The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1863-12-01
speech Of Mr.soevverd..


After sereoading the President. tho
night previous to the dedication Of tho
National Cemetery ) at Gsasysberg, tbs
baud proceeded to tue iesidesce Of Mr..
r. s. Harper, adjoining, where Secretary
Seward was stopping, ana sesensaed hims
aloS OF
Mr.. Seward aeksosls1gsd the eowpk-
mept, By making 9 brief spesch, - fol-
lows:
FELLOW CITIZENS: / am nov sixty
years old and upwards. have been IN
public life, practically, forty years Of that
time, and vet this is the 6rst time thu,
ever any people or community so near to
the border ef Mary land was fourd willing
to listen to my voice. And the reason
was that | saw, forty years ago, opening
before this people graveyard that vas
to be filed with brothers falling in mu.
tual political combat.
/ knew that the cause that was hurry.
ing tho Union into that dreadful strife
was slavery, and when I elevated my
voice, it was to warn the people to re-
move that cause while they could by con.
stitu,ional means, aud avert the catastro-
phe Of civil war which has fallen upon
the nation. A voice-"Tha.'s true
am thankful thst you are willing to
hear me at last. | thank my God that |
believe this strife.is going to end IN the
removal Of that evih~hich ought to have
been removed by peaceful means and BY
deliberate counseis. CApplause
thank my God for the hope that this
is the last fraiernal var which will fall
upon the country which is vouchsafed to
us by Hesven-the richest. breadsst, the
most beautiful, the most maen fcent and
the most capable Of great destiny that
has ever been given to any part of the
human race. [Cheers.] And l thank
him for the hope that when that cause is
removed by the operation of abolishing It
as the origin of the giant treason that is
without justification and without parallel,
We shall thenceforth be united, shall be
only one country, having only one hope,
one ambition and one destiny. ICheers. /
Then we shall know that we are not
enemies, but that we are friends and
brothers. Then we shall know that this
Union is reality, and We shall mourn,
am sure, with sincerity, equally over the
graves OF the misguided, whom We have
consigned to his last resting place. with
pity Tor his error, and With the same
heartfelt grief with which We mourn over
his brothers, by whose hand, raised in de-
fease OF his Government, that misguided
brother pcrished.
When We part omorrow night 1T us
remember that we owe it to our country
and to mankind that this war shall have
Tor ITS conclusion the establishing of the
principle of DEM cratic government tile
simple principle that whatever party
whatever portion of the Government pre-.
walls by constitutional suffrage in an cleo
ton, that party is to be respected and
maintained In power till it shall give place,
on another trial and another verdict. to
different party or different portion OF
the people lApplause.1
1t yon do not do that, you are Drifting
at once and irresislibly to the very verge
OF the destruction OF your Government.
But with that principle, this Government
OF ouis, the purest, the best, the wiseet.
aud happiest 10 the world, must be, and
so lar as We are concerned, practically,
viii be Immortal [Cheers ] Fellow
citizens, good night.