Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1863-02-20

large majority OF the N orth were against ciYt |
war Ailer the firing upon Fort Sumter they
seemed to be in an insignificant minority
But there was no change in the people There
never was a time when, in the hearts oi ihe
people, there was not an undying opposition
| 70 thswar. They dared not speak il They
were carried away BY their leaders There
was only a small band favoring peace they
were fewer than the apostles but there was
no Judas among them; Applause L was
said TO be war for the Restoration of the
Union | thought that an Absurdity 1t
might as well have been supposed that a man
could beat love into the breast Of her whom
he was about TO- marry, Nobody now be-
lieyes after two years of war, that we have
accomplished, or can by this means accom-
plsh, the rastorniion of tlie hidG eacept
William H. Seward He sees every thing in
the color Of the rose. l believe that the war
is now conducted for the abolition Of slavery
That can not take place until the Government
itself becomes a despotsm. don't choose to
sell my precious inheritance and boon OF
political personal liberty, for which the fields
of New Jersey were stained with blood, for the
purpose Of giving liberty to the negro Great
applause Jtl Il.I
There is now party who assumes that the
war has failed, and urge a separation Of the
States abhor that party There is another
who believe that the war has failed, and desire
to try the experiment of bringing the South
back by conciliaton and compromise am
one of that party. [Great cheering Seven
ty-five out Of every hundred of the men of the
Northwest are in favor Of cessation of hos
tihties and commencement of the expert
ment Of restoring the Union by constitutional
add peaceful measures Cheers There is
third party who call themselves the Conser-
vative party, of which William H. Seward is
to become the leader-the same William II
Seward who was the author of the phrase 'ir
repFessible conflict" the man who first signed
his hand to the warrants for arbitrary arrests.
the man who signed the order for the arrest
OF James A. McMasters and Mr. Reeve the
man who has undertaken to carry on the for
eign correspondence of this Government
William Il. Seward to be the leader Of the
Democratic party Dersive laughter
claim to be counted out Of such a party.
[Cries, $50 do we. Cheers And the chief
enginesr is to be, forsooth, a man who has
aided him in all his schemes-Thurlow Weed.
[Cheers and laughter They say ave will
prosecute the war gently We will have the
war hang on" Laughterl l want the
Union as it was-part slave and part free
|
diet upon this subject Cheers The war
is the best hope OF the Southern Confederacy
1t keeps up the hate of the Southern people
1t puts great power into the hands Of the Exc
cutve, and enables him to appeal to Southern
patronage and patriotism to maintain the
credit of the Confederate Government 1t
presents a resort to the very appearances by
which alone the people Of the South can be
reached. [Cheers,
| | hear quotations every day from JEFF Da-
Wis message and the Richmond papers, upon
this subject, in opposition to these views
| What confidence can be placed in these dec
larations2 1t is the purpose Of Davis to re-
unite this country; it would be supreme folly
for him to speak in any other tone You
can not expect the organization of Union
party in the South until tho war has ceased !;
| [Appausel until the civil and not military
faction take action in the South Whenever
that day may arrive, when the invading army
no longer possess the soil, the ballot.box will
DO its work. do not belieye they will ac-
cept terms from this Administration The
men now in the South in power have as much
human nature as the men Of the North in
their composition But expect in time to
see those men who shall stand in the way of
the settlement of this question upon the basis of
reunion of the States, hurled from their seats
Of power by the same potent little weapon
that has begun TO hurl some tyrants from
their places-the ballot 1t will push these
men from their stools in the South, the North
and the West Loud applause. They have
the ballot at the South Just as free as it is
here. There is as much free speech South
as there is North to-day. A voice, "a little
more And was a great deal more some
. ftFsnn Gin han -
So Cheers That is the plain truth, and
| come here to speak some truth. Ii is a
fashion that have, and cannot lay it aside
in New Jersey.
Take away that terrible pressure of war
let the press Of the South speak out let par
ties not founded upon the prosecution of the
war be be revived, and you will see the same
desire returning for the Union as you have
seen in the North. IL there is anything that
that class of men wish to see, it is the preya
lence of that sentiment in the North And
If there is one thing which brings to them
fear and trembling, it is this movement in ia.
vor Of peace in the North Shall we adopt
the theory OF continuing the prosecution of
the war, no matter how vigorously or not Wig
orously shall we continue it Loud cries,
"NO, no. nc" from all parts of the hall. |
That is my opinion, gentlemen | thank you
for your verdict Great and prolonged
cheering Or shall we immediatel, cease
hostilities, and proceed then to determine the
question whether majority of the people Of
the North and West will unite with major.
ity of the people South, aud restore the Union
as 1t was ? ["Yes, yes, Shall we adopt
the theory Of those Of whom have spokenf
mo, no" How much an apprehension
for their personal safety and of the comfort
Of their necks has to do with their conviction
| do rot know, but these men who have now