Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1865-04-12
Governors Inaugural.
The Inaugural Address of the new Governor was
delivered on tho 9th of April, ms follows

Gentlemen Of The Senate,
and House Of Representatives
The period has arrived, fixed by the Amended
Constitution, for change In tho Executive affairs OF
the State, by tho election of civil Governor This
distinguished honor by the generous confidence OF
the loyal people II Tennessee, has been conferred
upon me, The oath required by the Constitution
has been administered 10 me, and j NJ once enter
upon the high and responsible duties pertaining TO
the office, Without aiIectaton, may say none can
realize moro sensibly than myself the weight of
these responsibilities and the ability required for
the faithful and profitable execution Of them None
can feel more sonsby than do, the moderate quail
ilcations bring TO the dischargeof these duties and
the want Of experience in legislation which in some
degree might atone for my want of ability, j have
no doubt that each of US will properly appreciate
the responsibilities under which we are placed, by
the fact that we are here TO egsatc SO Ms TO promote
the physical the social, the intellectual and the re-
lgiOus welfare of the State, OF one thing, gonte-
mon, can assure you, and through you those whom
you have the honor 10 represent bring with me q
settled determination TO discharge these duties 10 the
very best ofmy limited abilities wihan equally deter
mined purpose Of faithfuncss integrity, impartial
ity and devotion to the State, and the generous peo
pie who have placed me here to the close of my pc
rioa Of service
am free TO admit that have been promoted tc
see without regard to old party lines, and am just
ly expected by them to administer the executive du
ties with view 10 no partizan or selfish purposes
and thua palovoA Of many of tho trouhos and buy-
dens which invariably connect themselves With
mere party triumph am left free with you, geqte-
men, to follow the suggestions of patriotism nd
duty--and to know no man because he has been
whig, or q democrat, but to know ALL MS they may
honor the Federal Union.
The maxim is one of long standing, and Of world
wide renown, that the pen is mightier than the
sword" This lis sort of half truth that in the
midst of popular speech has obtained the stamp of
authority and henceforth has passed current with
out very close examination to it, correctness"
Major General Thomas, II true soldier, and II modest
gentleman, might utter this MAXIM but the rebel
General Hood, less modest might question It's cor
rectncss alleging that his experience has taught him
that the sword has made the pen powerful, and
pointed its periods
And though often used as the instrument of wrong
and injustice, patriots philanthropists, and even
christians will not fail to remember the invaluable
service of the sword in the cause of truth and lib
erty; they will remember that il wrdng the great
Charter of English Rights from the hands of an OBJ
stinae King; they will remember that, in the grasp
of an inexorabe people, the sword perpetuated their
rights at the block, where Charles the First lost his
head. Coming down TO our own day and time, the
sharp logic of the sword has solved with its trench
ent blows The Gordian Knot of Southern ndepen-
dence! The pen did its work in the getting up of
this rebellion, by "nstructing the Southern mind
and firing the Southern heart" but Grant, Sher-
man, Sheridan, Thomas, Farragut and others, by
the use of the sword have brought the Southern peo
pie to consider seriously whether or not "the tri-
umphs of peace are greater than the triumphs of
war
Gentlemen, your Amended Constitution wipes out
the institution of slavery and denies to the Legisa-
ture IN all time TO come the right TO recognize prop
erty in MAN In this sweeping act of Emancipation,
you have in due time, abated a nuisance which for
years past has obstructed all the avenues to agri-
cultural, mechanical, manufacturing, and CONNER
cial development. In this emergency the duty Of
prompt action becomes imperative, and even the ad-
vocates Of gradual emancipa tion-which means the
gradual puttinSdown Of the rebellion-leund them.
selves powerless in the claims of higher civil and
State necessity which demand the prompt abate-
ment of the evil. The wicked authors of this re-
bellion were told that in the Union and under the
Constitution, their slave property was safe and that
it could not be safe anywhere else Not one year
elapsed after the war commenced before the insttu-
terly demoralized. The owner lost all control over
his slave; and the slave having got OFT of He Onion,
and from uder the Constitution, has either been tim
Grating at will, or lying around loose!
The history of the past shows to every candid
Tennessee 1t has been a stumbling block in the
way Of her advancement. Her people have felt the
effect of its degrading influence, and her growth and
prosperity have been retarded by the exclusion from
her borders of both capital and educated labor.
One Of the signs OF the times is, that the natural
features of the Southern States are now everywhere
expatated upon, in order that enteprisng emigrants
may be led to come among US, and add to our capt.
tai and enterprise Tennessee holds out Inducements
border State offers. The soil, from johnson to
Shelby possesses extraordinary fertility it abounds
in clear and delightful gushing streams; its mineral
wealth Of coal iron, lead, zinc, copper, and other
valuable products, is inexhausrible It's climate is
mild and salubrous, avoiding the extremes of both
North and South, and atfording remunerative mar
kets for everything grown upon our prolific SOIL
Land is cheap and by no means difficult to clear
No State is so admirably adapted for the growth of
cereals fruits grapes cattle sheep, hogs horses and
mules The winters are short, and generally so mild
that stock may run out without particular care The
summers free from the intense heart of the Gulf
States, and the entire State abounds with valuable
mineral springs, many of which are handsomely inn
proved, and before the rebellion were places ofpop-
ular resort.
The signs OF the times indicate very clearly that
the war is about drawing TO Il close that the rebels
are exhausted that their Commissariat has no food
and their Treasury no money that their army is
melting away by desertions and deaths on tho bat
tie field, and that there are no materials left with
which to fill up their depleted ranks. In short there
is everything to encourage the friends Of the Union
rs they enter upon the summer campaign; but there
is also everything to admonsh US that we must grid
ourselves for our best efforts The hardest work,
nay, the bloodiest work of the war is in all proba
bty ahead Of US, in Kidding our country Of guer-
rllas robbers and professional thieves passing for
Confederate soldiers.
But gentlemen, this great conflict has had its
useful lessons. We understand-now the full mean-
ing of that abominable doctrine of State Sover-
eighty the Southern Interpretation of which has
involved US in all our troubles. For thirty years
past the iniqutous phrase of State Sovereignty
has worked its way into public documents political
speeches and paforms-into every reasonable daily
and weekly journal of the country, and finally into
the common language of the honest people until it
was understood to mean that there was no other
sovereignty in America but STATE Sorereignty--
that the greatest amount of this wa lodged in the
Cotton States, and that whatever they resolved TO
do, it was marvellously proper to perform Even in
the pulpits Of the South the changes wereIung up
on the mischevous doctrine of Estate Sovereignty"
backed up by the unboundcd influence of the worst