The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-08-27
From the Live Oak Bulletinl
ADDRESS OF MAJOR A. L. WOODWARD,

Delivered 70 the Live Oak Maneeelx
AnA BlOxhan ClaA 0n the Night Of
August 13tA. 1@0o.
Mr.. President, Gentlemen 6f the Club /:
/ thank you for the compliment implied
in your invitation to address you tonight
but, sir, am no public speaker, never
having in the course of my whole life,
made public address of any kind.
can lay no claim to the divine gift OF
oratory, (for it is . natural gift, and not
an acquired accomplishment nor can
hope to entertain you tonight with
well-turned sentences of profound logic,
or glowing flowers of rhetoric, but feel
quite sure that this audience will, with
their usual generosity, throw around all
defects the broad mantle of their charity
and kindly refrain from criticising where
they cannot praise. / have, however,
hastily jotted down few thoughts with
out order or arrangement, and in crude
and undeveloped manner, which ] will
present to you as briefly as possible.
do not propose, sir, to enter upon any
lengthy discussion of national politics to-
night, for the very sufficient reason that
feel myself totally incompetent to present,
in proper manner, the different issues
involved in the present campaign, such as
the tariff, the currency and other import
ant questions, which, / doubt not, you
will hear ably discussed by our veteran
and gallant standard bearer for Congress,
the Hon. Jesse J. Finley. The public
press has made us acquainted with the
characters and regulations of the compet-
ing candidates for the Presidency. Han
cock, the soldier-statesman, the unspotted
patriot, the magnanimous and chivalrcus
conquerer of brave though fallen fee !;
the man who sheathed his sword ere the
thunders of the last gun had ceased to
reverberate amid our Southern hills, and
extended to MS, his foemen, through its
sulphurous smoke, the Constitution of his
country as an olive branch of peace, and
as an evidence on the part of the brave
soldiers who opposed as that the war was
ended. He who recognized us as breth-
rem and as countrymen even while the
fanatics of the North were hswling for
our blood, and who saw beneath the folds
of the starry banner ample room for our
feet to stand and ample protection for our
lives and homes. He who guaranteed to
the PROSTATE and bleeding South, amid
the bitter vindictiveness OF those days,
the great boon Of all freemeD-our magma
chdrta, the right of trial by jury and
this while the politicians o. the Radical
party were seeking to reduce us to the
condition Of military dependencies, and
to overwhelm us beneath the black bill
lows Of superstition, ignorance and vice,
represented in the mass of newl7-emanci-
pated and enfranchised slaves. Contrast
the noble, knightly bearing of sach man
with the bitter partizan rancor and hate
of the bribe-taking, Credit MOblier-taint-
ed, DeGolyer-defled Garfield, convicted
by committee of Congress OF his own
political party.
What Southerner could hesitate mo-
ment as to which he should give his bal
lot? Next to the loved and lauented Lee,
/ would sooner vote for Winfed s. Han
cock for President of the Unied States
than for any within her broal confines.
There are, dare say, old C0federates
within the sound of my voioa who met
the gallant Hancock upon he blood
stained field of Gettysburg . . foeman
worthy Of their steel, bnt who have long
since buried all aDimosity in ne trenches
with their fallen comrades, and who will
march in solid column to tie polls in
November next and vote for hm as cheer
fully as though he had never drawn his
sword against us; and who when his
election is announced, viii give an old
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