it u
f
1
1
i 1
11 . II, JACOB!, FuMislierJ
Trntli and Right -God and our Conntry.
$2 50 in Advance, per Annum.
VOLUME 16.
BLOOMSBURG. COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1865.
NUMBER 42
nnipTT.Tpv:
1
w
V
)
T
THE STAR OF THE NORTH
I PUBLISH ED CVERT WEDNESDAY 6?
JVM. U. JACOB Y,
Office on Slain St., 3rd Square below Market.
TEIIUS : Two Dollars and Fifty Cents
in advance. If not paid till the end of the
year, Three Dollars wiil be charged.-
No subscriptions taken for a period less
than six months ; no disconlinnance permit
led until all arrearages are paid unless at
Ihe option of the editor.
MATES OF ADVERTISING:
TEiY LIN ES CONSTITUTE A SQUARE.
One Square, one or three insertions, . 81 50
Every subsequent insertibojless than 13, 50
"Oae column one year, 50 00
Adminisrrators' and Executors' nottces,3.00
Transient advertising payab'e in advance,
"all other due after the first insertion. -
ElinCSTO DECBEISIXU CSHOlLIE.
AVithVxceeding satisfaction,
A remarkable contraction
'Of lb petticoats our eyes hare lataty sen ;
- The expanse of ladies' dress,
Thank its yielding arbitress.i
Growing beautifully less
- - Crinoline.
On the flagstone of the street
If I man two women meet,
He may pass, if pretty tolerably lean,
And sufficiently alert
Stepping not into theJirt,
Twixt thy kennel and thy1 skirt,
Crinoline.
Now, when ladies go to Court,
- Let ns hope that no more sport
They'll furnish to the rabble vile and mean,
While tbeir'clothea for want of room,
Stick right out of every brougham ;
;- Vor retrenchment is thy doom,
. Crinoliri-e
--- " '.- i
r There will soon be room for ns
In the public omnibus,
VVhwti the middle class of ladies see the
(J .en
- And the fair Prince of Wales,
And Nobility's females,
Have all tiad to reef their sails,
, ' , Crinoline. ' .
XVhen lo church young' damsels go,
Their habiliment to show, J
Hn bonnets of magenta, mauve and green, .
A not very spacions pew
Will suffice to hold a few
If the doings but eschew,
- Crinoline.
No more ladies death will find,
In their frames of steel calcined. ,
Set on blazes by a grate without, a screen ;
'Though some cookmaids yet may flare,
Who dress not, and don't take care,
For the servant still will ware,
' Crinoline '
Bat the dastini stylish belles,
And the exquisite fast swell.,
Will deride the grotesque fashion that's been
For so Ion a lime iherrage
In a comical past age ;
Thy preposterous old cage,
' ' Crinoline.
Sftcmns WarJ's Acccnnt or His Courtship.
'"Twas a'carm still night in Joon. All
nature was husht and nary ieffer disturbed
the, sereen silens. 1 sot with Betsy Jane on
the lense of her father's pastor. We'd been
romping threw the woods, kullin' flowers
and driving the woodchuck IroTn bjs Native
Lair (so to speak) with-long slicks. Wall
we sot lhar on the lene, a swingin, our feet
two and fro, blushen, a red as the Bdldins
Ville skool house when it was first paia'ed,
and lookic very simple 1 make no doubt.
My left arm was ockepied in ballar.sin, my
self on the lense, while my rite was woondid
Tdvenly round her waist. I cleared my
throat and ccminly sed, "Betsey, your'e a
gazife." I thought ihat air was potty fine.
It evidently didn't fetch her, for she op and
said, "Your'e a sheep!" Sez I, 'Betsy, I
think very muchly of you." I don't b'leeve
a word you say so there now, corn!" with
which observation aha hitched away from
trie. 'I wish there was winders to my sole,'
ied I, 'so that yon coald see some 6l my
feelings. There's fire enuff in here,' sed I,
Striking my lazom with my fist, 'to bile all
the corn beef and turnips in the naberhood.'
'She bowd.her head down and comraest
"thawen the strings to her sun-bonnet. 'Ah'
could yon know the sfseplis nifss 1 worry
threw on yonr account, hoy vittles has
seized to be an attraction to me, and how
my rjrnbs has shrank np,you wouldn't dowt
tnel Case on this wasen form and these
-er9 sunken cheeks ? I should have con-
liunered en this strane probly for some time,
but l j r fortunately lost tny ballunce and fell
over into "(be pastor kersmash, tearing my
close and severely damagin myself gineral
yt Betsey Jane sprang to my assistance ;n
Rouble quick time and dragged me 4th.
Teen draw;r, herself op to her full hite, she
fed -,'I won't listen to your noncents no
longer. Jua say rita slrats cut what you're
rfrivin at. If you mean gsltin hitched, I'm
jnP I considered that air nuff for all prac
tical purpuss83rand procaaded immejiily to
the 'parson' and" was made 1 that very nite.
T112 coquettish Mrs. L , has jasl re
turned from a pleasure trip to Washington,
gha only (ock with her forty: two Jdresses,
twenty shawls, nineteen bonnets, and two
hendre i pairs cf . gloves.
; friend, who happened to
"Surely," said a
bo . present when
.sha W3? unpacking, -'yoa
did not take all
lb at wi,b you." "I merely took what was
- u ji
r;y cat.
I left behind rae
a'.I th i wn cumbersome" "Ah, yes, I ua-
... , ,. ) f , , . h t i t
f . . X L'-I, ,t a. ,i a v m i. c J 2 L 1.
RESTORATION.
AiIJicss cf ex Governor Brcwn to the peoplt of
Georgia-AU Good Citizens fhould Accept
the Situation and Sustain the Laws Presi'
dent Jaknsonl$ Policy Commended, Sfc.
To ihe Pkofli or Georgia. I feel pro
foundly impressed with a sense of the ob
ligation which I am under to yon for the
manifestations of yon kindness and confi
dence .which I have so often received.
At four different elections yoo have honored
me with your suffrages for the highest po
sition within yonr gift, and I have to the
best of my a-bilily represented you in the
executive orhee for nearly eight years
White my duties have been of the most
laborious and trying character, I feel the
consciousness (hat I have labored with an
honest purpose to promote your best inte
rests. That I have committed errors is not
denied, (hat they have been intentional,
your conduct has sho-vn yoo do not believe.-
'
During the period of my administration,
the country. has passed through a most try
ing ordeal. The great questions at issue
between the North and the South having
failed to find a peacful solution in the fo
rnm of reaso;i; have been submitted for de
cision to the arbitrament of arms, and the
judgment has been against at in the hish
eet tribunal known among nations. The
contest has been long and bloody. Each
pary has learned to respect the manhood
and chivalry of the other. T3ut the Couth
haN been ovorccmey ths superior numbers
and boundless resources of the North. We
have no further power of successful resist
ance, and no other. alternative but to accept
the result.
The Government of the United States
having refused to recognize or tolerate the
State governments which have existed en-
der the Confederate Constitution during the
struggle, and ordered the arrest of the Gov
ernors of (he States, I was arrested and
imprisoned after I had surrendered the
Georgia State troops and militia, and had
given my parole ' upon the same terms al
lowed to General Lee and General Johnston,
and bad received from the Major General
tg whom the parole was given, the usual
pledge of the faith of the United States, that
I was not to be . mo!e;ed so long as I ob
served the parole and obeyed the laws in
force prior lo January I, 1861. Upon the
fact being brought before ths President of
the United State, he ordered lhai I. be re
leased upon my parole', and permitted to re
turn home.
I am embraced in one of Iho exceptions
in the President's amnesty proclamation.
I have received no pardsn, nor have I taken
any oath, nor am I permitted to rename the
exercise of executive functions. I was in
the executive office prior to the commence-.
ment of the war, and by the Constitution of i
the Siate then in exi?tance, it is declaired
that I Khali hold till a successor is chosen
and qualified. I have. felt it my duty to
announce these facts to yoo, and as I can
be of no further service'to my State, by at
(empting to hold the office of Governor, I.
hereby resign it into the bands of the peo
ple who hae so long and so generously
conferred it opon m4.
While taking leave of yon and retiring to
private life I mm that it may not be con
sidered inappropriate for rne to add a few
remark opon what I consider the true in
terests and the deties of the people of Geor
gia in the present hoar.-1 have lately passed
through several of the Northern States, and
have been in some of (heir largest cities; 1
have read (heir newspapers closely; have
had interviews with public 'officials high in
authority, and have taken pains (o ascer
tain both the policy of the governmenl and
the pcpolar sentiment of the country on
the subject of emancipation of the slaves of
the South, and I assure yon there is no di
vision of opinion upon the subject of imme
diate abolition, tt is decreed alike by the
government and the people. They have
(he power, and they are determined to
exercise it, and to overcome all obstacles
which we may attempt to throw. in the way.
Indeed, they treat it as an accomplished
fact, under the proclamations of the late
President, ifsued as war measures necessa
ry to the lite of the government. As mat
ters now stand, to fight against it is :o con
fend against manifest destiny. Besides,
slavery has been so disturbed, and the
slaves so demoralized during the war, that
it is a matter of great doabl whether they
coald ever de kept in a state of proper sub
ordination, and ths institution made profit
able in futur9.
Under theaa circumstances the question
aries, what shall we do ? Nothing that we
can do will prevent the result, and it is my
opiaion that any effort on our part to thwart
the government on this great question, will
only add to our misery and our misfortune.
The statesman, like the business man,
should take a practical view of the questions
a they arise, and do for those dependent
upon him the beat that can be done, under
all the circumstances by which they are at
the lima sarroonded.
Applying this rale lo our present condi
tion, and remembering that revolction and
war often sweep 'away long-established
usages, demolish' theories, and change in
stitutions, it is, in my judgment, the best
that we accept the fate imposed upon as by
the fortunes of wai, and that we give up
slavery at once, by the action of the coo-
vention, which it is supposed will assemble
under the call of the provisional governor
appointed lo reojganize the. State Govern
ment; that we orgacdze a system of labor as
speedily as possible, which will be alike
just touhe lale master and slave; thai we
riituru lu Oaa Union in rood faith aad do all
injjur power as good, citizRns, to relieve the
distressed, repair the damages which have j
resulted from the contest, and restore per
manent peace and prosperity to (he whole J
country uuder the old flag, to Nwhich all
must again look for protection from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. (
As I will give no advice to others which 1
will not practice myself, I shall immediate
ly do all-which the Constitution and laws
of my own State will permit to emancipate
my own slaves, and shall treat them as freo
and give them a part, of
other wages as may be
the crop, or such
agreed npon for
their futnre labor.
. During my sojourn there, I found among
the people of the North much less bitter
ntss than I had anticipated towards the
people of the South. If we act prudently,
a"nd do nothing t pause unnecessary agita
tion, or provoke angry, unprofitable discus
sions, I think there 'are strong reasons to
hope that a sentiment of justice and liber
ality will prevail, So soon as we have given
up slavery, and the passions engendered by
the nnfortunate aud wicked assassination
of the late President have had time lo sub
side. Ia making up their judgment, upon cool
reflection, it should be remembered by
just men in the North that they are sitting
as judges in their own cause; (hat their ad -versaries'
side of the question has ceased
lo be represented or heard, and that if they
would restore unity, harmony, and perma
nent prosperity to the whole country, they
must, while flashed with victory, exercise
magnainm'u'y to their fallen fo'es, whose he
roism they arc obliged to respect. Oiher
wsse, though held iu the Union by force
they coul dnot expect the people of (be
South and their posterity lo iaeet thera in
future as friends, and embrace as fellow-
! citizens. 1 trust their good practical sene
will teach them this, an,d
and wise counsels may
that moderation
prevail on both
Bides.
I think all should lake the oath and ob
serve it in good faith, and be all they can
to elect their wisest and bent men as repre
sentatives, that all the different interests of
the State may be protected as far as possi-b!e,-and
her honor and credit maintained
against unwise and unjust legislation.
Many conscientious men object to taking
the oath because they believe the proclama
tion and acta of Congress during the war,
on the subjac: of slavery, are unconstitu
tional, and thy aro not willing to swear to
abide by and support them. It must be
remembered that the late proclamation of j
President Johnson lenders pardon to all
who are not excepted, if they take the
oath.
The pardon, then, is conditional; and
while the President does not interfere with
any one a opinions on
question, he reqairps a
the constitutional
condition to the
( clemency that he who receives the pardon
iand is allowed to retain the balance of bis
property shall give op his slaves. The
proclamation of President Lincoln declared
I the slaves to b9 free. To abide by and sop.
! port it is simply to treat them as free.
I Evpry intelligent man in Georgia who has
'taken pains to investigate - the question,
, must see that slavery is now at an end
The oath simply require that each so treat
it. The other portion of the oath is not ob.
jectional.
hvery man should be willing lo support ;
the constitution of a government if he in- ;
tends to live under it, and to act the part of
a good ci izen. If he does not, he should i
seek a home and protection elsewhere. '
I will only add, in conclusion, that I shall j
carry with me into my retirement a lively
appreciation of the generous confidence ;
which you have so long reposed in me, and
ray constant prayer to God will be for your ;
prosperity and hapiness. j
I am, very respectfully, your fellow-citi
zen and obedient servant,
Joscra E. Bkowjt.
Milledgeville, June 29.
Th best and most conclusive reason for
an effect that we ever remember to have
heard, was given by a 'one idea1 Dutchman
in reply to a friend who remarked
'Why, Hans.yon have the most feminine
caste of countenance I ever saw."
Oh yaw was the reply, 'I know the rea
son for dat my mother was a woman.'
'Mrs. Davis writes to a relalire in Phila
delphia denying positively thai her husband
was arrayed ic her clothes; he had his own
dressing gown on when he was captured
he was sick at the time.'
A Dutchman on seeing one of the posters
announcing the coming of the panorama of
"Paradise Lost," and reading this line, "A
rebellion in Heaven," suddenly exclaimed
'A Rebellion in Heaven! Mine Gott!
Dat last long now. Ookel Abe ish tare.'
Thk following is written as a notice on a
car running on a railroad in the northern
part of New York. 'passengers are request
ed not to get off the cars to snow-ball while
the train is under full headway.'
. Why are pimples on a drunkard's
like the cuts in a witty cotemporary?
face
Be-
cause they are illustrations of Punch.
A lady (sometimes keeps charms upon
her watchguard, but it is mora important
thatishe keep
charms.
watch and guard upon her
Brave men bare their bosoms to their
enemies: fashionable woman to fiicnds and
caciaics alike. ' - .-
EMERSON ETHERIDGE'S LETTER,
TO THE ,
President of the United States.
Columbus, Ky., July lSj 1865.
To his Excellency, Andrew Johnson, Presi
dent of tie United States
The Hon. Horace Greeley, the wisest and'
among the best of your present friends,
ones addressed your distinguished prede
cessor through the colomns ef his newspa
per.' He wrote in behalf of the "colored
race;" I am emboldened by his example to
invoke your attention to the condition of
the unfortunate whites. Besides I know
you are surrounded by political and relig
ious patriots who daily approach (he throne
of Executive grace to assure you of their
love Vi country and detestation of place;
and to offer up (heir fervem prayers for (he
restoration of your health, and the prolong
ation of your invaluable life. Perhaps
some one of these may see this communi
cation and present it to the attention of your
Excellency. In this press upon precious
time, 1 make no estimate of the intervals
you so cheerfully devote to the crowds of
contrabands who constitute so much of the
elite of the Capitol.
I know the magnanimous nature of your
Excellency, and I fear-the announcement I
have to make will prove injurious, if not
fatal, to ' the deiicato sensibilities of your
noble and generous heart. I was arrested
ht my home in Dresden, Tennessee, on
Friday last (hangman's day) by a detach
ment of armed soIdiers,whose -deportment
and appearance would do honor to any ser
vice. They are known' in (he Army Regu
lations as "colored iroops," but, to their
shame be it Fpoken, your- old friend still
persist in calling them "niggers." They
were commanded and directed by four or
five white men, who arrested me as Mr.
Adder-rig, from which I infer they claim a
lager beer nationality. I deem il my duty
(o report that your old friends of 'the secesh
persuasion still persist in the treasonable
practice of calling the personnel of such
expeditions "d d Dutch and ' niggers.''
You will doubtless be relieved to hear tha(
the expedition was a success. Though I
had timely warning of the approaching
raid, I preferred surrender to bopelefs re
sistance; and the command reached this
city wi'honf material loss, treating rae, since
my arrest, with courtesy and kiudne.s, for
which 1 am grateful.
I have been here five days; and; (hough
I have not yet been able to obtain the na:r.es
of my accusers, or a copy of the charge, if
any, upon which I was arrested, I have ob
(ained from other eources information npon
which I rely of the causes and motives of
my arrest. I am charged with using trea
sonable language against- the Government
of the United States, and the Government
of Tennessee; and with speaking di-re-spectfully
of your Excellency, and of the
Right Rev. William G. Brownlow, who, un
mindlul that the Constitntion of Tennessee
ex:ludes all ministers from civil office, is
now claiming to have successfully seized
the office of Governor of said State. Fur
(her and truly, (hat I have given a profes
sional opinion, declaring that the slave
in Tennessee have sjjt been made frea by
law. As I will, no doubt, be held a prisoner
until after tf!e pending election firce in
Tennessee is over, I propose to indulge a
portion of my leisure in giving you a con
cise statement of some things I did say, and
(he circumstances under which 1 have pro
voked the mititary displeasure of that grand
army, of which yoa are Commander-in-Chief!
A public meeting of all (he citizens of
Weakly county, Tenn., was.calleJ a( Dres
den, on Saturday, the 1st day of July last,
to consider the best course to be adopted
for the interests cf all. That meeting was
very Iarg9, and was addressed by William
P. Caldwell and myself. The object of the
meeting, the character of Mr. Caldwell's
speech, and rncch of my ow-n, may be ea
sily inferred from the resolutions, which
were unanimously adoptetl at the close of
the meeting all but the last having been
reported from the Committee on Resolu
tions. ,
On the following Monday, July 3, a very
large meeting was held at Trenton, Gibson
Counly, which t addresseJ for three hours.
Isaac Sampson, one cf Brownlow's newly
appointed Circuit Judges, having, as. he
said, full civil and criminal jurisdiction to
I
arrest and try all ofToiulers, was presen(.
He had one of Brownlow's Sheriffs and sev
eral of his Justices, of the Peace present,
and in their presence be addressed the mul
titude from the same stand I had occupied ;
yet he did not as much as hint at my arrest ;
he only threatened the people with an in
vasion of (he Federal troops (meaning ne
groes,) to deter them from voting for me.
At the close of the meeting, resolutions pre
cisely similar, to (hose passed at Dresden
wtre unanimously adopted. 1 was unani
mously nominated for Congress, and the
pretended Senator and Representative from
that county were unanimously requested to
resign.
1 was to have addressed a similar rq.ee l
ing at Paris, Henry county, on Saturday last,
and would have done ro, had I not been ar
rested. .As the offensive words are alleged
to have been spoken in my Dresden speech
(they were substantially repeated at Tren
ton,) I will give yon accurately and con
cisely as I can, what I said of you at Dres
den. Jndeed, I will. i;ive yoa the precise
words of my exordium in which you were
first personally alluded to. Addressing ray
self to the audience, I said : . .
You have witnessed (ha rise, culmina
tion, -and overthrow of-a rebellion, in all
re?pec(s the most astonishing in the world's
history; -astonishing because of the num
bers engaged, the resources it so suddenly
improvised, and the duration and intensity
of the conflict. It was only less astonish
ing than the numbers and resources it en
countered. It has ended a all rebellions
must end when opposed by greatly superior
resources and numbers. The rebellion is
over. Its leaders are, captives, exiles or
supplicants for pardon ; its armed adherents
have saluted. their flag for the last time, and
its friends throughout the South have yield
ed the contest. Their submission has been
graceful, unanimous, and in all apparent
good faith. Not an armed Confederate is to
be found within the Iim;'!S of the" State.
The Federal Government professed to draw
the sword only for the sole porpose of en
forcing its constitutional authority wher
ever it was opposed ; it is this day supreme
within the entire limits of the United Slates.
No opposition is anywhere attempted ; nor
indeed, can any be organized. Why, then,
I a'k, are we threatened with a despotism
as inexcusable as rebellion t Why are free
elections denied to the Union men and qual
ified voters of ihe Slate? Why have non
residents and loungers around Federal
camps, without your knowledge or consent;
and in defiance of your protests and ap
peals, been permined lo usurp the high and
responsible places of. power, and to declare
themselves your oppressors and masters
and this, too, in contempt of that Declara
tion of Rights, whose sacred principles are
inviolable, and by your Constitution, 'ex
cepted out of the general powers of Gov
ernment?' Why afo offensive rulers being
e( over the loyal people of the Slate by
those who are jointly responsible for the
war? Why are bands of armed negroes
permitted to roam over the country, plun
dering and insulting the timid and defense
less? And more than these, why are you
and I, whose souls are nnstainted by trea
son, compelled to drain this cup of shame
at (be hands of those who were the origi
nal instigators of the rebellion ?"
s I beg leave (o assure your Excellency
that, in using the words "original instiga
tors of the rebellion," I alluded lo you ;
further, that I spoke in no Pickwickian
sense And now (bat I may invoke your
clemency, not for myself, but for (hose who
listened lo my remarks, I frankly cenfess
that I submitted certain proofs of the truth
pf my charges. I told the people that tho
first time I ever saw you, yon wero har
anguing the multitude to prov3 mo an Ab
olitionist ; that it was a somewhat "raw and
gusty day," and that your vehemence in
the open air cacsed you to contract a throat
disease, from which, unfortunately for the
country, you profess not to have recovered.
I alluded to your early ppeeches in Con
gress in which you resorted to the bitterest
personal abuse of John Qaincy Adams be
cause of his religious anti-slavery opinions;
to your reverential confession that God had
killed off Gen. Harrison because he was an
Abolitionist. I also told ihe people that you
had, ia 1853, in the State of Tennessee,
proposed that every Southern man should
' join in ope fraternal hug" and plunge into
rebellion, if Fremont and Dayton were
elected. In addition lo this, I informed
the audience thai 1 heard you, in the Senate,
in December, 1859, denounce Mr. Seward
and the Republican party as wholly respon
sible for the murderous raid ol "this old
man Urown," whom you then stigmatized
as "nothing more than a murderer, a rob
ber, a thief and a traitor." I said, a'se, that
you not only supported Breckinridge, the
candidate of the avowed disunionists, but
that after the election of Lincoln, after the
meeting of Congress in December, I860,
and enly one day before the assembling of
the Convention which declared South Caro
lina out of the Union, yoa had, in the Sen
ate of the United Siates, made a labored
speech, embracing a part of two days, in
which you positively pledged yourself, in a
contingency which has long since happen
ed, to join these same rebel?, "to perish in
the lastbreach," to "burn every blade of
grass," and to. make your grave in ;ths
last intrenchment9" of rebel freedom. I
told the people that I heard this speech,
(during the delivery of which Jefferson
Davis offered you a most unprovoked insult,
the effect of which I will not now attempt
to state.) and lha( every word of it was de
signed (o convince the people of Tennes
see (ha( (hey were an oppressed people and
you (heir champion; (hat their constitu
tional rights were in imminent danger and
that they ought "to demand additional se
curities;" that you then and there submit
ted " the following written "basis" upon
which jou declared an unalterable purpose
"to fight the great battle for our rights:"
Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with
our sister Southern States, and freely admit
that (here is good cause for difisatisfaction
and complaint on their part, on account ol
the recent election of sectional candidates
to the Presidency and Vice Presidency of
ihe United State?: yei we. as a portion
of a people of a slaveholding community,
are not for seceding or breaking np the Un
ion of these States until every (air and hon
orable means has been exhausted in trying
to obtain on the part of the non sUvehoid
ing States, a compliance with the spirit and
letter of the Constitution and all its guaran
tees ; and when this shall have been done,
and the States now in open rebellion against
Ihe laws of the United States, in refusing to
execute the Festive Slave Law, shall per
sist in their present unconstitutional course,
and the Federal Government shall fail to
execute (he laws in good faith, it (the Gov
ernment) will not have accomplished ihe
great design of its creation, and will, there
lb re, in fact, be a practical dissolution, and
all the States, as parties, be released Irora
the compact which formed the Union.
In commenting on. the foregoing ''basis,"
I said it proved that you did then ' deeply
sympathize With our sister Southern States; "
that yon particular!)' alluded to Sooth Car
olina, whose treasonable representatives
were theu assembled, and who, one day
alter, Inaugurated the rebellion; (hat you
did then and there "freely admit .
good cause for dissatisfaction Bnd com
plaint," because of the election of your il
luatrious predecessor and the Hon.. Hanni
bal Hamlin, who ihe Rev. Mr. Brownlow
represented as a free negro. "I said, also,
tha( you were (hen only a conditional Un
ionist; (hat you declared yourself, "not for
seceding or breaking up the Union of these
States until every fair and honorable means
had been exhausted in trying to obtain on
the part of the non-slavehohling States a
com pliance with the spirit and letter ol the
Consiitntion and all its guarantees." And I
furlier s'.ated that yon, at tbe same time,
had assured your rebel friends, with whom
you did n "deeply sympathize" that "when
this shall have been done and the States
now in open rehe llion (meaning Vermont
and Massachusetts) 4,'aainst ihe laws cf
(he United Slates shall persist in
iheir present unconstitutional course, it
(the Government) will not have
accomplished the areal design of i(s crea
tion, and will therefore, in fact, be a prac
tical dissolution ol the Union." I repeart,
1 told the people that (bis speech, so made
as aforesaid by yoo (assisted by Senator
Latham, who wa kind enough lo read for
yon,) was designed by you (o fomen( re
bellion among your constituents. I selected
certain passages from that spe'ech to prove
the above general statement. I referred (o
(hat part in which you said "there is co
power conferred upon the Congress of the
United States, by the Constitution, lo coerce
a State ;" I pointed lo your "demand" for
' additional securities-' for slavery ; lo your
statement that Vermont was, at that tim',
guilty of "nullification," of "resistance lo
the laws of tbe United Stales," which you
pronounced "open rebellion." I comment
ed upon your sta'err.enl thai the conduct of
Vermont had been such that "the Govern
ment was at an end." Nor did I ornir to
tell the people that yon then and there
(18. h and 19th of December, I860,; had
submitled an opinion in regard (o your gen
eral "complaint." I did not, like Beecher,
pronounce you drunk, nor did I, like Wilke-,
say you had been poisoned. I permitted
you to speak for yourself by reading the
following from your speech ;
"We have complained that their intention
is to hem slavery iD, so that, like the scor
pion when surrounded by fire, if it did not
die from tho intense heat of the scorching
flames, it woutd perish from its own poi
sonous sting."
You further promised your rebel friends
tvhal Tennessee should do, if new guaran
(eeu for slavery were refused. You said,
"Tennessee w ill be found standing as firm
and unyielding in her demands for those
guarantees as any other State in
the Confederacy." I asserted, also, thtt
yon had declared the election of Lincoln
and Hamlin "sectional," that you avowed
your purpose to "put down Mr. Lincoln and
drive back his advances upon Southern in
stitutions;" that you promised not lo aban
don your "Northern Democratic friends and
leae all to Lincoln's cohorts, as we consider
them, from the NortTi, to carry off every
thing. r Ail the foregoing, and much more,
1 charged upon you a:d proved by your
speech of 1 S:h and 19th of December, 1860
Continuing my address, I said that ,f you
were a creditle witness I beg yon lo be
lieve I so regard you I could prove that
every poli iral supporter and admirer of
yocr Excellency, arid every follower of the
saintly Brownlow then a -id there present,
wa a disunionist. In doing thie, I read
from a speech made by you at Columbia
Tenn., on tho 2J of June, 1862. It was
revised by yourself, and published in the
Nashville Union of June 9, 1862, then ed
ited by your friend Mercer, who is best
known as "quinine Mercer,'' because of
his sympathy with the rebel sick, lo whom
it is alleged, he kindly smuggled that inval
uable medicine while ho sojourned within
the Federal lines.
I read the following :
"Now I will prove very briefly that a se
cessionist is as great an Abolitionist as
Sumner. Both lb ecrSicnist and disun
ionist are for breaking up this Union. I
will state the argument in a syllogism Ihns t
An Abolitionist is a disonionist. A disun
ionist is a secessionist. A secessionist is a
distmionist. A disunionist is an Abolition
ist. Therefore, a secessionist is an Aboli
tionist. There is not a particle of difference
between them."
I repeat, I read the foregcing, after which
I was so irreverent as to say, in regard to
your syllogism, that I could find (he silly
but net the gism ; but you were distinct
and positive in the allegation that "an Abo
litionist is a disunionist." All this agd
much more did I say, may it please your
Excellency, for tho many pions purposes
hereinafter enumerated ; chiefly, however,
with the design of quieting the hearts and
consciences of a iew ol your old rebel
friends, office holders and trade aaents. who
desire to join you in your late but earnest
championship of the right of the colored
race. They have some pride of consistency ;
having always been rebels, at heart, they
dislike suddenly to become Abolitionists,
foaring they may be required, in following
your illustrious example, lo deal harshly
with those who, from a false sense of
sharne, are still unwilling, by turning Abo
litionists, to incur Ihe rebel reproach of
apostacy. They urge that they dislike to
be called Judases; and yet the) "wish
to to with you, and at rest." Hence the
struggle between their old party and rebel
pride, and their love, for you ; their dire
necessities and love for cash. With all
such I adopted this mode of reasoning :
That the popular judgment is often wrong,
and traditionary or hereditary prejudices
rarely right. For example, I would take
two celebrated cases, those of Pilate and
Judas, that the Christian world affected,
nay, fell great horror of their name and
characters, that they wfra associated wit'i
the murder of our Savior, and, therefore, no
one supposed it possible to find anything in
their natares to extenuate the severe judg
ment rf mankind ; whereas, in fact, Pilate
was bitterly opposed to onr Savior's perse
cutions and ignominious death, and protest- .i
ed he "found no fault in him, ".while ihe t
mob (may Heaven protect your Excellency. ,
from all mobs) hurried him away lo execa
tion, without even the dignity of a military
arrest I that Judas, fiorn all we had been ;
able to ascertain in regard lo his character,
was a very unobtrusive, reticent man, bet -ler
fitted by nature for a trade agent or con- '
tractor than a disciple ;. that though 4 he
"turned his back upon his friends," nar,
beirayed ibem, he was neither ihe first nor ,
the iasl who had yielded (o temptation ; .
that his reward was hard money thirty ,
huge pieces and long before Chase had .
inflated the currency, or California . had
augmented the coin ; thai he was a man of ,
sensibili'y.hat he repented, and so suffered ,
from remorse that he burst his boweU. I
assured (he secessionists and office-seekers,
however, that they need not wail for quar- j
ar.line before joining the army of Sumr.er ,
and John Brown ; that you had done so,
turned your back upou iliem betnyed "
them, aud that, although the official heaiyi-
bulletin represented you in a precarious
condition, 1 had yet seen no mention, of
any morhid distension ol your bowels. '
Nor did I fail to remind the andience of the
radical change of your opinions of John
Brown and Mr. SewarJl, since you denounc
ed the one as "a murderer, arobber, a thief
and a traitor," and the other as his political
tutor. I pointed to the remarkable ease and.
elegance with which yoa now fraternize
with ihe original Browns; how yoa now
piously regarded his gallows a Only less
sacred (ban ihe Cross of Christ; how .be
nignanlly you smiled at his apotheosis and
how divinely yoo cocld sing.
"John Brown's body lies nioldering in the
dust.'; I
In the foregoing I can give you only a .
brief outline of that portion of .riy speech
which vvfls devoted especially lo yourself. '
1 ross doubtless io the full height of the
great argument," and many of your old
secesh friends protionnctd my speech truly
eloquent and convincing. Several are known
to have declared positively ' for . you and'
Brownlow, while, among the office-seekers, '
trade agents, and those who have "lost for
tunes by the war," mere seemed to be a .
general inclination lo join (he grand army,
of universal freedom so bravely fed by
yourself. 1 found none reluctant to do to
except a few original Union men who still'
declare themselves ardent supporters of the
"Union of the Constilni-on." Ordinary com
passion requires me to say, in their behalf,
that they read but few newspapers, and do
not know that old logy parchment is wholly
'played out." ,
Now for this eologium upon your fife,
character and public services and because
the Union men of (hat portion o( ihe S(ate
in which 1 live have nominated me for
Congress 1 Htn held, like Napoleon, a
prisoner of state. Napoleon at Helena!
Ad-der-rij at Columbus I ! How history will
repeat itself ! For ihe benefit of subsequent
travelers who may visit this classic city in
search nf relic, I will here stale that 1 am
at the Columbus Hotel, room No. 1, directly
oppo.-ite a butcher's establishment, where'
thirteen chained dogs, hundred of unchain
ed contraband, and millions of muskefoes
nightly mingle Iheir music to lull me (0 re
pose. A few words more and I will suspend all'
further recital of those afflictions which I
am &ure will groatly affect your Excellency's
compassionate heart. 1 am very unhappy
here. "The noblest river in the world"
lies jest before me; its waves dacce merrily
and unrestrained. Unbleached ladies and
gentlemen crowd ihe streets, moving with
sracelul and elastic tread, while arrayed in
robes of lovliest blue. The air is fragrant
with the sweet odor which they only can
exhale nnd all around is gayety, happiness
and freedom. I alone, of all the denizans
of this great emporium, pine in captivity.
Do not forget, I pray you, that our foreign
relations are in a most critical condition.
A blonder may not only prove fatal lo your
Administration, but it may light a torch lo
sel the world on fire. Thongh I am person
ally friendly to Mr- Maximillian and his
schemes, still 1 am fully advised of the em
barrassments he has caused to yourself and
Cabinet. Remember, it is the last hair that
breaks the camel's back Will not my ar
ret cause a sensation at St. James, St. Cloud
arid St. Petersburg indeed, throughout all
Europe? Will not the Subl'me Porte be'
aroused ? And will not those grearpowera
who so anxiously await a pretext to inter
fere ir. behalf of Maximillian,. be urged to
extreme measures when inlormed that his
chief American ally is under arrest ? I wilt
no fnr'her enlaree upon the danger; a wise
statesmanship alone can save your admin
istration, and, what is of the first importance
to every office-holder, secure your re-election.
1 suggest this expedient as Ihe best ;
Brownlow ha any number of Courts in
Tennessee Hi j'idges (alihough our Con
stitution requires that they be eleoted by
the people) have teen appointed by him
self. They are true as steel to yon and your
glorious administration. Their jurisdiction
is co-extensive with their own wishes and
Brownlow:s necessiiies. They are all sworn
to execnte his pious will. Besides, yoa
have Federal courts in full operation all
over Tennessee. Courts ara resu'arly held
at Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxvillefor
the judicial districts which embrace the
State, in each of which district attorneys,
who are good Abo!itioni-ts, reside. The
Judge, the Hon. C. F. Trigg., is your friend,
and was appoirjd upon your and Brown
low's urgent recommendation. He voted
for yoo. 1 never belonged to "the land or
naval service," and I suggest, wi(h great
diffidence, it is true, tbat.by transferring me
to some of the many tribunals for a "speedy
trial," the sensibilities of the legal profes
sion will not be shocked beyond recovery.
Failing in this, am I to ask too much when
I avow myself willing lo swallow a dose of
that universal panacea for all doubtful cas
es, tht3 Military Commission at Washington?
Doubtless it has jurisdiction of my case, as
I am accused of conspiracy. I know it is
competent to inflict that punishment which,
many of your old rebel friends say I deserve
hanging as it has recently hung a wo
men. Dor.'i fail to write soon. Direct your
private letters to Padncah, Kentucky.
May our Heavenly Father speedily restore
your Excellency's health, enlarge your al
ready powerful judgement and understand
ing, save you from being again poisoned,as
on the 4th of March last, and finally crown
you in Heaven with "the old man 3rown"
and afl the mighty hosts' who await yoa
there.
Your Excellency will again acceptrenewr
ed assurances of the high consideration
which you are ever held by your very hc
ble servant,8incere admirer and affection
friend. '
. EMERSON ETHERIDCf
rr
x: it.