The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1875-09-08
GRAND RALLY AT GRENADA.
~reHada County OrgamTzinE and
Moving so ahe Front.
""r uOh' Lamar, Chalmers, FAINT, Barks-
dale and HalthalI Address the
People.
GRENADA. Sent. 6 1875

on Wednesday. last to hear only a portion
OF Gen Gordon's speech at Oxford. TIL,
meeting there was one of the largest vel
held IN the State-a pleasant feature be
ing the attendance of many ladies. Hon
). NJ Howry presided, and Gen. Gordon
and Col. Lamar entertained an audience
Of about two thousand people for several
hours. A special train contributed abopt
one hundred to the crowd, from Holly
springs. The committee of arrangements
had provided bountiful barbecue. and
splendid brass band from Mempbis.
Altogether, it was big day for Lafay-
cite county, and great zeal and conf
dence was manifest.
But the special object of this commu-
nlcation is to advise you of the proceed
ings here to-day. Gen. John Il. Gordon
and Col. L. q. c. Lamar arrived on the
morning train from Oxford, and were
met at the depot by Gen. WalthalI,
Capt w. K. Barksdale, and other promi-
nent citizens. An excellent brass band
also added to the enthusiasm of the re-
ception. Capt. BarksdaIe, in a few
minutes speech, welcomed Gen. Gordon
to Mississippi and to the Inequalities of
Grenada, and referred to his noble de-
fence in the Senate of the rights and ira
ditions of our people. Gen. Gordon
acknowledged the compliment of such
reception as had greeted him, and stated
that he would address the people at length
at a later hour in the day.
When the signal for public speaking
was given, an audience Of about fifteen
hundred persons, including about one
hunred and fifty colored, had assembled
around the stand in the public square.
The appearance Of Gen. Gordon and
Col. Lamar was greeted with three hearty
cheers. At half past eleven o'clock,
Gen. Walthall introduced Gen. Gordon
to the audience. He spoke for two hours
and twenty minutes, his eloquent portray
al and humorous illustrations of Radical
rule being frequently greeted with cheers
and laughter. Gen. Gordon is certainly
a popular orator. The great burthen of
his speech to-day was in behalf of honest
and capable government, and republican
liberty. He referred to the paradoxical
fact that a party which violates the spirit,
and in legislation violates the principles
Of republican government, should assume
the name of Republican. For ten years
the history of the party in power has been
an unbroken series of anti-republican,
anti-constitutiOnal measures and he
pointed out, as some of the fruits of those
measures: a violated constitution, broken
law, the overthrow of long and wisely
established local self-government, the
squandering of public revenue, and the
prostitution of a brave and generous
army to partisan purposes and that
these fruits were seen in disrupted socie-
ties, dishOnored credit, disgrace of the
franchise, oppressive taxation, and wide
spread ruin. But [ have not the time,
nor would do the speaker justice to
attempt even a synopsis Of his great
speech. 1t made fine impression, and
may be considered the inaugural of a
thorough and successful canvass in Gre
NADIA county. He efectually exposed
the false statement which had been in
dustriously circulated in Grenada and
other places in Mississippi, as to the status
of the colored people under Democratic
rule in Georgia, and demonstrated, by
facts and figures, and public documents,
that there were to-day in the public
schools of Georgia, over forty-two thous-
and colored children, at the expense of
the white people. The Legislature that
supports by annual appropriation, the
white University makes an equal annual
appropriation to the c"lored college,
and this, notwithstanding the fact that
the colored people of Georgia pay less
than one-fifth of the taxes. The statistics
show that the colored people of Georgia
own over six millions in real estate, and
over five million in personal property,
and yet they are oppressed in Democratic
Georgia.
A good portion of Gen. Gordon's
speech was directed to the colored people,
who gave him their undivided attention
throughout, and they seemed to compre-
bend and appreciate his plain, candid and
pointed presentation of topics in which
they were especially interested. He
commented with very happy effect upon
the carpet-bagger's bug-bear about putting
the colored people back into slavery.
at was the. carpet-bagger'S fathers who
sold your fathers to us-why didn't they
free you when they owned you% We
did not want you free, but tell you, as
| | lift my hand to heaven, that if it were
in the power of the people of the South,
by scrap of paper, and the stroke OF
the pen, to put you back into slavery,
we would not do it," This declaration
of the speaker was greeted with hearty
applause.
While Gen. Gordon was speaking, the
Radicals made demonstration in another
part of the square, with view to draw
ing away the colored element in the au-
dience. After few taps of their drum,
Gen. WalthalI and others repaired to the
spot. and notified their leader, in terms
not to be misunderstood, that any attempt
to disturb the meeting then in progress
would not be tolerated. Runners had