Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1863-03-25
speech of Hon. Daniel s. Dickinson

! Speech OF Hon. Daniel s. Dickinson
The New York Republican Central
| Committee celebrated the l3lst annivers
nry of the birthday of Washington, on
Saturday evening. 2lst ult., by supper
at the City Assembly Rooms The inspi-
ration Of the occasion was heightened by
the presence of large number of ladies.
Speeches were made by Charles A. Dana,
Esq, Prof. r. c.. Hitchcock, Col. S. II.
Mix. of the Sd New York Cavalry, and
Hon. Daniel S Dickinson. The speech of
Mr.. D., was in his usual witty, caustic and
eloquent vein. Here is sample of it:
What shall the Empire State do in this
emergency There is no halfway house
there are no compromise measures here.
There are two great antagonisms, Gov
ernment and Rebellion, Government
at Washington. rebellion hatched in
hell. (Cheers.) Where shall she cast
her potential voice? She has taken up
her position with the Government which
she helped to found, and of which she
sits empress crowning this mighty court.
We say, the Empire State shall say: War,
uncompromising war, loud cheering,)
war to the knife, continued cheering.)
until the rebellion is put down. ZAP
plause If riot should arise in your
city here, would our friend, the Mayor,
send out an ambassador of peace, or would
he send out the representatives of the law
in their majesty to crush it down TO dark
ness and to dust! (CheerS.) 1t is a
question between the Gov ernment and
the Rebellion. 1t has been nothing else.
it is nothing else, and it will never be
anything else and you may baptize it at
the font of infdel politics as often as you
choose, and when it comes out, the same
bastard of rebellion will be seen. laugh
ter and cheers.) But it is feared by the
politicians that some incidents may he
drawn in, that may be uncomfortable.
This reminds me of the transmigration
philosopher who begged a man 10 desist
from the chastisement of q dog, for, he
said, he could recognize in its howl the
voice of deceased friend. There are
great many politicians, think now. who,
the moment they hear slavery crying, be-
lieve that they hear the voice of a deceas
ed friend. Loud laughter and applause
Now, | have been one of those ccnserva-
tive people, not according TO the modern
doctrine of conseryatism-for | was old
in my definition-but i was for
letting the institution OF slavery entirely
alone to work out its own problem under
the guidance of q beneficient Providence
mot interfering with it in any shape or
but leaving it to be dealt with in |
their own time and way. When they |
said Constitution" said Constitution. |
When they appealed to that as their |
shield, l invoked its protection for them. |
When they said powder, said powder |
And when they inquired, |
who can make war upon the beast, said /
the American people. (Cheering.) l |
have had no anxieties upon this subject, /
except to afford them the shield of the /
Constitution, so long as they invoke it. /
But when they threw it away, when they |
TO arms, / said then, put them /
1Own by the whole power of the Ameri-
IAN people. (Applause.) And | say so
low. Cheers.) | was an old-fashioned .
Democrat, as you may remember. | am
| democrat now (applause) of the straitest |
ect. But a great many who were AboIi- I,
ionists when l was Democrat--or tried |
o be, if it paid well-now call ME to ac-
count, and say am radical, very radical |
indeed, and they are conservative. Well, !
Will admit they are conservative in one |
ense, and only one, and that is not the |
'tymological or technical sense, but it is
he American sense, and that is, opposed |
o the Government and all its institutions |
md interests. Applause.) They say /
IN radical. l admit am radical in this
adicalism if they intend by this that
I'M for making this cure complete, and |
thorough, and effectual, then l am radio
Il, for. being fairly in, have an idea to
zee this war fairly out.
The question of Emancipation has be-
come one of the questions OF the day. 1t |
,annot be blinked any longer and l have
10 disposition to get around it. Many of |
Tou thought l was on the wrong side ;
1ut always took one side. Inever took |
both sides on any question Laughter
md cheers. l took the side of letting
his question entirely alone, so long as
hey appealen to the Constitution when
hey threw that away, and and repudiates
t, l said, as / say dnow-and l want the
'eporters to be sure to get me down.
speak for the benefit of political sneaks
(cheering)-I say that the
only safeguard of Slavery was the recog-
lition of the Constitution ; that the opin-
on of the world is against it !; all the in
;tincts Of humanity and religion are
against it; the advance of civilization is
against it; the interests-moral, material,
and religious-of the country
ire all against it and while would pros
ecute the war solely and entirely for the
purpose of putting down this Rebellion,
f Slavery happens to 60 along with it, l
will hold up both my hands, and cry
lmen to putting them both down.
Great applause.) l never fovored it as
IN institution. favored letting it alone
when they invoked the Constitution
when they threw that away, and exposed !
is nakedness and deformity, cared not
now quick it went by the hoard. Cheers
They sent their pitcher to the well once
90 often. Laughter. Icarus scared so
away his waxen wings, and he came down
Sea, we are told. Although his father
vas determined, in his ambition and Sc
,urity, to soar up TO the heavens; and
hus he was destroyed. Slavery had trad
I'd so long in the politics of the country,
lad controlled convictions, had made the
mean mighty and the little great, that it
hought it could do anything and re-
that soaring upward, like
carus, melted waxen wings, it went right
downward. But it melted its waxen
wings there, and destroyed the institution
or ever. Great laughter and applause
The friends of Slavery have done for it
what its enemies never could have done
md the Abolitionists ought to hold day
If thanksgiving and prayer for the friends
If Slavery for destroying it from the face
If the civilized earth. (Applause.)