9
I shall now have the pleasure, fellow-citizens, of presenting
to you one of the gifted sons of East Tennessee—a citizen for¬
merly one of its ablest representatives in the National Congress.
Wherever the honor, interest or renown, not only of Tennessee,
but of the Union, was concerned, he was their able, eloquent
and gifted advocate. Driven from his country, by the persecu¬
tion of the rebels, he comes to represent to you the sufferings
of his countrymen. And should fortune call any of us to his
section of the country, to stand there as he stands here to-night,
may we then be able to exclaim, as he exclaims here, "These!
these are my countrymen, and this ! Oh this ! is my country 1"
I have the pleasure to present to you the Hon. N. G. Taylor,
who will now address you.
ADDEESS OF HON. K G. TAYLOE.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies, Gentlemen, FellowT-Citizens,—I am
hereto-night, at the instance of kind citizens of this great me¬
tropolis, to address you in reference to East Tennessee, whose
representative I have the honor to be on this occasion. I re¬
gret that it is not my privilege to congratulate myself, and
you, upon the prosperity and happiness of my people; that I
cannot tell you, our homes are undisturbed and quiet; that the
peace, and tranquillity, and integrity of the family circle is still
unbroken ; and that there are no sad signs of sorrow, no grating
sounds of distress and war echoing among our mountains and
valleys. But such are the desolating fruits of rebellion, such
the blighting results of internecine war, that I can tell you no
such pleasing stories.
1 do not come here to your great rich city as a beggar, nor as
a representative of beggars; for a population that has always
been too proudly patriotic to bow the willing neck to the heart¬
less tyranny of a despotic Southern oligarchy, is still too proud,
although beggared by this war, to cringe, as a beggar, and so¬
licit alms of Northern brethren. (Applause.) If you will cast
your eye upon the map of the United States, and draw a line
upon its face, from Cincinnati to Charleston, S. C, and another
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