The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-11-11
Hon. Richard T. Merrick, of Hill
p nOis, ON Gen. Robert G. Schenclk.

/
nOis, ON Gen. Robert G.. Schenck.
In his speech st the great meeting in Day
ton on the 10th inst, abiding to the recently
! proclaimed menace of Abolition leaders, that
Mr.. VallandighaHa should not be inaugurated
if elected, Mr. tMerrick said ~
"This hero of Vienna has, then, men of
Ohio, comes back among you to boast of his
own infamy, and claim hig, honors at your
hands fer having advised the arrest of Vallan-
aisham, and the seizure of his papers, and
the FaHsacking of his house hold. Honest
men will question the purity of his motives,
and many will ascribe it to private malice he
lacked the courage to crafty in any other
manner, whilst some will believe that he re-
garded it as the surest manner of getting rid of
a formidable political rival, who stood between
him and the genial light of popular favor
And now that he has accomplished his pur-
pose, and the object of his hatred has been ex-
lied by the decree of an illegal and unconstl-
tutional military commission, sanctioned by
| the approval of the tyrannical despotism at
Washington, and the shores of his native land
are guarded against his return by the navy of
the United States, he leaves the scene of his
military usefulness % to revisit the home of
the patriot, and appsssfo him and his princi-
pies language he would not dare to usesif that
|
those who agree with the absent to- speak for
him as he would speak for himself if here p
General Schenck, speaking of the arrest of
/ Mr.. Vallandigham, uses the following Ian
guage;
"7his as u,y plan of dealing lOitA these
scound,els and traitors" I hurl back these
terms, and history, faithfully narrating the
course and incidents of General Schenck's
military Governorship in Baltimore, the petty
| tyrannies and brutal inhumanities he has rrac-
| ticed upon that people and analyzing the base,
unpatriotic and seditious principles avowed in
his speech in this city to which 1 have refer
red, will accord to him that he is the scoun-
drel dnd the trqitor, and 1 accept the ordeal
| he proposes, and agrse that for such men as
Robert Schenck there is ''no argument but
the sword, the bullet and the bursting bomb"
| But, not content with reviling the man
against whose indignant anger he has thus
cautiously protected himself, he assails the en-
tire Democratic party, and says: "Not salts
fed with putting forward some man having
the ordinary sentiments of the party calling
| itself Democratic, they have presented con-
victed traitor as their candidate
have shown to you, men of Ohio, that the
| Democratic candidate for Governor was never
arrested for treason; that he was never charg.
ed with treason, that he was never tried for
| treason, and therefore could never have been
| convicted of treason. These facts are known
to General Schenck; and, when such men
make charges of so distinct and emphatic a
character, there is but one way to meet them.
And here, upon this spot, where the charge
was made, and before the people it was in
tended to deceive, pronounce IL to be false,
and it would te Infamous if it were not ridic-
ulous. l am perfectly aware that the man
who had the power to cause the arrest of Mr..
| Vallandigham has the power to attempt my
arrest; but unless General Scheuck adds to
| the other qualities, you men of Dayton know
him 20 possess the qualities of poltroonery and
cowardice he will not, in this case, invoke the
aid of the Federal Government to protect
him."
You are very much mistaken, Mr.. Merrick
This General Schenck is the very man. of al!
9th ers, to "invoke the aid of the Federal Gov
ernment to protect him. A coward by ma.
ture, bully by profession, and blackguard
by instinct, he will never call up on you, Mr.
Merrick, to settle his cases of honor and ver-
acty with ''the s,oord, the bullet, and the burst
ing bomb" y
Unless he can invoke the Government to
crafty his personal hatred and malignant pro-
pensities, as he did in the case of Mr.. Vallan
digham, and of which he boasted in his Day
| ton speech, to the disgrace of the Government
and to his own dishonor, you need have no
thought, Mr.. Merrick, of personal alconsequences.
The ladies oil Baltimore can testify to his
bravery and his gallantry, if any testimony is
wanted in the case Crisis.