The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-04-23

At the Great = nt0n Meeting in HAM
tItOn, OHIO.
Mr.. Davis spoke substantially as fol-
lows:
Fellow citizens of the United States:
Applause, and cries of good" 81 like
that. 1t is among the humiliating thing;
of history that now at the end of the
second year of great war, while humid
reds of thousands of armed enemies are
seeking TO overthrow the Republic, in
our midst, among us who call ourselves
loyal, the craven and paltry cry of peace
and compromise has been raised. A
craven cry of peace with men that want
no peace unless they can take your ma
| tionsl honor and national domain; COM
promise with people who have thrown
your compromise in your faces, and rails
ed armies to compass your destruction.
And that cry not from men who dare
avow themselves the enemies Of the Re-
public, but from those who are as much
b meath the open enemies of the Reupb-
lie in manly courage, as they are in re-
ality equal to them in hostility TO the
| Government of our fathers. They call
themselves Union men upon conditions:
ave are for the war, but it must be con
Quoted not as the President would con-
duct IL; we are for the Union but il must
not be preserved by force of arms against
our erring sisters; We are for the Con-
stilution, but those in power have no res
pect for il, and they shall have our sup
port provided they yield to our dicta-
tion, as we are ready TO yield to South
ern dictation" laughter]; "they shall
have all The men they want against our
arguments, who are desirous TO wage
war of determination; they shall have
all the men they can get, in the face of
our arguments, telling them that the pur-
pose of the war is not TO maintain the
Constitution, but to destroy it-not TO
maintain the Union but degraded and
broken Union. They call themselves
Union men, fOrsooIhl And how do they
carry themselves in this war? Not as
becomes the patriot aud loyal citizen.
Loyalty does not stand upon condi-
tions. II does not mean sharp, wire
drawn criticisms. II means an hon,
est determination to come togeth-
er with all men of whatever
party, who are in favor of the one great
purpose TO maintain the Government
exactly as Democrats widely differing in
their private views of policy have come
together heretofore in their party caucus
es for the sake Of the success of that in
which the majority are in favor. How
do they treat the Government of the
United States7 What policy have they
not denounced? Has there been any one
course Of policy adopted by the Govern
ment which they have not opposed? Why
when the war first broke out aud armed
hands We're uplilted against the land, one
OF the leaders 10 Congress sought TO strip
the Government OF every power to put
down the rebellion, by opposing every
measure calculated TO effect that object.
la other words, protesting, as his success
sors now profess to be opposed 10 the
Government, he was opposed TO protect
ing IL; in favor of Secession, ne was OPP
posed TO putting it down. He was in
favor of peaceful measures" ''liheral
compromises" and if they would not
yield to persuasion, then let them go in
peacel Congress met. The President
called out 10000 men, according to a law
of George Washington, These men
united in howl against il. The Gov
ernment went at the work before il Free
ly, mincingly, in my judgment. Then
came Bull Run and the necessary action
Of the Government after that. Theee
men again raised the howl, and declared:
ave always told you that this was an
Abolition war, and here il is" Finally
military movements with the immense
army eliminated, and Pope was driven
back. Soon after followed another step
taken in the right direction but halting
one A conflscation bill was passed, TAX
ing away the lands and property, not OF
those in arms, the common soldiers, but
of those who led the rebellion; and that
was denounced, although those who
made the imputation overlooked the fact
that since the days of Washington there
have been conhscation laws sgainst trea-
son ON the statute books. Next the Gov
ernment applied the law tiInidly TO just
those within the lines of the Federal
troops. Then they cried out the second
time, that this war was not for the BEN
eft of the white people of the United
States, but for the negroes
Then came the next great act of
the President, declaring free All
those within the United States. What
an agonizing cry this brought forth -
"Now the reality is confessed y . Now
you have gone the whole hog Of Aboli-
tion p' snow we find the vote upon the
Crittenden resolutions a political move
ment TO prosecute the warp The gem
tlemen who,make these imputations never
refer 70 the law on the Statute books OF
the late Congress but one, giving ths
President the whole power TO use the
negroes as he might think best in putting
) down the rebellion. Whether the Presi.
dent can confer legal title 10 freedom
or not, men may differ, in my Judgment
he cannot wanted Congress to supply
the defect At the last session, and trus
in God il will az the next session.
want il TO say that the President car
take ocgnisance of IT, Letit be fixed bJ
legal enactment. l want 20 open ques-
tion. want il so il may be in ,heol
not only in time Of war but in time o
! peace. want il radically legal meas
! ure, tilt il worth prOelaiming AZ all, il Il
: worth making legal fact 10 can b.
, effected only by the uuited action Of th'
9 legislstive aad military power.
II. al