Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1860-08-09

of the people Of the colony; but our fathers
said to the British government, "you must
not interfere with our firesides and our
bearthstones. We have right TO our
provincial legislatures, to make our own
laws, establish our own institutions, and
manage our own internal affairs in our
own way, without the interference
Of the British Parliament. fApplause
and cries Of Good" good" shear"
"hear."l The Revolution was fought
in defense Of the great principle OF
local self-government. May we, their
sons, be faithful to that principle, and
never permit il to be violated either in
State or Territory, province or colony
Applause and cries Of Good" five
only remain faithful to the fundamental
principles, leaving the people of each
State and each Territory free to maintain
their own domestic affairs and internal
concerns in their own way, without in
terfering with those Of their neighbors,
there can be peace forever between the
North and the South, the East and the
West. [Applause.] You have institu-
tions in Massachusetts peculiar to your
selves-institutions differing from those
of MS in Illinois, differing from those in
in the Southern States, differing from
those upon the Pacific coast. When |
come to visit you. you receive me with
open arms, welcome me amongst you,
and show me everything that is curious
or sacred in the history Of our country;
and, sir. l trust, when come among you,
fhat T ,Lol1 IT, H.
constituted authorities. and render obedi
ence to yonr laws. Good and ap-
plause. But, sir if you find me com
planning that ! do not like your laws,
your institutions, your domestic affairs,
| expect you will tell me that while you
regret my displeasure, these laws were
made for you aud not for me, and if l do
not like them, l can go back to Illinois.
Applause. And now, Mr.. Mayor, per-
init me to say, in return for the kind SEN
timents with which yon have welcomed
me to Bunker Hill, in the name of your
fellow citizens Of Charleston, if you will
do me and the State that have the hon
or to represent, the honor Of making us
visit l will take pleasure and pride in
welcoming you to Illinois, but | wish you
| to understand that it is on the express
condition that you will obey our laws
respect our institutions, and not interfere
with our domestic concerns laughter
and applause and if you complain to me
that you do not like our laws. shall say
that, while regret it, you must remem-
Der that they are our laws and not yours
y laughter and cheers we made them
for ourselves and not for you renewed
cheering I'VE adapted them to our con-
dition-to our interests. to our wants
and if you do not like them, you must go
back to Massachusetts where you will
find better ones. [Applause. So it is in
the Southern States. If yon of Mass
achusetts. or we of Illinois go to Charles
ton or New Orleans, it does not become
us to tell those people that they have bad
laws and bad institutions, which we do
not like. They are their Institutions
If they be good ones, let them enjoy the
blessings OF them if they are evil institu-
tions, Jet them bear the burthen and the
evils they entail, until they become wise
enough to change them and make better
ones. Applause And especially when
you go to Kansas, or to New Mexico.
you will find body of men there pos
sessing more of the elements of energy, OF
courage, of enterprise, and of intellect,
than You will find in any State Of the
the Union; for suppose that / may ut
ter one great truth, without .ear of offence
beings Yankee like the balance ofyou-
Laughter by saying that New England
Is an emigrating country, and whenever a
New England farmer has two sons, the
one little wild, daring, reckless but intel
lectual, he thinks the valley where he was
born is little too small theatre for his
operations, and starts off west-goes into
the wilderness or upon the prairie, and
carves out his own fortune, and makes a
man of himself by his own energies. The
other brother being, perhaps. little
more obedient to parental authority,
| little less ambitious, and little less ener-
getic, and little more lazy laughter
would rather sta- at home and be support
ed by his daddy and nanny than to go
west and support himself. great merri'
ment. Hence, if you go to the frontier,
you will find men of the biggest capacity
Ol auN III the huOWu WOfiu. Incsc ihOu
go from Massachusetts, from Vermont,
from South Carolina, from Virginia, from
Germany, from Ireland, from all parts of
the world; and when they get there, they
carve out their own homes, erect their
cwn houses. lay out their own towns,
erect their own churches. establish their
own schools and colleges, and lay there
the formations Of society. and establish
Just such institutions as they believe will
be best for themselves and their posterity
forever. Good. good" end applause. ]
| believe they are entitled to that great
privilege of self-government. 1t won't
do for them that a particular system OF
law is good and another bad, and there
fore they must not have it. They have
an inalienable ris hit to determine for them
selves what is good and what is bad
You judge for yourselves; let them deter
mine for themselves. They are response
BILE to the same Divine Providence at
you are. They have got consciences o
their own, as well as you. They leave
children behind them to be blessed or to
be cursed by the acts of their fathers as wei
as you. Let them work out their owl
, salvation; make their own laws; establish
, their own institutions; manage thei. owl
affairs in their own way; and be response
BILE to posterity and to the Almighty, bu
, to no other power on earth. Applause