Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-12-10

appreciate this interesting occasion, and l
shall treasure it among the cherished recoec-
tons of u somewhat protracted public life. IT,
in the remarks l submit 1 shall seem to our
looking-on friends to limit myself too much to
our own Commonwealth, to her sons and their
affairs, beg that it may be remembered that
seldom address so many from all parts of our
vast State in one gathering.
Uniting any mention of our home affairs,
will confne myself to those topics which be-
long to us, in connection with, and as part Of
this great nation.
Some of you are here for the first time in the
National capital Others have returned after q
lspte of years. You are impressed most favor
ably with the exhibition Of greatness that is
seen in
THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY.
The streets, with all their appointments the
public grounds and buildings, grand among
the grandest, as / am assured by those who
have been abroad, as l have not; the schools,
the system of education, the sanitary measures
of the city, and above all, that which impresses
every stranger as he comes here, the general
order and coed conduct of the citizens mark
this as city not unworthy to be the capital of
the greatest nation on the globe Cheers.
When we left home few days ago we saw
our people anxious and excited at the possibility
of war that might spring up between us and a
foreign nation. They have watched from day
TO day the click of the telegraph they have
read every announcement in the public press
they have watched the signs of the times to sec
whether they BODIED war or peace and when
they shall hear as they are probably doing now,
of the protocol signed in this city a few days ago,
honorable to America and not dishonorable to
Spain, her ancient ally and friend they will
look up with gratitude to Him who is the author
of peace and the lover OF concord, and they will
not forget in their prayers
THE DISTINGUISHED STATE SECRETARY,
whose patient wisdom has been so largely in
strumental in bringing this about LApplauseI
The people of Tennessee, like the Chief Magis-
trate of the nation, have q record behind them
which permits them to go a great way, and to
do many things in the interests Of peace without
liability to be misunderstood or suspected of in
difference to the flag, for the honor of which, in
times past, thev have done and suffered so much
[Applausel Another topic which has interest
ed them not a little has been the disturbance of
the material interests of the country. 1t is true,
in this great Union of States, this body polite,
that when one member suffers all the other
members sufie with it. So has our State suffer-
ed in sympathy with the more active and severe
agitation which has disturbed some other por-
tions of the land.
In our country we have had similar convul-
sions in our financial affairs, which passed away
and left the atmosphere more clear than before;
| but in England, whose financial matters are
| supposed TO stand on much frmer basis than
| ours, such connections have been far more
| frequent, difficult and troublesome to control.
! Allow Inc TO refer to period in that country
near the close Of the last century Early in
| 1897,
| THE PEOPLE or ENGLAND
were on the verge Of bankruptcy. As meas
| specie payment in February of that year.
| That suspension continued nearly quarter of
century, when specie payment was resumed,
! andst affairs of the nation seemed not in the
| slightest dc gree disturbed. But in 1925 there
came n crash. While all this alarm was go-
| ing on one strong man rose up and uttered
| the word confidence. This Alexander
! Barring afterward known rs Lord Ashburton,
a great name in the financial world, which
breathed life into tho commerce Of Great Brit
! ain.
| Our times are, in some respects, not unlike
| those and | commend them to the instruction
of those who apprehend that return to spe-
| Gle payment would necessarily result in dis
| aster and ruin, and TO those who look upon
the resumption Of specie payment as the great
| remedy that is to provide against imitation, ex-
| pansion extravaganza and ruin.
SPECIE PAYMENT.
| has been suspended in this country about twelve
| years. The last of those years have been years
of eminent prosperity, 'greater. perhaps, than
! the country has ever enjoyed before. We have,
| doubtless, had extravaganza, but these have
| been in the direction of building railroads and
! improving real estate. While some of these
| have been built in advance of the wants oi the
country they will, doubtless, prove useful.
! ENtravagant expenditures in private estates
has withdrawn money largely from business to
keep the establishment up.
| Well, my countrymen, what we need now Is
| some one with voice powerful enough to make
! himself heard, and with intelligence enough to
| make his voice respected, who shall cry, as was
| uttered half century ago, 'Conhdence! There
/ may be blood in the body, but the misfortune is
! that it don't circulate. In Tennessee we have
| not had the means to be eXtravagant, but have
| been improving the enforced lessons Of trugaity
! and industry which serve us well in these times,
| and few of our citizens will this winter, | sus-
pect, go supperless to bed, or will shiver for
| want of fuel and clothing except in the plague
| stricken city of Memphis
| PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON,
| generous, humane and kind, in the name of the
! citizens of Memphis, her widows and orphans,
| in the name of the people of Tennessee, in the
name of our common humanity, give you our
! hearty, unfeigned thanks Gentlemen, you
will return TO our State many of you, most of
you called temporarily TO this city.
| Go back to the savannahs of the Mississp
pi go back TO the fertile fields that lie west
| of the Cumberland mountains 60 back into
| the fastnesses and recesses of the eternal hills
| of East Tennessee and tell your neighbors
| what you saw here at the capital of the ma
tion tell them what the flag of their country
! signifies tell thom as they stand gazing on
the flag so shall their sons ever rally to its
| support, and upon whatever field or whatever
! occasion il may be called in question, this eX>
hibiton tonight in honor of you men of Tea
nessee, attests the sympathy that you enjoy
throughout this wide country.
| As your representative l have had my resi-
dence here for many years. l have seen many
changes pass over this metropolis all her mas
teral belongings have undergone a material
transformation but in nothing has there been
such transformation as in the tone or her
political thought. We hear much less than
of old of the rights of the States. We hear n