Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1863-03-11
Speech of Gov. Morton of Indiana.
At the Union Meeting, III CinciD-
natl Feb. %.


e Gov Morton was then introduced annie
loud cheering He spoke as follow
: You have come together tonight, as
understand it, to give assurance to the
\ ? brave men in the field, that they hay,
= not been deserted or abandoned by theil
1 friends at home. | can say to you thai
J while our brave soldiers have regarded
with Indignation The recent manifesto
tions on the part of portion of the peo
e pie of the North, and they have express
J ed their feelings in resolutions and adj
dresses not only the soldiers of Ohio In
dian and Illinois, but of other States
: At the same time / am assured that q
] deep feeling of uneasiness pervades the
! army on account of the manifestations
! ! and talkings of a portion of the people
of the Northern States.
Have you ever, my friends, considered
the sacrifices which these men have
made in going TO the field? You are
here tonight, warm and comfortable,
peacefully assembled together under ia
vorable and pleasant circumstances, while
they are in the field, in their tents, or
without tents, deprived of nearly all the
comforts which you enjoy; exposed TO
sickness, disease and death in almost ev-
cry form. l ask you if you have ever
properly considered the sacrihces which
: these men have made? Have you ever
taken home to yourselves, and endeavor-
ed to understand the sacrifice each man
has made who has left all these comforta-
BILE surroundings behind him. and has
gone to the field of battle, with his life
in his hand, that his country may be pre-
served? If you do not understand these
things, you cannot appreciate the feel
ings of modification, the feelings of an
guish that pervade the minds of our sol
diers when they read the speeches, the
resolutions, and the developments that
are being made by those whom they left
behind They believe they have gone
forth to fight in just cause; that they
will triumph if they are sustained and
it is now a solemn and imperative duty
on the part of those who are at home, to
assure our brave soldiers that they shall
be sustained under any and all circum-
stances. Cheers.
As has just remarked by Mr. STAINS
berry, these submissionists of the North
| tell us that we cannot conquer the South.
They belong to that class of prophets who
make a prophecy, and then 90 about to
fulfil it, in laboring to prevent the subju-
cation of the rebels, the suppression of
this rebellion. Are they not laboring to
divide our council, divide our moral, our
physical and political power at home
that they may thus fulfil the prophecy
that they have made from the beginning
which Is, that we cannot suppress this
rebellion? And tell you now, that if
We fail 10 suppress this rebellion, that
that failure can be traced to the machin-
4 r.
sionists of the North. Cheers And
they tell you too, that the people of the
Northern States have expressed them
selves against the war, have expressed
themselves against the Administration
and its policy, and that by the recent
elections they have declared in favor of
peace; and they point triumphantly to |
the result of the late elections in Ohio, |
Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York as |
an evidence that there has been great |
popular revolution, and that the people |
of this country have pronounced against |
the government and the war. l believe |
that at the time the late election was
held Ohio had some 10000 voters in the
field, absent in the field, whose votes
were not taken; yet the State was car
ried by $4,000. At that time Indiana
had about 60, 600 voters in the field, men
whose voices were not heard, and vet
they had about 5000 majority in that
State. New York. at the time of her
election had Ia, 900, but they carried it
in New York only by 1000. Pennsylva-
mia had 100000 in the field, and that
State was carried by 1900 majority
they carried the elections, it
was because the Union men had gone to
the field and they stayed at home to
play politics. So far as elections are
have only to make this re-
mark, that as popular verdict they are
entitled to no respect 7hatever. Loud
cheering. What is the policy of these
men? What is their design? They are
calling upon US for peace-peace at once.
They would have peace, Immediately,
tonight. What is the result of peace .
The result of peace, made tomorrow, is
the acknowledgment of the existence
and independence of a rebel Confe dera-
cy. 1t requires no argument to prove
that The immediate result Of peace is
the Establishment of the rebel Confedera-
cy. and the dissolution of the Union
As this would be the inevitable result of
peace, we are at liberty to conclude
that this is what these men desire.
What is the next step these men pro-
pose to take? 1t is to reconstruct the
Union, they say, and how do they pro-
pose to do that? They propose to do that
by getting the South to receive them, or
to receive them upon the condition that
they will turn out the six New England
States. They know that the South will
never voluntarily come back while New
England is retained, because that would
still leave the free States in the majority;
but if you turned out tie six New Eng
land States, that leaves the slave States {
in the majority; it withdraws twelve
votes from the U. S. Senate, and leaves
them permanent majority majority
they would ever retain, by ever refusing
to admit another free State into the Un-
ion. And they propose to buy her back
to bribe her to come back, after they
shall have voluntarily acknowledged her
by turning out the New :
England States; a most sahmeful, humil-
iating and degrading position
They expect New York and Pennsyl-
Vania to co operate in the scheme. If
not, then they will ask the Northwest to .
go in on its own responsibility, and not ,
submit to annexation, and then they pro-
pose Northwestern Confederacy.
Thus the leaders in this scheme, who
propose to cut loose from the. East, are in
iayor of an armistice, as they say, to re-
establish the Union. Their leaders in
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are all commit
ted to this policy. Now,what is an armis- .
.icei 1t is a suspension of hostilities- i.
one party can make war but it takes two
% make peace. How can we get it?-
)ne or the other must make the first ad- {
7ances must ask for this cessation of :
lostilities. The rebels do not ask for it, :
therefore we must. If JEFF. Davis should
lsk for this suspension of hostilities we
would say his cause was desperate; and :,
f we should ask for it first, they would
ay our cause was desperate. Suppose we {
SIX for an armistice. What terms shall
We establish? Davis saws he will not {