Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-10-22
Meeting in the Sqnare Last Night
Speech Of Governor Brown-fhe
Rain Interferps with Frees
mans Speech-Prema-
ture Adjournment.

= ray, colonel GOOney, Colonel Gala
; way, Mr.. Lanier Colonel Douglass, NJ
0 d. "a Stewart. Colonel Tom Avery, Il
10. Young, and number of other prom
, inent citizens. Il was announeed from
4 the stand that COLONEL keilar, havinl
J arranged to speak in Cochran Hall, wa
willing TO allow the use of it to tn
meeting, If it should rain He haC
made his preparations in ignorance o
! the fact that the Governor was to speaJ
in the SQUARE.
There was some confusion in tn,
camps owing to the absence of the othe
) candidate. There was Considerable tall
about the hOnappearahce Of Freeman
He was neither at the Peabody nor a
the Overten. Where Yves he? CAPTAIN
Garrett knew not, no one appeared 4
, know. While ali hands on the stanC
were speeulating about it, Mr.. Freeman
appeared in their midst and settled the
matter Of a joint discussion right there
Notwithstanding the fact that Colonel
Keller gave up his meeting at the
Cochran Hall, and sent written note to
Governor Brown offering the Hall foI
the joint GtiberhatOfial discussion. II
was resolved to have the speaking there.
GOvERNOR BROWN.
A few minutes past eight o'clock
Colonel TcTn Avery introduced
7 Governor Brown in a few words
expressed in his usual happv
style. There were at that moment about
ten or twelve hundred people present.
and the little stand was crowded with
! gentlemen.
The Governor commenced speaking
at once; referred briefly to his previous
canvass, when be visited Memphis in
the contest With Wisener, and to his tri-
unph afterward; TO his gubernatorial
career and to his present standing. He
I then turned upon the Republican party
and the record it had made in this State.
/ When the Conservatives uahie into
1 power, said the Governor, they found
I the State saddled with a debt of fortv-
three million dollars. Most of this had
been piled up by the Republicans
during a short but satanic reign of
of four years. With all the enormous
expenditure of that four years the Re-
publican party had constructed only one
hundred and thirty miles of railroad to
show fof It. When the Conservatives
came into power they found the State in
the saddest possible condition. Ten
nessee's credit was dead abroad, and
there was no money at home. In this
condition of things the people of the
state the Intelligent property owners of
the state, had to face the question,
whether they would pay all that debt?
The bonds were issued to railroad COM
panies that did nothing with them.
In fact, one rOad-the Home had no
existence except on paper, and vet
1t received one hundred Thousand dol
lars n this most of tho hal,f
accumulated. The people of the State
had to face that gigantic proposition
whether they shall pay up-redeem
those fraudulently issued bonds. The
people who owned the soil, the people
who settled the State, the people who
cleared the woods and first cultivated
the land, the epeOple whose fathers fought
the battle of New Orleans, who fought
the Indians, who rescued the country
from the dominion of savage nature
and more savage man, these people who
had to pay the taxes had to face this
fearful question of paying that enor-
nous debt. They would appear to be
Justified in repudiating it altogether.
Since they came into power, however,
they have retired thirteen million dol
lars of the bonded debt of the State, and
now, instead of having a load of forty
millions to bear, the State debt is only
thirty million dollars. The COnserva-
tive government of the State has paid
out and cleared off about two million |
Of the debt saddled upon it
by the Republican usurpation. |
Governor Brown said he would not |
certainly be in favor of paving |
off the debt now by levying additional |
heavy taxes, but he would fund the debt |
at low interest. There are about four |
millions due now. 1t could not he paid, /
and as there was no disposition To repu- |
diate, 1t would have to be funded.
TAXING BONDS.
The Governor also said that he was for |
taxing bonds as other property is taxed. |
A mechanic or a merchant has his prop |
erty full in view. 1t is liable to be seen |
by the assessor and to be taxed, and it is |
taxed. The bondholder hides his certifi- |
cate in his safe. No one sees it. 1t is |
beyond the view of human ken. 81 |
am be said, "fOr dragging them forth |
to the light and taxing them. Those |
bonds are now all owned by spectators,
who went into the market when the 1
the States credit was low, purchased the |
bonds at forty or fifty cents on the dol |
lar, and now gathers interest every half |
year upon the full dollar. 7 am for tax /
ing them. If that be reputation, then |
'Jepudiation" is written upon my brow. |
[Cheers. He then showed the unpro- |
ductive nature of a bOndholder, the |
most useless person in the State. The /
mechanic and the laborer add to the /
wealth of the State by their labor; the |
merchant, by his industry and his gains. |
TAe bOndholder does nothing; he |
adds no wealth to the State-does |
nothing but go, every half year, |
and draw out his double dividends. |
and yet the merchants and mechanics |
are taxed, and the bondholder is not ia /
voice, "Give it to 'em, Brownv1. The |
Governor, in few more words, express
ed his firm view and conviction that the /
bonds ought to be taxed. LCheers.
THE PENITENTIARY.
He then touched on the penitentiarv /
question, which cost an average of one |
hundred and fourteen thousand dollars /
per year during the four or five years of /
Radical rule. When the war was over, |
and peace gave the State into the hands |
of civilians once more, there were only |
forty or fifty conVicts in that institution. /
Hundreds were pardoned out after |
ward, as fast as they were sent |
there. Yet the cost went on increasing f.
and the burden Of keeping it up becom-
ing heavier every day. In view of the |
glaring fact that the penitentiary was of |
such burdensome character under Rad
lcal rule, yet he Brown was blamed |
for leasing 1t out for thirty-three thou
sand dollars per annum, thus saving to
the State the one hundred and fourteen
thousand dollars which it cost the Radi-
Gals, and taking in in the shape of profit
thirty-three thousand dollars, making a
difference of one hundred and foTty-
seven thousand dollars per annum in our
favor in the conduct of the penitenti-
tiary. [Cheers.l
IMMIGRATION.
Governor Brown then touched upon
the matter Of immigration. He said
that instead of providing means and
Offering inducements TO foreign immi-
grafton, it would be wiser to do some
thing to prevent the tide of immigration
from this State to the West. Every day
be was panied to see trains upon trains
Of emigrants passing away from the
and and crossing the Mississippi to new
homes in the West. The heavy taxation
that was imposed upon them by the
Radicals had impoverished the natives
and was driving them out. He thought
ought to be done which
would induce the young men Of the
State 30 work, something which would
show them how TO win wealth out OF
the soil, something which would attach
them to their homes and make those
homes what they We're calculated to be,
The happiest on earth. He was in favor,
il was true, Of bringing in capital and
thrifty labor from other States and from
Europe. He said that plan was adopt
ed at the last session Of the Legislature
Tor the proper dissemination Of correct
abroad as to the quantities
Of land for sale and the qualities Of such
and.
COMMON EDUCATION.
Touching the educational question,
Governor Brown anticipated what Free
man might say about common schools.
He said that his competitor was in the
habit Of making quite a fuss about
school business but never attempted to
DffeT a remedy. Tennessee has done as
much as II was in her power TO do.
There was a law in force now under
which the people Of the various counties
might organize common schools. He
accused the United States Congress of
proving recreant TO its high trust in pro-
viding for the distribution Of schOolscrip.
Tennessee was entitled TO a large share
Of that scrip, but got only a miserable
mOiety of it, 1t is talked Of now that
Congress wants to have mixed schools
With the pToviso that they mix the
schools and have them in a measure
under the management of the United
States He would ratherlet the chiidrafl I