Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-07-30
Grand Ratification and Mass
Meeting-Eight Thousand
Persons in Attendance.
Speeches Of the Leading Repub-
IicanS of IllinOis-Immense
Enthusiasm.
The Garden State Good for Gree
ley and Brown by Large
Majority.

y
meeting in this city tonight was large
and enthusiastic. Two stands for
the speakers were erected on Market |
street, between Washington street and |
Madison, around which a crowd gath |
cred, variOusly estimated at from five to |
eight thousand persons. Hon. Gustavus |
Kqerner, Liberal candidate for Cover |
nor, was the first speaker. After allud- |
ing briefly to his early acquaintance /
with Chicago in 1886, and expressing the |
interest he felt in her progress, he said /
he wished, before entering upon q dis |
cussion Of the political issues of the can
yass, to have a certain thing distinctly |
understood, namely, that neither he nor 1
those for whom he spoke wished to de- |
preciate the great services of General |
Grant as a military leader, or, in criti- |
cizing his course as a civil administrator, /
to reflect upon him as a General, nor did /
they, as this has been impudently |
claimed by some men, to east a stigma |
upon the noble army which maintained |
the Union intact and preserved the life |
Of the nation. He read from the Cincin- |
natl and Springfield Liberal platforms in
proof of the esteem in which the SOL |
diers were held by the Liberal party. |
He deprecated the appeals which were |
being made to soldiers in a canvass
which was essentially a civil one. He |
next referred to the history Of the Re
publican party, and recounted the meas |
ures it had originated and carried out, |
and said that he would be the last man |
to dispute any of the claims of the Re
publican party. He said he belonged to |
the party almost from its inception, and /
worked for its success. If that party was |
., l. 60. &c h 20 l,ol
termination of the civil war, and for sew |
eral years thereafter, he might humbly |
claim some share of the eulogy. But par |
ties could not live upon laurels alone; new
issues spring up, divisions naturally |
arise among honest people, and old par
ties dissolve to make room for new ones
on the leading questions Of the day. |
This was precisely what was pressing |
to-day, and only the blind, or those who |
use parties for plunder, merely can not |
or will not see it. He then proceeded to |
review the measures of the present adj |
ministratiOn, which he regarded as OBJ /
iectiOnabie measures, adopted to force /
the South to lose the Union, were lily |
advised and of doubtful constitutional |
tV, aud had been so far unsuccessful. |
General amnesty had been delayed until
the administration party become |
alarmed by the extent of the movement |
so apparent at the Cincinnati Conven- |
ton. The financial policy Of the pres
ent administration was unsatisfactory. |
The boarding of gold and currency in |
the national Treasury, under the plea |
of maintaining the national credit, |
was condemned by the ablest finan-
ciers in the country. The adjust |
ment of the tariff; fostering mo-
nOpolies; land grants to corporations
already welding dangerous power, dis
posal of patronage for personal ends,
had caused great dissatisfaction, he criti-
cized the persons with whom the Presi- |
dent has surrounded himself as corrupt
political tricksters, and inexperienced
and reckless military pets. Il was TO
remedy these evils that the Liberal
movement was inaugIrated. 1t was
not a movement of politicians, but
founded upon the desires and SEPARATIONS
of a large portion of the American peO-
pie. Referring to the claims which were
made in behalf of the Administration
of having reduted the national debt and
taxation; peace at home and abroad; |
seteling dangerous foreign difficulties, !
and given the country prosperity, he
said there was not a grain Of truth in
some of these assertions, but much more |
eXageratiOn. The debt had been paid
by the people through heavy taxation,
which had been late reduced as a nat |
ural consequence of the cessation of
war, and no one ought to take credit for
removing taxes which, if continued after
the occasion for them had ceased, would |
have ruined the country; ana our taxes
were too high vet. Our currency, instead
of being one of the best in the world, was
one of the very worst. Our prosperity is
due to our own labOrs, our own energy. !
The Washington treaty was the result |
of the remarkable good luck and ability
Of our commissioners; yet by presenting
absurd and untenable claims we came |
very near losing the benefits of that
treaty. He then proceeded to give his
estimate of the weak points of General
Grant as the Chief Executive of the ma
ton, repeating the charges of nepOtism
and corruption in his appointments, his
gift-taking, etc. He gave, briefly, his
views of what reforms were necessary IN
the civil service, and concluded with |
a high eulogy of Horace Greeley, who, |
ne said, was not the first choice |
of either Democratic or Liberal Repub-
liean, but who was honest and ineor-
ruptible, and whose popularity was |
daily increasing, SO that his election was
now a fOregone conclusion.
At the second stand short speeches
were made by Ex-Governor Blair of
Michigan, whose remarks were mainly |
devoted reviewed of the alleged frauds
and corruptions in the various depart
ments of the government, especially |
those in the Navy Department; and by |
John Wentworth, Thad. Hayne, and
other local speakers. Governor Koerner
was followed by Senator Trumbull in a 1
speech which was mainly a repetition of
a former speech made by him during the
campaign, and which has already been
Dtfhlfai1ad