Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1862-06-12
A Rebel Leaders RecantatiOn.

Ills Te,os Of he Past and WISHES for
the Future.
front the Nashville Union
On Monday, the I'd inst, the market
house at Lebanon was crowded sometime be-
fore the hour Of speaking by people from
the country principally, who all seemed to
manifest the greatest eagerness to listen to
the discussion ofthe great and all absorbing
issue Of the day Ex.Gov. Brown being
present, large number Of his old friends
expressed desire to hear his views on the
state of public affairs and the duty of Ten.
nessee in the crisis. He complied in an ad-
dress Of some thirty minutes
GOV. BROWNS SPEECH.
The Governor said that his appearance
on the rostruln to. day was in truth very un.
expected.to himself He had left Nashville
this morning to visit sick relative, and had
been urged and PRESSED by old and esteem
cd friends, endeared to him by many years
Of fidelity and kindness, to stop and mingle
again with them on that OCCASION and give
them his views upon the state OF public at
fairs, the aspect Of the war, and the proper
course to be pursued by the people Of Ten
nessee in view of all the circumstances. =
The men who asked his couasel wero faith
ful friends who zealously supported him in
the hottest, most exciting political contests
Of past years, when he was their chosen
candidate for high official honors. Aud
now, although his political career had closed
forever, and he was no aspirant Tor office,
he felt constrained by the sacred ties of an
cent friendship and hospitality to tender
them his sincere, unpreiudiced aud candid
counsel in their hour of gloom and trouble.
lie could refuse Tenncsseeans nothing, for
he loved the old State as a mother, and lv-
ing and dying was hers forever. These were
indeed strange and troubled times. For
twelve months civil war, with all its fierce
passions fiery rescntments and bloody broils,
had ragged over our borders, and this State,
once bright planet in the galaxy of the
Union, had raised the standard OF revolt
and Joined the Southern Conicderacy. lie
declared that he was not, never had been,
aud never could be Sccessonist. lie had
devoted the prime Of his manhood to the
service of the Union, and could never cease
to love it. But last spring, against my
earnest counsels, and my deliberate judy.
mcnt. repeatedly expressed in public, the
question OF disunion was raised, and sup
ported by influential leaders and power
iul and active party. The people seemed
hurried off by frenzy. When he saw the
avalanche descending upon us, irresistible as
tEat which breaks its ICY cable and glide.
on Its mission of ruin from an Alpine sum.
NIT, when he saw that he could no longer
struggle to any purpose against the tremen
dous storm, he determined, come veal, com,
woe, he would stand by Tennessee His op
position would have been useless any longer
1t would have ended in street brols and ia
! nj nj L. ~. al.
for the present. Old friends, once his ar
dent supporters, cursed him al Black Re
publican, a Lincolnite. and an Abolitionist
as though he would like to ly the countr,
and leave scene of horror and misery lo
which he had no appetite But he fell
that this would be unnanly, and that h,
would stay and use his inhucnc, to modrrat,
the fury ofothers, and protect his old friends
Ills prayer, like that of MeGregor, was tha
1 the heather on which he trod alone nigh
bloom over him dead He aid what he fel
was his duty, hut he felt di-eenaolate, heart
broken, unhappy He would rather di,
than lead life made of such dark an,
dreary and bittcr years as the one throug
which he had just passed. He had seel
young men, the hope and flower ofthe State
discounted, wandering hithcr and thither
scattered now from the prisons along tn
Northern lakes to the marshes and can,
brakes in the interior of Mississippi. II
would not go into discussion of this con
troversy, or its causes. Whether the Nortl
was light, or the South, or whether botI
were wrong, It was not his purpose to al
gue He wished only to say, that in his de
liberate Judgment, taking all the facts Il
they now present themselves, into n.lcr
alton, he was bound to declare that this re
bellion was played Quit was an utter fail
ure. lie had ties the dearest in nature {
the Southern side. His only brother was
prisoner, and his two sons were in tn
Southern army, and to-day he would Civ
las right arm to bring them back. He NJ
yer asked them to go there. They wen
against his Judgment, 1t was his solem
duty to tell his old friends that the Confed
crate cause was ruined and hope essly lost
He never had been u dcsponding man, bu
for months he had felt no faith in the rebel
lion. He had not scrupled to say so to a
his friends The longer it lasts the worse
will be for the South. He had tho satsfac
ton of knowing that he never asked. ma
to vote the Secession ticket All he di,
Say was, that If Tennessee voted herself on
Of the Union she could take him with her
but she could not make him vote for Seces
sion. But leaving this he would addrcs
the very ilerccst and most rapid Secession
lists a,ive--he would suppose what was no
so, that the crowd before him were sucl
force fire eaters that they literally ate anC
sparklcd fire--and then he would ask them
as men of sense, if they were not compell
ed to relinquish all hope Of resisting tn,
\ Federal Government successfully? Let u.
look at these things without false pride.
| Hero wo'have 90, ZOO, 600 of white peo
pie against a littlo over 5000, 900, with 4.
ono, 900 Of slaves. The q, 600, 600 have the
whole power Of along established Govern
ment-the revenues, the navy, the miltar,
power, the markets and commerce Of the
world, wealth and manufactures, with an
amazing increase of active and enterprisinp
population. The six millions have no com,
merce, no manufactures, no navy, no immi
grafton, no munitions of war. Here is d
simple problem of numerical strength. The
North and the South are equally brave. No
Northern man can whip three Southerners;
no Southern man can whip three Northern.
ers. All men Of sense know this to 30 the
fact, Now ho did not for a long time be-
lieve that this trouble would end IN war. He
thought when Tennessee was arming her.
self fthat the storm would blow over. He did
not even think :here would be war after