Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1866-04-20


and eyentuate in monarchy. But thei
n is an idea abroad that one man can be
/, lusurper. Mr.. Jefferson, the apostle {
c \ liberty tells us, and so does commo
s sense, that tyranny and despo.ism ca
be exercised by many-more vigorousl
|. and more tyrannically than by ont
5 What power has your President to attain
What can he do2 What can he orig
> nate Why, they say he exercises tn
veto power. A voice, ITO put down tn
, negro. Laughter. Who'll your Pres
, ident? [Several voices, Andy John
, son."1 Is he not elected by the people
The President is the tribune of the pee
Z pie. In olden times, when tribunes wer
, elected in the Roman Republic, the pee
pie chose tribune and placed him at tn
door of the Senate, so that when tina
body ventured on an oppressive act, h,
was clothed with the power to say veto
Il forbid. Your President now is thu
tribune of the people, / thank God
am, and / intend to assert the power
which the people have placed in me
TCheers. Your President, standing here
day after day and discharging his duties
is like a horse and tread-wheel; and be
cause he dares differ in opinion in regard
to public measures, he must be de-
nounced as usurper and a tyrant Can
he originate anything under the veto
power? | think the veto power conser-
yative in its character and affirmation
| All that can be done by the veto power
is to say, when legislation is improper,
| hasty, unwise and unconstitutional, stop
| 81 ba ,ht,atf tod IN
the people, and let them consider
whether it is right or wrong Applause.
That is all there is in it, Hence | say
that tyranny and power can be exercised
somewhere else than by the Executive.
He is powerless. All that be can do is
to check legislation; TO hold il in d state
of abeyancy until the people can con-
slider and understand what is being done
Then what has been done? have done
what conscience, | believed, required me
to do. Applause. So believing,I in
tend to stick to my position, relying on
the Judgment and intelligence of the Deo-
pie, the soldiers and the sailors expressly.
tCheers.l Then, for my life | cannot
see where there is any tyranny.
II is very easy to impugn motives and
suspect the purest and best acts Of
mans life. If you come forward and
propose a certain thing, yourymotives
are suspected and condemned; and if
you withhold your opinion, you are re-
garded as being opposed TO the matter;
so that it is very hard to move one way
or the other, so far MS certain persons
are concerned In the American people
is my hope for the salvation of the coun-
try. am with you, soldiers sailors and
citizens Who has sacrificed or periled
more2 Has not my all been put into it2
My life, my property-everything sacred
and dear to man has been staked upon
it2 And can | now be suspected Of fall
tering at the close of the third ordeal of
the nation? Where is he who in public
or private life has sacrificed more, or
who has devoted more of his time and
energies to the accomplishment of the
great end than !? From the promptings
of my own heart / believe | was right,
and with your hearts, your conferences
and your encouragement, | shall go
through on that line Cheers and laugh
ter. And when | come to talk TO sail
ors and soldiers, about this to be done, or
that 10 be done, all want is for you to
wait and see. So far as you are con-
cerned, wait and see if | don't stand by
you, although every other man may fall
ter and fail. want to see measures of |
policy brought forward that will advance
the interests of the people, and that por-
ton of the people who constitute the
gallant and brave men who, in both |
branches of the service, have upheld the |
nations flag, and sustained the country |
in the recent struggle. tNuf
| thank you, gentlemen, for your en-
/ thank you for your
on this occasion. 1t cheers |
me on and gives me strength to perform
the work before me- If we are true to
ourselves, if we are true to the Constitu-
ton, the day is not far distant when the
will be restored. Let us go
on and sustain the Government Let us
enlarge the area of our commerce and
trade, and let us not only inspire conf
dence at home, but respect abroad, by
letting the nation resume its career of
greatness. know that some will find
fault with me and say am too lenient,
too kind, and all that. If we were all to
he put to death, or punished or thrown
away for one offense, or for the second
offense, and were TO be lost and excluded
from society and communion with our
fellow men, how many would be left
We must reason with each other and
understand our natures, and what is
necessary to restore peace and harmony
and concord to distracted and divided
L. s.f, "a ~
burn villages, sack cities and desolate
fields, to lay waste country and Grip
pie and reduce the enemy, but in time
IF peace the converse of that course is
the right one; and the true pol
cy Of nation is to rebuild its cities,
restore its villages and renew its fields
IF agriculture.
! know there are some who have been
1t home cultivating during the war, and
Rho bring to the consideration of the
questions of peace, harmony and the av-
,cations of civil life all the feelings Of
resentment which animated us when the
war was running high. But take the
brave men who sustained the flag in the
ield and on the wave, and you will find
better feelings and better judgments on
hese questions than yon will find among
hose who have been sitting in the closet
md never smelled gunpowder. [Cheers
Yes; from the private to the General,
hey know how to treat the present cir
better than any Of those
,loset patriots and humanitarians. Then,
ny countrymen, fellow-citizens and SOL
Tiers and sailors, let us rejoice that peace
las come, let US rejoice that the relations
IF the States are about being restored
Let us make every effort we can, on
proper principle, to restore the relation
which existed between the Federal Gov
ernment and the States | thank God
hot r,na 20 Il rontnrnd L thnnLaGnd thnt