The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-10-04
POLITICAL.
Speech from our Next President Horace
Greeley at Pittsburgh.
POLITICAL.

the balcony the following address:
FEnLow-C CITIZENS: The wise King
saws. "There is time for war and .
time for peace" The City OF Pitts
burgh has recently witnessed rehearsal
of the pomp and pageantry, the Dlazon-
r.. and the circumstance OF civil war.
A very large number of men we've col
lected at vast expense, with the single
purpose of rekindling the bitterness
and hatred, the animosity and antlpa.
thies. the fears and exultstions OF civil
war. for the advantage OF POLITICAL
partv. take it, your journals OF Pitts
burgh, as well as the orators on tins oc-
casion, have been trying their best 70
make us-ths people--hate each other
for partisan advantage. A stranger
would imagine. who was reading the
journals of Pittsburgh for the last lew
days. that we were still at wal, and thas
their purpose was to revive and ezasper,
ate the hatred and animosity OF civh
war in order to intensity and lnvlgorase
their side of the conflict. They TAX
about "rebels and traitors Fellow
citizens. are we never to be done with
this? We demanded OF our adyersares
in the great war that they surrender
their arms and go to their homes. They
surrendered them. We demanded tnas
they enfranchise the blacks, and the
blacks are now enfranchised- None Dut
white men now stand disfranchlsed on
the soil of our country. We demanded
that they stipulate that the emanclpa-
ted slaves shall not be paid for and that
the rebel debt shall never be paid oy
the Government or the States, and they
assented to that. So far "a 1 can see,
every demand made on the part OF the
loyai States and loyal party has been
complied with by those lately IN reoei-
lion. Everything. Everything mas
been conceded, and still they tell Us We
want them to repent. Have they hoe
brought forth works meet forrepentance,
in thus coming together IN solemn
Convention, the representatives OF the
Southern people, and giving tAeir as
sent to the platform of the CINCINNATI
Convention, which was themostintense,
most complete Republicanplatform that
had ever been presented by any Nation
al Convention whatever. Althis beng
done, we are told by these gentlemen
who met here, "An this. Is mockery.
This is fraud. You don't mean anytnipg
by it, and the cry goes on, "heDels ana
traitors" "Rebels and traitors, de-
nunciation and prescription, the same as
ever. Four years ago, in the kepuDn-
can National Convention, it was deciar-
ed that this prescription should cease.
Nobody else asks for prescription;
but then no one doubts, no other
party requires that any human
being should stand prescribed on
our soil for n rebellion that ceased
seven and half years ago.
Four years have passed, and still it Is
maintained that, there are at this day
thousands of people in Arkansas alone
prescribed. The most intelligent-the
most responsible people of that State
are forbidden to exercise the night OF
suffrage exclusively by
the party that meets here and
shouts for Grant and Wilson.
Those of us who stood for it are equally
denounced If we do not happento agree
with them in our present politics. Here
stands one who is charged by them with
being q secessionist. Could that be
true, fellow-citizens? Look facts in the
face. When Lincoln had been elected,
and this conspiracy for secession began
to advocate itself, we Republicans In
order to further and further separate
and divide the hearts of the American
people from each other, they hold es-
sential to their triumph that Hatred
should continue; that distrust, suspi-
cion, and alienation should continue.
Do what you will, do what you may,
they are determined not to be satisfied.
Now, fellow-citizens, it is not enough
that those who fought againstthe Union
were told by our own men, and told still
more by those out of the circle, "fou
must back out tofyour Republicanism, you
must surrender your opposition to the
extension of slavery, or consent to q
great civil war" This, they said, was
only the alternative. Bloodshed and de-
vastation over the whole country, or
you shall surrender principles on which
you have just carried the election. 1
was one of those who said, "No, there
is no such alternative" i denied that
the Southern people, the great minority
of them, were against the Union. / de-
mand that there shall be open, free dis
cussion before the Southern people. Ii,
after an honest, unterrified, uncon-
strained vote, if they prove and the
people of the South say they want dis
union, / will consent to it. L know they
will not. 1 know that the Southern
the majority would have
voted as they actually did that winter.
not for secession, but for clinging to
the Union, and now, to-day, if the ma
ton were to be imperilled and there
were Just two modes of saving it, to
trust to the chances of civil war, or the
chance of free, fair vote of the South
ern people, would very greatly prefer
to take the latter chance, rather than
the former. Fellow citizens, they do
greatly misunderstood and malign' this
American people when they assumed that
in cold blood, before there had been any
clash Of arms, the people in the South,
any more than the people in the North,
desired disunion. In its origin. the great
masses of those who consented to the Sc
cession movement meant nothing by it but
to back down the North, and make US con-
sent to the extension of slavery That
was their purpose, and that purpose / did
my best to defeat Well, the war is ended
| think it ought to be ended. We had a
great and terrible, bloody and destructive
civil war. Our success was perfect. The
defeat Of the adversary was more complete
than any defeat recorded in history. They
have suffered much They have conceded
all. Cannot we afford to be magnan:mous.
at least. They see, fellow citizens, they see
that the Southern people may vote. Some
Of them may; but the instant they vote
the cry is raised, See Low these fellows
vote" They cry you must vote the other
way" Is that an election, or is I only the
fashion of war in another aspect?
Fellow-citizens, you belong to one Of the
great hives of American industry. L
plead here fer peace and reconciliation;
for the interests, especially. of this busy,
energetic people. How | have
with Pittsburgh,-how l have
rejoiced in her property; how i have
wou1ered and admired her magnificent
growth, you surely do know. No place ON
he continent has been dearer to me than
p;ttabnrCh A hero has heen M sDot in