Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-06
IMPRISONED ELoQUENCE.
The Fourth at the Penitentiary-In-
teresting Exercises and the Address
es of Prisoners.

|
es of Prisoners.
A few DAYS ago the Superintendent of lht
Tennessee Penitentiary was requested By
the convicts to allow them the privilege O
INDUCING in such exercises on the Fourth
as were not incompatible with the regula
tons and discipline of this prison. Feeling
desire to alleviate, so far as is consistent
| with duty the necessary hardship's attend
ing prison life this request was granted, and
it having been announced that The
conyicts would rest on this day
to amuse themselves within
the buildings, a large number of Nash
| ville's best citizens assembled at the peni
| tentiary to witness what was to be done
Without going into the minuti@ of the pro-
gramme or giving details of the proceed.
| ings, we win state that at two o'clock il
| the afternoon the convicts assembled in the
large hail.
Justice Baskette, the faithful Superin
| tendent of the prison Suuday-school, which
under his guidance, has been productive Of
much moral good and reformatory results
opened the exercises with an appropriate
PRAYER, after which convict named
| James Mckinney, of Memphis
delivered the following touching address
whose objects and appropriate ends cannot
be too carefully realized.
GAN EXEMPLARY PRISONER
came to me couple of days ago and in
formed me that it was the intention tC
make within these walls this day demon
stration, by way of expressing our feelings
the sentiments of our minds, comparing
our present with our past in this institution
In other words to keep the
FOURTH OF JULY
that day forever memorable in the history
of this noble country-that day which
should to the end of time be kept religiously
sacred, enshrined within the heart 0!
every free born American day for which
brave men and true men lifted up their
hearts and struck off the shackles of tyran-
ny, and proclaimed themselves free in
shouts which rent the air, and were waited
on their wings across the Atlantic ocean,
till heard by and made the British lion
tremble
We, too, my fellow prisoners, have rea-
son to rejoice to-day, this 'the Fourth Day
of july" True we are not freemeD, yet
we have reason, inasmuch as the shackles
of cruelty and tyranny have been stricken
from our limbs and cast into oblivion, and
the silken cords of humanity and kindness
have been put in their stead. Well do
remember the morning of the second day
of May 1871, at four o'clock of which day
arrived at
THE PENITENTIARY.
looked up at its gloomy portals and me-
mory reverted to the lines which DesCartes
would have pat over the gates of hell,
ABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER
HERE"
Those words were not there-I was glad
of it. l entered and certainly the recep-
ton received was neither encouraging nor
cheering. 1t is not now my intention to
enter into details or the minutes Of
TEE OLD SYSTEM.
By doing so l would have to rake up
wrongs and sufferings, the remembrance OF
which would cast damper on the joys OF
our hearts to-day. will, though in chart
ty so far as l am able, draw over the sold
system" the veil of silence, the mantle Of
discretion, thereby covering
A MULTITUDE OF SINS.
That system is now dead, but ere it de-
parted it erected its own monument; and
now call On you stonecutters to carve on
that monument the following
EPITAPH
Here lies Old System-cOnvict have a care,
Tread lightly lest you wake grizzly bear.
Neither religious, moral, generous nor humane,
He was but self-sutficient, proud and vain,
Fond of and Overbearing in dispute,
Not Christian nor scholar, only brute.
May he rest in pain. Amen.
Far be it from me to say that in the old
system there was not ray of kindness,
humanity and Christian love for the suffer-
ing prisoner. MOTOR in our dark ages
in our
REIGN OE TERROR,
in the midnight of adversely and suffering,
there stood forth whole soued men of
principle and honor, uncontaminated
by the surrounding atmosphere, a.
heaven lights of love and
kindness, ever ready to extend the hand of
friendship; and speak the word of comfort to
the down trodden convict. There are a
few of these, "nature's noblemen," in the
service now. BaSking in their element, the
sunshine of the love and kindness of Mr..
Mat Brown and his fellow workers; and |
am thankful i'll having this opportunity
here to-day to publicly thank them and
make honorable mention of their names.
To you, then, Capt. Carter, our gentle
manly night watchman, and to you, broth
ers John 3. and Matt Allen, this day, in
the name of all the convicts, tender you
our hearty thanks and gratitude for your
civility and kindness to US, when the storms
of cruelty and tyranny aSsailed us. May
you live long in our midst, but never in our
conditions.
Gentlemen, often bave we prayed that
our rulers might learn a lesson from the
keepers of menageries. 1t is a well known
and established fact that the wild beasts of
the forest and jungles are tanned, not by
cruelty, not by harshness, not with the boot
and club, but on the principle of love, gen.
tleness and kindness, aud now, from
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE,
positively assert that you cannot with the
boot kick information into the convict, nor
beat it iuto his head with the club. This
has been tried within these walls. 1t has
failed. We were well pleased, then, to see
the day star of our present happiness. The
advance guard of
THE NEW SYSTEM
wild animals into this peniten-
tiary. Ask that gentleman how has he
tanned his wild animals; ask him how he
has brought them to that state that the fox
will lie down with the goose, the bear EN-
brace the deer. He will tell you not with
the boot, not with the club, but with bread,
butter, eggs, milk, chickens, and such like
dainty morsels. l believe would not be
Tar out in saying generally that the con-
7icts would not be averse to you consider
ng them as some of Your
WILD BEASTS.
What? did l hear you say, she does treat
Is So" Yes, Genllemen-he does. For
laily with my own eyes have seen that gen.
him bring in his hands from |
lis own house the choicest mori e The dam
lest food, and go right up and give it to
he
SICK AND DYING oUTCASTs
n the penitentiary hospital. That's the
nan some would doubtless say, sis rather
trict." If that be so, l attribute it to his
'eing initiated in the Old system,
But be that as it NV
will fearlessly say that he 1CW not 0llOao a
rirninGL to be lUrOnged, iIlSuLted nor abused,
{ he knows it. While talking of the prac-
ical
KINDNESS OF GEN. JOEL A. BATTLE
D the sick and dying COnvicts in the hos
ital l would be forgetting myself very
luch were l not to make honorable men
ion of her ladyship, Mrs. W. Matt Brown,
Tho for substantial acts of love and
indnes in that respect stands sec
nd to none. For not the sick
lone, who are her especial care
ut the sound and healthy are made the re-
Dients of her hOuntV kindness and char; |