Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-08-06
SPEECH OF HON. A. S. COLYAR.
Delivered ut Nashville, Tenn, An.
gust I, Is6s. yo-4aE

have but one object to- night, and
| that is to plead the cause of this million
of people, many ofwhom are little, inof-
| fensive children, many of them are help
less women; many of them are old and
decrepid; they gil every station in life I;
they live in palaces and they live in
novels; their aggregated resources and
wealth are immense; their general intel
ligence is fair. They do not live by the
spoils Of Office nor the tricks of politi-
clans. Their vocation is toll, and their
highest ambition is "life, liberty and the
pursuit. of happiness.' These people
have history--it is part of their in
heritance. OF this history they are not
ashamed. Coming into the Union after
the revolution, they soon took rank along
with such States as Virginia. Asa gal
liant and enterprising people they are
known to history. In two of the new
States which came in after Tennessee,
and which soon grew to be great States
| Arkansas and lTexas--for many years
| the enterprise of Tennessee carried to
them thousands OF her bold, enterpris-
ing, live young men. For q long time
several of the Judges on the Supreme
| Bench of both States were Tennesseaps
and q msjority of the Legislatures OF
both States were Tennesseans- who
had gone there and grew up with the
States and helped to make them. y +
OF her orators and statesmen Tennes-
see may. we'll be proud; the Federal
Government, in every conceivable shape,
has borne testimony to their genius and
worth. As orators, Tennessee has far
| nisned to the national Legislature a
Gentry and Haskell, who would have
been ornaments in the British Parlia-
ment in the days Of Chatham and Burke.
As statesmen, she has given to the Lower
House of Congress the Ewings, Zolli-
Golfer, Cave Johnson, G. w. Jones, Thos.
A. R. Nelson, Atkins, Etheridge, and q
host of others whom l might name,
whose great ability and high moral
worth aud parliamentary bearing always
kept Tennessee above par in the national
councils. To the Senate Tennessee has
given Bell, a Grundy and White, men
whose names will 60 down in history as
belonging to the first class as Senators.
At different times Tennessee has fur
nished o President and officers for both
Houses of Congress. To every place
of honor and trust under the Federal
Government known to the Constitution,
from the highest to the lowest, the nation
has called the sons of Tennessee. For
thirty years one of Tenpessee's most
truly representative men filled place
on the bench OF the Supreme Court; q
Bell and an Aaron V. Brown have hon
ored themselves, the State aud the nation
in the Executive Cabinet; and our own
beloved citizen, Governor Neill S. Brown,
was sent abroad to represent this great
nation at one of the first Courts in
Europe. Besides, Tennessee has fur
nished the nation as many Presidents as
the mother of Presidents, having but the
one rival in the whole Union. And all
these Presidents-Jackson, Polk and
Johnson--have done their full share IN
making out record of great people.
To science, Tennessee has given a
Lieutenant Maury, and to the roll of
military heroes, the name of Tennessee
great son has been added, and for all
ceming time it will, stand along with
those Of Caesar and Napoleon, as the
General who fought tie most successful
battles recorded upon the page of history.
Whether the great body of the Union,
while her distinguished sons honored II
up TO the late unhappy war, let their
bleaching bones upon every battlefield
from Talladega to the City Of Mexico
answer. This history the people of Ten
nessee are deeply interested in preserv-
ing. anl Taieuicl4 li
Eighty thousand men in Teunessee,
the men whose fathers cut away the cane,
built the first log houses, and converted
this beautiful country from q hunting
ground for the savages into land which
has been the admiration of travellers from
every country in Europe, these men,
under most peculiar circumstances, have
been deprived Of that liberty which alone
makes life dear. Can this liberty be re-
stored2 am here tonight especially
10 say to those who share with me this
degradation, that our highest, most sacred
and heroic duty is 10 exhaust the rene
dies for peace. know in this, by men
who are towards themselves, we will
subject ourselves 10 the imputation Of
begging and cringing at the feet Of ty-
rant. lust as a delegation did who went
to Knoxville TO see the Governor, and to
ask him, in the name Of little children
aud helpless women, not 70 light the
magazine.
These men are snubbedin the message,
and the Governors mouth-pieee IN the
Legislature paints them as hypocritically
Ticking the dnst from the Governors
feet These men, Gen. Frank Cheathan
aud Gen. John c. Brown, who are two
Of the beet living types Of Tennessses