The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-07-12
Speech Of the Campaign-B. H. Hill of
Georgia, ON Horace Greeley.

| UtUl Shis Ou hOIdCt UIcClcys
We lay be ore ou readers this morn
ing an extract from the great speech c
Honorable b. H. Hill, of Georgia. de
livered recently in Atlanta. We com
mend it to the attention of our readers
especially for the reason that Toomb
confessed it almost persuaded him t
support Creely:
But, what shall Baltimore do? Shsl
she nominate ticket? Fellow w-c1tizens
/ confess to you frankly that this ques
ton has given me much trouble. d,
not know that any question for solution
has been submitted to my mind, t
which have given more serious ant
earnest consideration. 1 have endeav
Ored t. look at it in every light possi-
BILE. / have endeavored to exercise
upon it clear, cool, dispassiOnate rea
son; suppressing my feelings, for con
fess to you if allowed my prejudices
and my feelings to take possession of my
judgment, / would every hour of my
life pray God to spare me to the day
that [ could gather this whole record
OF reconstruction infamy into one pile
and make one bon fire of it. But hush
hush. You and have been taught by
bitter experience to submit to many
things that were not agreeable, and we
may have to submit to many more
We must obey the law. We must obey
| what the court declares to he the law.
| We have no right to set up our ?udg-
| ment as the only standard of our action
whether we approve or not. Therefore
am perfectly willing to gather seces-
sion, the war and reconstruction into
one triune bundle of infamy, and bury
them out of sight forever. But my
| reason brings me to the conclusion that
the Baltimore Convention ought and
will accomplish most good by cooper
ating with the Cincinnati movement.
[Applause.l If l could have had the
construction of the platform, / would
have made it in some respects different.
If could have had the nomination of
the candidates, certainly would have
made them different. If the Demo-
cratic party could muster all its forces,
l might be willing to see them make
an independant nomination. l wish it
could be done, and done successfully,
and if it shall turn out that it can be
done, no man will rejoice more earn
estly than myself Bnt l will proceed
to give my reasons why l think we
had better cooperate with Cincinnati.
Mr.. Greeley has said and done many
things which need not tell you do
not approve-you do not approve, but
Mr.. Greeley has always been i'll favor
of one policy which relieves me OF the
most vital objection to his support. He
never has at any time approved of those
odious featrues of the reconstruction
policy which disfranchised the virtue
and intelligedce of the South and en-
franchised the ignorance and vice uftue
South. [Applause. He has 'tood up
like man from the beginning and pro-
tested against every one OF thes odiou5
features of the reconstruction policy.
You know that the main reason why L
never could, L never can and never Will
while God gives me grace to remember
that I am Southern man and white
man, approve those measures, is because
they effect my honor, because they ask
the Southern people to give that policy
validity by their own consent ask them
to consent to policy which degraded
the white men of the South by consent
ing that the masters should be in chaius
while their slaves should be unfettered
to rob them. Applause. That is why
| never cou'd and never can irdorse
that policy. AS / said before, in 1867
and in 1868, when all of you concurred
with me, L do not and did not propose
to resist the United States, nor any
. L., inh In /
then, and tried to prove IT, bur SAID
that when Congress passed outside OF
the Constitution to oppress the South
ern people, when the members OF
that body trampled upon their own
oaths to crafty their feelings of ven
geance against the Southern people,
aud asked the Southern people t" give
validity to that action by their consent,
| said to General Grant and | said 20
General Pope, and | thank God that L
said it, that would take anything
death, cOnfiscation, exile, martyrdom
but consent to that infarny, never!
TApplause:] Now, Mr.. Greeley comes
to our relief upon that point. Though
acting with the Republican party, ne,
from the beginning, protested against
these features of the policy. Therefore
/ don't, nor do you, violate that prlnci-
ple of honor that We should ever hold
dear, by supporting Mr.. Greeley. That
I put foremost as the first reason why L
am willing to vote for him. There is
another reason why | like Mr.. Greeley.
He has never been what is called par
tisaD; and all independent thinker, J
think, has the greatest honesty L
pity any man when i see a man get up
before an audience and talk about
building up a party. You must use
party TO accomplish a good purpose.
You must act harmOniously with your
party, but when it comes TO thought,
be Independent. Independence OF
thought and harmony in action is the
business of all who associate IL party
movements.
NOW, TO THE HISTORY OF MIR GREE
LEY.
Why. remember before the war he
defied his party in the very hour OF its
fanaticism, and boldly declared that If
the Southern people desired TO secede,
they had the right to do so. But, said
the gentleman, after the war began he
prosecuted the war. That is true. Can
you object to that? Mr.. Greeley hon.
estly thought that the Southern States
had right to secede. But when the
North waged war anyhow, and the
South waged war also, Why, Mr.. Gree
ley Joined his own side. Well, Top
posed secession, and a great many 9TH
er gentlemen opposed secession, but
when our States seeded we went with
the States through the war. [App.ause]
Now, if you quarrel with Mr.. Greeley
for going with his State, you must pro-
scribe me for thesame reason. would
90 with it again under the same cir
cumstapces Applause L have moth
ing to take back nor apologize for upon
that subject. The only difference be-
tween us is, that he happened to be ON
that side ard on this. That is all.
But Mr.. Greeley was against the whole
party on the subject of peace. There
was no day of the war that he was not
willing to negotiate upon the subject pi
oeace, ON terms honorable to both par
ties. Some represent Greeley as vim
dictive man; but it is not true
/ call to mind that at one time, when
the Confederate Government sent COM
missioners around to Canada 10 open
negotiations with Western Democrats.
Our commissioners were there, and, so
far as know, or believe, or Smember,
Horace G-cc'ey was the only man in
the eNorth-DemocIa r Republican,
that had the courage to go To Canada,
and have friendly communication with
our People [AppIause. Even the