The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1862-03-06

Cassapolis, Feb. 2sth, 1869.

! CassapOlls, feD. 18th, 1862.
EDITOR OF THE CAss COUNTY RE
rUBLIcAN-Dsar Sir The Conven
ton of the g Harmonious Democracy
for the purpose Of appointing delegate.
to the State Convention came off here
yesterday.
The Convention was called to order
by appointing Joseph Smith President
and d. M. Howell Secretary.
A committee was appointed on reso
lutions, of which George 3. Turner
was Chairman. The committee or
resolutions, after a long absence, (du
ring which time the Convention en-
deavored to call out Mr.. Blackman in
speech; but he declined the honor,
thinking, / presume, that the less they
said the better it would be for them,)
came in and reported set of resolu-
tons, of which / shall at present say
nothing, as they will shortly be pub
lished in the Smut Machine of this
place and you can. see them yourself.
The resolutions were adopted without
debate or remarks, each one seeming
to be afraid to say anything either for
or against them.
After the adoption of the resolutions
the Convention again called on Mr..
Blackman for a speech. Mr.. Black
man responded to the call and com
menced by saying that he had no de.
sire to make speech, but if the Con-
vention wanted to be wearied with one
he could accommodate them. He said
he had found out that political speech
making and political resolutions were
great things to get man into trouble,
but never got him out. That he was
surprised at the state of civil war in
which we were now engaged that he
never anticipated that the political
controversies heretofore existing would
ever lead to the present results; that
he was much disappointed in the in
telligence and patriotism Of the people
of the United States, to find that any
political strife should result in such
war as now existed, and that we should
not keep up the same state of thingsas
had caused this result. And that as
for himself he must say that he was
not so much of a democrat now as he
used to be. If a blanket wet with ice
water had been thrown over the Con-
vcntiOn it could not have produced a
greater chill than did this announce
ment. Mr.. Blackman proceeded by
saying that he thought it unwise to say
anything as to what causes had pro-
duced this war, but that we should
consider the best means of bringing it
to speedy termination, and that he
was willing to unite with any conserva-
tive men of whatever name who would
restore brotherly love between the
North and the South. He opposed the
resolutions because they were not ex-
plicit enough on this point. The reso-
lutions he also thought did not give
enough credit to Mr.. Lincoln, that he
(Mr. Lincoln) had defeated the repeat
ed attempts of the abolition republic
cans to ruin this government, and that
the resolutions ought to have sustained
him in that particular if in nothing
else. He then proceeded at some
length to speak of the despotism that
had been practiced by this govern
ment, in imprisoning men in the loyal
States without the Intervention Of
courts and warrants, who had simply
talked and plotted treason, attempting
to show that it was breach of the
constitutional rights of the people, and
tilaI SUN iiCStS WCtC NiSS3ihSO w
the government, and that foreign ma
tons would hereafter quote us as justi.
flying them in their despotic power and
practice of arresting without process.
The gentleman was particularly severe
on this point, and perhaps more so,
from the fact that no abolition republi-
can, as he called them, had never Mt
tered any reasonable words so as to
be liable to arrest, hut that all such
had belonged to one or the other
wings of the democratic party.
He then proceeded with general
TRADE against Governor Blair and our
Legislature of this State, for their
resolutions; and closed with bitter
denunciation of confscating the rebels
property, urging that the only way to
restore peace and friendship was to
treat the rebels kindly; that he had
always supported the war, but that if
it was to be war for confiscation he
should not support it any longer, but
as Lincoln had mostly appointed DEM