Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-03-11

Correspondence of the Cincinnati Daily Commercial
THE DOUGLAS DEMONSTRATION
At Columbus.
sPEECHES BY JUDGE JOHNSON, OF
Hosi Gen. T.. JOE. q; faENszl aEfazR. and
Grand Rally of the Douglas Democracy-Grea
/ Eaftusiasa-Eachanaa Ddnosncea-Verifc
ton of the Truth of Year Ago7Jo. Geiee,
is Heard From-Puqh is Pitched lnto-A Faei
for His Consideration Cor is Glorifa-Douy-
/ las Has Visited the Rest.
At two o'clock Saturday afternoon large au-
| dance, composed chiefly Of enthusiastic Doug
las Democrats. and of curious Republicans, met
in the City Hall. to hear enunciated by the lips
OF the leading Ohio Democrats the reasons why
there was commotion In the Democratic ranks
and why there was difference of opinion among
lis members. They had met also for the avow-
ed purpose of endorsing the course pursued in
Congress by Hon. s. s. Cox and other Ohio
Democrats, and, indeed, of all who have in any
way given voice In opposition to the Lecomptop
swindle. They were determined and enthusi-
astie. At first did not see in the audience
any very prominent Democrat, but after the ex-
ecution of Yankee Doodle by the band, the re-
doubtable 10. Geiger was seen swaying to and
fro on the stand, and it was not long before he
| gave them to understand that they were to come
to order. He moved that Jacob Reinhart act as
President, which being received with shout
of acclaim, brought that worthy Doitcher to the
stand. In a few ielicitous Anglo German SEN
| tences, which called forth applause at every
nook and corner, he stated the objects of the
meeting.
Messrs John L. Cyan. John Joice, and nu-
merous other gentlemen, noted as being active
members of the unterriied Democracy, were
chosen as Vice Presidents. Secretaries were
also chosen. Messrs. j. o. Reamey, Jas. II.
Smith, Chas. j. Foster, DR. Geo. E. Ellis, Jno.
Anthony Weaver, and Fred Fieser, were chosen
Committee on Resolutions.
| Messrs Judge Rankin, Gen. Geiger, and Geo.
White were appointed Committee to wait on
| Goy. Paine to request him to address the meet
| ing.
| In the meantime, while these Committees
were attending their daties, Mr.. Samuel john
son of Kansas, was called to the stand amid
most vocifeious cheering
JoHNsoN's SPEECH.
! Mr. Johnson.took the stand amid deafening
cheers, and commenced by saying that perhaps
| if such gatherings went on in this country, Mr..
| Buchanan would have to write a few more mes
sages setting forth that rebellion existed in
| Ohioi He proposed to recite to the people pres
| ent, in plain manner, the acts which have oc-
cured in Kansas since the passage of the Kan
sas-N Nebraska bill.
He prefaced his remarks further by sayin that
| if there lived in Ohio Democrat of his age and
| position, who was warmer friend OF MIR. Bu-
chanan-who labored with more zeal for his
| nomination, and after his nomination, who had
| labored from June to November, to secure his
successful election-than he, then that man, had
right to lecture him. But no such man exists
in the State. He had been in Kansas, was there
! free State man, and in the canvass of 1856 had
| labored in Ohio for Mr.. Buchanan's election
| He was assailed by the freedom shriekers for
doing SO; but although the State was swept by
this party, in his own district, which two years
| before had given Republican majority, gave
| Buchanan a majority of twenty live hundred.
| In view of these facts he thought as Democrat,
he had a right to talk about Kansas, and Bu-
| chanan himself -. iss-.
He had considered that the Kansas difficulty
was in nut shell-that if a man Of ability and
integrity would take hold of affairs-and he be-
| Iieved Buchanan was such man when he sup
| ported him-the whole difficulty wood soon be
ended. What is this question which is now dis
| tracing this country? What is this question
which has caused Democrats to be arrayed
against each other? What is this which causes
the President ofthese United States to single out
one of the great lights of Democracy-to re-
move gentlemen in Office because personal
friends ofhis? His speech should be an an
swer to these questions.
1The speaker here narrated the history of the
Kansas difficulties, familiar to every reader OF
the Commercial; and which two years ago were
denounced as abolition Iies," but which now
constitute the marrow of the speeches of the
Anti-Lccompton shriekers.-REP.1
| He said the Free State party in Kansas was
composed of as good Democrats as Mr.. Buehan-
an, Judge Douglas, or anybody else. These
men, comprising the majority OF the forty thou
sand people of that territory, were suppressed
by armed bodies-wcre disfranchised by for
eign interference, and it was under these cir
cumstances that territorial legislature was
elected; and it is the fruit of this Legislature
which is now giving this trouble. This legis-
lature which met when they had noright to meet
| for that purpose-which called a convention
when they had no right 10 call convention,
managed things rs they saw fit; they kept every
thing as they had before-they selected their
creatures to register the names ofthe voters.
and if a mans name was not found on the reg
lister, of course he could not vote. And yet the
President says this was wholly legitimate
How did these men register the voters? Why,
he could count around him in the city of Leaven-
worth, hundred Free State men whose names
were not on the list--the marshal did not get
his name On the list for tie reason simply that
he was Free State man. These men would.
out of list of fifteen hundred, register three or
four hundred Free State men (and Free State
and Pro-Slavery men are known there as well
as banker knows good paper}-six hundred
Democrats whu lived there, and about Six hun
dred more, who neither lived there nor any
where else. He was charged with hostility to-
wards Topeka; he disavowed ever being at To-
| peka-had no sympathy with the Republican
party-did not like Jim Lane and would as soon
be caught in bed with John Calhoun, as in his
company. Well, suppose they had made nom
| nations and gone into the election, what would
have been the result? All would have gone
well enough in Leayenworth where the Free
Slate party had the numerical force to see that
the judges returned only those who voted; but
in every case Kickapoo would have returned
enough to have decided it against them. Laugh
ter.
| have neither space nor time to follow the
speaker through all of his happy illustrations;
nor to give his eloquent and manly appeals in
behalf of the course pursued by the Free State
| party, and in defense of those who were sent to
act as Governors of that Territory. He declared
that he could never denounce a freeman who,
when he sees troops sent to defraud him of his
vote. refuse to go into the election. Ifsuch had
been his situation he would have been the FORE
most man to have drawn the sword and cut
these rascals in two. All that had restrained
the people of Kansas was their dislike to get
their friends of the States into trouble, Cut
them loose from the Union, and tomorrow not
one of these rascals would dare venture on Kan
sas ground. He wished his voice could reach
Mr.. Buchanan-that as President of this Union
he could stand on the Prairies of Kansas and
view things as they were. and he would call
upon the mountains to fall upon him and cover