Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-02-24
.pErcu rEx.eov.NErLL 5. BROWN.

We present this morning the speech OF
this distinguished gentleman to the meeting
on The ed It win well repay perusaI, for
il is noble and eloquent appeal in behalf
of that sentiment which can alone fraternize
the country. 1t was heard with profound
attention by the vast audience:
Fellow CITIZENS: il is meet and proper that
the day should be celebrated Indeed; might
now being done at the capitol OF every state IN
thostEnion. This is an occasion upon whlcb men
Of el shades Of political OPINION ana nom al
sections of the country can harmonic. Washing
ton and his character, and opinions. and SERVICES
are common property, and upon when no an
tagonistie sentiments can ARISE; me GAY Eni S
gave him birth Is national day. ami VIII De
sacred TO Americans rs long a there remains any
practical freedom love Of constitutional he-
erty. and could his ccpnsels have prevailed. this
country would never have been the theatre OF
civil war We stand out on the pages OF history
| in majestic grandeur, a rebuke 10 all seenohai-
lsms 70 all l9is'eranes 70 az hs het, chass
than the present 70 rccur TO DIS careeIs anu ine
great events which were interweyen with his WIS
dom and sagas.t{; ~ gcea m nSr broksn
nationality, and to revive aneient recoi-
lectisns and past Fellowship; and while, all bad
men may not be engaged in opposition, an who are
| may be emphatically called men, and deserve
common execration. The storm which swept over
this country for the last four years has SUBSIDIZED
/ Its rayages have ceased. Its hoaTse echoes have
| died away in the distance, leaving behind wide
| track Of desolation and rain. and ne who would
invoke its thunders and renew rs terrible enerr
gies deserves to be branded with the mark of
| C.iH. Whether the late conflict was instigated BY
wekeaness, or was the result Of passion, or folly
| or weakness, or misfortune. or was the work OF
blind fatality, cannot alter the contingencies or
/ raodfy the line of action enioned upon all. The
field is before us, streWed with the wreck OF the
stores Of ages and of the high hopes and buoyant
il are stained with blood. and the shouts of tn
| umph. have been hushed by the wall. OF anguish.
Who enacted this great tragedy Is such an IN
| curry importants Will II cure the evil! III
| could put my finger on the man, or the combina-
| tions Of men, or the policy. combinations OF
policy. that brought this scourge on the country,
with or without cause, what profit would It De!
1t would not resurrect the golden past or relieve
our anxieties for the future. The skillfql mariner
does not stop to trace the causes that have pre-
but hurries TO the rescue by the application OF
such eXpedients as science and experience
prescribe We are in great danger in the present
| crisis of wasting our ammunition on dead game.
| instead of seeking new objects TO add 70 the
trophies of the chase. We are in danger of being
begaiIed by the past and the lingering prejudices
of the present. instead Of addressing ourselves 10
1 the future. The past is dead, and cannot hear
| your voice, or heed your elimination or your
praise The future is all eyes and ears. and teens
| With animation. Something can be done Nothing
l can be undone.
| Then.iet the past be buried amid the tangle-
weed anu unuefgroWIn that cover the fliut SCpul-
chres Of your dead legens but let the living see
| te it. that the sad lesson Is not LOST upon their
| conduct In the future.
The virtues of him to whom this day Il dedcat-
ed. too familiar TO every reader TO Justify any
| detail OF them. But prominent among them, was
his sense ofjustiee-his candor his charity and his
frmness of purp0se--aud to the constant exercise
of these. rather than to the display OF his valor
are to be traced the foundations Of the American
| Union, and the adoption of the Consultation.
There were sectional jeal0usies then In his camp
and in his councils but they stood rebuked in hi
| presence. and were charmed away by the splendor
of his virtues and the tprce OF his sentiments. In
his school Of polith, the people learned that they
were not limited by sectional corners. and that the
North had not one interest and the South another,
| Public pen then wers not sFnpled IN nnhal.
the noble business % building up, eeincnting and
adorniEg common heritage. The spirit OF him.
| to WHOM we this day celebrate. breathed through
\ every part of the Goyernment-and that spirit
/ was contagious. 1t was among the masses, a. il
| was among those in high places. That was a
! young, hgt it was a golden age-the bright dawn
| Of American emlire. Can, we. get hack to it
| And ii so, how ! answer. by adopting the max
ins. the principles, the practices. aud more than
| ali, the spirit Of Washington. What would he Dc
II he were alive and in full reign in our midst
! What would he recommendf Prescription, per-
secution and confscation. or would he be tolerant
| and forgiving? Let his whole career answer Did
| he rail and punish after Brandywine, when his
| bleeding columns were scattered over the hills
| Did he storm, and displace his officers after the
retreat from Long Island, amid the dismay and
| confusion of his young host? Did he rage and de-
! spair on that terrible night of winter when he
efa.sea the Delaware through the flow of ieef lear
ryine in his arms tbs ark at The covenant VT FREQ
| don2 Did he arraign aud try thGonnsRirstQrs-
| who plotting his ruin around his eahi, fires?
| None of all this. He was calm and'sereDs amid
1 all these turmois and defeats, these eonfusi0Ds
and pfdelites Firm as Mount Atlas when the
1 thunders ofheaven play across his brow. and the
billows of ocean roll and break at his feet" He
won TO himself and his cause strength. By his for
| bearance. his generosity and his charity.
| The same may be said OF nis course. as Presi-
don't when the RCD fire: Of Jeeohipisn wero
| blazing AROUND him, and thfeatening to consume
| the infant Republic with the lava, hot from the
| hels Of Paris His ealmless and his frmness
conquered then, as Re had conquered the enemies
And he who dnes not see in the sway Of these no.
| BILE qualities the gems Of our institations-the
seeds of our Union and nationality, has read his
tory and studied human nature to but little pur-
pose. Its much easicr0 be severe and censarious
than it is be TO gentle and forthcoming, and much
| more in harmony With cur vile mature. We are
| apt TO suppose there are something grand ever
| in the harsh exercise Of power. There Is glai'
in the stroke Of the that sewers what Cali
prisanefs doomed to sEass the iFi3mRAql eAtgy pf
their cpnquer0r=to pine Tor few months in dan
ger and then die. But hGy win all these look a
the eye of cool Christian philanthropy How will
they look when the Oppressor ard the oppressed
Of this hour shall have slept to principle thor
been obliterated from the traditions Of men! The
one builds mp; the other pulls down; the one
Furnishes the other furnishes; the one elevatas
the other degrades human nature; the one is
God-like; the other Is ieHdish; the one will out
live the stars and shine on in splendor forever.
while the other will be submerged beneath the
Tyranny and oppression, viii find their home in
ae sSS%Bsns q q Sss sseT % W@
forbearance towards his erlng countryInen, to be
Cromwell or Napoleon, or Alexander. or Caesar.
This empire is 2 great moral structure. that viii
live thrOuUh all the mutations of timn and INV
eminent, and cannot be swallowed up in the vor-
tex of revolutions. Ii is built upon the hearts
and the best affections of human nature, and will
be immortal. Thebes has already decayed, be-
cause twas reared by force and maintained by
VIOLENCE, The energies of humanity shrink and
Withef, ana DE, Under the dark sbadow of power
and oppression, There sfe certain Great Aistatiea
truths. that have been repeating themselves tn
every age?f human society, but their lessons have
JUDGES OF men. When the republicans Of France
succeeded to power over the ruins OF the Kingdom
they were not content with the maxims Of wisdom
and charity towards differences of opinion, but
brought the GuillOtine all from the King to the
Peasant who did not coincide with their wild the
cries. The consequence was, the Republic went
down, destroyed by its own excess, and France to
this bQqr bias been political volcano.
The E sh sssls alteF ness heEsie struggle
Snds ae he 81 e Of s3 y Snt pa
content with their good work, they put the PriQce
to death. and either executed or prescribed bis |
CHARLES |, became martyr; his blood cried up !
from the ground reaction ensued, and England /
had to pay the penalty of this great blunder Of |
enduring the reign of his two sOns-twO living 4
curses upon their generations. is il not obvious 1
to any calm spectator that the harsh prosciptive
policy of England towards Ireland, has alienated |
forever the affections Of that gallant people. And
gallant they are, and ever have been. They |
SPELLED for centuries the armies and nayies of |
England, eysryKAere from the rising 70 the set |
ting sup Their stalWatt yalqi e9ntribqted g tEe /
tTiumphs OF the Cross OF ST. l3EoRGE upon thou- |
sand contested 6eds-in the Indies, AMID the |
pyramids Of Egypt, In the Peninsula, In France, |
Germany aud Italy and on the Western continent. |
But their herolsm could purchase no reprieve for |
their country. Stung from age to age by the /
scorpion Of prescription. they have emigratcd, |
and will continue to emigrate, till the green /
isle will no longer hear the song Of Erin. |
Might not a miIder poles towards the gallant but
Inflated Poles, have eosgiliated them and made |
them loyal TO the Russian Government, instead of
drying them TO defiance? Bolts and bars, pains
and penalties aud prescription, never yet made
people loyal. Vfctinls Of tyranny have either
been annihilated by dint of numbers, or hSYS
been rendered olnnipptsht By the magic spell Of
persecution. There Is IN the bosom Of RIsn an
innate love Of liberty, which God Almighty alamo
can extinguish, AID the more he Is oppressed the
brighter will glow its fires, until. In the language
of an orator at some time another in some |
place or another. the mighty volcano will burst
It's boundaries and fame up to heaven"
In what striking contrast are the character and
career Of Washington, when viewed BY the side Of
those great conquerors to whom referred! They
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