The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1869-10-28

HON. A. r. JOHNSTON,
INTRODUCTORY.

and to our posterity, than any pollttcal /
struggle which has TRANSFERRED, In tho his |
torr on our State. / believe that, upon the |
result OF this canvass, depends In great
degree the future prosperity OF the state, |
and the real liberty OF the people OF both
race. Thus considering the question, am
inclined TO do all can towards the success
~ that party. whose claims 20 your conf
dence and support / shall presently submit
have but little hope of presenting any new
views TO the gentlemen of my own race
who are here assembled. You are men OF
Intelligence. and have studied the situationi
no doubt, with interest and care. Howey-
er, as am here 10 address you, rs an accred-
tied representative of the National Union
Republican party, and by the appointment
of the Central Committee. IL you viii honor
me with your attehtion, ! propose nov ~
speak to YOU on the great questions OF the
day.
PRESENT coNDTrION OF THE COUNTRY.
FeIlow-citizens! you are painfully aware
OF our deplorable condition as people
vet as Introductory 10 the main argument,
bear with me, for a moment whilst advert
to the position we now occupy; We nnd the
face of our country sadly desolated by the
ravages of the late deplorable war. Per-
hans one-half of those rich acres, which
once whitened With the great Southern sta
pie, are now lying idle and uneultivated,
covered with underground and briars our
towns and villages once so prosperous ana
beautiful give mournful signs of dilapida'
ton and decay. The rural homesteads OF
our people, once so lovely, show
unerring indications Of our crippled agri-
cultural interests. All of our industrial
pursuits are paralysed. Our people have
been hurled from wealth and happiness, 20
comparative poverty and misery. Gloom
oyershadows this once enchanting southern
home of ours. Ii Is true that since the
close OF the war. through the indomltable
energy of our noble people, we witness, here
and there. throughout the State, faint ipdi-
cations of slowly returning prosperity out
it is utterly impossible that much progress
can be made, In that direction, until the
present condition OF governmental affairs
Is changed. j have not yet adYerted 20 the
gloomiest part Of the picture. We have
no reliable civil rule i'm the land. True II
H. we have shddOlos Of Judicial tribunals
presided over. In most of the counties, by
aliens and strangers, utterly incompetent
10 the discharge of the duties OF their DILL
ees: men. not of our selection, but appOin-
tees of tyrannical military governor oar
courts under such guidance. are instruments
OF injustice and oppression, and absolutely
farcical, in most instances. The right OF
trial by jury, and the writ OF Haoeas Cor
nus have always been regarded, rs they
really are, in England, and in this country
as the only guarantees OF human liberty
Rut. we cannot now be said 10 have the
right of trial by jury. True II Is that jury
trials do occur In our courts; but, that Is by
holds in his hands supreme military power
over the State, Whenever, I'm his malignity
and hatred OF our people. he wishes so 10 do,
he can withhold this great right of trial by
jury. by taking from the civil courts their
Jurisdiction. He can, at any hour OF the
day or night, drag any of us, gully or not
guilty. from our domicils, immune us In
loathsomemilitary prisons, and place us be-
fore his illegal military commissions for
trial, without the assemblage of any jury.
I,.t there il "A a n
of escape; for the writ OF Habeas Corpus
has been suspended indefinitely by military
command That great writ OF right which
the bold Barons of England, long cen
turtles ago. forced from the tyranni-
cal King John, at the point of the sword
that great remedy. which, from thence until
now. has been defended and preserved by
the English people, and which has cOnstitu-
ted their only shield from oppression, and
for which every Englishman, of this day.
would die if necessary; that great writ of
right so dear TO the wise and noble men who
founded the American Union, and which
has indeed, been the only real protection OF
all the preceding generations who lived here
before us, and which is the only safeguard
of the liberties of ourselves, the men Of this
day that great and sacred writ, which, by
a single word. can throw wide the prison
doors of the land upon their grating hinges,
and reaching out its long arm, bring forth
from dungeons Of darkness and gloom into
the golden sunlight of day, the pale victims
of tyranny, ana which, by single touch
causes the changing chains OF slavery o. fall
from the limbs of manhood,-this great
writ saw, has been paralyZed and destroy
ed. by a single dash Of the pen welded by
the cruel Tyrant at Jackson, who rules us
with a rod of iron, and who seems To study
how he can most Cypress, insult and humil-
late the noble people upon whom he
has placed his feet. Look, for moment, az
the mercenary gang OF "carpet-baggers,"
mostly without qualification, character. or
common honesty, who fill the county offices
of your Stationary OF them 'Jail-blrds'
and criminals, the refuse OF northern soci- |
ety,-a hungry. gang of disgusting adven-
turers homeless and penniless who
came here to live by their wits, and cheat
and defraud the people Of Mississippi of
both races! How terrible is our condition
Is there no remedy?
THE REMEDY - REcoNsTRUCTIoN.
Until Mississippi is reconstructed, we shall
find no deliverance. It Is of vital impOr-
lance TO us, that the work of reconstruction
should be completed as soon AS possible
Reconstruction will bring 70 us speedy. en-
during, real Peace, and the establishment OF
pure unmixed permanent civil rule, and
the destruction of that OdiOus, humiliating
and terrible military despotism. with all it
horrors. under which we have so long Lam
guished and suffered. Reconstruction, un-
der the leadership of almost any party, Is
far preferable To protracted continuance Of
military rule. When reconstruction shall
occur, and peace once more bless the land,
we will witness a revival OF all our crippled
industrial pursuits. The price of real estate
will greatly advance. Our people, cheered
by hope, will shake of their lethargy, and
redouble their efforts TO recover from the
terrible blow which has crushed them a
great tide OF emigration, composed of labor
ers and men of capital, from the Northern
States. and from foreign countries will flow
into the State. They will bring with them
their families, and become permanent citi
zens. Millions of Northern capital, now
awaiting judiciOus investment VIII be
brought here, invited by this most lovely
and productive country, and made secure
by a fixed civil government. our waste
places will be gradually built up, and made
once more to blossom as the rose. Our rich |
fields, now abandoned by the plowshare, !
will become white with our great staple =
Our labor system, now 80 unreliable and un-
certain, will soon become organized and eff /
cient. BY reconstructing now, we shall in
augurate the great redemption, for which |
we so much long. Until we are restored -
our lost position in the Union, returning /
prosperity will never dawn upon Us.
THE BASIS OF RECONSTRUCTION,
Is certainly not such "a we would have cho- /
sen. had our wishes been consulted. But /
you know. my friends, that we had no choice /
as to that mode. A down-trodden. power /
less, and conquered people, we are compell- |
ed to take such terms of reconstruction, as /
the victors may dictate. Those terms have /
been dictated by the Radical Congress Of
the United States, and that Congress is yir- |
tually he government, having absorbed the |
other two great Departments. BY corrup-
ton. frand, and shameless violations of the |
constitution. and an utter disregard Of the /
principles of justice and mercy. that fanat- |
ical body, sets up is party toiH as the supreme
irreversible law of the land, TO which we /
must bow. Let us no longer say, 1--WE object /
TO this-such and such measures we will not /
have-this and that law is unconstitutional, |
and we will not submit to them-we will /
not submit to this or that act of wrong and /
OuurpsGiOn-H Why- INV frfandg we y,,stef r.