The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1862-12-02

penetrated unguarded homes in every
city, town, and neighborhood of our
once happy and peaceful country, woun-
ding the beloved ones left there in hop
ed for security. For such there is balm
only in Gilead = God is their physician.
Wilson'S Speech of Welcome to Mahony.
The following is Judge Wilson s
speech Of welcome to the traitor Maho
ny:
appear before you at the request of
your neighbors and friends, who are met
to congratulate you upon your release
from the gloom and dampness of the
dungeon TO where you can enjoy the sun
light OF Heaven and the rights OF free
man. This immense assemblage before
you, and whom any man might rejoice
to call friends, never doubted your 10y
atty, and they are composed Of as true
and as loyal men as ever breathed the
breath Of life. Cries of that's so The
Democracy of Dubuque county. like
Democrats everywhere, have been stig-
matized as traitors because they sought
to support the Constitution as it is and
the Union as it was. They have been
stigmatized as traitors because they chose
to put down the rebellion in Constitu
tional and legal way, and they are will
ing to bear this stigma, for this Consti-
tuition there was time when the name
of traitor was stigma upon any man,
but as it is applied by Abolitionists to
men who are attempting to uphold the
Constitution aud the laws, we consider il
an honor if it is thus applied to us. We
are called traitors by men who are seek
ing TO subvert the Constitution, who
have endeavored to tramplo il under
foot. by men who are living by stealing
from the government their tens of thou
lands Of dollars, Cries of good, good
BY men who are, boastinp that il has been
their earnest endeayor Tor sixteen years
TO put down the Constitution and the
laws. Not only sixteen years, but thir-
ty years and they not only stigmatizs
us here, but they stigmaiize the Democ.
racy everywhere because the Democra-
cy are endeayoring to support the Con-
stlution and the laws. When the news
of your arrest fell upon the ears of this
community, il was like sunstroke We
inquired, wha. is it coming to when
man is dragged from his wife and chill
dren and carried off to dungeon. We
inquired what does all this mean there
was not a man in Dubuque who could
tell US the cause Of the arrest; there was
not a man ON earth who could specify
the charge. When we asked for some.
thing tangible, il could not be found.
When the inquiry went up from your
wife aud children when that humanity
would have demanded some reply, there
was no response. Who're were the men
who, in midnight darkness, made the af-
fdayils against you? Where were the
affiants, because If you had committed
the crime OF treason you ought to have
been punished. Three groans for the
afiants. l tell you. Sir, these af1iants
were not ON hand. No owl shut up in
the cavity of tree ever preserved such
silence. No wolf hid in his den, when
he heard the horn of the hunter. with
his nose 10 the ground, as did these afli
ants. Ali whore was Roderick then :?
Why was not one OF these contemplate
midnight affiants ready 10 come forth
and face this community and say that he
was the man He couldn't do it, There
is net man in this community that
knows | do not know you do not know;
you may suppose, and we might have
heard il on some vague rum0r no man,
however, had the humanity to come for
ward and say he was the man. We have
a right to believe one thing, and that is
this: When you demanded to know
what your crime was, no person dared
to come forward and say what it WAS
aud as the telegraph has announced that
you were honorably discharged, aud as
We know the telegraph is under the cen
troll OF the government. Wa have n right
TO believe that you were houorably dis
charged. and that there was no charge
which any man could bring against
yeu.
Ben. NJ Samuels here stepped for
ward, saying this was an appropriate
time TO read the discharge, and he read
it.
Judge Wilson continued Don't YOU
wish that there was some lille mouse
hole, or knothole. that these atlianis
could crawl into, and 81 into oblivion
loreyer Find hole that would fG
them for Gods sake point i, cut 10