The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-02-27

and limited powers; that establishment in
new phase. on this continent, Of all the es-
sentials Of England's Magma charta, for the
protection and security Of life, liberty and
/ property; with the additional recognition of
the. principle, as fundamental truth, that
| all political power resides in the people.
| With US il was simply aguestion as TO where
our allegiance was due in the maintenance
OF these principles-whieh authority was
| paramount in the last resort-State or Fed
] erAl. As for myself, / can affirm that no
sentiment Of disloyaity to these great prin-
ciples of self government, recognized
aud embodied in the Constitution OF the
United States, ever beat or throbbed IN
breat or heart Of mine. To their malnten-
ance my whole soul was ever enlisted, and
10 this end my whole life has heretofore
been devoted, and will continue to be the
rest Of nv days-God willing. in devotion
to these principles. yield to no man living.
This much can say for myself; may not
| say the same for you and the great mass Of
| the people of Georgia, and for the great
mass OF the people of the entire SouthY
| Whatever difference existed amongst US,
| arose from differences as to the best and
surest means of securing those great ends,
which was the object OF all. 1t was with
this view and this purpose secession was
| tried. That has failed. Instead of better
! ing our cOuulhiOut .iusbo1u VI SSt0DAi9HAAS
our liberties upon a surer foundation, we
have, in the war that ensued, come wen
nigh losing the whole OF the rich Inherit
ance with which we set out.
This is one Of the sad realizatiOns Of the
present. In this, too, we are but lllustra-
/ ting the teachings Of history. Wars and
| civil wars especially, always menace liber
| ty; they seldom advance it; while they
/ usually end in its entire overthrow and de-
struction. Ours stopped just short of such
| catastrophe. Our only alternative now is,
either to give up all hope Of Constitutional
| liberty, or to retrace our steps, and 10 look
| for its Yindication and maintenance in the
| forums of reason and justice, instead Of on
| the arena of arms = in the courts and
halls Of legislation, instead Of on the fields
of battle.
I am frank and candid in telling you
| right here, that our surest hopes, in my
| judgment, of these ends, are in the restora-
tion policy of the United States. / have
| little hope for hberty-little hope for the
success Of the great American experiment
of f-government-but in the success of
| the present efforts for the restoration OF the
States TO their former practical relations in
q common government, under the Constltu-
tion of the United States.
| We are not without an encouraging ex-
| ample on this line in the history of the
mother eountry-in the history of our an
| cestors-from whom we derived, in great
measure, the principles TO which we are
/ much devoted. The truest friends OF hber-
/ ty in England once, in 1912, abandoned their
/ forum Of reason, aud appealed, as We did,
to the sword, as the surest means, IN the
Judgment, OF advancing their cause. This
was after they had made great progress,
| under the lead of Coke, Hampden, Falkland
and others, in the advancement of lib
eral principles. Many usurpation had been
| checked; many of the prerogatives OF the
! Crown had been curtailed; the Petition Of
Right had been sanctioned; Ship-money
had been abandoned; Court Martial had
been done away with; ha6eGs corpus had
been rs-establshed; High Courts of Com
| mission and Star Chamber had been abol-
ished; many other great abuses OF power
had been corrected, and other reforms es-
tablished. But not satisfied with these, and
not satisfied with the peaceful working Of
reason, to 60 on in its natural sphere, the de-
| nisl of the sovereignty OF the Crown was
pressed by the too ardent reiormers upon
! Charles the First. All else he had yielded
this he would not. The sword was sp-
pealed 10, to settle the question; civil war
was the result: great yalOr and courage were
displayed on both sides; men OF eminent
virtue and patriotism fell in the sanguinary
ed and executed; q Commonwealth proclaim
ed. But the end was the reduction of the
people Of England 10 worse state OF op-
preston than they had been in for centuries.
They retraced their steps. After nearly
| twenty ears of exhaustion and blood, and
the loss of the greater portion Of the liber-
ties enjoyed by them before, they, by almost
unanimous consent, called for restoration.
The restoration came. Charles the Second
ascended the throne, as unlimited menarch
thet ever ruled the empire. Not q pledge
was asked or a guarantee given touching the
concessions Of the Royal prerogative, that
had been exacted and obtained from his
father.
The true friends of liberty, of reform and
of progress in government, has become
convinced that these were the offspring OF
peace and of enlightened reason, and not Oi
I passion nor OF arms. The House Of Com
: mons and the House of Lords were hence
7 forth the theatres of their operations, and
not the fields of Newberry or Marston-
Moor. The result was, that in less than
E thirty years, all their ancient rights and
: privileges, which had been lost in the civil
z war, with new securities, were re-establshec
in the eyer-memOrable settlement of 1858
which, ior all practical purposes, may b'
l looked upon as a bloOdless revolution
Since that time, England has made still
. further and more signal strides IN reform
= | and progress. But not one Of these hai
- | been effected by resort to arms. Catholic
). | Emancipation was carried IN Parliament
r after years of argument, against the mos
s persistent opposition. Reason ana justice
j. ultimately prevailed. 30 with the relhoVa
4 of the disability of the Jews-so with tn,
i overthrow of heRotten- Borough systems
= with the extension of frRnchise-so will
a the modification of the Corn-laws, and re
: strictions on Commerce, opening the way L
d the establishment of the principles OF Free
h Trade-and so with all the other great re
d forms by Parliament, which have so dis
: tinguished English history for the last hal
= century.
Is May we not indulge hope, even in the al
r tentative before US now, from this gres
Is example of restoration, if we but do as tn
e friends Of liberty there did? This is m
: hope, my only hope. 1t is founded on tn
n virtue, intelligence and patriotism OF tn
Il American people. have not lost my faitl
l. in the people, or in their capacity for sell
10 government. But for these great essentls
', qualities of human nature, to be brough
D into active and efficient exercise, for th
Of fulfllment of patriotic hopes, it is essentia
8 that the passions of the day should subsidt
N that the causes OF these passions should nc
,e now be discussed; that the embers Of th
N late strlfe enoulQ not De etlrreQ.
lr Man by nature is ever prone to scan close
e. ly the errors and defects of his fellow ma
We lever ready to rail at the mote in his broth
w er's eve, without considering the beam this
er is in mis- own. This should not be- We a
le Save our notes OF beams. We are all frail
n nerfection is the attribute of none. PrejI
n dice or pre Judgment should be indulge
er towards none. Prejudice What wrong
n what injuries, what mischiefs, what lameI
se, table consequences, have resulted at a
n times from nothing but this perversity
'se the intellect Of all the obstacles 70 Il
on advancement Of truth and human progres
lat in every department-in science, IN art,
in government, and in religion, in all ages az
en- climes, not one on the list is more formid
HE. more difficult TO overcome and subdu
we than this horrible distortion Of the NOR
rit as well as intellectual faculties. It's a no
Of evil within itself. ! could enloln J
al greater duty upon my countrymen no
w. North and South, than the exercise Of tn
a. degree of forbearance which would enao
st them TO conquer their preludiees. One
- the highest exhibitions of the moral su
-, line The world ever witnessed, was that
a.. Dsniel webster, when in an open barouc
- !, tbe streets in Boston, he proclaimed
- Substance. 10 a vost assembly Of his co
- | stitrents-uuwilling hearers-that "th
~ had conquered an uncongenlAl cline tn
or had conquered sterile soil; they had CO
led quered the winds ard the elements Of t
, of ocesn: they had conquered most OF the e
he ments of nature; but they must yet lea
AN to conquer their prejudices." know oi
ion more fitting incident or scene IA the NE
.he that wonderful man, Z" ClarHs Ct v1T fort
The Sinis,'' for perpetusting the memory oil !
Al true greatness of his character, on canE'
ver or in marble, than representation oil d
re. As he then and there stood and spoke.
be- was an exhibition Of moral grandeur 81
o- passinF that Of Aristides when he sa
tbe bOh, Athenians, what Themistoeles reeo
'ov mends would be greatly TO your intere
'nlt INIT II would be unjust"
ION / saw 10 you, and if my voice could I
= tend throughout this vast country, over
~ snd dale. over mountain and valley,
a hovel. hamlet and mansion, village, to-
re- and city, would say, among the first, lO'
~ | inc 10 the restoration Of peace, prosper
he and harmony in this land, is the great d.
Tot Of exercising that degree Of fOrbearal
oyy which viii enable them 70 conquer th
- preiudices. Prejudices against oommu
49, ties - well as individuals.
80 And next 70 that the indulgence Q
- cbristian spirit of charity. "Judge