Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-06-07

NSAAtS A~CaJ EOlA as luc IcuuCtlOa " tAS SbA-|
governments to the foOt-stOol of federal power
GOV. Harris and the old SoIdlers--A Call
umny E1efuted.
PULASKI, June l, 1859.
MEssRS. EDITORS: see that the Opposition
press is INDUCING very gross misrepresentation
of Gov. HARRIs' position up5n the question of in
! oressing the pay of the ''Old soldier" was an
attentive hearer Of the discussion between the can
didates for Governor both ct LaWrenceburg and
| Pulaski. C,l NE1HERLAND stated at LsErsneeburg
/ that:
In 1877 had With Mexico Tennessee vouaeers
there honor to their Se and TIE country. They
hOns after having planting stripes
triumph 10 the City Of Mexico And 1850 proposition
made in Ceagre give additional pay the rank and file Of
the army that had Gddings and his Adolf
ton coaort voted against IT, and member from Tennessee Was
position to that MEASURE who was he Turning to Gov.
Harris he continued a Nathan said unto David toN art The
'. HARa1', in reply, stated that his cOmpe itOr
persisted through almost the entire canvass in mis-
understanding and incorporating the provisions
of the bill referred to; that he had repeatedly ex-
planned to Col. NETHEREASD the provisions of the
bill, and begged him not to misrepresent them
That in order thst there should be no further mis-
understanding misrepre entatiOn Of these pro-
visions, he would read the bill to the audiences to
the reading Of which he especially invited the at
tention Of his competitor, so that he might, in
future, understand its provisions, and stale them
fairly whea he had occasion to refer to them at all
| Gov H. here read the bill as follows:
cH., xx-Aa Act to Increase the Raak and Fe Of ME
army, and tie encourage Eatstneats.
Bet enacted By Senate and House Of Representatives Of
tie United States OF AnsTie9 IN Congress assembled That
hereafter company Of artillery designated serving
light artillery SHALL during such service consist Of the commits
corpOra arfcers two musicians and syfeur pri
And be FURTHER enacted That the President of the
United States be, he s hereby authorized by voluntary
lsment increase the number Of pEiates in OF the
companies Of the existing Of the army AZ resent
Ing which hereafter serve at the several military pests
frontier, and at remote and distant stations
any number exceeding seventy and por
tons the army by law be serving foot to prop
gsncy Of ths public service may require the sane: PTor
that the said enmen shall! be for the term Of i've years.
SIC s. And BE- q FURTHER enacted That whenever enlist
nents are made at or in the vicinity Of the said military posts
Of transporting and subsng soldier fom the principal
enlistment b. and the same hereby aOx to each recruit 50
enlisted TO be paid in unequal instruments at the end Of each
service that the several amounts shall annual increase
the largest be paid st the expiration Of each enlistment
NoE, said Gov. H., it is apparent TO the mind Of
every man, from the reading of this bill, that it
contains no proposition TO increase the pay of the
soldiers who fought the battles Of the country in
Mexico or elsewhere. 1t is purely proposition to
Increase the sfanding army from about 10000 to about
IA or Is 900 men, and this too in time OF profound
peace.
The only monetary feature contained in the whole
BILL is bounty offered, motto the Old SOLDIER but to
the recruit, Of equal in amount to what it
would cost the Government to transport him from
New York, to the place where he was enlisted; aud
TO that extent it gives the rsu, who had never
fred smusket seen sword CLEAN in the sunlight,
more pay than was received by the old sOar-asOrB
soldier who bled every battle field and maintained
in triumph the liberty, rights honor and Tag of the
country.
Gov H. enquired if It was just, thus 10 increase
the pay Of the raw recruit above that Of the old
soldier! he said he had voted against the bill snd
would do so again under the same circumstances.
lie was opposed to large standing army in this
country in time of peace, and even in time of war
he hadrathsr rely upon the intrepid courage galaai
~ and impulse of the Tennessee volunteer to main
tain in triumph the rights and honor of the country
than any standing army on earth.
Gov. H. said that it was strange that his compel
itor when examining the vote upon this bill had been
unable to find any votes against it except GIDDINGs
and his abolition cohorts and himself. Strange,
that be had overlooked the fact that Gov JOHNSON,
Go W. JONES, Gov. A. G. Brown, of Mississippi,
and a great many other distinguished Southern as
well as Northern gentlemen voted sgainst it clso.
AT Pulaski, Col. n. drew glowing picture of the
brilliant achievements Of our army in the Mexican
war; Of The old soldier who had returned from the
bloody fields Of battle with and hOnors,
hObbling to Congress in 1860 and asking Congress
to increase his pay as to give him small pit |
tanoe 10 aid him in his declining years. He said |
that some generous man in Congress offered q bill
to increase the pay Of the rank and file of the
army, the new recruit, not the officers, and that
GIDDIXas, the hOary headed abOLiOnists from Ohio,
voted against it. Mann voted against it. oArY
1oted against it, and one man from the volunteer
State, Gov. HARRIS, voted against it.
Gov. HAREIs in the course of his reply, said that
lie very much regretted the course his competitor
lad taken upon the question of increasing the pay
II the old soldier.
He said that he understood his competitor as Ia
.orirg to make the impression upon the mind Of
he audience that he, Gov. H, had voted in 1850
gainst increasing the pay Of the old soldier ,cho
ed fought the battles Of the country, and inquired
the audience if they did not understand his :
OmpetitOr. aud if that impression had not been !
eft upon the mind of each Of them, by the remarks
f his competitor?
Now, said Gov. H. just so far as that impression
as been made upon your minds, IL is utterly falss-
he bill did not propose to increase the pay Of the
d soldiers Vho had fought the battles of the country
ne cent, but the contrary it drew unjust dis
Elimination between the old soldier and the new re-
'uit giving to the new and raw recruit more pay
ian the old warwOrn soldier was receiving, or en-
tied to receive the chief snd leading feature Of Is
e bill being to increase the rank and file Of the IN
1nd11g army and not to increase the pay. Cover
II II. said he opposed to increasing the stand or
army in time Of peace, and opposed to the IN Oh
discrimination between the new recruit snd the
soldier; that he had voted sgaiust the BILL had
ted right and was responsible to the country for =
and stood there ready to justify it, and appealed n
all who we're in favor Of large standing armies in
ne Of peace to vote for his competitor, for he,
". II would never favor such policy. no
Gov. II. said that he had repeatedly explained the
ovisions Of this bill, and on the day before had =
I'd it tO.ths audience in the presence of his com