Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-07-06

Mr.. Etheridge at Lebanon - Three
Thousand People Present 30 Hear
Undivided Attention and Happy Re
suIfs-The Prospects in Wilson -
stokes Reported 10 be in the Bushes,
etc, etc,
Correspondence Of the Union and Dispatch.
LEBANON, TENN, July 4, 1867.-Mr.
Etheridge reached our town late last even
ing, and addressed nearly three thousand
of his fellow citizeas of this county to-day
at one o'clock
A stand was erected and seats prepared
in a groyeupon the premises of Hon. r. A.
Caruthers, by the joint contribution of labor
and money from whites and blacks. The
blacks occupied the grounds in the fore
noon, in celebrating the day, and closed
their exercises at one O'clock, the hour
fixed fer hespeaking. The large company
assembled was about equally divided be-
tween the two races, and they gave to the
speaker uninterrupted and profound at
| teEtion throughout. The writer of this
was furnished a seat upon the stand, and
! was enabled TO observe the character and
| department of the vast multitude, and to
hear every word of the aole, eloquent and
forcible argument of the great standard
bearer of the Conservative Union party.
Gov. VIM. B. Campbell and many other
worthy citizens were upon the stand, and
interpreted through the crowd, were the
gray hairs and familiar faces of many old
veterans of the Wing and Democratic par
ties, who with earnest eagerness, were
pressing forward and close round the
stand to catch the first words of the orator.
As l looked out upon these old men | could
not repress a sensation of sadness. Some of
them | knew to belong to the excluded
class All of them | have known to be
worthy citizens from my earliest boyhood
] have known them when their fortunes
were not broken, and whes their lives were
not darkened with the ctuel fruits Of ty-
ranny and oppression Or pn some of their
faces | have seen, and from some Of their
lips have heard the expressed conviction
that they had outlived the liberties of their
people. But like an April sun breaking
through clouds, though saw the effect
of the manly and confident tone of Mr..
Etheridge's speech upon the sea of up
turned faces Shadows melted before it,
and the burthen of many a heart was
removed.
Mr. Etheridge was introduced by Coy.
Campbell in a brief but wall-pronounced
eulogy upon his character, capacity and
services. Mr.. +. came TO the front of the
stand, and with graceful ease and pure
English acknowledged the compliment Of
Gov. &. as the tribute Of an ancient and
unbroken friendship. His manner was
electrical, and the sound of his voice pene-
trated the hearts of his hearers.
/ cannot undertake to give You even
synopsis of his speech. The points pre-
scented, | believe, were the same which he
has made use of on former occasions, and
have been reported from other places more
faithfully than they could be by me. The
manner Of his delivery is inimitable and
cannot be set down on paper.
He bitterly denounced the present State
government as foul and irresponsible
despotism, whose cruelty kept pace with
its fears A despotism controlled by set
of men who were destituts of the slightest
emotion of manhood or honor. He an
nounced that the brightest lights and lead
ers of the Radical party were instigators
of the rebellion, who seduced the young
men of the country into the Rebel ranks
and deserted them in the hour of danger.
They hung around Confederate camps,
like iackals that follow in the track and
feed upon the refuse of the noble lion
The Radical party was comprised, with a
very few notable exceptions, of class of
men who were spewed to the surface by
the revolution, and but for that would have
never been heard of mile from their
homes. They were but vermin bred in
dead dogs-a set of craven imbeciles.
But they had nearly crushed the liberties
of the people, and all were slaves-yea,
even the despotiC master himself who was
a slave to his cowardly fears.
1t was a noticeable fact that the Radicals
were cruel and oppressive in proportion to
their apostacy and treason against the
Rebel cause. Mr.. +. here proceeded with
the skillful hand of an experienced surgeon
to illustrate his proposition, by a careful
dissection of the political record Of May
nard, Stokes, and Brownlow, showing to
the satisfaction of all who heard him, that
these gentlemen were blatant Rebels in
1861. and deserted the cause after they had
seduced many Of they countrymen into the
great sin of rebellion.
Leaving these distinguished worthless,
the speaker passed TO a review Of the State
and national debt, showing that the annual
upon the national debt was three
times as great as the entire annual cost of
the government before the war. He gave
especial attention 10 Brownlow's staff an.
that that little luxury had cost |
the people of Tennessee in one year and |
FIVE months, the sum of So, 900. That |
Brownlow's son james received as a mem |
Der of that staff about $500, and son of |
about $1,000 per year. These
items Of intelligence had their effect, and |
thew will tell on the day of election.
The Legislature of the State, and their /
mean, narrow minded and despicable legis-
ion came in for a minute and scathing ex
.oriation. CoBards only Cypress fallen /
Zoe. Those brave soldiers, Grant and |
sherman. and the veterans who followed |
hem, will never do so. Good men every
Fhere reioiced when the war was over
md said, LET the dead past bury the dead.
Brownlow and his minions in all the land
llone lin their voices for blood.
Mr.. BrownloW's slavery record, the state
militia, the morals Of the party, all IN their
urn received the attention OF the speaker.
His speech vas closed with beautiful and
ouchine appeal 20 all classes, parties aud
,olors, 10 bare their arms with him in re-
ieying the disiresses of his people. Let
he bloody past be gone forever; the
,loomy present offered work for all good
itizens, and he believed the future held in
tore the sunshine Of brighter days. He
aid be had entered the field to beat
,rognlow, and he intended TO do so. The
dice Of the loyal people were for him.
ie did not deny ihRii. was in the power Of |