The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1884-10-08
CAssIUs NJ CLAY.
a Remarkable Speech by a Re-
marlzable Man.
Tho Kentucky lion Declares THAT the
Democracy Is stlu the Same Old
Party OF Bourbonism and
violence.


bons tingled as they listened to his fer .
vent appeals and impassioned utter
ances:
KEErUCKIANs; am now making my FIRST |
speech of a new campaign.
Here I'm your city is now assembled what Is |
called the Southern Exposition. ask any /
man frankly to tell me here tonight OF to /
tell me through your press, how long you |
would have waited under the old barbarous |
pro-slavery system before you would nave |
had suCn a spectacle as you see now exhibit !
ed In Louisville these days and nights. GA
And vet when I am asked to speak i'm this
city, which / knew before it was as large as
many of our villages that are considered but
little better than cross roads, your leading
Journals DO not find a place for my name. lt
was proposed to pay for the advertisement
announcing this meeting, but neither by love
nor money can you obtain hearing from the
representatives of the dominant party i'm the
South, But we will get q hearing all the
gufne. 10 me this ls an old-time thing. But
10 these young men who knew nothing about
the diHculues Of the initiation Of this move
ment against this Old hBrbarism of slavery 1t
may be a new thing. But it ia not to me.
And that brings me, mon of Kentucky, TO
say here In the beginning of this campaign
that am O Southern man, born on south urn
soil; and l insist that i'm speaking as I do
speak for the highest interest of the South
II win be found that il Is not advantageous to
place me i'm q false position.
And this at once preciptates me into the
midst Of my argument That the old spirit Of
barbarism still remains i'm the South-the
same spirit fought when was young; and
that same spirit / am fighting now Among
tho animals the prevailing principle is that of
force. 1t is contest, and, as Darwin says,
there is a survival of the tlttest. lt is true
that we tee some glimpse of that aggregation
of interests and that appeal to the sentiments
which charaCterlIe the man above all other
animal creation but it is very partial The
sheep in the mountains stand together i'm
circles when opposed by wolves, and the
wolves band together when seeking their
prey. That is the nearest approach we see
among the animals to the brotherhood Of man
AMONG them there iE nuuUlifV hen they
are defending themselves against an enemy,
or when they want to make general attaC1.
But when you pass TO man, created in the
up. What is thati Ii is the idea of a common
interest 1t is the R iaea de-. OF OF common } s
power so as to maintain the rights not only Of
the highest but of the lowest citizens Of the
Commonwealth or OF the Nation, whichever
Now, let me tell these Bourbonites-and I
am going to- give them harder name than
that before get through, which shall stick to
them for centures-that as to tina. letter of
mine i'm the New York sun, i'm which L gave
my reasons for again taking the stump, they
mlsJudge me When they think lhat 1 am
afraid. They heg me not to be afraid. They
tell me they are not going 10 hurt me. Thank
you, gentlemen. My object was TO place a
typical figure before the people OF this couu-
try, and if ! assume TO be the highest, thuJ
which was possible in my person was more
possible OF course I'm the person of the hum
bgst citizen OF the Commonwealth; and i'm
desiring 70 protect myself desired TO protect
the humblcst citizen also, That is the first
principle Of progress from barbarism to civil
izutiOn; when you learn to respect the rights
Wen, now / asked the New York sun
whether 1 should be allowed to vote for Blaine
AMI Logan without being assaulted, without
being stricken down in my person
am not pleading for Cash Clay; 7 am
plead ng for the humblest citizens OF the
Commonwealth. I am pleading for seven
millions of COlOred men, for seven millions of
native Americans. am pleading for tine
humblest foreigner, who has fed from foreign
force and original bar arism, that yet fingers
In the civilization of our times-tOr the hum
bleSt lriShman, German or FrenChmau, who
Is united without distinction with ourselves;
am pleading that the right of free speech
and free action should be rs sacred in hi,
person as it may be i'm that of Cassius NJ
Clay, whose proves, they say no man d
dispute. tAppluuse)
That IS the whole idea didn't say / wal
afraid of anyhoJ :, Gentlemen, read that
letter over again 1 dldnt say was afr lid tC
vote ! am afraid to plunge into the Fails OF
Niagara. wheI a man VIII be swept over the
rocks and be drowned; l am afraid to stanC
on the highest mountain of Europe auC
plunge myself down; j am afraid to Cnst my
self over the cataruCt but am no. afraid t.
stand in de euse Of my own life against one
afraid to champion the cause OF the humbles
citizen, North or South. and to say that b,
shall be allowed to exercise the same right
Now as to the Democratic party; I hav,
been wandering from my family, from tho
house of my friends for tue ast oignteeI
years. / have been implOring the Democrat
FOR these eighteen years TO uecome cvilize'
and to abandon the barbaious tde9s-tO lay
down the pistol and tho DOwie-knife and t,
appeal to reason.
have IN my pocket a letter, which opene,
as / came here, from a man in Kansas whit
knew me i'm my early lie. He says "Cay,
have read your letter and agree with you
!, like you, for the last fifteen o
eighteen years pleaded with my SOutherI
kin 70 do right but find it impossible, and
am going away from them"
Aud, while am on that subject o. person
al explanation, let me say that / was t0l
nrOTd n man I'm all these years to say that
was driven out of the Republican party as
"gorehcad." When / left the Republican
party in 1855, If you choose TO place it so ia
back that, when taking up the great prln
ciple of the autonomy of the STATES I'm tn
Eouth-or I'm 1861. when 1 separated mysel
formally from the Republican party and act
cd with the Democrats, the Senate OF tn
United states passed almost unanimously, q
am told, a resolution that ! should not b.
removed, Notwithstanding tho personal enc
mics I hal m the Cabinet of Mr.. Lincoln
And three or four years after i resigned m
position as United states Minister at ltussin
was maintained by the Senate Of the Unite
States, constituting. OF course, the maiorit
of the Republican party against all of m
enemies. And what mOrey Before / ha
got back to Kentucky, while was yet in Ee'
York, the Rcpublcans Oh my native count
all got tOLoJher iu convention and unan
mOusly invited me to run as their ctni'dat
for tie Kentucky Legislature-the only pos
ton they had 10 giye-and accepted T. bu
it took me not long to see that m went {
the Republican patty would have to 90 @
Grant, and TO this policy was opposed, nc
that I was opposed to the Republican party
but had found that they were with Grant,
all OF his movements And j had the right
the Democrats say, TO vote for whom 1 chose
and did not choose to vote Tor Grant. { dl
not 90 into conventions; and said TO M
friends 10 MudisOu County: 81 see you ar
going to nominate Grant and j won YOt
for Grant" So / came out voluntarily trlI
the Republican party, Ny DemocruuC friends
If there are any moss backs here, i was nc
driy en- out of the Republican party asa "sOrJ
head " I sacrificed an the prospects which
whole lifetime of labor had placed at my dI
pOsaL ] sacrificed eighteen of the best year
of my life 20 lift You lspeakng TO the cOlOre
men present out of the spirit of barbari5I
and TO lift you TO the equality of union.
What was the first demonstration saw
tine Democratic partyy After an absence q
nine years j rode through the gate of my OW
native home, and looked once more on th
broad acres Of grass ana on the splend.
trees, green from time lmmemOrial, anon
which i had played i'm infancy. Before ha
entered once more the dOmiCIle of my fatl
ers, found forty or fifty horses tied 20 Oh
fences without any owners. me hukluA pa
met at the house of 'IasE' Clay the night
came in. LaughterJ Yes, cir; the kuklu
we're in full force here the night got bacl
One morning when j went out found not
written i'm very bad hand, saying that m
foreman "a COlOred mani was obnoxious
the neighbOrs and that must send him ava
on they would kill him, That was the won
BY the way that COOrcd man was the be-
workman ] ever had, white or black. IN
man was not liberated by the GOvernmen
but was born free The Door African ha
head enough to know his business, an
he had heart enough % do It.
called hin Tom Clayton was his name
and i said' ''IOm, I've received a lettJ
am but one man. and several weeks ago
saw forty or hlty uderless horses tied TO m
fence; the kukIuNers were prOWling abOu
and they meant mischief, and now they sa
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