Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-09-25
Speech Of fRcprcscntativs A. O. Riddle bee
fare The r,nnrrnnnInr,nI CnnFenfian.

ordbls Convention Pursuant to eustem
thatreauires the defeated to return hanks,
such as they are, for his misfortune, l am
called before you stand here, as have
ever stood before the world, in the purity
of an unsullied manhood. / say to you,
with all respect, that this result ofyour la
bors, though not so intended, l feel has done
me a bitter injustice.
sought this high office from no un-
worthy motives, and l won it by no
dishOnorable means. Its honors have been
meekly and worthily worn. My hand is
unstained, and my soul is unpolluted. On
the floor Of Congress l occupied no OBJ
scure place. l was prominently identified
with all the leading measures Of the re-
cent sessions, and it was because | was so
identified with these measures, that l sought
a reelection. Imade those issues fairly
before your andmy constituents, and gave
them direct opportunity to pass upon
those great measures.
have voted for every recommendation
of the President and sustained all his pol
icy. / voted to sanction those extraOrdi-
nary acts of his, which otherwise found no
warrant save in the necessity of
the times-to take from individu-
ais and corporations all the telegraphs in
the whole country-to wrench from the
hands and control Of their owners all the
railroad on the continent, and by the ex-
ereise of sovereign power place them in
the hands Of the Executive.
Since my return fifty thousand people
can testify how have sustained the Pres
ident. In every speech | have reproved
those who cavil and find fault with him
and his course, and 1 Ihave everywhere pre-
dicted the course which the President has
just inaugurated
And now the wires bring the proclama-
tion of general emancipation to which the
oppressed and waiting hearts Of the peo-
pie rise up as to the voice of God-a mes
sage that realizes the visions of the old
dreamers Of freedom, and fulflls the pFoph-
ecies of the old prophets of liberty.
1t is because | have thus sustained the
President that have sought reelection,
and thus have / also put him and his
measures and policy fairly in issue before
our people.
Was it not just and proper that these
measures Of Congress and Of the Presi-
dent should be directly passed upon
Was it not important that this district at
this fearful junctUre should say directly to
the country, the President and the rebels,
whether it approved or condemned them
And yet in this Convention these measures
in my person are sustained by only twenty
nine votes, and in the person Of my col
league, by thirteen, in a full ballot Of one
hundred and ffty-two.
know you don't intend this, but who
can explain it outside of the District, or
within it either7 How must the President
and his advisers and the whole outside
world understand itS
Gentlemen, this is perhaps the only time
may ever meet this constituency from
which l miss the old familiar faces Of one
entire county, and it is because their pla-
css are filed by honored strangers, that I
must say a word further. You know |
have been and am hunted and pursued
as no man in this State ever before was.
That press without cause or excuse, at
tackled me before took my seat, and with
q steady, tireless and persistent malignity
has spoured its columns upon me to this mo-
ment, and I see its conductors here, ready
to tear and mangle what now say The
one tireless tale is that on a memorable
occasion, l was guilty of infamous and
cruel treatment of American soldiers. In
the faces Of my ealumniators 1 pronounce
this mendacious lie.
say to you,a ,andI charge you to bear this
to your constituents, that no act of mine.
no incident of my life, no word that / ev-
er spoke or wrote, can be so tortured az
to snstnin this charge, and defy mortal
man to produce witness, that can cav
that ever conducted myself toward
a soldier, save with the utmost kindness
and consideration.
say so much because have never been
among you, with the story Of the wrongs
and insults so eauselessly thrown upon me.
| have not teased the public ear, or sought
to abstract its attention from its grave
concerns to myself. Whether this war is
to continue rests with my enemies. If so,
and continue to observe the same line of
moderation, they know that am gov
erned by no considerations of personal ap-
prehension.
To my friends-the kind. warm.
true friends who know me, and who
have so generously stood by me through
these evil reports for all the kind words
and gentle whisperings; for many, many
messages Of confidence and trust; for the
grasps of assurance, and from very many
rough and hardened hands, may not
here express my gratitude. All these
things have become part of my existence.
But for the noble and manly support
which have received so steady in this
body, it is fitting that here express my
in terms as ample and warm
as my ability permits. In my public rec
ord, and private life, must they look for
some slight excuse for this manly con-
duct; and trust no future acts Of mine,
will bring them regrets or reprOach.
Pardon me for these personal remarks,
the occasion forces them from me; and
believe that the frank expression of nv
dissent from the result of your labors, is !
uttered without the least personal disre-
lPeot, and trust is fitting for me to say
After all, in the presence of the great
that threatens to overwhelm us;
and that so dwarfs the greatest among us,
what are we, and our little griefs, and !
petty ambitions, and disappointments, and |
The man who cannot, or who will not for |
get himself for great cause, deserves to |
be forgotten by all others.
Let US remember that che demands made |
upon US can be answered only by an en-
ire devotion Of all we are and have to /
'ur country and that its needs open am
pie fields for our united courage and devo-
ion.
As fer myself gentlemen, netWithstand-
ng this condemnation at your hands, I
hall 60 forward to finish as / be-
san my official career; and at its elsse
he trust will be transmitted to my sue
'essor, pure and unsullied as the spirit Of
he constitution requires.
will recall no word that have spoken
will change no vote that have given, |
will undo no act that have officially per-