Year: 1869




the bondholdcr and forced to seek invest
mcnts in such enterprise as would add to
the wealth of the country in the develop
mcnt ofits resources and in works of pub
lie improvement. We once had Wash
ngton in this country, and thank God for
it. have heard it said We had a second
Washington. would like to look at him.
| should like to see what Kind Of an ami
nal he is. Washington was inaugurated
on the 18th of April. lie referred in his
speech to Congress To his great want of cX-
pericncc and his dililencc in assuming Il
responsibility so great; and spoke of the
importance of private morals as the found
alton of public virtue. [Applause. He
furthermore remarked that in sustaining
the Executive Department no more should
be appropriated than was barely sufficient
to dciray the expenses. lie approached
the Presidency almost with awe and t:cnl-
bling. He did not say: 81 feel the re.
sponSibiity, but | accept the offer without
fear That was your second Washington
Imagine Washington sitting at the Coun-
ell Board, looking at the Secretary of the
Treasury, and saving -" I've got your
draft for STD ,0n0,' and seeking for a book
from which to derive Il little information,
saying to the Secretary Of the Navy I've
got your library at II cost of $4,000. y
Then look araund at the furniture, houses
and lots. How would Washington have
sat ut the Cabinet meeting surrounded by
such men as these? Laughter, and cries
Of "rood."] You see how the govern.
mcnt is moving along, the cry comes up,
my cuuntrymcn, whether We shall not
meet the issue when We shall rally round
the ballot to the support of the Constitu-
ton Il. the palladium of our religious and
civil liberty, and cling to it as the ship
wrecked mariner clings to the last plank
when night is closing around him. Give
me the Constitution Of my country
You may take your petty tyrants, but give
me the Constitution of my country. The
speaker then cave brief account of the
condition of things in Tennessee under
Radical rule, and said the first thing he
had to Ito when he went home, in order t,
obtain possession of his property there, he
was obliged to 90 before an officer aud give
evidence by proper voucher that he was
Il loyal man. I.au@htcr.l lIealso spoke
of the tyranny existing in Tennessee.
The men called militia go into court
house. scnl out the judge aud jury int
the woods or the streets, and placing there
in court martial. try a man one day and
hang him the next. let us have peace.


Mr.. johnson said in conclusion of his
remarks: You arc now approaching the
point when your government is vibrating
between Il military dictator here and mil
itary dictator there. II we 30 ON at this
rate every little military man who Can
claim a battle. will seek to be made die
tator. and rule the nation. But the char.
actrr of an American citizen is above all
other characters. In my mind, we have
high and noble duties to perform. Let us
not taltcr; this mighty nation is deter
mined to preserve its unity. Bodies OF
men and munitions OF war started in GER
tain direction. Those columns never turned
until they conquered. And because some
little fellow walked with supply train, he
is Il second Washington. .auyhtcr]. 1t
might as well be said that as some of these
intelligent reporters followed the army tol
the purpose of narratin= events, they con
ductcd the army operations. In coming
among You on business, having son al
school and some private matters to trans
act, to receive such cordial welcome by
the people of the district is a source OF
heartfelt qualification to me. Applausc.
| trust the day is not far distant when We
shall meet under more auspicious circum-
stances than we now do. again thank
you for this cordial welcome.