Year: 1875

WE thank Judge Henry G.. Smith for
the speech he delivered last evening be-
fore the chambeTo Of commerce. 1t proves
him every way worthy the position he
holds in the community whose fortunes
through good aud evil, he has followed
for forty years. Standing at the head of
his profession, man Of wealth and
socially the equal OF any man in the
State, he dares to stand for the rights of
the people assailed under the plea Of
dire public necessity. No man can read
this speech of Judge Smith, and fail to
say "amen and amen" to every sentence
unless he is lost to all the emotions that
inspire true American. What gam
mon is this We are called upon to in
dorse by those who "report to the cham
Der of commerce." Will they dare to
say that one cent OF the city debt was
stolen by the people? Was it not, if
stolen at all, stolen 10y those who
prided themselves upon their tax
lists? What poor man who owns





however humble, does not pay his taxes
regularly? Who is it that owes the mil
lion aud quarter of delinquent taxes
to the city? 1t is not the poor man, to
whom law and litigation is an ever-pre-
sent ghoul to be summed IS q thing
waiting to suck his very life
blood. Is not wealth proverbially self
asserting, sometimes insolent? And is
not poverty always shrinking, especial
ly where authority threatens? Ask
Mayor League how much he could do
to relieve our present embarrsssments
were long past-dde taxes paid up. Ask
him who it is that owe these
past-due taxes. Again: Ask him to
show the long list of returns of property
for taxation, and for the first time con-
front the wide gap between reality and
fiction. What is the meaning Of all
this dust about the people? Is it that
those who have always, since
Memphis was baby among
cities, been the favored few, may con-
tinue to profit by the sweat and
'oil OF the merchants, who are


he pride and boast OF the city,
aud also by the labor of the
mechanics. Is property dearer than
human life and human endeavOr, that
both are to be subordinated to it? Are
we to indorse Grant and Sheridan in
their infamous assailment of the Hber-
ties OF the people of Louisiana, by
a confession that we of Memphis are
unfit for self-government? No! God
forbid. Admitting our EN- mbsrrassments
to be as bad as they are painted by the
least sanguine, We must all remember
that from 1850 to 1870, nOtwith-
standing war, pestilence and panic,
we doubled our population, and
within the past four years have increased
the figures of our population at least
at the same ratio. Our troubles and
much of our debt lies not in want of q
generous increase Of population and
wealth, but in the neglect of the wealth
and intelligence" to do what Of right
they should at the ballot-box.
And there the remedy lies; and
that place of remedy We can
never afford to surrender. 1t is the
refuge OF the poor as well as the rich,
and must be guarded securely. No plea
of necessity will justify its assailment.
We repeat, then, that this report is a
dead failure; for, although it suggests
some needed reforms, REFORMS
we would willingly see enforced
by law, its barefaced and
cheeky assailment Of the dearest right
of the citizen so Ieavens it as that the
people will not see in it anything else.
They will not search the dust-heap for
the diamond. We thank Judge Smith
for his speech, and we thank
Colonel Ensley. They have spO-
ken words of soberness and truth,
in remarkable contrast with the
speeches that were offered on the
side of property against the people.
Sad, sad days these, when such report
as this now before the chamber of COM
merce should find go many good citi-
zens to see in it their only salvation,
their only road out of present troubles,
and relief from an almost overWhelm-
ing debt. 1t must be rejected. We
cannot adopt it and raise our heads as
community.