The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1867-05-30
An Effective speech.

Ii senator Wfisou has found q lion in his
rsth. AT Montgomery, Ala he challenged
I any Southern man to reply to him The
4 gage Of battle was accepted by General
JAS H. Clanton, who, though taken by SUR
prise, delivered telling and eloq nept
speech. To the exclusion Of other matter
4 we reproduce the substance Of his remarks
for which We are Indebted to The Montgom.
4 cry Mail 9r - hatp re hH-t fit7 ~ ~ Il
Tienda and Fs1,otc O,dpns:J ais.,os ag .
r + returned from the country few min.
utes since. and wHs Informed that some col
ored men had called at my Office, TO invite
mo TO attend this meeting. I appreciate
this act of Kindness, confidence aud friend.
ship on their part My colored II lends, we
are southern men, BORN upon the same soil,
i've in the same country, and will sleep In
rre over; and our destiny is the same. II
YOU prosper, the white race Of the South
/ wit, prosper; and u the white rpce pros.
l-pers you must prosper: and whatever mis-.
| fortune Is visited uron the South, must be
borne alike by both races II Is alike your
| duty and interest 10 cultivate friendly re.
laticns with your neighbors and your for.
mer owners, who are to-day, and ever have
been. your best friends. For one, 7 can
| proudly say that no one in this assembly
can assert that ] ever oppressed him whom
IL
for one Of youin theee streets On another
when a white snan had Lhsen waylaS,ed aud
murdered, and his neighbors had assembled,
aud taken the law in their hands with the
| avowed purpose of executing the two sup.
ro'ed leaders, who were colored men, in.
terposed, with Others, and succeeded IN
having them placed In Jail. and fair trial
given them. One was convicted and hung
the other acquitted, aud still lives.
The Senator from Massachusetts, who has
Just addressed you. and who lives several
thousand miles distant, has explaine to you
the object of his political pilgrimage South.
He has challenged any ono present to meet
him in discussion TO night, and has offered
to divide time with any one who would
accept was born and raised In the South,
and hope to be buried In her soil have
met the brave men OF the North on many
felde; they outnumbered and oyercame us; ;
ard certainly have no fear OF their politi
cians But for my family, life would have but
few charms tor me. Neither the fear Of the
gallow the gibbet, or The bayonei, will
ever cauee me 10 desert my people, forsake
this bright Southern land which gave me
birth, or ceter me from the expression of
my honest sentiments under any cireum
stances. Some young Southern Radicals,
who have recently addressed Sou. say that
",
would disfranchise them. and hence their
efforts were purely unselfish, whilst at the
time their applications TO be relieved from
the disabilities OF that measure are pending
at Washington. and they are doubtless ex.
pecting to call on you for your votes at the
next election for this State.
Twill here state my own position briefly
on this point.
believe that hill is unconstitui ionai--I
believe IL is oppressive TO certain class Of
our best men. E. .s III ....
As coon as that bin passed Congress, a
high Federal official with the kindest feel
ings for me personally, said to me: "You
were moi On original secessionist Congress
Sherman bill You must send on an april
cation, and will approve it. and help you
TO get 1t through" replied that the Re-
publican party had no right tnder the Con
stitution To disfranchise me, and l would
| never ask for relief at their hands, and
that Is my po+itioti tonight. -. s
The honorable Senator frotn Ma.sachu-
| setts has said some things which evince
good feelings on his part, and which ] ap,
prove. He has also said many things from
which must dissent and made, many as
sertions which the political history, and
particularly that Of our recent unfortunate
|
with the history Of slavery in the South
since he came upon the stage Of action. and
endeavors TO 6S the responsibility Of the
existence Of that institution upon the South.
| ern people, with all Of Its horrors as de-
picted by his vivid imagination. / will
carry the gentleman back to the starting
point Of the institution or this continent
| apd before take my seat will prove to
| you that the North is responsible for the
existence Of slavery with whatever evils
attached to it; and am frank to say that
there were features in slavery which were
wrong. ..-a. .-.
Many years ago, my friends. before the
United States had an existence as nation
your forefathers inhabited the homes o
your raee--hfrica. The Northern people
who were thon as now commercial peo
pie. owning many ships, went 10 the coas,
Of Africa and bought some and stole OF
kidnapped your grandfathers and moth ers
placed them in the hold Of their vessels in
| great numbers, and In chains took some few
to their Northern homes, and sent most ot
them To be sold TO the Southern people fol
slaves. In this work they hadvniuable co
lsborers in the English and Spanish. B,
this traffic In human flesh they made lsrg,
suna Of money. ... s2.0." D..
The Southern. people, as general rule
were opposed TO the slave trade. when IL,
Colonies threw of the yoke Of Great Brit
ain, the Soathern Colonies amongst them
and one Of the principal reasons which th e,
4 published TO the world In Justification o
their cause, was that the mother country
had imposed slavery and the slave trad,
upon them against their wilhss
| When ourindependenee was acknovledg
ed and we formed 4 Uuion o. the Colonies
the South was still opposed to the slav,
trade, and it would have then been deelare6
piracy, and half os your race Ia the UniteS
States would not have been here now, bn
10 Africa; but the Northern men ehgnget