The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-07-01

back to his master as easily as before. Had
we enacted any obnoxious laws that interfer-
ed with their rights? "Ok, no; but you are
Just going to do it. You have brought the
Abolitionists into power, and they will ruin
us'' A very small body they have been for
long time. I used to fight them very hard;
but, many years ago, found out that was
fighting a wind-mill., "But," they said,
you brought the Abolitionists into power,
and we are compelled to secede, in order to
protect our rights in the f.ture.', Why p
You have the President. Well, he was a
Kentuckian by birth, and as to his opinions
on slavery know nothing, and care less
You have the President; what else? Well,
you have the .Abolitionists. Had we the
Senate? No, they held a working majority
in the two branches of Congress, and they
had two-thirds of the Judges in the Supreme
Court of the United States. Now what was
there. to justify rebellion under that state of
things? Nothing, more than the fact that
they had determined on it beforehand. Let
us see if they determined on it beforehand
There was held in 1860, after the old usages
of the Democratic party, Convention IN
Charleston. There were great many men
who knew beforehand what was going to
come to pass at that time, and which did come
to pass, and were not considered very saga
cious for all that. What was it? There
were men there who had determined to create
a division between the North and the South,
in order to regain this political power; but
there stood between them bulwark more
powerful than anything they had encountered
before. They stole the guns and the money,
and everything else, according to their capac-
ty, and that was by no means limited but
there still stood before them power they
must stride down, and that power was the
Democratic party. That power had stood
before them for quarter of century. It
must be broke down and ground into powder
And at that Convention they struck down
the Democratic party, because it was in their
way. They knew well enough that if they
had nominated Douglas, or James Guthrie, or
either of half dozen other men, and given
him an honorable support in the South, he
would have been elected But if he had
been elected, secession would not have had
pretext for inaugurating this rebellion. They,
therefore, struck them down by offering them
terms they could not submit to-terms that
you would not submit to to-day if offered to
you as terms of peace-terms which, if your
delegates had submitted to, you would have
risen against them, ard almost massacred
them, on their return. They split the party
IN twain, and adjourned to Baltimore, where
the same thing was repeated; and it was done
for the purpose of getting a pretext for inau-
guratiug this rebellion. ss4. .s...e
Following this state of things, as inevitable
as event follows cause, we have the fullginau-
guration of this contest. In the mean time,
however, the extraordinary desire of the
Northern people encompassed the people; but
it is folly to go over the history of that body,
so well known to the people of the country.
Suffice it to say, that no terms could be made,
no proposition was entertained, that was not
humiliatipg in its character, even to the bor-
der States, and destructive to the peace of
the free States. So we come down to the
day when the first gun was fired upon Sum
ter, and brought upon us civil war; s,.fz SAP
d. Now, whoever takes this matter and exam
ines into it carefully, care not to which par
ty he ha2pngs. can doubt that the first duty of
every NAN in the North is to the Government,
until this conflict shall be brought to an end.
Why do we argue these points, and why do
the Union people gather together in mass
meetings of this kind to strain their lungs
and reason upon this question? One. would
on this subject and that there could be no
necessity for any argument or appeal to the
people of the land. Why do we do it? Be-
cause, the sad and humiliating truth is, there
is a party. as there always has been, when
our country was engaged in "a contest that
takes the side of the enemy againstthe coun-
try. 1 [Applause- 1 do not propose to de-
nounce or abuse any man who holds an opin-
ion contrary o+my own. But let us reason
together. Why are you, my Democratic
friends, opposing this contest? You say it is
carried on by a Wing Administration, which
you don't like. Is that a sufficient reason
Suppose you had man in Jail convicted of
burglary, would you say This man shall not
go to the penitentiary because Wing Sheriff
Is going to take him there" or +" because a
majority of the jarymen who convicted him
were Whigs?' Upon this principle you
would not help enforce any of the laws of the
State, because of the Governor being Whig.
The spirit of opposition is as unreasonable
and unjust in one case as the other You
won't support the Administration in this war,
because it isa Wing Administration? Broth
erDemocrat, that will not do. You complain
that we have been SO slow and tardy, that the
rebellion should have been put down long
ago. and that if the Democrats had managed
the war, it would have been. You forget the
difficulties the Administration had to encoun-
ter at the commencement of the struggle;
and that if we have not accomplished every
thing We should have accomplished, there
may be reasons for it of which we are igno-
rant, But is it the duty of prudent man to
stop and argue this point? Now, brother
Democrat, / will make bargain with you :
Doiyou go heart and hand into this effort of
the Administration, and if at the end they
shall not have put down the rebellion, and
you will show me Democrat who will max e
a cleaner, sweep, we will ground arms, and l
will go upon the stump for his election
EGreat cheers. 1t will take time, but if the
work is; done, a good patriot can afford to wait.
1t may be that some small politicians may
spoil before that time, but we had better sac
riice few of them rather than sacrifice the
whole country. Cheers and laughter m
But you don't like the Abolitionists in this
war; Aha! that's the corn on the toe. Now,
SO far as the policy of the thing is concerned,
| think myself that Mr.. Lincoln was not very
wise in issuing his Emancipation Proclama-
ton differed with him on that point; but
l am not sure but he is going to beat me yet
I said, at the time it was issued, that it would
start every political cayiler in the land, who
would create parties and dissensions, aud that
if the same thing could have been accomplish
ed some other way, it would have been bet
| ter. And then believed a good deal in the
letter of General Ben Butler from Annapolis
| that proposed to treat these blacks as contra
band of war. IApplause. But we will
leave the policy alone for the present. "a
| The question that comes up at this time
is, should the Government employ the slaves
of the South in putting down this rebellion
If you call this policy abelitionizing. the war
it is a species of. Abolitionism which I have
not learned heretofore. Does any man put
himself on the ground that it is rlnconstitu-
tlonal to use every means, either in the hands