The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-05-20


SO good citizen, his adopted county
may well he congratulated. 4,
The Deceration.
Last Monday evening was very warm,
even disagreeably SO, but that did not
keep tho people from taking Aow-
ers to Rose Hill Cemetery and strewing
them on the graves of the Confederate
dead buried there. Unfortunately. the
hour appointed was too early in thseren-
ing, and the brazen sun had to be en-
countered. Ali, or nearly all the schools
in the city were there, and old ladies
from all parts of tho county, were seen
around. When the graves had been all
beautifully and lavisely decorated with
flowers by the vast crowd ofAadies, Capt.
John Ii. Hamilton introduced to the as
sembled multitude DIR. 4. w. Smith, as
the first speaker ON the occasion. He
said:
Ladies and Gentlemen Of tic Memorial
Association and of the AsscBsbty:-We
appear before you to deliver an, address
Oh this occasion. The unmerited compli-
ment of this invitation we would gladly
have conferred upon others more worthy
and competent. 1t is with embarrassing
diffidence that we stand before Won nj
this hour. We hope To shun every ex-
preston that would stir belligerent fcel>
ings i'm our hearts, Or show now az
ceptance on our part of the situation re-
sulting from the issues of the war. We
are not i'm rebellion now. we are not
watching for an opportunity to strike
again. We have buried the tomahawk
and returned the sword to its scabbard.
and we all have the pine of peace. We
never expect to learn war any more. We
are going to cast our spears into. pruninr-
hooks, and mould our cannons into plow-
shares and church bells.
We come to-day as land of mourners.
to shed the tear of affection for the dead.
and of sympathy with the bereayed iiy.
ing. 1t is certainly jealousy more cru
ell than the grave, and an EMU more yir.
ulent than the soul of Hannah, that would
deny Us this privilege, or seal up this
fountain. Who are these that have roll,
ed great stone before the door of the
sepuichre of our dead and placed the
Kings signet upon it, and set a watch?
Some have attempted to do SO, but their
effort was as impotent as disgracefuL.
OH HAY HOW, uIl6IItOdrIdSSeQ GIN D2lm
your dead Bring forth then your sweet
spices, and breathe your alabaster boxes
of affection, you are only doing it for
their burial. N%h
The moment we tread the vaults Of the
slumbering dead, we touch springs that
open the locked book of memory and a
thousand recollcctions come back in a
moment. The dead live again. The Pc
riod of a generation is as yesterday.
The dead men whose graves we deco
rate to-day, were sincere. We, their
survivors, were honest in our decisions
and efforts to establish n new republic.
They fought not TOR fancicd wrong,
they did not run alter phantom, no mere
ernment, but for inalienable rights, such
as the defense of self, family, property
and principle. Chartered and indispcn>
sible rights, without which the accumu-
latiOE of wealth and of happiness and the
enjoyment of life are impossible. If the
cause was just that moved Abraham to
make war on the Kings OF the East to
rescue his brothers children, if the self
defense cause which kept David in the
field while Saul was on the throne was
right, il the Macabean brothers were
right in resisting the invasion Of Anti
ochus-we were right also. The Crusa-
luOltHut tACy NcIC iuSIlldUko al
wrestling from the hands of tho Saracans
the sepulchre 'of our Savior, the Puri-
tans in resisting Charles, King of Eng
land-the Colonial fathers in declaring
their independence of the crown OF
George LII. Our vindicatiOn of princi>
pies was equally righteous.
The issues between the States was the
doctrine of State rights. This doctrine is
the true conservatism of all republican
forms of government, and as long as
constitutional and republican liberty is
the heritage of the American people,
this doctrine i'm some form must exist.
The true theory of our original constitu-
ton is the gredtcst liberty to the citizens
and the least power to the federal goy-
ernment. During the war these insti-
tutes of the Republic, were buried, but
their resurrection morning Is near at
hand. The constitution of the United
States cannot bear such circumcision as
the cutting out of these principles. The
principles of State-rights is the keystone
i'm the arch Of the great temple oflfberty.
1t is not merely ornamental as the Dill
lars of joachim and Boar were in the
temple of Solomon. But it is to the
constitution, what the Palladium was to
Troy and the Ark of the Covenant to the
children of Israel. The war is past, but
and like the huge rock in mid ocean, un-
shaken by storm and flood, it looms up,
the sentinel of the mighty Deep
We accept the situation resulting from
the war. We abide the arbitration of
the sword. We have no cup of repen-
lance to drink. We have nothing to re-
cant; our convictions remain; they
cling to US. We thought we were right
i'm 1861. We think nOU that We were
right then, and we shall ever think so.
There is a large and dominant party i'm
the United States that has oppressed us.
They followed us into every retreat.
Their spies have logged our steps and
their mlschieyous emissaries have scat
tered fire-brands through the land.
When Troy ,vas destroy..I Eneas uafh.
cred nm his people and their household
gods. and set sail for some friendly shore,
where. under new stars and more favor
able a,,srices. he might found new en-
pirc. He did find Italia: but the ayenv-
ing Juno followed him by sea and land,
and moved Earth and Erelus against
him, and every God below Jupiter; she
:,