The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-06-15

- From the Charleston COurierI
A SERENADE-SPEEC OLE HRESInENrr L

n EhENADE-SPEECHO OF PRESIDENT JEE
FERSON DAVIS.
RICHMOND, VA June 2.-President Davis and
lady were serenadFd last night, (Satprdav\ ot
their quarters, the Spotswood House. A crowd of
o,oo0 assembled and called him out when he mada
the following speech, which | am enabled IN nra.
sent to you rerbatim ct Eteratin:
SPEECH OF PRESIDENT DAVIS
Friends and Feltolc- Ctizens:-I thank vou for tho
compliment that your presence CONVEYS tits an
indication of regard not for the person but f,r tho
position which be holds The cause in which We
are engaged is the advocacy of the rights to which
we were born, those for which our fathers of the
Revolution bed-the richest Inheritance that ever
tell to man, and which it is our sacred dutv to
transmit untarnished to our children Upop ns ia
devolved the high and holy responsibility of pre-
semlng the constitutional liberty of free Govern
ment.
Those with whom we have lately associated have
SHOWN themselves so incapable of apprecistng the
blessings OF the glorious institutions they inherited
that they are to-day stripped of the liberty to
which they were born. They have allowed an ip
noranC usutper 10 trample upon all the preroga-
tves OF citizenship, and to exercise powers never
delegated to him, and it has been reserved for vour
own State, so lately of the original tbirteen-
but now, thank God, fully separated from them to
become the theatresof great central camn from,
whch VIII pour forth thousands of brave hearts To
roll back the tide of this despotism Apart from
the gratlhcation we may well feel at being separa-
tea from such connection, is the pride that upon
you devoves the task of maintaining and dafara;nr
| =
able to achieve this noble work and that the insti
tutions OF our fathers will go to our children as
sacred as they have descended to US. TApolause.
In THESE Confederate States observe those re-
Iatl0ns which have been POLITICALLY ascrbed to the
United States, but which there never had the same
realitY-States so distinct that each existed az q
sovereign, yet so united that each was bound with
the other to constitute whole; or, as more beau
tuly expressed, "Distinct as the pillows vet one
as the sea-" [Applause. Upon every hill which
| now oyerlooks Richmond you have had. and will
continue to have, camps containing soldiers from
every State in the Contederacy and to its remoest
limits every proud heart beats high with iadirna-
ton at the thought that the foot Of the inv ader has
been set upon the soil of old Virginia. TGreat
cheering.
/ There is not one true son of the South who il
not ready now to shoulder his muSket to bleed to
die, or to conquer in the cause of liberty here
lCneers. BeginnlDg under many embarrassments
| the result of 70 years of taxation being in the
hsnds OF our enemies, we must at first move eau
uousV. IL may be that we shall have to encounter
sacrifices; but, my friends, under the smiles of the
God OF the just, and filled with the same spirit that
animated our fathers, success shall perch on our
banners. am sure you do not expect me to 90
into any argument upon those questions which for
twenty-five years. have agitated the country. We
nave now reached the point where, arguments
peing exhausted, 1t only remains for us to stand by
our weapons. Cheers, and cries of "We will !'l
mneh the time and occasion serve, we shall
smlte the smiter with manly arms, as did our faith
ers before US, and as becomes their sons To the
enemy we leave the base acts of the assassin and
inceudiary, to them We leave it to insult helpless
women; to us belongs vengeance upon man. Tre-
mendoui applause Now, my friends, thank Won
again for this gratifying manifestation "a voice,
"Iel us something about Buena Vista!"l
We'll, my friends, | can only say we will make
the batte-fields of Virginia another Buena Vista
and drench them with blood more precious than
that which flowed there. We will make a historv
Tor ourselves. We do not ask that the mast shall
shed Its ustre upon bright as our past has been
Tor we can achieve our own destiny We NAV poipt
10 many held over which has loated the flag Of our
country when We were of the United States upon
which Southern soldiers and Southern officers re-
fiected their brave spirits in their deeds of darug
and, without intending to cast shadow upon
the courage of any portion of the United States,
let me call it to your remembrance that man
who went from any of these Confederate States has
ever yet, as general officer, surrendered to an
enemy. [Great applausel Pardon me if | Go not
go into matters of history, and permit me again to
thank you for this kind manifestation of your re-
gard; to express to you my hearty wishes for the
individual prosperity of you all, with the hope
that you will all pray to God to crown our cause
| and our country with success.
General McClelland, accompanied by Surgeon
Wright, left for Cairo on the 10Th ult 1t is re-