Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-10-28

inst man, and wise man. Applause. 1
Let it- bs<some man that we would be
proud 10 cal mas eE .
Now, The Constitution has become obso-
lete. It is thing that was, but Is not in
the practical operation of this Government.
know sometimes it has been said-pardon
me for making tits allusion-"Why, John
SOD, you are crazy about the Constitution.
You are perfectly insane upon that subject.
Why, that old thing is played ont" Yes,
and with its playing out the liberties Of this
people are playing out. [Cries of "Good,
good."] And II being insane upon the Con.
stitution should be an objection, wish to
God Almighty there was good deal more
insanity than there Is. TApplause.]
) l wish this country would become insane
upon constitutional liberty. wish they
could see how little the constitution of their
fathers had been regarded. If they could,
there would be different state Of things.
Look at the vast appropriations. Look
at the immense expenditure of money.
Look at the corruption, deep and wide.
Look at the high-handed robberies that
have been committed upon the people. 1
am taking about the operations of the
government. Go back and compare ID with
It when it was first inaugurated in 1883;
when your expenditures were $3,000,O0
now I'D to $460, OOO. 900. Look at the vast
expenditures thai have been imposed upon
the people, and who is to plead their cause?
When you come TO look at the expenditures,
not to say public plunderers-when you
come to look at them you viii see
THE STATE YOU ARE IN.
Take the history of your Government for
the last eight or ten years. You may begin
with your little corporation, in village Of
fifteen hundred population, and the little
corporation there, its whole business is to
collect taxes to favor few. You may then
60 to your county, and the county is taxed
to suDserve the interest of 8 particular class.
Then you may come along from the county
and go up to the State; and your Legisla-
lures, where have they gone? They have
become your sinks of pollution-nothing
but COMPROMISING bonds to involve
the States in debts that they can never pay.
Then come along to the Federal Govern
ment and see how il stands, Take the
debt, from the smallest municipality up to
the Federal Government all through the
States, and the American people, pro-
claim it here tonight, are involved In more
debt, per capita, than any people on the
hsbitable globe. Yet you talk about free
dom and liberty, and there is more resting
upon each citizen, per capita, than in any
other Government. Why talk about Euro
pean monarchies, the taxes and grandeur
thereof, when you have got more of it here
than anywhere else. So
/ would to God that we could have q
coed amphitheatre constructed, cRpacious
enough to contain al TIE people, assembled
like you here tonight, and they could be
gathered together, and this Government
and all the little inferior governments could
be presented, and you could have kind of
panorama, that you could all sit or stand
and see, and let the curtain be lifted that
the whole American people could look In
upon and understand what was going on
here as well as in many of their State gov
ernments. You talk about an uprising of
the people, an upheaval, but there would
be such an earthquake as there never was
before. [AppIause.]
But, then, they say that this is all talk.
"Why we can carry the eiection;" but how
are they carried? how are they carried? The
system that is being practiced In the United
States, and has been going on for some
years, is to levy heavy taxes upon the peo-
pie and get the proceeds into the hands Of
few. Then when the election comes the
ballot boxes are corrupted. The ballot
boxes are degraded and lowered, and the
nation is bought up and controlled by its
own money in the hands Of those who are
not its friends. [ am speaking generally; l
am abiding to no particular individual
further than be comes within the scope of
what am saying. II know myself--and
l have moi hing t. ask here tonight; am an
humble cit zen, asking nothing, fearing moth
ing-I feel that can afford to speak of the
abuses and violation Of principles and of the
Constitution. of the country in Language
that it deserves to be spoken of. Zap
plause.J
And let me tell You here tonight
though you are a small portion of the
people the United States, yet you are q
portion of them. The same mind that op-
crates here operates elsewhere; the same
mind that controls here should control else
where. Let Us come up and act upon prin-
ciple. know that they talk about new de-
parture and new parties, and all that. Let
me say to you here tonight, notwithsLand-
ing, as it were, that have acted with par
ty, yet never was controlled by behests of
that party, further than it conformed to
principle. [Applsuse.l And, though 1 have
been commonly called a Democrat, yet
when Democracy parted from what con-
ceiyed to be principle and the Constitution
of the country was found standing upon
the Constitution of my country. [Applsuse]
And the time has come foc the people prop
er--to take things within their own hands.
Your institutions are all gone. Your Con-
stitution is wiped out. There is great
deal said about
CESARIsM
and all that kind of thing. It Is not so much
in man, not SO much in Democracy, or Re-
publicanism, or Radicalism, as in what is
done. -
propose to act, and have acted, upon
principle, as many Of you know and have
Witnessed. haze never been partisan in
politics, nor have been fanatic in reli-
gion. Laughter and applsuse.l My reh-
gion has been coextensive with my race,
and my politics correspondent with the,
boundaries of the nation. felt that every
man acted on principle, upon the principles
laid down in the Constitution, let him be
far or near; and might speak in other Ian
guage, but to the same idea, that the world
Is my home and every honest man my
brother. [Applause.]
And the time has come, in The language
of Mr.. Burke, one of England's most distin-
guished statesmen, that when bad men
combine for corrupt purposes the time has
come when good men should associate to
resist the encroachments upon the liberties
of the country, and hence l say here to-
night, without regard to name-whether il
is Democrat or whatever name you call it
Wing or Radieal-let the good
men, let the honest men, let the pure men
of the country associate and combine, or
ganize and resist the encroaehments upon
constitutional liberty and the institutions
of the country. | know there is some talk
about oranges and all that. don't care
what they cali themselves, if they bring to-
gether q sufficient number of good men TO
take the government into their hands and
administer il for the best interest of the peo-
pie, Isay amen and so be it. do not propose,
so far as l sm concerned, to act With any
particular sect in politics or religion. in
tend to act upon principle, and when we
come to examine for few moments, we
find that the policy has bsen few years
back upon incidents, leaving out of
view the government. Let men combine
and associate for the purpose of preserving
the constitution Of the county and admin
isteriDg 1t upon principle principle!
1t is true that there ara officers and those
officers must have salaries, but let them
come along as incidents and your great OBJ
ject should be measures, principle and the