The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-09-24

b ~ 1st11s' nsadssi0S 9d3 xki1Asl .
isgbs& B,zsor e1EMs Nasso,,sa o,,sa.osla = asif
I ss1R:lAs sa's6pposed meeting In Taila-'
hsssse, Flof1dz Che foliowihe supposed
rejoindsf EwsS m&ds TO the supposed
speech Or . RspuBlicaShf efniis.asasry (sse the
| MasiontOf Sept ~ sdl sYea pT 'asii
f91is ~ !Dessosussc Fsissds:: I am III 1rt1rAst-
ihsd at 4hs! qtssntisa lefespecsfal hear
ing Whiaht tyoa Aavs given to thu gentle
Maps sent ont from the North bY the Re,
| publican Nation9l Committee. who has
| Just now tEksn his seat. A hearing equal
| ay attentive and respected, let me assure
him, he. e.HiA receive Whenever and WHEREBY
er, diving the present political campaign,
he may ask it from the Democrats Of Flor
ida. But neither he nor You viii fail to
! nots chat, while the white portion fnearlv
all Democratspof3 the .assemb mblaQe have
thus listened 20 him, I no sooner rise to
reply than al his cOlored Republican and
| Itors, under the counsels Of their white
leaders, publicly given In this city 8 few
weeks since, TO listen to no Democratic
/ speakey, have taken their departure
Some other preliminary, remark, due to
ms, dne to our visitor: he is mistaken in say
| ing he comes among as an sodious and sus-
pected person because wearing the name
Republican, No. Republicans coming
here from the North is either suspected or
odious because OF, his party name We
know too well the wealth, worth, patriot
| ism and intelligence Of the great body of
the Republican party Of the North to en-
| tertain any such suspicion. In my pOliti-
| cal addresses TO the people of Florida l
have again and again done full justice to
the Republicans Of the New England and
other Northern States by showing that
there was nothing in common between
them and the mongrel crew of varied polit-
ical antecedents aud nationalities who,
| focking here like foul harpies for cur spolia-
tion, had disgraced the name of the party of
Lincoln, Adams, Andrew, Seward and
Eumbull; !; asserting ii all places and on
all occasions, that these creatures, while
plundering the South, had dishonored the
North.
a"He does us justice IN conceding that
none of rs desire the re-establishment of
slavery For myself, I 60 farthsr and as
sert that, instead of regretting that slave
| ry went down with our short-liyed Con-
| federacy, in the agony Of my disappoint-
ment the abolition Of slavery was the one
| thing that reconeiled me to our fate.
Many things have since combined to do
it. But more than this will say, and our
| friend, hope, will repeat it when he re-
| turns North, as the matter seems to be
causing some anxiety in the minds of Mr.
Sherman and others there: we take not
the least stock in any scheme for the pay
ment of Southern wsr-claims And, as for
the payment for our slaves, while the three
or four hundred thousand ex-slaveholders
might not object, yet any proposition to
that end, submitted to the white people
of the South alone, would be voted down
by an overwhelming majority. The only
form having any claim to popular favor
in which tha proposition has been present
ed was that of Republican candidate for
Congress in one of the Southern States
where negro voters were numerous, whose
plan was to have the United States pay
for the slaves, the money to be equally d.
vidsd 6etOeea the emancipdted Hacks and
their former oscnsrsl The GINNING aspi-
rant was elected, but believe never In
troduced into Congress his bill, and on
the expiration of his term did not offer
for reelection. ''7
Fl ann sorry to have to tell him, need
not tell you, that our visitors brilliant
picture of Southern prosperity is greatly
oyercolored. Florida is, suppose, doing
as well as her Southern sisters, and yet
Florida shows loss of 90 per cent. Of
taxable valaes as compared with 1880,
and large per cent. since 1867. True,
the entire cotton crop of the South has
increased In the twenty years from 1860
to 1880 about 20 per cent, but the in
crease for the preceding twenty years, say
ls4O to 1850, was 100 per cent. But be
our present prosperity what it may, it
must be remembered that none of these
States have been for four years, most of
them not for six, under Republican rule.
What il saved from the wreck we enjoy
not through bat in spite of that party, as
known here When it is considered that
the losses suffered by the South from the
carpet-bag and negro governments are es-
timated land / take the figures as given
by an able and impartial Northern au-
thOrity) attwo hundred and fifty millions
of dollars, it is not strange that Southern
prosperity, even under home-rule, is of
slow revival.
promptly accepted the ineUit0b8e - the
negro as citizen with yote-the fric-
tion, bitterness, and hardships [of recon
structionl would have been vastly dimin-
ished-' Perhaps 90. If our foresigkss
were as good ~ our. kiadsights it would
save ms . great deal of trouble in other
fields than politics. But how were we to
know that sufffage for the negro. wholly