Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1865-04-26

plot botrays no madman's frenzy, Had Secretary
Seward been lsilled-and he came In ono of it--and
had Vice President johnson been killed--and no
was embraced In tho plot--wo should, rs n nation,
been out nj sea- without the officers legally 10 ro-Or.
gNnze, or again put In motion tho machinery of tho
government.
And yet fellow -countrymen, laying these oonsld-
erations aside am nj n loss to see why the malice
of roboldom should assassinate the President at this
time ] have looked out upon, and all over the
world Of imagination for mgtipe, President Lin
coin aud Secretary Seward were the best friends the
rebels had In the old Government and nj the time
of his death he was seriously contemplating the
putting forth Of n grand proclamation Of amnesty
to all rebels He was kind hearted man--an ADLER
man than he is supposed to have been, and prompt
and decisive man, with courage TO do what he be-
lieyed was right TO BIO done. His courage WINS nc
cordng TO the code of the brave derived from the
times rs carly as Homer-"rhe first in valor MS the
first In peace
II maybe that those who plotted the murder Of the
President, may have supposed from recent assaults
upon the Vice President, by leading Republican
journals and politicians, that he could not harmon
lie the great Union and war party, II So they have
reckoned without their host The great loyal heart
of the country will stand by Johnson on the basis
of the Constitution and laws. From Maine 10 CAL
iiornia We will stand by him. and hold up his hands
while he stands by tho Union. Who Is the Vice
Preident2 Who am Who are you, or any Of
you, however high you may be in position? Weare
all but atoms floating in the breeze, Our Govern
ment is everything and we are bghting-not for
men, but for great principleior the very life of
the nation Hence, repeat, we will stand by those
we have placed in power.
There are those who know of the long and deep
devotion of the Vice President to Democratic prn-
ciples, who may think he will seize upon this occa-
sion TO resurrect and reconstruct that party at the
expense of the nation. do not speak by author-
ty but venture the prediction that he is man of
too much sense to attempt to revive the corrupt or
ganzation that brought all these troubles upon the
country If he is the man take him to be, he will
retain the old Cabinet and carry out the known pol
icy of his illustrious predecessor exercising a little
more severity towards leading and intelligent Of
tenders.
But, fellow countrymen, President Lincoln is
dead, And whilst we pay these funeral honors to
his memory in the Capital Of Tennessee, the cere-
monies of his actual burial are going on at Wash
ington, Soon his mortal remains will be transfer
red to Illinois for interment. And never did the
fertile soil of the great State of Illinois close in upon
richer spoils, than when they shall cover over all
that is mortal of Abraham Lincoln!
For the President | can truly say in the energet-
! ic expressive and eloquent language of the great
Apostle to the Gentiles, IL have fought the good
! ight, l have kept the faith, have finished my
course, and there is henceforth laid up for me a
crown which the Lord the righteous Judge, will
give me in that day" Yes he fought the good fight
of the nation, and fought it successfully He kept
the faith of the Union, ms he promised the loyal
people he would do. And he finished his course of
usefulness and will be rs long remembered by a
grateful people as time shall last And in going to
another world, we may safely say of him, in the
language ofthe christian poet :" The chamber where
the good man meets his fate is privileged beyond
the common walks Of virtuous life, quite in the
verge Of heaven
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen let this sol
occasion remind us Of the shortness Of life the
certainty of death, and the uncertainty of all hui
man concerns Let us bear in mind that the world
now inhabit is not the place designed by the all
wise God for virtue and patriotism to meet with
their full reward, for vice and treason to receive
their full punishment. In this world, wheat and
tares grow in the same field wheat and chat lie on
the same floor, vice and treason walk abroad with
unblushing erontery and virtue and patriotism are
abandoned to detracton among their enemies. God
has appointed day when all these evils will be cor
rected, and when justice will be done to all classes.
Then traitors and criminals shall be punished and
patriots and christians shall be rewarded. May God
inspire us all with the zeal to initiate the virtues of
the illustrious dead, and grant us another and a
final meeting, where no wars rage, where sorrow
and death are known no moro, and where peace
and 10y shall reign throughout the long sweens of