The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-08-10

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affighted people Of the South TO partakt
freely and fnfy Of the blessings Of that
fTee government which his and their fore
fathers had bought with their blood and
bequeAthed an inviolable inheritance "a
the remotest posterity. The virtue Of the
civilian prevailed over the instinct of the
soldier, and by this act Of remuneration
Hancock approved himself another Wash.
ingtcn, ffSt In peace" as be was already
hrt in war;" and 90 the event of No
vember will demonstrate him 6 first in the
hearts of his countrymen." [Applause.
When the enemies Of the Union assailed
it IN battle array Hancock was soldier,
but when peace returned he suffered the
Constitution and the law to resume their
pacific and benignant reign. Peace
hath her victories NO less renowned than
war;" and in Hancock the lustre of the
citizen eclipsed the glory of the warrior.
And not only did he, in this critical exi-
gency, show himself the citizen of free
Republic, formed and actuatea by the spirit
Of DemocratiC liberty, but In repelling
the approaches to which he was subjected
by the hirelings Of bafiled and disap-
pointed party he exhibited knowledee
of the principles of popular government,
which abundantly attests his fitness for
the Chief Magistracy of the nation. lido
not pretend that Hancock is . politician !;
happily, by the manipulation Of men and
the intrigues of the caucus, his character
is still unsullied. Nor vet do claim
that he has pored over books or studied
state-craft from the predictions of q pro
fessor. Neither is the elaborate erudition
Of college an indispensable qualification
In the ruler Of q commonwealth of free
men.
few sound instincts and few plain rules,
Are worth all the learning Of the schools.
1t is enough that he be imbued with the
spirit OF American liberty, and know the
principles of republican government; and
that Hancock is animated by this spirit
and possessed of this knowledge he evvinc-
ed when, disdaining the sceptre of the
sword, he proclaimed that "habeas corpus,
trial by jury, liberty of the press, freedom
OF speech, and the rights of person
and property, are the inheritance of the
American people and must be preserved"
Hancock, then, has fairly won, and
worthily will he wear, the title of the
statesman-soldier.
Another objection to the election of
Hancock it was reserved for the astute-
ness of Senator from Massachusetts to
discover. Running q parallel between
Hancock and Garfield, not altogether af
ter the manner of Plutarch, Mr.. Hoar
pauses upon the fact that our candidate is
graduate Of West Point and an officer
in the regular army. while the nominee of
the Republicans was volunteer soldier.
And true it is that Hancock had all the
expertness of trained soldier, while Gar
field "never set q squadron in the field,
nor the division of Q battle knew more
than q spinster." And, if Hancock was
educated at the expense of the govern
ment, fully has he repaid the benefit, even
to the extent Of Shylock's remorseless ex-
action-by the price Of his own blood.
But it is said Garfield was q volunteer. -
Pray, what was Hancock Was he caught
like wild colt on the pampas, and kid
mapped into West Point As under
stand it, the cadets are all volunteers, and
the competition for admission to the acad-
emy is hot and eager enough! The diff
ference, then, is this, that whereas Garfield
volunteered for the war, Hancock enlisted
for life, and engaged to defend the coun-
try forever and against all enemies, wheth-
er rebels or red Indians. But, although
Garfield volunteered for the war, he speed
lily retired from the tented field to the
comfortable seclusion of q seat in Con-
gress, while Hancock bore the brunt of all
the fight, or halted only to heal his wounds.
But it is objected again that Hancock
is the candidate of the Democratic party,
and that the Democratic party is un-
worthy to be intrusted with the admins
tration Of the government. Now, from
1901 to 1851, for sixty years, the Demo
cratic party had control of the govern
ment, and directed its destinies and /
demand whether, during that long period,
the Democratic party betrayed any unfit
ness for the guardianship of the republicp ?
It was by Democratic President that the
valley of the Mississippi, the granary of the
nation, was acquired, and the immense COM
merce Of the West liberated from the fet-
ters of foreign power. 1t was by Dem
ocratic President that the effulgence Of
the Lone Star was added to the galaxy
of the United States. It was by Dem
ocratic President that the glory Of our
0h uA1 W az uAUUtG8VCU An thlO COu4U0Dt "a
Mexico, and the domain of the Union ex-
panded across the continent to the golden
shores of the Pacific; while the only con-
tribution of the Republican party to the
territory of the nation was the bleak waste
of Alaska, got by barter, and not worth
the purchase. Under the tutelage of the
Democratic party the republic grew from
impotence and insignifcance to the pro-
portions and prestige Of the highest en-
pire on earth, embellished by all the arts
Of civilization, exultsnt with q redundant
prosperity, and happy in the enjoyment
Of freedom and independence. Nor, dur
ing the domination Of the Democracy,
were the peace and repose Of the Union
broken by intestine conflict, but the down.
fall Of the Democracy was the signal of
the civil convulsion, and 90 the return Of
Democracy to power viii be the harbin-
ger of Q restored Union and of the preva-
lence Of peace and good will among all
Glasses and between oil sections.
But the special cry of the Republicans
is that Hancock 10 the nominee of the
South, and that the "Rebel Brigadiers
want to make him President for some end
inconsistent with the interests and integ-
rity Of the Union. II, indeed, the people
of the South cherish any sinister designs
against the Union, surely they have 60
lected the last instrument on earth for the
contamination Of their purpose, in man
-hraa lska haa knav. ~ aNskaOxv AZ v,aaainn.