The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1861-10-05
SPEECH OF JOSEPH HOLT.

delivered by the Hon. Joseph Holt, of Ken
lucky, to an immese audience of the people
of Boston. It is the right kind of talk:
Fellow-citizens, am grati6ed to say that
during the somewhat extended tour that l
have Just made have nowhere found the
public voice faint, or the public purpose
faltering, in reference to the vigorous pros
ecution of this war until the stars and
stripes shall float on every flagstaff from
which they have been torn. Applause.
Nowhere have heard the word compro-
mise cheers and cries of ''good, good."
"a word which can now be uttered only
by disFoyal lips, or by those speaking open
ly and directly in the interests of the rebel
lion. Cheers, and voice, s'that's the
kind of talk" So long as the rebels have
arms in their hands, there is nothing to
compromise- cheers = nothing but the
honor of the country and the integrity of
ready to fill towards grave, is pre- pared
| for submission to such humiliation as this
Fellow citizens, it cannot be disguised
that we stand at this moment confronted by
great national dangers and national calam-
tiles. Eleven members of our Union are
in open, and thus far, successful revolt ;
fifty thousand men, breathing vengeance
and slaughter. is lowering upon our lines
and menacing the safety of Washington.
From this pressing peril no valiant resolves,
no brilliant defamation, no fervid prophe-
cyings, can possibly deliver us. Nothing
but the sword welded by skillful and hero
ic hands, can now save this country from
the worst catastrophe that can befall free
people. The enemy has been tested, and
we can no longer underrate either his pow
er or his recklessness in battle.
Let no man cherish the delusive belief
that since this rebellion is the cause of
crime, that, therefore, it will be the less
daringly maintained. History has recorded,
for our instruction and our admonition, that
Catiline and his co-conspirators fell with
their faces to the enemy; and so, probably,
will fall the rebel leaders Of the South.
The more earnest, the more prompt, the
more united the efforts that are now made,
the briefer will be the struggle. All delay,
and seeming hesitancy, all dissension, while
Strengthening the rebellion itself, is fraught
with incalculable danger and mischief to
ourselves.
If, however, from any cause, this contest
is to be prolonged, we must not seek to con-
ceal from ourselves its possible consequent
ces; but even now, in advance, we should
bravely and calmly look the worst of them
in the face. Your ships may have to furl
their sails in many a sea, and the grass may
spring up in marts heretofore pressed by
the busy feet of commerce; wide spread
bankruptcy may possibly ensue, and the
wall of sorrow may go up, not only from
stricken households and communities, but
also from cities and States, over the brave
and true men who have laid down their
lives upon the affairs of their country. But
our institutions are we'll worth all these sac
rifces, and all other sacrifices, which we
may make or can possibly make for their
preservation. All that we are and all that
we have, are the fruit of these institutions;
all that we may now generously devote to
their safety, in this hour of extreme peril,
if we are successful, they will give back to
US and our children's children, increased a
hundred, nay, a thousand fold.
But even now. in the very shadow of
these threatened disasters, even this night
and this hour, we could have peace. We
could have peace by laying down our necks,
our country, and our flag, in the dust be-
meath the remorseless feet of traitors
Loud cries of "never," 'never % But
how can we do this, seeing that the graves
Bunker Hill yet speaks to us with voices
which will not and cannot be stilled =?
If we falter, we fail; and not only will
Washington, your Capital, be subjugated
and sacked, but your cities and your fields
will be swept over by an army carrying in
its trains desolations scarcely surpassed since
the Goths who stabbed their steeds in the
palaces of the Caesars. The fendish tone
of the Southern press, its exultant threat
enings, and the events that have already
transpired, fully justify me in this declara-
ton.
If, therefore, we think of our lands and
gold, of our merchandise and pleasant
homes, or even of the blood that courses
in our viens, in contrast with the honor and
integrity of our Government, we are lost;
we shall perish suddenly, irretrievably, and
lignominiously. But if true to ourselves as
/ verify believe we will be, if true to the
kindling memories of the past, and to the
grandeur of our mission as people, your
armies will assuredly triumph; and that tri-
umph the Union sentiment of the South will
render complete and enduring Applause
and thus, out of all this national turmoil,
and battle, and bloodshed, and wringing an
guish, there will in the end arise future
for our country, bright as that rainbow
which spans the mists that mount above the
tortured hell of Niagara's waters. For
that future that bow of promise and OF
beauty may well be accepted as the appro-
pirate emblem. Applause.
One of the most fearful obstacles which
has been encountered in the successful pros
ecution of this war is the disloyalty found
in our midst. Cries OF "that's So" This
is especially true in relation to Washington
and the border States; but it is in degree
true everywhere, and to this is traceable
much of that Encouragement under which
, the nation is now suffering. The country
is now rejoicing in those bold and decided
measures which the President is taking to
subdue this fatal source of weakness and
defeat. ICheers.l Il is in vain that the