The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1871-09-30
Speech of Senator Schurz.

| NASHVILLE, September 2O-Carl
Schurz made his promised speech at
the capitol, to-day. An immense
audience attended, representing all
parties, and all sections of Tennessee.
His arrival in the hall of Representa-
tives, was greeted with applause.
Governor Neil S. Brown made few
remarks in introducing him.
The speech of Mr.. Schurz was of
great length, liberal, candid and inn
partial, and was well received.
He began by stating that notwith-
standing the captious remarks which
had had been made relative to his
acceptance of an invitation from
prominent men who had been rebels,
he was happy to meet all steadfast
Union men, equally happy to stretch
out his hand to all men who had stood
against the government dnfing the
war, but are now ready to work for
the restoration of universal peace,
harmony, friendship and true brother
hood, and thanked the unionists and
c0nfederates, Republicans and Demo-
Gratis, natives and adopted citizens,
whites and blacks, for the very friendly
welcome extended to him. He had
no selfish aspirations. His audience
had nothing to give him. He had
been allotted the highest political
position attainable to foreign born
citizen under the constitution. He
would utter the natural convictions of
his mind without fear or impartiality.
Proceeding to discuss the present CON
dition of public affairs, he said a gem
eral amnesty should no longer be
postponed. 1t would tend to disarm
the feeling of alienation caused in the
South by the results of the war. A
just, generous and conciliatory policy
should be adopted. 1t is necessary to
return without delay to sound prac-
tees of constitutional government.
Local self-government should be re-
stored to that freedom which belonged
to it.
Great abuses had grown up in the
civil service and must be corrected.
Our system of import duties needed
change. Taxes must be reduced; a
return TO specie payment must be
made; corruption in high places
rebuked; the influence of corporations
oftremendeus powers guarded against,
and donations of public lands stopped.
These We're, he said, problems to be
solved, and his views were shared by
millions of liberal Republicans North.
Some OF them We're of special interest
to the South. He impressed on the
audience the Importance of the atti-
tude of the South in laboring for
reforms. So long as disorder pre-
vailed, the North would not yield
to its liberal and progressive i'm
pulses.
He said the war was caused by the
antagonism between slavery and free
labor. Slavery brought on the strug-
gle and caused the defeat. It isolated
the South from the world. France
and England dared not interfere
against free labor. The South should
profit by the result of the struggle.
Its cause was hopelessly lost, and can
never be revived.
He referred to the change of affairs
i'll the South, and the necessity of Il
change of social and political organi-
zation, based on the principles of
equality.
The reconstruction acts of Congress
were not the offsprings of hatred and
vindictiveness, but of stern necessity
to protect those who stood by the
Union, white and black, and to pre-
vent reaction of further troubles.
The Southern people would resort to
all possible expedients; accept free
labor in its true form, and free labor
must and would be maintained,
secured and developed, or the strug-
gle be fought over for those political
privileges by which freemen maintain
their rights. He asked if the South
had been placed in the position of the
North, would they have done less
MIR. SchIrz was emphatic in his
disapprobation of the policy of the
present administration, and in his
frequent expressions of apprehensions
OF the result to our republican institu-
tions to allow its perpetuation in
power, the only deliverance from
which he considered to be through
the cooperation of the sincere patriots
of all parties in the political organiza-
ton which would insure the oblitera-
ton of sectional bitterness from
national politics. Such an organiza-
ton would command the confidence,
and secure party cooperation of his
faith, who would support it in prefer
ence to the administration party, but
could not conscientiously act with the
Democratic party. Such movement
would receive the support of the
entire German element of the nation,
and the true patriots of all parties,
and result in genuine restoration of
the Union.
The remainder of the speech was
devoted to the exposition of his views
on other topics mentioned in the out
set of his remarks.
The Chief of Police of indianapolis
is trying TO explain how he got thirty