Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-01
THE GRANTS.
speech Of Judge Pierce nc the 81. An.
drews Festival, I'm Reply 20 the Toast
OF ssfhe President"


least claim to be, a citizen Of natiOna
feelings and sympathies, and in every
respect an American, born and raised in
n section, entering my profession in
another, and finding my first home anC
rearing my family in another, yet know
ing no sections, but entertaining AZ
equal love for and an individual inter
est i'm all portions of my country. MOI
can tell why l should speak on this
subject to S~cotchmen, unless because, a.
my father was born ON st. Andrews day,
/ am at least a step-son Of Scotland
because ] have from bOyhOOd felt the
keenest interest in Scottish history, ro-
nance and poetry; have named my
only sOn after two Scotchmen; and be-
cause it has been my youthful dream,
and is the hope of my maturer years, tC
wander over Scotland, and there take
the grand holiday Of my life in wander
ing over the heather, and by the burns
and lOchs, breathing the air Of the high
lands, tracing the ruins of the Roman
wall, and Weakening the echoes of the
Pass of the Trosachs with the exclama-
ton:
80 Scotland in thy broad domain,
What glen, or lake, or river,
But In this fond enthusiast heart
Has been enshrined forever"
Entertaining such sentiments, and
feeling, as l ever have, that every true
Scot is a friend and brother, / am proud
as an American TO respond to the senti-
ment in which Caledonia's sons honor
the country of my birth and their adOp-
ton. For while this toast pays honor
to the great man who holds the Office OF
President of the United States, it honOrs
more the office itself and the people
I n~Ia lmvL1 .-a.kzI - - Enu-1 = y
the person of their choice.
Believe me, gentlemen, there is much
more expressed by the mention Of the
President than the existence or charac-
ter of the incumbent of that office. As
the American flag suggests and symbol
ICES the glory and power of America
speaking to her son at home of her
proud position among the nations, aud
to her sons abroad of the protection
which follows and surrounds them in
every quarter OF the earth: so the
title of President suggests aud symbol
ICES the government of the people, by
the people and for the protection and
benefit of the people. 1t is the people
Of this country, who, being their own
rulers, their own sovereign, provide for
their Own protection and the enforce
ment of the laws themselves have made.
1t is they who are honored when we
toast the President of the United States.
And it is meet and fitting that you,
gentleman, as Seotchmen, shall pay
your tribute of respect to the Presiden-
tial office, involving as it does the idea
of the government Of the people, for
more than n reasOn-First, there is in
it much that is characteristic of Scot
land and Scotchmen.
The education of individuals into true
manhood, the honor paid to manly traits
Of character, the equality of all men
before the law, and the sturdy independ-
ence of the individual man-these are
the characteristics, perhaps, of other
people, but most assuredly of Scotch
men. These are not only retained, but
developed and intensified, and exhibited
to the admiration of the world, in our
American institutions. Here, even more
than in Scotland, do We believein honor
and illustrate the sentiment that was
born on Scottish soil,
The rank is but the g%uinea's stamp,
The mans the gold for a that"
And this, again, is seen to be but natu-
raj, when we consider how largely this
cosmopolitan people the union and fu-
sion of all peoples of the earth has drawn
from the great Scottish nursery of men.
ScOtchmen were pioneers in the settle
ment Of the country. ScOtchmen helped
to build and organize our institutions,
and Scotchmen, and descendants of
ScOtchmen, have helped to sustain and
nOurish, and, when necessary, to fight
for them. Your knoXes and Hamil-
tons were among the early soldiers and
statesmen of the Republic, and after one
of them was the first capital Ofthis great
State named. And proud and high
upon the roll Of honor has
America inscribed names that
are like household words by
every Scottish fireside-last but not
least among them standing the name of
one who, both in military and social
life, has exhibited traits of character
which commend themselves to every
Scotchman, and make him proud that
the late highest General in the Ameri-
can armies, like his immediate prede-
cessOr, bears a CaledOnian name. 1t
does not seem strange, gentlemen, that
Scotland should have given America
either a most successful General, or a
President of the now reunited States,
when we remember that by his side in
civil war, and opposed to him, the clans
were gathered; that there were the
Camerons, and Campbells, and Wal
laces, and MacArthurs, and MuTrays,
and Stewards, and Alexanders, and Mac
DOnalds; that his favOrite associate and
bosom friend, the Prince of Chivalry,
honored, and lamented alike by friends
and foes, was a MACPHERSON; and that
a Buchanan preceded him in his
present high Office, to which botha Scott
and a Douglas had hOnOrably aspired.
Americans as well as ScOtehmen may
be Justly proud, that with the dauntless
courage as well as the name of a Ulysses,
and the high chivalry and magnanim-
ity toward his foes, as well as the
name of a Sidney, he combines the
sturdy Scotch independ ance and tena-
city as well as the name Of a Grant.
But / would not lose sight of the fact
that it is the Presidential office mainly
that we honor, and not the man who
fills it. His personal characteristics are
worthy of consideration here, only as
they worthily represent in general the
people whose government he represents.
And if he isto-day las I think he isl a
fitting representative of American char
acteristics, principles and policy, it is
still a pertinent question to inquire, will
he remain such? VIII he continue truly
to represent them, or may he hereafter
prove false to the history and traditions
Of the nation? And must we, while We
honor and respect the Presidential Office,
still maintain a mental reservation
against the man who fills it, as one out
Of place in it, and not embodying in
himself what that office typifies? Do
we pass him one to another as a genuine
coin because alone of the stamp he bears,
or is there the true gold beneath the
stamp?
/ will answer these questions, not by
a political discussion, nor by referring to
his avowed policy (which is the will of
the people,, nor by his acts or record on
any public or political question. But l
will draw aside for a moment the curtain
Of privacy, and give you n glimpse at
that indoor, family life, wherein he rears
and governs and educates his children,
and where the innate feelings and I'M
feigned convictions of his heart will be
Enthusiastically exhibited; even as Burns
in his COtter's Saturday Night letsu us in
to the honest and unartifieial life of the
Scottish peasant. Let us see what our
Presidents children learn at home
whether tine plain, sturdy independence
that our American Democracy has
drawn from Scottish sources, or some-
thing else.
Here is the letter of Miss Nellie Grant
to Her Majesty, the Queen of Great
Britain:
LANGLEY's HOTEL, May, 1872.
My DEAR LADY AND QUEEN am
embarrassed at the honor of an official
request, given through a high officer
your Lord Chamberlain, l think, to be
presented to your Majesty. / should
love to see you, that l might tell
my mother and father that l had been
thus hOnored. 1 am but a simple
American girl; that l am the Presi-
daughter gives me no claim to
recognition as a sovereign. II,
the kind lady who is acting as
my chaperOn, 1 might visit you, 1
be very glad. Our Secretary of
Legation hints at some political sig
n~ificanee in this opportunity. L cannot
90 interpret it, and would not wish to be
20 received, because it would not be
as / am nothing in American pol
tics, and l am sure my father would not
desire me to appear other than as my
simple and very humble self. II, with
his explanation, your Majesty will al
low me to visit you, L shall be greatly
nonored, and be very proud.
l have written this note OF my own
and because / think il the right
hing to do. / am your Maiestyis very
lbedient servant and admirer,
NELLIE GRANT.
Tell me now if you find in this letter
he honest, sturdy, independent self
- sloE JsaF;n uvrgcha1 Tie Apoarinan