The Union flag. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1865-187?, 1868-08-14

looking gentry would wear the most comioal-
ny rneful faces. Their knees would knock to-
Pether, and their palsied arms shake, while
they all hurried to the rear, seeking an am
bulanee TO drive'O or commissary depart
ment to take care of, or some other position
suitable TO their tastes and talents.
| want those who were in the rebel army,
If there be any here, to listen to me now. /
haveno i'll feeling towards You, aud ! will
not make war upon you or anybody. else
Now what is all this about2 The whole dis
! pute is in a nut she'll aud its all talk. We
are on top. They are under FImmense
laughter. They'want us to slip our hold,
so they may shove us under, and they get on
| top. Cheers. lam not going to harrow
up the past that is not the question now !,
| but will say something about the horrors
Of war. What pretext have they for war in
Tennessee? They say this Radical party is
| tyrnnnica violent prescriptionists; that we
| intlict unmerited and tooseyere punishment !;
that we are usuPpers. They say some of
their leading Generals and men declare they
will have their rights-get on top or have
war. Seven years ago, when was passing
through this city on my way to Washington
| Etoldin asPeeCh mace in the Court House
that if they would attempt to disrupt this
government BY war they would get unmerci-
fully whipped and away goes the institution
of slavery. (lnimenss cheers) They went
on; they got whipped. The Institution is
gone and the colored man got his rights. |
! told them that I would rather have a
goyernmen. without property than property
! without government. / was hissed by the
crowd, and the cry was raised that Stokes
had sold out to Lincoln--that he was an Abo-
| litionist. There are gentlemen Tin this meet
ing tonight who remember what said then,
and who know have never retracted sin
gle word. Still they went blindl0 on. / need
not tell you who got whipped or who was
victorious VINO told you the truth, or who
lied TO you. They went on still, they lost
the war, they lost their niggers, aud they
lost their rights, but the government came
out glorious and triumphant, as it must ever
come out in every contest, for it is govern
ment of the people. One of the very same
men now breathes wHr and revolution, lust
| as be did before; councils not to submit, not
to yield, not to be peaceful, but to fight. Will
the people be led on to destruction by the
wicked fulminations of men who were en-
gagged in that same work seven years ago
They were false then they are false now |
warn the people of all shades of political
belief or whim, of all parties, not to follow
! .he lead of these men, for they will lead you
into trouble, as they did before. They told
you into trouble, as they did before. They
told you there would be no war if you would
boldly secede said you had nothing bat a
rosy path to travel / that the North would
never take up arms to prevent separation
Of the States !; that she would let you slide +;
and that if there would be q war, one Of you
could whip FIVE Yankees Some facts were
developed by the war, and one in particular,
and that is when the Southern army laid
down its arms, had complete peace and quiet
been restored, and perfect mutual under
| standing been arrived at, and the old frater-
nal feeling established and were all united
! in one grand brotherhood of States, and both
armies consolidated all the world together
would not be able to beat us. The war pro-
| duced that one beneficial resuit--it showed
| our strength to the nations of the earth
which we never had before,
| We had the war, and we were victorious
From point to point we slowly moved on.
At length the crisis came, the great fever
came to head. The men Of the South were
brought to bay by their stronger brothers Of
the North. They asked for terms, and Grant,
with his characteristic simple breVity aud
sense, laid them down so clearly that no one
could be mistaken. They we're simply these :
Stack your arms, | will send my officers TO
take charge Of them. Bring your men into
line, your officers will give paroles for them
and as long as you observe those paroles you
viii be proterted." That is the whole Of it.
There were no kind Of political oF any 9TH
er sort OF proTisos put into the terms. After
| that surreHder the people of this State con-
clnded that we ought to have sOWo sort of a
State or civil government. convention
was called and met in this hall, cons;itu-
ton was adopted, every man had been invit-
ed, bnt in view of the past, and in, order to
provide against future dangers and outrages,
an oath was prescribed. Every man who
took that oath was invited to participate in
the reconstruction of the shattered State
government, and every man who did nottake
part in the recoustructiou of the shattered
State government, and every maa who did
not take It was forbidden to take part in the
yeponstructiOn-so there was no Partially
shoEn. They did adopt a aonstitutiou-they
| did, at the same time, elect Legislature,
and the Legislature did meet, and we delega-
tied TO the Legislature tue right to regulate
tbs elective franchise. Wewere without one
particle of civil government Harris had
carried off the archives Of the State, and YOU
had no sort of civil government IN the State,
Then we were forced to organize govern
ment under this state Of things. The gov
ernment was organized, and The Legislature
went forward, and they declared certain clasr
| ses of men should vote, they met again, some
mouths afterwards, they ehfranchised aHoth-
er portion. They met again and they enfren-
chised another class, called the colored class.
There is a portion yet that Is, not enfrancbis-
ed. We are charged with having disfran-
chised them. That is not 20, for we never
disfranchised solitary man. They disfran-
ehised themselves by not coming TO vote
when called. Why did they not vote Than
That is fhe question. An l1viadon was eK,
ended to themto lay down ibeir arms, and
come home aud zoe with VS. II fhey wauted
70. al will rot IN fie PenifsnfiaFy before !
fake your Johnson oafhs / viii die in the
lasi diich.p These are stubborn facts. We
invited you 70 vote, bu. you did uoi come IN,
and The Legislature, in acco-dance With iho
power delegated Ia v, enfrauchised certain
classes. Now fhaf Siafe government is un-
consftudonaL Before then We had no sort
Of government in fhe State. Some say here
was irregulaTily 10 H. Il could not be avoid
ed. We bad 70 have government anyhow,
Was the proceeding unfair and nnconsfiu-