Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1886-06-03
THE oPENINGsG GUN.
A Broad Side at the Men Who Have Not
the Courage OF Their Convictions.

A Broad Side at the Men Who Have Not
the Courage of Their cpnvictions.
From report of the speech of Hon.
John j Littleton. editor Of the National
Recie,o, on the occasion Of the Republican
county convention at Lawrenceburg.
Tenn, we make the following extract:
He believed that there were hundreds
Of men in Lawrence county and thous
ands in Tennessee who are afliliating
with Democracy, but who are at heart
Republicans. "a mans belief" said he,
"fixes his political identity. If he believes
in Republican principles be is Republi.
car. no matter with which party he votes
nor how loudly he proclaims that he is
Democrat" He illustrated his views on
this head by saying that If man believe
in the Protestant religious creed he is a,
Protestant, no matter whether he belongs
to church and has been baptized or not.
If he deny the doctrines and prccepts of
the Bible and repudiate the principles of
the Christian Church, his belief fixes him
an infidel, and he can't be anything else
without reformation, though he might
give aims and do all mariner of charitable
acts. He held every man who believes
in protective tariff to be Republican, as
that was one Of the cardinal principles of
the party. Men might protest their De-
mocracy and advocate aiprotective tariff,
but it was just as consistent for man to
proclaim his orthodoxy and repudiatc the
Christian plan of salvation. Moral COW
ardice, he thought, was the curse which
weighed heaviest upon Tennesseans.
Some of the leading men in the Demo.
cratic party of the State were deep. dyed
Republicans, but a-lack of moral courage
to abandon the follies of their lives kept
them masquerading inDemocratic col
ors. Speaking for himself, he wanted no
free trade theorists in the Republican
ranks. They didn't properly belong
there, and would be Violating conscience
and judgment should they act with Re
publicans just as protcctonists were by
tamely following along with Democracy.
In the enthusiasm of tlielinoment he de.
clared that hell was established for the
accommodation of morflsSo8agas who,
hnyin1 strong ccnvicsi 4 rs i n s,iesrcs
like the tariff, featSF 10 take position
where they naturally belonged, and when
they could best put their convictions into
practice. He claimed for Republicanism
all the credit for the internal improve.
ments ofthe county; charged Democracy
with antagonizing every progressive
measure of public concern from the be.
ginning of the government; with causing
all the evils that had ever befallen the
country, and wondered that the curse of
heaven had not been visited upon the
South two-fold greater than war for its
bourbonism. He denounced the present
administration as fraud and mass of
miserable hypocrisy; charged upon it
conspiracy to ruin the national finance in
the interest of Wall street monopolists, of
whom he said Secretary Manning was the
chief; ridlculed the civil reform service
as practiced by Cleveland; advocated the
Blair Educational Bill and said that five
years of good schools in this State would
make it Republican by $4,000 majority.
lie forced the repeal of the internal reye.
nue. law; the establishment of a State and
National Labor Bureau; the abolition of
the system Of leasing the penitentiary.
which allowed convicts to be worked In
mines, and closed by adjuring the breth.
ren to work in harmony, and he could as.
sure them that with a full Republican
vote the State would be carried by Re.
publicans by an overwhelming majority.