The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-11-19
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1864

a-saz1-uzss1
During the Presidential canvass OF
l648, Gen Washington Barrow made
an appointment to speak one Saturday
night, at the Court House in this city,
In support of General Taylor The
evening came, and large crowd at
tended. The democracy asked a diyi-
Sod Of time, and put forward West II.
Humphreys to represent their cause.
Barrow led of and made an excellent
impression 1t was observed, whilst he
spoke, that he had two pitchers on the
table and as many glasses. At inter-
walls he would drink from one Of the
pitchers, and afterwards pour out
glass Of wafer iron the other and take
a sip from it. When Humphrey
who by the way, was temperance ora
tor-took the stand to reply, his friends
gave a most internal yell and kept it
up for some time AS the great rebel
humbug, Beauregard, would ray, they
thought that would have singing
effect on the wings present In the
midst Of their noisy demonstration,
Humphreys filed glass from one of
the pitchers, and emptied it at single
draught All" he exclaimed, the
General has something. here that is not
water" 1t was, in truth, stiff brandy
punch. Humphreys commenced his
speech, but in few minutes the punch
began to tell He rapidly became Wig
orous, energetic, elated, merry, maud
lin-drunk; and at the latter stage
gave the audience an exhibition Of
Rice's dance, Jump Jim crow" The
upshot OF The matter was, his friends
got ashamed. took him from the stand,
and sent hin1 home.
The wing newspapers Of the city were
very conservative They would not
say anything to expose genaeman's
misfortune It would DO too bad to
take advantage Of it, TO crush him.
So the little drunken scrape of Hum
phreys was not used TO his detriment
Had Humphrey been whig speaker
he would not have gotten of so easily. /
The democratic presses would have ex-
posed and held him up to ridicule
They never missed an opportunity TO
crush a foe--if he was down, they as
sailed him, to keep him down. By such /
means they achieved success, whilst |
respectable, conservative whiggery was /
nearly always beaten.
Conservatism today is no wiser than
it was in lS4S It has not yet plucled /
up courage enough to strike an enemy |
boldly, freely and manfully. It has Z
seen its old foe, democracy, preeipitate /
the country into revolution, and en-
gage the government in murderous
war; and even now, after four years Of /
bitter Experience, it cannot muster up /
sufficient pluck TO sustain the govern
ment in the use Of every means in its |
power to punish the rebellious and to |
preserve the Union Stril1er il say,
"but let the blow be light Save
the Union but preserve the rebels /
too Stand az a mark for their mis-
silica Of destruction but return them
gentle words OF Cancellation = LEX. (
haust the means Of the loyal; but do |
not, we beseech you, do not touch the |
property Of our erring brothersf' |
Let them use the negro to strengthen /
their cause but, for the sake OF justice, 1
humanity, aud the constitution, don I
use tho negro against them Such is
conservatism Il s. ever stuck in the
mud and has not the enterprise nee
essary % get out it has never yet
achieved anything and never viii 1t
il afraid Of the echo of it, own voice
and for the rush and olamor of active,
energetic work, is Of no account 1t is
but q clog upon the wheel of progress
being ground 10 powder with each sue
cessiye revolution. Away with it--let
us hear no more of it. The times de-
Inand Radicalism--in that lies triumph.