Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-02-18
-sPFFCH OF HON. 4. C. RIDDLE,
OF OHIO.
In the House of Representative, Eebru'
- arv OH. 1863.


&c.
MR. RpDLE-Mr. Speaker; know the
impotence Of words, even when the our
dened carriers Of great arguments, to
change the convictions Of men whose con-
clusions grow out Of q settled purpose, and
are imbedded in an unhearing prejudice
And employ them now only to vindicate,
to my own Judgment a great measure
that has not received the consideration
from this House thatit is entitled to. l
an amazed that Il receives from gentle
men not manly opposition, not argument,
not logic, not facts, but bold denuneiatlon,
messureless misrepresentation, and slo0-
beriug balderdash. Who authorised the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Holman) to
speak for Ohio, who, with suoh flourish,
fiaunted a soiled rag Of a newspaper IN
our faces, as if to remind my colleagues
and myselfthat the Legislature of our State
had spoken Sir, Ohio will select her own
organs, and we will answer to her without
the ofieioss aid of any meddler from any
where. knew, sir, that the members OF
the Ohio Legislature, for want Of some
thing else to do, had requested my col
leagues and myself on this floor, and had
instructed our colleagues in the Senate to
oppose this measure. Il is not the first
time that respectable gentlemen have
rravely advised and instructed about
things with which they had as much to do
as the signs of Zodaic have with the wean-
ing children. I little care for instructions
from anybody, and I utterly deny the right
of the members ofa Legislature to instruct
anybody, for they are the constituents Of
nobody. They ars merely the agents OF
the people of the State to appoint Sens-
tor, and that done, their official relations
with him cease They are no more his
constituents than any other man, woman
or child in the State; and an attempt to
instruct is an impudent assumption.
Sir, Irepresent district having lake
coast of near hundred miles in extent,
with lake city Of nearly fifty thousand
people. have presented innumerable pc
titions from the best informed and most
in telligent business men ofmy district for
this measure, men quite as competent to
rightly estimate it as the able gentlemen
Of our Legislature. My own sentiments
were we'll known to my people, and have
never heard from one Of them a word upon
this proposition that was not in its favor.
I have also presented petitions signed by
thousands Of our citizens-from Michigan
to Pennsylvania-for this measure, and
have heard of no remonstrance save this
from the Ohio Legislature; and this is my
answer TO the gentleman from Indiana on
the subject of instructions. My answer
10 the honorable members of the Ohio
Legislature is, that when they have made
some provision for the defense Of our
State, organized its militia, and provided
arms for use against invaders, will listen
with patience and gravity to any sugges-
ton from them in reference to my duties
here.
I ask the gentlemen of this House to
turn their eyes for moment to the north
ern boundary of this Republic. There
they find, beginning within few degrees
of longitude Of the ocean, and extending
irregularly westward to near the meridian
of the continent, vast series Of waters
almost equaling the width Of the Atlantic.
Let the eye run along the great extent Of
bays and capes and creeks and peninsu-
las that undulate their southern shore,
and they find a coast line that nearly
EQUALS the whole Atlantic coast; and while
the eve rests for q moment in its wearied
survey pray gentlemen to remember that
this immense extent of coast is the north
ern frontier of the empire. Turn the eye
from the lake to the Atlantic coast, and
mark how at the entrance of every bay and
creek and harbor, and by every roadside,
the formidable fortresses and Notifications
that frown defiance along its whole extent,
under the protection of which the hands
- ov1 an4arr,viua bova huilt I'M
the worlds great marts. Mark, also, and
wonder over the mighty naval armaments
that oppress the Atlantic bosom, and all,
all for the defense of the Atlantic coast,
and mainly against one great rival. Turn
again to the northern margin; every
league Of the opposite coast that answers
to this northern line is the soil of this
same imperious rival. The brindled whelps
of its old lion project their grim muzzles
from every promontory and headland of
that opposite coast at US; while throughout
the whole extent of our own side not a
fort or fortifcation worthy Of the name
exists; nor does there float on all those
vast seas but a solitary vessel that carries
single gun under our flag. Nay, the
National Government is under an endur-
ing treaty stipulation never to construct
vessels Of war on these waters.
Contemplate for a moment the vast
spoils that there await the clutching hand
Of armed violence. Over those same wa
ters float annually over. six hundred mil
lion dollars Of commerce, all at the mercy
of single armed cruiser. On the south
ern shores of those lakes are clustered a
group of great, populous, wealthy, but un-
armed and utterly defenseless nations.
My own State has a greater population
and wealth, can raise a greater revenue,
and has sent forth a larger army, than
had the kingdom of Prussia when the sec
ond Frederick Of Brandenburg ascended
its throne. Yet her whole northern from
tier is an open unarmed coast. She has
not fertilization within her limits, and
cannot arm a single gunboat. Upon those
lakes, in utter helplessness, sit cities that
ouirival in wealth and splendor and glory
those that grouped themselves on the Med
iterranean prouder than she who sat a
crowned queen on her hundred isles, and
yearly sent forth her Doge to wed with his
ducsl ring the now long spouseless Adri-
attic. Look ence again to those lakes, and
mark the mighty river through which their
vast waters howto the sea; and mark how
entirely it is in the possession of our great
rival, whose sea ornaments equal the uni
ted navies of the rest Of the world. OBJ
serve how wholly and completely the sole
means of naval transit around the cata-
ract Of the Niagara are entirely hers
alone, and that, save this, there is no naval
access to these waters. Seel seel hew
utterly and entirely we lie at the will and
pleasure of this naughty and capricious
Power; and that we must accept any hu-
initiation at her hands, or leave to her
bloody sickle the boarded fields of our de-
fenseless North. We know but too well
what her present temper and disposition
are. She may keep herself within the
bare letter of international law; but na-
tien or a man, whose highest rule of con-
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