Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-08-21

] ulalOfilitS were III ldFOT u EEdntAAAS u
/ our freedom.
: The speaker cited several counties by
: name, and spoke of their various maiori-
ties for enfrancisement. Everywhere, he
said except in the cities, like in Mem
phis, Nashville, etc, where the negroes
are under the dominion of the Loyal
Leagues, they voted for the white man.
On whom, he asked, would you rather
rely to-day-the negro or the East Tennes-
see Radical? He referred to the policy
of Virginia, the Carolinas, Florida, and
perhaps Mississippi, and said that in
initiating our State Government under
the new order of things he was not in IA
vor of inserting a paragraph in the plat
form-that win be the repudiatiOn of prom
ises accepted in good faith. The issue of
the canvass was not the enfranchise-
ment of the negro. That was a fixed
fact. The great object was the re-enfran-
| chisement of the white Misunderstanding to
him the liberty and rights so long lost.
! The negro had been an instrument in do
/ ing this, and it did not become us-it was
! not honest to reward him by abrogating
| his rights. This is what the mean, low
Radicals told the negro we would do if we
| got in power. Let us prove that they
| lied, and teach the negro that we are his
! true friends. Honesty is the best pol
/ icy.
| He alluded to the fewness of the num-
| bers of the negro voters compared TO the
whites, and asked what there was to be
afraid ofin leaving the ballot in the ne
! groes hands. Turning TO them, he said:
! . You will never again govern this State,
| and you need not attempt it nor viii any
/ man or party be able TO do so who at
/ tempts to ddH through yOu.r
| Continuing his talk to the negro in a
| friendly and humorous style, he told
| them who brought them to the country
and showed them how it had been means
! of christianizing them. The missionary
! Iabors in Africa, he said, though millions
of money had been spent and
| thousands of lives lost in trying
to carry the gospel among them had re-
suited in all these years of toll and mon
ey, in simply teaching the African canibal
| how to pepper, salt, and roast a missiOna-
ry in a little better style than they for
merly did. [Laughter.] While this was
I so in Africa, the Africans here among US
had their Bible and were being taught
how to read it. He compared their bond
age to that of the Jews, and said they had
they had the advantage of the Jews, mas
much as the latter had wandered in
bondage four hundred years before the day
of deliverance, while the negro had been
held but two hundred years. In conclu-
sion. he gave the negroes this piece of adj
vice "a Don't you," said he, ever at
tempt to govern this country, for whether
YOU want to or not, you can't do it. [Ap-
plause.l
FIFFEESTH AMENDMENT.
Passing from the subject of negro suff-
rage to the Fifteenth amendment, he
declared that he should oppose it.
Suffrage was right that each State should
exclusively control within its own bOr-
ders. "Tt is, said he ''all important
Just now when the General Gov
ernment is absorbing all power, |
that this original reserved right
should not be surrendered, for
the Federal Government, rs a oOnse- !
quence of war, and by amendments to the |
constitution has so changed the original
structure ef government that States, as
States, have become mere dependencies Of
the central Government at Washington. !
If this right were surrendered but few
original rights would remain to the !
States. To show the danger of passing |
this amendment and making it the law of
the land, there is scheme, said Mr.. Ethe |
ridge, Of importing Chinese labOr-a
scheme that he was not willing, unneoes-
sarily, to encourage Mr.. F.. dwelt on the |
word U1inecesSG1ilg), and believes should |
be gone into as sparingly as possible. |
But if we do open the gates of China, and |
bring a few million of the Celestials here, |
it wont be long before somebody viii be |
wanting their votes, and this is a subject !
of which we wish the exclusive control. |
He would therefore vote against the |
amendment and oppose it to the hest Of
his ability.
aENocRAcY.
Mr. Etheridge next addressed himself I
to the people of every political complex /
ion present on the subject of the name /
or word :! Democracy" As an Ord |
Line Whig he claimed the right to speak |
TO them. He called for gentleman Mr.. !
COle) not then present, who said he hated |
.. g,,.1 n.,s. 10 aalr
was no apologist for the Democrats. But !
what is in namef In this progressive |
age names soon lose their party signii- |
cameo, and mean anything or nothing. |
Let us not now be looking to the past. !
In the name of heaven let US look to the |
future. The Democratic party has pre- |
served its identity in the Pacific States /
New York, Kentucky, Maryland and |
Delaware only; but grant that it had pre- |
served its organization entire. 1t shows /
that it was better organized and has mere 1
vitality than the Wing party, which was |
dead years ago But let me tell you now, |
that if YOU find an old Democrat out in /
the woods behind a log praying for the I
return of the Democratic party to power, |
You will find an old Whig close by pat |
ting him on the back. Talk IF Rss Deing |
able-as some of you dO-tO Join /
" the old, esfete, corrupt and rot
ten Democracy why, anything is
preferable to Tennessee RadicBlismz
a thing sDi qeneiTs, monstrosftv I
that had no prOgenitors, AID pray heaven !
that it leave no posterityl Applause |
Grant you that the Democratic party,
during its long and sometimes brilliant /
executive reign in powqF, was stained /
with crimes Of It's leaders, too often I'M I
scrupulpus in their efforts to I
maintain that pGWerg to it's honor
and glory be 1t said that it despoiled |
no man OF his liberties without a |
trial by his peers. IL robbed no man OF |
the franchise; it was not in favor Of great /
monopolies; it wes not the champion of |
high taxes; 1t was not guilty of that stu
peadpus pieee of follY-the boast that " q
public debt is public hlessing;'' 1t iRl-
prisoRed no man; tried and punished no |
man without due process of law: it estab-
lished no drumhead courts martial in
time ofpeace: finding no bastiles to pull |
dawn, il erected none as a monument OF /
its existence; it was not guilty of that /
most infamous Of rallYipg cries, [" sGLlts
popUh sl.pNentG teG." To the complete
organization of the Democrats OF the |
Northi to their heroic manner of resisting
alike all threats and Establishments; to |
their watchword, "the Union as 1t was
the Constitution as 1t is"=tO them alone
we owe it that the bondholders' dream of
imrerialism Is not an accomplished |
fact. Grant that the Democrats were
III IbDtlS. fof lDe IOuF wears that
they held sway IN Richmond thew
never passed a law disfranehising
an UgiOl man for loving the old flag, or
praying for the safe return ofthe hoy who
went out 10 fight for it, These things that
the rebel Democrat didR't do in time OF
war, the Radical camp followers did when
the Wsr was over and i'm time of peace.
Talk ai rotten Democracy, indeed. Ten
nessee Radicalism makes the meanest
Whio or Democratic raUime sea1n briob+ |
CONCLUSION,
In conclusion, Mr.. Etheridee said that |
for the last four years we had had crazy
Governor, who, in one of his crazy fits,
fell over ON our platform; we had had a
pauper Legislature, a low and dehauched !
Judiciary, The ballot box had been
wrenened away from the people by ty-
rants and strangers, plunderers and /
thieves. We had been compelled to bow
our necks to our former slaves. but it is |
easier to hurl the mountain from its base |
than to keep the yoke ON people born
for freedom. Three weeks ago the sun
arose Ear the last time on a race of slaves
he set upon race of freemen whose glad /
anthems rang out in a grand chorus of |
thanksgiving as he sank in the West, We
have known what Is to have been slaves.
and we now know what freedom is. We
know how much is due to the
magma charta, to the old barons
who established the bill of rights.
and we know the value of a written con-
stitution. There is no danger of our ever