Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1856-04-09
5PFefbes.
Speeches delivered before the Demo
cratic State Convention.
wM. II. MONTGOMERY.
nARcH 4th, 1856.


Mr.. President Il regret, sir, that The
misplaced kindness of nay friends has intru
1ed nv name upon this Convention. Fol
several weeks my constant attention has beer
devoted to the duties of my profession, and
am entirely out Of practice as political spca
Ler. 1t is true that [ must plead guilty O
having. occasionally, in times Of high politi-
cal excitement participated in the discussion
,of the great political questions on which the
nation has been divided, but the thoughts oi
other times, like most of the political organi-
cations arrayed against US, have passed away.
and will no more avail me now, than would
the political sentiments of Henry Clay or
Daniel Webster avail the Know-Nothing Re
publicans of the present time. (Cheers)
It would be embarrassing to the first ora
tors of the nation to be called upon to address
Won after the displays of eloquence to which
YOU have just listened. Who would not
shrink from the task of speaking after such
men as Governor Bigler, Col Black, and c.
r Buckalew, men acknowledged as the ablest
3ehaters and first orators of the nation.
feel that it would be as the Irishman said
of the frog, q taking long leaps for the length
of NV legs" to attempt to address you after
such men 1t is very different thing to ad-
dress Convention composed of the highest
talents of Pennsylvania, from speaking in
my native county, among my friends and
neiphbors, from the hills, who will forgive
INV errors and imperfections.
The whole political field, too. has been al
ready passed in review, so that there is hard
" sufficient space left me, even for towing
hook improvement.
But short speech is as easy to make as
short apology. And, although | viii not at
this late hour, undertake to make you polIti-
cal argument, you will pardon few remarks
on the life of that greatest living American
statesman-James Buchanan. We are en-
phatically fast people," and we all begin
to feel that we have been progressing too
rapidly, and the people, with one accord, de-
mand of 6 Young America" to halt in his
headlong career. We must go back to the
true and tried statesmen of the past We
must have a candidate for the Presidency in
whom the people can con6de. man whose
character will be q guarantee to the farmer
the mechanic, the merchant, in short, to ali
classes, that our national institutions and our
national honor viii be preserved and defended
(Cheers.) We want man for the Presiden-
CIV. the force of whose exalted character, and
and the history of whose life has inspired
the confidence, and won the admiration of
friend and enemy. Such man is now sought
by the nation, without distinction of party. |
And such a man the people have found in him
whom we all delight to call " Pennsylvania's |
favorite son." Cheers
In past times it has been customary with
our opponents, to ask who our candidate was,
but such will not be the case after the nomi-
nation of James Buchanan. The memory of
his glorious deeds is interviewer with the
brightest pages of national history And his
fame as a statesman, will live with the legis-
lation Of the Last quarter of century
ocheers1