Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-18

body, feeling extremely apprehensive as to the condition of our party in the United States senate on the 4th day of March next, with one voice have urged ne, in- deed they have required me, to come home to see if could contribute at all to the bringing back of the people of the state of Alabama to just contemplation of those principles of political action which have saved them in the past and have redounded to heir unexampled prosperity, and V hch. and which alone, if they are observed, will lead us out of our present difficulties into that peace and rest and honor and prosper ity and glory that rightfuly belong to psople blessed of almighty God as we are. [Appiause.l
 you may we'll say it was wilderness. My memory carries me back to the time when was boy, before the lands were sur veyed, when my father was a squatter upon the public lands, where we cut down our little patches and built our log houses, and, after while, little leg church and a little log school house, and started the bud of this magnificent civilization that is now around me. When young man, grown up, and l was permitted through your kind indulgence to earn living in my chosen profession, used to come here to Eyton to meet with Daniel iG. Waters and E. w. Peck and William Mudd and Walker K. Baylor and a number of the old men of this country, with George b. Shortrldge and even his father, Elihu Shortridge; we used to gather at the hosptable fireside of Dr. Smith at night and used to conjecture about these various coal and iron fields and their singular prox- unity to each other; we would indulge in what we considered almost romantic hopes and expectations as to what the future would be, and my idea was that there would likely be enough iron to justify the building of a furnace somewhere in this valley-in this ocalty-for the purpose of casting the pots and kettles to be used by t1.- I~. T k.I I.~ when they were in the household. l thought it was possible that some day or other railroad might run through here which would require to be consumed a very considerable quantity of coal h the run ming of that railroad. And even those prospects were considered as being so me- what exaggerated; they were considered as being somewhat eXtravagant, even roman tici 80 that when we began to shape the policies of Alabama, as we did then, with view of receiving the new population that might come into this country, we were somewhat agitated by the question of the immigration of foreigners here, and it was matter of good deal of reflection with us ss to whether the people who might come to this country from abroad for the purpose of assisting us in the develop ment and working of our mines were going to be homogeneous with us; whether they were going to understand our institutions; whether they were going to fall in love
 
 would stand by them and abide by the laws they would have a hand in making. Those were our contemplations; they were in our minds, and we had some misgivngs as to whether 1t was safe thing to do or not At that time these black men see around me were slaves, and there was no expecta- tion that they would be manumitted except at the instance and will of their owners. No, that was not contemplated.
 After little while change came over fhjG ponntrV nnrhQp9 nrOf0nn and far reaching revolution as ever occurred in any country in the civilized world, and new provision had to be made for these new conditions. It was startling change we had to undergo-an experience which we knew would be difficult to the last de- gree, because there was no parallel known in history we could adopt as standard of comparison so as to measure the pace we would go, the direction we would take or those conservative regulations that are necessary to preserve the rights of the in- dividual man and communities while new institutions and new orders and new events were crowding upon us. The war came with all of its disasters. Then came worse than war-the invasion of men who carried banners of peace on their shoulders and the weapons of death girded about them; men who insisted upon law and order and honesty and fair dealing, while 1t was the whole business of their lives to violate the law, to disturb order and rob and plunder and steal just as long as they could find anything to pick up. We had this to contend with. But am not going through the history of those times; You know it we'll enough. It was dark, sad photograph upon the hearts of all the old people in this countryside old people of this audience-which sometimes repeats itself to their silent thoughts in way that brings upon them the saddest of ref sctions in which men and women have indulged. won't go back to that, but l will say this: that during all this sweeping change, this period of great agitation, this period of terrible convulsion, out Of which there has come beautiful revelation, l grant you during all of that period those of us who understood the American system of government, and who felt that this govern ment was based upon constitutional ioun- dations, that those foundations were fairly described in writing, and that every official in the United States, of every kind and character, was required to take an oath before Almighty God that he would support the constitution; beneath our feet of this grand, new, pecu- liar, splendid and triumphant system Of human government, realized that in the midst of all of our depressions and agita- tions, and sufferings and hardships, tur- moils and tribulations, there was theory and principle of government running through the United States and the states, permeating the hearts of the native popu- lation of the United States, to which we could always refer for the purposes or sal vation against any calamity or against any difficulty of public character that might occur. We felt that we had cardinal tenets and principles of government in this country, which, if the people would ad- here to them and support them in good conscience and with fidelity, the time would never come in the providence of God when this great and powerful com muuity should be ridden down by the law less or triumphed over by vice and inf delity to God, to society and to man. [Ap- plauSe