need Of his
presence, despite his desire to at
tend, he was absolutely unable to
raise ten dollars wherewith to pay
the railway fare from his home to
the City of Charleston. And this
is but one case of long and dis
tressing catalogue.


| Mr. President, it is not simply the
question of pecuniary ability, it is
the question of sympathy, it is the
question of feeling, that will always
control the intimacies of men. tits
the peculiar genius Of our govern
ment that men are left free to form
their associations, religious, politi-
cal and social. and such will ever be
the case, and all attempts by force
of law to change it will prove fruit
less and unavailing.


A word more, sir, in regard to
our military men. It is my pleas
ure and good fortune to number
among my friends and personal &C
quaintances many gentlemen Of the
United States army. I have fire.
quently heard from them express
sions in regard to the unpleasant
nature of the duties they have been
, called upon to perform since the
end of the war in the Southern
States. They have been placed in
an attitude of coercion and of appa-
I, rent unfriendliness to the people in
order to execute congressional leg
islation. They have not been al
lowed to execute these laws accord
ing to their own theory of wisdom
and propriety, OF in accordance with
their own sympathy; but they have
been placed there as a kind of police,
at the beck and call of partisan ap-
pointees. They have not been al
lowed to treat the people of the
South as they desired to do, but
they have been compelled to per-
form vast amount of most objec-
tiouable work at the call of a low,
base set of wretches, thrown to the
surface of society in the throes of
revolution and excitement.


What have you seen in Louisiana? /?
The Army of the United States,
with q soldier somewhat distin-
guished at its head, compelled to
obey the command Of such class
of political scoundrels and adven-
turers as those into whose hands
political power has been placed
against law and the popular will in
that unhappy State. How can men
who are subordinated to such crea-
lures as Pinchback, Kellogg, Pack
ard and the like, expect that they
are to be received as guests and
friends by thegentlemen over whom
they dominate, and by the people
Of whose civil rights they are made
the instruments of destruction. It
is absurd to expect it, and no SEN
sible man does expect it.


Depend upon it, sir, the human
heart is the best teacher in regard
to this matter. Whenever the
Southern people or the people of
the North shall feel that IN army Of
fcer or civilian, whether the rep
resentative OF the government or
private citizen seeking either health
or recreation, comes among them as
friend, and with the heart of q
friend, he will be received as such !:
but when he comes among them
otherwise he will not be received as
such, and all the laws you may pass
from now until dooms-day will never
be worth one farthing for the pur-
pose Of preventing it.


But, as I said in regard to this
individual case, having no personal
knowledge of Major Merrill, having
never seen him, and all that I can
learn of him in this transaction not
making me desirous of making his
acquaintance, all I can say is that
his course in this matter may in the
eyes of the senator from Pennsylva-
mia be perfectly honorable and pro-
per- but I cannot believe it will be
so considered by his brother off,
GERS OF by the American people,
whose paid servant he was and still
is It is the frs thine in the histo-
" of our country, to my knowledge.
that any officer of the United States
army has pursued for his private
gain the trade of lobbying in a
State legislature to obtain pecunl-
ary rewards for the execution OF
the duties for which he was entrust-
ed with large powers and high dis
crction, ard especially assigned to
execute, and paid exorbitantlX ten
times the amount of his Official sal
or,- And oil this for the perform