The Ohio Democrat. [volume] (Canal Dover, Ohio) 1840-1900, 1863-09-25

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Now who eyer heard of man willing
to hold bis rights and interetts subjec
to the will caprice and good pleasure 0
another many Iput the question to yoG
in regard to your own private affairs
You are o farmer; you have your land
your horses and your cattle upou 1T
your house with your family in it; you
stay there; you 60 to sleep at night in
as perfect security, with your $4,000 oI
property, as your neighbor with his $5O,'
600, WhyH Because the same law thai
guards your sleeping couch guards his
He has no more right to take your pro
perty against your will, than you hnvetC
take his. This law which kno VS. no dis
tinction, it being based upon right, and
having for its rightful object the eqna
protection of all men,, is the most pre-
cious right the poor man has; and fal
more in n.ereSted, therefore, in this matter
OF speech and trial by jury is the pool
man, than the richest man in the coun.
try. A man Of wealth may have an in.
auential circle; he may be able to use
his money for the purpose of strength.
ening his defeuSe, and even sometimes oi
diminishing the amount of penalty which
may be imposed upon him. He, there,
fore, If all the laws were swept away
would have fund of power left. Blu,
take it away from the poor man, and
what has be left? Take the law from the
feeble, and what have they left? Take
away the law that protects your wives
and daughters, aud what have they left?
Immediately if you take away tie law,
you leave the masses defenseless "a prey
to the most vicious. 1t is the law which
protects the poor man; the poor man
who has nothing but the law to protect
him. At all times be eau cry out: II
AN an American citizen, and | am pro.
tected by the guarantees Of personal and
political liberty" Now, you stand in
this relation to your neighbor. How
would you like it for your neighbor to
say, Well, my dear friend, you want no
protection to the titles of your farm or
land, or for your personY" / want to
put this case to every man. was about
to illustrate the condition of the South,
in reference to the North, by asking you
how you would like to hold your proper
" at the will and pleasure of another
man?
| You are upon piece of land, and
you know that your neighbor can turn
you off when he pleases; he comes and
says; "You know, Mr.. Jameson: that
am a good hearted man; that 1 never
did you ary wrong or harm; never did
my neighbors any harm; but you are
afraid to put in that crop Of corn, be.
cause I'll not give you a number oI
years to hold the land. You are afraid
that when the crop is ripe l will ordol
you off and take the corn. You know
III not do this. You know l am very
clever man." "But," you would say,
"clever as you ave, l want something
cleverer than that to defend me and my
rights. Upon this crop Of corn depends
the maintenance of me and my children;
and if you should come here aud say,
Leave here,' want to be able to say,
I'll leave here when I've gathered my
corn crop, and not before. l wish to
have my rights depend upon some un-
changing principle, and not upon the
caprice or volition of any man or set o'
men," Do we not see the same thing
every year in vOting3 Every body knows
that in voting for Governor Or legislator
there are so many majority. Why not
just say so at the ballot>box, and take
the will of the majority as law? The
minority says: perhaps we may disa.
gree about what the will of the majority
Isl; in order that there may be no mistake,
put it down in the legislative act; we
want no guess work here" II want a
law thai will guard me when l am moi
watching; that will guard my little chi
dren when they are not able to guard
themselves; law that will block up my
Threshold as e(fectually as stone and
mortar block up that Of The welthiest; q
law that viii alike protect the minority
as well as the majority" That's the
kind of law we want. How could the
Southern people act when they we're
turned over to the mercies Of the North?
The Chicago Platform was a
Declaration OF War. . -s
But when the North had shown that they
were determined to take tho entire Gov.
ernment in their hands, they had shown
Lit, not merely in the platform and Pres.
idential election, but by calling to the
Washington Cabinet every man who
was d. adly opposed to the interests OF
the South But more than that, their
platform was declaration Of war, that
the Southern States from this day for.
ward, be expelled from the Uuion. The
Chicago platform expelled the Southern
States from the Confederacy, so far as
that party could expel them. ifDonglas
had been elected, would this war have
happened?, would this Union have been
dissolved? If any one of the other candi-
dates that were before the people had
been elected, would any such thing have
happenedH Mol What was the cause Of
the war? 1t was the intermeddling Of
this party with slavery in the Chicago
Platform, and it was the carrying out Of
the Chicago Platform in the organization
of The Cabinet, and in the refusal of the
President to listen to the voice Of the
fifteen States that were for the Union.
But Mr.. Lincoln and his party take
refuge under the plea that they could not
anticipate all that has happened, But
what do the masses pay President for,