Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-08-22

days experience now testifes, than the fond
ana cherished supposition. that the great pffhci
pies Of public liberty have been Bieeessfully
suspended and secured amidst the nicely
balanced checkst Of the Constitution. so 'fai
from The executive Office being etoo weak
and inefficient, as against the lbhecksH and
! restraints Of the co.ordinate Branches OF
the Government, as has been supposed BY
some Of the greatest men who baye both ffam,
ed and administered II, modern times, and re-
cent instances ofits exercise, have proved Il To
be one Of the strongest depaftments of poltI-
cal power known to any government Of limited
! powers on the face Of The earth. With what
ever restraints and limitations the exercise OF
delegated power has been curbed-however ex.
aotly and harmoniously may have been adjusted
the complex machinery of the goyernment--
with interest Weighed against interest, and o
system of checks and BALANCES provided agsinet
every supposed possible abuse of power--thefe
still exists beneath all this splendid spparatus
OF laws and regulations, as incident TO all hu-
man Institutions, the gigantic energy Of the
passions, which, when aroused into, phrenzy,
brlsh away like cob.webs the most sagaoions
oontrivances to hold its vibratory point true to
she magnet of the common veal .aoiiioQ &c
What is itthat has brought about The I'd,
riblo orisis which is NOW upon the merioan peo-
Iple, crushing out their national prosperity,
loading them down with burden of tax
ation unhearda Of In modern times, and
deluging their fairest fields with frater
nal -blood2 II is the insane fanaticlsrn
OF an Abolition pulpit on the one bSide,
and the Internal treason of the political club
houses on the other. These two instruments
have worked together more than thirty years in
bringing about the great calamity which ia now
shaking the continent as with the mighty thrces
Of an earthquake. II 10 o remarkable fact, that
John Quincy Adams and John Caldwell Cal.
houn, the two representative men OF these excl
tedfactions, thirty-one years ago. f1rst suegest-
ed those twin ideas Of p3lticsl heresy, abOIitton
Of slduery By Congress-, aud the secession Of Sates
from the Confederated GoueTnment by ieoislatiue
ordinance. 10 was in 1881, that John Quincy
Adams first introduced into the Congr eas Of the
United States, petitions from the clergy oil New
England, and therreligious enthusiasts, pray.
ing foy the abolition OF slavery in the District
OF Columbia; and II was durlDg. ihe next sue
ceeding year that the State OF South Carolina,
through the influence of Jno G. Calhoun, passed
her ordinance of notification. From that dayto
the present, these two factions have worked in
harmony together, for the same common OBJ
jec,--the dissolution Of the Union and ttie1ie-
/
between fanaticism and treason at list beca me
painfully manifest to the American people I
| They both oonvergsd to the same common csn-
ter; rupture of the political relations which
had become alike hkSone 10 both. The one ex.
| hbted its ultraism In the nomination OF geo.
| graphical candidates, and the adoption Of q
sectional platform against the explicit aud SOL
i emn warning OF the Father of his country, the
other blew the counter-blast Of treason, and
boldly proclaimed the doctrine Of accession as
the rightful remedy for such abuse of political
power. Ia this state of feeling, and In suoA q
lcontroyersy, Abrshsm Lincoln became Prebl-
dent Of the Ulited States In snch orisis:
j with such q field for the exaIciae of broad.
minded patriotism, and with sIch an opportu,
nifty for great, and good, and wise counseIs, t5
sustain the Union sentiment in the South and
save the border slave States ,--Fhat destiny
for himself aud for his county, lay before shat
lsibgle mani The world never Witnessed euch
conjunction Of time aud opportunity for good.
Such a pivot-point Of great national interests,
of terrific public dangers, and OF resulting 10.
fuences upon the destinles Of the remote fu-
lure, for millions Of unborn 4, human, be
ings, never before existed But he was un.
equal to the great occasion; be misunder.
stood, or disregarded, the high, the awful bu,t
committed to his charge. Instead Of, dis
arming the rebellion by discharging his. du-
i lty to the ,ohols country and the ipkoie jpeo.
Pile, be added to its strength, while he crushed
out the remaining union sentimentin the South,
by calling around him, as his constitutional ad-
visers, men of the most violent sectional views,
and who were the prime movers of that fatal
controversy which at laat arrayed the sections
10 undying hostility to each other, That fatal
IIflflanaaa ~ v,fn knk II ..,s
san survey Of the troubled political ield before
him, and the subsequent adoption Of policy
so clearly condemned and deprecated, LONG in
advance of the anticipated crisis, by Hamilton,
BY Madison, by Adams, AID BY Edmund Ran
dolph, have vastly contributed to our Difficult.
ties, and have been fruitful source of all our
national woe. God only knows, gentlemen of
the Convention, what Ia to be the fnsl issue Of
the fiery ordeal through which free institutions
on this continent are now passing It IL posais
BILE, they may come out the purer and brighter
, from the fierce alembic Of civil war. Id "A
possible, and only possible, that this once great
confederated Union Of free and independent
sovereignties, nov pioItrated like the pillars Of
GAIA by the Sampson of civil strife, may again
be reconstructed, to give hope, aud peace, and
security to the American people, But We have
no fixed assurance, no reliable guarantee ,that
IL will be 80. We only know that ipis thShirh
and conservative mission Of the Democratic
party here in the North, to stand asa shield to
! our National Constitution-to present itss
On but still unbrokcn front as q bseak-Water
around Its holy citadel, against the despotic
assaults OF an Administration who eeemipgiy
propose to sustain 1t, by breaking down every
barrier erected for its protection In this
great calamity which has thus befsllen our
common country, portentous alike tothe iiber-
ties and great interests Of the American peo-
lple, believing, as honestly did, that the clear
lily indicated misslon OF the Democratic party
i was what have stated 1t to be, I had no hesi
tation in uniting my destihies with it, pre.
pared to stand or fall with its organlzstioh.-
Feeling all its responsibilities, prepared to did.
charge all its duties, and recognizing all its
just claims upon me, have felt no compunc.
ttions of conscience for that determination, -
So long ss II shall maintain its present consli-
ltutional and conservative position, intend to
ahare Its fate for wsaI or for t0os aud shall
meet all The vltuperation and abusb which may
be heaped upon me, II not With all tho fotbesr !.
ance and iaeekneHs Of o chhstian, OF least With
all the dignity end manners Of q gentleman.
} In the dark valley of the future which lies
!, before uss whose impenetrable gloom noNhums .
} lllgenceacau penetrate, let Us walk with q
/ arm tread and unialteriug hearts, neither fool
/ ishly seeklng ,or cowardlyfavoiding difficulty
hut feelInp that nm nanrifco will ha koo g.aat a