Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-06-25

| Mr.. President and feit01C citizens. Allow me
TO indulge in q Renaissance 1t is sixteen yea r,
ago almost exactly tonight since had Tho
| pleasure and the honor of addressing an audi
ence OF my fellow-citizens in Faneuil hall upon
| political issues. That night when this hall was
crowded to its utmost capacity, and throngs
were pressing for admittance but could not get
| it, was called to ratify the nominations of the
| first nominees of the national republican party.
Fellow citizens, owe TO the Grant club the
| honor of being invited TO address you this eve
ming, and the opportunity which this occasion
affords. But for myself the only Grant club
| which belong to is the republican party of
Massachusetts, tapplause) and the sonlv rati6-
cation which the nomination of General Grant
requires is that ratification which will be given
at the polls in November tapplause.) | was
younger considerably when addressed meet
ing in Faneull hall than am now, and on thar
OCCASION though our party in the state had been
but short time in existence, | ventured TO
promise that Massachusetts would give the nom
inee of the national republican party a hundred
thousand votes. We gave him one hundred and
seven thousand. | do not promise now that
have grown older, fellow citizens, but propose
to give Grant that number and good many
| more in addition. (ApplauSe.) Massachusetts
| as far as any indication has been given, retains
| her fidelity TO the republican cause. We have
| upon the ticket our own fellow citizen, man
| who has built himself up under our own eyes to
| this national recognition, man of clean hands
/
| thetc heart, man who has devoted his youth
| and manhood TO the service of the public doing
| faithful and admirable service to the party
| who thus recognizes his title to well-earned dis
tnction might say, fellow-citizens, that there
| was no interruption TO the respect and conf
| dence which the people of Massachusetts repose
| in General Grant, and yet | connot forget, and
| | suppose none of you can forget, that there is
| one exception in the senator from MasSachu-
| sets, who has recently, to the regret of many of
/ frsa il sol 10 r
| the republican party measure of inveetive
| which could hardly have been exceeded if it
had been addressed TO the common enemy of
mankind. ! mention the name of Charles Sum-
| ner. (Hisses and applause.)
No, no, no, fellow citizens, let no voice ofhss-
| ing of censure in Faneuil hall greet that hon
ored name No; he has stood mp before you the
champion Of freedom the honored son of Mas
sachusetts cloud applause), and has done
noble service. | have walked humbly by his
| side from my youth up, since first enlisted for
| that war, and honor him STILL and the honor
| feel for him adds point TO the regret that in his
| advanced age, upon such personal issue, upon
| such considerations, he could have INDUCED in
| such a speech at such time. 1t is sad for
| Gen Grant; it is sad for the republican PARTY +:
it is saddest of all for him. The republican par
| ty of Massachusetts can address their senator in
| the language of the Psalmist: at is not an open
| enemy that has done me this dshonor, else
| could have borne il; but it was thou, my guide
| my counselor my own familiar friend" | say
| il is saddest for him because the choice is Very
soon to be presented to him whether he will
| stand by the republican party, its organization
| its principles, its standard bearer, or whether he
| will desert in the face of the enemy. | know
| too well what that choice must be from the
record of his life to doubt that he will very soon
realize the full sense of the position in which he
| has placed himself. But while we have looked
| to Charles Sumner for an eloquent vindication
of lofty principles, his Judgment of men seems
some times to he at fault, But that speech has
fallen as dead upon the people of Massachusetts
as if it had been leading editorial of demo-
cratic newspaper. And why is it SOP Conf
dence is a plant of slow growth we are told,
but confidence once secured is not likely or easily
TO be disturbed. Why, | remember about a
dozen years ago, there was a dinner given to a
chess player by the name of Morphy, at the Re-
we're house, hotel in this city where, as am
creditably informed, they sell wine contrary to
the statute laws of the commonwealth, and at
that dinner Chief Justice Shaw, and Dr. Walker
the president of Harvard college, were invited
to attend as guests, to celebrate the great tri-
umph of chess, and they went, and a short time
afterwards that eloquent orator and amiabIe
critic Of mankind, Mr.. Phillips, came out with a
piece of invectiye in his most trenchant and
finished style upon these two gentlemen, charg-
ins Chief Justice Shaw and President Walker
with violating and setting at naught one of the
most important laws of the commonwealth. II
| was most elegantly done, most ably argued, and
| the astonished people of the state read it and
| looked little amused, and possibly, suppose,
some of them answered that they ought not to
have gone; they rather thought they made
mistake.
But the great chief justice went down to his
honored grave, and the eX-president of the col
lege still lives in his honorcd retirement without
a ripple upon the surface of his fair fame
And why? The people of this state knew Chief
Justice Shaw and President Walker; they did
not doubt but that on some occasions they
might be a little wrong in their Judgments but
they knew the men, and honored and trusted
them in spite OF oratory and invective. ! tell
you fellow citizens, there is a strength in char
acter and in public service that no dagger can
pierce; tits panopy; and | say to you that as
the people of this commonwealth knew Chief
Justice Shaw, the people of this state know
| President Grant. tApplause.l And that is all
/ that needs TO be said to Mr.. Summers speech
But there is more to be said of our candidate
| for reelection to the presidency. presume
| am i'll part indebted for the honor of the invita-
ton to come here to the fact that for one year
| and part of another had the honor of being a
participator in the councils of his admiuistra-
ton, aud desire to testify, and believe that
what say in Massachusetts will be accepted as
fact, that during the whole period in which
was in the cabinet councils | never heard any
measure of the administration discussed or con-
sidered except with single reference to the pub
lie interest. (Applause.) | never heard per-
sOnal suggestion in regard to his influence upon
one man or another man, but the consideration
simply was what would be best for the country
And when | remember the simple, clear-headed,
practical, modest man, who sat at the head of
the table there, and then hear him talked of by
Mr.. Sumner, think Mr.. Sumner must be refer
ring to somebody else tApplauSe.)
1t has been said that Gen. Grant has accepted
presents. Well, fellow-citizens, / don't think
making presents to men in public life ought to
be countenanced The English nation in parlia-
mpnt gave the ponnupror al Waterloo q orront
of twenty-five hundred thousand dollars, an es-
tate in the country, and palace in London. 1t
is not the custom Of our people to give pecun-
larry rewards to public benefactors but when
two men like Grant and Sherman have rem
dered such services to the country as no men in
this generation had done, who gave up all pros
poets to it, there were many Of our best men in
the country who thought that some testimonial,
public record of their gratitude, would be be-
coming the citizens of the republic. 1t was all
| done when they were not holding office, and,
| fellow-citizens, never expect, above the ranks
| of penny-a-iner contributor TO a democratic
newspaper, to find man in the country mean
| enough to cast it up 10 them. (Applause) |
do not propose TO go over the personal charges
made against President Grant, and his tithing
mint and anise, and cumin, is not TO my taste,
nor to your taste, am sure. We look at the
| weightier matters ofthe law. What has Gen.
| Grant done? do not say as the commander
and leader of our armies, and the conqueror
| VI Jul iOpNIbOHs bub 10 pT6SlutUIE w ny, III
| the one thing that Mr.. Sumner most feels and
| cares lorOn the great issues before the country
OF peace and public safety, and the protection
of lately oppressed race, Gen. Grant has been
his most steadfast ally; upon the question of
maintaining the public credit, of paying the
national debt, he has faithfully represented the
honesty of the republican party, or of the ma
ton, for won't exclude any party from it, He
has been ahead of his party in his steady and
| constant recommendations to remove the
| scheme of an irredeemable currency; every
| message of his has contained recommendation
TO congress for action on the subject and his
| policy in dealing with the Indian tribes, his
magnanimity toward the south, bis combining
1 with firm determination TO maintain the laws
| the desire to conciiate and restore to their nat
| ural and just relations to the Union the south
| ern states, entitle him to your confidence and to
| the confidence of all the people of the nation.
But there is one thing on which wish ex-
| pressly to say something. President Grants
| appointments to office are criticized, and they
| say that he has appointed some relations Well,
/ suppose Gen. Grant likes his friends and rela-
| tons as well as other people, and rather guess
| If you should look over the senate at Washing
| ton you would find that the members had some
| friends and relations too. Gen. Grant is a
| friendly man; he likes his friends; he Is a good