Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1855-09-20
lDOIitital Rcaoinn.
sPKEcHEs OF
HON. SALMON P. CHASE.
CAPT. THOMAS Il. FORD.
Imposing Demonstration at Cincinnati

We yield much Of our space to The sketches
ofthe speeches Of Messrs. Chase and Ford
and commend them to the careful perusal oil
every voter Of Ohio. The speeches embrace
snOst Of the points Of the addresses Of the same
gentlemen in this city, on The aSth inst. They
will be read with double interest by the com.
munity generally. y.--Steu. Herald.
Mr.. Chase's Speech.
Mr.. Chase then came forward amidst deaf.
ening cheers. He said-Mr. Chairman and
fellow citizens, il is now some thirty years
since first became a dweer in this town.
Very few Of those see before me to night,
have been SO long residents in this place-none
l am sure to whom the prosperity of our beau
tiful city and the advancement of her noble in
situations are dearer. Some of you, many OF
you, were not born when first became a resi-
dent OF Cincinnati-none of you have witness
ed its advance with more joy, or interest.
than myself stand before you now, in ca.
pacity which short time since, never dream
ed of occupying cheers the nominee of a
great and powerful party. for high and res
ponsible situation situation not, it is true,
clothed with any remarkable p wer, but con-
speuous only because It is taken TO be the ex,
preston Of the will of the freemen Of Ohio, in
regard 10 The principles which The candidate
for that station represents. Now. fellow cil-
gems, it has happened to me, who have lived
man aud boy among you. 10 be assailed since
my nomination, with peculiar bitterness
My past life, my political history, has been ran.
sacked for topics Of accusation; and although
heretofore have never replied to charges
made against me--because thought my time
might be more pro6tably occupied, because
thought if l lived, my life would answer for
me. and because, moreover, l suppose if it was
my fortune to die, death, the great recOncer,
would bury these calumnies in my grave--yet,
now standing before you, and my fellow cili-
xens of the State, in a representative capacity,
and concluding that If the truth of many Of
these charges we're believed against me, the
character fthe party represent might be af-
fected. felt it my duty to depart from that
policy Of silence, and to reply briefly to these
accusations,
Ny fellow citizens. you are m5 judges--you
ale the great tribunal Of the country every
public man must appeal to, and I know that in
your hearts there is no disposition to condemn,
unheard, withCu. reason and against proof
[cheers. The first Of these charges relates to
my election to the position I filled during the
last six years. 1t has been made here on
platform in this market space during my ab.
sence in the Eastern States. it has been retrac.
ted during this same absence in :he public
press. But that charge in the public prints, l
never saw over a responsible name until this
date, and as propose to meet it to tonight, l
would gladly have seen the author, that he
might be convinced that it was unjust, and re-
tract it ifhe thought SO. The charge is this:
that my friends or myself, when was elected
to the senate. entered into an arrangement or
contract or bargain, in virtue of which Messrs.
Pugh and Pierce, citizens of this State, were
to be admitted to their seats in consideration
that they would vote for me; and the gentle
man who made that, who know would not
assert it if he did not believe it flor l will not
turn on him and become an impeacher of mo.
tives) asserted there was a writing in my hand
would show this arrangement. Let us look at
the arrangement itself. The Legislature had
divided Hamilton county into election districts
They assigned to Hamilton county certain rep
resentatives 10 be elected. two of them by tie
city districts and three by the country districts
] may be wrong as to particulars, but in the
principles I am right. And now the Democrat.
10 party, and some prominent men among the
Wings, believed the Legislature had no power
to diVide the county. The Democratic party,
therefore, voted for its candidates from the
whole cOunty-the Wing party voted for theirs
from the two election districts. Judge John
son In bis charge against me correctly states that
this circumstance presented a constitutional
questionto the Legislature. The House ofI
Representatives was the Judge of the qualfca-
tion Of its members, of course. If the law di.
viding Hamilton county was constitutional, the
two Wing gentlemen were entitled to their
seats; if it wss conititutioual the two Demo.
cratic gentlemen were entitled to theirs. It
was my opinion, then frequently announced,
that the legislature had no power to make that
division, That opinion may have been right
or wrong. / care nothing for its value now
But when these gentlemen went to Columbus
they presented their claims to the House of
Representatives. Now, if an arrangement of
that sort had been made, you can see what its
e~