Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-05-19

has its origin. Let US hope, then,
we all come here as brethren, leav-
ing our political disagreements and
antagonisms behind US, with the
and our action upon those
points and subjects on which alf can agree,
and TO avoid the Introduction of those
topics which not only consume time I'M
proftablym their discussion, but which
tend to produce alienation and discussion.
The range Of investigation and of action is
wide enough to furnish ample room for
all, without any real clash of interests or
any ~unfriendly collision Of opinion. The
term commercial " has been applied to
this and similar conventions, but it is GER
tainly to some extent a misnomer, since
the sphere of operation is of a much more
diversified and extended character than
p~ertainst to a mere chamber of m
or board of trade, and legitimately en-
braces not only commercial affairs, strict
ly~ speaking, but covers the vast field of
internal improvements, agriculture, man
ufactures, mining, education and the arts,
and in short, whatever affects oUr social
welfare or our material interests. And,
without any unkind feeling toward any
section or portion of the country, or
affording any pretext for u~nfriendly criti-
cism as TO our motives, may we not right
fully thus meet together from tine to
llfitc anu tulDlOi OhIStlfGS III AOSAtTlnk
and advancing these hitherto compare
lively neglected interests of the Southern
and Western States2 We believe that We
possess greater natural advantages and
than any other portion of the
globe. That in addition to the two great
requisites of a dense and prosperous pOpu-
lation-a salubriOus climate and fertile
SOLVE have manufacturing facilities
that are u~nrivaled; mineral treasures and
treasures of he fnVgpgf nf innnFfA- NnFIafV
and value; and that our almost monopoly
OF the four great staples, cotton, tobacco,
sugar and rice, entitle US 10 an undis-
puted supremacy iTFthe commerce OF the
world. l~Applause.T
With adequate and well directed labor
and capital, which it is one of the prime
objects of this Convention to invite and
secure, and which are o beginning to
appreciate our advantages and respond TO
u call; u now unoccupied II nom
producing territory will TEEN with a rich
abundance; the export value of Our pro-
ducts will swell to an amount tina would
now be deemed fabulous; the wealth of
the world will be emptied into our lap,
and the effect of this golden tide viii be
felt n seen On every land. Our houses
will be embeliished with the evidences Of
taste and culture; our watering places and
other resorts for health and pleasure viii
be rendered more attractive and accessi-
bic; the sphere OF our social and intellect
ual enjoyments enlarged; and if we are
true TO ourselves, and wisely employ the
advantages which a beneficent Providence
has so p~rofusely lavished upon US, the
States which originated these Conven-
tons and which are chiefly represented in
this, viii ere long be the most prosperous
as they are the most productive of all
lands on which the sun of Heaven shines.
Applause.
In the special reference l have made to
these Southern and Western States, Twill
not, I trust, be regarded as making any
inYidiOus distinction. There are, as / am
aware, delegates here rom other States
and localities, and il affords as much
pleasure TO meet with them and TO well
come them cordially to a participation iii
Ii proceedings; but the interests repre-
sented by them are for the most part able
to take care of tAemsclYes, and neither re-
quire nor desire the action of this Conyen-
ton in their behalf; and they will there
fore cheerfully cooperate with US in any
measures we may deem judiciOus or neces-I
sary with reference to our local interests,
and will not he offended If, whilst We dis
parage no one else, we are selfish enough
to direct our special attention to these in
t@erests, and indulge, il may Be, in a little
self-laudation. @
We are nov but emerging from the
wreck and ruin of fierce and desOlating
war, but not only have we survived
caiamities So appalling as to have driven
any other people into despair and imbe-
cility, but, with marvellous tact and
resolution, our people, irrespective OF sex
or condition, adapted themselves 10 the
circumstances ofthe " new dispenSatiOn, .
and even while the debris Of the great
CONFUSION lay scattered around them on
every hand, went promptly and earnestly
10 work to lay the cornerstone OF y new
social and industrial ediice, which Is
already presenting its fair proportions to
the wonder and admiration OF the world.
In no spirit of Boosting on our part. it
may be soberly and safely affirmed that
history presents no instance of a whole
people reduced at once from o~pulence, not
only to financial bankruptcy. but to the
utter destruction of all their material in
terest, who submitted 10 their fate with
more of fortitude, and moral herOisIm. amt |
who, from the depths of adversely, eXhib-
tied a reaction and recuperation SO Won
derful for its rapidity and -PerInanence; |
and never was there a people 10 whom
was more justly applicable the sublihne
sentiment of Millions: Methinks I see in
my mine a noble and puissant nation,
raising herself like i strong man after !
sleep and shaking her invincible locks! !
Methinks / see her rs an eagle viewingheri
young and kindling their undlz-t
zled ewes at she fall midday baaml' I'll
80 much has already been accomplished
under circumstances so adverse, what
may il not expect for the future? Why |
shall not our valleys and II plains crown
the labors of the husbandman with their
generous rewards, and fiji to repletion our
capacious storehouses With the great sta
pies Of commerce; whilst even the rugged
hills and the mountain slopes are also
made tributary to the industry OF man ly
a 81 -Ifn o.aa+u vaua IN orr r.r.nf1aua HnaEG |
and herds, and supplying the social board
with the luscious grape and the rosy wines?
Why shall not this imperial valley, TO
which allusiOn has already been mado.l
vast |alluVial bottoms are Infinitely |
more fertile than the historic valley of
the Nile, and capable OF n%urguring almost
the entire population Of the globe, be pro-
tected against the %inundation, and its
now dense and tangled wilderness be con-
verted into'the granary and gardenrof the
world?
Why shall not our country be covered
with q network of railways to meet the
ever-increasing demand for traDspOrta-
ton, and when these iron channels of
commerce find themselves arrested bv the
of the imperious sea, why shall not
the swift ship, built and equipped at our
yards, by m " artizans, out ofour
own materials, and manned with our own
seamen, be in waiting to receive these
precious burdens Of our own ports, and
transport our products to the markets Of
our own selection, and return 10 rs
freighted with the treasures of the outer
Why shall no the furnace and the forge,
he mandatory and the workshop, suppl
and supported by the agricultural
commercial interests OF our people,
be crowded with busy operatives swarm
ing hither from the teeniirg hives of the
World, and fill the land with the busy
of their industry? Why shall nOtl
our press enlarge the sphere of its infiu-
snce and its power. and supply us, not
only with the ephemeTal literature of the
and the magazine. but with
hat also of a more elevated and enduring
.Irlracter, and especially with the books
Introduced into our educational INSTITUTE
ions, and from which our children in al
,reat measure acquire their habits of
bought? And why shall not these edu-
institutions themselves receive a
new impetus, given us not only the COM
non school, that opens wide the door 10
III, and be regardeda as the vestibule TO the
of knowledge; but the college in
he full panOply of scholastic equipment,
nd the university i'm the largest signiti-
ance of the term, whose ample corFieu-
shall leave nothing for the most aspi-