welling mainly on taxation and currency; in the one was
the protection and promotion of home industries, and in the other
was the choice between bank notes of the olden time, and United
States notes and national bank notes secured by the bonds of the
United States. I closed with these words:

"But I do, in the presence of you all, claim for the Republican
party, and defy contradiction, that in the grandeur of its
achievements, in the benefits it has conferred upon the people, in
the patriotic motives that have animated it, and the principles
that have guided it, in the fidelity, honesty, and success of its
administration of great public trusts, it will compare favorably
with the record of any administration of any government in ancient
or modern times. We ask you to aid us, to help us. We make this
appeal in the same words to the Confederate gray as to the Union
blue--to whoever in our great country is willing in the future to
lend a helping hand or vote to advance the honor, grandeur and
prosperity of this great republic."

The speech, being made by a Republican at the capital of a southern
Democratic state, attracted great attention from the public press,
and, much to my surprise, several of the leading Democratic and
independent papers commended it highly. This was notably the case
with the Louisville "Courier Journal," the Washington "Evening
Star," and the New York "Herald." A brief extract from the latter
is given as an indication of public sentiment:

"Senator Sherman's Nashville speech is the first address on national
politics ever spoken by a Republican of national reputation to a
southern audience. He was welcomed by the prominent citizens of
the Tennessee capital, and spoke to a crowded and attentive audience
in the hall of representatives.

"Both the speech and the welcome the speaker received are notable
and important events. Mr. Sherman spoke as a Republican in favor
of Republican politics, and what he said was frankly and forcibly
put. If the Republican leaders are wise they will take care to
circulate Mr. Sherman's Nashville speech all over the south, and
through the north as well. He spoke for high protection, for
internal improvements, for liberal expenditures on public buildings,
for the Blair education bill, for the maintenance of the present
currency system, and for spending the surplus revenue for public
purposes.

"All that is the straightest and soundest Republican doctrine. He