Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1867-06-19
THE KNOXVILLE WING.
Knoxville, Tenn, June 10, 1857.
GOV. BROWNLOW'S ADMINISTRATOR
e5 ~ INDICATED. Y ASl-A@L
speech Of Hon. A. J. Fletcher, Secre.
taFy OF State, on the Issues OF the
Vass.-.-DellFered at Cleveland
Tennessee, June 3, 1861.
By BRowNLow & HAWs.


taFy OF State, on the Issues OF th,
CanVasS.-.-DelIFeFed at Cleveland
Tennessee, June 3, 1861.
FeH1lC-citi-eRS Of Bradley County:
am not here to-day, as some seem t.
suppose, and as the Banner newspaper has
announced, to prosecute personal quarrel
am not here to defend myself, nor to as.
sail q particular individual, or the record Of
an individual Ihcld that public speaker
has no right to call upon the people to quit
their avocations and assemble to hear him
deliver q hsrangue, either in defense OF
himself or in abuse of another. In plain
language. / presume that you care but little
about the personal quarrel between John
Baxter and myself And I assure you
care but little 1t is true ] did consider
Baxter of sufficient importance to devote
fifteen minutes 20 him in August last, but
at a time when the enemies of the country
arc 50 numerous, this is as much time as |
can afford TO spare to any one of them.
This fifteen minutes caused poor Baxter to
write Out pamphlet, and to travel hun
bred miles and read it 10 few rebels, and
what was still more painful for him to IN !
jorgo the expense Of printing it. But be
has found that the damned spots on his
of Hamlet viii not wash out, and / leave
him to devote the balance Of his life to vain
experiments in rubbing and rinsing. shall
IN the course Of my remarks to-day, notice
in detail a speech made by him at this
place month since so far as it relates to
the State Government, but / shall not deem
10 necessary 10 assault him further than the
Establishment Of simple truth may expose
hin TO the censure of truthful men. And l
shall not initiate the example Of the rebel
candidate for Governor, who denounces
every man who differs with him about dis
pated facts as the liar; every one who dis
cusses his claims TO election in his absence
asa c0Card and every one who viii not
vote for him as a Sc0Wadrel and sums up
The whole by proclaiming the greatest po-
itical party Of the age as composed Of the
a0-se0WjHgS Of the earth. But, as he, in a
similar temper, applied his terms of abuse
90 the lamented Lincoln, to the Thirty
ninth Congress, 10 President Johnson and
20 ORION soldiess, a.s>1 ~ 4 aud thot AIr.
Lincoln laiT fame was not soiled, that the
Ihirty-ninth Congress are endorsed by the
american people; as Johnsons reputation
lid not suffer by this means at least, and as
hs fame Of the Union soldiers will be i'm
mortal as the sayiors of this glorious gov
gument, ! am prepared to expect that the
equation of the great Radical party of the
g1mtry-the fame Of Governor Brownlow,
and of the General Assembly of the State,
and even the Governors staff viii survive
he frantic denunciations of the Thersites
who now leads the rebel column in Tennes-
See ] shall, therefore, learn from Ethe-
ridge and Baxter that coarse epithets and
malignant but unfounded ISLANDERS injure
no. one but the slanderer himself
SKETCH OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT. -
Before ] take up the matters of detail of
which design to speak, propose to take
general but concise view Of the origin,
progress and prominent measures of the
present government of Tennessee, l became
Connected with it few days after its or
ganzation as Secretary of State, and have
not only taken deep interest, but an
4e9ye part in its administration ever since.
shall never regret the part have per-
I'fmed, nor do / seek to be relieved Of the
reSponsibility Of any of its important meas
1es. The present administration of the
STATE Government cannot be tried by the
customs, usages and acts of former admin
STATIONS 1t existed under different cir
glmStanccs and had different duties to per-
torn. Lot us contrast for moment the
stormy struggle Of the last two years with
me halcyon days Of Carroll and Cannon, oi
Jones and Of the Browns Of a later day.
Then the assemblage of the Legislature and
The Inauguration of the Governor were nm
important events. The votes were COM
pared the official oath administered to the
governor elect and a short inaugural de-
'Vcrcd all as matter of ceremony. The
message was sent in thanking the Good
Being for continued peace and plenty, con.
yr2tulaGng the people upon their bountiful
aSrrests, presenting a balance sheet of The
treasury and a few statistics with perhaps
dlgnihed paragraph against the opposite
party in politics. This was his principa
'uty True he had 70 sign few grants
ana commissions. issue an occasional pard OF
ana al later day few State bonds, bn
Is oihce was almost a sinecure. Such 1
.nIng as private secretary or clerk or {
personal staff or military protection, wai
never thought Of An Adjutant Generafi
'ilce was a myth dreamed of as contingent
my ln case Of instruction or war. Al
.'I lhc Legislature it had but TO refer thu
Message to appropriate standing commit
oss, elect a few officers, declare few river
-"' gable, incorporate some villages anC
',"1emles, extend The time of perfeetinl
7Leals, revise the revenue If necessary, an6
adjourn and 60 home Perhaps few le
gan minds discerned or imagined some de
.ects ln the general laws and changed them
out the State had peace in all her border
and its government was as an easv-ooin,
machine
Not so with what Is sneeringly calls
Brownlow's Government" Born as
were upon field of blood, it was the pris
of gigantic strugge-the ransom of man
thousand lives. Guaranteed 10 the peop
by the strong arm of the nation. who
proves had wrenched it from the clutch
Of ambition Of rebels, it came into existen
IN tho midst Of anarchy, bloOdshed, demo
alization and financial ruin. 1t is the su
cessor and indeed the product of that go
cinment, which was written at Washingt'
,Pon hall a sheet of paper and handed to
bFiEadier General, and proclaimed from t
.snnoa's mouth in hundred battles.
nay be considered now in its second stag
nnelher there shall be a third and happi
we 81 this State Government wiz depeT
~ "a pne conduct Of those who are responsible
eIt : wal. val show, for every grievance we ha7
Dh WORK OF THE MAJORITY, AND wa
re- NOT
~ ef one, do not claim that this Sta
'NNnent was established nv a maiorit