Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1866-08-22

the General Ticket system, ran about 2, 900 vote
ahead of the Legislative ticket 1 repeat, L an
under no obligations to the President for the posi-
ton hold at present.
His rebel admirers in Tennessee have boosted
that he would set aside the present State Govern
ment of Tennessee, and appoint Military Cover
nor. He dare not do so without subiecting himself
to impeachment and expulsion from Office Tennes
see and her Governor sustain the same relation to
the Federal Union that the States of Massachusetts,,
Ohio and Pennsylvania do, and their Governors,
and the President dare not usurp the control Of
either.
| The rebel papers and orators of the coun-
try think that displayed a great want Of
dignity in sending a private dispatch to the
Clerk of the United States Senate, giving
| the news of the ratification of the Constitu-
tiOnal amendment, and giving my respects
"to the dead dog of the White House. y
| The very same persons and papers went al
most wild with glee when the President Of
the United States, addressing copperhead
mob from the steps of the White House,
called a well known editor and the Secre-
tary of the Senate q "dead duck" They
were never weary of reiterating and ring
ing the changes on this choice bit of vul-
garity, and could see no improperly or in
| decency or blackguardism in it. But now
that Governor BrolrnlOU retorts, with more
! truth and quito as much dignity and regard
for the courtesies of life, these toadies are
Mortified beyond reason.
The President displayed his profound re-
| gard for the courtesies Of lifc-nOt to say
dsS~ity -in donouncing me to members of
the Tennessee Legislature, and others visit
ing Washington, with curses and bitterness,
for fifteen months past He increased his
stock of dignity when he caused to be writ
ten various letters to Nashville, to procure
the defeat Of the Constitutional amendments
| by reducing the House below quorum
He went for dignity when, at his Inaugural
ton as Vice President, he exhibited himself
in the presence Of Congressman, Foreign
| Ministers, and even LADIES! This man may
| do to hold up as an example Of dignity among
the traitors, and low order of toadies who
have him in charge! do not belong to that
school of dignitaries.
feel called upon to warn the honest, 10y
al masses against a matured scheme Of the
Johnson Copperhead leaders to have the
Government pay them for all the negroes
they lost by the war. Not more than one
in ten of the loyal men, South ever owned
any slaves, or desired to own them, and it
would be downright robbery to tax nine
J0bOriRg men to pay for the slaves Of one gen.
tlenaan A direct tax is the only mode by
which the Government can pay for the
emancipated slaves and it is better that
one loyal slave owner suffer than that nine
honest laborers, equally loyal suffer to make
his losses good,
Most of the men in the Copperhead ranks in
the South, are men who expect, when the Southern
States represented in Congress- that they will be
compensated for their negroes. Not few of them
IL. IL i,
people afford TO pay direct tax to ligudate the
debt, through period of several years, but tax
them to pay for FOUR MILLIONS OF SLAVES, owned
by small number of nabobs and original secession
ists and they will not get through with tax-paying
in life time!
To the Union Masses the honest working voters,
1 say in all candor, watch the men who advocate
this paying for their lost negroes If the Govern
ment will tax the slave-owners alone to pay for the
negroes, go for it, but shall consent to tax
men to pay for negroes who never owned any, and
never desired to own any, Shareholders got up the
big dance in 1S6l-they continued the frolc for
four years-and they are the very men to pay the
fddleri
The present Legislature of Tennessee has been
more bitterly and perseveringly abused than any
General Assembly that ever convened in the State,
and yet 40 Legislative body ever did as much for
the best interests of the State Sixteen months ago
this body of men assembled in the Capitol and took
charge of what little was left of the State and her
T6COTOS 1uo DIdoe WdS pIOetfdleuJ HcT dTClleFeS
gone South, her money squandered, and her credit
utterly ruined. War still raging, courts were
nowhere held with safety, and justice admins
tered only within few fortified posts protected by
bayonets. County governments were broken up,
and peace officers could do nothing. Our schools
and academies were closed as they had been during
the four years of and anarchy which previously
reigned. Our grand system of Railroads was in
ruins while the military authorities were running
such were necessary to their Guerrillas
,lol,
our farmers liable any night to loose their last
horses and their only hope of raising bread. The
Legislature by its iudicous legislation, has placed
the State upon her feet again. enabled the treasury
to meet all demands and put the Railroads in
ming order, and enabled them to meet the interest
their loans The credit of the State is restored,
and the State herself is restored to the Union. The
courts are everywhere open for the transaction of
business. The farming operations of the country
are going on finely, and our schools are opening in
every county. In a word, it has been the proud
privilege of this Legislature to restore this noble old
Commonwealth to prosperity in business, and to her
ancient position in the Federal Union. And the
members of the Legislature have done all this in
defiance Of the abuse of traitors the ISLANDERS of their
prosttuted papers, and in the very face of war
made upon them by the President, whose patronage
and dictation were brought to bear upon them
through bad men who had sold out to the Admins
traton, or lacked the manhood to stand up against
its denunciations All honor to the patriotic Legis
lature of Tennessee, and tho brave men In both
Houses who have faced the storm of rebel abuse
coPperhead ISLANDERS and the treason of those in high
places
/ cannot close this address without warning the
loyal men of the State against the speeches, argu
ments and appeals of that class of leading who
in their worse than Balshazzar rcvelry praise An
drew johnson as the man after their own heart In
Middle and West Tennessee, at the breaking out of
the rebellion, their frenzied rage always directed it.
SELF with unerring precision, against the Govern
mcnt and its Union friends Most of them either
belonged to Vigilance Committee or rebel Mill
tary League sacrificing better than them selves
to the Moloch of rebel hate. In East Tennessee,
for the most part they were men who sought Office
under the Confederate Government, spoke and wrote
in favor of the rebel cause, denounced Lncons vi
olation of the Constitution, and at later day advo
Gated the election of Mcclellan and Pendleton =
Most of these men would like to second rebel
lion, means of acquiring political notorety and
making money. They are not of that class of men
who would enter the ranks and fight for their prn-
ciples. They are the advocates of Convention to
set aside the present State Government if the
experiment should cause scenes to be enacted for
which civilization will be made to blush. The mas
sacre of Fort Pillow, the brutality of Andersonylle,
the base assassination of Lincoln, the murderous
fury of the Memphis mob the wholesale hanging
and shooting down Of East Tennessee UniOnists-
all at length paralleed by the nexcusable slaughter
in New Orleans have teTror5 for these Tennessee
admirers of Mr.. johnson, though he is becoming
startled at the attrocty of his deeds, and the
legitimate fruits of his insane policy
In this address 1 have used great plainness of
speech and for the reasons first, that desired and
intended to be understood; and next, because this
is no time for putting forth uncertain sound. l
have desired TO act in harmony with the President
41,o<, TT,,5,5 1-,ft he,