Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1868-12-09


tide tended the smoking from day to day, and final
IL. at the right time of y5ar, went off down into
Middle Georgia with four 30 six wagon loads of ba-
con to the cotton planters nvariablt ceiling every
pound at the top of the Market aad fetching to our
respecled friend MerriwethGr the cash proceeds of
the adventure in full and honest tale. Under such
administration of the admitistrave mahogany-col-
ored "boy," Mr.. Thomas 1hrove. But the bad
times came on the mahogany-coored boy turn
cd ND as orderly-sergcant in company B, of the
eootb regiment of o. s. Uoloted Troops, and after
showing the same capacity and conduct there as he
had before shown on the old plantation Of Cheerful
Coptsnt in the pleasant valley of the French Broad
be had the heart torn out Of hsm by ragged piece
Of rebel shell on the second day Of The great bat
tie Of Nashville. That night the burying party
laid him, with scores OF others In trench in the
icy soil Of that December weather, and LEFT him
there in the hands Of the God OF JustIcs Our 70.
spected friend Merriwether oaen signs after the
"boy" nowadays when be SEES everything going
amiSs In the feldS and nothing right in the corn
crib or the garner; himself all the while, IS help
less As youns girl at setting them 70 rishb. ca
Well, the upshOt OF the whole business is, that
Mr. Thomas takes the most conservative and gloomy
views of things in general and of Tennessee mat
tsrS in particular. We cslled onhim fately at the
old homestead Of Cheerful Content, and had long,
rambling earnest interesting SOULFUL talk, sitting
BY the big place whore We had 50 often sat be-
FORE in the deep red glow of the hickory logs and
the light-wood knots. Our conversation went on
and on he was not there, as eused 70 be hard
fare hardship fear and anxiety worked upon her in
the days when Longstroet was csmped near by, and
you may see her grave nov on pleasant little
knoll in the old meadow AS Uss saying our con-
verstion went on and on ill we had completely
talked ourselves ont besides exhsustng holsIe Of
old and mellow apple jack made in the good old
times of the mahogany-colOred boys management.
1t would be idle to try 10 give che outlines of
our course of uttsrance, as thought and feeling
flowed and ebbOd during the lingering hours Of that
frosty November night We leave to blank for
gstfuness" all but Mr.. Merriwetbers sayings anent
the bill now before the legislature for fepealing the
public free-school law. You will observe that be
keeps taking the WING, in conservative continue
ton of the good old days when all things were
well, and Henry Clay used 10 run for the resi-
dency. UNA lfkEf Fktf III ls4
Mr. HERRIwETHER ON FRI h SCHOOLS.
"No, sir, this whole scheme of public free school
is 8 humbug. What you call the education of the
is delusion, sir sheer and mere deluBion.
1t is fact that mankind consists of few guides,
leaders, governors or rulers, ard many followers,
or led or governed It's folly 70 deny this for itis
as plain as sunshine to any ono that doesn't wfulIy
shut his eyes TO the cleRrest fscts. Hasn't there
been from the earliest days aristocracy and O.
plebs And there is just as truly 40 aristocrscy-
a natural arstocrscy sir-to-dsy, in Tennessee, as
there was in Rome in the times Of her might and
grestness.
SNOW, this natural, this born sristocracy, needs
no free schools it will pay its own tuition ont of its
own funds Or when it now and then happens-as
I'm not A-going TO deny that il sometimes does hap
pen-that boy of the poorest and most low down
parents born with the intellect and the will that
hts him for being member of the aristocracy,
somebody's sure to find him out and pay bis school
in & for him. Look at Parson Loftussover there at
Highgate; be was a poor bound boy and worked at
the taors trade. Well, DR.. Anderson, of Mary
Vile found him out and put him through CLASH
cal and theological course and be rose TO be lead
ing Presbyterian preacher in all the four counties
Depend upon it, sir it will come out just in all
such cases. Or, again, if your natural aristocrst
takes TO business bis natural force will carry him
forward and upward 70 his true place in the world
without any schooling at all You know we'll
enough, yourself ali about old Robert YRnktoD,
down the river vt Ridgeland-how hs began down
on the very ground without silver, and without
ever having darkened tho doOrs of q school house
and vet long enough before he died there was no
end TO she farms and the mills and the houses and
the niggers and the live stock he owned. No use
taking sir; If mans tit TO rise, he's a-q0iIs to rise
without any Of your free school nonsense. And as
for Tom Nokes over at the Cross Roads, whats the
use Of his knowing how TO read the newspapers I'll
1t will only muddle him, or else unsettle him and !
make him idle and trifing. When il comes to vo-
ting, LET him go and hear Judge Butler or Horace
Maynard or the Conservative candidates, and make
up HE mind from what these leaders tell him Such
men do the thinking for, all the Tom Nokes@ and 1
tOiU do IL in spite of all your free schools and news
papers No sir, 1 sSy again if Tom Nokes and his
boy can't rise above being plebeians without free
schoos, let em stay down where they are without
free schOOls -.. -rl .ar zslsT .aTsa o. rss7is q
"And then, there's another thing sir. This wild
and insane notion about the necd of free schools and
the good of free schools comes from those cussed
Yankees that took our niggerS away from us, and
that's reason enough for sny Southern genttemsn's
hating it Its humiliation and degradation enough |
that we this side of Mason and DiKOns line were
conquered by Yankee arms l doh't mean to take
up with Yankee Ideas and why's and pretend 10 see
leve in EN- and TO like en- for don't and never !
shall No sir, sball stick TO The thoroughbred old
Tennessee ways of thinking and doing, that came
n with Sewer and Upton and grew Tennessee |
grew. ..-..-.--.rrrr-.-Fr -qTEF7r-v.rFsFE |
''You tell me that a bill is before the Legs-
lEure for the repeal of the Rccued free school law
a Law passed just at the close of Abe war, when
every body was daAed and bewideFed, and WIS cry.
ing out Great is the Yankee and mighty Is his free
sohOolr I'm glad 20 be told that even our Radical
Legislature is coming to Its sober senses little and
that there's some likelihood of our getting once
more I'M Y ankeeized E5o0 hes E0bHlN
'Don't tell me that the repeal would bring dis
credit upon our State in the minds of an the States
north OF the Potomac and the Ohio Whist if it
does Isn't Tennessee sufficient unto herself I'd
like to know : What docs TennasseescaTe sbOutthe
good the bad opinion OF folks-iof up yoAdeF
Not picayune.
"Il will discourage immigration into our State,
will it, l hope il viii, sir. We, want no immi- |
grants ram -stamming in upon our old Tennessee
stock of people, with their fsnatics notions about
equality and education, upsetting and turmOlling
Tennessee ideas, ridiculing old foges, build |
ing mills and factories on our strsans opening aud
working our mines, telling our forests and cutting
up the timber with their confounded buzzing and
humming saws and planning machines, making all |
own hands sl the fine river bottom farms and then
grinnng At us for being behind them in the race !
No, sir, no. Hang your Immigration and yoar in
flow of capital, enterprise and skill We wan tno1e
of EN-. Tennessee for TemsssseAns cay /. Aad
il the repeal of thB free school law viii do anything
towards keeping ali those things opgtQtherside of
the Ohio in Gods name lot it Be repeated 1T once y
We don't know how much longer our excellent |
friend would hAvs rehen, out By thistiale The Ore
had got low the candle getting in its last flick
ering and the bottles spPeack wss saseeSed dFy,
so we raked ap the fire and both won't of 10 bed. p
Hon. Horace Maynard Recommended
for q Seat in Grants Cabinet.
W. v. holo,v ro,,,y of tba loihsr IN, t,