The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-01-23

shortness, was called, whom Mr.. Kirke
encountered thirteen years ago, and again
met last Spring. a captain Of scouts in
Rosecrans' army. In delineating this
character, the speaker used the poor-white
vernacular, demonstrating, 70 the uproar-
ous satisfaction of his audience, that he
can talk as well as write '.Suihun like a
native.
These yeomen work in the fields, own
five or six slaves, and have only 20 te bet
ter informed 10 see that their real interests
demand. not only their loyalty, hut their
opposition 10 The slaveholding power
T..ey are the small landed proprietors oi
Georgia, and the other Slave States: the
bone and sinew Of the South. independent
IN thought and though msled by ignor-
ance. forming ! leaven which even now is
working the ruin OF the Rebellion. and
Fastening The tfae when the freedom-lov-
ing spirit viii set the Mon on firm and
lasting foundation.
The lecturer urged the importance Of en-
igtening this class on the grea; questions
tha, are now shaking the country. 10 Go
this. We should scatter loyal publications
broadcast. over The conquered districts; we
should. whenever we hold Il FOO. Of south
ern soil, start 4 loyal newspa per, and TINS
behind the fire Of our armies, raise q IlG HI
tha; shall enlighjen the whole South. II
women WI be at home, and they VIII read
these publications. and bring their sons
ard husbands back 10 loyalty. The south
err women had been he main-spring ot
he Rebellion. This was q work which The
s"omee az the North should take hold Of
They should hold out tho olive branch %
their Southern SISTERS. They should make
{. com oined and organized effort II this d.
rec.ion: ana every dollar that wa thrs
planted ia lie Soath, would spring up a
,ngn-in lat:e:e1l hat ana ragged bu.ter-
nuts. il might ~. hNt still man. hardy
earnest. brave, ysho. tor what he though.
was rign.. would march straight ND 10 the
cannon's noG,h. and meet death as the old
Romans :net il. wlth his back 20 fear and
his face 20 the foe. No white man on this
planet. excepting our own Northern farm
ers. possess SO much Of the raw material
of manhood as the Southern woman
When once the heel OF the Slavehoidinc
aristocrat is taken from their necks; when
they are given schools. and chance 10
rise, they win make the South. with its
prolific soil and IFS vast mineral wealth.
such & country as the sun has never YET
looked upon. Then. and from ont the
smoke and the gloom of this war that dav
must soon dawn-then the North must
look to it or the South viii ou,strip II in the
race OF civilization.
Ofthis third class of Southern whites the
speaker spoke with great severity. and
completely Gisproved the absurd claim OF
Southern cbivairy or large Shareholders to
honorable lineage and descent. These were
the men who constituted the leaders OF this
Rebellion, comprising only lSu,o0 OF the
population, and in no way % be compared,
in manly qualities, with the hardy yeo-
many.
In ske,ch;ng the characteristics Of tire
chivalrv, the lecturer said that by birth,
4 L. 4 l.
rounding. they were despots. He proved
this by graphic illustrations, and then said
il could be easily conceived how r country
governed bv such men. each one having
unlimited control Of his immediate retain
ers. would becoine-ifits rulers were band
ed together bv some great common interest
"a despotism. That was what tie South
/ had been for iiitv years, and the grea. COM
! mon Interest which had bound the South
ern ar;stocrats together was Slavery. Ever
since the invention OF the cotton gin made
Slavery profitable. and the Boston Anoli-
tionists first attacked the divine institution.
the Southern aristocracy had acted togeth-
er as one man, ana the resul, had been
hat in this coontry, which boasts that here
nothing is .rodden on but the negro and
the paving stones, there has grown up a
despotism which has reduced 5000, 600 of
free white men-of our own blood and race
to a condition no better than serfdom.-
And 20 perpe.uate this despotism-to dis
franchise the yeomen when they had got
ten him into the clutches OF military rule,
and to prevent his ever OyerthrOwing ne
gro Slavery, was the main reason the chiy-
airy began this war. And they would have
succeeded in this design--they would have
established despotism which neither we,
nor the Southern yeOmen, could ever have
overturned, had not half dozen peaceful
men, and two dozen liberty loving women,
whom we, and all ihe world, despised, 81
years ago, lit on Boston Common a small
bonfire, whose ascending flames traced on
the sky, as with the finger of God, the
words Freedom for all men, black and
white" The speaker traced the spread OF
the Abolition movement Under the figure
of this bonfire, which. after illuminating
the whole North, had leaped the borders
into the dominions of the chivalry. To
stay the further progress of that fire South
prairie, had kindled counter-fire, and be-
hind its flames they now folded their arms
and said: I'VE are safe!'' But" asked
the speaker, 'are they safe? Ia there not
in their rear a vast prairie OF living men,
and shall we not cast brand among
them-not Lrciter match, but brand
from Gods own altar Of freedom, which
shall set them abiaze, and girdle the chiv-
airy all around with fire!' lie showed
that until we did ,his-until we also en-
forced the Confiscation act, and divided up
the broad lands ofthe rebel leaders among
he poor Southern whites and our North
ern soldiers, and thus weeded out the
Southern aristocracy, and planted in lis
place a hardy, industrious, brave, loyal,
intelligent and liberty loving population,
who should be one with us in interest and
feeling, we could have no lasting peace, or
freedom, or union in this country; we
should stand ever on the crater of yolca-
no whose red-hot lava might at any hour
again break forth and deluge the land with
blood and fire.
This is a rough outline of Mr.. Kirke' 8
lecture. To be fully appreciated it must be
heard. From the beginning to the close
his audience was held in the closest atten-
ton, and scarcely stirred except when
shaken by bursts Of laughter or applause.
The lecture was based upon the personal
observation OF Mr.. Kirke, during long
association with the Southern planters, and
was full of striking incidents, blending in
their description a rich humor and deep
pathos, so well illustrated by the lecturer,
as to leave no doubt Of his thorough
knowledge Of his subject. The audience
could not fail to have been instructed and
gratifed in the hour SO pleasantly spent in