Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1863-05-01
SPEECH
OF HoN. H. WINTER DAVIS, Of Maryland, az the
Hamilton Convention


1 the Great Union Meeting at Hamilton.
Mr.. Davis spoke Substantially as foIloSs,s
4 Felow-ci,izens Of the Unite.l States -
! Applause and cries of i" that's good p II like
that.'l Il is among the humiliatine things %
i history, that now at the ead Of the second
/ year Of a great war, while hundreds Of thou
sands Of armed enemies are seeking 10 over.
throw the RcpIblic in our midst, amonelSus
who call ourselves loyal, the craveniand pal.
try cry Of peace and compromise has beep
raised. A craven cry Of peace with men that
won't no peace unless they can take youF
naIiOnal honor and national domain com-
| promise with people who have thrown youF
compromises in your faces, and raised armifS
20 compass your destruction. And that erY
not from men who dare av0w themselves the
enemies of the Republic, but from those wha
are as much beneath the open enemies Of flie
i Republic IL manly c0ara9e, a. fhet an 81 nv
ali'y equal to them in hostility to the Gov
! ernment of our fathers. They call themselves
Union men upon conditiOus g We are fFa
the war, but il mpst be conducted oct as tie
President would cunduct it we are for she
| Union. but il must MT he preserved By force
! of arms against our erring sisters Z we are foFi
the Constitution, but those in power have 90
! respect for il. and they shall have our support
/ provid, d they yield 10 our dictation, and We
are ready to yield 10 Southern diciaiion.F
I Daughter " they shall have sll the men they
want, against orr argument. who afe desi-s
rous to wage war Of determination; they
shall have all 'he men tlery can gel, in the faoo'
/ Of our arguments, telling them that the pot-
| pose Of The war is not 10 maintain the Con-,
/ stitu ioh, but 10 destroy it--not TO maintain
| the Union. bnt a degraded aud broken Unioa.n
Ihe5 call thcmselYts Union men. forsooth -
And how do they carry" themselves in thia
war? Not as becomes the patriot and loyal
| citizen. Loyalty does not stand upon condi-r
tioEs. Il does not mean sharp, Wire-drawn crit
ieis;ns. II means an honest determination to
come together with all men, of whatever par
ty who pre in favor Of the one great purpose
TO maintain the Govcrnment-exaetIy nss
Democrats widely differing in their private
| yieys OF policy have come together heretofore
! ~ iheiF party aaAetses'' for the sake of the
success Of that in which the majority are in
favor. How do they treat the Government
Of the United States VIII any one tell me
what one measure they have supported -
What measure have They not earped at and
misreprescntcd What policy have they not
chhounced2 Has there been any one course
oi policy adopted by the Government which
tLey have not o. Osed Why, when the wac,
broke cut and armed bands were unified
against the lapd: one Of the leaders ip Con
Gress sought to strip the Goverpmenl ofeveryt
power 10 pGt down rebellion, by opposing
every measure calculated to effect that object.
In other words, protesting, o bis successors.
now profess, TO be opposed TO the GovernInent,s
he was opposed TO protecting it ); IN favor OF
areession, be was opposed 10 Putting it down.
lie was in favor of peaceful measures"
s. liberal compromise," and if they would not
yiald IL persuasion, then let them go in peace!
Congress met. The President called out IS.
600 mrn artor1Tng'to hIw or George Wash
irgton. THESE men united in a howl against
it. The Government went at the work before
il feebly, mineingly, in my Judgment. Then
came Bull Run and the necessary action Of
the Government after that. These men again
raised the howl, and declared: :" We alwuyss
tod you that this was IN abolition war, and
here it is" eEisaiiy military movements With
the iAinreIse army eliminated and Pope was
driven buck. Soon after followed another
step taken in the right direction but a halting
one. A eonfseatiOn bill was passed, taking
away the lands and properly, not Of thpee iu
arms the common seltfiers,S but OF those whas
led The rebellion; and that was denounced
although those who made the imputaiiOn oveu-2
lotked the fact that since the days Of Wasb.f
inEton there have been eonfscatiOn lava
against treason on fhe Statue books. Next
The Government applied the law timidy't04
Just those within the lines Of the Federal
troops. Then they cried out abe second time
that this war was not for the benefit Of the
white people of the United States, but for the
negrees! t." "'
Then came the next great act of the Presi-s
idtnl DECLARING free all those within the Uni!z
tlA States. What an. agunizing cry this
brsueil; forth " Now the reality is confess
crl - Now you have gone the whole hog Of
4 bo ition y Now we fud The vote upon the
('riticnden resolutions political movement
to prosecnte the war" The gentlemen who
make thcse irnul9SiOBs never refer to the law,
on the statute books of the last Congress but>
one, giving the President the whole poEer to
use ihenpgroes as he might think best ia put
ting down the rebellion. Whether the Pnsi-,
dent can confer legal title to freedom or not,
men may differ; la my Judgment be cnnnot.--
l. wanted Congress to supply the defect at the
last session, aud trust In God il" will at the
nexi sessinn | want il 10 say that the Preai-
idcnt can take cognizance of il" Let IL be
fixed by legal cbactment; l want no open
question. 1 want 1t cit may be in eject nOt
only in time Of var but Ii time Of peac. /
consider il radically legal measure. II iS
is worth procaiming at all, it is worth making
a legal fact Ii can be effected only by the
uh;eedsse iou Of the legislative aud military
powe-' FH Hf>
Advantage is.tuken OF these necessary mill
tary acts ip rlelnle y,ur eOlliers Hence 20
Vas not with fair intention to criticise this
measure to subss.rve the public good. that men
ia Congress from MaryIaod' and Ohio assailed
it, Thy were artndted BY no patriotic mo-
iite Ihey'ar traitors. IN fact. Would rot
he adoption OF All abolition policy by the Gov
FL nmeri cause y0ur men to- desert? Would
you n zee them throwing away their cOlOrs.
and find The fficrrs ready to oppose the Gov
This is the way they talked. What
was hr necessary result of such imputations
hnt To dissolve ynur arini,s-by the diSaHee
liun Of the riIiccrs leave the soldiers q disoF-
2aniEed mob? do you suppose that theMs'
Mary and atid Ohio gcntlcmen did not know the
ei.Gsq.cy &C i,"ir vemarks9 Is II not a fair
La, llry, elected TO represent q re-
,peciuble constituency, have at teust the aver
age intelligence of their ielloW-eitizensf and
ha, they knew the cfset of'thcirs allegations
wheu hay ia thfiF Pace ia Congress, declared
le CONSTITUTION tramph d upon and dcfcd,
aud the Government was not carrying on the =
q IL. l. a.. a. k..n