The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1862-10-08

own mouths, We give few extracts from
The celebrated speech delivered by Hon.
A. II. STEPHENS, in the Hall Of the House
Of Representatives in Georgia, short /
time before he was sucked into the swirl \
ing whirlpool Of the Southern rebellion.
That the Government Of our fathers
with all its defects, comes nearer the OBJ
jects Of all good Governments than any
other on the face of the earth is my set
tied conviction. Contrast II now with
any on the face Of the earth. ("England,"
said Senator TOOmbs.) England my
friend says. Well, that is the next best,
grant but think we have improved
upon England. Statesmen tried their
apprentice hand on the Government Of
England, before ours was made Ours
spring from that, avoiding many Of its
defects, taking most Of its merits"
A few months later, and this same Mr.
Stephens, chosen Vic President Of W
Confederacy, declared that the idesl Of
the founders Of our Government were
fundamentally wrong, and that the South
had founded better GovernmetA whose
chief corner stone was African Slavery.
"Compare,my friends this, Government
with that OF Spain, Mexico, the South
American Republics, Germany, Ireland
are there any sons OF ths9down troddcn
nation here Tonight? Where win YOU
60, following the sun ir its circuit round
our globe, to find a Government that bet
ter protects the liberties Of its people.
aud secures TO thCm the blessings we
enjoy (Applausq.) TA,iak that one Of he
sUils that Jesei as IL A sUBFEIT OF LIBERTY, an
snajeyaHce ofHiep ric slsw blessings for which
we are ungTafeful."
How trEe, on Mr.. Stephens
Mr.. Stephens after enumeraiing some
Of the Supposed evils which the South
suffered, all of which he proved had their
origin in Southern legislation, under
Southern Presidents continued:
snow, suppose IL be admitted that all
of these are evils in the system, do they
/ overbalance and outweigh the adyan-
tagCs and great good which this same
l Government affords in a thousand innu-
merapF ways tnSI cahhOt De estimated
Have We not at the south, as well as the
| North, grown great, prosperous and hap
DIV under its operation? Has any part
| of the world ever shown such rapid pro-
/ gress in the development of wealth and
/ all the material resources of national
i power and greatness, as the Southern
states had unuer the General Govern
ment
The influence oil the HoYernm MT on us
is like that oil the atmosphere around us.
Its benefits are SO silent and unseen, that
they are seldom thought OF or appreciat-
cd Inc organization oil society has
much 10 40 WIN development OF the
natural resources oil any country or any
lana. Our institutions constitute the ba-
SIS, the matrIx from Which spring all our
characteristics oil 1eVelopmenl and great
ness LOOK at Urcece. There IS the
same fertile sol, the same blue sky, the
same inlets and harbcrs, the same Kgeani
the same olympus there rs the same
land where Homer sung, where Perieles
spoke; 1t IS IN nature the same old Greece
but IT IS living Oreece no more. De
seendants oil the same people inAabit the
country gel what IS the reason Of this
mighty ulnerehee IN tue must oil pres
en' degrauauoh' we see the glorious
Tashehts OIL anolen, "orAs Oh art--tem-
PIES win ornaments ana inscriptions
that excite Wohuer anu odnirouon-the
remains o. once h'gn order oil clVillza-
uoni "hich nave outilVeu me Language
they spoke-upon thSnl all lehabod is
Wrltten--iheiT glory Is departed. Way
is thls So answer thelr ipsp;ations
nave been destroyed, Ihese were but
the fruits OF their forms 81 government
the matriX IRON Whlch their grand
development sprung ana when once the
institutions oil people nave been de-
s'royeG' mere Is no ear'hiy power thal
can Drlhg DacR the Fromethean spark Ia
klndle them here again, any more than in
that ancient land of eloquenee, poetry and
song The same may be said of Italy
Where is Rome once the mistress Of thu
world Z There are the same seven hills
now the same soil, the same natural re-
sources; nature is the same; bat what a
ruin Of human greatness meets The eye o.
the traveller throughout the leugthsan
breadth Of that most down-trodden land
Why have not the people of that Heaven
favored cline the same spirit which ami
mated their fathers 1t is the destruc-
ton OF. her institutions that has caused
1t and, my countrymen, If we shall il
sirov those institutions which bo ns,ri.
otieiband OF our fathers fought so long ano