The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1860-01-04
Senator Wads on ,ptsunion.

/ n
Glorious Ben Wade, Ohio's faithful Sena.
tor, made a telling speech few days ago in
the United States Senate, in reply to that
madcapo FIRE eating disunionist, Senator Iver
son of Georgia. We give below an extract,
containing some of the salient points in Judge
Wades spetch. The extract will be read with
delight by his Ohio constituents especially
The whole speech is characterized by the fear
less vigor, the sturdy directness, always char
acterstie of Ben Wade when in particular
earnest. Said he: ,s, -,-i 97.,.fz zsr
/ have heard the muttering thunder of dis
union greeting my ears through all the South
/ err hemisphere. All your principal papers
have already fixed upon a contingency when
this Union shall end. In some Southern
States, if read Alright proceedings are pend
ing now, having for their object an overturne{
| ing of this Government, and The erection upon
its ruins of Southern confederacy; and this
idea is brought into Congress, and we are
compelled to listen by the hour to speeches
! filed with denunciations of our party, telling
US that the Union is to be dissolved il the
people elect as President and honorable man.
of grent predominant party. holding to prin-
ciples precisely such as the old fathers of the
Government held. The Republican platform
| is nothing more nor less than the old Republi
can platform, marking the landmarks of tie
Government as laid down by them; We claim
to live upto,those doctrines; we claim not to
harm the hair of, the head of any section of
this Union, and yet we are to be told by the
hour that if we succeed in wrestling this
government from your hands and placing a.
constitutional man in that great Office, accord,
irg to the Constitution, you will nevertheless
make this o contingency on which you will
disrupt and destroy the Government.
is lsay to gentlemen on the other side, these
arervery harsh doctrines to preach in our ears
What, SIR are you going TO play this game
of craftsmanship with US ? Will you go into
the election with US, with a settled purpose
and design that if you win you will take all the
honors and emoluments and offices of the
Government into your own clutches; but ifI
we win, you will break up the establishment
and turn your backs on us Is that the fair
dealing to which we are invited +? am happy
to know that you propose to make that con-
tiDgeHcy turnonpon an event that will make ii
impossible to be consummated. The Govern
ment to day is all in your hands; it has been
in your hands for years; you are partaking of
all its emoluments, all its measures you have
moulded, and you have designated the men
who receive its honors Year after year you |
have done this, and men have come here from
the Free States, men holding our opinions, We
have sat here patiently. but we have heen de !
prived of all the honors and emoumens that
flow from the government. as though we were
its enemies; but did we ever complaint Not
at all. We did not expect that we should
share any of those favors, unless it should be 4
so that our glorious principles should com
mend themselves to large majority of the
people of the United States. D sa -a.-af |
But, sir, if it should turn out so-and Heav. |
en- only knows whether it will or not-I give |
gentlemen now to understand, this Union will
not easily be disrupted. Gentlemeu talk about
it in a business like way, as though it were a
magazine 10 be blown up whenever you touch
fire to it; as if, on given day. at a moments
warning, at your own election at any time, and
ir any event, yeu can dissolve the bonds of
this great Union. Do you not know, sir, that I
this great fabric has been more than eighty
years in baildng and do you believe you can
destroy it in day? / tell you, nay, sir; when
you talk SO cody about dissolviDg this Union.
do you know the difficulties through which
you will have to wade before that end can be
cousummatedl Have you reflected that be-
tween the North and the South there are no
mountain ranges that are impossible. and no
desert wastes which commonly divide great
nations one from another? Do you not know
that whether we love one another or not, we
are from the same stock. speaking the same
language, and although institutions have made
considerable difference between us, the great
Anglo Saxon type pervades the wholeP We
are bound together by great navigahle rivers
interlaeng and linking together allthe States
of this Union. Innumerab e railroads also
connects u.s. and an immense amount of com
merce binds all the parts besides domestic re
lations 10 thousand ways. And do you be
lieve yon eau rend all this assunder without
struggle? .s.---
tell you, cir, you will search history in
vain for a pgecedent; there has been no such
Government as this that has ever been rent
assunder by any internal commotioL. know
that Poland was broken up and divided, but
it was by external force. We are found in
the same ship; we are married foreverfor bet
ter or worse. We may make our condition
very uncomfortable by chickering's if We will.
but nevertheless there can be no divorce be-
tween u.s. There is no way by which either
one section or the other can get ont of the
Union. | % not say whether it is desirable
or not. There is no way by which it can Re
effected, but least Of oil on the contingency