The Ohio Democrat. [volume] (Canal Dover, Ohio) 1840-1900, 1863-02-13

just SOheS VI hiS uu'Ji hO, hou oVSu
pursued, as he deserved to be pursued,
by articles of impeachment for high
crimes. and misdemeanors in office, |
do not believe this rebellion would have
progressed as it did under his adminis.
tration. am aware that before the re-
ception of this message OF James Buch-
anan, South Carolira had passed her
ordinance of secession; but for this en>
couragement she would, in my opinion,
have stood alone,,he same contemplate,
craven State Mat she was in her first
rebellion in 1882, not able to muster
forty thousand men, and filled by
larger servile population brooding over
wrongs, strong enough and willing
enough, and, as | believe, brave enough
to have straDgled to death all the rebels
within her borders.
When this rebellion was thus aided
by this Democratic President and
Democratic Cabinet ministers, and by
the gentleman himself and those who
agree with him in this House, it well
becomes him, now that the rebellion is
full armed, to attempt to Justify the
record of himself and his party, even by
the audacious ery,"l told you that coer.
cion would make civil war: the present
Administration has resorted to it, and
hence this unhappy war;" How would
it be now with the country ifthe existing
Administration had followed the example
of that Admin tration which expired on
the 4lh day of March, 1861? But one
answer can be truthlully given; the
country would have been dismembered,
the rebellion would have triumphed!-
No, coercion meant disunion. 1t is
unconstitutional, you say, to call out
armies to suppress the rebellion author
lied by conspirators who, by their ordl-
nance of treason; declare States seeded.
Strip these words of all disguise, and
they simply mean to>day, as they meant
in the beginning, this Government has
no power to defend itself against the
armed rebellion and treason of cons
temptible minority. Does it require any
gift of prophecy to foresee what the re-
suit had been, if the abused Administra.
ton of to-day had followed the gentle
mans advice! The Union would have
beer destroyed by the coersive power
ofthe rebellion, unless disunion had been
resisted by the coercion of the the loyal
people.
The gentleman stands here to de.
nounce Abraham Lincoln, the Executive
of the United States, for issuing his
proclamation of 'he 18th of April, 1861,
after the walls OF Sumpter had been
broken by the Internal enginery of
treason, and the hand of the Almighty
alone had saved its gallant defenders
from perishmg in its flames. | have no
doubt it sorely grieves my colleague
that the President dared even then, in
that dread hour, to sound the note oil
alarm. have no doubt it grieves him
that the President of the United States
had the courage to do his duty in ac
cordance with his registered oath, to
summon, in accordance with the law of
the land seventy.five thousand men,
good and true, to the rescue of d violated
Constitution and an imperiled country.
Sir, the gentleman, according to his
utterances of to-day, would have been
eulogizing, instead of denouncing the
present Executive Of the United States,
if, like his predecessor, instead of issu-
ing that proclamation of the 18th oil
April, 1861, he had crept through the
avenues Of the capital muttering, like a
gibbering ghost, the silly words, "the
Constitution does not allow the coercion
of rebel State" This. ptiful imitation
Of his predecessor would have rejoiced
the heart of this defender of "the Con.
stitution as i is and the Union as il
was" Th@genIleman would have had
the watchman, whom the people had
placed upon the tower, to cry "all i:
WE'LL" while one half Of the Republic
was engaged in armed rebellion for thu
overthrow Of the Constitution and the
laws. He himself would have repeated
the cry, "aIl is WE'LL" till your capita
had fallen without gun being fired, AMI
the Republic had been blotted from tn,
map OF natlons-the gentleman himsel
proclaming that it porished because i
was unconstitutional to defend il; that I,
coerce rebels who struck at its life was
crime. The gentleman has the cando
to say that was his opinion, declared b,
himself at the beginning, and that he j
Of that mind still; he says to-day l.
coerce by force rebels in arms is uncon
stitutional. ,-lI or'.-.,-.a .sat g
Hence it is that the gentleman come
here to-day and tells US that the. wa
ought to stop; that il should not continu
a day nora an hour. He is for the Uniol
he tells us, and against the employmen
of the only means by which the UnioI
can be this day maintained--the arme,
power oftbe people themselves. Their
can be no Union as it was, unless b.
arms you sustain, over all the republic
the Constitution as the supreme law o
{ the land; and yetthe gentleman says tn
war ought to stop; that it should not con
tinue day nor an hour. The othe
half of his speech is devoted to the tasl
of satisfying theipeople thathe is for th'
!. Constitution as tits and the Union as i
was. Let us see. Hedells US frankly
land believe 'hisstatementisp precisely
according to the record-that he votet
neither meu nor money to carry on th'
war. Suppose all the representative
in this Hall had followed his example
had acted as he declares he has acted il
the cause ofthe Union, what would hav'