Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-14
GRATz BROWN.
He is Serenaded In New Haven and
Delivers a Stirring Speech.
His Opinion of the "Wood Chopper
Of Chappaqua.

brown was serenad5d tonight at the New
HaVen Hotel. BE was introduced to the
crowd by Mayor Lewis, and in response
said:
FELLow-CITIzENs-It gives me great
pleasure to address an audience in the city
OF New Haven. It is now five and twenty
years since / went forth as lad from the
academy halls Of old Yale, and i am sure
tnat, II compliment Of any kind could
come upon me with satisfaction, it would
come as much if not more here in your
midst. Returning after that long interval
and being crowned with one Of the most
distinguished honors in the nation, feel
tnat the compliment which we may right
iully share between us Is as much due If
not more to my alma mater than it is to
myself and therefore I appreciate it. Now,
feiiow-citizens, do not propose to detain
you this evening with any extended po-
lltlcal speech. There are, however, one or
Two points that do wish to speak to, and
L wish to speak emphatically to them.
The first of those points Is the indorse-
ment Of the Cincinnati platform by the
Baltimore Convention. [Applause.] You
know that have been Republican, that
L have stood by the cause of freedom in its
dark days, and stood by il, may say, with
out arrogance, manfully and well. You
know as well as | do that no word, letter or
syllable in all the long life led have in
pro-slavcry community since the day when
| went forth from yonder church up to the
present year, have ever uttered in deroga-
ton of the divine right of every man to
human freedom. l say, therefore, that
when speak to you with the frankness
that comes from devotion to that cause
And let me say to you therefore that, when
in the course of human events it becomes
necessary for a great political party that has
hitherto occupied an antagonistic ground to
the party of the Republican cause to come
forward and say, gentlemen, we believe
that the nation can be rescued. We ibelleye
that our abstinence from politics win aid
the cause. We believe that there is a great
and vital constitutional principle involved,n
then say that party gives the highest evi-
dence that has ever been given in the his
tory of the country of self abnegation and
patriotic purpose.
Now so far as the two great conventions
which have assembled are concerned, /
would like to cail your attention for one
moment to the contrast between them.
There has been Convention assembled at
Philadelphia. The great Republican party
was represented in that Convention. (Great
! applause and hisses.) That is all right. |
am rejoieed to see that any man recognizes
that there is a Republican party left.
| (Shouts and Laughter.)
The great Republican party left at Phila-
delphia were appealed to by the most dis
tinguished Republicans from all the States
in the nation; men who had gone into the
very mire of conflict, and had worked that
party into life and Vigor; the men who had
confronted hostile elements in the slave
States, and had made that party name and
purpose and a potentiality; the men who
had gone into the Senate and had given it
dignity and character, purpose, and every
thing Of that kind, they were appealed to in
behalf of that party, in behalf of these men,
in behalf of the very stamina and soul
and integral portion of the party,
to give it, for Gods sake. a
representation that could command the
united support of the whole party. What
did they do at Philadelphia? Why, gentle
men, l saw delegate going back to Ore
gon; said he: "There was no more chance
| to give you voice there than there was 10
| whistle against the whirlwind.' laugh
teri saw gentleman that was a repre-
sentative from Missouri, who went on there
protesting and purpOsing in his heart to
cast an opposing vote. He came back;
said he, 81 had not the remotest chance of
having my voice heard" l saw gentlemen
from Kentucky, in the same line and with
the same views, and they told me exactly
the same thing. And instead of listening
to all the depreciation of those who had or
ganized this military supremacy that has
risen over the party, that was making every
thing subservient to its own interest, that
| IN ifo Inc hat
was making q personal government of ours,
the greatest republic on earth [applause1;
| instead OF listening to that what did they
do9' Why, they went to work and with
the subserViency IF the most arrant tools
that God ever saw they nominated Mr..
| Grant. IShouts of "good, good" and Kisses
and ''that is right" 1t may be right, my
| friends; it might have been right; but / tell
you it is not right for the nation, however 1t
may be forshiS plac5-holders. It may be
| right fo= the gentlemen who hold Offices un-
de- him m-[good but it is not right for the
| people. 1t may be right for the men who
were in the military ring and who have
their profit there; but the great mass of the
people who believe in equal freedom, who
do not believe in carpet-bag governments at
the South-[applauseI-and who do not be-
leve in the unequal administration of the
laws, who do not believe in military su-
premacy in the South in any shape or form,
will never say that it is right.
Now ask you to turn to that other great
demonstration of popular sentiment, to
that convention which assembled two days
ago [great applause]. Now what, l ask,
gentlemen, what did you see at Baltimore?
| "a voice: ga funeral."l You saw great
party arrayed. in its might, party,that
might have contested, and contested per-
haps successfully, the control of this ma.
ton; you saw that party going for
ward and deliberating-"G gentlemen,
whilst we are distinct and separate
organization, whilst we do not refuse to
recogize those binding ties that have kent
us together through years Of trial, yet we
believe this to be an occasion in which the
safety of this nation ia imperiled. We be-
lieve it to be an occasion on which the safe
ty of this nation rises higher and above
party considerations. Therefore, and al
though we do not in our own hearts ap-
prove in all respects the gentlemen who
may be nominated, yet it is a question of
saving the nation, and not Of electing any
body. We have therefore come to the
unanimous conclusion" as they did at Bal
timore, ''that we will recommend to those
| VINO nave heretofore aQnoreQ TO the Demo-
cratic party that they cast their suffrage for
chose gentlemen who have been nomir ated
at Cincinnati, believing them to be honest,
true and brave"
Now, my fellow-citizens, 1 am not going
to make you much of speech tonight,
but am going to say one or two things
that want you to bear in mind. [Go
on 1t has been the custom and habit of
many of the gentlemen who may have been
antagonistic to lis, or to some of the gentle
men who have been in the Liberal RepubE-
can movement, TO say that they had no
confidence in that great chief who had been
nominated at Cincinnati, that they were
willing to recognize him as their leader, that
perhaps they were willing to vote for him
as President, but all the time qualifying it
with doubts, with questions, with interrog
atories, with arched eyebrows and large
mouths. l want to say to yeu that | do
not belong to that class. l believe him to
be great, ,and grand statesman. [Applause.l
l do believe that he has the largest head IN
America. [Applause.l Now, my fellow
citizens, have some opportunity of under
standing this question. / have been, as far
as Greeley is concerned, in conflict with him
on large and vital questions. have kAOwn
him for LONG wears and L haVa bean in rela-