The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-10-23

| coWtS tcOHH ana gets mo OWtCe-the your
Gouernor-he rs not q capet-bagger. Loud
applause.l All this charge is mere decla-
nation and denunciation-wholly unworthy
of serious consideration. The man born
in Virginia has the same right to 60 to New
| York and be elected to office as the native
| New Yorker has; and the Northern-born
man has the same rights in Virginia as the
the natives of the soil. 1t is the policy of
the Republican party to obliterate all these
sectional questions. [Applause.l
The bloody chasm" is fiction invent
ed by Horace Greeley and his Democratic
| supporters, for the purposes of this cam
paign. There is no "bloody chasm." Are
not the Republicans of the North and
South united in the support of Grant and
Wilson? Loud applause, and cries Of
"yes ~ "yes!"l And believe that if a
fair vote is allowed, a majority of the peo-
Pile of the South will vote for Grant and
Wilson. LApplause.l Are not the Demo-
Gratis Of the North and South united, as
closely as it is possible for them to be, in
the support of Horace Greeley? Where,
then, is this "bloody chasm ?"
The speaker then referred to the cry of
military rule" of General Grants adj
ministration, by which the Enquirer of this
city asserts that the people of the South
have "lost their liberties" At the end of
the war there were under arms million of
veterans in war, accustomed to obey Cen
eral Grant. This was the moment for him
to become Caesar or Cromwell, if he
had any such aspirations. But he did not
do it. By his consent and advice this
great army melted away into the
citizenhood of the nation, until at
this time thirty thousand soldiers constitute
the entire military establishment of the
country. s....
OF this force but about four hun.
dred are now on duty in the Southern
States. There is not single United States
soldier in Virginia, save the small garrison
at Fortress Monroe. Are you, my friends,
circumscribed in your liberties or inconve-
nienced in any way by this military
rule" of the Administration? General
Grant is not all disposed to use the militia
ry power Of the government. He is not
as likely to use it as man educated in civil
life. No President has been more careful
to cultivate the arts of peace, and to oblit-
crate all the marks and scars of civil war.
lApplause.l
In regard to the Ku-klux laws, Judge
Williams said they were not understood,
and most probably had never been read by
those who were so ready to denounce them.
Every intelligent man knows that consti-
tutional provision is imperative until it is
given vitality and force by suitable Con-
gressional enactment. These laws were
enacted in pursuance of the late amend
ments to the Constitution of the United States
and were intended to secure to the citizens of
the country the full rights and protection
contemplated by those amendments. lap
plause.l They are as powerful in Pennsyl-
vania, Massachusetts and Ohio. as they are
in Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia.
And this is all there is in the Ku-klux laws.
[Applause.l Governments were formed
primarily, in the opinion of the speaker,
for the protection of the poor and weak
against the aggressions of the rich and
powerful. 1t is the design of our govern
ment to protect all alike.
Judge Williams closed with an earnest
admonition to Virginia in the present hour.
Let not Virginia, he said, put On sack-cloth
and ashes for the loss Of some imaginary
State right but let her take the place in
the community of States which her powers
and resources entitle her. Her destiny is
inevitably fixed. Let every citizen feel
| that he owes allegiance first to the national
government, and that his interests and the
interests of his State, are wound up with
the destinies of that government. / speak
here as member of the present admins
I tration, and | know that it is the first wish
of the government to promote and maintain
| the peace and prosperity of the whole coun-
| try The speaker secured the earnest at
| tention of the large audience throughout
l hic oIJrocc ap.1 rUoc froanaptly inf inf l
by tho enthusiastic cheers of his auditors.
lie took his seat amid a storm of applause.
| DIR. Mills then introduced General James
A. Hall, of Maine, who made brief speech,
| highly seasoned with jokes and anecdotes.
monstration of delight. He pledged for
tranquility and prosperity OF the South and
the Whole country, and said that while the
people of the Pine Tree State were earnest
in their support of the government in
| its measures for the suppression of the re-
| bellion, they were now no less earnest in
their desire for the full restoration of good
will between the two sections. Gen. Hall
was suffering from a severe headache, and
said that for his own sake, if not for that
| of the audience, he must decline to extend
his remarks.
When General Hall took his seat, Colo.
mel Popham, Of this city, was loudly called
for, and responded in brief speech, con-
graduating the people upon the occasion
which brought the distinguished orators
who preceded him to our city. During
his remarks the Colonel referred to the
almost forgotten discussion some years ago
concerning the fitness of Mr.. Greeley to
represent the State of Virginia in the Uni
ted States Senate. He said that the Engni.
rer, which was then, we believe, under the
editorial control of Colonel Robert e.
Withers, noW one Of the Greeley
electors for the State at large, was en-
phatic in its declaration that Mr.. Greeley
was wholly unfit and incompetent, on &C
count OF his well known unreliablity ant
connection with all the Objectionable ism
of the day, to represent Virginia IN AM
capacity Whaterer, and that she disgracet
herself by even entertaining the proposition
to elect him to the United States Senate
The whole Conservative press of the city
the Colonel said, took this view of the pro
! position, though perhaps in less vehem en-
: manner than that which characterized tn
Enquirer.
! At the conclusion of Colonel Pophams
. remarks, the meeting adjourned.
) GREELEY MEETING AT MoNRo
n m Nj ,ta,,r