The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-11

/ Accounts have been given Of the large an
enthusiastic mass meeting Of the citizens q
Wilmington, Delaware, and the adjOinin
districts, in favor Of the restoration policy q
President Johnson, and Of sustaining hi
veto OF the Freedmen's Bureau bill, held il
Institute Hail, Wilmington, on Saturday last
March Sd. Hon. John A. Nicholson, q
Delaware, and Hon. Chas. Il. Winfield
Of New York, also addressed the meeting
SPEECH OF GEN. ROUSSEAU.
Gen. Lowell II. Rousseau WIS introduce
TO the audience by the President amids
long continued applause. He said:
] FELLOW CITIZENS: A stranger TO you,
do not know even who called this meeting
nor have / much idea as to the former p0liI
ical opinions Of those who compose il; bu
in looking over the Gazette from this plac
to-day, which was handed to me, / found ]
announced that meeting was TO be he'll
here to might TO indorse the policy of An
drew johnson. Applause. And | eOn
slider myself at home in any meeting th9
iudorses the policy OF Andrew johnson, as j
is now developed and understood, no matte
where the meeting may be held, nor VIII
may compose it. ] meet you here tonight
fellow-cilizens, with much pleasure, and d.
not inquire 10 what political party you ma
have heretofore belonged, because we NEE
now upon common ground-to indorse tina
man the policy Of whose administration w
hope will save the Government from de
struction. Applause
Party trainmels are very strong-strongel
among the American people than anywher,
else on the globe. Party allegiance, during
the war, has shown itself more powerful
than has true loyalty to the Government
| Men follow their party leaders, and seldom
ask where they are going. II was SO with
| the Democratic party before and during the
| war, and in consequence Of this lt lost the
| power which t 60 long held and like all
| other parties so much abused. A large pOr-
tiOn OF 1t followed its leaders into the vor-
tex Of secession, whilst still larger p0r-
ton, more in opposition to the Republican
party than anything else, took ground
! against much that was done in the prosecu-
ton Of the war. And now when the Demo
cratic party seem inclined to take their
| stand with the President, on what they
term constitutional ground-and, in fact,
| the very ground that ne and the Republican
| party occupied during the war-we find ex-
IRENE Republicans, oUeyIng party trammels
! and party interests, running away HOm
| that position, and swearing they never held
it. daughter aud applause.l And the rea-
/ son given for this is tnat as the Copperhead5
were in favor of it, they must be agalnstlt
L"That's so" and spplause.l Parties well
| drilled and organized Instlnctyely avoid
each other; ana to-day men denouIce that
| which they were IN favor of yesterday. But
We meet here tonight to indorse man
! who, Ignoring party lines, and party prin-
| C pies, stands bravely for the Constitution Of
| his country. Applause lie has not
counted the cost, but has promptly and fear
lessly taken the position, and will hold 1t 70
the end. Applause ]
Now, iellow-citizens, the war is over, and
the action of Congress naturally prompts
the inquiry, What did We fight for, and
what did we gain by it2 For what purpose
did we prosecute the war? l will answer
you in the words in which every Union
! man in the United States would have an
swered you for the last five .years: ''To
save the Union" And yet we are told to-
! dav in the halls Of Congress that the Union
is destroyed; that although We tr!umphed
in the war, the Union is gone. Who tells
you this2 Why, the very men who for the
! last four years have done everything they
wished to do in the name of the Union, and
who ran over and trampled under foot all
| opposition IN the name of the Union
And yet they tell US now that the Union
whicn was staked on a successful issue OF the
| war is gone.
Andrew johnson says no ! and that it
| shall never go while he lives. Great ap
| plausel And you people must Join him in
| this, aad ssy the Union never snail be dis
solved. CONTINUED applause Politicians
may tell YOU that the Union is dissolved;
| but they cannot tell you the day, nor the
! hour, nor by what act it was. No man can
! point his finger TO the time nor the act that
| dissolved il. Aud if they cannot tell YOU
in what way nor at what time this occur
red, how can they say it has occurred at ALP
| We staked the Union on the rusult of the
| ", al ln
lion and put down the force by which they
| sought to maintain and make good their
! ordinances Of secession. These ordinances
| of secession being uullities, as all admit,
| they accomplished nothing in the effort to
! dissolve the Union. The rebels did not dis
| solve it by force of arms, for we put down
| the force, and so there is no pretext for the
| statement that these States are out of the
| Union. The politicians, for party purposes
| only, tell you that the Union Is dissolved.
| But ask the people-the masses-ihose who
| paid the money TO prosecute the war, and
| those who fought the battles for the Union
whether they lost that for which they
fought. Ask the iather who gave up his
last.son TO fight the battles of his country !
Ask the son who poured out his blood upon
the battlefield ask the widow whose hus-
band lies in the far-distant bloody grave,
whether we lost what we fought Tor!
wonder that these men do not hide their
faces for shame when they tell the soldier
and the sufferer in this war that all this was
done IN vain. Andrew johnson believes
that as we suppressed the rebellion we saved
the Union, ana that the nation at large, and
loval men especially, have right 70 de-
| mand of Congress the recognition Of that
fact, and thereby restore TO the country
peace, harmony, and prosperity. But ior
! D IA .i.uI1paaN and
abused.
And who are these leading assajlants oi
tho President? Who are they2 They are
men who care as little for the Union as
| jefferson Davis-meu who for the negro
| gnd in the name of the negro would see the
| Government 20 down in a moment. Men who
for the axe Of party ascendancy, insist that
| the Union IS dissolved, and that eleven
states no longer belong TO 1t, except as mil
itary departments. one Of them, Wendell
| pbi;lips, has repeatedly and exultantIy
proclaimed that Tor thirty years past h,
isbored 10 destroy it. And he seems in
,liued 10 stop at nothing. II viii not u
- l5rrotteu that IN one of the most critical pc
riods of the war Mr.. Phillips publicly called
, ON the Congress of the United States ct,
push the President from his stool" il b,
| would demand this a. 10 the lameutej Lin
coin, against whom he could not have cher
, ished very bitter feelings, what would h'
! not ask against President Johnson whom
he so hatcs2
William Lloyd Garrison, in late speech
alludes 10 Mr.. Seward, whose patriotism i
| above all parties and all things else, as thl
/ fallen Luciier for continuing TO suppor
| Mr.. Llncom's policy, says it wOul'
r have been far better Tor him had the mis-
+ ,reaut and assassin Payne succeeded Il
y the effort 10 take his life. And these mel
claim 90 be Christian men, whose heart
are filed with Chis.ian virtues, especial,
- charity.
M stevens insists that there are bu
tweDtv-siX States now IN the Union: tha
the insurrecti0nary States are no longer u
II, that they are but military departments
and TO be governed as such, anu doubties
it was on tnat ground that the FfeeaineA
Rrresu bin was deemed constitutional ans
nr,per as a war measure. TO be enforced no
IN States but in Territories. DAVIS INSISTS
on the right Of secession; sumner, Stevens
, and Phillips insist substantially II IN
. right of expulsion. The Union nsy DC 3
etlectually dissolved by the one as the othel
aud one Is 10 less reasonable than IA
other.
Davis would have dissolved the Union b.
war-by violence and bloodshed. The ON
y ers would DO IL by forms of law; by insidl
1t OuSly sanpluE lne foundations OF lne boN
=, ernment. and in the name Of the Union an
the Constitution overthrow and destro
both. Look at the action Of these meu an
see II this Is not true. Take the case q
Tennessee. Long since her relations wit
Z the General Government were restored; sh
6Ued an the State Offices the rebels ha
abandoned; she called q convention. rs
medled her constitution, abolished slavery
n ~ she was advised 90 do by the sdministra
} ion. She elected her Governor and Legii
lature under that constitution, and after
wards adopted the amendment TO the Cor
stitution Of the United States abolishin
slavery She elected men % represent b,
In both Houses Of Congress. She has pa
ali the taxes dossaLdsl q her by the GeE
eral Government. All this h4s been volui
tarily done by her loyal people. EFsEy o.
~ her United States Senators and hepF
sentatives are loyal, aud can take the ''te
osth - They have been legally elected AZ
~ ~ a loyal constituency And yet the 10
~ icritv IL Congress, under the lead oi Messi
SUMNER snd stevens, utterly refuse 70 Z
ais coenise Tennessee as 3 pemper oi u
! Uaion, she may bear burdens snd p