East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1861-04-11
EAST SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, APRIL II, 1861.
ONE OF THE SPEECHES.

Gen. Riley, in the course of heated
debate in the Missouri House of Repre-
sentatives on the Sth Of February de-
livered himself of the following:
"We have lost our proper position. We
have assumed sloshindicular or a diago-
nalogical position. And what is the
cause? Echo answers, "Buncomb," sir
"Buncombe." The people have been fed
on buncombe, while lot of spawned,
ring -boned, hamstrung, wind CALLED,
swine-eyed, pit-hoofed, distempered, poll
eviled, pot-bellied politicians have had
their noses in the public crib until there
amt fodder enough left to make cruel
for sick grasshopper. [Chesrs and
laughter.]
"Sir, these hungry brats keep tug.
ging at the public pap. They say, "Let
down your milk, Suky, or you'll have a
split bag" Do you think they can stuff
such buncombe down our craw? No,
sir, you might as well try to stuff butter
in wild cat with hot awl. Contin-
ed laughter The thing can't be did
The public grindstone is great in
stitution, sir-yes sir, great institution
--one of the greatest, perhaps, that ever
rose, reigned or fell. But, sir, there is
toe much private cutlery around. The
thing won't pay. Occasionally big AK
is brought in to be fixed up, ostensibly
for the purpose of hewing down the
gnarled trunks of error and clearing out
the brushwood of ignorance and folly
that obstruct the public highway of pro
gress. The machine whirls, the axe is
applied. The lookers-on are enchanted
with the brilliant sparks elicted. The
tool is polished, keenly edged, and while
the public stare in gaping expectancy of
seeing the road cleared, the implement
is slyly taken off to improve the private
acres of some "faithful friend to the peo-
ple." What is the result? The obstruct-
ions remain unmoved. The people curse
because the car lags-or, if it does move
It's at the expense Of broken wheel and
jaded and sore-backed team. / tell you
the thing won't pay. The time will come
when the usual promontories will be put
to the stone, instead of their hardware.
[ [Applause.] | am mighty afraid the
machine is going to stop. The grease is
giving out laundering fast. 1t is begin
ing to croak on its axis. Gentlemen, it
is my private opinion, confidentially cx-
pressed, that al! tho grit" is pretty near
worn off. [Applause.1
"Mr. Speaker, you must excuse me for
latitudinosity and Observation-Disclosures
My old blunderbuss scatters amazingly,
but if anybody gets peppercd, it amt my
fault if they are in the way.
"Sir, these candadical supersquirical,
mahogany faced gentry-What do they
know about the blessings of freedom p
About as much, sir, as a toad frog does
of high glory. Do they think they can
escape me? III follow them through
paRdemonium and high water Cheers
and laughter.1
These are the ones that have got our
liberty pole off its perpendicularity. 'Tis
they who would rend the stars and stripes
that noble flag, the blood of our revo-
lutionary fathers cmbalmed in its red
The purity of the cause for which they
died--denoted by the white; the blue
the freedom they attained, like the azure
air that wraps their native hills and lin
gers on their lovely plains. [Cheers.]
The high bird of liberty sits perched on
the topmost branch, but there is secess-
ion salt on his glorious tail / fear he
will no more spread his noble pinions to
soar beyond the azure regions of the bor-
cal pole. But let not Missouri pull the
last feather from his sheltering wing to
plume a shaft to pierce his noble breast
or what is the same, make pen to sign
a secession ordinance. Applause Alas,
poor bird, if they drive you from the
branches of the hemlock of the North and
the palmetto of the South, come over to
the gum tree of the West, and we will
protect your noble birdship, while water
runs and grass grows. Immense APP
plause.] Mr.. Speaker, 1 subsidc for the
present.