The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-08-21
The Last Speech of Douglas.


speech once before, we reproduce it now
because of the wholesome truth it incul-
Gates.
Remarks made before the war were
inapplicable, when once the peace of the
nation was broken by the acts of
the South If war was disunion,
the South is the responsible party, and
having once inaugurated the war the
Government could only be restored by
vigorous pros ecution of hostilities
The speech is as follows:
SPEECH OF STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, DELIv-
Erred AT CHICAGO, MAY lsT, 1861.
will not conceal qualification at the
uncomfortable test that this vast audi
ence presents-that whatever political
differences or party questions may have
divided US, yet you all had a conviction
that when the country should be in dan
ger, my loyalty could be relied on. That
the present danger is imminent, no man
can conceal If war must come-if the
bayonet must be used to maintain the
constitutional can say before God my
conscience is clean. | have struggled
long for peaceful solution of the diff
Guilty. l have not only rendered those
States what was their rights, but l have
gone to the very extreme of magnanim-
ity.
The return We receive is war, armies
marching upon our Capital, distractions
onH (a nj rod 1o4
ters of marque granted to pirates, to prey
upon our commerce, concerted move
ment to blot out the United States of
America from the map of the globe
The question is, are we to maintain the
country of our fathers, or allow it to be
stricken down by those who. when they
can no longer govern, threaten to des-
troy?
What cause, what excuse do disunion-
lists give US for breaking up the best Gov
ernment on which the sun of heaven ever
shed its rays? They are dissatisfied
with the results of a Presidential cleo
ton. Did they never get beaten before?
Are we to resort to the sword when we
get defeated at the ballot box? Iunder-
1s nresssedf il tlhr+ l tilge tie RGe of the nennle
strtu,fon, must command the obedience
of every citizen. They assume on the
election of particular candidate that
their rights are not safe in the Union.
What evidence do they present of this?
DEFY any man to show an act on which
II is based What has heen omitted to
be done? Iappeal to these assembled
thousands. that so far as the constltu-
tioual rights of the Southern States, L
will saw the constitutional rights of slave
holders, are concerned, nothing has been
done and nothing omitted of which they
can complain.
There has never been time, from the
day that Washington was lnaugurated
first President of the United States, when
the rights of the Southern States stood
frmer under the laws of the land, than
thew do now; there never was time
when they had not as good cause tol
disunion as they have to-day. Wha
good cause have they which has not ex
listed under every administration.
If they say the territorial question
now, for the first time, there is no act 0
Congress prohibiting slavery anywhere
IF il be the non-enforcement of the law
the only complaints that l have heart
have been of the too vigorous and faith
full fulfllment of the Fugitive Slave Law
Then what reason have they?
The slavery question is mere excuse
The election of Lincoln is mere pre-
text. The present secession movemer
is the result of an enormous conspirac
formed more than a year since-torme
bv leaders in the Southern Contederac
more than twelve months ago.
They use the slavery question as
means to the accomplishment of the
ends. They desired the election of
Northern candidate by sectional vot
in order to show that the two section
, cannot live together. When the histol
i of the two years, from the LecomptC
Chortor down IN the late PRESIDENT
election shall be written, it will be sho"
e that the scheme was deliberately ma
q to break up this Union.
. They desired Northern Republics
IN he elected by purely Northern vol
and then assign this fact as reason vi
the sections could longer live togeth
Ifthe disunion candidate in the late Pr
! idential contest had carried the Unit
u South. the scheme was, the Northe
candidate successful, to seize the "a
tai last Spring, and by united Sou
and divided North, hold it II
scheme was defeated in the defeat OF
90 Disunion candidate in several OF
- Southern States. g. - 81 30 - :,
iy, Tn But this is no time for detail
, causes. The conspiracy is now kno
= Armies have been raised. War is
s led to accomplish it. There are
two sides to it. Every man must be
the United States or against it. Th
can be no neutrals in this war-only
L, riots or traitors.
Thank God, Illinois is not divided
:, the question. (Cheers) know
expected to present an united Sc
against divided North. They hope
the Northern States, party quest
'''' would bring civil war between Dt
Gratis and Republicans, when the . >
" would step in with her cohorts, AID
zE. party to conquer the other, and !,
T make an easy prey of the vlctors.
,ulnr scheme was carnage and civil war II