Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1872-09-28

see the significance or Importance {
movements occurring in our day. Pei
haps you and | are to-day onacting
part in history of which We do no
comprehend the significance. Tn
question, then, at issue is not whethe
the Democratic party shall triumph
The question is not whether Genera
Grant shall be defeated. The question
is not Greeley or Grant. The ques
tion is whether men who have here
tofore differed are sufficiently intelli
gent and patriotic to ignore their diff
fcrences and unite, actuated by tn,
grander and nobler purpose OF pre-
serving the country. Applause.
Therefore, when gentlemen say L
me, can you as Southern men vote foi
Greeley as Republican l reply,
don't vote for Mr.. Greeley as Kepub
lican neither do | vote for Mr.. Gree.
ley as a Democrat | vote for Mr.
Greeley as embodying the principle OF
a magnanimity high above party, foi
the peace and safety of the Govern.
ment and our free institutions. Ap-
plause That is why | vote for Gree
| ley. | do not vote for Mr.. Greeley for
the purpose of putting the white man
oman equality with the negro. | vote for
Mr.. Greeley not because he was an
anti-savery man, but because through
Mr.. Greeley | expect to preserve free
government for the black man as well
as the white man.
1t is therefore, my countrymen.
American liberty that is on trial
American freemen are the triers.--
What verdict shall you render? This
prisoner is arranged by the Radical
ism of the day; it is arraigned at the
bar of the Great American assizc
charged with incompetency to main
tain order, incompetency to secure
property, incompetency to protect life,
and that, therefore, the bayonet, the
military power, the one-man power Of
despotism is sought to be invoked to
replace these principles. What shall
be the verdict? Shall these principles
live or die? That is the question which
you have got to decide; that is the
great question in this canvass, wheth-
er you will understand it or not
Now, then, that you may understand
it. / wish TO detain you short time
while giving you my views upon the
terms of the treaty There has been
a convonant made-there has been a
treaty entered into-it is covenant
between the North and the South; it
is covenant between Democrats and
Republicans; it is covenant between
men heretofore differing in opinions
it is covenant by which they have
agreed to settle their differences, and
unite in a common purpose to preserve
their common liberty. lApplause.] ]
TIE TERMS OF THE COVENANT.
What are the terms? Why. the first
great proposition to be settled is this:
We must have reconciliation, or We
can never have peace and free Gov
erpment. How can you have recon
ciliation between the North and the
South? One thing is very certain
The very first condition of that recon
citation must be that there shall be
no terms imposed by the one to
the other. Now this treaty has
been formed and proposed to you-it
is proposed to the American people
for ratification. 1t was formed at Gin
cnnati, and it was ratified at Balti
moro.
Now | want to call your attention to
the terms which are honorable to both
parties. and are calculated to restore
reunion, preserve our free institutions
and put stop to this tendency to
ccntralism.
The first great question which would
meet any gentlemen engaged in this
cause would be, what are you to do
with the past? We have had a terri
bic past. We have had a sectional
war-a terrible and bloody sectional
war. When You come together, you
come as men who have been enemies
as men who have warred against
each other--as men have been staying
each others brethren. What do you
do with tho terrible past? There is
but one thing that ought to be done,
and that one thing is to agree to bury
the past and let it go. Applause.
Each man has his opinion about the
Thirtecth, Fourtceih, and Fifteenth
Amendments, and of the constitution
ality and Justice of the ku Kux and
reconstruction laws. Very we'll, we
cannot agree upon that; but what can
YOU do? The work is done, right or
wrong; therefore, because it is done,
not stopping to debate the question
whether rightly OF wrongly done, but
because it is done, let it stay done un-
til the American people, according to
the Constitutional mode, shal choose
TO change it, The first article of the
Cincinnati platform is that We will not
reopen the questions settled by these
amendments. The first amendment
sets the slave free; let him remain en-
frauchiscd, But the negro is free and
the Southern white man is not. The
negro is cnfranchised, but the white
man of the South is dsfranchised.-
Well what are you going TO do about
it. We have here in the second arti-
cle of the treaty two stipuations.-
That is, that all the disabilities upon
the white men of the South shall be
instantly removed, and they shall be
made equal to any other portion of the
country. You have the first condi-
ton, to let what is done remain; and, !,
secondly, that the white man shall be
enfranchised aud made frcemen ~ well
as anybody else [Applausc.l That
is the exact meaning of the two first
planks in our platform and | tell
you, fellow -citizens, these are the only
principles upon which these people
can come together. When the Repub-
licans passed those measures they be-
lieyed they did right, and you cannot
20 to them now and get them to admit
they did unconstitutionally in adopt
ing them; nor will they expect me TO
say | did what | know was not honor
able and right But let us bury this
terrible past out Of sight and forget it.
That is the only policy you can adopt.
Thorc are now duties ahead. Let the
INST be seitlnd hY ignoring il. and the