Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1856-01-23

1hC pioHiOiiOu VI CidNcIJ Is therefore q
5 necessary prerequisite TO a real sover-
! eighty of the people. In tie sense of the
~apologists for repeal, popular sovereignty
; signifies nothing but the right of a por-
ton OF The community TO ensIave tie rest.
II begins by the denial of the natural
lights OF man. 1t must end in the total
subversion of the fundamental principles
OF American institutions. For a free
and independent people, it would substi-
tute a community of masters, dependents
and slaves.
Such is the repulsive theory. In prac-
tical operation it has not proved more at
tractive. As embodied in the Nebraska
kanzas bill, II las been fruitful of moth
ing but evil. 1t has not conferred a sin
gle substantial benefit upon the settlers
} OF either territory. In no respect are
they distinguished from the settlers of
Minnesota. where slavery is prohibited,
except by exposure to lis evils. The
sole special effect Of the Nebraska Kan
zas act upon the territories organized I'M
der it is 10 open them to the introduction
of slaves. In one of them it has led to
desperate attempts to effect hat object
to invasion, ~usurpation, violence, blood.
shed-almost war. Crimes like these
are not the legitimate fruit of that doc
trine of popular self-government to the
maintenance of which our fathers pledg-
ed their lives, their fortune and their no.
nor.
In all these things our own State has
a deep and peculiar interest. Our own
history furnishes the most complete vim
dication Of the policy of slavery prohibi-
ton. We occupy, in part, the soil pro-
tected from the blight of slavery by the
ordinance of 1897. For more than bali
a century the people of Ohio lave been
accustomed 10 regard the ordinance with
mingled emotions of gratitude and pri e.
Conspicuous among its provisions and FL
~companlonship with its sacred guarran-
tees Of religious freedom, of literally to-
wards immigrants. of inviolability of pri-
vate contracts. of the security OF private
property, and universal education. stands
tie great iaterdict against Slavery: &C
knowledging an impartiali,y projecting
the rights Of man as man. The words
to which We always recur when seeking
in the Ordinance the peculiar springs oi
our wonderful prosperity a6d progress
are those which emboly this prohibition.
Never did the noble pioneers who laid
the foundations. in which We now joyful
ly build, complain Of hat interdIcjiOn As
an infringement of any rights, personal
or political. On the contrary, they have
ever spoken Of it as the pillar of FIRE By
night and Of cloud by day which guided
and protected them in the wilderness
More than any other State, Ohio, as the
first born OF the Ordinance, and indebted
10 the Ordinance for her proud position
as the third Safe of the Confederacy.
and first among the new States. is bound
TO cherish and defend its great and be
n%efcent principles. In so doing we shall
be fellow workers with the illustriouS fra
mers in their W declared policy and
purpose Of extending the fundamental
principles of civil and religious liberty
wherenn these republics. their laws and
u lCCACus ANU u4tii8 dliu |
establishing those principles as the basis
of all laws, constitutions and governments
which forever hereafter shall be formed
in" American territory.
No political duty appears to be mole
urgent than this.
Your FIRST and most earnest attention.
gentlemen, will doubtless be directed in
the important matters within the imme-
date sphere of your legislative powers ;
but you cannot forget that you represent
a sovereign State of the American Union,
third of the thirty one, in wealth and
power and population, and second to
lone in patriotic devotion to the welfare
of the whole country? The appoint
ment of a Senator to represent the
State in one branch of the American
Congress devolves upon you. and in ma
king this appointment you will necessari-
ly be required to consider the interests
of Ohio as a member of tie Union.
Foremost among these interests is the
preservation of the Union itself. Estab-
lished by the wisdom of our Fathers for
the sublimest and nOblest political ends.
it descends TO us AS a sacred trust. Un-
der lis benign influence our county has
steadily advanced from strength to
strength, and from greatness to great
ness, extending her borders, charging
her resources, and augmenting her pow
er, until the name Of American citizen
has become a nubler distinction than
was the name of Rom an CITIZEN in the
proudest days Of the mightiest republic
OF antiquity. To maintain the integrity
Of the Union: TO defend the Constitution
which is its bond; aud to guard against
all INVASION from whatever quarter those
American Institutions which the Union
and the Constitution secure to US, have
ever been, and | trust will ever be, ac-
knOwledged as sacred o legations as by
the people of Ohio.
Cherishing these sentiments and ever
prepared to give full proof of unwavering
10 them. it is not only our right
but cur duty to insist that the interests of
Ohio shall be duly regarded in the ad-
ninistration Of the General Government.
Few States contribute so largely to the
national revenues as our own. The peo- /
pie OF Ohio have paid 10 the Federal
or to the grantees. for the {
soil which they occupy and cultivate. {
than thirty millions OF dollars. Of +:
he revenue derived from duties we con- {
necessarily in proportion 10 our Z
numbers. As the population of our State
) about one-tenlh OF the entire popula- l
ion of the Union, we pay about one {
enth Of that revenue. LIS entire amount {
or the last ear exceeded sixty millions c
If dollars. The proportion of Ohio was t
If course six millions. t
While We have thus paid for the very '
oil We live on an amount which no other !
,eople has ever paid under like circum- G
tances, or under any circumstances, and S
while We still contribute thus amply and t
RELY to the annual revenue, it is not al Il