The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1869-08-06

has been absent longer than | calculated
upon or he expected, l have been unable to
! cnnnlv with NV nrnnniee an. should not
be surprised if should have the pleasure of
greeting you in person before | again grasp
his rough but honest hand.
Permit me To congratulate both you and
the Democrat for system you have adopted
of securing short correspondence from vari-
GUS points in the county, which are of pc.
culiar local interest and add greatly to the
value of your publications. Sevcral of the
writers in both papers seem to comprehend
the propricty of being brief and to the point,
which is the great success of journalism after
all Depend upon II they will contribute
largely 10 your success and usefulness, and it
is my purpose to initiate you in the poor
weakly publication with which am CON
nected
have heretofore studiously abstaincd from
any reference to politics presuming you had
enough of that at homc--but you must OK
cuse me for few words in that direction at
present. Happening to be in Jonesboro',
Tenn, yesterday, l had the pleasure of hear
ing ex President Johnson i'm one of the
ablest efforts of his life No building in the
place hcing large enough to accommodate
half the audience, he spoke in grove to
about an acre of people. had expected to
hear him give his views ofthe local Gubcrna-
torial candidates and canvass, bat he scarce
ly referred to them at ALL but directed his
whole fire at President Grant and the two
Inst Congresses For more than quarter of
century have livcl within five hours
ride by rail of Mr.. Johnson, and at in
tervals during all that period have listened
to and fought him on old Wing and Demo-
cratic issues, yet I have never seen his extra
ordinary powers SO fully developed as on this
If,,p Inn. l,f
poured forth II mingled torrent of reason,
rhetoric and inveclive, and for more than
three hours he held that surging, sweltcring
mass of humanity, rs if chained to the spot
by links of iron.
1t is not my purpose TO give you even
partial report of his Speech but | must refer
to point or two. He spoke of the imperti-
ncnce of the Radicals in clubbing Gen. Grant
the second Washington" and to show the
great absurlity of the assumption he drew
contrast between the two Presidents
which you must imagine, for cannot de-
scribe it. | may say, however, while he
made President Washington no taller or
grandcr than have always contemplated him,
he did bring President Grant down to more
diminutive dimensions, socially, politically,
intellectually and morally, than usually falls
to the misfortune of man, and my own pri-
vate opinion is, though You mustn't tell it,
that the picture was true to life lie made
an extract from each of their inaugurals-the
first Washington assuming the fearful re-
sponsibilitics Of the station with trembling
and distrust of his abilities. and the second
Washington boldly procaming he assumed
them without fear
In speaking of Grant rs II General he
thought him entitled to no credit in that re-
spcct, us the immense army of the Union
hotro l,.I tI., holt 1,,,
sheer nominal strength, if Grant had never
been born. Gran. was nothing more to that
army than baggage wagon, and not as i'm
portant as supply train.
lie charged that the Radicals are the rebels
of the day, having fought eight years-four
to keep the Southern States in the Union
and four to keep them out
lie took straight-out ground i'll favor of the
reputation of the National war debt char
ging thet the one hundred and fifty mil
lions annually paid to the Northern bond
holders by way of interest, in gold and sill
yer, would impoverish and grind the poor to
increase the wealth of the rich-would ruin
the people to build the fortunes of SPECTATORS
The debt correspondent with the amount the
South had lost in slaves, and rs we on this
side of the line had lost that amount, it was
right and proper that those on the other side
should lose corresponding amount. The
Radicals claimed that the debt had been era
ated in the effort to save the Union, and now
proposed to destroy the Union to save the
debt.
He thought that the Union was in more
peril now than it was in the darkest hours of
the rebellion, and warned the people that
the will and aim of "the powers that be" were
to erect an Empire upon the ruins of the
Republic.
But must stop-sorry that cannot give
you fuller and more satisfactory synopsis
of Mr.. Johnson's great speech. In returning
from Tennessee, fell in on the train with
General Beauregard, and ON being introduced
had pleasant chat with him. He is plain,
transformations man, with nothing like fuss
and feathers" about him. He was on his way
to the Montgomery White" half days
ride from here, and hope to see more of
him before the season closes.
Yours in haste, G. BIC.