The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1859-05-20

SVHUtDU81OuoA S@Avo
Hon. 8. =. Smith ard Col. R. B. Brab-
son, candiditsa for Congress, opened the
canvass IL Bshton' on Monday. Col.
Smith led of ina speech Of an hour and
a hall, and occupied the greater portion
Of his time IA AN effort to redeem pro.
misc he very fooIishly made on his return
from Washington at the expiration Of the
last Congress, namely, that the "Opposi-
ton, and not the Democratic. party, are
responsible for whatever extravaganza.
and abuses have orept into the admins
tration of the general government. We
have not time this week to follow the
gentleman through his extracts and par,
tiai exhibitions, but he did not begin to
do what he had promised, and neither he
nor any other man can dot by a full, fair,
candid and legitimate showing of the
subject. The democratic party have had
charge and control Of the executive and
administrative departments of the gov
eminent solely and exclusively for the
past six years,---they have had a majority
in both branches of the national legisla-
tare four out of the six years, and in the
higher branch they have had a majority
all the tirhe-and it is an absurdity, yea,
an attempt at imposition, to shirk the re-
sposibility Of their acts and to allege that
Mcy are blameless.' 1t is also the baldest
imposition to identify the few South
ern opposition members with the Black
Republican majority of the Thirty-Fourth
Congress, and to attempt, as Col. Smith
and others of his party do, to hold the
"little squad" responsible for the acts of
body embracing three hundred men,
bers. Admitting that. the Thirty-Fourth
Congress, in which the Black Republicans
had preponderance in the House, did
make the extravagnnt appropriations af-
forwards disbursed and squandered by a
democratic administration and through
the itching palms Of democratic office
holders, let us ask who gave the Black
Republicans that reponderance--the POI
sition and power to perpetrate the wrong?
The Speaker of the House at that session
was Nathaniel p Banks, of Massachu-
extraordinarily democrat, but now and
then rampant Free-soiler-who was ele-
waited to the Chair through the instrument
tality of Col. Smith. The latter gentle
man introduced the plurality action which
resulted in Banks election, and without
which Banks, or no other Black Republi-
can, could have possibly attained the po-
sition. The Speaker appoints all the
Committees of the House, and thus infiu-
ences, if not shapes and induces, the leg
islation of the session, especially the APP
preparation bills--and if the House of
the Thirty-Fourth Congress made unne-
cessary and extrayagant appropriations,
which were subsequently wasted by de-
mocratic administration and to which
succeeding democratic Congress added the
round sum of ten millions of dollars, no
man had really more to do in bringing
that thing about than Col. Smith, the
Representative from the Third Congress
sional District of Tennessee. He It was
who, by his plurality measure, placed Mr..
Banks in the Speakers Chat, of the Thir-
ty-Fourth Congress-he it was who could
always first catch Speaker Banks eye and
attention in struggle for the fioor--and
no Southern member stood higher in the
regards of the Black Republican leaders
of the Immortal Thirty-Fourth" than
our late Representative. And yet he gets
up here before the people of his District
and says, "me and my party have clean
skirts; our record is pure; but you, the
Southern Opposition, are responsible for
the corruptions and abuses which grew
up under Democratic administration
and Black Republican legislation" We
respectfully, and in candor and sincerity,
ask Col. Smith if he expects to delude
any one who has the facts within his
reach, by such nonsense? We charge that
gentleman and no other Southern men,
Der with utilization or sympathising with
Black Republicahism; but if the argu-
Ha -
ment is toibe carried out that the opposi-
ton Of Southern man to democratic ex-
necessarily Identifies him with
the sectional enemies of the South, we
stand ready to show that Mr.. Smith
should avoid its use, and that he occupies
a position from which he cannot hurl a
brick without encihngering his own crock
Asiscf 4 a.
When Mr.. Smith had exhausted his
time, Col. Brabson appeared on the stand,
and, although not as well up in his facts
and figures as he ought to have been, was
effective in meeting the points of his
and showing up the absurdity
Of his positions upon the "Extravagances
and Abuses charged in the bill of in
aictment.s Col. 7Brabson made good i'm
preston upon the crowd, and our friends
in Polk are in high hopes and confident
Of a gain.
Both gentlemen had reply of twenty
and the debate was corteous and
passed off pleasantly. 4
IS The Currency.
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